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Forums - Gaming - Does Steam Controller have enough Buttons?

thranx on 29 September 2013
JayWood2010 said:
thranx said:
JayWood2010 said:
thranx said:
the middle screen can be more than one button. it is touch and click. so you can touch it to select different things, but press it to actually enable what you select


Would that replicate the D-Pad then?  


its designed for pc use for pc games. no dpad needed. the touchpads are supposed to give a more accurate feel of a mouse. but it has 14 real buttons (compared to 16 for ps3/xbox) and 1 button that has many uses, so it should fare fine. the dpad on most pc games is used to select items(weapons/abilities/etc) the screen button on this would be better for that i think.


I still dont understand to be honest with you.  I dont see how it replicated the mouse wheel.  Anyways, Cris explained it had two back buttons so I think that will do it for this thread :)


the shoulder buttons replicate the wheel on the mouse, one is mouse scrooll up, and the other mouse scroll down. I dont use touchpads, so i am not sure how well it will replicate an actuall mouse, but i think the big difference is you can have different degrees of rotation like with a mouse if you move fast or slow. vs thumbsticks which increase speed when they are pressed to farther rather than faster. not too sure my self, but it looks interesting and worth a try.



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arcelonious on 29 September 2013
JayWood2010 said:
arcelonious said:

From the looks of that picture, the four face buttons are changed to the two buttons on each side (which certainly is a dramatic change from the traditional 4 on the right side), while the D-pad is absent, and instead a touchscreen is in place (which I think has much more functionality than the current 360/PS home button).

In general, I think people are focusing too much on what this controller can't do in relation to a traditional controller, and not enough on what this controller could do that a traditional controller could not.  I'm personally not going to write this controller off until i've actually had a chance to try it.


2 things

1.  Since the face buttons are on both sides any time you use your left hand for the left buttons you will have to stop moving unless you decide to use your index fingers insteads.

2. How does that have more funcionality?

The two buttons on the left have the potential to give mouse control with the right trackpad, with your left hand free to utilize those buttons on the left (or vice versa).  Bear in mind that there are several types of PC games that utilize a point-and-click approach, which don't necessarily benefit from having four buttons on the right side.

Additionally, the Steam controller incorporates buttons like CTRL and Toggle Zoom to other parts of the gamepad (buttons on the back side), so games that feature movement with both trackpads (like FPS) have functions mapped to other parts of the controller (such as crouch, weapon swap, etc.), freeing up the need for them to be mapped on the face buttons.

When I spoke of having more functionality, I was speaking specifically about the touchscreen over the PS/Xbox home buttons (if I'm not mistaken, you originally referenced them in comparison to the touchscreen).

I'll admit that I wouldn't use this controller for a fighting game, but at the same time, I wouldn't use a traditional gamepad for one either (e.g., I use an arcade stick for SF, Tekken, VF, etc.).



HigHurtenflurst on 29 September 2013
JayWood2010 said:
arcelonious said:

From the looks of that picture, the four face buttons are changed to the two buttons on each side (which certainly is a dramatic change from the traditional 4 on the right side), while the D-pad is absent, and instead a touchscreen is in place (which I think has much more functionality than the current 360/PS home button).

In general, I think people are focusing too much on what this controller can't do in relation to a traditional controller, and not enough on what this controller could do that a traditional controller could not.  I'm personally not going to write this controller off until i've actually had a chance to try it.


2 things

1.  Since the face buttons are on both sides any time you use your left hand for the left buttons you will have to stop moving unless you decide to use your index fingers insteads.

2. How does that have more funcionality?

You are missing the two buttons on the back in your list (which are kind of like additional bumpers)

Lets make a count of how many buttons you have access to when using both the control pads/sticks: (ignoring the touchscreen for now)
PS360: 2 triggers & 2 bumpers (depending on how you hold it both may be accessed simultaneously... personally I normally use only my index fingers at the top so can use either bumper or trigger) & 2 click downs.
Steam: Same as above plus additional 2 bumpers.

Now while using a single pad/stick:
PS360: same as before plus 4 face buttons or d-pad (which to me is the same as 4 face buttons)
Steam: same as before plus 2 (maybe 3, depends on if that row at the bottom of the controller is programmable as a game button and not limited to a pause or special steam client button) face buttons

While using both control pads then, the Steam controller has an advantage of 2 buttons over the PS360.... While using a single pad, it has the same number of buttons, though placed in an unfamilar position. (without holding it I can't say if those 4 face buttons are in a comfortable position or not)

I think the disadvantage is when it comes to games that focus on d-pad & button play over control stick play, which I guess are things like fighters (not a genre that interests me though) I suspect the control pad could double as a sort of d-pad better than a normal control stick can, but it still won't feel the same as a proper d-pad. Indeed when you need fast button combos I bet many gamers have a tendency to press the d-pad quite hard, which would feel weird pressing into a hard pad instead.