So I got my Xbox controller- my son the PC gamer intercepted it first at the door and said “why did you get an xbox controller, dad?? Mice are WAY better at aiming when it comes to shooters like F4!”
Anyway, I got a brief 1/2 hour to test it out before dinner and tv time with my wife. First impression- I have a bit of a learning curve! But the controller feels good in my hands and I can already see how the controller will make gaming smoother and more streamlined in a lot of ways once the new button controls become second nature. Stimpaks are already mapped to one direction of the dpad, and I imagine I can map out the other 3 directions with whatever I want as well.
Aiming and shooting was a problem. A minor raider skirmish in F4 that would have been nothing at my level was very difficult. I’m wondering if my know-it-all gamer son did have a point about mice being better for aiming and shooting, or if I just need to practice. And practice I will some more tonight after my wife goes to bed.
He does. Shooters are muuuuuch more difficult with a controller. The game might have an aim assist feature somewhere in the settings to help with that.
Well, crap. I thought a controller would ultimately make my game playing more enjoyable, able to lean back, not having to be hunched over a keyboard and mouse. Not necessarily easier, but certainly not more difficult.
You’ll get used to it! FO4 doesn’t exactly require twitch reflexes. You’d be in much more pain if you were trying to play a competitive shooter like Call of Duty.
Once you’ve settled in I think you’ll enjoy it quite a lot. I played FO4 entirely on console and had a lovely time.
First person shooter is probably the “worst” genre for controllers versus M+KB (point and click sim/strat games might come close) but a lot of genres such as platformers, fighting games, racing games and other arcade-style genres fit into using a controller well. As mentioned, if the game has Aim Assist, that’ll help out. Also, while you can’t do this reclined on the couch, I’ve had games where I switch between them depending on what’s going on. Playing Mafia, I usually do my traditional M+KB but jumped right to the controller when the infamous race track driving scene came up.
The controller problem with FPS games is mostly in the multiplayer sphere. If you’re just playing against the game you should be fine. Takes some getting used to but basically fine. FO4 is all about VAT anyway isn’t it? I don’t remember doing a whole lot of real time gun fighting.
I used V.A.T.S. more early on, when I needed all the help I could get, but now I prefer real time gun fighting. I love sneaking up on an enemy camp and sniping out the turrets and 2-3 bad guys before they start charging and attacking, then taking out a medium-range weapon like a shotgun to finish the job, or maybe just a 10MM pistol to give myself a bit of a challenge (I have a plasma-infused 10MM that’s fun to shoot-- still not too powerful, but it has about a 25% chance of turning enemies into a puddle of green goo)… Now I only use V.A.T.S. when I encounter something like a Deathclaw or legendary Mirelurk, and often not even then. (Actually, the only thing I use V.A.T.S.for 99% of the time these days is to get a path to my next quest destination- that’s convenient).
So I got more time to experiment with the xbox controller last night, and I started getting more familiar with it, but even putting in more practice I don’t see my aiming and shooting ever getting nearly as good as with M+KB. I ran across a pack (hive?) of swarmbots, did a quicksave and tried first with the controller. It was a mess-- I was shooting wild everywhere. Then I reload at the save point and tried again with M+KB, and pop-pop-pop, them bots are smoking shrapnel.
And I tried defending a settlement with the controller and I could not get a damn bead on a legendary raider who kept zig-zagging. Then a settler moved into my field of fire and I accidentally shot her in the back of the head! I actually had a momentary visceral feeling of shocked horror and shame. That needless tragedy never would have happened with the control of the M+KB.
So I eventually gave up on the controller for the night, went back to M+KB to simply enjoy the game, and I just had a flow. It’s a shame my new toy is turning out to be a disappointment, but maybe it’s a good lesson-- sometimes you need to jump the fence and see that the green green grass on the other side is just fake-looking astroturf up close. Anybody want to buy a slightly-used 20th Anniversary Xbox controller?
Just kidding, I’ll try it out sometime on some other non-shooty games like @Jophiel mentions:
I was not much of a gamer in my younger days, but I’ve had some small experience with controllers-- I had a 1st-gen Nintendo, and I’d play games with my kids when they were younger on a WII or Playstation. But definitely not to the point I can say “I prefer (brand) controller because it’s what I used in my formative years”.
There was a weird controller advertised a couple years back with like, a trackpad instead of a joystick. It wasn’t Microsoft or Sony or Nintendo, it was some other PC gaming company. The pitch was, supposedly, mouse-like accuracy from a handheld controller. Sometimes I wonder how that worked out.
Interesting. I’ve used this as my primary mouse for doing work for something like 35 years, ever since I was a very young graphic designer and I saw someone using it in a graphic design shop I was visiting. Nothing beats it for fine motor control besides a Wacom tablet.
Oddly, I didn’t even think to try using it for gaming yet (I have an ambidextrous setup with the Expert Mouse on my left for work and a more conventional mouse on my right I use for gaming):
Yeah, if you’re used to that you may want to keep an eye out for a controller using that NVIDIA design. They just filed the patent last year so who knows if or when it will actually come to market.
But the controller I’m thinking of didn’t have a trackball, it had flat trackpads. More like the Wacom tablet I think.
Oh Ok, like some laptops that also had that kind of track pad (and some still do, maybe?). I never much liked using those.
And even looking that NVidia controller design, I’m thinking that trackball is too small to be very useful for fine motor control. I think in order to really work well, the trackball needs to be ‘arcade-era Centipede’ size and weight, like that Expert Mouse.
I may very well try reconfigging my Expert Mouse to be right-handed, and trying my hand at gaming with it tonight…
Are you thinking of the Steam controller? I have one and could never get the hang of it, but a friend loves it and uses it to play many games that would otherwise require a mouse and keyboard.
The controller will never be as good as a mouse for aiming because of the small range of motion available on the thumb stick. The mouse gives you the ability to move your aim point very quickly over a large distance and then make fine movements to track the target.
Pure FPS games are where the difference is most obvious. FPS games with cover mechanics are easier as they essentially let you adjust your aim point while in cover then “pop out” and take the shot. Games like FO4 and Red Dead Redemption with a slow time aiming mechanic are also fine provided you enjoy using the mechanic.
There are M+KB combos that come with a built in mouse platform so you can use them on your lap but they can be expensive and still don’t let you slouch back like a controller does.
It’s been ages since I played it but I think I was a heavy VATS user. At any rate, using a controller for FPS may require an adjustment in play style. More use of cover, stealth, aim assist mechanics, etc. I’m not sure if my play style is what it is because it’s been influenced by using a controller for the last 20 years or if I just like playing that way.
I mainly asked because of the point Jophiel already made. Since you’ve mostly used M+KB you might not be aware of some really excellent games that are all but unplayable* without a controller.
*mileage varies but I don’t think I’ll get too much pushback about games like Hades, as a for-instance.
Yes, I appreciate the advice! In fact, if y’all want to recommend me some fun games best used with a controller, please do! So, Hades, for one.
@Jophiel mentioned games where he switches between controller or M+KB, like Mafia. I’m wondering if that would help me with GTA V as well-- I’ve only played it a little so far, but it has shooting elements, then driving, which I was having trouble doing with M+KB. Maybe a controller would be better with the driving?
Though when I was playing FO4 with the xbox controller and wireless adapter, it would take over the game and not let me play with M+KB at all until I unplugged the adapter. Is there a simple way around that?
I find I can lean back just fine with a wireless mouse and keyboard. Or even a wireless mouse and joystick. You just move the mouse on your leg or the arm of the chair or similar.
I do have a Steam Controller that I got when they were giving the last ones away (only paid $5 shipping). I don’t find it difficult to use, thought I don’t find myself using it often. I say the best way to set it up is for the right stick to be mapped to work like a track pad, with full haptic feedback so it feels like one. That works well for camera movement. But I’ve not tried it with FPSes, as those are not really my jam.
Still, it was enough of a problem that the Steam Deck has two joysticks. And two touch pads. And a D-pad. And a touch screen. They’re trying to accommodate all uses.
(Well, not the keyboard, but most games these days have Joystick support. And the few that don’t can have their buttons mapped.)
I’m a big fan of the original Geometry Wars from like 2007. It’s a mindless arcade shooter, sort of like asteroids on steroids. Left stick moves, right stick shoots, both in any direction independent of the other. I don’t know if it’s even playable without a controller.
There’s really nothing to the game; it’s a throwaway, just to kill a few minutes. Only 62 MB on disk, $4 full price. It’s not on sale, but, y’know, $4. (In fairness, it really feels more like a $2 game.)
EDIT: Looks like steam only has screenshots, not video. Here’s a youtuber playing it just so you can see what it is. Might not be your thing. You can just skip around and watch a few seconds to get the idea.
Thanks, looks fun! Yeah, definitely reminds me of an old-skool arcade-style shooter. Took me back to being 16 and wasting many many quarters at Walker’s Pinball Palace.
So I tried using the Expert Mouse right-handed for gaming, the one that I mentioned upthread I normally use left-handed for work. As I said, for work-related fine motor control stuff I find it better than anything but a Wacom tablet, so I had high hopes for it as a gaming input device.
It was better than the Xbox controller, but still awkward for aiming. I tried it on a minor raider skirmish in FO4 with Piper as a companion, and she took out 2 of 3 raiders I was trying to shoot before I could! Then she said “you really handled yourself well there, blue!” Not sure if she was being sincere, condescending or sarcastic
