Steam gets flick stick support in latest beta
The flick stick control method is gaining traction.
The latest Steam build, available now in beta, brings a surprise addition for fans of niche control schemes. Valve has implemented support for Jibb Smart’s Flick Stick.
Flick stick is a relatively new way of using controllers that utilises both the right analogue stick, as well as gyroscope to offer finer camera control. It works best with controllers that have built-in gyro, such as the DualShock 4 and Switch Pro Controller, but any controller can technically use flick stick.
Here's how it works: pushing the stick into any direction immediately snaps the camera to that direction, rather than continue rotating. Tilting upwards looks to the front, downwards the back etc. For fine control on your aim, you rotate the stick along its circular rim, instead of moving it side to side.
When using both flick stick and gyro combined, you get to basically use the controller as a mouse to aim, leaving finer adjustments to stick rotation. The idea is to allow players to quickly flip their view around and aim more accurately than with a normal controller on high sensitivity.
The particular tool supported in Steam's new beta is created by Jibb Smart, who has a whole video on how it works, and why you might want to consider using it. We've embedded it below.
Having native support for flick stick on Steam removes the need for other third-party tools that map mouse movement into the gyroscope, much in the same way Steam's extensive controller support makes it possible to play most games with unsupported controllers. Hit up Steam community for the full set of patch notes.