A place to discuss and support all things Steam Deck.
Replacement for r/steamdeck_linux.
As Lemmy doesn't have flairs yet, you can use these prefixes to indicate what type of post you have made, eg:
[Flair] My post title
The following is a list of suggested flairs:
[Discussion] - General discussion.
[Help] - A request for help or support.
[News] - News about the deck.
[PSA] - Sharing important information.
[Game] - News / info about a game on the deck.
[Update] - An update to a previous post.
[Meta] - Discussion about this community.
Some more Steam Deck specific flairs:
[Boot Screen] - Custom boot screens/videos.
[Selling] - If you are selling your deck.
These are not enforced, but they are encouraged.
Rules:
These controllers were all working on SteamOS before as far as I know, so I'm interested to see what this changes. My understanding is that previously their controllers just show up as generic xbox controllers, and now they will be properly recognized. We'll see if this has any other benefits like custom bindings for back buttons and things like that.
Anybody else find a use for the back buttons? I like the idea of them but I haven't really found a great use yet.
On the deck I use them all the time. For FPS games I frequently bind them to be ABXY, lets you jump/reload/etc without having to take your thumb off of the joystick. Absolutely mandatory for games like Doom Eternal and Deep Rock in my opinion.
In games with heavy dpad use for cycling abilities/items (like Elden Ring) I usually use them for that. Being able to cycle spells or potions while running is very necessary sometimes. You can also use them in combination with mode shift settings, things like while I hold R4 down it will temporarily turn my ABXY into a second DPAD.
You can use them for steamOS features, stuff like opening keyboard or toggling zoom for games with small text.
A lot of people dislike clicking thumbsticks, so it's common for people to use them for that. L4 to toggle sprint instead of L3 is very popular for example. Also nice for when L3/R3 do something you don't want to trigger accidentally during combat (Ys 8 and 9 toggle a minimap overlay with L3, which is very distracting during combat. So I've disabled L3 on the thumbstick and instead have L4 open the minimap overlay).
In any PC game with more inputs it can be great for common button presses that didn't make the cut onto the standard controller. Things like map/journal shortcuts, quick save, etc. Setting left trackpad to a touch menu is also great for this.
Overall they're pretty great, I don't use them in every game, but there are a lot of games I refuse to play on a standard controller without them.
I play a lot of beamng drive an having them for extra binds is nice, like the horn and changing gears
I mostly use them for mode shifts. For instance, shifting to emulated mouse when holding R4, so I can use desktop stuff easier.
On my steam controller when the shoulders crapped out, I bound the back paddles as shoulder buttons.
I immediately changed them to L3 and R3, and never looked back.
If you don't use them to relax your grip in specific types of games (delegating common functions to them and away from thumbs) you might like to use them for DVR capability like instant replay?
If your controller has a gyroscope, you may use them to toggle engagement? Gyro aim can be surprisingly effective once you're accustomed to it.
I like that idea about gyro aim engagement. I think the only place I'd use that is BotW, but I'd like to go back to that game someday.
Ah, I'm not sure how well that'd work via yuzu and ryujinx forks. Perhaps if the executable is added through the steam client so you could delegate the functionality via steam input? Sounds messy as heck though.
Life finds a way. Believe I played botw just this way on Linux, even launching another app to enable gyro controls to translate into the steam inputs. Different controller, think with yuzu launched through steam.
I'm still holding out on the next generation of steam controller for playing games on my deck while docked. Until then, my 8bitdo pro 1 has been wonderful.
I'm in the same boat. But I'm still using my steam controller right now. Really hope a V2 comes out sometime this year or next 🤞
I've been using DS3 controllers for over a decade, but they are starting to wear. The drift isn't bad at all, but it's there, although I suspect it's mostly a few rubbers that'd need replacing, I have heard great things about 8BitDo, especially their Hall Effect controllers. Very reasonably priced as well.
So this announcement is just the kick in the butt I needed to get a Pro 2 Hall Effect one.
How have I never seen these before? When my ps4 controller dies I know what I'm getting next now