Steam Link and Steam Controller now available to Pre Order

Did you have email saying it has been dispatched? I haven't received any email yet though I only ordered mine last week so am probably way down the order. :)
 
If you only ordered it last week then you wont get it until next month.

People getting it today are the people who first ordered back in June, there was a pre-order bonus to get it today rather than the regular release date of 10th Nov.
 
Mine arrived today, both the Link and the Controller...

It says I've to update the controller firmware but doesn't say how... Time to google!

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Edit

Plugging the controller into the host PC done nothing after the firmware update notification... Switching of Steam Link then starting Big Picture with the controller plugged in on the host machine solved the issue.
 
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Some very initial feedback on the controller and link;
Link streaming over 5GHz wifi is pretty robust but I have noticed a few audio stuttering like issues on some games. Visually no problems, as yet.

It's fair to say I'm lost with the controller; some games work fine with it, others seemingly not. The haptic feedback on the right hand pad bit feels odd when using it. Almost like it emits a sort of low audible buzz/vibration (this is expected).
 
The Link is excellent, I suffered on my HTPC streaming as i'm over sensitive to the input lag, but for some reason on the Link feels totally different. Its a lot more responsive.

I used both hard wired, not tried wireless!

The steam controller... The layout feels a little awkward.
 
I will be refunding mine.

Not worth £40 in my opinion.

I have no need for multiple controllers for different games, the XBOX 360 pad does a good enough job in that respect.

I do not need a Mouse/Keyboard replacement, I was looking for a 360 pad replacement.
 
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Gimpymoo said:
I will be refunding mine. I have no need for multiple controllers for different games, the XBOX 360 pad does a good enough job in that respect.
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Maybe I'm not reading this right but to me this seems like you're saying you don't need multiple controllers, so you bought multiple controllers?
 
DampCat said:
Who the hell wants to sit on a sofa with a keyboard and mouse anyway?
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Me:D My house is tiny and the man room i currently occupy will have to be given up in the next year or so for one of my daughters. There is nowhere in the house to put my desk and i do really mean nowhere at all. That corsair lapdog thing on my telly downstairs will be my best bet for FPS games.
 
Lethagized said:
Me:D My house is tiny and the man room i currently occupy will have to be given up in the next year or so for one of my daughters. There is nowhere in the house to put my desk and i do really mean nowhere at all. That corsair lapdog thing on my telly downstairs will be my best bet for FPS games.
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Look at the Razer Turret as well.

On a general note I was looking at the nVidia Shield TV but the fact that you can use the steam controller and Xbox controller on this may sway me. Looks good
 
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Looks like fairly mixed reviews for the controller, but I guess it's early days. I can't see myself ditching my battered 360 controller just yet.
 
It's the button placement thats freaking me out, I've got the hang of the pad but my fingers are so used to moving up and right to four buttons from DS2,DS3,DS4 and 360 controllers that they just wont move down and left or I settle on the wrong button.
 
Lethagized said:
Why would you want a 360 pad replacement
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There was a lot of hype over the Steam controller and how it would be be a step up from a dual analog gamepad, just not quite as good as a keyboard/mouse.

Which was probably quite misguided. We heard very early on, from the beta impressions, that many people were struggling with it in many situations. The defenders always claimed, "People just need to get used to it!", but I think that is also misguided and merely wishful thinking. It isn't like learning some new controller like when the first single or dual analog stick controllers came out and it was just a matter of learning the coordination. People have been saying the Steam controller simply isn't accurate enough in certain situations and simply doesn't feel good in certain games.

People are also now saying that it just needs to be configured properly, somehow assuming that because there's a ton of available options, that there will somehow be some magical 'right' configuration that erases all bad feeling or whatever.

From what I'm gathering, I think people should give up thinking this will be useful for most games that require fast and accurate input. You can probably do one or the other(fast but not accurate and accurate but not fast), but not both. I'm sure we'll see some freaks out there that show that it *can* be done and people will use these as examples that there's nothing wrong with the controller, but I've also seen people use a gamepad to put in elite lap times in Project Cars, even though I think it's well established that gamepads just dont work very well with the game overall. They will be exceptions and outliers, not evidence that it's just a matter of time.

Basically, dont treat this as a replacement for either a 360 pad or a keyboard/mouse completely. Both of these things will still have their place, whereas the Steam controller will have a bit of overlap of both depending on the title while also providing its own unique functionality at times.
 
I don't play too many super twitchy games, and I certainly don't play multiplayer, so I'm hoping I can make it work for me, particularly for things that would otherwise need a mouse. Time will tell.
 
Seanspeed said:
Basically, dont treat this as a replacement for either a 360 pad or a keyboard/mouse completely. Both of these things will still have their place, whereas the Steam controller will have a bit of overlap of both depending on the title while also providing its own unique functionality at times.
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This...

I'm still deciding whether to buy the controller (I definitely want to give the steam-link a go as limelight on the rpi2 isn't quite as seamless an experience as I'd hope the link is)

The controller seems a good way to play games which just don't play well with a normal controller and you might want to play from the sofa; I personally can't stand FPS with a controller or when I'm not close enough to the screen so I don't think it would bother me that it sounds like it's a poor substitute for a proper mouse+keyboard - I'll just continue to play proper/competitive games at my desk like always but have the option of kicking back with some Civ V or XCOM or a point n' click game from the comfort of the sofa
 
uncle_rufus said:
I'll just continue to play proper/competitive games at my desk like always but have the option of kicking back with some Civ V or XCOM or a point n' click game from the comfort of the sofa
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Bingo.

I ordered a Steam Link so I'll have my first go at couch PC gaming and that's exactly why I'll probably be getting a Steam controller, for games like Civilization and Xcom and Cities Skylines and whatnot. There will hopefully be some good user configurations by then as well.
 
Anyone used the Link with a wireless 360 pad? I assume it needs the USB dongle used for PC connectivity to be plugged in, rather than natively supporting the 360 wireless protocol?
 
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