But then I need to leave that keyboard and mouse somewhere and it won’t be as convenient as picking the controller that’s already there. Plus I need this so sporadically that when I do they will be out of battery and it will be much more of a hassle. Plus I already have the controller in my hand, so being able to just have a mouse to click on a launcher or arrow keys to select an entry in GRUB or something similar is just so convenient. For a long time I had a KB+mouse plugged to it, but since I got the OG steam controller I haven’t needed to.
you don’t understand because I do have a Steam Deck and it’s connected to my TV most of the time but, unlike you, I have a wireless kb+m (it’s what I’m using to type this).
Therefore you don’t care about that use case.
the controls on the device don’t work in desktop mode.
They do work, just not as a controller, but you can use the device to navigate KDE and do stuff even without steam opened. Which is precisely the point, if they worked as a controller they would be useless to control the desktop.
Steam is using 900MB of RAM whether you actually need to use steam or not. That sucks. I just want to use the controls on my device. Proper drivers can achieve that without all of the unnecessary Steam bloat.
You might be exaggerating on the memory usage there, but I do get your point. It is a valid point like I said, but no, proper drivers can’t achieve that because controllers have less buttons than the steam controller and you would lose on the ability to use it as KB+Mouse which you’re not understanding is a feature lots of us want.
Steam input is a component of the Steam client and is only tied to it because Steam wants it to be.
Yes, but why would steam decouple them? That only incentives people not to use Steam which is their source of money.
I don’t know why this is so hard to understand for you, or why you’re defending it.
I understand that, and I also understand that Valve is a for-profit corporation so they won’t do something that loses them money. You might as well ask why they don’t allow to use their cloud to store random files without having to buy the games from them.
It’s not like this arbitrary limitation is benefiting anyone other than Steam.
Yeah, I agree, but it’s Steam software, it’s meant to benefit Steam. What a weird argument to make, does GoG galaxy has features that benefits someone other than GoG?.
The appeal is the device’s capabilities, not its software limitations.
And with the way that Valve went the capabilities are still there without steam, if they had gone the route you wanted to it would be even more tied to Steam just like how other controllers require their own software to map extra buttons and such. The way they made it it’s trivial to write a driver that takes it behave like you want to, going the other way around is not. Maybe have a read on how drivers are written, it might give you a better idea on why this was done on this way.
Of course it’d be a weird ask, but I have no idea where this is coming from. That’s not what I’m asking for.
The previous paragraph you’re literally complaining that SteamInput is bound to steam. What are you asking for if not for SteamInput to be released as a separate thing?
Here my friend, is where you’re answering why Steam forces Steam Input to be a part of the client.
Yes, precisely.
Who is even asking for this??? xD I’m just saying that they don’t need to bundle it with the Steam client.
I’m, and most people who bought the OG controller too. Let me ask you something, in your ideal version of the controller, when you plug it in without steam, what input should the trackpad give you? What about the back buttons? What about the grip and other touch sensors?
But then I need to leave that keyboard and mouse somewhere and it won’t be as convenient as picking the controller that’s already there. Plus I need this so sporadically that when I do they will be out of battery and it will be much more of a hassle.
It can literally just be your desktop’s keyboard and you’d only need to pick it up if you need it for something specific. So you don’t need to buy anything extra and you don’t need to keep it charged.
Therefore you don’t care about that use case.
Except that I do? Because I would be able to use the controls on my steam deck. However, using my keyboard and mouse is not something I’d consider to be less practical.
They do work, just not as a controller, but you can use the device to navigate KDE and do stuff even without steam opened.
You can use them in a basic manner. Shortcuts, on-screen kb and other stuff don’t work.
You might be exaggerating on the memory usage there
I literally looked at system monitor and got the number from there. I can share a screenshot if you want.
proper drivers can’t achieve that because controllers have less buttons than the steam controller
Proper drivers can be purpose built. You don’t need a mega driver that can work with any controller in existence. It just needs to work for the Steam Controller. Have you never manually installed a driver? Because it sounds like you don’t understand what a driver is.
Yes, but why would steam decouple them? That only incentives people not to use Steam which is their source of money.
That’s precisely what bothers me. Steam isn’t subsidizing their hardware because buying it makes you more likely to use the store and give them more money. They’re charging full price AND forcing you to have the Steam client open. It’s shitty.
they won’t do something that loses them money
Again, they already got your money when you bought the controller. They wouldn’t be losing anything.
What a weird argument to make, does GoG galaxy has features that benefits someone other than GoG?
Literally yes? They sell games that are DRM free. You can buy the game and never open GOG Galaxy if you want. You can add it to steam or do whatever you want. Because you already bought it and you decide how to use it, not them.
just like how other controllers require their own software to map extra buttons and such
That’s exactly what they should provide. Something completely standalone that lets you use the controller where you want and however you want.
Maybe have a read on how drivers are written, it might give you a better idea on why this was done on this way.
Now that is rich. It was done the way it was done because they want to force you to use the entire client, and you said it yourself. There’s no technical limitation.
The previous paragraph you’re literally complaining that SteamInput is bound to steam. What are you asking for if not for SteamInput to be released as a separate thing?
Releasing it separately? Yes. However, you literally said “Could Valve have released an open source version of this?” and those are very different things.
in your ideal version of the controller, when you plug it in without steam, what input should the trackpad give you? What about the back buttons? What about the grip and other touch sensors?
If I were using Windows for example, I would download SteamControllerDriver.exe and, after installing that, the controller would work with all of its features enabled in any game I run in any client (or no client at all if it’s DRM free).
I’m sorry but you don’t strike me as someone that either respects their own rights to **actually **own what they bought and paid for, nor someone that knows what they’re talking about. So I’m out, bye dude.
I’m going to ignore most of this because we’re going in circles.
If I were using Windows for example, I would download SteamControllerDriver.exe and, after installing that, the controller would work with all of its features enabled in any game I run in any client (or no client at all if it’s DRM free).
What is all of its features to you? It already sends different inputs on all of its different buttons and sensors, games can receive those inputs they’re just weird because they’re not what you expect them to be. If it were to behave like a controller it wouldn’t allow you to send mouse or use the back buttons or trackpad since controllers don’t have this, so you would be losing of features. The only way to access those features is to have an intermediate layer doing the remapping and translation, which is why I said that the Steam controller doesn’t make sense without SteamInput.
And the thing that you’re missing is that in order to allow the community to easily build that software (which it has been done for the OG controller) the controller needs to behave exactly the way it does. If it were to map itself to a controller on a hardware level so that the OS picks it up as a controller then it would lose the ability to be remapped. Take most other controllers with back buttons out there and try to write a driver for them that allows you to use the back buttons and you’ll understand
But then I need to leave that keyboard and mouse somewhere and it won’t be as convenient as picking the controller that’s already there. Plus I need this so sporadically that when I do they will be out of battery and it will be much more of a hassle. Plus I already have the controller in my hand, so being able to just have a mouse to click on a launcher or arrow keys to select an entry in GRUB or something similar is just so convenient. For a long time I had a KB+mouse plugged to it, but since I got the OG steam controller I haven’t needed to.
Therefore you don’t care about that use case.
They do work, just not as a controller, but you can use the device to navigate KDE and do stuff even without steam opened. Which is precisely the point, if they worked as a controller they would be useless to control the desktop.
You might be exaggerating on the memory usage there, but I do get your point. It is a valid point like I said, but no, proper drivers can’t achieve that because controllers have less buttons than the steam controller and you would lose on the ability to use it as KB+Mouse which you’re not understanding is a feature lots of us want.
Yes, but why would steam decouple them? That only incentives people not to use Steam which is their source of money.
I understand that, and I also understand that Valve is a for-profit corporation so they won’t do something that loses them money. You might as well ask why they don’t allow to use their cloud to store random files without having to buy the games from them.
Yeah, I agree, but it’s Steam software, it’s meant to benefit Steam. What a weird argument to make, does GoG galaxy has features that benefits someone other than GoG?.
And with the way that Valve went the capabilities are still there without steam, if they had gone the route you wanted to it would be even more tied to Steam just like how other controllers require their own software to map extra buttons and such. The way they made it it’s trivial to write a driver that takes it behave like you want to, going the other way around is not. Maybe have a read on how drivers are written, it might give you a better idea on why this was done on this way.
The previous paragraph you’re literally complaining that SteamInput is bound to steam. What are you asking for if not for SteamInput to be released as a separate thing?
Yes, precisely.
I’m, and most people who bought the OG controller too. Let me ask you something, in your ideal version of the controller, when you plug it in without steam, what input should the trackpad give you? What about the back buttons? What about the grip and other touch sensors?
It can literally just be your desktop’s keyboard and you’d only need to pick it up if you need it for something specific. So you don’t need to buy anything extra and you don’t need to keep it charged.
Except that I do? Because I would be able to use the controls on my steam deck. However, using my keyboard and mouse is not something I’d consider to be less practical.
You can use them in a basic manner. Shortcuts, on-screen kb and other stuff don’t work.
I literally looked at system monitor and got the number from there. I can share a screenshot if you want.
Proper drivers can be purpose built. You don’t need a mega driver that can work with any controller in existence. It just needs to work for the Steam Controller. Have you never manually installed a driver? Because it sounds like you don’t understand what a driver is.
That’s precisely what bothers me. Steam isn’t subsidizing their hardware because buying it makes you more likely to use the store and give them more money. They’re charging full price AND forcing you to have the Steam client open. It’s shitty.
Again, they already got your money when you bought the controller. They wouldn’t be losing anything.
Literally yes? They sell games that are DRM free. You can buy the game and never open GOG Galaxy if you want. You can add it to steam or do whatever you want. Because you already bought it and you decide how to use it, not them.
That’s exactly what they should provide. Something completely standalone that lets you use the controller where you want and however you want.
Now that is rich. It was done the way it was done because they want to force you to use the entire client, and you said it yourself. There’s no technical limitation.
Releasing it separately? Yes. However, you literally said “Could Valve have released an open source version of this?” and those are very different things.
If I were using Windows for example, I would download SteamControllerDriver.exe and, after installing that, the controller would work with all of its features enabled in any game I run in any client (or no client at all if it’s DRM free).
I’m sorry but you don’t strike me as someone that either respects their own rights to **actually **own what they bought and paid for, nor someone that knows what they’re talking about. So I’m out, bye dude.
I’m going to ignore most of this because we’re going in circles.
What is all of its features to you? It already sends different inputs on all of its different buttons and sensors, games can receive those inputs they’re just weird because they’re not what you expect them to be. If it were to behave like a controller it wouldn’t allow you to send mouse or use the back buttons or trackpad since controllers don’t have this, so you would be losing of features. The only way to access those features is to have an intermediate layer doing the remapping and translation, which is why I said that the Steam controller doesn’t make sense without SteamInput.
And the thing that you’re missing is that in order to allow the community to easily build that software (which it has been done for the OG controller) the controller needs to behave exactly the way it does. If it were to map itself to a controller on a hardware level so that the OS picks it up as a controller then it would lose the ability to be remapped. Take most other controllers with back buttons out there and try to write a driver for them that allows you to use the back buttons and you’ll understand