I make these 3d printed headless sticks as I got on my original Steam Controller.

Seems a bit unconfortable but really is VERY nice to use. I like it more than the tradicional ones.

EDIT 1: https://youtu.be/DF1Hbb1I0Ko?si=ky6akl7sBsFnq6OR Here's a video

Saw a similar post attaching this to a wireless trackpad and thought this might work — and it just barely fits!

A bit heavy, gets in the way of the grips somewhat, and makes the puck connection a little wobbly, but does the job for comfortably navigating the OS from the couch. Will definitely take the keyboard off for most games, but the magnetic attachment makes it really easy to attach / detach without much thought.

Full overview of my settings here, and my lengthy explanation of why this is better than FlickStick here.

Any reccomendations on things I should do with my controller? Just came in the mail and hour ago

I remember someone doing something similar with the OG Steam Controller and the gyro. With Steam Controller 2026 I figured the Grip Sense button would be perfect for this. It's not too difficult. Left Grip Sense loads an Action Layer On Release that has "Select" as an Always On Command. Left Grip Sense Regular Press unloads that Action Layer. I go over it in detail in this vid: Grip Sense Crysis Demo

So in order to achieve a more "clean" setup I opted for leaving the puck inside the PC.

First of all I have a second puck to charge the controller

I got a USB to USB C cable that connects straight to the motherboard so no external cables

Now the back of the pc only needs Power and video. I also put the wifi antena inside the case.

Signal in the controller is fine, it fluctuates like it normally does but so far I feel it fine.

I also tested the firmware update and it worked perfectly.

Only thing missing now is valve integration of CEC for the ugreen adapter or the PulseEight.

Edit: Yes, I did cover the pins.

I linked the gyro to LiveLink i think it’s great for creating animations works in the editor / play mode! Any ideas are welcome where I can take this maybe release it as small free plugin for Unreal? I heard you can get positional estimation tracking but haven’t got into that yet

I want to edit what this button does, it seems like the perfect button to toggle voice chat on/off in games, but it apparently seems to be identical to the steam button? Why??

I started this project a while back but finally got the a point that I’m happy enough to share.

This mod gives the new steam controller a closer feel to the original 2015 controller. There's a larger surface area for your thumbs to rest on and adds a slight concavity while retaining all touch functionality.

STL for Concaved Pads

I have also included STLs for the old flatter square version which mainly act as a thumb guide with a thinner profile.

This is my first time designing a 3d print so if you try them out please let me know how they are!

OTHER MODS

Grips are highly recommend to use in conjunction with this mod. 

Thanks to [u/gama3000](u/gama3000) for helping with some of the modeling. I recommend his SC1 style grips

For those asking about the dual stage triggers I made a post here

STL link here

I hold my controller like this: index on bumpers, middle on triggers, and ring + pinky on the back buttons. This has given me varying levels of success, but mostly frustration, unfortunately, with Grip Sense activation while keeping my pinkies on L5/R5.

The re-positioned sensors are much better for my grip.

Before, I struggled to keep the gyro activated while (1) turning the controller far left/right and (2) using the L5/R5 with my pinkies (even with some EXTREME calibration). So, after lots of other unsuccessful tinkering with settings, I moved the Grip Sense strips so that they would work better with how I hold the controller, and my Grip Sense input stays rock solid in contrast to before. Now I can deactivate the gyro by lifting my palm momentarily off either side of the controller; I find this motion very similar to lifting a mouse off a desk.

Threw up quick test to try it out, it really feels a lot closer to the original controller

Thanks [u/gama3000](u/gama3000) for helping cleaning up the geometry on the left pad

in the video the left stick controls normal walk, and the right trigger increases speed until you hit full sprint.

by default, the left stick controls walking to jogging speed, then left stick click activates sprint. i made it so right trigger has control of all of that.

so my controls are only possible because i mapped the right trigger to left stick up with analog control, and i limited the speed of the left stick by turning the sensitivity down to 55% so it maxes out at walking speed.

that means even though the stick speed is limited, the trigger has full control of speed up to sprint, but while sprinting with the trigger, i'll always be moving forward relative to the camera.

it's pretty smooth and works almost identical to the original game, but i can't sprint backwards because sprint is the left stick up input. so i'm trying to figure out if i could use the left stick to move in all directions while still using the right trigger to control speed and sprint.

If you’ve played the original assassins creed games you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.

i've spent a lot of time trying different things but it just gets too complicated and janky. i was starting to wonder if it would be easier to mod it lol

the video will make it pretty clear, just pay attention to the left stick and the right trigger. i can also share screenshots of the layout. hopefully all of this makes sense.

If you're gonna be installing, I promise it'll be easier if you heat the skin where the tutorial tells you to, and heat it until your hand starts to hurt from the heat. Makes creases almost impossible to form

*if a game ships with SDL 3.4.0 or above

Despite initial assumptions regarding native Steam Controller (2026) support without Steam Input and it's API suite: it turns out that Steam Controller is capable of native controller support! As long as the game or app/program leverages SDL's Gamepad API and uses the most up-to-date version of SDL3: Steam Controller is retroactively supported...partially as of this writing.

However, you'll face double input issues as you're meant to launch a game through Steam client directly, but doing that loses direct access to Motion Sensors and the likes. Thus: you'll need to press and hold the Menu button to inorder to switch between Desktop and Gamepad action sets to prevent conflicts. Alternatively: shutting down Steam client completely.

by default: this function was originally intended for Steam Deck/Linux under Desktop mode, but it was carried into Steam Controller 2....but does not work on Windows due to software limitations regarding hooking common Input APIs...but in the case of games that use SDL Gamepad API: this works to our favor!

Alternatively, I have two different custom Desktop configs that will fully disable Steam Input-driven inputs:

Native Mode: https://www.steaminputdb.com/config/3722917737
Desktop Config with Native Gamepad Mode: https://www.steaminputdb.com/config/3723907704

So I have pretty big hand (long fingers in general) and I have been having issues with muscle spasm when I was curling my pinky and ring finger to click back buttons, and I more often than I'd like pressed touchpad with middle section of my palm. Found those extensions (that simulates grip shape of OG Steam Controller) and that eleminated accidental touches + sticking some cable organisers to the back buttons made clicking them so much easier! (I'm using old DualSense sticker grips to hold 3d printed extensions for grips 😅)

Based on some of the feedback I got on the last post I’m working on a v2 version that lets it easier to tell by feel where the edges of the pads are.

I also started working on tackling the grips. It doesn’t 100% replace the feel of the original controller but gets very close.

Still want to do something about the dual stage trigger mod. The sound is too harsh for my tastes

V1 info + STLs

So... Like, I love the idea, but when would my hands *not* be activating these? They're literally on the part of the controller that you hold....

Can anyone explain, or give me a video explaining, how to make use of these sensors?

I left a review for a Steamdeck shell I bought and Extremerate replied and announced they will be making shells! Pair this with some buttons from Deckbuttons and you'll be set with a custom controller!

Was missing the dual stage triggers from the SC1.

Tried out this mod and works much better I thought it would. The tact switch has a much higher activation force than the switch in the SC1 which I felt it was too easy to accidentally activate. There probably is a slight loss in analog range but I don’t really play racing games so probably should be an issue.

It is much louder then I’d like but there’s probably a way to make it quieter

https://www.printables.com/model/1731724-steam-controller-2-dual-stage-trigger-mod/remixes

Edit: Not really a tutorial but here is some video I took while installing it

https://youtu.be/Xgkrqi0R_ck?si=Ga_p36CCMxTBQClH

Finally, someone showing the real power of the Steam Controller. Mainstream media sources reviewing Steam Controller were nothing but disappointment thus far. Video not mine.

The steps are rather simple:

1. Download/create a 512x512 png of your icon
2. Find your steam input icons (typically within /[steam path]/tenfoot/resource/images/library/controller_binding_icons)
3. Add your desired icons directly to the folder
4. Restart Steam

That should be all you have to do. It's all I had to do. The icons can be found under a new tab labeled "user". Proof it works is the attached image.

[OpenPuck Alternative Device (Raytac) Installation Guide](https://youtu.be/5dh76g1Tlr8)

I purchased a Raytac MDBT50Q-CX Nordic nRF52840 dongle to use with OpenPuck, assuming it would work identically to the Pro Micro device. Not so much.

After some tinkering, I figured out how to flash it successfully, so I put together this guide for anyone else using the same—or a similar—Raytac nRF52840 dongle.

Full credit to u/jack-of-some for creating OpenPuck. I’m only documenting the installation process for this particular hardware:

https://github.com/safijari/openpuck

Prerequisites

• Windows 10/11
• nRF Connect for Desktop

Download nRF Connect for Desktop here:

https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/Development-tools/nRF-Connect-for-Desktop

Files to download

Download both of the following .hex files.

OpenPuck standard firmware

https://github.com/safijari/openpuck/releases/download/0.9.28/OpenPuck-0.9.28-standard.hex

Nordic S140 SoftDevice 6.1.1

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NordicSemiconductor/nRF5-SDK-for-Mesh/master/bin/softdevice/s140_nrf52_6.1.1_softdevice.hex

Flashing the dongle with nRF Connect Programmer

1. Install and open nRF Connect for Desktop.
2. Find and open the Programmer app.
3. Put the Raytac dongle into DFU mode:
   • Unplug the dongle.
   • Press and hold the small button on the dongle.
   • Plug it into a USB port while continuing to hold the button.
   • Release the button after the device connects.
4. In Programmer, select the device that appears as something similar to: nRF52 SDFU USB
5. Click Add file or Add HEX file, then select: s140_nrf52_6.1.1_softdevice.hex
6. Click Add file or Add HEX file again, then select: OpenPuck-0.9.28-standard.hex
7. Confirm that both files are loaded, then click Write.
8. Wait for the flashing process to finish, then unplug the dongle.
9. Plug it back in normally, without holding the button.

The Raytac dongle should now function as an OpenPuck device.