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.
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
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
gripes
i wish the smach z hadn’t been a scam. i was so looking forward to that thing
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. @[email protected] 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.
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
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
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
like i said; sensitivity-wise they’re perfect
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.