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News Valve redesigns the Steam controller once again

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by Gareth Halfacree, 24 Jul 2014.

  1. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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  2. Dave Lister

    Dave Lister Minimodder

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    It's not just classic gamers who require digital control, I use it for games like mortal kombat and street fighter and can't stand analogue controls for games which require precise control.
     
  3. sakzzz

    sakzzz Minimodder

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    99% of the gaming community waiting since years for a Half life sequel ... and they are busy redesigning hardware :/
     
  4. ChaosDefinesOrder

    ChaosDefinesOrder Vapourmodder

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    you're blaming hardware engineers for delays in software?
     
  5. XXAOSICXX

    XXAOSICXX Minimodder

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    I suspect he's blaming Valve's strategic decision making and priorities.

    This controller is going to get redesigned and redesigned until it's basically an Xbox controller.
     
  6. Maki role

    Maki role Dale you're on a roll... Lover of bit-tech

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    Seemingly by the end of this process they're just going to end up with a funky xbox controller. I wonder how people would react if a company other than Valve did this?

    EDIT: Talk about ninja'd:

     
  7. Corky42

    Corky42 Where's walle?

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    IIRC it was said that we will be able to configure the trackpads to act as buttons, not sure how well that would work for fighting games or as a substitute for digital buttons, i guess it depends on how well the haptic feedback works.

    If the Xbox controller had trackpads i doubt Valve would even be bothering with its own controller.

    For all we know this design maybe one of the designs that have already been abandoned. It was found along with pictures of the other abandoned designs (AFAIK)

    Maybe they have already moved on from the controller with the analog stick and redesigned it yet again.
     
  8. XXAOSICXX

    XXAOSICXX Minimodder

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    Maybe they've moved on from the trackpads and are planning to just use thumb-sticks lol.
     
  9. schmidtbag

    schmidtbag What's a Dremel?

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    HL3 is probably the most demanded AAA title of all time that appears to have no real plans. Because of everyone's insanely high expectations, Valve knows there is absolutely nothing they can do that will ever satisfy people, so there's a good chance they'll never release it. Also take a good hard look at Valve's release history - everything either was a one-time-only release or had only 2 parts. Hell, even half-life 2 had 2 episodes.

    Anyway, I'm glad Valve is putting this much attention toward their controller design, and keeping users in the loop. They're taking a risk here with this controller and they want people's opinions and they want this controller to be a success. I respect that. Sony and MS's controllers, while are very nice, are really just playing it safe.
     
  10. Fracture

    Fracture What's a Dremel?

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    I say good on Valve (and any other company who takes a similar stance) for delaying a product that they felt wasn't up to the standard they are striving for. Way too many products and especially games, are just shipped with flaws to avoid delays and reduce R+D cost to the detriment of their customer base.
     
  11. bawjaws

    bawjaws Multimodder

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    [pedant]Well, Half Life 2 actually has three parts - HL2, Episode 1 and Episode 2.[/pedant]

    Completely agree that there are a lot of gamers out there with ridiculous expectations of HL3, and ridiculous levels of entitlement. You only need to look at some of the comments here and elsewhere whenever Valve are announced to be working on anything that isn't HL3 - a bunch of whiners complaining that Valve should be dropping everything else and making HL3 pronto.
     
  12. jb0

    jb0 Minimodder

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    Personally, I'm not worried about anyone needing digital inputs on this device.
    If you're serious enough to care about real digital inputs instead of just substituting an analog nipple, you're serious enough to own two gamepads. Or more!
    (I personally have three of viable utility, plus joysticks in both digital and analog flavors. Valve's offering is unique enough to make it into my lineup if it ever actually comes out. )
     
  13. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    Somewhere, I have a Saitek (I think) joystick that's rather neat: in one mode, it's a joystick with a surprising number of buttons and a kinda-sorta-HAT on the base; split it in half and discard the joystick portion, and the HAT becomes a D-pad and reveals a Sega Mega Drive-inspired six-button (plus triggers, if I'm remembering right) gamepad. Pretty smart bit of kit, but I don't play many gamepad or analogue joystick games these days, so it's buried in one of the piles around the office.

    What *does* get a fair amount of use is my ZipStik Super Pro, via a USB adapter. That digital beauty is decades old and still going strong!
     
  14. bawjaws

    bawjaws Multimodder

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    Ah, the ZipStik Super Pro. My favourite joystick of all time. I still have one kicking about in amongst my Amiga stuff. Must investigate this USB adaptor and try it out :)

    For some reason, my Amiga owning friends all preferred either the Competition Pro or the Powerplay Cruiser. I quite liked the variable stiffness of the Cruiser but the ZipStik was superior in every other regard. I hated the Compy Pro.
     
  15. Corky42

    Corky42 Where's walle?

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    The ZipStik was the only joystick that could stand up to playing Daley Thompson's Decathlon, it was bullet proof. Every other joystick would fall apart within days, although saying that even the ZipStik broke after a year or two of vigorous waggling :blush:
     
  16. Griffter

    Griffter What's a Dremel?

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    portal has 6 letters in it... there are 2 portal games.

    6 / 2 = 3!

    Half-Life 3 confirmed guys!!!!!!!!!
     
  17. JohnRogers24

    JohnRogers24 What's a Dremel?

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    It still needs two analog stick in my opinion.
     

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