Valve released a set of files showing users how to build or modify their own version of the Steam Controller on Thursday. Shared in a post on Valve’s corporate blog, the files show the controller’s mechanical CAD geometry, and includes schematics and 3D printer files for each of the controller’s parts.
“The archive contains several eDrawings viewer files,” Valve explained in the post, “from Creo Express and native Modeling, to neutral exchange and 3D print files — for compatibility with a wide variety of your design tools.”
Valve also made the parts legally available under a Creative Commons license. Potential users can build homemade Steam Controllers or variations of it and share them as much as they like. Valve did note, however, that modders will need to get permission from Valve before attempting to sell their Steam Controller mods. Based on the language, though, it sounds like they’re at least open to the idea.
To get the ball rolling, Valve also released plans for a few modified parts of its own. Specifically, it made two new versions of the controller’s battery door, which add a convenient slot to store the controller’s USB wireless receiver. Then again, as Kotaku pointed out, modders have already been putting together their own takes on the controller before the announcement, such as YouTuber Ben Heck’s more mouse-like model.
Valve’s recent forays into hardware, including the Steam Controller, have generally received mixed reviews from fans and pundits. It will be interesting to see how (or, more accurately if) fans will be able to riff on the design in a meaningful way. Should they succeed, it will be even more interesting to see how Valve responds to someone else improving on its platform.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.