Has the Steam Controller been redesigned yet again?

[HEXUS]

Image from the Steam Client Beta shows a 'D Pad' in place of one of the haptic pads.

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[unospace]

I don't mind how much they tweak and change the controller design before production starts. Long as it fits in the hand okay and game play is as easy as the Xbox One and PS4 I'm game to try it out!

[Jowsey]

These articles always drive me crazy!! I just want to grab a hold of the controller and try it for myself!

[directhex]

Looks like a "guide" indented into the left haptic pad, which on my 1st-gen prototype just has two circular guides (to indicate the "edge" of the pad, where behaviour differs)

[eviling]

I kinda doubt it would have a modular design, although that could be a cool feature.

The idea behind making a Steam controller is as i understand it, to move Steam away from being a mouse/keyboard world, and into a play-from-your-couch world. To do that you need a controller that everyone would want to use, even the people playing FPS. And that controller would have to be one that offers the same accuracy of a mouse-user.

I wouldnt be surpised at all if we see 10 more re-designs, before it gets close to a beta release.

[Roobubba]

am I the only one who doesn't 'get' these controllers? They seem to me to be in every way worse than a keyboard and mouse for every type of game...

[Dooms]

am I the only one who doesn't 'get' these controllers? They seem to me to be in every way worse than a keyboard and mouse for every type of game...

Yes. You don't get them.

This is for the living room, playing on a sofa or with friends, situations where M&K just don't work as well (yes you can use M&K on your lap or table etc but that defeats the point).

What they were also aiming for with the touch pads as the ability to map them 1:1 to mouse so you could use them for things like strategy games on the sofa if the game UI accommodated it (bigger UI) which they demo'd with Civ5.

[bae85]

I predict the steam controller will end up being like this http://www.nerdytec.com/COUCHMASTER/COUCHMASTER-Basic.html

No controller will replace the mouse and keyboard, there's a reason were still using them today.

[Meowdance]

No controller will replace the mouse and keyboard, there's a reason were still using them today.

It's not a replacement, it's an improvement of the alternative. You're not gonna sit at your computer desk fiddling about with a controller but you aren't going to sit in front of your TV balancing a keyboard and mouse on your lap either.

[=assassin=]

^ Get a laptop tray then, or better yet, sit at a desk.

[bae85]

It's not a replacement, it's an improvement of the alternative. You're not gonna sit at your computer desk fiddling about with a controller but you aren't going to sit in front of your TV balancing a keyboard and mouse on your lap either.

I do sit at my desk fiddling about with a controller and I balance a keyboard and mouse on my lap when using the media pc in my games room lol

[Dooms]

Valve aren't trying to replace the keyboard & mouse they are just giving people more options (and make some money) and I'm all for more options

[Chadders87]

Its an xbox controller with pads. Wheres all the buttons and touch screen they originally sold the concept on. That was the biggest seller for me... buttons galore. Now it doesn't offer any real improvement over the other controllers on the market.

[Corky34]

Other controllers don't use a 1:1 mapping, they only use relative/velocity based movement.

[stupot121]

I don't get why they don't just stick with a simple design like on the Xbox and Playstation.

[directhex]

I don't get why they don't just stick with a simple design like on the Xbox and Playstation.

Because it sucks for "PC games"?

I used a Steam pad extensively to share games of Civ 5 and Game Dev Tycoon when my wife was in hospital (and immediately afterwards when recovering). It worked well.