Using Xbox 360 controllers on the PC

[Lord Kloo]

Actually it has to do with direction. You don't have the same freedom of direction using the keys on a keyboard(4 ways) than you do using a controller(joystick)

I would like to inform you we actually have 8 directions with 4 keys by holding down W/S and also either the A/D keys to achieve a diagonal movement which is shifted slightly to face a particular direction by a small mouse movement.. Well thats how the pros do it..

I'd say the main reason for using an x-box controller on PC is if you went from X-box to PC and cant use the new controls too well.. I grew up on PC with RTS games and so I much prefer a keyboard to X-box controllers (also my first console was a PS1 so I like PS3 controllers)..

Generally i'd say just get an x-box if you want to use an X-box controller, saves money and no-one has an advantage over you by pro-using a keyboard..

 

[AndyFromMonday]

I would like to inform you we actually have 8 directions with 4 keys by holding down W/S and also either the A/D keys to achieve a diagonal movement which is shifted slightly to face a particular direction by a small mouse movement.. Well thats how the pros do it..

From my experience with them they're highly inacurate. I can never get the direction the way I want it.

 

[LoopyDood]

Yes, you can buy an official Microsoft peripheral that lets you hook them up together.

I have it and it works like a charm for my yearly Link To The Past playthrough

What he said.

Personally, I don't see the point. What's wrong with using a keyboard and mouse?

Have you ever tried playing something like Megaman with a keyboard and mouse? It is not something you want to try unless you like a daily dose of stress.

I have. Though I do prefer using a controller for platforming games, I find using a keyboard is perfectly fine. For example, I've played through VVVVVV, IwbtG, and several flash games using only the keyboard. As long as the controls aren't so complex (Up, down, left, right, jump, shoot) it's alright.

What kind of platforming games make you use a mouse?

I have a tip for anyone wanting to use ANY gamepad for ANY PC game. If you're feeling cheap and don't get stressed about completely unintuitive UIs, Joy2key is a great program. It lets you make your gamepad buttons/analogue stick movement emulate key presses and mouse movement.

Xpadder is another program with a MUCH MUCH nicer and more user friendly UI, but it isn't free. It's $10 or $15, I can't recall. The only other advantage Joy2key has is that Xpadder's mouse emulation only works in 8 directions, so I usually end up using Joy2key for the mouse emulation and Xpadder for everything else.

I can play STALKER with a PS3 controller.
PS3 controller drivers here, by the way. The developer speaks fluent Engrish but the drivers are top notch: http://motioninjoy.com/

From my experience with them they're highly inacurate. I can never get the direction the way I want it.

Personally I'd rather have my movement direction limited than my accuracy and turn speed. Once you're used to compensating for it by turning slightly it's not even a problem.

 

[Continuity]

Personally, I don't see the point. What's wrong with using a keyboard and mouse?

Some of us find controllers more comfortable.

not only that but some xbox games are badly ported and the mouse controls are awful. Yes I'm looking at you Resident evil 5, and you rainbow six vegas, and you bioshock 1 & 2 and all the other terrible control ports.

 

[TOGSolid]

Yes, you can buy an official Microsoft peripheral that lets you hook them up together.

I have it and it works like a charm for my yearly Link To The Past playthrough

What he said.

Personally, I don't see the point. What's wrong with using a keyboard and mouse?

Some games play better with a gamepad. Arcade racers for instance and I like using a gamepad on my various emulators.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

What kind of platforming games make you use a mouse?

Codename Gordon and a few flash games, off the top of my head. When it let's you move the mouse over the entire length of the screen, ala Alien Swarm, it actually works really well, being a heavily improved version of the aiming controls in Contra and whatever Castlevania game first introduced 8 way whip attacks. On the other hand, if it has a limited range around which the cursor moves in a circle -- which is the way Codename Gordon does it -- it's clunky and tough to get used to, but at least workable.

OT: OP, don't worry about what the mouse and keyboard nazis say, there are games where a gamepad is going to be better than a mouse and keyboard. As long as you aren't playing FPS or RTS games online with one, you aren't hurting a thing. Heck, I'm a dyed in the wool M/Ker, and even I'm hoping to get an Xbox 360 controller for Christmas, not because I don't know how to use the traditional PC controls -- I actually had no problem with the Assassin's Creed or Arkham Asylum controls on M/K, because they both felt natural to me -- but because there are some genres that really are designed around controllers, and are just awkward to play on a keyboard. As a rule of thumb, if the mouse can be used with it, chances are the mouse and keyboard is better. If all of the buttons for the game are found on the keyboard, and exclusively on the keyboard, a gamepad is probably a better option.

Edit: Codename Gordon, not Project Gordon. I don't know why I keep calling it that in threads.

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

I have. Though I do prefer using a controller for platforming games, I find using a keyboard is perfectly fine. For example, I've played through VVVVVV, IwbtG, and several flash games using only the keyboard. As long as the controls aren't so complex (Up, down, left, right, jump, shoot) it's alright.

I never said it wasn't do able just that it was a pain in the ass. Although I wouldn't count IwbtG and VVVVVV as they are actually made to be played on a keyboard while Megaman and things like Donkey Kong aren't. It is ridiculously annoying trying to speed switch between powers.

 

[Sn1P3r M98]

There are wireless adapters for the PC which run around $14 on ebay, I personally sprung for an extra $4 to just get a wired controller off ebay, which you can plug directly into a USB slot.

Will a plug&play kit work just as well as a wired controller?