Controller Support

[The Kush]

Hello everyone,
A similar question was previously asked but I didn't find the answer I was looking for. Several fans have confirmed support for joysticks by seeing pictures of Higby's setup for Planetside 2. My question is do you guys think there will be support for third party controllers such as an Xbox 360 controller into your usb port and ingame options to route specific functions to the controller? Although I am very capable and fine with using a keyboard and mouse, I would like to give a shot at using a controller in Planetside 2, which I have grown to love with first person shooters. I have been playing Planetside since 2004 and I recall problems (at least till 2010 when i unsubbed) with external controllers; although there was support in game, the controllers would glitch and have problems. Just wanted to get everyone's two cents on the matter and if they think this will be an option in Planetside 2. I assume a console game in 2012 would have this covered but you never know..

Thanks for your time

[Warborn]

I don't think they've said it'd be the case, and I doubt they'd bother supporting it. Joystick makes sense for aircraft that actually have something like a flight model beyond "ground vehicle that can float" as PS1 had it. Controllers just don't have the kind of precision that keyboard/mouse does, so I'd be surprised if they bothered supporting it as it'd be an obvious handicap few players would willingly endure.

[The Kush]

Originally Posted by Warborn

Do people actually prefer playing FPS games with controllers? I can't imagine anyone would really want to handicap themselves like that.

There are many people who feel the same way as you do but everyone has their own unique play style and preferences. I'm not arguing one is better over the other, just simply curious about third party options and was hoping someone could shed some light on the topic. I also know there are other people like me who would like to give a shot at using a controller, or use as an alternative that could be implemented alongside a keyboard and mouse.

[Warborn]

Originally Posted by The Kush

just simply curious about third party options

Oh, I thought you were asking if they'd be actually supported by the game and an intended way to play like joysticks for flying. Yeah, who knows? Probably. Controllers seem easy to use for lots of other games, why not for PS2?

[The Kush]

Originally Posted by Warborn

Oh, I thought you were asking if they'd be actually supported by the game and an intended way to play like joysticks for flying. Yeah, who knows? Probably. Controllers seem easy to use for lots of other games, why not for PS2?

I just like the feel of the controller in my hands when im playing a FPS (the joytsicks on a controller instead of AWSD to move and the mouse to point and the trigger to shoot instead of the mouse click)

As I said before though, its not a huge deal, I played all of planetside 1 with a keyboard and mouse. I would just like to see the option added I know it wouldn't be that hard for the developers to add in game support for controllers like the Xbox 360 or PS3. And just because your controller is plugged in the keyboard isn't disabled, you can set down the controller and type/do other things you prefer to do with the keyboard/mouse.

[NCLynx]

I'm sure you could plug a controller in and map the keys and such to it for a half decent controller experience. As for a setting in game specifically for controllers? I doubt it unless its a joystick for piloting.

[Magpie]

Hey mate, I talked about this awhile ago, I'm a big fan of the controller and a few planetside 2 game coders devs talked about adding it in.

http://www.planetside-universe.com/s...ght=Controller

[The Kush]

Originally Posted by Magpie

Hey mate, I talked about this awhile ago, I'm a big fan of the controller and a few code monkey devs talked about adding it in.

http://www.planetside-universe.com/s...ght=Controller

Thanks man, I searched and didn't find this post for some reason but I'm glad someone else can see where I'm coming from! Console controllers are more accurate then a keyboard and mouse in my opinion like the coder said. I would love to kick back with an xbox controller maybe plug my laptop into my tv. Thanks for the reply and look forward to playing with you, cheers!

[Ieyasu]

if anything you can use a 360 controller with a program like xpadder and map certain functions to it like wasd.

[Magpie]

Yea deffo, I'm gonna be hooking up my Xbox controller soon as beta start, I just find it more relaxing, don't no if you have seen it but here's a nice post from one of the ps2 devs

Originally Posted by CyclesMcHurtz

Not everyone likes this - it's harder on the hands and wrists for some to use a mouse and keyboard. Twitch games are easier to control with a properly setup pad (there are difficulties - see below). I've played a certain action MMO with both, and boy let me tell you the mouse is MUCH less fun in that case.




This is actually a major failing point of many developers - this is how they map the mouse to the joystick, thinking it helps. It usually has the opposite effect and actually makes the controls much less predictable and usually presents problems (getting STUCK on the wrong target, having extra code to figure out what target you want, which is always wrong at some point).

On other projects I have discussed this at length. In game, the controller has a definite advantage if done right - a mouse has no defined center point, it's all feel - the controller has a defined center point. This can be designed around.

The key is to design the control scheme to fit the device (mouse, keyboard, joystick, controller, foot pedals, whatever). This takes much more time than developers usually spend - it's more about mapping mouse x/y to right joystick, button A to F key and so on.

There are other limitations to keyboards that present a significant problem as well - the number of keys that can be pressed at once, and what the keyboard can tell you about them. All keyboards have limitations, while the controllers actually report each and every button press and pressure accurately. I have one keyboard where if I hold down [A] and [W], I cannot press [G] - it simply doesn't register. There are many places to find this out, but all keyboards have a particular setup that just won't work.

The job of the UI designers is to understand all of this and set up a system that allows everyone to have a great experience interacting with all aspects of the game. We make choices, and at some point we will definitely get the default setting wrong -I know this. I read the interwebs

[Shogun]

planetside 1 had all kind of options to bind whatever you want to whatever input device you got.

that´s a thing, soe is capable of and that shouldn´t even be a lot of work. it was common before games started to be dumbed down consoleports.
i would even expect a lot of presets for all kind of controllers, so the consoleros don´t even have to hassle with setting up the game to their controllers key by key.

but please only play without mouse/keyboard, if you are going to play tr or vs

[EdLev]

If they have support for joysticks, gamepads should be no issue. It's basically the same effort to include support for both of them.

[TOCS]

It'll probably have support, but you'll be smacked by everyone else. :P Even though you might be good with a controller, there's a pretty good chance you won't survive long on the field with such an inferior control method. I'd suggest you to only use it for vehicles.

[Sabot]

Why not? I mean, the more options available the better... it should equal more players so... but I don't think it's at the top of the list, so to speak.
Personally I'd be so frustrated trying to gun in a moving Mag or Skyguard using a controller. Jesus. And going as infantry with a lolbox (sorry ) controller will be suicide.

[Purple]

i wonder if i could use my wii remote!