And... we're back. Here's a bone from the Bioshock tread:
I've been []playing [] on PC- [] I've alternated betwixt mouse, xbox controller, and laptop touchpad. It's a lot easier to hit the [targets] with the mouse than the other two... that does make [the enemies] easier to take out.
When I was a PC gamer I always played on my laptop and never mucked around with attaching an external mouse, so I got really good with WASD and touchpad controls for shooters, which most people say is the worst possible combo ever. Maybe that is why I appreciate game controllers so much, they are just much more simple than a touchpad and I haven't used an actual mouse for gaming since I was 13.
So... the Xbox was the first console I ever owned. I played my share of Atari, NES, SNES, Genesis, etc... at relatives' and friends' houses, but I was always a PC gamer. Upon reaching 'adulthood' and not having the time/money to keep a killer gaming PC going, I switched to Xbox and have been pretty happy with the decision. As the the Xbox 360 grew long in the tooth, and I was looking for more customization options than consoles typically offer, I've been dabbling in returning to my PC roots.
A lot of PC gamers find console controllers to be, at best, a huge barrier for entry and, at worst, an unacceptable step back in control fidelity. I got over the learning curve some time ago, and really enjoy controllers, but will admit that the mouse is a much better aiming device.
However, the keyboard still sucks.
I played a bit of Walking Dead on Xbox, and then ended up with the full game on PC through one of the humble bundle deals. I was playing it with touchpad/keyboard, and found the keyboard controls to be quite terrible. Fortunately, you can play with a controller- even the 360 controller if you like, but goodness the keyboard!
When there are multiple actions to take on an item on the screen, they will appear numbered in the lower corner. Whatever is action 1 (look at, probably) will default unless you press another number. A click with the mouse will cause the currently selected action to take place on the currently indicated object. If you select action #2, and then move the cursor briefly off of the object and then back to it, action #1 will be selected by default.
Whereas the 360 controller assigns different buttons to the actions and the user just presses the button corresponding to the action they want when the cursor is over the item.
Similarly, I've been messing with Bioshock Infinite, Bioshock 2, Borderlands 2, System Shock 2, Deus Ex: HR... and maybe one or two others.
Maybe I'm just a wimp, but keeping track of c for crouch, r for reload, e for use, v for melee, z for iron sights, etc... seems like a lot of work. When I left PC gaming, there weren't so many keys for the standard shooter. I think the convenience of controllers is what made those actions standard... and the PC market offers those same actions on the keyboard, but it's not exactly a good fit for that control scheme.
I used to play space sims on PC, and they had a lot of buttons... but this is a walking/shooting simulator... so the complexity to me seems odd.
I've seen some funky controllers that try to replace the keyboard:
My first reaction is "that's really stupid" but my second reaction is "Can it be any worse than the keyboard?"
That's all, I guess.
