Perfect controls for RDR2 on consoles is far from the truth. In many cases the RDR2 controls were clunky and not intuitive. I don’t know how many people had trouble getting their weapon from their horse.
I’d also say most games on PC and console follow conventions for their genre. This isn’t unique to a console.
While I agree the controller is better for some things - like movement and easy of manipulating the desired button to press, it isn’t the panacea you make it out to be. I find it much more difficult to make subtle movements with the sticks than I do with a mouse. In any case, skill with either control system basically is determined by how much time you put in with it. Many of us started with a kb+mouse, so it is more familiar and I think less demanding to make subtle movements.
I can’t imagine playing most of my favorite games without the keyboard and mouse.
Top down RPGs and RTS games are just easier with a mouse. Turn based Strategy games that require complex inputs, the same (Advanced War is about the scale that can work with controller).
Heck, although there has been a recent move to controller, it seems most ARPGs require messing with enemies numbers to make it work for the controller. I can imagine rapidly taking aim in the middle of a mob of enemies with out the mouse. Using the shift key to fire in place, and using keyboard buttons to use health/Mana potions, and 1 through 4 for infrequent abilities that don’t require to be tied to the mouse. It helps that with a flip of a switch on Titan Quest, you can change weapons and change hotkey spells. The same with NWN 1.
One thing I wonder about is focusing distance. I spend all my work day at a PC, and until I had a kid, a lot of extra hours at a PC playing games. So a lot of my waking hours focusing at something 2 feet away.
At 44, my ability to adjust the focal length of my eyes is pretty degraded. That happens with age anyway, but I wonder if splitting the time between PC distances and TV distances would possibly be a bit healthier for the eyes.
It is. I’ve moved most of my gaming to the living room TV. I spend my work day at the two foot distance from a monitor. It definitely has helped maintain good vision with the focal length being different.
It also makes gaming feel big and expansive at home.
Haven’t picked up RDR2 yet, but when playing GTA-type games I use a KB/M while on foot and a controller when in a vehicle. It’s nice that games have the option for both control schemes so that I can select the best one for the task at hand.
I should also add that I use a controller for all the first/third person PC gaming now because mouse/keyboard controls tend to make me sick. I didn’t have this problem until I moved away from the PC as my primary platform around the end of the 2000’s which meant using controllers almost exclusively.
I have found that field of view is a huge contributor to my motion sickness issues. I always have to turn it up if it’s really tight.
If you actually take the time to map your keys, you shouldn’t be looking at your keys as you play. I mean… to have a customized experience, you do have to do some work; otherwise, you have to learn.
Didn’t we already do this a couple of months ago so why are we beating the horse again?
See this is the sort of rubbish you get posted these day, totally untrue but used to support your opinion.
When RDR2 came out there was horrendous bitching about the controls, first up who punched their horse asap, mostly everyone, who left their weapon on their horse etc etc.
The reality is they were crap on a gamepad and they transferred to pc as crap as well.
I do not think it really matters, just use what you prefer…
RDR2 definitely had garbage controls on consoles. I can’t count the number of times I accidentally shot someone. I stopped doing that on PC, but instead of just being overly complex on consoles, it’s a total mind fuck on PC. It doesn’t have to be that way, people have come up with better mappings that don’t have things like fisticuffs on completely different buttons, but that should be the default. And would still be overly complicated, just because of how the game was designed.
For PC it’s so easy to have a keyboard, mouse and controller connected at once. I just switch whenever I feel like it. Why should any of this be controversial?
I will say though that not many games solve Dvorak mapping. There’s a wrong way to do it that requires a lot of remapping, and some implementations fail to remap a couple of keys (like the qwerty e key; multiple Steam games have this issue.) The best way is to just make it so pressing a key always maps to what’s printed on a qwerty keyboard regardless of set keyboard language.
The wonderful thing about a keyboard is infinite buttons for those games that need it. Flight sim fanatics like to create these detailed cockpits with switches but - hello – you’ve already got this amazing console full of buttons to use! (using keyboards rather than trying to recreate virtual cockpit layouts is something I appreciate in older sims.) Same thing with other complex games that could use shortcuts, like RTSs.
However, I do agree that having the constraints of the evolved controller (and let’s not forget all the iterations it went through to reach modern levels) enables devs to focus on perfecting usability within a limited space. This both constrains developers, since they can’t really create games that require more controls than are available, and at the same time allows them to move on to other more important things. Though let’s not forget that in reality, on PC as well, if a dev strays from conventions and uses unusual keyboard schemes, or requires more keys than are available for immediate use, their game is likely not to succeed. The upper limit of instantly available keyboard keys is very similar to what’s available on a controller nowadays. More keys are accessible given a little bit of time to look down at the keyboard, but those can also be made available on a controller with shifting (at the cost of more user memorization).
Funny aside: I was playing AssCreed Odyssey before starting RDR2. In the former, you use the B button on the Xbox controller to mount your horse, whereas B in the latter is punch.
I think you can see where I’m going with this… suffice to say, sometimes muscle memory is not your friend ;)
Console control schemes vary not just from game to game, but platform as well.
Sony and Nintendo is the classic example in terms of the primary button AKA the button used to advance through menus vs the button used to back out of menus. This is a very console idea.
For PlayStation in America and Europe the X button is used to Advance while the Circle button is used to back out. This is a departure from Nintendo in terms of the buttons placement on the controller. Nintendo traditionally used the A button, which is where the Circle button is on the PlayStation controller in terms of placement. While the the X button corresponds with Nintendo’s B button to back out.
Of course in Japan, Sony maintains primary button parity with Nintendo there…so the Circle button is used as the primary button to advance instead of X, which is used to back out of menus.
On PC a lot of the hotkeys are fairly standard depending on the type of game.
WASD for movement in FPSs. Ctrl+# for control groups in RTSs. J for Journal, I for Inventory, M for map, etc in RPGs…Usually when these hotkeys don’t work is when the game has been designed from a console perspective.
I’ve been trying to find some time to play Control and last night I got it installed and just booted it up and watched the short opening clip and walked around. I didn’t want to advance anything so I just moved around the opening entryway of the Bureau of Control. I haven’t played much on PC in the last year and certainly no game like this in third person. I didn’t have my Xbox One controller connected so I used mouse and keys.
It was jarring that movement of the character was digital… on/off… with the keys… and it also meant I was at a dead run all the time, in the foyer of an office where I’d never be at a dead run.
This is the kind of thing keyboards aren’t good at, and require a developer to throttle movement so it doesn’t seem unnatural. Remedy didn’t do that, so it was rubbing me the wrong way. I will plug in my Xbox One controller when I sit down to play it seriously and I’d bet real money I can walk with analog movement of the left stick, which will make that seem a lot more natural.
I’m sure there will be people who will say, “It’s just a game!” or “That’s dumb! I always run!”, but you’re not me, and that’s my opinion on how games that are attempting to deliver a cinematic experience should work. It made me think about connecting the PC to my new TV too because another thing that was jarring was sitting in front of such a “small” (Dell S2716DGR) monitor for such a “big” game. I really wanted to play something like this on a PC again though so we’ll see how I feel after living with it for awhile.
Anyway, my own anecdotal evidence that some games probably are better with a controller than mouse/keys for reasons people might not initially consider when speaking with sweeping generalities.
What’s the Gold Standard of controllers to use for Steam games? Or put another way, can I connect my wireless Xbox One controller to it? Or is the Steam controller the bees knees?
I’m gonna try Steel Battalion Division on it. If I can play that with a controller, I can play anything.
Edit: Left Battalion in as that’s a … whole other level of controller. :)
Just connect your Xbox One controller via a USB cable and you’re good to go. It will be recognized as such and you’re playing most games with it without any issues. Steam Controller works too of course but it takes some getting used to. I think your best bet is the Xbox One controller you already have. Most games and of course Windows have built in support.
