8BitDo announces its controllers now have Steam (SteamOS) compatibility
8BitDo says its controllers are now compatible with Steam/SteamOS. The announcement specifically mentions three models and advises users to update their controllers and Steam client to the latest version.
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full compatibility details will be revealed soon
This is what I'm interested in finding out. Because Steam can pick up any generic-shit-for-brains controller and use it normally. What does "Steam compatibility" give us?
Remapping controls, like using the sticks to control the mouse etc.
That's also possible by piping your generic controller through Steam Input.
Now, if 8bit is actually supporting native Steam Input, that's a much bigger deal because we could potentially get access to raw gyro data, stuff that is normally converted to joystick input by the time Steam gets it.
This is what is new: native Steam Input
That's a big deal then. So far I'm not aware of any controllers that have all of the following:
The dual shock is close, but no back buttons and not my prefered layout. All the Nintendo clones have digital triggers, and almost none have gyro input that steam can use. This will make 8bit the best possible Steam Deck companion until a proper Steam Controller 2 comes out.
Edit: This would also add the ability to map extra buttons to new functions instead of a duplicate of the buttons that already exist. I'm waiting to hear the details but I'll likely buy one if all this is true because I haven't seen anything else offering this level of functionality.
Flydigi Vader 4 pro has that + 2 additional face buttons + adjustable tension on the sticks + hall effect joysticks + a toggle next to each trigger to reduce the travel distance + clicky mechanical switches.
And this same Steam beta version that added 8bitdo support also included support for this controller as well so that you can remap the extra buttons (but it's only detected as a vader if you are using the included dongle and the controller is set to dinput mode).
The only thing I'm missing is capacitive joysticks that can be used for turning on/off the gyro.. that's a pity because I find the gyro kind of annoying to use without that.
Thanks for the recommendation. The 8bitDo Ultimate 2 Wireless has most of that, but competition is always a good thing.
I agree about the capacitive sticks though, I've never used gyro without that so I imagine it'd really only be useful for ADS and other situations where you're already holding a button. Capacitive sticks were a genius move from Valve.
For me it beats the 8bitdo by a long shot. I think the 8bitdo only has 2 back buttons, does't it? the vader has 4. And now with Steam input support they are all programmable. I like the feel of mechanical buttons too.
Yeah.. I've been waiting for a steam controller 2 for way too long. The horipad is the only "traditional" controller that has capacitive joysticks.. but beyond having that, the reviews for it are not that great.
@cRaziman @linuxgaming @networkswitch
Maybe just a kind of guarantee that it works out of the box without having to install anything in addition. Don't know 😄
