Silt

I've never understood this either. People can master a d-pad/stick (or two) + 4/6 buttons and triggers...but WASD, space, and the occassional Z and C is difficult?

namja

Guys, chill out. Can we discuss this WITHOUT making personal comments towards each other?

kakihara1 and silt, please try to discuss the topic at hand and not each other. Thanks.

namja
Moderator, DVD Talk Forums

Josh H

It's just more precise to have 1 analog stick that can move in pretty much any direction, vs four separate keys to move in only 4 directions (or 8 if the game has diagonal but I suck at pressing two of wasd at the same time so it's moot for me anyway).

It just isn't as natural. But its probably just what you are used to. I've been using d-pads/analog sticks for over 20 years for hundreds of games and have only played through a handful of PC games that used the keyboard for motion control.

Plus after putzing around with a keyboard all day at work, I try to stay away from them as much as possible in my leisure time.

bunkaroo

I never thought I'd get into mouse-keyboard gaming, but BF2 and WoW changed that.

Plus, while it obviously doesn't take "hours" to run anywhere in WoW, the fact that the zones and continents do take some time to cross is what helps the game feel more expansive and real. And it's not like you're just going through empty parts. Every part of a zone has something to do in it.

One of the best things about Zelda OoT was the expansiveness of the world. Until you got your mount it could take a couple minutes to cross from one area to another.

Ah well, to each their own.

Music

Yep, back when I was playing WoW, the people I played with used to joke around calling it World of Walking, because there is a ton of walking around compared to City of Heroes that we had just switched from.

bunkaroo

Level 40 can't come soon enough.

Although my last oon I played a shaman so at least I had the ghost wolf thing at level 20.

fumanstan

Wasn't Everquest even worse? I remember one of my hallmates in college playing EQ1 and it was even worse then WoW.

Either way, I think it's one of those things where you need to start playing to get a feel of it, since the game isn't exactly visually appealing to watch. There's nothing flash or fancy for people that don't know anything about the game, so watching someone else play would be boring as hell.

Silt

EQ1 probably has the most built-in time sinks of any game ever. I look back now, and while I enjoyed the game for about 3 years, I shake my head that I actually went through some of the camping the game forces you to do. This is one spot that WoW really got it right(well maybe a hair too easy).

I agree it's something people have to experience before passing judgement. I've had a few buddies that thought WoW "seemed dumb", until they made characters on my account and got hooked on their first MMO...and now with the expansion out it's all they talk about. Blah, just when we were having some great Company of Heroes games the expansion comes out.

msdmoney

That's why I think an N52 gives the best of both worlds, d-pad or WASD option, + simpler layout, and the option for macros.

Josh H

It still looks awkward to me, with where the d-pad is. I'd give it a try but I don't game enough on the PC to take a chance on it (only playing some games now as a friend lent me a handful of games).

I really want an analog stick with just a few buttons--again something like the Wii nunchuck.

GreenMonkey

I used to use the arrow keys, but I got used to WASD instead. Either way, it works great. I've never particularly needed analog for movement in an FPS game. Maybe in a stealth game where you have to walk slow, but most FPS involve running and gunning, and thus one-speed movement is more than enough.

SmackDaddy

PC gaming isn't anywhere near dead. At least it better not be, since I built my first new PC rig in 5 years! And in those five years I upgraded my video card ONCE, not every year.

I also avidly gamed on my Xbox and now the Wii. I enjoyed FPS on both console and PC. I played Halo/2, Timesplitters, Brothers in Arms and even Half Life 2 (would have played the PC version were it not for the Steam crap and my even crappier 56k modem-at the time-!) on the Xbox.

While I enjoy games that were tailored to the controller (like Halo) I prefer the precision and versatility of the mouse/kb combo.

Right now I'm playing FEAR Combat and UT2004 on my PC and Excite Truck and Zelda on the Wii. I couldn't see playing any of those games on the opposite apperatus.

Anyway, I doubt there will ever be a time the PC gaming goes away. If anything, consoles are becoming more and more PC like. And soon, PC and console gamers (well 360) will finally be able to face off and settle this silly controller/mouse-kb battle once and for all!!

boredsilly

The argument that PC gaming is expensive is kind of crap. I bought a videocard for $125 last year (that was already old) and it plays nearly everything I throw at it still perfectly fine. Like others have said, only people who need everything maxed out and want to compare framerates and shit need to upgrade every year.

I do think over time more PC-only genres will continue to migrate onto the consoles, but PC gaming is still pretty huge.

No, not dying anytime soon.

fumanstan

And even then its pretty easy to hit shift with the WASD controls to toggle running/walking speeds when necessary. I always thought the way your hand sits on the keyboard was pretty natural to access all the keys.

McHawkson

Depending on what game. I normally put "run" on right-click mouse and "walk" on "W" key.

Josh H

What's intuitive for one person is awkward for another.

Part of it for me is I can't do the WASD with my hands in the normal typing position, but need to shift down to use my middle finger on W/S to have any accuracy with it and that throws off hitting the other keys for me.

That combined with 4 buttons just not offering the precision of an analog stick, makes me hate the keyboard for FPS games (though I love the mouse).

fumanstan

Eh, I don't believe it's any more precise. I bet we could run through an obstacle course on a PC versus a console with an analog stick and it would be equal.

Josh H

It's of course more precise since an analog stick can register any direction and speed vs 4-8 directions and 1 speed.

At best the WASD controls are as precise as a d-pad.

Now whether people equally skilled with both methods can get through an obstacle course is a different story, as all that precision probably isn't needed in most cases and its more a personal preference to which one can use more naturally.

Groucho

For most FPS games, precision of movement isn't necessary. As opposed to platformers, where it's mandatory. However, precise aiming is a must, and this is much better done with a mouse than with an analog stick. For me, anyway.

Josh H

True, more precisions is needed in many FPS games though that use a lot of cover etc (i.e. FEAR) and struggling with the keyboard can get you killed when you aren't getting in and out of cover as quickly as possible and so on.

That said I agree, and still prefer to play FPSs (in the rare case their is one that grabs me for more than an hour) on the PC as aiming is more important and sucks with the right analog stick.

al_bundy

one good thing about fewer games is that there is better quality. 10 years ago 99.9% was total junk like console games are now. With PC you still have the big hypes every year but you also have stuff like Total War which can last for years or WoW where you can play for years as well.

Tommy Ceez

http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardw...eral-Homebuilt

Tommy Ceez

I find it funny that a board full of people who spent $600 on a PS3 because of the supposed awesome graphics capabilities then scoff at people who would buy a $300 video card every 3 years to play games that look 100x better.

taffer

You can get more than 1 speed. The Splinter Cell games on PC have 4 or 5 walking/running speeds. The way they handle it is to use the mouse wheel to scroll through the speeds. It works well.

Josh H

Good to know. Still not as intuitive as just pushing an analog stick however far, but again not many games that are on the PC need that kind of control anyway. More for platformers etc. which are largely console only.