FPS and Gamepads

[LeonarD26]

I've been a PC gamer for a long time. I'm very comfortable with the Keyboard/Mouse combo for FPS games.

Now, I'm hoping to get a XBox360 in the next few months to go with my new HDTV.

My problem is, I'm TERRIBLE using a gamepad in FPS games. Can someone please help me! I wish you could use a keyboard/mouse on the XBox

Anyone else have this problem??

 

[RagingBITCH]

Get used to it. I played Quake 2 for 4 years all through college...and played strictly consoles after. It's just getting used to it.

 

[CKDragon]

Unfortunately, there is no secret. Practice, practice, practice.

I remember playing the original Doom using arrow keys (not WASD) along with the lower right CTRL, Shift, Spacebar, & Enter keys. I was used to that and tore up nightmare level with it until my first ever deathmatch session where my friends routinely destroyed me using the KB + Mouse combo. It felt so unnatural when I tried to switch. It was the same feeling when I finally buckled down and played TimeSplitters: Future Perfect a few years ago. That was my first dual analog controlled game and I was pretty terrible. By the time I finished the campaign everything had worked itself out.

Give it 10-15 hours, you'll get it, too.

 

[randay]

the ps3 will let you use keyboard and mouse for unreal tournament 3, hopefully this will be greated with open arms and other developers and consoles(read microsoft) will also allow this.

 

[biggestmuff]

I'm with you, LeonarD26. I've been a mouse/keyboard PC FPS player since Wolfenstein 3D. The mouse/keyboard combo is very intuitive. I can place the aimpoint/cursor on a target or object quickly with ease.

I own a Wii, but haven't purchased another next gen console yet. PS3 costs more and the only games I bought for my PS2 were the MGS, GTA and Gran Turismo games. With GTA being cross-platform, I'll probably end up with the new XBOX360 in the next few months.

I am dreading switching to using a gamepad. A few days ago, my brother and I were playing co-op Halo and I was having a difficult time aiming. I don't mind moving around in games with a gamepad, it's trouble with moving the aimpoint/cursor around the screen. It's always jerky and too sensitive. When trying to cover a target with the aimppoint, I either overshoot the target or stop short of the target.

Any tips?

 

[CKDragon]

Originally posted by: randay
the ps3 will let you use keyboard and mouse for unreal tournament 3, hopefully this will be greated with open arms and other developers and consoles(read microsoft) will also allow this.

Just curious, for the people (understandably) looking forward to this, how do you plan on setting it up on your couch? Some type of lap desk?

 

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: biggestmuff
I'm with you, LeonarD26. I've been a mouse/keyboard PC FPS player since Wolfenstein 3D. The mouse/keyboard combo is very intuitive. I can place the aimpoint/cursor on a target or object quickly with ease.

I own a Wii, but haven't purchased another next gen console yet. PS3 costs more and the only games I bought for my PS2 were the MGS, GTA and Gran Turismo games. With GTA being cross-platform, I'll probably end up with the new XBOX360 in the next few months.

I am dreading switching to using a gamepad. A few days ago, my brother and I were playing co-op Halo and I was having a difficult time aiming. I don't mind moving around in games with a gamepad, it's trouble with moving the aimpoint/cursor around the screen. It's always jerky and too sensitive. When trying to cover a target with the aimppoint, I either overshoot the target or stop short of the target.

Any tips?

Practice. You might also adjust your sensitivity...if you overshoot or overaim, it's probably too high. Too short, too low. I find the default settings are ideal, but your ability to whip around and do quick 180's are, well, limited.

Also depends on weapons - long range weapons like snipers are better with lower sensitivity. (As a generality)

 

[KlokWyze]

Originally posted by: CKDragon
Unfortunately, there is no secret. Practice, practice, practice.

I remember playing the original Doom using arrow keys (not WASD) along with the lower right CTRL, Shift, Spacebar, & Enter keys. I was used to that and tore up nightmare level with it until my first ever deathmatch session where my friends routinely destroyed me using the KB + Mouse combo. It felt so unnatural when I tried to switch. It was the same feeling when I finally buckled down and played TimeSplitters: Future Perfect a few years ago. That was my first dual analog controlled game and I was pretty terrible. By the time I finished the campaign everything had worked itself out.

Give it 10-15 hours, you'll get it, too.

lol @ the arrow keys, me too. I remember playing my 1st online matches with the kb/m & I was terrible. Really it just comes down to practive, like.... everything. You just do it & will eventually become decent or good.

 

[randay]

Originally posted by: CKDragon

Originally posted by: randay
the ps3 will let you use keyboard and mouse for unreal tournament 3, hopefully this will be greated with open arms and other developers and consoles(read microsoft) will also allow this.

Just curious, for the people (understandably) looking forward to this, how do you plan on setting it up on your couch? Some type of lap desk?

that is a good question, never thought of that myself. my little entertainment center is in desk form so i dont know how people with regular living room setups are gonna handle that, I assume that youll be able to choose between controller and keyboard/mouse schemes.

 

[LeonarD26]

biggestmuff, I have the same problem as you. I can move around well enough, but my aim is god awful. I was played COD4 beta at my buddies house, and was getting schooled, mostly because I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.

Practice........ I think what I may do is when I get the 360, play some single player FPS games for a few weeks until I'm competent. But I still wish I could use my mouse

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: randay

Originally posted by: CKDragon

Originally posted by: randay
the ps3 will let you use keyboard and mouse for unreal tournament 3, hopefully this will be greated with open arms and other developers and consoles(read microsoft) will also allow this.

Just curious, for the people (understandably) looking forward to this, how do you plan on setting it up on your couch? Some type of lap desk?

that is a good question, never thought of that myself. my little entertainment center is in desk form so i dont know how people with regular living room setups are gonna handle that, I assume that youll be able to choose between controller and keyboard/mouse schemes.

That's the problem with kb/m in a console environment. Consoles are generally in a living room type setting. There are a few gamers that have their consoles on their desks hooked up to their monitors but no where near the critical mass needed to widely accepted. Even with a lap desk, using a kb/m would get horribly uncomfortable IMHO.

 

[NaOH]

I actually enjoy the gamepad. I always like learning how to do new things (and do them well) so I don't really have a problem with the controls. Especially the sweet 360 controls. FPS on the PS3 with the controller would be a bitch. I hate how the joystick is in the middle.

 

[purbeast0]

you will get used to it. everyone does. just don't cop out like most other PC gamers and just not do it "because the keyboard/mouse is so much easier" or whatever the excuse is.

i gamed on CS all through college for 4 years straight, pretty hardcore.

then i got xbox live and started to play FPS on console online and realized how much more fun/comfortable it was to game on a console than it was on PC.

let's just say I haven't upgraded my PC since probably 2002 because I no longer game on PC.

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: randay

Originally posted by: CKDragon

Originally posted by: randay
the ps3 will let you use keyboard and mouse for unreal tournament 3, hopefully this will be greated with open arms and other developers and consoles(read microsoft) will also allow this.

Just curious, for the people (understandably) looking forward to this, how do you plan on setting it up on your couch? Some type of lap desk?

that is a good question, never thought of that myself. my little entertainment center is in desk form so i dont know how people with regular living room setups are gonna handle that, I assume that youll be able to choose between controller and keyboard/mouse schemes.

I am also wondering if the kb/m support for UT3 on PS3 will just be emulating controller analog movements, or if it's going to be programmed completely differently. I don't think there has been anything said in these regards, but correct me if I'm wrong please.

 

[Oyeve]

Im still getting used to gamepads on my 360 with FPS. I get real frustrated as my 360 is connected to my PCs monitor and I find myself reaching to the trackbal and KB for my PC! hehe

 

[Aikouka]

Originally posted by: Queasy
That's the problem with kb/m in a console environment. Consoles are generally in a living room type setting. There are a few gamers that have their consoles on their desks hooked up to their monitors but no where near the critical mass needed to widely accepted. Even with a lap desk, using a kb/m would get horribly uncomfortable IMHO.

I've done world of warcraft PVP on my TV in my living room before, it's not the same as a FPS, but the frantic nature is a little close. I use wireless devices and just put my keyboard on my lap and the mouse on some surface. I have end tables in my living room too... one to the right of the chair and one to the left of the couch. The mouse is "stored" on the top of the chair's table and the keyboard is left underneath on a "shelf."

Originally posted by: purbeast0
you will get used to it. everyone does. just don't cop out like most other PC gamers and just not do it "because the keyboard/mouse is so much easier" or whatever the excuse is.

Like I said in the other thread, it's not a cop out if one method is far superior to the other. Analog controllers for FPS games are devolution in the realm of controls.

 

[PricklyPete]

Originally posted by: LeonarD26
I've been a PC gamer for a long time. I'm very comfortable with the Keyboard/Mouse combo for FPS games.

Now, I'm hoping to get a XBox360 in the next few months to go with my new HDTV.

My problem is, I'm TERRIBLE using a gamepad in FPS games. Can someone please help me! I wish you could use a keyboard/mouse on the XBox

Anyone else have this problem??

I did. I was a diehard PC gamer for a long time. It took me several days of playing before I started to get really comfortable...but I made a concerted effort and now I could care less whether I'm playing with a k/m or a gamepad. Actually I prefer the gamepad now because I can sit back in my nice comfortable couch while playing. Some people try to say that you can rig some kind of k/m gaming "lap device", but it still is far from perfect. A gamepad on a couch in front of a big screen is just too nice fore me to go back to gaming on my PC.

 

[PricklyPete]

Originally posted by: LeonarD26
biggestmuff, I have the same problem as you. I can move around well enough, but my aim is god awful. I was played COD4 beta at my buddies house, and was getting schooled, mostly because I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.

Practice........ I think what I may do is when I get the 360, play some single player FPS games for a few weeks until I'm competent. But I still wish I could use my mouse

Playing single player is absolutely the best way to get used to it. Pick up Gears of War, Halo 3, or Rainbow Six: Vegas. Play through a good part of the single player and you will instantly feel at home when you start playing multiplayer. Once you experience the sitting on couch, playing on a big HDTV...you won't regret it.

 

[Aikouka]

Originally posted by: PricklyPete
I did. I was a diehard PC gamer for a long time. It took me several days of playing before I started to get really comfortable...but I made a concerted effort and now I could care less whether I'm playing with a k/m or a gamepad. Actually I prefer the gamepad now because I can sit back in my nice comfortable couch while playing. Some people try to say that you can rig some kind of k/m gaming "lap device", but it still is far from perfect. A gamepad on a couch in front of a big screen is just too nice fore me to go back to gaming on my PC.

You know what disappoints me about my 360 controllers? The fact that I have to keep them plugged in constantly or else I'll try to use one and it has no battery power left. The charge-n-play packs don't seem to be able to keep a charge at all.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: Aikouka

Originally posted by: PricklyPete
I did. I was a diehard PC gamer for a long time. It took me several days of playing before I started to get really comfortable...but I made a concerted effort and now I could care less whether I'm playing with a k/m or a gamepad. Actually I prefer the gamepad now because I can sit back in my nice comfortable couch while playing. Some people try to say that you can rig some kind of k/m gaming "lap device", but it still is far from perfect. A gamepad on a couch in front of a big screen is just too nice fore me to go back to gaming on my PC.

You know what disappoints me about my 360 controllers? The fact that I have to keep them plugged in constantly or else I'll try to use one and it has no battery power left. The charge-n-play packs don't seem to be able to keep a charge at all.

Really? Mine keeps its charge for a couple to a few days of playtime (depending on how much I play each each day). I also use just regular rechargeable batteries on two of my three controllers and those work fine too.

 

[Aikouka]

Originally posted by: Queasy
Really? Mine keeps its charge for a couple to a few days of playtime (depending on how much I play each each day). I also use just regular rechargeable batteries on two of my three controllers and those work fine too.

I don't know, I went to use it the other day, I hit the guide button and nothing happened.. hit it again and yet again nothing. Once I plugged the cable in, the controller worked. I didn't let it sit for awhile but they had power when I turned them off. I'm tempted to just go back to rechargeable batteries.

So I usually just leave the cord plugged in for 20 minutes and then just unplug it. That usually gives me enough time . One annoyance is that any controller plugged in via the charge and play kit automatically turns on with the console. So I have to make sure no controllers are plugged in when I play a game like DDR or Guitar Hero.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: Aikouka

Originally posted by: Queasy
Really? Mine keeps its charge for a couple to a few days of playtime (depending on how much I play each each day). I also use just regular rechargeable batteries on two of my three controllers and those work fine too.

I don't know, I went to use it the other day, I hit the guide button and nothing happened.. hit it again and yet again nothing. Once I plugged the cable in, the controller worked. I didn't let it sit for awhile but they had power when I turned them off. I'm tempted to just go back to rechargeable batteries.

So I usually just leave the cord plugged in for 20 minutes and then just unplug it. That usually gives me enough time . One annoyance is that any controller plugged in via the charge and play kit automatically turns on with the console. So I have to make sure no controllers are plugged in when I play a game like DDR or Guitar Hero.

Sounds like you're not letting it fully charge?

I usually plug the controller that has the battery pack in and leave it when I'm recharging. Even if you turn the 360 off while the controller is plugged in, it will keep recharging until the battery pack is fully charged.

 

[Ackmed]

Sadly, the gamepad sucks for fps's. They need to get with the times, and have kb+mouse support for fps games on consoles. You simply have better control with a mouse, no denying that fact. Why not let users choose what they want, its a win/win for everyone.

 

[Aikouka]

Originally posted by: Queasy
Sounds like you're not letting it fully charge?

I usually plug the controller that has the battery pack in and leave it when I'm recharging. Even if you turn the 360 off while the controller is plugged in, it will keep recharging until the battery pack is fully charged.

I normally leave it plugged in, but if I get tired of the cord, I'll unplug it and end up plugging it back in. I should probably keep a running tab on the battery "meter" on the menus to get an idea of how well its charging. The light seems to always be red and I don't recall ever seeing it turn green.

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: Ackmed
Sadly, the gamepad sucks for fps's. They need to get with the times, and have kb+mouse support for fps games on consoles. You simply have better control with a mouse, no denying that fact. Why not let users choose what they want, its a win/win for everyone.

it's not win/win from the developers point of view.

then instead of them making $$ off of controllers, someone could just use a KB/m they already own.

also it will take more $$ to pay devs to add in this kb/m control scheme, let alone the whole configuration screens, etc.

the gamepad works great for FPS, you just choose not to learn to use it and thus may be missing out on some great games.

and no one is denying the fact that a mouse is more precise. i don't think i've ever heard anyone who likes controllers deny that fact.