PC Gaming and Gamepads! Hows the situation?

Wingcommander4 · 05-29-12 at 08:32 AM

Do you have one and do you like it? I have a USB Vibration joystick and quite honestly it looks like a XBOX 360 controller except the D-Pad and L-Stick has been changed around but annoyingly what is it whit game makers who dont make all gamepads compatible for their games? I constanfly have to use X-Padder to remap everything. Why cant they fully support the PC so we can get all fighting games to PC as well??

**666wrathchild666** · 05-29-12 at 09:43 AM

Because most PC gamers seem to think that the keyboard and mouse is better than a controller. I still haven't figured out why though.

proxy2007 · 05-29-12 at 10:24 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by 666wrathchild666

Because most PC gamers seem to think that the keyboard and mouse is better than a controller. I still haven't figured out why though.

Basically its the sensitivity of the mouse and there are more keys on a keyboard than a gamepad so easy to customize (i use both keyboard + Mouse and 360 controller on my pc depending on the game)

**SteveJones7** · 05-29-12 at 11:09 AM

I use to piss around with various gamepads, then I bought an official xbox 360 pad for windows and never looked back.

If a PC game supports a pad, then its good to go straight away, and I never have to remap.

Spend the money once, and save alot of pain

sickley · 05-29-12 at 11:09 AM

Capcom has been doing an excellent job of porting their games to pc (in comparison to it's competitors at least), and there is a decent number of games in general that support controllers.

The big problem is that there are a lot of pc games that either just don't work on a controller, or don't work well on a controller. Take diablo 3 for instance (yes i know they are porting it to 360): you have left and right mouse buttons as skills, and then another 6 hotbar skills, on top of that you also have a potion button, inventory, quest log, skills window, etc. The average controller has 4 'main buttons', 4 'shoulder buttons', 'start' and 'select' buttons, 1 d-pad (4 easily assignable buttons), 2 analog sticks (some which have a button press). Now for the 6 skills you can easily use the main buttons and the trigger buttons thats 6/12(16 including d-pad) buttons; that leaves you with main menu, health potion, quest log, inventory, skills window, friends list (if they include the b-net features), at this point i've lost track, and while yes you could definitely make it work you have to keep in mind that they planned on porting D3 to 360, looking at the endless list of other RPG's on computer would be a much different matter.

There is also the problem of mouse vs analog stick for aiming. I'm not going to start a conversation on which is better for a shooter (even though there is a clear winner), but the fact remains that they are very different, and DO in fact have an impact on not only AI but also level design (console only games tend to have a lot less vertical variation in their levels than PC games, in regards to shooters), and probably other things as well.

However, if you want to play games with controller then go grab a (wired) 360 controller and buy games that are labeled 'Games for Windows'. One of the requirements for 'games for windows' games is that they MUST work with a 360 controller

So what's the issue really? Adding a different input adds on a bunch of extra development for very little pay-off for most pc developers; it's simply a waste of time and money to them, especially when pc gamers have the tools to set this up themselves (xpadder)

WEEZHOLE · 05-29-12 at 12:34 PM

I use a Logitech RumblePad and if you set it to X mode it just emulates a XBOX 360 controller. I like the PS3 controller better and why I use it over an XBOX 360 controller. I have absolutely no problems with any games and I pretty much play every PC game that gets released except for RTS games. Not sure why anyone thinks those are fun. I've never had a problem. I use Keyboard and Mouse for FPS and the Gamepad for everything else.

Ghenos · 05-29-12 at 01:10 PM

Wait, they're porting D3 to 360? Does that mean you have to constantly connect to live to play?

obscured021 · 05-29-12 at 01:24 PM

I use my 360 pads on my pc with a wirless reciever, even my wirless xbox mic works with it and i can route voice only to the ear peice, 90% of modren games work with a 360 pad, in saints row 3 i use the pad for flying/driving and the mouse/keyboard for on foot/shooting, the second i touch the pad the on screen button prompts change to pad and vice versa for the mouse.

chillywilly · 05-29-12 at 03:07 PM

I use the logitech chillstream controller. It has a built in fan to cool your hands.

xtaster · 05-29-12 at 04:21 PM

i use my xbox360 pad (im pc only gamer) and it works fine for most games made after 2006 because of xinput support and even older games which now support xinput.

using keyboard for mmorpgs and ALL schooters.

exxo · 05-29-12 at 09:37 PM

My trusty logitech dual action gamepad (~$5 when I bought it years ago) and x360ce never let me down in action rpg and fighting games on pc. Everything else, in my opinion, is better suited to a nice mechanical keyboard and gaming mouse.

justy123 · 05-29-12 at 10:22 PM

Most new games work great with 360 controller (not sure about other gamepads). I prefer the controller (currently use the 360 one with wireless receiver) for rpgs, racing games, sports games and third person shooters, but for fps games keyboard is the way to go.

Oddly enough though I prefer using the keyboard for skyrim...

abcdefghijklmnop · 05-30-12 at 04:05 PM

I use a 360 controller when the game's controls don't seem to make sense for me on the keyboard even after remapping (e.g. Assassin's Creed). Otherwise, I prefer keyboard & mouse because of the additional buttons, precision, etc.

Chaos212 · 05-31-12 at 04:27 AM

Use xbox 360 gamepad, feels good in hand. like 99% of the games that support gamepad have built in support for xbox gamepad.

05-29-12 at 09:43 AM	#2
666wrathchild666 Elite Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: USA Posts: 1,523	Because most PC gamers seem to think that the keyboard and mouse is better than a controller. I still haven't figured out why though.

05-29-12 at 10:24 AM	#3
proxy2007 Newcomer Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 31	Quote: Originally Posted by 666wrathchild666 Because most PC gamers seem to think that the keyboard and mouse is better than a controller. I still haven't figured out why though. Basically its the sensitivity of the mouse and there are more keys on a keyboard than a gamepad so easy to customize (i use both keyboard + Mouse and 360 controller on my pc depending on the game)

05-29-12 at 11:09 AM	#4
SteveJones7 Too sexy for this board Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: teh earth Posts: 1,541	I use to piss around with various gamepads, then I bought an official xbox 360 pad for windows and never looked back. If a PC game supports a pad, then its good to go straight away, and I never have to remap. Spend the money once, and save alot of pain

05-29-12 at 11:09 AM	#5
sickley Novice Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 106	Capcom has been doing an excellent job of porting their games to pc (in comparison to it's competitors at least), and there is a decent number of games in general that support controllers. The big problem is that there are a lot of pc games that either just don't work on a controller, or don't work well on a controller. Take diablo 3 for instance (yes i know they are porting it to 360): you have left and right mouse buttons as skills, and then another 6 hotbar skills, on top of that you also have a potion button, inventory, quest log, skills window, etc. The average controller has 4 'main buttons', 4 'shoulder buttons', 'start' and 'select' buttons, 1 d-pad (4 easily assignable buttons), 2 analog sticks (some which have a button press). Now for the 6 skills you can easily use the main buttons and the trigger buttons thats 6/12(16 including d-pad) buttons; that leaves you with main menu, health potion, quest log, inventory, skills window, friends list (if they include the b-net features), at this point i've lost track, and while yes you could definitely make it work you have to keep in mind that they planned on porting D3 to 360, looking at the endless list of other RPG's on computer would be a much different matter. There is also the problem of mouse vs analog stick for aiming. I'm not going to start a conversation on which is better for a shooter (even though there is a clear winner), but the fact remains that they are very different, and DO in fact have an impact on not only AI but also level design (console only games tend to have a lot less vertical variation in their levels than PC games, in regards to shooters), and probably other things as well. However, if you want to play games with controller then go grab a (wired) 360 controller and buy games that are labeled 'Games for Windows'. One of the requirements for 'games for windows' games is that they MUST work with a 360 controller So what's the issue really? Adding a different input adds on a bunch of extra development for very little pay-off for most pc developers; it's simply a waste of time and money to them, especially when pc gamers have the tools to set this up themselves (xpadder)

05-29-12 at 12:34 PM	#6
WEEZHOLE Newcomer Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 10	I use a Logitech RumblePad and if you set it to X mode it just emulates a XBOX 360 controller. I like the PS3 controller better and why I use it over an XBOX 360 controller. I have absolutely no problems with any games and I pretty much play every PC game that gets released except for RTS games. Not sure why anyone thinks those are fun. I've never had a problem. I use Keyboard and Mouse for FPS and the Gamepad for everything else.

05-29-12 at 01:10 PM	#7
Ghenos Expert Join Date: Jul 2010 Posts: 914	Wait, they're porting D3 to 360? Does that mean you have to constantly connect to live to play?

05-29-12 at 01:24 PM	#8
obscured021 Novice Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 247	I use my 360 pads on my pc with a wirless reciever, even my wirless xbox mic works with it and i can route voice only to the ear peice, 90% of modren games work with a 360 pad, in saints row 3 i use the pad for flying/driving and the mouse/keyboard for on foot/shooting, the second i touch the pad the on screen button prompts change to pad and vice versa for the mouse.

05-29-12 at 03:07 PM	#9
chillywilly Novice Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 117	I use the logitech chillstream controller. It has a built in fan to cool your hands.

05-29-12 at 04:21 PM	#10
xtaster Newcomer Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 89	i use my xbox360 pad (im pc only gamer) and it works fine for most games made after 2006 because of xinput support and even older games which now support xinput. using keyboard for mmorpgs and ALL schooters.

05-29-12 at 09:37 PM	#11
exxo Newcomer Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 6	My trusty logitech dual action gamepad (~$5 when I bought it years ago) and x360ce never let me down in action rpg and fighting games on pc. Everything else, in my opinion, is better suited to a nice mechanical keyboard and gaming mouse.

05-29-12 at 10:22 PM	#12
justy123 Novice Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Where least expected Posts: 183	Most new games work great with 360 controller (not sure about other gamepads). I prefer the controller (currently use the 360 one with wireless receiver) for rpgs, racing games, sports games and third person shooters, but for fps games keyboard is the way to go. Oddly enough though I prefer using the keyboard for skyrim...

05-30-12 at 04:05 PM	#13
abcdefghijklmnop Newcomer Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 33	I use a 360 controller when the game's controls don't seem to make sense for me on the keyboard even after remapping (e.g. Assassin's Creed). Otherwise, I prefer keyboard & mouse because of the additional buttons, precision, etc.

05-31-12 at 04:27 AM	#14
Chaos212 Novice Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 143	Use xbox 360 gamepad, feels good in hand. like 99% of the games that support gamepad have built in support for xbox gamepad.