So I may have become a heretic...

[OptimumSlinky]

For the longest time I was all about the mouse and keyboard. Q3A, HL, CS... All played with the mouse and keyboard and were beautiful for it. Then Halo really started the whole FPS on a console, and now, after playing countless hours of Halo and Modern Warfare, I think I've come to prefer the controller??? Don't get me wrong, the precision you can display with a mouse just can't be matched. That said, I just blew through some Crysis and for fun I hooked up a wired 360 controller. Even with the funky/weird/non-customizable (grrrr) control layout they implemented, I still found myself adopting a smoother and more aggressive play style. Maybe I've just been playing on Xboxes for too long and need to the mouse some more time, but I definitely found myself enjoying Crysis more with the controller in my hand. So weird.

That said, I wouldn't even begin to consider an RTS on a game pad. Some things just don't work.

 

[MJinZ]

So you enjoy the computer aiming for you?

Of course, that makes sense.

 

[Chapbass]

 

[thraashman]

Is that the first Heretic game and thus you being a smartass? I'm not objecting, I just genuinely can't remember but it looks a bit familiar.

 

[Rakewell]

Win.

 

[Homerboy]

THAT is when gaming was fun.
I'm sorry, but nobody that starts playing video games nowadays (tweens and teenagers and the like) will ever be able to experience the pure joy and "newness" of gaming back then... it was so revolutionary. Just awesome.

 

[OCGuy]

FPS on a controller?

LOL.

 

[Chapbass]

Is that the first Heretic game and thus you being a smartass? I'm not objecting, I just genuinely can't remember but it looks a bit familiar.

Hahaha, it sure is

What a fun game.

Personally, I can't play nearly as well with a controller as a keyboard and mouse. Say what you want about mw/mw2, but theres no way i could play those games (the campaigns i mean) with a controller...shooting a ton of targets with 1-2 bullets with a controller just seems like so much WORK. Seriously it does, doesn't seem fun at all.

Mouse you can just snap to targets quickly...and i dont mean the cheater-ish push L1 or whatever quickly and have it automatically snap to targets...ive never felt like such a hack in my life.

Just my .02 i guess.

 

[Powermoloch]

I have MW2 on PS3. BUT, I prefer FPS on a console.

 

[MJinZ]

I have MW2 on PS3. BUT, I prefer FPS on a console.

Incorrect use of conjunction.

 

[digitaldurandal]

Wow - why?

 

[Fhistleb]

Halo didn't start jack diddly. It all started with GoldenEye on the N64.

 

[RocksteadyDotNet]

That's like saying you prefer masterbating to sex.

 

[Powermoloch]

Incorrect use of conjunction.

/facepalm

 

[Modular]

That's like saying you prefer masterbating to sex.

:awe:

 

[TBSN]

The one thing that gamepad/controller has on keyboard is the analog control. Changing from walk to run to sprint is more unnatural than just changing how much you push the joystick. The controller gives more fluidity when it comes to moving around. but it does that at the expense of speed and accuracy.

They are both flawed input devices for interacting with games.

 

[OptimumSlinky]

Wow, some touchy responses. I never said one was better than the other, but simply after spending so much time using a controller it now feels more natural to me.

And yes, GoldenEye started the trend, but Halo really perfected the dual-stick layout and set the control standard for FPS on consoles.

And +10 for the Heretic screen shot. Heretic, Dark Forces, Marathon... Those were some great games.

 

[nipplefish]

Controllers are nice for the simple fact that you can sit back and be lazy, you don't have to be hunched over a keyboard. Especially nowadays with more people using large TVs as monitors. Yeah, you give up some precision, but if you're just playing a single player game, does it really matter that much? It's all a matter of taste, of course - I'm a mouse/keyboard purist, myself. I only use a controller for emulators.

 

[MJinZ]

The one thing that gamepad/controller has on keyboard is the analog control. Changing from walk to run to sprint is more unnatural than just changing how much you push the joystick. The controller gives more fluidity when it comes to moving around. but it does that at the expense of speed and accuracy.

They are both flawed input devices for interacting with games.

Why would you ever walk in a game?

 

[Dumac]

Why would you ever walk in a game?

Stealth, I suppose.

 

[MJinZ]

Stealth, I suppose.

Stealth modes always force you into walking if the game intends it to do so.

 

[JackSpadesSI]

That said, I wouldn't even begin to consider an RTS on a game pad. Some things just don't work.

Before this thread completely degrades, I just want to point out that some developers have made RTS work on a game pad. Please note that I said work, not "it is so much better"!

I didn't have a competent PC when C&C3 was released. I had played the original Westwood titles on my PC back in the day and I didn't want to miss out, so I bought it for my Xbox 360. I was braced for the worst, but it was surprisingly workable and I actually really enjoyed the game.

After I built my current PC rig I picked up C&C3 on sale on Steam so I could try the mouse/keyboard experience. I will say that while it finally felt "right" to play the RTS on a PC, I was never able to beat a brutal AI with the keyboard/mouse like I could with the gamepad (in my sleep, for that matter).

 

[skace]

The one thing that gamepad/controller has on keyboard is the analog control. Changing from walk to run to sprint is more unnatural than just changing how much you push the joystick. The controller gives more fluidity when it comes to moving around. but it does that at the expense of speed and accuracy.

They are both flawed input devices for interacting with games.

Analog is suck. I'd much rather be precise in whether i want to run, walk, crawl, go prone, etc. I don't want to play with some damn dead zone to get there. Imagine trying to play CS with a stupid analog stick, you accidently push the stick too far and your character goes from a walk to a run, you give away your entire team's position, you all die and all thanks to your "fluid" controls. No thanks, put sprint on my mouse5 key and I'll control it with my thumb like I have for a decade now.