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Update: A new Steam Beta Client should fix gamepad input in Big Picture Mode, thanks to Valve for the quick response.

The latest Steam Client update has left beta, bringing the Bluetooth Low Energy mode to everyone with the Steam Controller amongst other things. It also, sadly, broke other gamepad support in Big Picture mode.

There's this bug report on Valve's GitHub, which has been open since May 9th. That only mentions PS3 controllers, but there's other bug reports open for other gamepads. I've tested it myself, with the Steam Controller working as normal and all other gamepads are broken on Linux in Big Picture Mode.

This comes with a side effect, since this update is now stable, it's also broken everything but the SC in SteamOS as well.

It's not all doom and gloom and this update also pulls in some nice fixes, like these with the overlay:

  • Fixed an issue which caused the web browser to stop working in certain games
  • Fixed screenshots for games built with Unreal Engine 4 in OpenGL mode 
  • Fixed some OpenGL API errors triggered by the Steam In-Game Overlay
  • Fixed a crash in some Vulkan apps when hiding the overlay or resizing windows

It also adds in Switch Pro Controller support, although I don't have one to test, I imagine that doesn't work for us due to the mentioned issues.

As for Linux-specific bugs, they fixed these:

  • Fixed a bug where trying to re-add old Steam Library folders to the client would fail with an error about the filesystem not being mounted with execute permissions
  • Fixed a common cause of games getting stuck when bringing up the overlay 
  • Fixed a problem where trying to resize the client window would sometimes snap back to the original size
  • Fixed incorrect/rainbow colors when streaming from the desktop of a machine running recent Mesa
  • Fixed low resolution in Big Picture mode due to incorrect video memory detection on Mesa

See the full changelog here.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: Steam
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I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
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16 comments
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freerunnerlive May 18, 2018
When i Play Rocket luege with my son IT Always have Bugs with Controller Like disconnect or Switch Controller. Sad
GustyGhost May 18, 2018
Quoting: CreakExcellent! Thanks Liam!

Wow.. Steam needs to restart when changing this simple setting...
Valve really needs to improve Steam **a lot**.

GPL would be a good first step...
Liam Dawe May 18, 2018
Quoting: CreakExcellent! Thanks Liam!

Wow.. Steam needs to restart when changing this simple setting...
Valve really needs to improve Steam **a lot**.
It actually doesn't need restarting, that's a bug for a setting they added but it seems to think it needs to for a lot more now.
buckysrevenge May 19, 2018
I just saw that they pushed out an update that supposedly fixes the controller issue, although I haven't tested it myself: https://steamcommunity.com/groups/SteamClientBeta#announcements/detail/1655515215474881645
KuJo May 19, 2018
Quoting: KuJo(...)Cool! Then I can start a new attempt with my Steam Link. I had that problem too. (...)
Ich did ... and now it works smooth and fine! ^_^


Last edited by KuJo on 19 May 2018 at 7:45 am UTC
TurtleShark May 19, 2018
Woke up this morning to a new update that said it is "A re-release of the May 16th client, but with fixes to controller input." I didn't have a chance to test this out, but we might already have a fix! :D

EDIT=WHOOPS didn't see others had already mentioned this...


Last edited by TurtleShark on 19 May 2018 at 12:42 pm UTC
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