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SteamMachines

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Re: SteamMachines

#151

Post by adefa »

gabemart wrote: post #147
breckinloggins wrote: post #22

I'm excited about where Valve is going with this, of course, but to be honest I'm concerned about controllers the most. Buying a good controller for a PC is not hard, but it's not simple either. Picture yourself as a "living room console guy" getting into PC gaming. You'd like to use a controller for a certain game. Consider: - You can use your XBox360, PS3 controller, or WiiMote, but that's not obvious. You'll need…

> Buying a good controller for a PC is not hard Is this actually true? I've been looking for a decent PC gamepad for a long time. The default recommendation seems to be the Xbox 360 controller, but with the caveat that the d-pad sucks. I play a lot of games that use the d-pad. What's a good PC gamepad with a good d-pad?

The PS3 controller.

Re: SteamMachines

#152

Post by sliverstorm »

CrazedGeek wrote: post #83
fsckin wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sony and Nintendo use Bluetooth, while Microsoft uses a proprietary wireless protocol.

Nintendo uses a proprietary connection for the Wii U GamePad as well.

That doesn't surprise me, the GamePad in particular seems like something that bluetooth wasn't really designed for. Does it even have the bandwidth to push video? It's pretty power-hungry when 100% active too.

Re: SteamMachines

#153

Post by sliverstorm »

hrkristian wrote: post #101
simias wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That might have been true in the past (I remember having some trouble with a SideWinder controller on a dedicated control port in the 90's) but these days the 360 wired USB controllers are as plug'n'play as it gets (on windows at least). It Just Works. PS3 controllers are a pity though, you need those shady ad-ridden closed source third party drivers.

Hold the phone there. Why is Windows even entering the comment section of a SteamBox/SteamOS article? It's Linux-based, SixAxis controllers are easy to set up on both Linux and Android, Valve will have a very easy time creating a simple easy-to-use GUI for linking the two.

Why is Windows even entering the comment section

Windows isn't; your parent is explaining that clearly, given the 360 controller works great with Windows, using a controller with your PC is no longer quite the black art to the public that it used to be.

Re: SteamMachines

#154

Post by jdjb »

Florin_Andrei wrote: post #120

As a parent, if these things don't come with time-based parental controls, that would reduce their appeal A LOT. Windows, for all its warts, is great this way. The Windows-based PC in the living room, running Steam, has time-based parental controls configured at the OS level. This works great for everyone involved, reduces effort and contention. Also, kids do really well on fixed timetables. I've opened a discussion…

What happens when the timer hits zero? The game just kicks out?

Why not just set a timer on your smartphone and when it goes off turn off the kid's console..

Re: SteamMachines

#155

Post by chc »

simias wrote: post #21
cocoflunchy wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Rift is output, not input. I think they're announcing some kind of new controller.

Technically you could say head movement is input but I get your point. That being said it could be a combo, like Rift + a wiimote-style thing? Mouse + keyboard break Rift immersion, pads are better but still far from perfect.

The entire idea here is to have a TV-attached device along the lines of the Xbox or Playstation that plays Steam games — so you can sit on the couch with your SO and play some Trine 2 or something. An input device that you strap over your face would make the couch-and-TV integration a bit moot.

Re: SteamMachines

#156

Post by chc »

jljljl wrote: post #149
programminggeek wrote: post #5

This is almost a non-annoucement. They've basically said they were doing this for the last year. The only news is a sign up process for early steam boxes.

That seems pretty big doesn't it? Going from "we are doing this" to "we are going to release some of these to early adopters"?

That seems pretty small to me, both in terms of progress and in terms of the actual size of of the release.

Re: SteamMachines

#157

Post by sliverstorm »

gabemart wrote: post #147
breckinloggins wrote: post #22

I'm excited about where Valve is going with this, of course, but to be honest I'm concerned about controllers the most. Buying a good controller for a PC is not hard, but it's not simple either. Picture yourself as a "living room console guy" getting into PC gaming. You'd like to use a controller for a certain game. Consider: - You can use your XBox360, PS3 controller, or WiiMote, but that's not obvious. You'll need…

> Buying a good controller for a PC is not hard Is this actually true? I've been looking for a decent PC gamepad for a long time. The default recommendation seems to be the Xbox 360 controller, but with the caveat that the d-pad sucks. I play a lot of games that use the d-pad. What's a good PC gamepad with a good d-pad?

Maybe try finding a 360-compatible controller with a good dpad?

Re: SteamMachines

#158

Post by redblacktree »

sturadnidge wrote: post #100
breckinloggins wrote: post #22

I'm excited about where Valve is going with this, of course, but to be honest I'm concerned about controllers the most. Buying a good controller for a PC is not hard, but it's not simple either. Picture yourself as a "living room console guy" getting into PC gaming. You'd like to use a controller for a certain game. Consider: - You can use your XBox360, PS3 controller, or WiiMote, but that's not obvious. You'll need…

Be interesting to see how they tackle the player-with-controller vs player-with-mouse/keyboard issue... clear advantage in FPS games with a mouse. I'd buy a console tomorrow if they allowed mouse/keyboard - sick of all the cheaters in PC gaming, and having games get _better_ as the hardware ages would be a welcome change from having to constantly upgrade my video card to play new releases at a decent frame rate!

You could buy a console and a XIM3[1]. You could dominate any FPS, I think.

[1] http://xim3.com/

Re: SteamMachines

#159

Post by sliverstorm »

simias wrote: post #2

Sooo, it's what everybody's expected, except we don't know anything more about it. Frustrating. Also, only 300 boxes for beta? That seems a little small. EDIT: actually the latest answer in the FAQ is interesting: "Am I going to be using a mouse and a keyboard in the living-room?" "If you want. But Steam and SteamOS work well with gamepads, too. Stay tuned, though - we have some more to say very soon on the topic of…

only 300 boxes for beta? That seems a little small.

It does, but like any other prototype the beta boxes are probably a couple more times more expensive than the finished product, and they'll probably be giving them to people for free (??) which represents half a million dollars out of their pocket.

Re: SteamMachines

#160

Post by reledi »

Pxtl wrote: post #143
reledi wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've never played a match that was console vs PC, but I've heard people say that Halo 2 for PC (which can be played with the Xbox 360 controller or mouse & keyboard) is easier with the controller. Keep in mind that this is a game that likely has mostly console gamers playing.

Halo features aim-assist, and aim-assist is usually disabled in mouse mode. Also, you can assume the controller-based gamers are coming from console experience (and therefore have already played H2 and know the maps and weapons), whereas the mousers are coming from other PC-based FPS games.

Good points, makes sense now.
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