I just saw that the stratus XL is Blue tooth 3.0 instead of 4. What about the madcatz?Also BT 3.0? The more i see/read about the Stratus,the more i want one.Can't wait for (more)reviews and impressions,they are already available here here's another review: http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/reviews/entry/steelseries-stratus-xl
Stratus XL lags like crazy. Also, the analog sticks on mine don't even function. SteelSeries strikes again...
is it the lag worse than stratus micro or the same? I would be fine if it's the same since (as you already know) it's absolutely playable,for my standards at least. I'm still wondering if the stratus (micro) behaves somewhat different on our tested devices.I just can't imagine that our preferences regarding lag could be so different.Tested two new games with it:Star Horizon and Strangers Wrath,both playing fine as well (for me).SW is the first (somewhat) ego shooter i play on an idevice at all and i'm surprised how close this comes to console style experience (with the controller). Guess i'll just stick with the normal stratus a little longer.It was also just too expensive to throw it away now. But i have a problem:the indicator/lights are not working anymore when i load the akku.First i was afraid it wouldn't work at all (not reloading)but it still seems to work otherwise it should be empty by now.
The lag I'm experiencing with the Stratus XL appears to be identical to the lag with the three regular Stratus controllers I've tested. If the lag is not noticeable to you, or if something about your setup makes you immune to it, then presumably the Stratus XL will be fine. If, on the other hand, you've been lucky to have an unaffected Stratus controller, then you'd be taking a chance grabbing an XL model. The whole situation feels weird, yeah. We should try to get to the bottom of exactly what is going on here, if you'd be interested in helping me test things... I want to be clear right now, the problem isn't in my head. I've tested three versions of the Stratus (4 if you count the XL), and all exhibit noticeable lag on iOS 8. I've tested with an iPad Mini, iPad Mini 2, iPad Air 2, iPad 4, iPhone 5, iPhone 5S, and iPhone 6. I've tried different combinations of firmware on different devices, including the latest 8.1.1, and my findings are pretty straightforward. On iOS 7, these controllers are all perfectly playable (after installing the latest firmware - there is an unrelated input lag glitch with the first Stratus firmware). There may be a little more lag on iOS 7 than other controllers experience, but I'm certainly not going to complain. On iOS 8, the story is different. Every controller I've tested lags its inputs when you combine directional movement with button presses. The lag is immediately apparent when it occurs, and is especially noticeable when playing side-scrollers like Sonic. This lag is completely non-existent when using the MOGA Rebel, Mad Catz C.T.R.L.i, MOGA Ace Power, and Logitech PowerShell controllers. It is strictly limited to the Stratus line. It is also noticeable to people who aren't looking for it - my girlfriend and I were trading off controllers in Smash Bros recently, and she immediately noticed the lag. Whoever was using the Stratus had a difficult time playing the game and timing attacks - the lag had a noticeable effect on gameplay. I'll record a video of what I'm talking about later, if it helps. I can demonstrate the issue pretty fast using Game Controller Tester and Sonic. Perhaps there is some other factor at work, though I've tried disabling extraneous settings. Are you signed into iCloud? Does your device have cellular access? Are you signed into wifi when you play? Maybe there is some other variable causing this...
After playing for about 10 minutes and not experiencing any lag (of course, since I was trying to demonstrate it), Sonic finally cooperated. Here's an example of what I'm talking about: Stratus XL + iOS 8 = Lag This video is of an iPad Air 2 running iOS 8.1, connected to a Stratus XL, exhibiting significant lag playing Sonic. I have experienced similar results to this on many different devices running every version of iOS 8 (including 8.2 beta), using 3 regular Stratus controllers, in a variety of games. No other MFi controllers exhibit anything like this, at least not in my testing. Also of note: lag was nonexistent for the first 10 minutes of play, then appeared for about a minute (which was recorded), then disappeared again, then reappeared for a few minutes. It isn't a constant thing, but it's hard to miss it when it does appear.
thanks for your effort and the video.I don't have sonic unfortunately but from the video it looks worse than my own experiences. I didn't test it under 8.1 when i got my Air 2,i started gaming again with 8.1.1 I have to say first that i'm mainly doing music on my ipad in a semi-professional way,stuff that can stress the device a lot,even the latest one. And since Core Audio/Midi is also still a little shaky on IOS8 i decided to make the cleanest possible installation when i got my Air2.No restore from a backup,i installed everything from scratch (with a couple of restarts within) and most important apps first. it seems i have less problems than other users (reported in the Audiobus Forum) now while at least one other confirmed he did it the same way i did and his (audio)problems were solved then. What i mean is,like back in the days of Windows it seems it could be better to install iOS8 the way i did,at least currently. Furthermore optimizations i always do: 1.In the settings i switched off EVERYTHING that wants to phone home (location services,all the background auto update things,the ad system stuff,just everything...) 2.i don't use widgets and generally i keep an eye about not having much other apps open in the background.When doing music,ONLY the music related apps but when i play some games i generally have safari open in the background except when playing graphical demanding games like Strangers Wrath now and any other apps that love to have a lot of Ram. To answer your questions: I do use iCloud (always logged in) and WLAN is always on while gaming because i play a lot online (Mainly B-Supremacy and Aspahlt 8) I have no cellular Finally:i already confirmed that i experienced slightly more lag under ios8 than on 7 but this is asolutely constant and not like what you described above.I don't have any"sometimes it works and sometimes it lags"phases.
Finally got round to using my SteelSeries stratus since upgrading to iOS8. The lag is awful. Only tested on Mikey Shorts and Hooks, but they worked beautifully on iOS7. Proper shame.
Just received my Stratus XL from steelseries and I'm really happy with it thus far. The quality of the controller is amazing and it feels really solid in hand. Everything works and without any kind of lag.
Damn!! I'm getting a lot of lag with my stratus on my IPad on iOS8 but still works beautifully on my iPad mini on iOS7. Are you on iOS8, Killercow?
He's on Air 2 with 8.1.1 (i already asked him cause i was curious as well) As long as my micro stratus work i'll have an eye on more impressions about the XL.And according to Afterpad Steel Series are investigating.
I had a really good time playing with the Stratus on Terraria. It actually sparked some binge playing until I finally beat the game. (Which is kind of important given I'm in the process of making a game. Meh!)
I really want to play my ios games with controller. Should I jailbreak just to get controllers for all or is it unsafe?
I sent a mail to the steel series support regarding lag on ios 8 last week and got this answer today: "Hello frank, This issue looks to be a unique, new issue and we do not have a definite resolution for it at this time. We have sent this over to our QA department to investigate. Sorry, it may take a week or so for a response. Thanks for your patience. Best regards, SteelSeries Support" Well,don't know what to think about this.Are they lying ("unique,new issue"?) and therefore i should never buy a product from then again (how could i trust...) or does this problem really only affect a very small (forum) minority and none of this peeps ever contacted them? I know,i sound like a broken record when i say that i'm fine with the stratus under ios 8 BUT even if the lag is quite small for my taste (or at least on my device/configuration),it's definitely there and noticeable. I started Cordy 2 now,a game that comes quite close to sonic in many moments but even here,the lag definitely doesn't make it unplayable.It plays fine.
I don't want to buy a $60+ game controller though. Are there any cheap mfi controllers that work on iPad Air 2 and ios 8?
There is no danger from jailbreaking, if you just back up your device in iTunes before doing it. Even if something doesn't work right, all you need to do is restore your device in iTunes to get rid of the jailbreak. So using Controllers 4 All and a PS3 controller is a cheap way to get an MFi controller, especially if you already own the controller. I've been using one for a while with my iPad 4 and for the most part it works perfectly. I've encountered a few games which didn't seem to behave how they should with the controller, but I don't know if the games are just buggy or if it's to do with Controllers 4 All. I did finally just order a Madcatz CTRLi, because I prefer the Xbox stick layout and also because of the mentioned bugginess. Once I get the Madcatz I'll be able to see if the problems I've encountered with certain games were due to Controllers 4 All, or the games themselves.
Jailbreaking is pretty safe these days, and the new Taig jailbreak on 8.1.1 is better than the old Pangu jailbreak. I know several of my readers have contacted them, but wound up getting stuck in support ticket limbo. It isn't unique and new, I know that much. It's weird, the original Stratus has a constant low-level lag that makes generally doesn't impact EVERY game, but which makes a few reflex platformers extremely difficult. The new Stratus lags in waves, with very low lag punctuated by periods of high lag. Not sure if it's the same issue or not. And to reiterate, none of the other MFi controller do any of this. **Edit** I'm sure someone will ask after reading this message, so let me clarify: all of my lag tests are done without jailbreaking. Don't want any false positives due to unforeseen system hacking
