Steam Controller could be TERRIBLE news for pc gamers

My friends like many of you, I was very excited (deeply) that Valve was developing native hardware for steam.

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However, with the latest video shown, some disturbing comments have popped up. Very disturbing indeed.

The fellow inquires into CiV5, playing on the couch stating that while the control pad may work, reading the UI is very difficult. The steam man replies explaining developers are working to redesignthe UI for people with control pads on the couch and hope it will become standard.

What negative things could be the implications?

1. Stripped down UI...

2. Easier to port to console e.g. dumbed down games with changed business models...

For example my friends, this is Oblivion, clearly an UI built for consoles. Huge, blocky text. incredibly simplic information.

This is "streamlined" PC specifically built title for the mouse and keyboard.

The list of developers looking at (and who will be using) this controller, include Paradox Interactive and others. Sega most likely.The example above (Shogun 2) is incredibly streamlined in comparison yet still conveys too much information to logically fit on a blown up tv friendly screen without radical redesign.

It seems, rather than being a cool addition, this could potentially become a catastrophe for traditional pc gaming.

Discuss.

I don't see any issues.... TV's have much lower PPI then a monitor so of course changes to the UI were always going to be needed.

Doesn't change a damn thing.

i think it will be OK. guild wars 2, eve online - when you play these on the couch you need a bigger gui. luckily there is an option for that in the options.

i see your angle, but i'm not too worried.

Implying PC gamers DON'T use a 360 controller already.

You know the odd thing about playing a game like Shogun 2 on a TV screen? It's a larger screen and everything gets bigger, I've played Total War games from my couch, all be it with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse (bleh! :p) and never had any problems with the UI.

The Steam controller looks like it could have the potential to bridge the gap between controllers and m/kb and that could mean the end of built in aim bots...er...aim assists. That, to me, is good thing.

My freind, as someone who uses a HDTV full time now, I disagree. When sitting close (i.e. two feet) it is fine.

However, several feet back on a couch, for Guild Wars 2 the UI needs edited to the point it takes up 40% of the screen. And in MMO terms (even though it is great) Guild Wars 2 is an incredibly simple game with only 8 bars. Paradox in particular make intellectual game for men, The entire nature of the game would have to change. This news makes my paw shake with fear.

1. Steam Machine isn't mandatory.

2. Neither is Big Picture or SteamOS.

3. This is made only for people who will use Steam Machine, SteamOS or Big Picture.

Valve made some bad decisions in the past, but they aren't that stupid to alienate majority of its users who use kb/m control scheme.

Whole steambox attempt looking like big fiasco. Do not u nderstand why they bother with creating controller.

I love that all you old fossils are so afraid of change.

Whats the problem? This just means more ways to play games as a PC gamer. Nothing wrong with that. Hell, steam already has Big Picture mode.

Well its not like we HAVE to use it so why complain?

Another uninspiredcup hermit drama queen thread...

I don't understand the negatives of this. I already use Big Picture Mode, which is all of Steam redesigned to work in a bigger UI. And it's fantastic.

it's not 1985, not everyone wants to sit 4 inches away from a shitty monitor using a mouse and keyboard, get over it.

Oh God they're making fonts larger so people can read them from a distance, IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD!!!!

Please stop posting threads...

Yeah, I'll take the simple one. Life is difficult enough. I don't need to pad my ego by what UI I use. Make it quick, simple, I want to play not read.

WTF does this have to do with PC gamers?

I see that in many complaints these days. Just the fact that a variant is available seems to bother some.

steam=terrible drm news

but the controller=good news

Small text doesn't really bother me considering I have so few games that have text onscreen. If there's dialogue, I keep subtitles off and listen to it instead. The only text I see are for those stupid QTE sequences.

because

Or they can be good designers and have customizable UIs that can scale, so people playing on the desk and couch can both be happy.

I'd quite like the option to change and have bigger text when playing on the TV so good news IMO. I've found a couple of games (Civ 5, Anno, etc.) quite hard to read at a distance.

I'd quite like the option to change and have bigger text when playing on the TV so good news IMO. I've found a couple of games (Civ 5, Anno, etc.) quite hard to read at a distance. Certainly needs to be an optional thing though, don't want it marring the experience when using a monitor.

In this day and age, the TV is not limited to the living room with the couch. You can bring the TV to any room in the house. In my case, it's my den.

It's not like you can't say the same for console gamers.

The only thing that has changed about Playstation in any meaningful way has been the hardware specs tbh. They've only just changed their controller design.

Nintendo make changes, it's dismissed as a gimmick.

MS do it, everyone loses their fuckin minds.

My point is, I see just as much resistance to change if not more from console gamers. They want all three consoles to be just as powerful as each other and play the same games. It just sounds dumb to me. On the other hand, the PC can be a very diverse thing. It can game on many levels.

I think the small concern with the PC, is that some think it may lead games being simplified a little for the control method. I'm not sure if that would happen myself, but I don't know.

Yes, Valve has stated since the beginning that they don't aim to replace KB/M or current PC set-ups.

They just want to fill a market, where they see one.

4 inches away from a 28" high quality monitor yeilds much higher game-FOV and quality than sitting several feet away from a 50-60" HDTV.

There is a reason there is more PC gamers than console gamers. and KB/M is the top way to play serious games.

Oookay... then we'll mod it to our liking.

I dont see this really affecting PC gamers. If anything, developers counting on the SteamBox sales would have an option for a more streamlined "SteamBox friendly" UI for their games.

That's how I see it. More options aren't a bad thing. I can see myself using kb&m, gamepad and Steam controller in different circumstances.

I'm still expecting the Steam Machine to be a trainwreck regardless of how they make the controller because I imagine that Valve's money would be much better spent on getting console game developers on board with the Steam Machine. Hell, if Valve can secure such a port, i'd buy a Steam Machine just for Tales of Zestiria

Games like CIV will always be best on a desktop PC. The fact that you can play it with the new controller is a novelty more than anything else. I play Steam on my TV with the help of a long HDMI cable, and there are some games that work well for it and many that don't. I don't think they need to have new UI standards, just focus on making Steam games that do suit big screen play to work well as they have in the past.

I'm a PC gamer, and I hate small user interfaces. One of the reasons why I couldn't play Sins of a Solar Empire...smallest ui in gaming.