So I've been tempted to pick up that Steam Controller + Civ VI bundle. I'm gonna get Civ VI anyway, and $30 is a pretty good deal for a state-of-the-art controller, but I have some questions:
1. It says that it requires a Steam Machine or other way of doing Big Picture mode. My PC can do big picture mode, but it's not an optimal interface for a computer. Is this a good controller for someone who just wants to use it to play PC games?
2. It's super-customizable, but the nice thing about my Xbox 360 controller is it works with just about anything right out of the box. How much of a pain is it to get the Steam Controller working with a game right off the bat? Is it a process to set it up for each game, or are most games pre-loaded?
3. I assume it works fine on games that aren't on Steam, right? Got a lot of GOG games I'd like to use it on.
Great questions! Here are some answers. But keep in mind, this is coming from someone who loves his two steam controllers.
1. Games do not need to run in big picture mode for the steam controller to work. However, to edit the controller configuration while playing the game, you have to be running big picture mode. If big picture mode isn't running then the last config you saved for that game will be loaded. You can edit the config for a game without booting up the game, but you have to do it through big picture mode.
2. For all games that support a 360 controller, the steam controller defaults to 360 controller mapping. You don't have to change anything at all. Also, you can pull up community recommended profiles that are popular for specific games. And of course, you can go in and customize everything, with new options being added regularly.
3. For a game profile to be loaded into the controller that isn't the default desktop mouse mode, the game needs to be launched through steam. But you can add non-steam games to steam (like gog games) and launch them from there.
Hope that helps with your decision. I picked up a second controller with a game bundle too, so that I could have one for my home theater computer. Works great as a mouse from the couch.