The Steam Controller has been out for a while now, and early adopters have inevitably discovered tricks that Valve hadn't planned. In a new update outlining the improvements made since launch – as well as those still forthcoming – the company draws attention to some of these hidden benefits. For example: did you know you can use the pad's Gyro tracking in concert with its trackpad for greater aiming precision? Well, you can.
Responding to feedback from the community, Valve has also implemented what they're calling 'mouse regions'. Designed for games with tonnes of complicated menus, it allows users to re-map the trackpad based on where you're navigating on-screen. "For example, when holding a grip button, you can make your left trackpad map to the minimap, so it's easy to move your camera around the whole map," the post reads.
Meanwhile, a configurable Touch Menu has been added as well, allowing up to 16 buttons based on keyboard touch keys to be accessible from the gamepad.
Valve also announced a few upcoming features. These include 'Configuration Travelling', which allows you to access your controller configurations for each game on any machine – a useful tool if you're visiting a friend's house. Non-Steam game support is also coming, meaning configurations can be shared among the community for games that aren't Steam native.
The full update is worth reading, whether you own one already or are still tossing up whether to make the jump. Wes's review-in-progress isn't exactly glowing, but with any luck the controller will find its feet after a period spent in the wild.
Oh, and if you're curious to see the Steam Controller assembly line, here you go:
