[Leak] Steam Controller 2 render thumbnail leaked in SteamVR drivers

Those trackpads better have damn good palm reject because getting to those thumbsticks without brushing the trackpads will be impossible for many people.

Thank you - I couldn't see the buttons between the track pads before. Does anyone have an idea what that might be?

Awww, poor guy looks sad

There will probably be gamingonlinux/steamdeckhq articles in the morning, but for now this is the only source.

What's a two-stage trigger? Analogue until it's all the way down, then a click (like the GameCube)?

I got an 8bitdo controller (ultimate 2C or whatever), and it feels really nice. Except the triggers are not two-stage. And it's smaller.

Honestly not having a dpad and second thumbstick is a deal breaker for me on the original steam controller, it means that most games with built in controller support don't work well without switching to a custom or community layout. I think having a "normal" controller layout + trackpads/etc is necessary for the controller to succeed.

Additionally, having this layout means it will match the Steam Deck, which should make all control profiles interchangable.

I was going to say that if you wanted one they're cheap on eBay, but after checking, they're $50+

Square pads are where it's at until you start playing on a round TV screen. Besides, it's way easier to set up hockey buttons in a square Touch Pad than a round one.

It would be cool if they made the next steam controller have two versions which are exactly the same both with two touchpads and with two with joysticks except one has the touchpads in the prime ergonomic spot on top the other with the two joysticks in the prime ergonomic spot.

I imagine a decent amount of people would like the "subpar" placement of their preferred inputs too because there is such a variety of hand shapes and sizes.

I remember seeing the Steam Deck and thinking "the button placement is really weird, none of this looks comfortable". Then when I took it in my hands for the first time, everything made sense.

It seems to me like the thumbsticks are in the same ergonomic location as on a Playstation controller, and the trackpads are just in the empty space that would otherwise be there. I’m fully into it even if this is what it looks like when complete

I'm a big Steam Controller trackpad user, and I already nearly never use my Deck trackpads because they're too low down. This new one just looks like a normal controller with extra bulk, and nonsense in the area no controller except the N64 used because it's not where most people grow fingers. I guess it'll at least have paddles, but they're hardly a unique feature these days. I really just wanted the existing one again, but with more paddles, an option for an integrated battery, USB-C instead of micro B, and an official supply of replacement thumbsticks instead of having to bodge in 8bitdo ones that aren't quite the same shape.

Looks about the same layout as the steam deck, and it's great on there. Dunno about the pads not being squared up, though. Dunno that I would like that, even if it would make the pads easier to reach, I still might rather have them squared up.

Honestly, the biggest issue with the original was that it's non-traditional layout meant that games with built in controller support didn't necessarily work well on it. This layout will make it full featured as a "normal controller", while offering additional input options when the game benefits from it.

Iant that what Aperture Desk Job did?

There were similar concerns when the steam deck was first revealed, and it works fine. So I'm not too worried.

They look like they're in about the same position or lower than the sticks in the steam deck.
I'm guessing it's a little lower since there's no screen in the middle so your hands are angled together a little more.

He's a well known steam data miner, it's not just a random Twitter user claiming to have a leak.

Agreed. I can't access Twitter because its blocked (through some plugins). I think sotwe can display posts without using Twitter directly (not sure if this is a good site, literally just found it): https://www.sotwe.com/SadlyItsBradley

Yeah, I find the controller disappointing as a Steam Controller user because I want a new touchpad centric controller for updated gyro with the old one not feeling smooth for high refresh rate displays.

The approach they went with is one that satisfies joystick users who aren't really lacking for options when it comes to joystick controllers, but disappointing for the few half dozen users who main the touchpads and have only the option of the discontinued Steam Controller. The Deck pads were a let down for me with the ergonomics, placement, size, and shape so they didn't end up being a good touchpad successor for my use case opting for the joysticks when I use the Deck.

I'm not surprised with the more mainstream direction they went. Just disappointed but I expected to be disappointed.

The original Steam controller worked without Steam running, even including some of the extra features like mouse and scrolling functions for the trackpads if you wanted it to. So here's hoping

The Steam Deck's controller is usable without Steam running, except for that long, looong pause when Steam has taken over the controller but isn't doing anything about it yet.

I wish that Steam would not put the mouse buttons on the triggers, just leave them on the trackpad-click. And put "high res trackpad scrolling" on the left pad. But you can't have everything.

I use the Steam Controller for games like Doom Eternal, Left 4 Dead 2, Spin Rhythm XD, The Finals, etc.

Using steam input is a requirement to get the most out of it.

This is my basic approach for most games.

• Mapping mouse to touchpad and adjusting sensitivity to 180
• Mapping mouse (beta) to gyro and adjusting sensitivity until 90 degree turn of the controller turns in game camera 675 degrees for first person/450 for third person
• Setting up a dpad modeshift on right touchpad click and inverting outer ring so I can set the touchoutput 5 different actions depending on if I click up, down, left, right, center as opposed to only a solitary single click action. If I need more I set up a chord so holding left grip shifts the same actions into another set of 5 inputs. I got for Dead Zone: 181919 and Outer Ring Binding Radius: 16750 when it comes to values in the new Steam Input.
• Setting movement to left pad and and setting an outer ring sprint bind on it and mapping crouch/slide/dash actions on click

I saved the template for gamepad bindings for games that support mixed input and full mouse and keyboard for ones I don't. So I don't have to go through the whole thing all the time. I just apply my template and then just switch the bindings around and adjust the sensitivity.

If you want to try out a config I have one uploaded for the Finals called "dualpad with gyro update..." Some changes you'll want to make to the settings is Mouse sensitivity to 20, mouse focal length sensitivity 106, swap ping and emote in game, change sprint and crouch to hold, and obviously turn off aim assist. Holding the right start buttons switches into an action set I use when playing light where left grip is crouch as opposed to a chord modifier like in the default and left pad click is for dashing and grappling. Default action set clicking the left pad is crouch/slide and left grip changing the right pad clicks to gadget switching.

They're apparently worth a fair bit now if you're looking to just get rid of it

Not the same thing, but the steam input allows you to make virtual buttons and assign them to the area of a touchpad.

Doesn't everybody play fighting games on "a piece of plywood with a bunch of arcade buttons jammed into it"?

Oh, and the backside buttons on the deck are pretty convenient. You might end up liking them more than having "more face buttons than your thumb can reach".

The Deck is very ergonomic.

I don't know how well flat sides would work for a normal controller, though, as your hands/arms are much closer together.

The steam deck is much wider than a normal controller, so much less of an angle is needed for a comfortable grip. There's a reason that most handhelds (Switch, Rog Ally, Lenovo Go, Wii U gamepad, etc) don't have angled grips.

I find the regular steam deck to be very comfortable for it's size and weight.

the steam deck is heavier than the xbone controller.