It just occurred to me that the Switch 2’s MouseMode could be the only control method that the Steam Deck is “missing.” I would absolutely love to be able to play DOOM or Halo: MCC or Overkill from the couch. This would be the only thing I’d like more than the rumored Steam Controller 2 design.
Any Bluetooth mouse already works and has better ergonomics.
“any bluetooth mouse” needs to be paired with either a keyboard, or one of those split keyboards, or a gamepad in the other hand and none of those are very conducive to playing a game from the couch.
I’ll admit I haven’t tried the MouseMode at all, let alone on my lap or on the couch next to me but it sounds extremely novel and likely to catch on if it could work well.
Just adding here that when I first got into PC gaming, I was really into Battlefield 3 but hated the M+K controls for any of the vehicles so I would pick up my wired gamepad whenever I got into a vehicle.
If we had something that seamlessly mixed the strengths of both input methods, as it seems that the Switch 2 JoyCons do, that would solve so many of the problems I have with playing vehicle-heavy FPS games, or 3rd person action games that also include aiming a ranged weapon.
… You can probably just pair a Joycon 2 with the deck to get the functionality. Since the steamdeck does not feature detachable controllers in its design, an external controller is needed. Any controller that connects via Bluetooth or other wireless standard pretty much works - Bluetooth as a standard even allows a single device to use different profiles.
If the feature for “mouse mode” is implemented in the Joycon 2 hardware, there should be little effort needed to make it work with the deck. If it is a proprietary host/device driver interaction, it probably uses standard HID signals because those would take a good amount of time and money to reinvent, so, reverse engineering everything needed for the driver should be fairly quick and easy for people who deal with Linux device drivers.
Personally, I tend to just use the trackpad on the Dualsense controller as a mouse. It works, no bother.
Couldn’t you just use any wireless mouse? It’s not like the deck is limited to only controllers.
Or is the idea that you want the left controller for movement, rather than using the left controls on the deck or a full controller?
That said, I’m sceptical that the joycon mouse experience is any good on surfaces other than a table. Or even then, considering the ergonomics of the thing when used as a mouse.
Even if the sensor in it is a good one, it’s going to be bluetooth, and bluetooth mice have always had painfully noticeable latency in my experience.
You can use any mouse. Also after an initial learning curve, trackball mice are a very couch friendly mouse.
It’s cool that the switch 2 has a mouse mode, but it’s not very ergonomic and it’s pretty limited in terms of comfortable inputs.
If I were to use a trackball, I might as well use my old Steam Controller with its track pads which are practically the same.
I feel like the benefit of the Mouse Mode is you have two halves of a Steam Deck’s built-in controller, one in each hand, but instead of track pads you have an actual laser mouse. Maybe I’m being picky but this seems relatively revolutionary in my head
For trackball, I personally find a finger controlled trackball much more intuitive and easy to use compared to a thumb controlled one. The trackpads on the deck and steam controller are great, but they generally are thumb only unless you have some really funky grip.
Might already be possible with Steam Input…
Buy a wireless mouse with a USB C dongle
I think you’re missing the point. A standard mouse lacks a lot of stuff. Sure there are mice with peripheral buttons, and some with a lot of them, and even some with joysticks, but the Switch 2 JoyCons come with not just that, but a paired controller for your other hand that fits there much better than a full Xbox or Playstation or Switch Pro gamepad. Having a mouse built into the controllers would be just like having the Deck’s trackpads, except with more precision.
I see
All I can think up now is having the deck on a stand, using the left part of the deck with my left hand and aiming with the mouse at its side
I’ll try this setup out
Lol that sounds pretty cool tbh. Assuming your mouse has ~12 inputs like the right side of the Deck or most gamepads do
Yup, these mouses exist
They’re called MMO-mouses and come in all shapes and layouts
Yeah that’s the one I was picturing lol. Not sure my thumb is adept enough to tell all those buttons apart
This has been a thing for the Legion Go since it released. Works perfectly on Bazzite. The legion go even comes with a little disc/stand that you put the right joystick into and hold it like a gun handle.
That seems fairly nice, but are you able to purchase the Legion Go’s detachable controllers separately? I’m not about to buy a full new handheld console since I already have a Deck
They come detachable. This is the original legion go not the new S variant. It’s like an oversized switch.
For those not up to date on things. What’s the gist of that feature?
The side of the controller that would magnetically attach to the Switch 2 can be placed on a surface (including a lap/thigh) and used as a laser mouse
