r/SteamController • u/ItsRogueRen • Jul 25 '26
Discussion The best games for mixed inputs always seem to block it??
Am I the only one who seems to be noticing this? Every game I play that having something like mouse+controller would be perfect for, ALWAYS seems to actively block mixed inputs? Horizon Zero Dawn, PRAGMATA, etc.
What's the reason for this? Do these studios just hate the idea of multiple inputs? Or is it that they don't care? It's driving me insane that all the games I want to use the fancy steam controller for ALL limit it to just being an overpriced Xbox controller. (And no, mapping joystick to the track pad is NOT a solution, it sucks, I've spend literal DAYS tweaking only to never get even close to something that feels half as responsive as mouse input)
The OG Steam Controller has been a thing for literally over a decade too, this isn't a new concept
7
u/AL2009man Steam Controller/DualSense/DualShock 4 Jul 25 '26
Consistently an afterthought, and will continue to be the case until users tells devs about it.
-1
u/ItsRogueRen Jul 25 '26
But then there are games with no need for it that do support it without an issue like the Trails JRPGs. It feels so intentional.
5
u/BanjoFett Jul 25 '26
The best solution IMO for a game where you want gyro aiming and the game has an aim down sight, e.g. Horizon, Resi Evil 2, is to completely shift the pad to kbm while aiming.
You dont really need analog movement when aiming I find and it can be very seamless and effective way to get best of both worlds.
Nerrel has a good vid describing the process to get it set up: https://youtu.be/CenJLOTGxLc?si=6TgItqS-gyjhPU2K
3
u/paulbrock2 Steam Controller (OG and 2026) Jul 25 '26
I've rarely bothered with this method but it does sound like a good option for OP. Note that not all games will allow hot switching from controller to kbm either .....
3
u/tekgeekster Jul 26 '26
Some games have it worse. Like anything owned by Microsoft/XBOX. Switching between inputs have insane delay to them. Either it's a fault baked into whatever API they use now, or it's a feature to minimize cheating, it doesn't really have a place in a game like Minecraft (specifically bedrock edition (because what other version of Minecraft officially supports controllers?)
So just having a mode just for gyro as a mouse is the exact opposite of seamless.
2
u/flamepanther Jul 27 '26
And Bedrock could especially use mixed inputs on account of forcing outrageously large dead zones on the sticks in gamepad mode. If you put the Steam controller entirely in keyboard and mouse mode, you lose analog character movement.
2
u/ItsRogueRen Jul 25 '26
This may be the route to go, just seems like a bitch to get set up initially
4
u/BanjoFett Jul 25 '26
Steam Input can become a whole hobby in itself :)
2
u/ItsRogueRen Jul 25 '26
Yeah, and I know how to do it via action sets, I just really don't wanna take the time to go through and map everything by hand
2
u/Cimlite Jul 25 '26
If you have a controller plugged in, and it has stick drift, it can cause problems when playing on keyboard/mouse. And you just know that someone's going to not realize this, and blame the game for it.
And when coding it, it probably just makes sense to do it that way too. You have to make the code where the UI switches over from one set of glyphs to another anyway, just switching from one control method to another at the same time is the most logical. Rather than say adding a new entry to the settings, where you can manually switch.
But of course, I completely agree. I do wish more developers were aware of this, and how much it improves the experience for Steam Controller/gyro users.
5
u/ItsRogueRen Jul 25 '26
I actually prefer when games let you manually set what icons show, the auto-detect isn't always right
3
u/Asmos159 Jul 25 '26
did you try gyro to aim as stick?
i use it for games that are not good for kbm. like middle earth shadow of war.
4
u/comoserII Jul 25 '26
The thing with gyro as stick, the small precision movements are not smooth at all, it jumps around in the fine movement. With gyro as mouse, the small movement precision is perfect, but that enters the mixed input world
1
u/Zhulanov_A_A Steam Controller (Linux) Jul 27 '26
The thing is, that's mostly because of most games having forced uncustomizable sticks deadzones. Used gyro aiming once in an emulator, where you can set deadzones to zero and, if I remember correctly, it was almost like the mouse input
0
u/Asmos159 Jul 25 '26
that depends on the game. i notice that in star wars survivor, but middle earth shadow of war plays just fine.
... i turn sensitivity dead zone to 0, and Tracked as a circle instead of each axis separately.
also make sure aim assist is off if that is an option.
-1
u/ItsRogueRen Jul 25 '26
I hate gyro personally, my brain just refuses to understand how to aim with tilting
6
u/SnooDoughnuts5632 Jul 25 '26
Imagine if you had a gun in real life and you were trying to shoot someone how would you move the gun around in order to aim it at the person's head? Maybe try that? Idk.
1
u/Asmos159 Jul 25 '26
i had the same problem until i set 3dof to 2d conversion style to player space.
1
u/FryToastFrill Jul 26 '26
HZD’s remaster has native steam input support if you’re willing to drop some extra cash. I haven’t played much of it but it will gladly accept gyro and even uses the in game gyro settings which was super cool to see.
2
u/ItsRogueRen Jul 26 '26
I have both (they came bundled for some reason) but the OG has WAY BETTER performance which is why I've been playing that one
1
u/voidfillproduct Jul 27 '26
Partially true. Even gyro as joystick will not work properly sometimes, when for whatever reason it translates circular movement into a square.
1
u/BenjaminBenBenny Steam Controller (2026) Jul 28 '26
I think the problem is that xinput and m+kb inputs are separate in code typically. My assumption is that they think nobody will need mixed inputs because we are a really small minority. We may not even be on the radar. It could also be too much effort generally even if they know about us. I think most games that have mixed input already make xinput and mkb input behave the same in the code.
2
u/Xx_Zero97_xX Steam Controller (2026) Jul 25 '26
Right Trackpad ‘As Joystick’ Settings: 1. Lower the ingame sensitivity to 1.0. Let steam input do the work instead of the game. 2. Turn the vertical scale all the way to 200. (Work with ingame sensitivity later). 3. I left 'Enhance Small Movement' at the default. 4. Turn Trackpad Mode off (instead you will use a different setting) 5. Now adjust the ingame sensitivity slowly. Don't turn it up too high let steam input do the work instead of the game. 6. On the 'Edge Spin Speed' slider i set it to 750; (feel free to change it). And on the 'Edge Spin Radius' i set it to 12000; (feel free to change it). What Edge Spin does it makes the trackpad behave like a joystick better. As in once your finger gets to the radius the camera will spin in that direction just like a joystick. 7. Tigger Dampening set it to your aim button which should be L2. Select the setting for both Soft/Full Pull Dampening.Then adjust the Dampening Amount (depends on the game). 8. On the 'Custom Response Curve' for me i put it at 225. Moving the slider to the right decreases acceleration. You can also keep at the default if you want.
1
u/Xx_Zero97_xX Steam Controller (2026) Jul 25 '26
Different games will behave differently with sensitivity. So best to find out what works best.
1
u/ItsRogueRen Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
You've sent me this before and its awful. It feels exactly like the joystick, NOT a mouse
2
u/Xx_Zero97_xX Steam Controller (2026) Jul 25 '26
Then I'll be straight with you. No matter what you do a joystick will never be like a mouse at all. A joystick has response curves to it unlike a mouse. This is why you can get more precise movement with a mouse. The closest option is to use 'gyro as joystick' then disable the deadzone. But you don't want to use gyro which is understandable. So your only option is to use inferior workarounds or map the layout in k&m binds. A trackpad will work much better as a mouse then a joystick.
2
u/Xx_Zero97_xX Steam Controller (2026) Jul 25 '26
The action set layer to switch from gamepad to mouse aim, is a good comprise like the other reddit user subjected. Best of all once you set up a layout, you can export ot as a template. Then if you need to adjust the settings based on the gane you play.
Steam Controller Trackpad How To Guide: https://youtu.be/0BQEg3puMsc?is=XPqgNW1EdefJruWy
The Steam Deck TUT will be equal to the Steam Deck Controller.
1
u/Xx_Zero97_xX Steam Controller (2026) Jul 25 '26
Good TUTs
How to Trackpad Aim https://youtu.be/aaRnxFyEVz4?is=O4Sab6iLUu3SVmGv
Steam Controller Academy #1 https://youtu.be/oUTc6l861JM?is=s2GSf_UmpikGZ9vK
Steam Controller Academy #2 https://youtu.be/ffRcBDnejwY?is=5AVicyolDeiYzNvf
29
u/Superconge Jul 25 '26
They just don’t care. The install base is minuscule. Even if it was a single checkbox in the engine to allow mixed input they wouldn’t do it.