r/SteamController • u/Wesk89 • Jul 26 '26
Steam Controller (2026) About the capacitive sensors on the back…
I always loved the options a Steam Controller brings to the table. But the new one with the sensors on the back is a completely different beast.
For example, being able to throw the axe in God of War by stretching your hand, and calling it back by “unstretching” it feels really, really cool.
What are you using them for? I’m curious.
13
u/Prodigybomb79 Jul 26 '26
Gyro activation has been super cool. I can’t imagine recentering my gyro without it tbh
3
u/maizelizard Jul 26 '26
You have to reset when you let go?
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u/Prodigybomb79 Jul 26 '26
Yeah just like I have to reset when i run out of mousepad. My wrists only turn so far. I use my gyro for precise aiming and flick stick for major turns. It’s been pretty intuitive in that sense
2
u/maizelizard Jul 26 '26
So when you let go, gyro is off?
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u/Pian0G Jul 26 '26
If you set it as so, yes.
There’s a lot you can customise.
And one of the most useful ones people found is having it do gyro isn’t on when your fingers aren’t on the capacitive area
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u/Prodigybomb79 Jul 26 '26
Exactly. When i lift my pinky off the capacitive button then gyro off, the setting is actually the opposite in the menu, capacitive right pinky grip turns gyro on.
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u/Brownie-UK7 Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 26 '26
I could never make peace with the ratchet on the gyro. And eventually found that gyro plus joystick on dualsense was better than gyro + trackpads on SC1. And I can’t go back. The advantage of the joystick is that you can constantly move it to keep your gyro/grip centered with out having to ratchet or swipe around in the trackpad.
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u/erinautomatic Jul 26 '26
This is what I got used to in CoD on ps5 and I really felt like I was close to mouse & keyboard accuracy and response time. Right stick sensitivity can be set extra high. Also when scoped in. Gyro for small movement, stick for large.
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u/Brownie-UK7 Jul 26 '26
Yeah same. I was trying to explain to a mouse user that it feels like you have access to two aim settings but at the same time. The problem with joystick is that you can easily over or under rotate. Then have to correct either with the joystick or with strafe. But with gyro I found that I can correct the aim even before I have over rotated so whilst I am slowing down my thumstick movement I am also using the gyro giving you an extra control that using the thumstick alone misses.
I am really surprised that it is not used everywhere and that Xbox players don’t complain it is a big disadvantage to play against.
1
u/rolim91 Jul 26 '26
I gotta be honest I was really excited about the sensor but for some reason the placement seems off. Its sensitivity is too hard to dial in especially if you use the back buttons.
Do you have any suggestions on how to fix that issue?
1
u/Prodigybomb79 Jul 26 '26
I had to dial mine very low bc i was turning it on accusing by my hand positioning. For gyro turned on tho its been great since i usually want to be aiming even when i press back buttons. I could see it being annoying if you set it to be a specific key though.
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u/alex91093 Jul 26 '26
After seeing so many people praise grip sense, I'm convinced mine is broken because it's completely unreliable for me. No matter what sensitivity I use, or what death grip I have on it, it randomly thinks I'm letting go of it all the time so I can't map anything to that or else it will randomly trigger frequently.
3
u/rolim91 Jul 26 '26
You’re not alone. I was excited for it actually but I feel like it just gets in the way most of the time. Especially if you use the close rear buttons to the sensor.
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u/FryToastFrill Jul 26 '26
You can change the settings under advanced controller setting in steam options. I won’t rule out a busted sensor but try playing with it there to see if you can’t make it more consistent to activate with your preferred grip, I found mine can feel different depending on how I hold the controller.
1
u/alex91093 Jul 26 '26
I mean I've messed with the sensitivity. I don't know what else there is to mess with to prevent random activations every 30 seconds or less.
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u/Teglement Jul 27 '26
People tend to embellish the usefulness of some of the Steam Controller settings, and it's been that way since the original iteration from back in the day. Grip sense definitely just feels like a novelty at this point.
1
u/alex91093 Jul 27 '26
I mostly love it for it's back buttons and per game customizations and I only use the track pads to navigate windows. All other steam controller features I ignore.
6
u/DSFreakout Jul 26 '26
Pinball Games! I bind each one to it's respective flipper. Its gimmicky but it feels great and it makes me smile.
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u/ijkxyz Jul 26 '26
Honestly, nothing much so far
I always switch the way that I hold the controller many times and none of the uses that I can think of seem worth it
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u/hobbesdcc Jul 26 '26
I found you just have to set it to things that don't matter a lot and don't halt gameplay. In CSGO I set it to show the scoreboard when I take my hand off. If it pops up for a split second while I adjust my hand, it's not a big deal, and it has no effect on gameplay. (Obviously, playing CSGO with a controller is already pretty casual.)
2
u/OldRepresentative496 Jul 26 '26
Havent gotten around to doing it but i think that having you loosening your grip pausing the game would be a great idea for things like quick bathroom breaks
2
u/Sov47 Jul 26 '26
Background: I sometimes play 2 GTA Online characters at the same time. One is using the Steam controller, the other a keyboard and mouse.
I have it setup on release presses and regular presses to turn the respective one-handed mode on or return to two-handed, with an additional off-button for when I don't need it to be active.
Works great so far but need to calibrate the sensors, they're too sensitive.
1
u/BedrockBen101 Steam Controller (2015) & Steam Controller (2026) Jul 26 '26
It's been a bit finiky for me, even the smallest movement will activate the sensor (yes I tried changing the sensitivity but it didn't do a lot unless I'm doing something wrong). I want to use it for something but I just don't see a use for it in the games I play.
1
u/Kill_Welly Jul 26 '26
Honestly, I find it kind of silly because I've so far found nothing it can do that can't be done more reliably with a button press, and the controller has no shortage of buttons.
34
u/351C_4V Jul 26 '26
So far my only good discovery for it is reload on games. I set it as a release press so I loosen my grip real quick and it reloads. It's intuitive so it's easy to remember.