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Valve Corporation is enhancing the capabilities of the new Steam Controller and improving its performance outside the Steam platform. Thanks to the new changes, the controller is expected to be significantly more useful in games launched from other launchers and applications.
The biggest problem with the Steam Controller is starting to fade away
The new Steam Controller was very well received after its launch, and the device quickly sold out in the Valve store. However, many gamers complained that the controller was heavily reliant on the Steam ecosystem and functioned best exclusively with Steam Input. For those using other launchers or games outside of Steam, this was a significant issue. Now, the situation is beginning to change thanks to the support added to SDL, which is a popular library used by many games and applications for controller support.
The controller now works better in non-Steam games
According to initial tests, the Steam Controller works with and without Steam running. It supports various features including touchpads, gyroscopes, accelerometers, rear buttons, and the touch functions of the analog sticks. Valve has also prepared a new button mapping that makes the device behave more like a standard controller supported by games using SDL. For now, there are still minor issues, including double input detection when Steam is running in the background.
Valve doesn’t want to copy the Xbox controller
Valve also explained why it did not opt for classic Windows XInput support used, among other things, by Xbox controllers. According to the company, this could limit the more advanced features of the Steam Controller and require additional operating modes for the device. The company wants to maintain the unique capabilities of the controller rather than turn it into an ordinary gamepad compatible only with basic controls.
The Steam Controller is becoming significantly more useful outside the Steam platform. Thanks to integration with SDL, the controller is starting to work better with games and launchers from other companies, although Valve is still developing and improving the device’s compatibility.
source: digitaltrends
