Steam Controller

I've seen a lot of reviews about this controller from people who used the early releases, and there is one thing I want to say to them: "Early Release", there are always slight changes to a product before it is released to the public.Alright, now that that's over with on with the review. I got this controller on Friday, 11/13/15 and it is now 11/15/15 and this is my 2 day review. I have grown to believe that this is a great controller. It has tons of features and buttons and little "hidden" program options. For instance, I can program one of the touch pads act as my mouse with a specific sensitivity, slight actions depending on gestures used on it (like track ball emulation), and inverted axes. There is also a "Mode Shift" option that lets you configure the Touch Pad with completely different settings if you do a soft pull on one of the triggers (or any of multiple other buttons). Example of this: I am weird and when playing a game I control the camera with the X-axis inverted, only if I'm using a controller, however when I go into "aim mode" or look down my scope or whatever, the steam controller lets me switch the Touch Pad to not having the X-axis inverted and to decrease sensitivity. (I apologize if that was a difficult sentence to read) The cool thing is I can actually change the "style of input" completely with this mode shift, so I do a soft hold of a trigger and my mouse turns into a touch menu, or a scroll wheel, or a button pad (Like for going through a menu). Basically there's tons of things that can be done to make this controller work the way you want it.You don't have to program each and every game from scratch, there are 3 templates (by default) and you have access to the community shared configurations created by other people. Sadly I noticed that as of right now it is a little difficult to take your configurations from one game to the next (Like taking configurations from Assassin's Creed II to Brotherhood). Configurations are saved in the following locations: "%ProgramFiles%\Steam\controller_base\templates" is for templates and "%ProgramFiles%\Steam\userdata\%your steam userid%\241100\remote\controller_config\%specific game code%" is for each specific games. You might find it easier to make a configuration a game that is blank or defaulty and name it what the game is to make it easier to figure out the game codes while browsing around.There are tons of buttons on this controller and you can program them in whatever weird ways you want too (they even sound like weird ways to configure them). The 2 triggers are analog as a soft pull, and when you do a full pull it becomes digital, so you can program each as to different things. In addition when programming the analog stick, you can program a specific button press/action if you take the stick all the way to the end. For example, while playing Warframe I have the analog stick configured so that once push it all the way in one direction it hits the Sprint button, than when I do a soft pull on the Right Trigger I go into a crouch/slide, and finally when I finish that pull on the Right Trigger (turning it into a Full Pull) I go into a jump. This makes parkour work amazingly. I've turned holding W and Shift to Sprint, going into a slide by holding Control, and tapping Space to jump, into only using an analog stick and pulling one trigger.Some of the reviewers I've read have mentioned the gyroscope for the controller, and you know what? That's configurable, so don't act like it's forced on you. It's actually really cool and I'm looking forward to using it with the Rift. I haven't used it much but I can actually set it up so that if I'm setting in a spinny chair while holding the controller, and I spin, the my character spins! Now that wouldn't be useful for right now when your trying to play a game using the monitor in front of you, but you don't have to program it like that, maybe your flying and you actually want to "Pull Up!" you could set it up like that.Last week I read a review from someone who fell in love an early release of this controller and compared it to switching from QWERTY to DVORAK. At first I disagreed, but as I've used this controller more I can agree now. I can play these games that I've been playing for years or even a new game very well with a mouse and keyboard, but that's because I'm use to my keyboard. (I can hit most keys on my keyboard without looking at said keyboard). The point is, trying to use the Steam Controller is just like when I tried to switch to DVORAK years ago. I could very easily right now switch back to keyboard and mouse and forget about the $50 I spent on this controller because it isn't instantly easy to use. However, there are so many options that it could actually make my life easier in a lot of ways if I learn how use this controller. Heck, this controller could very well increase my gaming experience. What I'm trying to say is, don't knock it until you've spent the time to try it our properly. This controller has so many configuration possibilities that everyone online could have a different setup even though they're playing the same game.Steam MUST be open to use the controller yes that is true and there's no way to get away from it, but once the controller is working, you can use it as a normal mouse. Steam does not need to be your active program, at least on Windows, no clue on other operating systems. That is one thing that is sad about with this controller. I WISH that there was a plug and play component of this controller that would revert it to specific settings that make it act like a normal controller. D-Pad is just a D-Pad, touch pad acts like an analog stick, to be used as an analog stick, but it's not. That's my one complaint about this controller.All in all, I've fallen in love with this controller. Even though it's only been 2 days of using it...of course I've gamed pretty much all of that time (minus a few hours to sleep). I'm strongly recommending this controller for people to use, but remember this is the first release of this controller, but Valve spent a lot of time designing this there is a reason it wasn't released over year ago. The most important thing to remember about this controller is, programming. Do NOT expect to open up Fallout 4 click some random configuration for the controller and everything to be happy days. Your going to be click that Steam button, go to controller config and be remapping buttons for the first 2 hours of the game. Yes, that makes getting into the game a little tough, but once you get a basic setup for a 1st person shooter, you'll be able to build off that for the next one you play. And I say 2 hours because you'll be going back to make minor changes a lot, you could be playing the game for an hour after your last change and than say "Hey I think it would be better if I did this." OK, I'm finished you can stop reading, get this controller and remember it's completely different from any other controller out there.

January 11, 2018 UpdateIn my previous review I stated this was bad for fighting games due to the DPAD. But now that I actually own one...Tekken 7, my opinion has changed. Due to my DS4 needing charging, I played around with this one and I must say, I enjoyed it more with this. Again, customization is incredible. I was able to get the controls exactly how I wanted. I’m so excited by this I’ve been looking at other fighters I’d like to play since it’ll take a lighter toll on my thumb.As for FIFA I could probably get used to it. But I still feel I’d prefer having a second joystick for the skill moves.==========================================================================I'm not sure if anyone would make a controller more versatile than this. I've had it since August of last year. I had thought I had gotten the hang of it. But I was wrong. Upon watching a YouTube video this week on the touch pad(mouse section) I realized I had been doing it wrong.I had wanted to turn up my mouse sensitivity on the configuration app, but for me the acceleration is what makes the difference. This gives me a more accurate side to side movement. Another thing that I do is lower my vertical axis to 25% or 10 ticks. Most games you're going to be moving side to side anyways so you don't need your character looking up and down as much.Something that I plan on getting accustomed to is using the gyro. I have always activated it using the trigger, though I rarely use it. The reality is, your finger is already on the touchpad, so that's one less thing to think about if you want an accurate shot.My main reason for buying this controller was to get better at gaming on PC. I'm a console gamer. Have been my whole life. Tried KB/M, but felt cramped. So, I prefer this. It's a lot more comfortable. What I try to do is emulate the console buttons. So, on the touchpad which is your camera button, I also make the click a melee, which is your COD knife kill.My default buttons for shooters always:Touch Click=meleeRG=ReloadRB=GrenadesRT=ShootLT=AimVertical axis=25%(10 ticks). Note: when using gyro, I keep this at default.After that I customize the rest of the buttons depending on the game. Just realize that the settings that work great in one game will not work great in another. An example of this is Killing Floor and Zombie Army Trilogy. In Killing Floor, I have the mouse sensitivity to about half(20 ticks or so), the acceleration at High and trackball on medium. In Zombie, I have sensitivity at default(5 ticks I think) which is a big difference, while both acceleration and trackball are at high. Note: both games in-game sensitivity have been turned all the way down.You can try all the community built templates, but for me, I prefer to start with Valve's Template and change that to what I feel works best for ME. The good thing about trying the communities though is the fact you may get a liking for something they've done like for me, I think the touch gyro is a terrific idea and something I plan to implement myself.Also, please remeber to use the haptic feedback. This will help you figure out where your finger is at all tines without looking at the controller. You can use it anywhere and I plan on trying my luck with FIFA and fighting games because of it. I may make both touchpads act as joysticks when playing FIFA. Haptic feedback would help me emulate this more like XboxOne or Playstation sticks. For me, having that makes all the difference.EDIT: Probably not the best for fighting games. If you're like me and like the DPAD for those, I'd say the Dualshock 4 is king. For FIFA IMO The Xbox One takes the cake. Though you could make the right touchpad a Joystick, I think moving your thumb between that and buttons in FIFA would be unfavorable.