Valve's latest announcement for the week - new game controllers

Hot week has stood out! On Monday, Valve introduced a new Linux- based operating system , and on Wednesday teased with new consoles . Today, Valve intends to consolidate the success of the release of game controllers , but, as always, they decided to go their own way and did not copy other people's interfaces based on gestures and body movements. They rely on accuracy, tactility and feedback. This time they even went broke for a couple of renders.

The new controller has two high-resolution trackpad buttons that are superior to the analog sticks of competitors. Promised responsiveness and convenience is not worse than a computer mouse, even in shooters. Game developers do not even need any special modifications, the controller has a compatibility mode that allows it to impersonate a mouse and keyboard.
')
More surprisingly, two linear resonant drives are built into the trackpads, which provide super-accurate tactile feedback. They are capable of a wide range of power and vibration, they even allow you to play sound through them as if through speakers. Special API will give precise control over the frequency, amplitude and direction of their movement.



In the center of the gamepad is a high-resolution touch screen. It can not only provide information, but also works as a button. Unlike the Wii U, the player’s eyes do not have to run between two screens - when a player touches the controller screen, his image is duplicated over the game on the main screen, allowing the player to focus entirely on the game.

In total, the controller has sixteen buttons, which is comparable to the gamepad from the Xbox, but it looks much more elegant. Analog sticks still often interfere in the way, but this will not happen with the trackpads. And pay attention to the two buttons at the back, the little fingers and the nameless ones will also have to be trained.

The policy of openness also affected the controller: “We plan to publish tools by which users can take part in all aspects of controller development, from industrial design to electrical engineering.”


Layout Controller for Portal 2

The controllers will also participate in the beta test as Steam Machines, and if you have not signed up for the test, you can do it here . The first controllers will be wired and with four buttons instead of the screen. Simultaneously with the sending of prototypes, the first version of the API for developers will be opened, which will allow you to integrate Steam Controller into your games.

The last year and a half in Valve have been experimenting with the integration of biometric data into the gameplay. For example, in Left 4 Dead, the frequency of monster attacks was adjusted depending on the player’s stress. Did you sweat the handles? Get ready to fight off the new wave of zombies. No less interesting came from Portal 2: they added control through the eyes. Apparently, the accuracy of biometrics did not satisfy them and they decided to go the other way.

Next week, on Steam Universe will be published detailed information about all the updates and talked about the process of developing and creating prototypes.