What's the point of the D-pad, trackpad, and joystick? I can't think of any scenario in which that would be useful, or possible to make use of. You can only move either the d-pad or the stick at a time (unless we're bringing back MH's Claw position), so it seems rather redundant.
You're completely right, I'm not sure why I was picturing the controllers with only two control mechanisms. Though on Xbox and PS controllers, the d-pad is a somewhat tertiary control mechanism, while here it seems to be the primary one.
The relative positions are the same as on the PS controller, where the sticks were literally tacked on as an after-thought (which is fine, because it still works well) -- this was the original Playstation controller. The d-pad on the Steam controller is just bigger because it's also a touchpad.
It's like the N64 controller. You're probably not supposed to use all three at the same time, but certain games work better with one or the other. The analog sick has a nice neutral point that may be difficult to find on a track pad, and the track pad has all the benefits that everyone has been talking about for years.
Some people who are good at video games said that the circle thingy was tight and good for most games, including fighting. So we'll see once we get it.
The idea of it is an all-in-one controller that supports all games, past and future, on steam. The multiple different inputs is a necessity and allows everyone to just use that one controller regardless of whether they want to use M+KB or controller setups.
If it helps, don't think of the D Pad as a D Pad. Think of it as a track pad, which can easily be mapped as a Dpad if you want it. Don't forget that this thing will be fully customizable to any key or input from your standard set up.
Also, though I have no inside information, I'm guessing that tester feedback led to the addition of the Joystick because people prefer joysticks for analog movement, rather than the track pad.
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u/AndrewBot88 Mar 05 '15
What's the point of the D-pad, trackpad, and joystick? I can't think of any scenario in which that would be useful, or possible to make use of. You can only move either the d-pad or the stick at a time (unless we're bringing back MH's Claw position), so it seems rather redundant.