One month after it rolled out the Steam Hardware, Steam keeps in touch with its fan base and updates the Steam Controller (SC).
Toying around with the SC revealed that there is a high degree of customization possible, allowing users to set up their own button binds and adjust the trackpad's sensitivity levels. A nice plus is that users can mimic device movements with the pad, such as traditional joystick or trackball.
While not being quite a replacement for the keyboard-mouse combo, the SC did implement some of the PC gaming gear's functionality. Specifically, Valve added a new type of movement for the virtual joystick, dubbed Mouse-Like Joystick mode. It mimics the behavior of a standard computer mouse on the right thumbpad of the SC.
Valve knows that some gamers take great pleasure in inspecting all the visual details in games, so it added new ways to gaze upon them. Users now get wide turns on the in-game when they completely move the controller. The right trackpad is useful for shorter, more precise turns of the camera.
RPG gamers will benefit mostly from the two additions to camera movements, both in their dungeon exploration and fierce close-quarters fights.
The controller from Steam also brings a shift from the conventional way of playing real-time strategies or multiplayer online battle arenas. Usually, the keyboard-mouse combo is best suited for these types of games, but the Mouse Regions of the Steam Controller might change that.
Mouse Regions separates the controls into two different areas, making it easy to control the movement and the abilities and foregoing the need for a keyboard and mouse to do so.
Touch Menu is a novel way of using the controller as well. What it does is it simply turns one of the trackpads into a hotkey field, allowing gamers to bind up to 16 hotkeys from the in-game user interface to distinct areas of the trackpad.
The SC may be used for entertainment as well. All it takes is a quick configuration process and button binding, and you may fast forward to where you left off on your latest DVD. The controller's HUD allows those who play with the settings to backtrack your movements.
The company already announced that more updates for the device are coming soon.
Those who put a lot of effort into customizing their keys will be happy to know that the settings save directly to the controller.
Taking notes from the example of the Xbox One controller, the gaming community asked Valve to offer controller support for games that were not purchased on Steam.
Most of the updates, however, will come to those who enter the Steam Client Beta.
The company also released a video showcasing the assembly line that brings the new controller to life, and you may watch it below.
