I uploaded the config for the Steam Controller with the name “Dualpad with Gyro Updated…”

Problem is that if you try to use the config on the Steam Deck I don’t think it’ll work the same way, since on the Steam Deck trackpad click is set up through soft press as opposed to the physical click that the Steam Controller uses.

I did play around with trying to set up something similar in the past on the Deck touchpads and did it through action layers instead of mode shift. Set it up so that clicking the touchpad switched to the action layer where the touchpad was set up as a dpad that I had stuff mapped too, and release press removed the same action layer to return back to the default action set.

https://imgur.com/a/steam-deck-dpad-modeshift-workaround-using-action-layers-b1wyHEK

But, when I did this workaround modeshifts weren’t available in the current UI yet, so maybe a normal dpad modeshift setup would work on the Deck pads now. This was how I set it up in the old Steam Input UI https://youtu.be/4vN1Jj7EPZk. If not then action layer approach is the other method.

Update: so I decided to try it on the Steam Deck and I was able to set up a dpad modeshift on a pad click and even get the chord function to work so the inputs change if I hold one of the left back buttons. Only issue is I couldn’t find a way to adjust the pressure required to register a click for the touchpad when it came to the modeshift pad click.

Right now has to be the 8bitdo Ultimate 2 wireless. Not the bluetooth switch one. Need to update the dongle and controller to the latest beta firmware and launch it in dinput mode by turning it on while holding the B button. Then all the extra buttons can be mapped along with using gyro with analog triggers, which couldn’t be done before.

There is a bug that needs to be fixed where rumble can cause the controller to stop working in game, so for now need to use it with rumble off until that is fixed. But, everything else works when it comes to binding through Steam Input.

How did you use the touchpad. My approach has been to adjust the sensitivity of the touchpad until an edge to edge swipe does a 180, and for gyro having a 90 degree rotation of the controller do 675 degree rotation in game for first person and 450 degrees for third person. Made it a consistent aim experience no matter what game I played as long as the mouse input in the game was good and didn’t do things like emulate a joystick causing negative acceleration.

And for the right touchpad I set a dpad modeshift with an inverted outer ring bind so clicking up, down, left, right, center output different inputs so I didn’t have to reach down to the facebuttons as often. And depending on the game I’d set up a chord so holding the left grip and clicking would output a different set of 5 inputs.

And I just saved the template so I didn’t need to set it up all the time.

Liked it for Doom Eternal, since I could activate gyro, swipe the camera to quickly turn, and click to swap between weapons every shot to bypass reloading all on the right touchpad.

And pvp games like The Finals clicking the right pad to switch through gadgets and using the touchpad to quickly turn and activate gyro, and not feeling like my inputs were too slow versus mouse users. And not having to bother with aim assist.

But back to my assertion at the top. It made SC gamers literally unfairly better. Gryo aiming, effectively programmable macros, mode shifts, radial wheels, action layers, targeted mouse clicks, button toggles, sliders, regions, I can’t even remember it all from back before it got heavily neutered. It got out of control to the point where you could bypass “cheating” standards and macros in big online games, etc. You could simulate inputs.

I don’t remember SC being singled out for that. Steam Input actually started providing third party support fast introducing it for the Sony DS4 in 2016 with all the same configurations possible. https://www.pcgamer.com/steams-dualshock-4-support-is-now-in-beta/ Don’t remember this period of the Steam Controller being a " deadly-unfair device for competitive gaming", since if it was it would have been more popular and caught on like Cronus and Xim as opposed to from its release to discontinuation being a niche device among enthusiasts while many complained because they expected it to be like a regular dual joystick controller. This thread itself and others on other sites seems to support that with people saying they tried it and didn’t care for it, don’t get the touchpads, and some not even knowing of gyro. I even had a conversation in this thread with someone who believes people who say the Steam Controller must be good are being contrarian, since they can’t imagine how people could possibly consider it good over regular controllers.

What I remember is that aim assist got cranked up over the years to the point some mouse users started dropping it for gamepad, which led to complaints about rollers growing. And then more complaints happened about rollers as regular controller users in games like Apex used Steam Input to set up movement exploits in Apex through macros and moving while going through their inventory like mouse and keyboard users. Then rewasd with it offering recoil script. And that took a while to happen with Apex releasing in 2019, which by then SC was discontinued the same year. Rewasd was especially notorious because of not only the recoil script, but being able to map controller inputs to keyboard and mouse for people wanting to XIM on PC. Steam Input also kept expanding support from Sony and Xbox to also Nintendo too, so not much reason for rollers to pick up a Steam Controller.

It failed because it offered too much customization. Really.

I also disagree on that too much customization was why it failed. Steam Deck has the same “too much customization.” Difference is it has dual joysticks. Many people who picked up a Steam Controller just approached it like a dual joystick controller so were disappointed, and they didn’t want a controller that needed setup. I’ve been using Steam Input many years and aside from UI changes people disagreed with, Steam Input has become much more advanced and feature rich as opposed to “neutered” as you say. Introduction of things like chords, touchpad gestures like in Sony first party games, and mouse delta to name a few over the years.

I was happy with the Steam Controller because I didn’t pick one up expecting it to offer an experience like my Xbox controller I was using on the PC at the time. I got one because I wanted the touchpad functions the Xbox didn’t have and picked it up intending to map mouse to gyro and the touchpad. But, most people don’t want that. They want a pick up and play controller, no setup, and just be like the dual joystick controllers they used and they didn’t need Valve for a dual joystick controller either with xbox offering plug and play support with no setup with no need for Steam. And if they wanted accuracy they’d just pick up a mouse.

Even gyro is niche among all controllers, which speaks to how much people just want a Xbox experience of plugging in a controller, getting controller icons, and just playing and don’t care for aiming without aim assist.

I like touchpads because I like being able to turn the camera as fast as I can swipe like a mouse while retaining X and Y axis control unlike stuff like the flick stick approach. And I like that I can also click up, down, left, right, center and also hold the left grip to set up chords for an additional 5 inputs for a total of 10 I can quickly change to without having to reach down to the facebuttons.

And that’s where the Deck fell short for me because I didn’t find it good for that type of functionality I want to use the trackpads for compared to users who primarily use the sticks.

I’m a controller player so it might be why I warmed up to it when it first came out, since I went from using Xbox controller on the PC to being blown away by touchpads moving as fast as a mouse without joystick speed limitation while being able to aim precisely with gyro without having to use aim assist.

So maybe an outlier as a PC gamer who preferred gamepads to mouse and keyboard, but wanted to find an improved method of using controller without reliance on aim assist.

Sad thing is for me I don’t find the touchpads on the Deck useful, since unlike most users of the Deck I want to use them for movement and camera and quick input switching. And I haven’t found the Deck touchpads good for primary use in place of joysticks, so I end up ignoring the touchpads on the Deck for the joysticks despite using my Steam Controller for most games on the desktop.

It didn’t fail because of a lack of a dpad but because of lack of two joysticks, but I’m glad the controller exists because I came to absolutely love the dual touchpads. And I wouldn’t trade the left touchpad a dpad, since I like using it for movement.

I wouldn’t trade the right touchpad for a joystick either, since I like using it to do quick 180s, quick swap between 5-10 inputs to bypass reloading in games like Doom Eternal by setting a dpad modeshift on a click, and touch activate gyro all on one touchpad.

Will probably be the last controller of its kind but I’m glad at least one did get made, since otherwise I’d still just be using a xbox or playstation controller like I did before getting Steam Controller.