So I recently came across people talking about the "split" controller support in Overwatch (using an analog USB controller in the left hand, mouse in right) which was broken for a long time on PC, but fixed a year or so ago. I've been doing the standard WASD thing on PC for ages, but I've also experimented with all sorts of alternative controllers on PC and consoles over the years - going back to the original Belkin Nostromo, through the Logitech G13. I've had issues with every alternative controller though. The G13 ergonomics don't agree with me, and the Nostromo evolution in the hands of Razer haven't impressed me. I did see some interesting videos of people using the PS Move Navigation controller on PC via SCPToolkit, but I've read that the Windows 10 Creator update broke SCPToolkit and the developers have stopped developing it (the PS Move Navi controller is not an HID device), and on top of that I'd need something like Xpadder or Remap layered on top of SCPToolkit to get the PS Move Navi controller to work in games were split devices aren't supported (which would effectively turn the analog controller into a digital directional pad). That many questionable software layers do not agree with me.
Now this got me thinking about the HORI Tactical Assault Commander Pro, which looks like it's now discontinued in the US... but has PC as well as console support, and driver software from a real company that supported Windows 10 and has remapping capability, as well as (I think) the ability to operate as both analog X-Input or as a keyboard (digital) input device. Anyway, it looks like in the Japanese market there's also something called the Tactical Assault Commander Grip Controller, which is more of a half-controller + mouse combo for consoles and PC... There's one review of someone using the G1 of it on a PC and really liking it (and not having to use the bundled mouse, though they liked the bundled mouse). The G2 is out now and it looks like it primarily adds the ability to configure it with a smartphone app (which I could care less about on the PC), but the key thing is that it might have decent drivers and the ability to work with most games (though I'd have to use some other software to map X-Input to D-Input if I needed that). It certainly makes sense to have something more like a gamepad or other ergonomic controller in the left hand rather than some pseudo-keyboard with an analog stick tacked on (or no analog stick, which is a giant missed opportunity I think by Razer). Ultimately though I'm not sure how I feel about a product which has no English-language manual (and I'm not sure about the language of the software either...)
Which lead me to do a more general product search, which turned up the Azeron, made me wonder if anyone on geekhack was talking about it, and lo and behold here is this thread! Very promising. Physically, it is appealing that it sits on a desk since I think my left hand would tire if I had to hold a controller in it for long periods of time. And I like that it is wired and that you load profiles in it at a hardware level.
I can see from the videos that it works well for MMOs, and I found a video showing it being used in Warframe, but how about FPS titles? While I primarily play Overwatch these days, I'm also curious how easy it will be to switch between an Overwatch setup and something else... the alpha software page mentions "Can work as joystick, as keyboard or as hybrid (direct input)" - that is very promising, but what about X-Input? Will I need something like TocaEdit Xbox 360 Controller Emulator to do the mapping for those games? It says, "2 setup profiles can be saved on the onboard memory", what is it like to switch between more than 2 profiles? Also, what makes the software Alpha right now? Are there known outstanding issues I should be concerned with? What's the development timeline look for the software?
I can see some real advantages (ergonomic and response-time based) to having a dedicated analog stick under control of my left thumb, freeing up my left hand four fingers completely for other buttons. Aiming, movement, and actions could finally be physically decoupled such that actions wouldn't interrupt movement and movement could also be more precise (WASD being digital 8-directional and requiring stretching fingers/moving off of WASD for other keyboard functions, interrupting movement). And if I have to fall back to mapping the analog stick to digital for compatibility with some games, my hope is that the non-blocking nature of thumb stick directional controls would still hold advantages. I am very interested in Azeron, it looks well thought out, and I hope it is everything I think it might be!