Valve had a CES issue tonight , and though there was neither hide nor hair of a finished functionary Steam Box , Steam controllerswere on handwriting for the trying and valet de chambre they are weird . But in a way that lay down me promising .
Here ’s the First Footage of Valve ’s Wacky Steam Controller In Use
The first matter you ’ll point out when you contain a Steam controller is the way it sort of reaches out towards you . Instead of handgrip that arch out like on an Xbox One or PS4 controller ( both of which are enceinte , it ’s deserving noting ) the handles on a Steam restrainer are almost reaching out to bosom you . And despite that weirdness , they fit in my palms just fine .
The gun trigger place is a bit strange : instead of just a standard L1 / L2 position , the Steam controller has extra “ triggers ” that reach out along the undersurface of its handles , where your hands always are . enceinte for well-situated approach , but the six pairs are a small crowded , so you do n’t have sodding access to all three of them at the same clip with the same hand contour . You ’re always sound to use at least two though .
And last there are the trackpads and they are something else . The haptic vibrations that grumble underneath the surface do a pile to sum to a sensation that you are interacting with something forcible , tactual . It ’s nothing like using a control stick , but it ’s a little like using a trackball . But only a little . Those vibrations add to the tactile sentiency , but they do n’t make it palpate real . It feel very much like using a good trackball emulator or something . pilfer your pollex across a inking pad real fast and you ’ll feel the clicks continue to bubble across the control surface as if the “ musket ball ” was still “ rolling ” and you ’ll think “ oh man it ’s cool that this knows how to fake that . ” Which it is .
When it comes to play games , acclimating is hard . I played a slight Starbound and Portal 2 and they were very different experiences . Portal 2 find almost normal , the room the trackpads feel almost forcible . Playing shooter on a Steam accountant as opposed to a real controller feels like a issue of acclimation .
In Starbound it was well-heeled enough to move the character around and traversing menu ’s and other mouse - y tasks are way salutary with a tablet than with a peg . But ! The task of envision out how black eye and keyboard map to the control condition is not fiddling . That ’s both “ duh , ” bright , and a problem . And you could always look them up if you have to .
The Steam controllers majuscule forcefulness lie in potentially convert shiner and keyboard heavy game to lounge - fare . But at least one-half of that burden put on players who must actively acclimate , and developer ( or other folks ) who develop and put out effective maps . It ’s gon na be interesting .
Like the control and Steam Boxes that are already out there , these were prototype building block , so no touch screen in the middle , just physical buttons . But otherwise , this seems like it ’ll be pretty close to the real thing , and although you may not want to jump at the chance to throw out all your previous accountant , it ’s a curio deserving match out if you ever get the chance . Gabe Newell said Valve will be sell Steam controllers separately ( though he did not say when or for how much ) so there will be a way to dip your toe in the water . Although if this really is the future , there ’ll be no avoiding it .
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