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Valve releases Steam Controller CAD files under Creative Commons license

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Re: Valve releases Steam Controller CAD files under Creative Commons license

#331

Post by parlortricks »

SAI_Peregrinus wrote: post #91
bsimpson wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fusion is a really cool tool to learn. It's a flavor of 3D modeling called "constraint-based." You've heard the adage that if you give a million monkeys typewriters, eventually one will write something coherent? Constraint systems embody that same idea: There are infinite possible 3D models. You keep adding constraints until you narrow it down to only one possible solution that fulfills all of them.

I've been learning FreeCAD, while it's still more frustrating than Fusion or SolidWorks it's much better than it used to be pre-1.1, and it's FOSS. Also constraint-based, I've been using the new spreadsheet view as the source of all constraint dimensions, with parts derived by binding to top, front, or right-side orthographic "master" sketches. Much like hand-drawn design, where you draw the orthographic views and us…

I love FreeCAD, designed some parts, did a bunch of Solidworks challenges and entered CAD comps.

I also love playing with build123d, dune3d (uses solvespace constraint) and SolveSpace.

Do love Solidworks but I'm on linux now so time to embrace the other options more.

Re: Valve releases Steam Controller CAD files under Creative Commons license

#332

Post by opan »

retired wrote: post #110
poisonborz wrote: post #29

Even if Valve and Steam is great and overall a blessing for the PC space, I don't like the direction they take with this controller. It only works with Steam, it can't work on a desktop OS without it, despite standard layout. It is a subtle move towards a walled garden.

I'm getting an 8BitDo controller because of the Steam lock-in on the Steam Controller. I can use the 8BitDo on all of my hardware without having to install software. It doesn't have the trackpads but for the rest is a very solid controller and also has Hall effect joysticks.

If you want to utilize all features of an 8BitDo controller at once, you also need Steam. XInput mode means no gyro, no back buttons bindable in software, Switch mode gives you gyro but makes your triggers digital, and you still can't bind the back buttons in software. You're limited to duplicating an existing input via the 8BitDo app and binding it globally at the firmware level. If you use the 8BitDo Pro 2 with Steam in DInput mode, you get analog triggers, gyro, and the back buttons are bindable in software per-game. This was not the case on release, 8BitDo and Valve worked together and gave this improved support via an update.

The software around controllers is universally bad, and Valve is the first to really try to fix it. We need a successor to XInput that is less limited.

Re: Valve releases Steam Controller CAD files under Creative Commons license

#333

Post by jasonfarnon »

dvt wrote: post #316
artyom wrote: post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the other way around. Valve is the company where we spend a lot of money and they deserve it. The rest is companies that trick people into giving them money (battlepass! lootboxes!) and they don't deserve it. People often forget that consumers as a whole are the ones holding the power, and the sad part is that rewarding a company with a good product with your money stopped being the business model and it's now t…

I'd like to have an honest conversation about this, but imo Valve is no better than the iOS app store: it aggressively rent seeks and has essentially destroyed the shareware model (which was the best way to discover software in the 80s-90s). It has also willingly been complicit in underage gambling via loot boxes for more than a decade now. I think Gabe Newell is a visionary for building Steam in 2003, way before Job…

"has essentially destroyed the shareware model (which was the best way to discover software in the 80s-90s)"

funny, I was thinking the same thing with "shareware model" replaced by "warez model".

Re: Valve releases Steam Controller CAD files under Creative Commons license

#334

Post by eudamoniac »

dvt wrote: post #328
eudamoniac wrote: post #326

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Steam is just a storefront. They hold no monopoly position or power. It's not comparable to iOS app store. Devs are free to list their game on any other storefront concurrently.

This is the same argument Microsoft used ("we're just an OS, totally not a monopoly"). I think to anyone that spends any time doing any PC gaming, it's obvious that Steam is the only relevant storefront by a country mile.

That a really silly comparison. An OS is a big deal, you can't just switch off. Steam is a video game store. You can install shit from anywhere. People stick to steam because it's good. It's not morally wrong to have the best product on the market.

Re: Valve releases Steam Controller CAD files under Creative Commons license

#335

Post by opan »

tylervigen wrote: post #293

Can anyone share their experience enjoying the two pads they put on their controllers? I have a Steam Deck and love it, but the only experience I have with those pads is “dammit I accidentally touched the pad again.” If I want a mouse, I just connect a Bluetooth mouse. I thought for sure everyone knew it was a flop and we’d never see it again, but obviously that’s not right since they are back. What am I missing?

Besides being a mouse, you can map it to a virtual menu with as many shortcuts as you want, the shortcuts being key presses/combos, allowing you to bind way more things than would otherwise fit on a controller. You can also set up mouse regions so that the trackpad only maps to a part of the screen and will instantly jump there, like for moving around an inventory window or minimap.

For games without controller support or where KB+M has an advantage, the trackpads are a game changer. Imagine a hotbar like in Minecraft or Terraria, but instead of having to go left or right one at a time with your bumpers, you could spawn a radial menu with the touchpad and instantly flick to "8" or "5" or "1" to select those slots.

Re: Valve releases Steam Controller CAD files under Creative Commons license

#336

Post by HDBaseT »

jdoe1337halo wrote: post #62
nananana9 wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They also nickel and dime the adults, but only the ones who make the games. It's fine though, because they're nice to players and they've brainwashed them into giving their money to Valve instead of to the developers who actually make the games they fucking play.

I agree that 30% is too large of a cut, but what would be appropriate? 15%? Steam does add a ton of value from an immediate audience, solid advertising opportunities, and amazing distribution for the developer.

[dead]

Re: Valve releases Steam Controller CAD files under Creative Commons license

#337

Post by dvt »

eudamoniac wrote: post #334
dvt wrote: post #328

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the same argument Microsoft used ("we're just an OS, totally not a monopoly"). I think to anyone that spends any time doing any PC gaming, it's obvious that Steam is the only relevant storefront by a country mile.

That a really silly comparison. An OS is a big deal, you can't just switch off. Steam is a video game store. You can install shit from anywhere. People stick to steam because it's good. It's not morally wrong to have the best product on the market.

If you want the audience as an indie developer, it would behoove you to launch on Steam (because they're a monopoly). Again, MS used all these cute arguments, and they don't really work. There's a reason Valve is always playing very nicely with regulators (especially w.r.t. the gambling stuff). They don't really want to rock the boat, but a benevolent monopoly is still a monopoly and I do think that a 30% cut for running a distribution platform is pretty predatory, especially as bandwidth has been commoditized.

Re: Valve releases Steam Controller CAD files under Creative Commons license

#338

Post by [deleted] »

dvt wrote: post #316
artyom wrote: post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the other way around. Valve is the company where we spend a lot of money and they deserve it. The rest is companies that trick people into giving them money (battlepass! lootboxes!) and they don't deserve it. People often forget that consumers as a whole are the ones holding the power, and the sad part is that rewarding a company with a good product with your money stopped being the business model and it's now t…

I'd like to have an honest conversation about this, but imo Valve is no better than the iOS app store: it aggressively rent seeks and has essentially destroyed the shareware model (which was the best way to discover software in the 80s-90s). It has also willingly been complicit in underage gambling via loot boxes for more than a decade now. I think Gabe Newell is a visionary for building Steam in 2003, way before Job…

[deleted]

Re: Valve releases Steam Controller CAD files under Creative Commons license

#339

Post by taneq »

dvt wrote: post #316
artyom wrote: post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the other way around. Valve is the company where we spend a lot of money and they deserve it. The rest is companies that trick people into giving them money (battlepass! lootboxes!) and they don't deserve it. People often forget that consumers as a whole are the ones holding the power, and the sad part is that rewarding a company with a good product with your money stopped being the business model and it's now t…

I'd like to have an honest conversation about this, but imo Valve is no better than the iOS app store: it aggressively rent seeks and has essentially destroyed the shareware model (which was the best way to discover software in the 80s-90s). It has also willingly been complicit in underage gambling via loot boxes for more than a decade now. I think Gabe Newell is a visionary for building Steam in 2003, way before Job…

As someone who worked in game dev in 2008, we loved Steam, for the same reason we loved the iOS App Store. We take it for granted these days but the ability to self-publish on a first class platform and receive 70% of the sales revenue literally redefined the indie game dev industry.

Use of the term ‘rent seeking’ is, in my experience, often correlated with a sense of entitlement and a lack of appreciation for what is actually provided. It’s only rent seeking if no additional value is added which is clearly not the case here.

Re: Valve releases Steam Controller CAD files under Creative Commons license

#340

Post by FloatArtifact »

foresto wrote: post #262
FloatArtifact wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regarding the 30% cut. Developers can actually generate steam keys and publish them on third-party sites which can be redeemed by users on Steam. Developers then get 100% of the profit.

Are the developers allowed to sell those keys for less than the Steam price?

> Are the developers allowed to sell those keys for less than the Steam price?

I believe so. However, even if it's not I don't see any other platform allowing you to use their service and sidestep platform fees. Someone mentioned above that there might be limitations for the number of keys, but I'm not aware.

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