# Lazy Console to PC porting. Stop it! **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [October 15, 2010, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lazy-console-to-pc-porting-stop-it/557254 "2010-10-15T16:12:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lazy-console-to-pc-porting-stop-it/557254/21 "2010-10-15T19:56:32Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > Complaining about being sold a flawed game is self righteous??? Yes. Because the other half of “being sold” is “buying”. Caveat Emptor and all that. You might have, for example, read reviews of the PC version? Found someone else who had the PC version? The internet is a big place, but you apparently needed to have the game sight unseen, reviews unread. You walked right into their whole “We don’t need to do this, the PC game enthusiasts will buy it anyway” decision and proved them right. > [@](#): > > And whether it’s laziness, or policy, the fact remains it’s something that pisses me off and that I’m entitled to complain about. It’s like I’m being discriminated against for owning a PC. In a way, you probably are. Sadly, “PC ownership discrimination” isn’t on the books anywhere as something you can sue over, so you are reduced to whining on message boards. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![mil0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mil0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mil0)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lazy-console-to-pc-porting-stop-it/557254/22 "2010-10-15T20:31:58Z")
> [@Airk](#): > > The internet is a big place, but you apparently needed to have the game sight unseen, reviews unread. Well, to be fair, most reviews are wildly off the mark these days. Only a few sources can be trusted to produce fair critique. > **[Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Reviews](https://www.metacritic.com/game/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-2/)** > > Modern Warfare 2 continues the gripping and heart-racing action as players face off against a new threat dedicated to bringing the world to the brink of collapse. An entirely new gameplay mode which supports 2-player co-operative play online that is... > **[Empire: Total War Reviews](https://www.metacritic.com/game/empire-total-war/)** > > Empire: Total War is set in the 18th century, a turbulent era that is the most requested by Total War’s loyal fan base and a period alive with global conflict, revolutionary fervour and technological advances. The game features themes such as the... [World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Reviews - Metacritic](http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/world-of-warcraft-wrath-of-the-lich-king) \* > **[Sid Meier's Civilization V Reviews](https://www.metacritic.com/game/sid-meiers-civilization-v/)** > > With over nine million units sold worldwide, and unprecedented critical acclaim from fans and press around the world, Sid Meier's Civilization is recognized as one of the greatest strategy franchises of all-time. Now, Firaxis Games will take this... It’s rather amusing how they’re so inept. They’re almost completely detached from the realities in gaming today. - I realize that many will suggest that WoTLK is god’s gift to MMO design and deserves an 11/10, but at the time these reviews were penned it certainly wasn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lazy-console-to-pc-porting-stop-it/557254/23 "2010-10-15T20:41:14Z")
You could have at least cited > **[Spore](https://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/spore)** > > Spore for PC game reviews & Metacritic score: From the mind of Will Wright comes SPORE, a journey that takes you from the origin and evolution of life through the development of civilization and technology... on that front. (And really, is anyone surprised? These guys make their money from ads bought by game companies, after all.) ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lazy-console-to-pc-porting-stop-it/557254/24 "2010-10-15T20:46:43Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > I also have a controller. I prefer not to use it since I know the mouse and keyboard are better for aiming and shooting games. I don’t want to deliberately disadvantage myself in games like COD. Sounds like you are deliberately disadvantaging yourself by choosing to stick with the mouse for these games. ---
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lazy-console-to-pc-porting-stop-it/557254/25 "2010-10-15T20:51:10Z")
You’ll notice that I didn’t say “go check the game’s metacritic score”; A metacritic score is completely irrelevant for this sort of thing. We’re not even LOOKING for an “overall” opinion of the game. All we want to know is “how well does it control”? I daresay that there’s a review out there somewhere that touches that. Even if there isn’t, well, you could try asking on a place like this, or better still, one that’s more devoted to gaming. Or you could come here and complain afterwards. It’s your money. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Orzabal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@Roland\_Orzabal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Orzabal)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lazy-console-to-pc-porting-stop-it/557254/26 "2010-10-15T20:59:01Z")
What’s up with all the people jumping **Lobsang** ’s shit in this thread for being “entitled” or “whiny”? He’s not bitching about console games not being designed for PCs. He’s bitching about games with broken-ass controls, and he’s right. Think about it. The control pattern he describes — slow rotation with less mouse movement that accelerates as you move the mouse further — is precisely what you’d expect out of a control stick. Slight tilt, slight reaction; more tilt, more reaction. It’s not a “design element”, it’s a function of the benefits and limitations of the input method. When dealing with a mouse, this should be converted to a direct movement-to-response correlation to achieve the same ease of control that the console version offered. Failure to do this is therefore a glaring port defect, not a factor of the game being designed to have difficult controls. It’s a bug, not a feature. Imagine if, in console FPSs, the aiming reticule moved at a set, medium-speed rate whenever the control stick was tilted, regardless of the extent of the tilt. Most of them would be rendered, if not nigh-unplayable, then annoying as all hell. (To the pedant out there digging up some ancient Elbonian import Quake II clone that was actually designed to be controlled this way, please note the word “most” and save yourself the effort.) This is the same situation, just in reverse. If that doesn’t work for you, how about a 360-to-Wii port where the righthand control stick was mapped directly to Wiimote movement, without accounting for the fact that your hand can actually move at different speeds? Sound like something you might take issue with? Same deal. I’m primarily a console gamer myself, but busted controls are busted controls, and gamers of all stripes should rally around any rant that calls out lazy-bum development. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lazy-console-to-pc-porting-stop-it/557254/27 "2010-10-15T21:10:15Z")
> [@Cubsfan](#): > > > [@Lobsang](#): > > > > I also have a controller. I prefer not to use it since I know the mouse and keyboard are better for aiming and shooting games. I don’t want to deliberately disadvantage myself in games like COD. > > Sounds like you are deliberately disadvantaging yourself by choosing to stick with the mouse for these games. As I’ve pointed out, the mouse is far superior to the stick on this type of game. If you used a stick controller in COD for the PC you’d have your ass handed to you. **Roland** Thanks for sticking up to me. I seem to have touched some nerves, so the wounded have to resort to calling me whiny and un-entitled. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lazy-console-to-pc-porting-stop-it/557254/28 "2010-10-15T21:21:23Z")
> [@Roland\_Orzabal](#): > > I’m primarily a console gamer myself, but busted controls are busted controls, and gamers of all stripes should rally around any rant that calls out lazy-bum development. And isn’t demanding a better product and one that meets their desires better what good consumers are supposed to do? ---
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lazy-console-to-pc-porting-stop-it/557254/29 "2010-10-15T21:52:32Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > > [@Roland\_Orzabal](#): > > > > I’m primarily a console gamer myself, but busted controls are busted controls, and gamers of all stripes should rally around any rant that calls out lazy-bum development. > > And isn’t demanding a better product and one that meets their desires better what good consumers are supposed to do? Only if that demand takes the form of one that might actually reach the publishers/designers. Coming to a random message board and saying, essentially, “Wah, bad ports are bad, stop it!” is just annoying a bunch of random people on the internet. If you want to be a good freaking consumer, then you need to do the research, find the facts, and then NOT BUY THE GAME if it doesn’t meet your criteria. Or, at the very least, go to some sort of official forum and post your discontent. Putting this post here is just whining. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lazy-console-to-pc-porting-stop-it/557254/30 "2010-10-15T22:03:41Z")
**Airk** what is your problem? Don’t you know how message boards work? This is what people _do!_ It’s a place to vent some steam. To share annoyances with like minded people. You seem to be in the minority in that you a) seem to have taken offence to my complaints and b) believe they shouldn’t be posted on message boards. I’d complain to the game producers themselves if I thought it might actually achieve anything. Complaining on message boards is _normal_. I think my ‘whining’ pails to your being an ass-hat. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lazy-console-to-pc-porting-stop-it/557254/31 "2010-10-15T22:28:58Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > > [@Cubsfan](#): > > > > Sounds like you are deliberately disadvantaging yourself by choosing to stick with the mouse for these games. > > As I’ve pointed out, the mouse is far superior to the stick on this type of game. If you used a stick controller in COD for the PC you’d have your ass handed to you. I dont doubt that is true for CoD but I think you are looking at things wrong here. When a game is originally developed for the console audience it’s developed AROUND the controller. When it is ported to PC that doesn’t change how the game was developed. Instead of looking at it as “Mouse and keyboard primary with the option of a controller” you should instead be seeing it as “Controller primary with the option of mouse and keyboard” knowing what you will sacrifice if you use the unintended control option. I dont play PC games anymore but will be pulled in again when D3 hits. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lazy-console-to-pc-porting-stop-it/557254/32 "2010-10-15T22:46:40Z")
At this point I’m willing to concede that I am playing games that are designed around the use of a controller. But I can’t imagine it would be difficult to code in (or even code out) this aiming behaviour for people using a mouse (which will be a very high percentage of PC users). If the game designers were _insistant_ on their game being played with a controller they should not include the option to play with the mouse. But since they _do_ make the mouse available, all I am asking is that they do the tiny bit of coding probably required to make mouse movement directly map to in-game movement. It might even be a case of commenting out a _single line of code_. Having said that. I can see I’m fighting a losing battle here (Heck it’s not even meant to be a battle, just a vent/rant about the increasing incidence of PC games coming from Console ports, and that in turn meaning we PC users have to put up with these inconveniences in an increasing proportion of the games available for our platform) ---
**Author:** ![Spectralist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Spectralist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectralist)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lazy-console-to-pc-porting-stop-it/557254/33 "2010-10-15T23:17:57Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > But I can’t imagine it would be difficult to code in (or even code out) this aiming behaviour for people using a mouse (which will be a very high percentage of PC users). It is indeed quite easy. I’m an inexperienced semi-competent programmer and managed to figure out how to program mouse controls for a 3d orbital camera of the type that is used in most 3rd person games in about a day. And that was mostly through trial and error and not really understanding why it works. Someone that actually knows what they’re doing could likely piss it out in a half hour if they’d even have to. I’d think most game companies would have libraries of input code that could be used with little more than a function call. ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lazy-console-to-pc-porting-stop-it/557254/34 "2010-10-15T23:31:26Z")
Turn off Vsync if you’re using it. Various forums are recommending that as a quick fix for Dead Space. I don’t recall any mouse problems when I played it. I played it on a CRT monitor so I had Vsync off as default. Might help. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lazy-console-to-pc-porting-stop-it/557254/35 "2010-10-16T00:51:36Z")
> [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](#): > > Turn off Vsync if you’re using it. Various forums are recommending that as a quick fix for Dead Space. I don’t recall any mouse problems when I played it. I played it on a CRT monitor so I had Vsync off as default. Might help. I did that on dead space. In fact I forced it off using the nvidia control panel. It fixed the lag that there was. Didn’t fix the control issue though. Not that it was much of an issue. I did eventually complete the game (and thoroughly enjoyed it). I think I would have enjoyed it slightly more if I had the satisfaction of fluid aiming at things and shooting, instead of erratically spraying at them with a lot of missing and wasted ammo. ETA: Don’t get me wrong: The issue (which seems to have become the theme of this thread rather than general port problems) wasn’t game-ruining. It was fairly slight. But it was there enough to be noticable. I merely used it as an example of the phenomenon I refer to - whereby a game is ported to PC but an algorithm suited to gamepads is left in place for mouse control - which it doesn’t suit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lazy-console-to-pc-porting-stop-it/557254.md?page=1)