Help… too many options… I’m drowning…
Valve has released a beta build for its newest Steam Controller update, andsomehowit’s managed to cram even more customisation options into an already almost overloaded pad.
The Activator Update’spatch notesare slightly confusing if you’re not intimately knowledgeable of the Steam Controller:
In layman’s terms, the update lets you set activation rules for different outputs on the same physical button. Different ways of pressing a button can have their own unique effects, for example in an FPS a single press of a button could be to crouch, while a long press of it could be to go prone.
It goes a bit further than that, though, as activators can also be used to trigger entire mode shifts for the rest of the pad. Press one button, and every other button can change to a new purpose. This’ll be particularly helpful for MMOs, or other games that feature long hotbars with more skills than there are physical buttons. Set up an activator to toggle between modes, and each of the face buttons could swap to a different set of abilities for easier access.
Like everything else with the Steam controller, setting up activators can be a bit daunting at first. But with a bit of practice, I can see this update being one of the most important ones the pad’s had in a long time.
You can read the complete update logs onthe Steam Community. If you want to give activators a go for yourself, verify your client is on the newest Steam beta.
