A controller test, full graphics on Steam Deck, and a peek at native builds
By Encrypted Cat / 0xKOT · Originally published on itch.io
An update about controllers, the Steam Deck, and something I’ve been experimenting with.
🎮 A proper controller test
The controller test now opens in its own window. Go to Settings → Controller → Test controller… and you’ll see a drawing of your controller:
- buttons light up as you press them;
- each stick has a dot that moves with it, inside a ring showing your dead zone;
- the triggers fill as you squeeze them;
- the labels follow your controller: Xbox, PlayStation or Steam Deck.
There’s also a Test vibration button. To close the window, hold B (or press Esc), so a quick B press can still be tested like any other button.
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🕹 Steam Deck and touch-screen laptops get the full game
The Steam Deck has a touchscreen, and the game used to think it was a phone: on-screen buttons and lighter phone graphics. Now any computer with a touchscreen, including the Deck, Surface tablets and touch laptops, starts with full desktop graphics and controls. The on-screen touch buttons only appear if you actually touch the screen.
On the Deck, the game also understands its built-in controls directly, so buttons aren’t mixed up. If the Deck’s controls arrive as a keyboard and mouse instead (Steam does this in Desktop Mode), the game shows a short tip on how to fix it.
🧪 Experiment: The Cradle as a native app
Behind the scenes, I’ve been trying something: wrapping the game as a native app, so it runs outside the browser. I got it running on my Steam Deck, in both Desktop Mode and Game Mode, added to Steam with its own controller layout, and it works great: full screen, full graphics, the Deck’s controls just work. A Windows version is built too, and I’m testing it next.
It isn’t released yet. I want it rock solid first. In a future update I plan to offer downloads for Steam Deck / Linux and Windows right here on itch, next to the browser version. If you’d play it that way, tell me in the comments!
Play free in your browser: https://0xkot.itch.io/the-cradle-episode-01
0xKOT, Encrypted Cat Games
Discord: https://discord.gg/ufYtrP3NRk
Reddit: r/TheCradleHorror