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Valve Corporation is expanding the capabilities of the new Steam Controller and improving its performance outside the Steam platform. Thanks to the new changes, the controller is set to be much more useful even in games launched from other launchers and applications.
The biggest problem with the Steam Controller is starting to disappear
The new Steam Controller was very well received after its launch, and the device quickly sold out in the Valve store. However, many players complained that the controller was heavily reliant on the Steam ecosystem and worked best solely with the Steam Input feature. For those using other launchers or games outside of Steam, this was a significant issue. Now, the situation is starting to change thanks to the support added to SDL, a popular library used by many games and applications for controller handling.
The controller now works better in non-Steam games
According to initial tests, the Steam Controller works with Steam running and also without it. It supports, among other things, touchpads, a gyroscope, an accelerometer, rear buttons, and touch functions of the analogue sticks. Valve has also prepared new button mapping, which allows the device to behave more like a standard controller supported by games using SDL. For now, there are still minor issues, including those related to double detection of inputs while Steam is running in the background.
Valve does not want to copy the Xbox controller
Valve also explained why it did not decide to opt for the classic support of Windows XInput 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 instead of turning it into a standard gamepad compatible only with basic controls.
The Steam Controller is becoming significantly more useful outside the Steam platform. With 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
