Gaming with a keyboard? Geez, I wonder how you guys can do it

To me using my least flexible and accurate digit, my thumb, in favor of all my fingers and whole arm movement? No thanks. Controllers are ok, but no matter how hard I try I just can't be accurate. Always over or under compensate I used to play Halo a lot with a friend of mine, we'd hook up our original Xbox's together to play, and he'd beat me all the time. I just could never get that good at it.

 

You must not play WoW or any MMORPG then because they are unplayable on anything but a computer.

 

I come the land of console and anything except my thumb feels too cumbersom to use. Now this is just personal preference, I prefer a joystick, ive got a quick thumb and for me, makes my hand more efficient, allowing to Jump while move, while reloading, just giving you another perspective. My brain operates a joystick better for some reason, it can put in its minds eye were it wants to go better rather then trying to control 3 fingers to do the same. and if youve used your thumb alot more its more adapt to muscle memory then the rest of that hand.

 

It is blatantly obvious and the only people who bring that red herring up are those with a crutch to ride. Regardless if I learn to walk on my hands and am more natural eating with my feet, it has been proven that all things being equal it is more efficient/effective for humans to do the opposite.

And the same point stands with gaming: I don't care what you got used to through bad habits. It has been proven that for the major gaming genres, kb+mouse is vastly superior over a gamepad, all things being equal.

 

What he said

 

3rd person whatever: Controller (more comfortable and I can play from my couch).
FPS, RTS: Mouse + KB

 

I'm horrible with a mouse/keyboard, I'm horrible with a controller ...

 

Well it's not a console version I care about as this is one franchise I would always go pc for. And I would sit in an ergonomic chair wearing burlap for Diablo lol so I'll give up comfort/ But, I do hope Blizzard at least investigates whether a controller setup is even possible.

In Sacred 2 (a Diablo clone), which I tried on pc as well as PS3, the gamepad works fine for 99% of it, you just have problems with things like Glacial Thorns, which works like Multishot in that you aim near/far to adjust spread. On the PS3 version you have to hold down RB and then adjust the spread with your right stick. Doesn't seem too complicated but in practice people just skip this sklill on PS3 lol, or use it as a big spread chill effect bomb only rather than a crowd control/boss killer dual purpose skill.

So the problem seems to be aiming aoe's, and partly related to that, how long it takes to traverse the screen using the stick. If we could get around that somehow, a controller might be doable. Gamepad's got plenty of buttons I think.

Btw, no doubt in my mind mouse aim is better. But I have to say, when I am on a gamepad, I am far more conscious of my movement in the environment, while on kb/m my focus is pulled much more to the aiming part of it. It results in a different game experience to some degree.

Btw it occurs to me that even when I gamed on pc back in the day, I didn't really play WASD games. My top 5 pc games of my childhood are:
The Longest Journey
Grim Fandango
Diablo II
Dark Age of Camelot
Planescape Torment

Trying to remember which of those had WASD movement. Seem to recall mostly mouse movement. DAOC... oh man that takes me back. Especially to that moment when thousands of players on Asian servers captured all the relics at 3 AM California time. Man did we all lose so much sleep after that lol. What a pita that was, we actually had to set up a watch schedule to guard our keeps against Asians invading on their daylight time vs ours heh. That's when I gave up MMOs forever though lol, what a freakin time vaccuum.

 

I'm not sure what you're trying to say here.

That's all well and good, and I never suggested otherwise.

I'm just saying that there are people who are simply more comfortable using controllers than the alternative, and that you should not immediately dismiss them as trolls simply because you "don't care what they got used to through bad habits". I think that this is an entirely fair point. Everyone knows that the KB+Mouse setup is better, from a technical standpoint. Just so happens that the thread isn't about that.

 

[off topic] is Sacred 2 a good game?

 

I like it a lot, so much so that I rebought the international version of the game to install the expansion. But then this is one of my favorite genres. It's not as good as Titan Quest imho, you should do that first for a Diablo clone if you haven't, but in its favor, Sacred 2 has the deepest character development of any loot grinder. It's a big game with lots to do. The mounts are awesome -- you can build your character to fight on horseback, and each class has a different fantastical beast, with varieties that complement specific builds. Each class has a library of comments they make in various situations that are sometimes hilarious. Lots of bugs though, nothing game breaking, but failed side quests and such. Graphics are good, much better in motion than in the screens.

But the deep character customization is really worth checking out. There is no right way with this system, you can get to any result a dozen different ways.

edit, oh btw, i should mention, I don't know this has changed recently, but the expansion only works with the international version of the main game. So buy that if it's around the same price. Company taht made the game went under so the only servers are run by the webs now. Some modwork done, but it never sold well so it's not a huge community. There is a cult following though, including one big board which you can find easily.

 

console controller gaming blows. i wonder that you can do it

 

I just wonder about one thing. My post was about preferring gamepad for pc games over kb/m for pc games. It wasn't about pc gaming vs anything else. But that is how you seem to have perceived it. What you just said, bears no resemblance to what I said. The proper analogue would be, "DS3 blows, you should use FragFX". Pc vs consoles, or a console vs anotehr console, yeah that is trolling. Just like Halo vs KZ is trolling. But gamepad vs kb for pc gaming, or Resistance vs KZ, that's not trolling, taht's comparison. Seriously. Anyway here is the options menu of L4D for Windows:



Also, whatever you think of my intentions, some of us are actually having the discussion I said I wanted to have. So why do you keep saying "you're a troll" over and over? Isn't that trolling?

 

The "keyboard gaming blows" comes off as a troll, but nothing you've said in the topic has been at all offensive.

Looks like I can get the Sacred 2 Gold Edition relatively cheap.

I may jump on that.

EDIT: oh, out of stock... dang

 

Yeah, if it's possible to edit your title, I might consider doing that. It's basically a red cape for the bulls to charge at.

 

Can I even edit a subject line? Thought you couldn't, or I would have before. But my annoyance is, whatever the flaws in the subject line, I think my posts make it clear I'm not trolling, like you say. But that context doesn't seem to matter at all. That would make for a weird world, where there can never be a followup, once a potential flag is spotted, there is no further investigation, thought, or dialogue, it is just time to condemn and do it repeatedly until the other side submits or something lol. And the part where, whatever this guy thinks of me, some of us are having a discussion that is not trolliish, but he doesn't want to allow that to happen. He has designated me a troll, so no one is allowed to respond to me as if I weren't. Oh man is that nazi lol.

 

I have a great idea! Why don't we get a moderator to change the title to "What input devices do you like for PC gaming and why?", and then delete half of these posts.

 

But-but, then I'd be back at zero posts! And everyone knows that your post count determines your worth on the forums!

 

Can someone please take the shovel away from taeter

 

It only means you're a spammer like me!

 

I dunno, I think the best rule is not for the troops to man the anti troll walls, but to adopt a simple rule: ask "what did you mean by that?" That's what I do. Avoids 99% of controversies, because if it sounds offensive, odds are that wasn't what was meant. Most humans are courteous, they may talk rough, but we are social creatures. Because at this point I think the guys who want to make this a thread about me being a troll are lowering the tone far more than my subject line. Anyway I give up, there were strands here I wanted to chat about but I'll talk about them somewhere else I guess.

 

Guess just word it better next time. Amusing train wreck though.

 

Lol I'm baffled to tell you the truth. "kb gaming blows" is a slap in the face? Wow... Do you guys never talk this way, about sports and games? I just met a Man City guy, my club plays his on Sep 30 in a gigantic Europa League match, I basically started with "Man City are a bunch of a overpaid marginal talent," and then his turn was "Juve are a bunch of doping match-fixing floppers." Great guy, we had a beer and talked footy endlessly, we might go check out a Red Bulls match. I remember standing in line for a launch Wii (lol... yeah...) and the whole time it was "x sucks completely" or "y is awesome in every way." I dunno, some genres just seem suited for superlatives, without reaching into trolldom you know? I get that this might not be the norm at NBR though lol.

 

Orally speaking and in certain settings perhaps. But when it comes to the written word, it's assumed that someone took the time to get their idea across the way they intended. Especially with the "tweet generation" who are accustomed to sound bites and succinctly articulated ideas or thoughts.

Depends on the venue, level of passion, or perceived threat. But when it comes to being courteous on the "internetz", it's been said that courtesy is mostly the exception, not the rule. The anonymity affords many the security against social backlash from being discourteous.

And that's too bad. But that's how the tribal nature of humans goes. While humans are indeed social creatures, primates to be specific, they cooperate best in their tribe and will defend their tribe vigorously.

You can start a new thread with suggestions about new or hybrid input methods for PC games. Just be careful of how you title it. Not that you need reminding.

Not for nothing, there were some points of view as well as some interesting points raised in this thread. Would be nice to see a decent conversation continuing along the lines of some of those points.

Oh, and yeah, I changed the thread title.

 

That actually is something that fascinates me endlessly. You see it everywhere. Folks will be all roadraged that the left lane won't let them in, and then they get in and are all hellbent on not letting anyone else in. And on internet fora, yeah I do see this phenomenon where folks register, are there for a while, get that sense of belonging, and then go on the alert for possible infractions by anyone newer. And historically of course it's the Pauls that are the most zealous, not the Peters.

On a somewhat related note, I heard a fascinating bit on NPR about a dissertation on stress and lines in fast food restaurants. The thesis is that having one universal line where everyone waits for an available counter (they do this at Fry's Electronics in California) is much better than people forming up behind specific counters. Because seeing someone who walked in later and got served earlier is a source of lowboil stress.

Lol I find this sort of stuff fascinating. Don't mind me, just installing stuff and browsing NBR tech threads and musing out loud. Which is what got me into trouble in the first place lol. But oh man this is the most abuse I've ever endured on the net, left me a bit reeling tbh.

 

It's unfortunate and I apologize for that. I did see the thread early on and perhaps should have stepped in but got sidetracked with other things.



In any event, the gaming section requires a fair bit of moderation. Lots o' passionate folk here. Tread carefully.

Heh, what I just wrote reminds me of that part in Star Wars when Obi Wan was looking over the ridge with Luke at Mos Eisley...

 

I actually play with both controller and keyboard on my PC. Take for instance Fifa 09 that´s best with a 360 controller.

I even play GTA IV and Mafia 2 using a 360 controller on my PC. I get a far better feeling driving with a 360 controller than the keyboard + mouse. However for FPS games I mainly use the keyboard and mouse.

Now I am pretty used to console controllers anyway since I own both a 360 and PS3 console and have played quite a lot on both and I can play FPS games with either a controller or a keyboard + mouse without any trouble.

 

Speaking of FIFA - #11, Tuesday. I'm actually more interested in the new Manager mode they have this year which is supposed to be decent, so I'll probably use the kb for it lol.

Aw naw it was my own setup. Useful lesson for me, I tend to spew too much anyway lol.