Why did they feel the need to replace analog controls with these weird, inconsistently responsive, difficult to map touch controls when every other console platform had already demonstrated why that’s a bad idea?

I have no idea what you’re talking about. The DS4 had a trackpad that was clearly positioned and intended for menu navigation. Nobody used trackpads as a primary game control input before the SC. That’s not because sticks are some god-given pinnacle of technology but because potentiometer-based sticks are cheap and people are used to them. Analog sticks were always, and still are, a crappy way to control a camera. Building a 1:1 thumb based input source into a controller absolutely was innovative and, like it or hate it, I don’t see how you can contest that. The Steam Deck’s pads are actually pretty great to use.

Playstation and Nintendo and XBox had already demonstrated why you don’t build controllers this way ten years earlier.

Again, what are you talking about? The SC was released in 2015.

It’s funny—just a little over five years ago, gamers hated it. Not because they ever used one, but because it was a failure. And as we all know about gamers, there’s nothing they hate more than a failure.

Nice try, but that’s not why I hated it.

This smug revisionism triggers me hard. As a hard core steam fan I loved the idea of the SC, I bought it and really tried to use it, but the reality was just too clunky for primary use. It has no dpad, a single crappy convex analog stick, terribly placed ABXY buttons, horrible shoulder buttons, and just a bit too much input lag on the trackpads. On top all that was (actually, still is) a remapping system that’s way too convoluted to use regularly. There’s also the sad fact that alarmingly many games don’t allow simultaneous gamepad and mouse inputs, and simulating the mouse through right stick inputs feels like shit. I really didn’t find any use case where it’s ergonomically superior to a regular gamepad beside the always cited Civ on the Couch, and I’ve tried with sooo many games.

The deck’s control layout fixes most of the issues – the placement is better (except maybe the Salvador Dali inspired B button but I digress), there is a great d pad, two pretty good analog sticks and the input is snappier. Surprise surprise, the deck is a success.

Was the SC innovative, bold and ahead of its time in many ways? Sure. Was it a good controller to play games with? Hell no.

https://www.tumblr.com/world-heritage-posts/654918860179406848/slangwang-bransonreese-crystallotusfr

Holy hell

Loads of classics in this thread, worth bookmarking to revisit later. Let me add one of my own that I haven’t seen mentioned:

Babe: Pig in the City (1998) - The first movie I saw in the theater by myself, because nobody could be arsed to come along. In the end I was glad, because I cried so much.

Be sure to grab it (DR 2.0, that is) before it’s inevitably delisted, it happens with all heavily licensed games. Even the original Dirt Rally is still fantastic if you have an older rig IMO, and it was going for two bucks years ago.

I have both. EA WRC looks, feels and runs WAY worse compared to Dirt Rally 2.0, and that’s on my fairly beefy 5800x3d / 7800 xt desktop machine. Dr2.0 also runs perfectly on my steam deck, while I haven’t even bothered to try running EA WRC on it (it would run like shit if it ran at all, plus the install size is like a gajillion GB).

On the upside, the tracks are way bigger / longer in EA WRC, some of them are a bit more interesting, and there’s a cool pseudo-roguelite mechanic in the campaign mode where every week you choose what to do (main race or side race to appease the sponsor, recruitment of team members, resting, etc.). That said, I couldn’t bring myself to finish a single season due to how pathetically janky the driving is.

This is a funny distraction and prelude to the inevitable gutting of clean water regulations that he plans to do. Reminds me of the stunt pulled by the inventor of leaded gasoline and real-life Captain Planet villain Thomas Midgley (seriously, look him up) when he tried, unsuccessfully, to assure the public that TEL was safe by huffing it for a minute and pouring it over himself:

“On October 30, 1924, Midgley participated in a press conference to demonstrate the apparent safety of TEL, in which he poured TEL over his hands, placed a bottle of the chemical under his nose, and inhaled its vapor for sixty seconds, declaring that he could do this every day without succumbing to any problems.” [Wikipedia link]

I wish somebody would do a postmortem on the shitshow that is EA WRC, despite having the most beloved rally game dev team and the biggest license in rallying.

My home (gaming) pc is going back to linux for sure., on the very day they drop support for 10.

This seemed impossible so I went to verify it and got gaslit by a fucking machine. I hate this tech so much.

Modern squarish (16:18) monitors do exist, a friend has one and swears by it. For example, this one isn’t even that expensive given the size, resolution and that it’s bundled with what looks like an excellent monitor arm.

Personally I’m more in the “two windows side by side on a big ass 16:9” camp.

Naw. I’m this fucking old:

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He’s literally on the board of a union and everything I’ve seen him say is very pro union, I think you may be taking something out of context.

I’m curious, what’s the issue you have with him? I’ve only seen him vocal about the writer strikes lately and his message was fine.

DVI – sure, but if you think 1080p over VGI looks perfect you should probably get your eyes checked.

Same, little guy. Same.

I’m told that if you mix in some bleach, it’ll “do a tremendous number” on the pathogens.

The US Civil War eclipsed both in the number of casualties.

Dude, what?