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The Mouse/Keyboard vs. Gamepad Debate
Everywhere we go we always hear the debate over mouse/keyboard vs. gamepad, especially when it comes to FPS games. The PC gamers always wonder how on earth gamepad players could ever choose analog sticks over the precision of a mouse. I wonder though if PC gamers have ever considered that it is not the mouse that gamepad users dislike, but instead the keyboard.
In my opinion the keyboard is an incredibly clunky and unevolved piece of hardware when it comes to gaming. I agree that the mouse wins in the percision department every time, but how do you feel about just the keyboard vs. gamepad debate? Which do you prefer and why? For me the gamepad just feels better.
In my opinion the keyboard is an incredibly clunky and unevolved piece of hardware when it comes to gaming. I agree that the mouse wins in the percision department every time, but how do you feel about just the keyboard vs. gamepad debate? Which do you prefer and why? For me the gamepad just feels better.
Comments
If you want, you could get one of those fancy moulded ergonomic thingamaboobs that you grip in your hand if you are having trouble. What kind of keyboard are you currently using?
I still love my PS/2 MS Ergonomic keyboard.
The keyboard is sub-optimal. You can easily buy dedicated keypads that serve the same purpose much better. I don't only because I am already used to the keyboard, but there's no real reason for anyone else not to. It's certainly not a factor in the "debate."
That aside, the gamepad precludes certain kinds of complexity, making certain kinds of FPSs impossible. The gamepad, while otherwise nice, precludes a mouse, and is therefore entirely inadequate to any precision FPS.
If you're broadening this to include non-FPS games, then it's a silly argument. Some games need it. Some games don't. Some games require specialized hardware (DDR). No one in the world advocates using a keyboard over a gamepad if you exclude the mouse issue.
I also strongly dislike the whole Xbox section of Microsoft so I can't really see it replacing the PC any time soon.
The analog stick is obviously a two-axis analog input, but it is limited. You can only push the stick so far.
The keyboard, mouse buttons, are digital inputs. They are either on or off.
The reason a mouse and keyboard are better for fpses especially is because the mouse as an aiming device is effectively unlimited in its analogness. Thus you can instantly aim at any point on the screen, and are not limited in the speed in which you can shift aim. You can also aim more precisely as the mouse is a more subtle device than the stick.
Also, as has been stated, the keyboard has so many buttons that it allows for much more complex interactions. Sure, for a game like Portal, the XBox 360 controller has enough buttons. But even a game like Newerth is too complex for a gamepad. Don't even think about playing a game like X-Com or Weapons Factory without the sheer quantity of buttons available on a keyboard.
However, there is one thing that is overlooked. When playing an fps on a console, you control your movement with an analog stick. While more limited than the mouse, it is not as limited as four keyboard buttons. Using the analog stick to control movement, you can have finer control of movement speed than you can with four buttons that are either on or off. Also, because movement speed is limited in-game, where as aiming speed is not, an analog stick is a perfect input for movement as it has the same limit built-in to itself.
So the perfect fps controller would be a mouse and a keyboard that has an analog stick in it.
Also, because mice have adjustable sensitivity settings, you can avoid the problem entirely. With a higher sensitivity/acceleration setting, you can make it so a very small, and perfect, movement of the mouse, spins you around 360 degrees in your fps of choice. Thus, you can maintain perfect control and a full range of motion without ever having to move the mouse faster than 1m/s.
As for the keyboard being sub-optimal for hands, that's not really a problem. Sure, those keyboard-hand things are ok I guess. But I've never had discomfort or lack of access to buttons on the keyboard, not even my Happy Hacking Keyboard which is missing many buttons. It doesn't even have a numpad. I can easily, comfortably, and one-handedly, access all buttons on the keyboard without looking. I fail to see a significant reason to use one of those things.
For example, if I move my mouse a few inches to the left on a PC shooter, I will spin around 1080 degrees, or even more. If my character is at the center of a sphere, I can aim at any spot on the interior of that sphere instantly.
Even with a mouse, if the game is expecting a gamepad, that I can't even rotate 90 degrees. Moving the mouse to the right will be translated into holding the analog stick all the way to the right. The game will then rotate me slowly to the right at the maximum speed of rotation which is hard coded into that particular game.
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Also, notice how he's owning. I hope he doesn't get banned from XBL for cheating.