Steam Controllers and ESO

Speely · September 2015

So I have one of these hot little items pre-ordered, and the customizability of them has me pretty optimistic. I know some folks already have beta/early models and would love to hear accounts of using them for ESO.

Like many players, I have been waiting for proper controller support, but the PC gamer in me knows that despite the convenience and QoL benefits, controllers are inferior to a kb/m for efficacy. The Steam Controller offers some (on paper) attractive options, however. Some thoughts:

The triggers are analog depression AND digital click. Seperate functions. I don't think I really need to detail why this is specifically awesome for ESO, but I will: Weaving. Bam. Assigning Attack to the analog depression and "Skill X/SA/Puncturing Sweep, etc",to the digital click will be... Very elegant and effective, methinks. Also, clickable trackpads means that you can assign skills you only ever use when moving to non-face buttons. Sorcs will love this for Streak/BoL, right? NBs as well for Cloak. Or any class for a gap closer.

I dunno. Maybe I am way off-base here, but I think this controller is going to be perfect for ESO. Thoughts? I feel like I am way more pumped about this than, like, anyone.

DaveMoeDee · September 2015

Are you saying there are more input possibilities on a steam controller than an XBox controller?

What do you mean by digital touch? Are the buttons touch capacitive?

Triddle · September 2015

I'm very interested to see how this goes. I currently play on PC with a 360 controller quite a lot. Its pretty good overall, but I've always hated the face buttons they use on these, what with your fingers being on the back of the thing where there're no buttons. The Xbox elite controller looks pretty appealing to solve this problem, but it also seems kind of gimmicky and excessively expensive.

I do think the Elite is going to be a better controller for ESO than the steam controller, but I'm very interested to hear what people will be saying when they start actually giving them a go.

Ourorboros · September 2015

Hope you keep this thread updated as more information comes in. I'm also interested in the Steam controller. Currently using a 360 controller, but still find it's best for combat/exploring while M/KB is best for menus and fine control.

Speely · September 2015

I will certainly do a detailed account of my experience once the controller arrives, all!

DaveMoeDee wrote: »

Are you saying there are more input possibilities on a steam controller than an XBox controller?

What do you mean by digital touch? Are the buttons touch capacitive?

There are lots more input options, all assignable. The controller also works in legacy mode, which means it will work with anything that supports a kb/m.

By "digital" I mean that the triggers register a press and a full click seperately if one wishes them to... And the touchpads which simulate the kb/m can be clicked as buttons, with the ability to have different functions mapped to different parts of the trackpads. Just a ton of options, really.

Once I have it, my first order of business will be sharing the setup I create and doing a detailed write-up.

Speely · October 2015

Necro on this thread just because I will have this in my hands fairly soon and would love for anyone else who has one already to share their thoughts. Gonna make a proper configuration-sharing thread once I get it dialed in, but I know some folks pre-ordered early and already have these and have configs for ESO. If so, SHARE EM!!!

ContraTempo · October 2015

I've been using a PS3 controller with Xpadder for over a year now and have not felt like my control is inferior. On the contrary, the KB/M seems clumsy by comparison to functions that are always right under my fingers. Now to be fair, I really dug into the functionality of Xpadder, experimented a lot, optimized a lot of stuff for my play style. I tweaked the mouse speed, change the mouse speed depending on what I am doing, I have multiple switchable key sets, trigger sets, one way and two way set selectors, and more. I even have a key set that is specifically for emots where I have put the actually useful ones on a key combo (like /whistle and /point, which I use when running through a dungeon with a group). And I still use the KB for stuff where I can take a little time, like chat and most menu stuff.

And I'm still tweaking it. Hmm...I guess I could stick in a few useful and often used chat items. Maybe trade those for a few of the less useful emots...

Speely · October 2015

Good stuff, @ContraTempo! That's great to hear. I wanted to bust into xpadder territory and even bought an Xbox for Windows controller to try it out, but it turned out to be a defective unit and by the time I got it replaced my Steam Controller was close at hand. The PS3 controller is pretty comfy, but my only trepidation there would be the stick look vs mouse look. Sounds like you got that sorted. I will consider something similar if the Steam Comtroller ends up not being my thing. I have no consoles but always feel like ESO would feel better with a controller.

Speely · October 2015

Also, sort of a crapshoot here, but @ZOS_GinaBruno are there any plans to provide configurations for Steam Controllers from the dev team? I ask because some devs have already done this, though most of them are smaller and obviously have less of a workload on their hands

Just wondering if it was on your radar since y'all are on Steam. Could be a cool and inclusive thing to do to sort of get in on the release.

ADarklore · October 2015

Speely wrote: »

are there any plans to provide configurations for Steam Controllers from the dev team?

They are bringing the Controller UI (currently on PTS) to the PC in the near future, it offers full button mapping for Xinput controllers.

I use my PS4 controller with Xpadder and have had no problems and plan to continue using this and not bothering with the Controller UI. I want to use my controller with the PC, not have my PC turned into an XBOX One console.

Sausage · October 2015

I predict this is best thing since bread and butter or flop.

Savos_Saren · October 2015

@Speely @ContraTempo @Triddle

Hey guys- I use the XB360 controller with Xpadder. I've managed to modify it as much as possible to be "Skyrim-like". The only issue i run into, really, is that the right joystick (which helps me look/strafe) is nowhere as fast as mouse movement. How have you modified this for PvP? It takes FOREVER to turn the camera around when I move in opposite directions.

Hiero_Glyph · October 2015

ADarklore wrote: »

Speely wrote: »

are there any plans to provide configurations for Steam Controllers from the dev team?

They are bringing the Controller UI (currently on PTS) to the PC in the near future, it offers full button mapping for Xinput controllers.

I use my PS4 controller with Xpadder and have had no problems and plan to continue using this and not bothering with the Controller UI. I want to use my controller with the PC, not have my PC turned into an XBOX One console.

Yeah, this is the biggest failing of controller support for ESO since you have to use the console UI to use a controller, which limits add-on support. What's funny is that the PC's console UI is still better than the actual console's UI, but both limit the UI in too many ways compared to the PC UI. Using a third party program like Xpadder is still the best way to play ESO with a controller on PC.

Speely · October 2015

Since steam controllers work in legacy mode and are recognized as a kb/m, there will be no need to worry about xinput options, so hopefully all goes well!

@jaburns The 360 controller is my fav.

I am holding off for the steam controller because of the exact issue you stated: slowness of mouselook. Valve's solution has 1:1 accuracy on the trackpads that's adjustable. 180s for days!!

ContraTempo · October 2015

Speely wrote: »

... my only trepidation there would be the stick look vs mouse look. Sounds like you got that sorted.

Mostly you have to mess with the mouse speed and the dead zone. For the speed you want to experiment until you find the fastest speed that does not screw you up, then consider backing off a bit. Also, because the screen is wider than it is tall, you will want to set the horizontal to a faster speed than the vertical. As a starting point use the same ratio as the screen, probably 5H x 4V or 16H x 9V. The dead zone is important because you don't want to start panning around every time you touch the stick. Make the dead zone large enough that just resting your thumb on it does not trigger it.

Since any menu functions I access from the controller I access from a different keyset, I set the mouse to slower speeds for that keyset. Otherwise the cursor will move too fast to select items.

One trick I tried but could never get the hang of was to set my movement stick so if I pushed it a little I walked, medium I ran, all the way I sprinted. I got it set up just fine and it worked great, but *I* could never get the hang of operating it. Especially in a fight I would overcontrol and start sprinting around. Instead I just use a trigger for sprint mode.

ContraTempo · October 2015

jaburns wrote: »

@Speely @ContraTempo @Triddle

Hey guys- I use the XB360 controller with Xpadder. I've managed to modify it as much as possible to be "Skyrim-like". The only issue i run into, really, is that the right joystick (which helps me look/strafe) is nowhere as fast as mouse movement. How have you modified this for PvP? It takes FOREVER to turn the camera around when I move in opposite directions.

I described my mouse set up above. Also, the stick is analog and Xpadder reads that and applies proportional acceleration. In other words, the farther you push the stick the faster the "mouse" moves. So you can set it for a higher speed and train yourself not to push the stick all the way over for panning at a normal speed. You can also control the rate of increase so it goes nice and slow at the low end and faster than you could possibly move a mouse with the stick all the way over. The catch is that it will take some practice before you can make best use of it.

BTW, I started with a Skyrim like setup but ESO has so many more options that I quickly outgrew their rather limited control set. That is also why I'm not sure direct gamepad support in ESO will be all that useful, unless they make provision for us to heavily customize it.

Ourorboros · November 2015

Now that the Steam Controller is finally out, anyone have updates about their experience? I saw a thread here using Steam Controller before the Gamepad UI was released. Anyone using Steam Controller in Gamepad mode? There is such a huge difference between PC and Gamepad visually on a large screen TV. I have really been enjoying my Xbox360 in Gamepad mode, but the UI itself lacks features I'm used to from add-ons. I often use a keybind to switch modes to take advantage of add-ons. I'm thinking a Steam Controller might make this easier, with less reliance on KB.