Do newer games require a controller?

[bradly1101]

I tried to start playing Metal Gear V (came with my video card) with my standard keyboard/mouse mappings. I use the arrow keys under my left hand and the keys around them (Del, End, PgUP, and numlocked keypad), but this game won't allow hardly any of those mappings, and I can't use any of the seven extra buttons on my mouse in the keyboard/mouse mappings. I've tried "game mode" to disable default mappings with no effect. It also wouldn't recognize axes or buttons on my joystick.

The Controller Options in the game are just two mappings from a standard game controller. Are handheld controllers required now for PC gaming?

 

[Midwayman]

Games designed primarily for console often play better with a controller. I use one for witcher 3 for example.

 

[Newbian]

Blame crappy ports that don't let you rebind controls otherwise some are ok for certain type games.

 

[bradly1101]

Got it. Thanks!

Is there a general consensus on the best PC controller?

 

[Tifosi248F1]

Got it. Thanks!

Is there a general consensus on the best PC controller?

Pretty much any XBox controller. Either the wired 360 or a new XB One controller. Simple plug and play, and a lot of games use XBox controller mapping and icons in-game. The Playstation 4's DS4 is also an option if you prefer the feel of a PS controller over XBox, though you may need a program to get it to be detected. It seems to depend on the game and your Windows version.

Personally, I just went with a wired 360 controller for the simplicity of it all. By all accounts though, the XB One's D-pad is much improved over the 360's.

 

[bradly1101]

😵

Pretty much any XBox controller. Either the wired 360 or a new XB One controller. Simple plug and play, and a lot of games use XBox controller mapping and icons in-game. The Playstation 4's DS4 is also an option if you prefer the feel of a PS controller over XBox, though you may need a program to get it to be detected. It seems to depend on the game and your Windows version.

Personally, I just went with a wired 360 controller for the simplicity of it all. By all accounts though, the XB One's D-pad is much improved over the 360's.

Thanks. I was just looking at this one. I never used one before.😵

 

[Midwayman]

I use a old wireless 360 controller from my old 360. Works great. Every game immediately recognizes it and pops up the console buttons hints. I'd pick up the xbone version if I were buying now. Just had this one already.

 

[greenhawk]

IIRC some of the original crappy console ports did later get patched to allow key remapping in a better fashion, but generally, what you see is what you get.

I think it was far cry 3 I had where if you remapped the keys, the game behaved differently with the new keys, and in some cases, the old keys still worked. The key binding I recall for that game was the one to interact with the vehicles. The default let you get in and out from any seat. Once rebound, only the drivers seat worked to get in and out.

So any game that looks to be a console port, I initially pass on. I hear too many failed porting stories in the initial release period that would upset any enjoyment I was expecting/hoping for. By the time the fixes are in, the game is on sale (half price generally) and I decide if I want to play it then.

 

[carlton_fritz]

I never could get the hang of keyboard and mouse. Never had a problem with a controller though.

 

[bradly1101]

Well I got my controller (X-Box1), but what a learning curve! I can manage moving and looking/aiming but with thumb sticks instead of a mouse, I have to be very slow and deliberate, so when there's lots of action (soon into MGSV) I get killed rather quickly. I've played with the look speed (X,Y) and even though auto-aiming is turned on I have to very carefully aim to get an enemy.

To see if I could move more easily with buttons instead of a stick I tried to map some of the controllers buttons, but the game doesn't seem to allow for that. Are all games like that now?

So I need to get better on the standard controller mappings. Is there something good on the PC for training on the controller that won't kill you right away (Google wasn't much help)?

My only other option is the standard keyboard mappings, but there's no way for me to get my left hand to remember keys like that...if MGSV only allowed re-mapping the keys around the arrow keys, and/or let me map more buttons on the mouse (I'm going to see if the Logitech SW allows for multiple standard mappings).

But I'd like to get better on the controller, ideas?

 

[ControlD]

One other thing you might consider is a key style game controller like the Logitech G13 or Razer Tartarus if you prefer KB+M controls. So, you can use the game's default key mappings and just map those keys to whatever you want on the controller. I pretty much always use such a controller when playing FPS games. I simply cannot get the hang of using a gamepad for FPS games. I will never get the hang of it.

For third person games I generally use a X360 controller these days. It took me some time to get comfortable with it, but it wasn't terrible. I think the first game I used a X360 controller for exclusively was Dragon Age Inquisition. I guess once I got a few hours into the game it felt completely natural.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Well I got my controller (X-Box1), but what a learning curve! I can manage moving and looking/aiming but with thumb sticks instead of a mouse, I have to be very slow and deliberate, so when there's lots of action (soon into MGSV) I get killed rather quickly. I've played with the look speed (X,Y) and even though auto-aiming is turned on I have to very carefully aim to get an enemy.

To see if I could move more easily with buttons instead of a stick I tried to map some of the controllers buttons, but the game doesn't seem to allow for that. Are all games like that now?

So I need to get better on the standard controller mappings. Is there something good on the PC for training on the controller that won't kill you right away (Google wasn't much help)?

My only other option is the standard keyboard mappings, but there's no way for me to get my left hand to remember keys like that...if MGSV only allowed re-mapping the keys around the arrow keys, and/or let me map more buttons on the mouse (I'm going to see if the Logitech SW allows for multiple standard mappings).

But I'd like to get better on the controller, ideas?

You can teach yourself to use mouse / WASD, just like you can teach yourself to use an Xbox controller. I'm partial to a FPS with lots of things to shoot at when I'm trying to get a hang of movement and feel. Left 4 Dead on Easy mode with bots is great, as you'll have a bunch of zombies to shoot at but they're not hard enough that you'll be constantly dying, and it allows you to focus on feeling out the controls and getting used to them. You could also do something like Skyrim; just run around in the wilderness learning how the new controls impact movement.

 

[BSim500]

I tried to start playing Metal Gear V (came with my video card) with my standard keyboard/mouse mappings. I use the arrow keys under my left hand and the keys around them (Del, End, PgUP, and numlocked keypad), but this game won't allow hardly any of those mappings, and I can't use any of the seven extra buttons on my mouse in the keyboard/mouse mappings.

if MGSV only allowed re-mapping the keys around the arrow keys, and/or let me map more buttons on the mouse (I'm going to see if the Logitech SW allows for multiple standard mappings).

I prefer arrow keys to WASD too and honestly if you prefer K&M input, the best thing to do is constantly pester the developers until they add it in with a patch. Create a post on their own support forum complaining about "half working rebindings", give negative Steam & Metacritic reviews with the disclaimer you'll change them to a positive one "once they've fixed the broken key rebindings", etc. It's the only language they understand and several developers have in the past improved K&M controls post launch upon receiving negative feedback of half-a**ed input code. It's incredibly sad we have to virtually beg for simple features that were bog standard on 1990's / 2000's games, but really just a reflection of the 'console first' attitude in general. Hell, even some 100kb 1990 DOS games had rebindable keys. 25 years of game "evolution" later and with +80,000x more RAM to play with, there's zero excuse for this PC port laziness. Developers have had more than enough time to learn & understand why rebindable options are necessary for many people (left vs right handers have different natural default finger placement, arrow keys just seem more natural to many, those with mild finger mobility restrictions (arthritis, etc), non QWERTY keyboard layouts (eg, AZERTY / Cyrillic) screw up hard coded "WASD", etc).

Well I got my controller (X-Box1), but what a learning curve! I can manage moving and looking/aiming but with thumb sticks instead of a mouse, I have to be very slow and deliberate, so when there's lots of action (soon into MGSV) I get killed rather quickly. I've played with the look speed (X,Y) and even though auto-aiming is turned on I have to very carefully aim to get an enemy.

Humans in general have always had more rapid precise fine motor control in the wrists than via thumbs alone. It's why in fast paced FPS games, "wrist flicks" (mouse) are faster at precise aiming than thumb-scrolling (controllers) especially when console cheat mode auto-aim is disabled. If a controller is your only option or preference, you can always improve via practice / repetition / habituation but even then if you really want to use a K&M and a game doesn't support it that well, let the developers know. When enough people complain about an issue, they do occasionally listen to us lowly PC peasants... 😀

 

[bradly1101]

Thanks for your responses everyone. The only reason I'm trying to get this title working is that it came free with the video card. I haven't gamed in a while and I'm used to being able to map any key to any action.

I think the main reason I can't just use any key for my left hand (and why those key controllers for the left hand won't work) is that I was a natural left-hander. When I was small it took a lot of training and punishment to get me to use my right hand. To this day I cannot type with my left hand, and it's the reason I can only use arrow keys to move because I can recognize them by feel as well as the keys around them for all the secondary actions.

I certainly hope all games aren't going this way, otherwise I wasted a lot of money on a video card! I guess I'll only play the ones with free trials before I buy to know if I can even play them.

 

[Eric1987]

Games designed primarily for console often play better with a controller. I use one for witcher 3 for example.

Um what? Not true. Only games that are designed for controllers are usually like sports, fighting, and racing games. Oh and REALLY bad ports. W3 is just fine on KB and mouse and so is MGS5. Yall must not be familiar with a keyboard gaming.