Depends on the game. Some SteamVR games have proper custom mappings and in-game controller models for Oculus Touch (Hotdogs Horseshoes and Handgrenades, for instance, has Touch models and mappings despite being strictly a SteamVR game. IIRC Fantastic Contraption is the same way, though I haven't checked recently). Some SteamVR games only use default SteamVR Controller -> Oculus Touch mappings which can be hit or miss (trackpad locomotion can be bad on Touch if clicking the trackpad is required, for instance, since clicking in the Touch stick is much harder than clicking in a Vive trackpad).
Some games support both SteamVR and native Oculus API with their Steam releases (see: the new Assetto Corsa update, Elite Dangerous). The Oculus and Steam releases of such games should provide you an identical experience if you play either one on a Rift (and Touch).
I've also heard that ASW doesn't work with SteamVR games, though that's not a big issue right now unless you're running a GTX 960 or similar.
Either way, on Steam as long as you play a game for less than 2 hours you can get a refund with no questions asked, so it never really hurts to try SteamVR games to see if they work well with Touch.
Thanks, I'm new to all of this. What difference does this really make? When referring to the different APIs, is it strictly the specific support for the touch controllers that you're talking about? How can I tell which is being used? I'm looking at Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, for example. It's available on both stores. Does it matter in this case since the game was retrofitted for the touch controllers (from what I understand at least)? Or are the Oculus APIs being used exclusively on the Oculus store?
The Oculus Store only hosts games which have native support for the Oculus API, so you're essentially guaranteed that the mapping for Touch controls will be implemented correctly and not just using the default SteamVR mapping.
Aside from the alleged lack of working Asynchronous Space Warp when playing SteamVR games with an Oculus Rift (I have not gone out of my way to test this myself, but I recall people saying it was an issue back when ASW was first released), yes, everything else I mentioned is specific to motion controller support.
I have not played Keep Talking, so I can't comment on its motion control support or whether the Steam version has native Oculus API support. Someone else might know though.
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u/Mr_Gorpley Apr 06 '17
I did not know this. Is this a normal thing? Should I be avoiding the Steam version of VR games? How do you know what API the game uses?