Sadly I don't find myself doing the same on the Steam Deck opting for the joysticks instead, since I don't find the placement, smaller size, square versus circle, and flat surface versus concave offering the type of consistency that I use the touchpads for on the Steam Controller. It feels more a touchpad appropriate for slow paced games or just desktop navigation than optimal for the way I use the touchpads on the Steam Controller. And I don't see Valve delivering on the touchpad end that I would like with the next Steam Controller with all the inputs it would be fitting in.
Not an issue for most players who will be using joysticks as their primary, but sucks for Steam Controller dual touchpad users who've been waiting years hoping for a Steam Controller with updated gyro, better bumpers, and 2 more back buttons.
I used left touchpad as a touch menu when I was using the left joystick. After moving to the left touchpad I prefer it over joystick due to being able to rely on a sprint hold mapping it on the outer edge without accidentally triggering it like I would on the joystick. And I've come to love mapping stuff like crouch, slide, or dash to it too so combining movement actions to touchpad clicks. Frees me to use back buttons for other stuff and further reduce my need to lift my thumbs away from movement and camera controls.
That's my experience as left joystick and left touchpad user.
It's exactly because of setups like this that I'm excited for the SC2.
I can't believe we settled with joysticks for camera movement for so long. I don't think there's any other company around trying to challenge this standard.
Honestly, I think the Steam Deck has worse ergonomics than that last Steam Controller, but at least it has a d-pad and a second analog stick so that there's always a way to play a game with no configuration.
They need to make sharing controller presets easier.
Like MASSIVELY easier.
I cannot emphasize this enough. Let users send controller profiles and attach them to forum posts, etc.
This is needed desperately because navigating presets is straight up busted. Currently it just promotes whatever has the most users, which is whoever published first.
Doesn't matter if there is an objectively brilliant control scheme for Resident Evil 5 or something, nope, you're using the first layout published by GoonerMaster69 in 2014 or whatever.
Both these factors make using the steam controller a chore. It's incredibly powerful, but setup is a fucking CHORE. I love it, but making it work well is always me tweaking for way too long, or using g the suboptimal poorly named presets at the top of the list.
The RE5 example is real. RE5 is amazing with the steam controller if you have a trigger full pull mode shift to mouse input so you can have perfect accuracy with no acceleration. But try finding this in the preset list.
I've got three, ranging between 8 and nearly 10 years old, with the oldest one seeing exponentially more use than the others, and they all still work flawlessly. I tend to put hundreds of hours into a handful of games, but I don't use them every day, if that helps quantify my usage a bit.
It's lightweight, which makes it feel cheap, but it's actually quite durable. Then again, I seemingly experience drift way under the rate that the internet would have me believe that I should.
I got my Steam Controller the day they were released and still use it. The stick has never drifted, though I also prefer to use the left pad for most "left stick" purposes. The real problem I'm having with the stick is that the rubbery coating on top is rubbing off, which is kind of gross and makes it harder than it should be to use it for an extended time. Good thing pads never drift! The rough texture of the pads has stayed remarkably well; no smooth and shiny spots.
Mine also has the usual things after almost a decade of use. The A button feels a little soft and the right trigger sounds a bit clangy. The body is plastic faces screwed together. It's a tiny bit creaky but remarkably sturdy, with no flex spots other than the back keys, which are pressed with the flexible parts of the battery cover.
Overall, it's lasted me a good long while and I expect it to go longer. I even bought a backup from someone after they were discontinued.
I still have my original one from however long ago it was when they came out (10 years or so maybe?) and it's still working perfectly well. It's outlasted pretty much all my other controllers, except for the red PS4 controller which mysteriously refuses to die.
Assuming it's just like a Steam Deck without the screen, how would that compare to popular controllers like consoles first-party ones or 8bitdo's offerings?
Track pads and gyros are major features of the first Steam Controller that were brought forward to the Deck, and they can be game-changing for certain genres that have typically never controlled well on traditional controllers.
If I strictly apply rule 1, this should be removed. But at the same time, after talking with OP via PM, it is true that it is still kinda related to games.
For now I'm gonna keep it, but an update to the rules is needed, to better define and explain them.
Edit : After a night of sleep I have to admit I was mistaken here.
Still, I'll talk with the other mods about better defining the rules, I feel like it is needed.
Yup, in retrospect my brain kinda betrayed me here.
The update I'd like to see here is to explicitly allow gaming hardware related topic in rule 1, to avoid having an overworked mod go on a moderation spree.