1y ago

Question: How Do You Feel About Tackpads?

I was watching this video the other day and our friend Bob made a comment about the steamdecks trackpads, essentially calling the bad. I want to know what the community thinks.

For me, they are a game changer. They are not the best implemented trackpads I've ever seen but on a handheld it made a world of difference setting up any desktop software like emudeck, and any of the associated emulators. Civ games in my opinion are easier to navigate and I would be hard pressed to try to play any type of RTS game without them. Not to mention that after a year of having the Deck, I just learned how to comfortably type with them. I've bound them to be a radial dial of tools within games and with the desktop mode.

This morning I heard of the Aya Neo Kun, a 75 watt hour x86 handheld with trackpads. Outside the GDP WIN 4 with it's physical keyboard this is the only other x86 handheld I think I could consider using. I believe its physical trackpads would help me navigate the nightmare that is windows 11. I will always prefer a mouse and keyboard but on the go, they've been a handy tool to getting things done.

Love em, hate em, or just don't care about em, I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts.

45 comments

They are amazing. Especially when utilizing desktop mode. I love them

I’m happy the deck has them. I use them in FPS and some other genres and couldn’t imagine playing those without them, being a former PC only player. Coupled with gyro, it is a great experience.

Almost the best thing that has ever happened to a controller. Especially with how the steam deck implemented it.

I don't have a deck yet, but I do have a steam controller... which has track-paddish elements. I can't speak to the quality or ergonomics of the pads on the deck, but the steam controller's pads are game-changing in terms of being able to interact with mouse-driven games with poor controller support. Part of why my eye is on the deck is to have a system with that kind of support.
- Recently got a TV put up and I tried playing escape simulator with an Xbox controller. It was the first time I really wished I owned a steam controller. The maps have a lot of different things and ways to interact with them. I find pads make it easier to rotate objects.

It's great that it has them but I never use them. I just don't play those types of games.

I use them in every game. Just cannot stand the right joystick.

I use them in games that need precise aiming (hello Valheim) along with the gyro, as well as mouse based games. Also they're great for binding a bunch of extra buttons that you don't use that often, and they make the desktop experience much smoother if you don't have m/kb around.
I understand that having them is a compromise, so the rest of the controls end up more cramped, but at least for me it's well worth it. I wouldn't consider a different handheld pc, or a Steam Deck 2 without them now.
- You use gyro in Valheim? For bows? Gyro controls are my kryptonite, I can get them to work.
  
  Yes, and building. I've set it up to activate with out of the back paddles. Can't live without it.

I just wish they were as good as the steam controller's.

Depends on the game, but I definitely make use of them. Last game I've used them almost exclusively was Inscryption.
- Inscription? That's cool, I would have never thought to use them for a card game.
  
  Inscryption has a some puzzle room aspects as well, where you need to click around the screen using a mouse.

Use them a lot. For menu mouse; much easier to select menu items. For radial menus and with action layers.

i think they are bad. i bought the steam deck specifically because of the trackpads, and they're just much too small and awkwardly placed. compare to the steam controller, the greatest controller known to man, they're just horrible
comfortable
somewhat comfortable
comfortable
comfortable
uncomfortable
very uncomfortable
the steam controller also has slightly concave pads, allowing ones thumb to make contact with consistent pressure. the steam deck has flat pads
and they're square. why are they square? whose idea was that? my thumbs can move in a circle, the pads should be circular

however sensitivity-wise as he's talking about: i've had no problems. they've been perfect. and definitely needed if using the deck in desktop mode, much better than an awkward joystick mouse or using the touchscreen like some weird nintendo ds
- I took think circle pads would be an improvement, do you find the pads being raised uncomfortable as well?
  
  maybe? sc pads are raised above the controller face a little, but on the sc the grip shape keeps your thumb joint higher above the face. @DualPad@lemmy.one posted these, which might be an improvement; but i haven't tried them
  it probably would help if they were recessed into the controller slightly; but honestly i think that's the least of their problems after size, position, and concavity
- Square because trackpads have always been that way my dude and can be set to a ratio similar to common screen sizes.
  Not awkward at all seeing how we hold smartphones these days and the onscreen keyboards are typically in the same location our thumbs need to reach when using both smartphones and the deck trackpads.
  Sure you can argue size is small but most likely the deck internals won’t allow for larger size.
  I liked/like the steam controller. I’ve got four. But the steam deck trackpads have been far and above more responsive for me.
  
  Square because trackpads have always been that way my dude and can be set to a ratio similar to common screen sizes.
  what? the only two controllers i know of that have trackpads are round. apart from ps4 controller - i don't think many people use that for camera movement. and if you're talking about laptop touchpads: you don't hold a laptop like that, and they're also 4 times the size. they're incomparable
  Not awkward at all seeing how we hold smartphones these days and the onscreen keyboards are typically in the same location our thumbs need to reach when using both smartphones and the deck trackpads.
  the deck is much heavier than a smartphone; and has two bumpers, two triggers, and a four back buttons that i need access to. again, that's not really relevant. unless you just use them for typing, and never in games
  Sure you can argue size is small but most likely the deck internals won’t allow for larger size.
  yeah. great. i'm sure you're right. that doesn't preclude my point that they're useless for gaming. also, i would rather have larger pads and eschew the face buttons and dpad
  I liked/like the steam controller. I’ve got four. But the steam deck trackpads have been far and above more responsive for me.
  like i said; sensitivity-wise they're perfect
  
  Square because trackpads have always been that way my dude and can be set to a ratio similar to common screen sizes.
  I use the Steam Controller and play with dual pads and I have to say I much prefer the circular pads, since the way I set it up is so that a full swipe of the touchpad results in a 180 degree turn in every game I use with mouse input. And circle has been better at providing a more consistent 180 output on swipes over a square where the it can result in varying lengths of travel depending on the angle you enter in at. Square leads to more room for error for the consistent predictable output I want from touchpad use. I don't use stuff like acceleration, so consistency is really what I value.
  And I also prefer circle for movement too. I'm not trying to replicate a square display experience when I'm using the touchpads. I really prefer circle for movement and for twin stick shooters over a square surface to rotate around when at the edge.
  The square trackpads that have always been that way have been for people using it for slow desktop navigation as opposed to games.

I've used the Steam Controllers for many years and use dual touchpads for movement and camera. Here's me playing Doom Eternal, Anger Foot, and a video on why I prefer touchpads to joysticks.
But, despite that I'm not a big of a fan of the ones on the Steam Deck. The placement is not that comfortable. There are 3D printed grips though that I would like to try out that would let me hold the Deck so it is more like holding the Steam Controller with the touchpads. Until then a majority of my gameplay is done with the joysticks in contrast to on the desktop where it is with touchpads.
I am really glad the touchpads are present so that it's not an input Valve has abandoned, but the placement and ergonomics is really disappointing me. I'd be playing lot of FPS games on the Deck if the touchpad experience were more on par with the Steam Controller.

I'm not a fan of them in general, but specifically on the Deck I've been using them a lot simply because it's built for bigger hands and I struggle to consistently reach the joysticks.

they are the ultimate Marco buttons. I think most people just think of them as two mice and that's why they don't get why they should use them, even in non k/m type games.
- What games have you been playing on your deck? Recently got Grounded on the sale. Hoping to tweak the trackpad to pull up the radial menu faster. Games a lot of fun with friends, but combat it slower when pulling up the radial menu doesn't go away until you've select something.
  
  So I play a lot of games from the 90s that have no concept of a modern controller. Games like Starfleet Academy and MechWarrior 2 and those games are very single keyboard key functions. But with a little bit of trial and error i have all those functions tied to popup onscreen menus and can play handheld no problem. All i need now is a Steam Controller two because when i play docked i feel like i am missing half my controller without the track-pads.

Trackpads are the Steamdeck's killer feature - they elevate it to a useable device in Desktop mode and allow for so many more gametypes than just sticks and gyro.

Quite honestly, if there's going to be a handheld gaming pc that will pull me away from my Steam Deck, it'll need to have the 4 back buttons as well as the trackpads... otherwise, it'll just feel like an inferior product for me.
Doing mouse movements with the analog stick is nearly a non-starter for me.

I like them but I don't often use them in games. Normally I save them for when I play a game that needs a keyboard and mouse and use the trackpads instead

They are absolutely brilliant!

I've found them to be very useful for games that require you to use the mouse a few times, and my God, the radial menu it can create is godlike. I also use it to activate the gyro.

Any gaming pc handheld without trackpads are DoA in my opinion. You simply can't use the desktop interface without them

45 comments