Topic: PC Gaming

I have no desire to get the Steam controller. The only place it'd even make a remote amount of sense would be connected to my Steam Link. Even then it'd be mostly for shooters I would assume because everything else works fine with a Wii U Pro Controller or my KB + trackpad combo.

edit:
Fun story about the Steam Link. Well, kinda fun. Not really fun. Anyways. Got it as a Christmas present and was setting it up in the afternoon once everything was done. Plugged it all in and got a black screen. Wow, a DoA Christmas present. So I do a little bit of troubleshooting. Google the symptoms and Steam's support page says it's DoA, return it. Damn.

So I do what any techie does in this situation. I fiddle around with it for a bit. First thing? I unplug its HDMI cable and swap it with another device. And it works, just like that. So I plug the other thing in using the one I had previously connected to the Steam Link. Black screen. So it's not the Steam Link!

But what is it? Is it a dodgy HDMI port in the TV or the cable itself? I want everything hooked up anyways so I look through my cable bin for a spare HDMI cable. I have one. And it's comically long. More importantly though I swap it over and, it works. Yes! Just a dodgy cable.

So now instead of having to return the Steam Link or buy a new TV? I just need a short HDMI cable.

@DarthNocturnal
I've been scouring the STEAM forums, and it seems there's a pretty large consensus that the controller is, and I quote, "a mother******* masterpiece!"

But also in agreement is that most dislike it at first, and that it takes some getting used to. Especially for people accustomed to normal controllers. But once you do, it apparently becomes the best controller ever conceived on this earth.

Lots of customization it seems, to the point I'm feeling overwhelmed just reading about it. But, as with anything gaming, I'm willing to invest the time required to reap the benefits. But I'm definitely feeling more excited for it now.

Between the STEAM controller, native gamepad support and using Xpadder with an X1 controller, most games should fall in one of those categories. And if they don't, well, that's where the armrest mousepad contraption comes in to play 😊

Some people are like that. They'd rather have their theories about something confirmed rather than be wrong about something. So they don't give it a go. The smarter thing to do is give everything a bit of a try and see what the best tool for the job is.

Anyways, on a scale of 1-10 where 10 is "fantastic for KB, crap on controller" and 1 is the reverse:

1: Fighting games
2: 2D & 3D Platformers
3: 3D Action games
4: Racing games
5: 3D Adventure games
6: Open World games
7: Story driven FPS
8: Multiplayer FPS
9: Strategy games
10: Point and Click

No. I refuse. I already know what's good for me and I will not allow anything to complicate my life by giving me options and forcing me to think critically. Or at all. I mean, if I could stop thinking entirely while still doing the things I enjoy? That would be the dream.

That's a remarkably accurate list. I like how you differentiated singleplayer FPS and Multiplayer FPS as separate entries, since it reminds me that the main reason I'm fine with FPS games on controllers is because I never play with other human beings. After all, robots don't threaten to violate the fresh corpses of my family members, nor do they have the physical capacity to make good on said threats. Also, humans do not have difficulty sliders. I have checked.

@CanisWolfred
Well if the game is narrative based having issues with aim isn't so much of an issue. If there's a room or boss I can't beat then I'll just repeat that section. Not an issue. With a multiplayer game? Most of the fun comes out of either winning or at the very least having a few good minutes during a match.

For example I don't have an issue using a controller for a game like Deus Ex. Even less of an issue for a game that's even less about "shooting" like Metroid Prime or Portal. But I'm far less likely to enjoy myself if I load up Overwatch and drop into a game with a controller.

@DarthNocturnal I was mostly referring to voice chat. I still remember playing Team Fortress 2. You kinda needed it to coordinate, but hardly anyone used it for that, and back in 2007, I couldn't find any way to mute people...that alone kinda ruined that game for me...granted, they ruined the gameplay not long after...

And yes, every I've always had to mute voice chat thereafter. Which sucks, because then it's like...why am I even playing with people, then? They may as well be bots. Sure, bots might be less dynamic, but it certainly comes with other benefits.

Then again, I said the same thing about having friends.......so, more bot modes, plz.

@rjejr
Didn't wanna risk that fascist, micromanaging moderator (you know the one) censoring me or worse, banning me over there in Pyongyang Square so I'm posting this here in the free world.

I'm playing Metroid Other M right now and man this game is legit! I'd forgotten how good it was. But aside from playing in 1080p upscale to 4K (which makes it look better than a lot of Wii U games, in fact it does look better than pretty much every Wii U game) the controls are perfect. We're talking Xbox controller, fully mapped and seriously awesome.

No more running around in 360 degrees with a Dpad- we're talking full analog control here. No more switching how I'm holding the controller to point the stupid Wiimote at the TV screen for missiles and lock on... no sir. Just hold L trigger to switch into first person mode and aim with the analog, shoot missiles with R trigger (first person style). No more tilting the Wiimote straight up for concentration to replenish missiles. No no no... none of that nonsense. Just hold a button.

It works beautifully, looks absolutely stunning and the game itself... well, let's just say I'm a lot more impressed with the game when I'm not bogged down with control issues. I've always liked this game, but when you can play it without thinking twice about what button you're pushing and everything feels natural, it allows you to truly appreciate how good the game really is.

@JaxonH Still own Other M on Wii disc, still meaning to play it someday, maybe after my PS+ subscription expires. But now I'm thinking Switch port w/ good controls, those D-pad controls always put me off, why do that, that's what Nunchucks are for, point the Wiimote, move w/ the nunchuck, duh. Gotta go, dinner needs me, can't even recall why I checked my email this time, was probably checking the weather.

So I finally built my I7 GTX 1080 rig and it works perfectly! I can finally play all the PC games i want at max settings And with Xbox 360 controller it works like a charm!
Of course a tiny piece of the side door of the pc case (tempered Glass) had cracked off during shipping, which I didn't notice because i was so excited to build. They want me to return the case, but it took me 6 hours with help, and i'm not doing all that again!
And the air cooler i chose was ALMOST too big for my case. It fits, but not perfectly! Should've gone with water cooling...

Also, there's some backlight bleed on my new IPS monitor, but I dont care. It could be better, but it could also be worse.

I'm playing Overwatch and everyone is super nice. Nothing like the days of Halo 3! Though i also played the new Battlefront, and everyone just does and says whatever they like, not caring about the game at all.

Yeah i was planning on buying it during the current sale. Because it's Star Wars and it's so gorgeous. But there's no single player, no Prequel content, not a very good community (on PC), TERRIBLE character voice impressions and just a general lack of balance in multiplayer. The 4 hour trial is enough for me. I think i'll wait for the sequel, or a really really good sale...

As a sidenote, i think the fact that most are playing this on consoles is really sad. When the option is there, FPS games are best played with keyboard and mouse imo!

So, I've been playing games with the STEAM controller and can render my verdict now... A lot of people said it's trash, while others said it was the best controller ever conceived.

Well.... I say it's the best controller ever conceived (with a small caveat). Most PC games (well, many anyways) are now compatible with an Xbox One controller. And this is how I recommend playing. Buy a chatpad for easy keyboard access when you need to type something, and be sure to have Controller Companion app ($2 on STEAM) to make the controller function as a mouse for your PC. This combination of X1 controller with chatpad and mouse functionality can almost eliminate the need for mouse and keyboard entirely.

But what about those games that just aren't compatible with controllers? That's where STEAM controller shines. I'm playing Dragon Age Origins on STEAM. The PC game of all PC games. People said don't even bother trying to map it to a controller via a Xpadder, because this game simply doesnt work with controllers. Mouse and Keyboard is the only way to play it, people said. Well not only does STEAM controller work, it's absolutely immaculate! Seriously, I never imagined I'd be playing a keyboard/mouse only game with since incredible control using a controller.

STEAM controller offers the precision of a mouse (not quite as much as using a real mouse, but far far more than a joystick), yet the convenience of a controller. And is fully capable of mapping all of the dozens of keyboard commands to buttons. All of this is fully customizable (for example, left pad can be made a D-pad, Button Pad, Mouse, Mouse Joystick, Joystick Move, Joystick Camera, Scroll Wheel, Touch Menu, Mouse Region, Radial Menu). And each of those settings have settings within settings within settings. For touch menus, you can adjust on-screen vertical position, on-screen horizontal position, activate via touch or click, menu opacity and size, all buttons can be assigned to mode shift (a button you hold which changes the functionality of other buttons, usually done by holding in one of the paddle grips). The right tocuh pad, I've got assigned as a mouse, and clicking it in activates space bar (pause). Can set style of input (same as those listed above for left touchpad), sensitivity, rotation, acceleration, trackball mode and friction, friction vertical scale, haptics intensity, invert axis, mode shift, vertical scale sensitivity (ratio of vertical movement to horizontal- great for camera controls where you only care about left-right and not so much up-down), touch binding, trigger press mouse dampening, smoothing, double tap binding, double tap duration, double tap beep, edge spin radius, edge spin speed and minimum movement threshold. The customization is mind-boggling. There's settings for correcting the radial arc error when you swipe your thumb on the pad, to compensate and correct into a straight line swipe. Ya. Can label every single binding also, so that it says "JUMP" or "ZOOM OUT" or whatever, and there's community bindings for every single game accessible at any time in game just by pressing the STEAM button and selecting Config. That way you can try out people's bindings and find something that you like, then tweak it to perfection. And change on the fly any time you like while you play.

Dragon Age Origins controls are just incredible. Hold Left trigger and the right touchpad controls the camera, with amazing precision. Touching the left pad shows numbers 1-9 on lower left hand of screen, and you just click over the number you want. This works for items assigned to the action bar (clicking on "3" activates the 3rd skill/item in the bar, for example), and it works for conversations where clicking number 2 selects the second line of dialog.

Holding the right grip (paddle) then changes the left touchpad from showing numbers to showing 9 panel menu of action shortcuts. Everything from Quick Save to Load, Inventory and Map, Tactics and Spells, Character and Skills and Journal. The 4 face buttons are each assigned to a character so you can switch characters on the fly. The R/L zooms camera in and out. If you click the right mouse pad, it pauses for quick access to tactics during combat. You're moving around, using the right pad to control camera and you just press it to instantly pause, then use as a mouse to select target and use left pad number menu to select which action you'd like to perform.

It's absolutely incredible! STEAM controller isn't ideal for every game, but even at worst it's still usable, at its best it's mindblowing. And what's nice is it works with practically every single game on STEAM, regardless of whether the game was built for controllers. In fact, that's where it shines brightest... specifically with games not designed for controllers.

So ya, I'd still recommend keeping an Xbox One controller with chatpad for some games, but a STEAM controller is an essential purchase for everything else. Between those two controllers, every single game is playable with a controller. In fact, I get excited now when I see the keyboard and mouse games... because I know they're gonna play better with a STEAM controller than they ever could with a normal controller.

So there's my verdict. It did take a bit to get used to it, but once I started getting the hang of it there's no going back. Highly, highly reccommended.

Just started playing Mafia 3 on the PC. I am enjoying the story but there are some graphical issues that drive me a little batty. No pop in (yay) but odd things like the lighting...an over cast sky will sometimes black out the lighting (like make it look like it is night time). Also there are weird..."graphics bubbles" where the image will bubble up in places.

Picked up Far Cry Primal as well. I'd gotten about 70 percent completed on xbone but I am contemplating selling mine so I am trying to replace as many of the games as I can on PC. I have mixed feelings about the content of the game but I like the more primitive hunting and battle mechanics. As I am not a FPS player in general. Let me hit or stab things or shoot them with a bow...you can keep the guns.

Dirt Showdown is free on humble bundle right now !!!

https://www.humblebundle.com/store/dirt-showdown-free-game

I like my Steam Controller, although now that the DS4 is natively supported, it doesn't see much use.

Okay, I go to check my Humble Bundle library to see if I have any unused keys, and yeah, I got a bunch of 'em. Some of 'em were for games I already have, though, so I'll offer them up here:

• The Last Remnant
• Uncanney Valley
• Home
• Cook, Serve, Delicious!
• Evoland 2

Obviously I recommend Evoland 2 and The Last Remnant the most, but overall, if anyone has a Steam account and would like me gift them a code via Steam, just @ me, and direct me to your Steam profile I can messege you the gift link.

@Link-Hero Looks like I had to send you a friend invite first...

EDIT: Shoot! I may have screwed up the link! I forgot there was a difference between Giftable links and redeemed codes...well, I'll try anyways...Arceusdamnit, this happened the last time I tried to gift something, but I don't remember if it worked out or not...

I guess it worked. Okay, I still have Home, Uncanny Valley, and the cooking thing if anyone wants them. At the very least they won't be going anywhere unless someone here @'s me.

I'm confused...Didn't we already get Princess Maker?

...oh! We got the Second one! This is the first one that no one apparently cared about! Well...at least there's a chance for a better translation than the last one they put out, right?

Watches trailer and looks at screenshots

Yeah, no...it's still bad...

Anybody else purchased the Humble Freedom Bundle? $30 flat fee, but you get 50+ games, including notable entries like Stardew Valley, The Witness, The Swapper, etc.