Fun Club I hate using arrow buttons to control characters in 3d games

[Tall Valley Nerd]

Since my switch have been stolen in last August and because I am saving to buy switch 2 so I couldn't afford buying any game on my laptop ( I don't pirate games only books , TV series , Manga and some movies) in the last six months I didn't play anything until yesterday one of my friends gifted me sand of time and after three hours with the game I need to ask how people can bear using the arrow buttons to move in 3d games like it feel like you using a d-pad to move your character? Does any buddy prefer this to analog stick? No really I need to know fami members who play usually on PC does you find the arrow buttons not frustrating to use? Does you prefer it on analog stick?

 

[oomoepoo]

I grew up playing on PC and I'd say it's mostly a matter of adjusting, especially Sands of Time doesn't require that precise movements

Not to say I don't prefer gamepad with analogue movement for these kind of games but I can usually get by with mouse and keyboard just fine, kinda have to adjust to mostly walking forward and adjusting instead of constantly moving I guess?

 

[Bonejack]

I think Steam works with every controller (Xbox, DualSense/Shock, Pro Controller) so ... get one if you're lock to PC gaming for the time being.

As for other clients and controller support, no idea.

 

[Party Sklar]

Arrow buttons (or ZQSD) are good for FPS but I agree that they're pretty bad for TPS, especially platformers. You can get used to it, though! But if you don't you can check Facebook Marketplace/your local version of Craigslist/garage sales/etc, you'll likely find people selling old USB controllers for a couple bucks. Or if you happened to have a Pro Controller or a pair of Joy-Cons that weren't stolen you can also use that to play on PC!

 

[oomoepoo]

Arrow buttons (or ZQSD)

French person spotted

 

[neil]

I don't pirate games only books , TV series , Manga and some movies

I'm not judging you I promise, but I'm interested in why you pirate books but not games. Just because personally I feel like authors need even more support than game studios nowadays. It depends on the book and the author of course, a lot of classic books are public domain anyway.

 

[beaglor]

Outside of FPSes, I assume most people are playing 3D action games on PC with controllers unless they're weird sociopaths.

 

[Red Monster]

You can find USB controllers for pretty cheap, OP. I think you’ll find that your experience playing on PC is greatly improved by using one, especially if you didn’t grow up playing games with a mouse and keyboard.

 

[Tall Valley Nerd]

I'm not judging you I promise, but I'm interested in why you pirate books but not games. Just because personally I feel like authors need even more support than game studios nowadays. It depends on the book and the author of course, a lot of classic books are public domain anyway.

English language books simply aren't sold in the place i live I buy Arabic books so

 

[PixelKnight]

I feel similar when using an analogue stick to move or select a menu/tile in a 2D game, or for selecting shortcuts, I really dislike shortcut ‘wheels’ where you point to what you want with a stick. I’d always rather just have menus that work in up/down and left/right. I’d always rather have a dpad and will go out of my way to get a third party controller/joycon that has one.

 

[Razgriz]

I wonder how much of it has also been tied into the fact that D-Pad quality feels a lot like it's gone down now that developers use it as the secondary ABXY input.

Like, using a D-Pad up to the DS/Vita/Wii feels like a joy - the D-Pad is designed for extended use, there's a natural incline for your finger to rest in on a central position and the buttons are extremely sturdy.

Modern controllers meanwhile have the D-Pads as individual buttons (a trend that started with the DualShock 4 and copied by all other console makers) or as a single "wiggle" button that works like a flattened joystick and it just feels much worse to use - you can't rest your finger on the D-Pad without feeling every button and it feels super uncomfortable and in the case of wiggle design, feels just as inaccurate as using a real joystick.

 

[BotenAnna]

Outside of FPSes, I assume most people are playing 3D action games on PC with controllers unless they're weird sociopaths.

If you check the highest levels of certain action games, you'll end up finding quite a few dedicated Keyboard players actually. There are some advantages to using that over a traditional pad, so if people are comfy on it they'll use it.

 

[beaglor]

If you check the highest levels of certain action games, you'll end up finding quite a few dedicated Keyboard players actually. There are some advantages to using that over a traditional pad, so if people are comfy on it they'll use it.

That's what I said - weird sociopaths (complimentary).

 

[BlackthornOrion]

I used keyboard controls a couple times for emulators and stuff back when I was a barely tech-literate middle schooler , but nowadays I just outright refuse to play on PC without hooking up an actual controller

I have some people in my life who somehow prefer using keyboard+mouse to play pretty much anything and everything, and I think there is something deeply wrong with them because of it

 

[Cuplinks]

I love the dPad as an option for precise movement, but yes it is not ideal for 3D games., depending on the camera.

I assume you are talking about the PoP Sands of Time that was available on GC and Wii? and not the recent PoP The Lost Crown, which is heaven on a dPad.

 

[Serif]

Gyro aiming has made playing on a keyboard and mouse even less desirable for me.

Though a lot of this comes from sitting at a desk all day for work and not wanting to be in those same conditions when relaxing.

 

[Krvavi Abadas]

that’s why tank controls were a thing for so long prior to widespread adoption of analog sticks, it was considered a more reasonable option for moving a character in a 3d space using just “arrows”/a d-pad.
surprisingly, the transition to more modern controls proved to a bit of a bumpy road. as this particularly infamous Gamespot review showed.

 

[JazzyFuture]

that’s why tank controls were a thing for so long prior to widespread adoption of analog sticks, it was considered a more reasonable option for moving a character in a 3d space using just “arrows”/a d-pad

I think something extra funny about this is that the modern FPS control scheme for keyboards was mentioned all the way back in 1993, in Doom 1's manual.
The pioneers of a genre knew that strafing on movement and looking around on something else entirely so you could do both was so much better.

Alien Resurrection wasn't even the first console FPS to do twinstick controls like this either, Goldeneye N64 came out 3 years earlier and had it as an option, but it is funny that Alien Resurrection got so much flack for only including the modern standard (and mouse support on the PS1!)

 

[Leica]

I play a lot of third person games with keyboard/mouse, usually in ones where I prefer the accuracy, Monster Hunter comes to mind, I've played all the modern RE games on KBM too. In more chill games I'll opt for controller, there's also still a lot of games that just don't have good kbm support. I wouldn't use the ARROW keys though I can't think of many games where that's preferable over QWEASD.

 

[GamerJM]

I feel like it's unintuitive simply because even once you get used to it, the lack of analog control kinda leads you to feel less in-tune with what you're controlling.

If you check the highest levels of certain action games, you'll end up finding quite a few dedicated Keyboard players actually. There are some advantages to using that over a traditional pad, so if people are comfy on it they'll use it.

The advantage is usually that you have complete control over the exact digital inputs you're making with no room for analog variance. While this is an amazing advantage at the top level of a competitive game, at most other levels the margin of error for slightly off coordinate on a control stick is usually a lot more minimal. It's still a good option for anyone who wants to play with super precise and exact inputs though.