Money well spent. I've bought a bunch of those games separately and have played 'em a LOT more than some of the newer AAA titles. Amnesia is pretty great. I found it a bit hard to get into at first, but it picked up fast after the first few areas. Also, this: <a class="postlink" href="http://www.aperturescience.com/glados@home/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.aperturescience.com/glados@home/</a>
That's because in general the D-Pad isn't used for anything. The real problem with it is it makes playing fighting games with any semblance of skill completely impossible. You pretty much need to buy a controller designed strictly for fighting games to play at a reasonable level.
I have to throw a wrench into your argument boys about the 360 controller being the best controller. It's not perfect overall. Its the best controller for FPS games. Not so good for everything else. PS3 has the best all around controller for action games, fighting games and FPS games. A lot of PS3 games use the D-Pad for action items, or weapon menus and its perfect. Then again, its really just a subjective thing.
Wouldn't an analog replacement be an upgrade, though? I don't actually have any formal knowledge of controller design (I'm learning this shit as I go), but I feel like an analog stick can do all the same things a D-pad can, only more so. Think of the Mass Effect games when you're in a conversation: you can select up to 6 different options, and that's while the top and bottom options remain blank. So there's room for 8 unique actions, if you were to utilize it in the 'point first, then press [button]' fashion, rather than the directional control being the selector and executor of a command simultaneously. So, of course, there is a mild drawback. But that's why I proposed the idea of a third analog stick, because of its added versatility. I play very little of the fighting genre relative to other games, so I wasn't aware the D-pad was so highly-used. Still, I'd imagine there could be some way to incorporate an analog stick that would be functional with all games, even in the fighting genre. All things being equal, analog controls offer more options, and are MUCH smoother and easier to use than a D-pad (which can also be called the D.P. for lulz; thank me later). While I understand the need for digital input, analog controls open things up in a big way, from a strategic standpoint. For example, look at what it takes to throw a pitch in MLB 2K11. Back in the day, you'd simply press A or B twice; once to start the pitch meter, and once again to stop it. Now you have a litany of ways in which you can manipulate the ball, for better and for worse. To me, it makes the game more engaging, because it takes 'black and white' command functions, and gives them 'shades of gray,' so to speak. I feel like any game, even a fighting game, would become much more fun when that level of control is put into the players' hands.
Actually, there are some very successful tournament fighting game pad players, like Vangief in SF4, and guess what controller he uses? That's right; the 360. In fact, of all the successful pad players, and there have about a dozen, not a single one uses the PS3 controller. It's always the 360.
By any chance, do you know the reason for this? Have any of those guys stated why they choose the 360 controller over PS3's?
No, not really; I'm not a pad player myself, so I haven't had an opportunity to compare and contrast. I would imagine it's similar to the reason I prefer the XBox360 controller to the PS3 style in other games; the analog stick is just so much more precise, exact, and fits your fingers more fluidly than it does on the PS3. Honestly, the dpad is the dpad; it's inferior and impractical to use in virtually any fighting game, (obviously, Parker didn't know what he was writing about) and I believe FPS's as well. I don't see any big difference between the one for the PS3 and Xbox360 controllers, though.
Really? Have you tried using a controller with a reasonable D-Pad to play a fighting game? It makes a world of difference compared to the analog stick. I swear if you go back to the beginning of this thread it was actually you that opened my eyes to this. I agree with you though that the 360 analog sticks are far and away better than the PS3 ones.
On console gaming, if people are using regular controllers and not special made controllers, they are using the D-Pad, regardless of the system. Since they are using their thumb, they better control of what they are doing. Analog isn't as accurate because it can't be gripped with a palm like arcade analog can be gripped. Using the analog is extremely difficult especially if they aren't coming from a hardcore arcade background. If we're talking about games that were arcade for a long time before coming to console which is going to be rare if it still even happens in America on a notable scale, people are going to be used to the analog stick. Now also ask yourself when designing this controller: Are you making it for the "hardcore" or are you making it so you many people can have a great experience with it? Oddly enough, the former is much easier than the latter.
Okay...how are you going to consistently pull off either half-circles backwards or forwards, let alone 360s and double quarter circle forwards with a D-pad? Yeah, it can be done, but it's freaking hard, (and even super dexterous players struggle with consistent 360s) and most importantly, your reaction time will suffer. Hell, even reversal DPs are a nightmare on a system less forgiving than SF4. Now, granted, you can probably get away with playing charge characters with a D-pad, but even there, it's more cumbersome. I don't know about the other types of games, but for fighters, analog sticks are way easier for ANY level of player, especially beginners. It's vastly easier to pull off movements like "half-circle forward" with an analog stick than timing your presses of the left, down, and right buttons just right. In fact, the latter is pretty damn "hardcore", if you want to use that term.
What about something in the form of a mouse, that could be standard for the platform? That type of complete control is one of the advantages PC has over console. If I had to pick one, yes, it would honestly be the former. But I'm hoping I can also make it enjoyable and usable for everyone. Something that would become the norm for a platform would be my highest goal. I do want to improve upon the analog system, though. That's a point of emphasis for me. Not necessarily at the expense of the D-pad, though, if it isn't helpful. Like KI said, analog is pretty much tits.
I can only speak for me, but I prefer the d-pad to the sticks for fighting games. I think the d-pad makes it easier to pull off the motions, with the sticks I always end up over shooting.
I'm kinda late to reply, but I've been playing a bit of LoL lately. I'm not level 30 yet, only at 18 so far. You can add me, RLC, to play a game. I'll stick TiB in my status bar too. I'd add the names y'all posted but I want to be sure you're okay with playing a low leveler. It's up to you!
Bought Fatal Frame for the PS2 last night. Going to sit down and play it with a few beverages now that the boogers have gone to bed. How many of you liked that game as far as the horror-survival genre goes?
Got wind that there was a new You Don't Know Jack out and about. Picked it up tonight and it's a hoot, just like all the other ones. If you're into really obscure and cleverly phrased trivia, like I am, give it a go. $20 brand new. Played for several hours and still have 50 episodes to go, on top of DLC.
I'm also a D-pad user when it comes to fighting games because I just do better with it - even full-circle motions are easier for me on the D-pad than the analog stick. Personally I think it's just a matter of what I'm used to; I've been playing console fighting games for nearly 20 years so my thumb is trained for D-pad usage. When I try to use an analog thumb stick it just feels awkward. When it comes to fighting games however the debate isn't analog vs. digital but thumbstick vs. thumbpad. Since there's only one movement speed in fighting games* having analog confers no greater control precision over your character than digital. *Talking about SF specifically.
Do you think it's simply a matter of giving yourself proper time to adapt? I thought swinging a baseball bat left-handed was awkward at first, but with enough practice, I became a decent switch-hitter. I'm not saying video games should be about work or practice, but I wouldn't think making a switch would be that difficult, all things considering. Why let the fact that "it's how I've always done it" stop you or anyone else from making a potential upgrade in control. Suppose this won't always be the case, though. What if fighting games were to evolve to allow variable movement speeds, making analog controls not only preferable, but necessary? I'm not sure how that would happen, or why (once again, it's not a genre I'm very familiar with, so this is mostly blind speculation), but I'm not one to rule things out like that without careful consideration. As an aside, I know I've been coming across as a "yay analog, down with teh d-pad" fanatic, but really, I'm speaking from personal experience. The impression I'm getting, from both my own gaming history as well as the feedback on here, is that the fighting genre is the only one that finds greater utility with digital controls than analog ones. Supposing that changes somehow, due to advancements made in that respective genre, could it be possible that the d-pad will simply become obsolete? Remember, if it weren't for controller evolutions, we'd all still be playing with this:
Sure, I could probably adapt given enough practice, but because as I mentioned before since analog controls offer no advantage over digital for the fighting games I play I really don't have an incentive to switch. I think the reason you still have fighting games using the D-pad is because by limiting the range of movement for the characters it keeps the learning curve at a reasonable level. Since we are talking about a game, sometimes too much control isn't necessarily a good thing. Personally I hope the D-pad doesn't go away because really what would you replace it with? Current generation controllers already have two analog sticks, so I don't think you'd gain anything by adding a third. The one thing D-pads have over analog sticks is that for binary operations they're easier to use. For example in Oblivion the D-pad is used for quickly switching spells; you can have eight spells bound - one to each of the cardinal and intermediate directions. Since the texture of the thumbpad lends itself to pressing in one of those directions it's easier to use for that purpose than if it was an analog pad/stick.
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