Faiblesse Des Sens Posted March 12, 2015 Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 I'm just saying that not many people are going to buy these.Yet, somehow, Falcon Northwest has been in business for years and their business has only grown in that time. I really don't buy that just because you have a lot of money means you're okay with buying something huge and not at all sleek. If anything being rich is what allows you to do that while the peasants have to buy huge towers that aren't specialized to their needs. Between this thread and the Apple thread I'm struggling to understand your position on high end purchases. Seems like if you buy anything you are either a douche bag or a peasant or is there one FDS approved mid range purchase per category that leads to consumerist nirvana? I wouldn't personally buy a Falcon Northwest product but like the Apple Watch I think they both have their place amongst people who like to buy expensive sleek shit that's only going to last a few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 Not entirely sold. Seems they ditched the lotus keyboard for some reason. Stupid as shit to do so, I loved it, much better than anything console guys had tried with the whole "emulate a keyboard on screen" thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madbassman39 Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 I'm sure I would like this for playing games that you need a mouse/keyboard for, but I've read that the right touch pad requires you to lift your finger and continue to push to the outside. Not ideal for action games. If that is something you can program then color me interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredEffinChopin Posted June 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 What are you referring to, Dean? Was there supposed to be some sort of keyboard-style input on the controller? While I'm not very skilled at using it yet (since I do it so infrequently), I do think that the keyboard that they have in BPM is a really good one. If they implemented some better prediction features it could really be something fit for mild conversation, even. I so want that fucking controller though, just as it is. I don't really think I can swing it at this moment, and I should be happy to wait until lots of people get their hands on it and give some feedback first, but I'm really dying to use that thing and see what can be accomplished with it. Even if it's not all that much. I'm very appreciative of the effort, even if it's less-than perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 Originally they had this: Which was pretty sweet. Has auto-correct/predictive text too to speed things along. Must faster than moving a cursor across rows of keys on a virtual keyboard (designed in reality for 8 fingers and two thumbs) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredEffinChopin Posted June 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 That's odd, the image you posted displayed on Tapatalk, but not on the browser. The kb is still there as far as I can tell, I just booted up the PC to verify. You had me scared there for a second. Or are you talking about a different implementation of it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 I'm not sure what you're seeing and not seeing. The video above for the Steam controller shows a on-screen virtual keyboard style interface, same as Playstation n Xbox have had the last two-gens. The image I posted shows the "lotus" keyboard Valve put in Steam ...gods maybe years ago at this point. The lotus keyboard is 4 charachters laid out like on petals of a lotus, point the stick at a petal, then ABXY to pick the character. triggers n bumper to apply modifiers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredEffinChopin Posted June 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 I see, this is in reference to in-game keyboard implementation. Yeah, the lotus kb from Steam is the image I was referring to. Are we sure that they didn't just clumsily tout a feature of Steam Machines or Steam OS or SteamSomeOtherShit as being part of the controller by showing that snippet while discussing text input? The reason I ask that is because I can't imagine why having a new controller is suddenly going to make it so that you can access the text fields within games where it (presumably, I don't know for sure) wasn't achievable before, especially when you're using the same client to run the game. If there were some software solution that they're making available, I would think that they could have also made the lotus available for existing controllers to enter in-game text (unless they want to reserve that feature for their own hardware). I understand that the controller can emulate a kb, and the video does show the user switching profiles on the fly, but the overlay just seemed to come up as a result of clicking on a text field. It seems like Steam itself would have to be triggering that in some way. However it pops up, I'd wager that they make the lotus available as an option as well, especially since it's going to continue to appear in the client for Xbox-style controllers to use. And also especially since it seems like those control pads might be even better suited to it than analogs are. The input they showed looks like it might be interesting though. Almost like a touchscreen interface. I feel like not having your hands on top of the images themselves could make things for more difficult to manage than with an actual touchscreen though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saturnine Tenshi Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 Fancy. I like the controller, but on-screen keyboard typing ain't so hot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thursday Next Posted June 5, 2015 Report Share Posted June 5, 2015 (edited) Grip buttons are a cool idea. The rest of it, I'm on the fence on. Incidentally, the below is why they will never take over the living room. Not going to buy a $750 machine for the living room when I can have a PS4. Also not going to buy the crappy i3 version that I know is crappy because there are more expensive (and therefore objectively better) i7 version. Just my opinion here, but if you're going to "take over" living rooms then I think you need to be cheap, uniform and future proof. This is expensive, complicated and the entry level model is already seems obsolete by the existence of the top tier model. They'll sell a few I'm sure, but they won't be doing 20 million in a year. https://goo.gl/photos/NCkXVXyRiZpUZcM27 Edited June 5, 2015 by Thursday Next 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted June 5, 2015 Report Share Posted June 5, 2015 It's going to be one of those hard sells, cos most controllers come with a console so you kinda get used to them by having no choice really, but this is different and new, and maybe not something folks will be happy to splash £40 on without a trail run first (Though I guess as long as you only test it for under 2 hrs and return it within a fortnight you can get a refund). Personally I'm pretty happy with my wired 360 pad, though I know folks are harping on DS4 being the new pad for PC and maybe I'll look into it one day (but unlikely at a £50 price point and, well my 360 pad still works) edit: Oh yeah I didn't catch on this cos I guess I'd assumed in 2015 it'd be otherwise, but it comes from the Xbox school of controller design where it's powered by AA batteries instead of sticking in li-on or similar. Also it's wireless via a dongle, like the wireless 360 pad, rather than bluetooth so there's that as well in case you figured you'd ever use it with anything else or..a macbook or something. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted October 17, 2015 Report Share Posted October 17, 2015 They've an advert for Steam Link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baconrath Posted October 18, 2015 Report Share Posted October 18, 2015 I've heard the controller is kind of...loud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCP Posted October 18, 2015 Report Share Posted October 18, 2015 (edited) Ewww that sounds very CHEAP. Edited October 18, 2015 by The Werewolf Poet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted October 19, 2015 Report Share Posted October 19, 2015 Huh, I thought the circle bits were trackpads not buttons. Weird choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredEffinChopin Posted November 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2015 They're track pads, but they can also be pressed like buttons. The left one has a cross groove imprinted onto it to make it usable as a control pad as well. At first I would have said that it's a complete failure at that, but I've warmed up to it a little bit, and now I'd say it's somewhat of a failure. It's accurate enough that you can keep the action very close to the center without hitting the wrong direction, and seems like it would be perfectly functional for menu navigation. I don't know that I would want to play an old school platformer with it though. I just got it yesterday. Now that I'm actually holding one, I have to say that the shape of it is a bit curious. Instead of fitting the contours of a hand where the handles stick out, the bottom of the handles sort of jut upward, creating a gap between the hand and the thumbtip, which may be the point of it. It does seem to leave your thumbs in a position where the tips of them, rather than the flats, lay on the touchpads, which is more suited to touchpad/mouse use. Whatever the reason, it feels awkward. It might just require an adjustment though. What's harder to adjust to is the shoulder button location. The simplest way I can describe it is to say that the shape of the controller situates my hand in such a way that to reach up from the shoulder buttons to the triggers forces me to angle my index fingers in the opposite direction from which my hand is positioned. It's not comfortable at all. A person who plays with 4 fingers on the shoulders/triggers shouldn't be effected by it nearly as much, but that position seems to sacrifice a lot of the comfortable feel of the rear grip(?) buttons. Still though, it seems perfectly doable if that's your style. I love the shoulders. They have two levels of depression, the first one taking up almost all of the triggers' range. Once you get to the bottom you can continue to press it down for a click, signalling the second level. The depth of it seems a bit shallow compared to the DS4, but not by that much. Another neat thing is that the touchpads and analog stick provide haptic feedback. When using the right touchpad as a mouse in Windows (and when I played Civ5 for a bit), there is a slight roll underneath your fingertips as you use the touchpad, which seems to work to provide a sense of certainty as to the (for lack of a better word) distance of your movement. It almost reminds me of using a scroll wheel that you're familiar with. While it took me a while to realize it, the analog stick was also giving a little nudge back as I navigated the big picture mode menu. I doubt it's going to do anything in any games at this point, but it's there. Perhaps it can or will be able to be programmed into game profiles by users. I haven't looked into it at all. On that note, the brief look I took into the interface for programming the controller and saving/downloading profiles seemed pretty friendly. There are a few templates you can choose from right off the bat, and you can spring off of those to customize new profiles. Everything seems pretty quickly accessible, and you can change things up on the fly as you're running a game. I doubt that many games have this ready yet, but when I checked a suggested profile for Civ5, there was one already there, and I'd say it was very well mapped. The going was a bit clumsy at first, but I got more used to it in the short time I played, and it seems like a decent way to play the game. I'll need more time on it, and a game that is much farther in to really get a feel for how viable of an option it is for that one though. Borderlands 2 was the FPS I tried out, and that was a bit of a clusterfuck. Using a touchpad (with my thumb tip) where I've only ever used analogs or mice requires a huge adjustment. It did seem like you can aim really accurately with that touchpad though, once you get used to it. Like a mouse though, you have to reset your position on it once you move too far in one direction, which is another extremely awkward thing to get used to. Not that I expected any different (this test was mostly out of curiosity), but this controller has no place replacing games that are designed to work with PS360 controllers anyway, which is fine, as it wasn't made with that in mind. I will say that I love having the rear buttons though, as they let you do more without having to take your fingers off the right touchpad, so you can keep aiming while you jump or reload. I'm telling you, this thing should have been modular. Anyway, I just wanted to share my first impressions. I've been on Destiny for the past week or so, but I hope to get some good time in with this new controller this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted November 16, 2015 Report Share Posted November 16, 2015 http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/11/ars-benchmarks-show-significant-performance-hit-for-steamos-gaming/ Turns out SteamOS kinda sucks as an OS for gaming compared to the more general Windows 10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted November 16, 2015 Report Share Posted November 16, 2015 Surprise surprise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCP Posted November 16, 2015 Report Share Posted November 16, 2015 The final nail in the coffin for PC gaming??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eleven Posted November 17, 2015 Report Share Posted November 17, 2015 Here's why I think PC gaming is doomed: I don't have a good one. Actually, I do. I just prefer not to use it. Since I'm mostly uninformed about PC hardware, how good is the Alienware steam machine? Is it at least considered a mid-range gaming PC for 2015? Or more a low-end machine? I kinda want one because of its console-like form but I have no idea how good that is compared to current PCs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted November 17, 2015 Report Share Posted November 17, 2015 I can't answer your question cos I just checked their site and there's 4 versions, with the only change between them being the CPU (which is uncommon to be the main bottleneck in gaming). The GPU is just listed as "Nividia GPU 2GB GDDR5" which doesn't give much to work on (apart from later on it says it outperforms the GeForce 860M, which is a laptop GPU so it's not saying much. Be like me saying I can beat up 6 year old children). In fact them not declaring which GPU they're using and comparing it with a mobile chip would make me super wary tbh. GPU is a big part of how a PC runs a game and them being coy with what they have makes me think it's not super great. They're being pretty detailed on which Intel chip they're using so it's not like it's "to save customer confusion" or whatever excuse they might have. They are also all listed as running Windows 8.1 which is odd (in both being the older Windows operating system and...not SteamOS which I swear Steam Machines are meant to come with). Also all on 8GB of RAM, even high end one doesn't get a 16GB jump which I guess has been revealed as a bit too much atm, but it adds some extra lifespan to it down the line. The GPU stuff is a huge redflag to me. tbh if you're just gonna run Windows, might as well grab any other gaming-style PC(look at the parts used, then grab the equivalent "regular" PC. Then you're not paying the tacky case premium). The ports will all be the same these days for HDMI hook-up and as shown above you'll get noticeable better bang for your buck on a gaming PC running Windows than Steam OS. Steam controller works with both if you're wanting to use that, just pick up separate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted November 17, 2015 Report Share Posted November 17, 2015 I was looking at the Alienware PCs after reading that article and the GPU thing sent up red flags for me too. Though oddly when I look they all say they're running Windows 10 Home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFlyingGerbil Posted November 17, 2015 Report Share Posted November 17, 2015 From their website: The graphics in the Alienware Steam Machine is a custom built GPU and therefore does not have a specific model number, but it does have similar performance to an NVIDIA 860M class card. and the graphics card isn't upgradeable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted December 10, 2015 Report Share Posted December 10, 2015 Pretty cool video, and I guess if you're Valve not much stopping you putting Aperture Science branding on your controller building robots. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.