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Long overdue controller features.

chixdiggit

Member
Not really a feature but I want to be able to play console exclusives with a mouse and keyboard. I hope they give us the option next gen.

And miss out on selling you controllers for 50 to 60 bucks a pop? I don't think that's going to be on the table.

I really doubt that would lead to less controller sales. It's not like many would use the mouse and keyboard exclusively for all games.
 
I also agree with that the controller should have some storage space on it, like the Wiimote. 64MB or so should be enough for a gamertag and a few save files.

I guess that would work, and they wouldn't have to spend anything on storage in the controller. It would be way faster to just store your gamertag on the controller though.
Really interesting, this has been brought multiple times in the topic. If we were in the N64/PSX and in the PS2/XBOX/GC generation i would have seen some very strong reasons to do it, but in todays gaming land scape i think not. Local multiplayer is in decline. Due to economic reasons the amount of memory you could put in a controller would be very small so it won't retain profile data for a good number of games.

I think this would be a cooler way to handle the profile issue. Most of the new consoles will feature a camera, so doing facial recognition to associate profiles to users would be very convenient. The details would be stored in the cloud. For the cases in which the console can't be connected to the net, for whatever reason, the profile details would be stored in the console internal memory.
 
Oh interesting, I didn't know about this, thanks! Were there any reasons mentioned why REFLEX never seemed to come to any fruits? (I atleast never even heard about it.)

My theory is that there just wasn't a demand for it. Halo popularized dual analog sticks as a viable alternative for FPS play. It was a huge hit and a generation of gamers grew up with it as their first FPS rather than say, Quake or UT on the PC. Before Halo, people ROFL'd at the thought of playing a serious FPS with dual sticks.

I believe the REFLEX only worked with PS2 games that included keyboard and mouse support as it was basically a 2nd input device (trackball) imbedded in a traditional Dual Shock 2.
 
Built in sensors or some sort of interaction on the hand-rests is an interesting idea. Of course it brings up my questions of useability, but it does introduce some interesting applications. I could see it being used for non-precise control areas, like say, the turbo/spped burst in Madden, or for inventory management in other games. I wouldn't want it for precise controls because the ability to accidentally squeeze one of those is pretty high.
Not much of a problem, some of the tactile pressure sensors i've been seen (although casually so i might be wrong) can distinguish between hundreds of pressure states. So it would be quite possible to filter some intended user action from an accidental one.
 

Rich!

Member
Someone else has probably said something else along similar lines, but what the hell.

The Wii U's pad is my perfect controller.

- Dual analog
- Motion capabilities (decent, not sixaxis)
- Touchscreen in the controller itself
- classic Nintendo layout for 2D games (SNES style, bitches)
- Good size. Don't want my hands all cramped up
- Wireless, of course.

can't wait.
 
My theory is that there just wasn't a demand for it. Halo popularized dual analog sticks as a viable alternative for FPS play. It was a huge hit and a generation of gamers grew up with it as their first FPS rather than say, Quake or UT on the PC. Before Halo, people ROFL'd at the thought of playing a serious FPS with dual sticks.

I believe the REFLEX only worked with PS2 games that included keyboard and mouse support as it was basically a 2nd input device (trackball) imbedded in a traditional Dual Shock 2.

I understand so they might have had a good idea but there wasn't much demand yet and it was a bit poorly implanted in regards to game support. It's too bad really, I have to skip most console FPS games since I just can't play them comfortable with two sticks.

The Wii had a interesting idea with splitting things up and making pointer controls possible which actually now reminds me of something else:

What I would like to see as a controller feature is something that the Vita only recently brought to the table, motion assisted stick control. That means the controller would be split up, kind of the two Navigational Controllers or Nunchucks with buttons and sticks that also feature pointer aiming.

So you could aim on the screen for the general direction and then fine-tune with the second stick.
 
Break apart/2 pc. design is the way forward.

All I want is a PS Move style setup with a 2nd analog stick on the right controller and a switch that allows you to toggle between analog stick or pointer/motion control for camera control and aiming.
 

Orayn

Member
Break apart/2 pc. design is the way forward.

All I want is a PS Move style setup with a 2nd analog stick on the right controller and a switch that allows you to toggle between analog stick or pointer/motion control for camera control and aiming.

THIS MAN GETS IT! Also, a few thoughts on that control scheme. There should be a hybrid analog/pointer setup where the crosshairs stay centered by default and the right stick moves the camera, but raising the right Super-Nunchuk/Nav Controller would let you aim around the screen. The stick and pointer working together would be kind of be like the coarse and fine adjustment knobs on a microscope. Alternatively, you could think of the stick as turning your character's entire body, and the pointer as just adjusting their arms.
 

Fredrik

Member
Controller storage without any info that have to be downloaded from the net/cloud, everything should be available and completely movable offline.

The VMU. We kind of get it with WiiU but I want those small bonus games too, the ones that got unlocked when you did something good in the main game, and everything I've heard so far about the WiiU controller as a "portable" gaming device is that you can play the main game on the controller. I want those tiny unlockable bonus games that you _have_ to play on the controller, and you have to complete those too to complete the main game to 100%. Remember the Power Stone shooter? I want that :)

A trackball, or a touchpad, placed somewhere where your left or right thumb can easily reach.

Every console should come with a small stick controller packed in as a bonus. Think Tac 2. Unbeatable for digital controls in retro games.

Detachable Move/Wiimote pointer, not bigger than a stylus, with one or two buttons.

Always concave analog sticks!
 

Peterthumpa

Member
DSC03070_20.jpg


A wheel around the d-pad. That'd be nice.
Penis-shaped controller is certainly a good feature to attract casual woman gamers.
 
Break apart/2 pc. design is the way forward.

All I want is a PS Move style setup with a 2nd analog stick on the right controller and a switch that allows you to toggle between analog stick or pointer/motion control for camera control and aiming.
Which reminds me how huge of a f*ck up was the way in which Sony decided to manage the controller. Sony should have included the thumb stick in the move controller and sell them in pairs. So one move functions as the nav controller. The advantages for doing this in terms of potential play mechanics are gigantic. Btw, im not saying that the user would be using the stick and aiming with one move controller because i know is confusing.
Penis-shaped controller is certainly a good feature to attract casual woman gamers.
Yet, that one fails because it's missing a motor in the tip of the longer handle.
 
More buttons, but not face buttons. I want to use middle/ring/pinky fingers now, since we're quickly approaching the point where games have more functions than there are buttons, forcing devs to do two-button combos to perform more moves because they ran out of buttons (Arkham City takes this to a ridiculous degree).

Also, in terms of PC gaming, we're WAY overdue for analog movement control. While I love the fact that there's an obscene amount of buttons on a keyboard, using WASD for movement at this day and age feels positively archaic. Can't get more primitive than purely binary 4 directional buttons. We moved away from that in 1996.
 
Like the Wii remote? I liked that it had that future for some games but I never got to use it :lol Afaik you could even bring over your Monster Hunter 3 character over but I'm not sure.

Exactly like the Wiimote. I was disappointed that that feature was literally never used.

It was only originally meant to carry Miis around. I know Brawl used it to carry custom names and controller setups, but I think Sakurai had to fight for it.
 

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
My controller should also be able to double as my memory card when bringing my profile to a friend's house.

I just upload my profile to my controller and bring it over, we start playing a game, and it automatically detects my name and all my customized options and we just get going.

I'm not against this, but to be honest, the 360's system is actually better than this. You can bring a USB stick and user any controller, or you can recover your profile online (which since a few firmware updates ago only takes <60 seconds).
 
More buttons, but not face buttons. I want to use middle/ring/pinky fingers now, since we're quickly approaching the point where games have more functions than there are buttons, forcing devs to do two-button combos to perform more moves because they ran out of buttons (Arkham City takes this to a ridiculous degree).
This kind of relates to what i was proposing in the original message. Coating some parts of the controller with a tactile pressure sensors, so like you said, use those middle/ring/pinky fingers. It's fascinating that since adopting ergonomic handles to grip the controller the feature have remained absent all this years.

In regards to "WASD" keys for navigation, i more or less agree. I would like to see a PC peripheral heavy hitter like Logitech doing something similar to a Nunchuck or Nav controller to compliment the mouse in PC gaming. Put a click-able analog stick, 4 face buttons (Dpad or diamond orientation), 2 triggers, a gyro and accelerometers. Im sure i can map most keyboard functions for such device and it's way more convenient and ergonomical.
I want an ultra-premium controller with built in Dolby Headphones support.
Not at that level of sound quality but find comfort that the WiiU controller will feature a headphone jack and a microphone.
 
It'd be difficult to include all the features I'd want on a controller. Too many ideas overlap to create one ultimate controller.

Valve's modular controller patent, not dissimilar to Mad Catz' MLG one, is great for PC gaming where you can swap the right stick for a trackball/trackpad but it might not work for consoles.

A controller screen is a great idea, maybe smaller than the one on the Wii U would work better, but you lose the break apart comfort and pointer controls.


More shoulder buttons are great for dual analog/trackball/trackpad controllers since you won't have to lift off to hit the face buttons. One of the great things about pointer controls (best exemplified in Infamous 2) is how it allows you full access to the face buttons without sacrificing camera control. But pointer controls still have issues with turning.

Which reminds me how huge of a f*ck up was the way in which Sony decided to manage the controller. Sony should have included the thumb stick in the move controller and sell them in pairs. So one move functions as the nav controller. The advantages for doing this in terms of potential play mechanics are gigantic. Btw, im not saying that the user would be using the stick and aiming with one move controller because i know is confusing.

Razer Hydra did that.

JPR7q.jpg


Although I'm not sure if they ever released a version where both controllers aren't tethered. The button layout, and lack of d-pad, also make it unsuited for certain types of games. Still, that's what Sony should have done with the Move. Of course, Move has a giant ball on top so I shouldn't have looked as nice.


If anyone wants a feel for how a hybrid analog and pointer control setup works, Time Crisis 4 with the Guncon 3 gives you that. I'm not writing it off based on my experiences with that, but I'll say people severely underestimate the dexterity required for that control style.
 

Luthos

Member
I know this is more about physical features, but how about every console game allowing us to map any of the buttons. Instead of 2 or 3 preset layouts.
 
Adjustable resistance for the analog sticks. Switching between the Dualshock 3 and the 360 controller always feels weird.

On the software side, I want to be able to adjust the dead zones for the analog sticks.
 
Razer Hydra did that.

JPR7q.jpg


Although I'm not sure if they ever released a version where both controllers aren't tethered. The button layout, and lack of d-pad, also make it unsuited for certain types of games. Still, that's what Sony should have done with the Move. Of course, Move has a giant ball on top so I shouldn't have looked as nice.
I used to be so anxious for the Hydra but Razer didn't executed to my expectations. I think the button layout and lack of Dpad could be solved while maintaining 2 symmetrical pieces by using the modular idea. That way Razer only had to manufacture one type of controller and include 1 modular Dpad and 2 face button modules.

Another feature i would love for manufacturers to implement are low profile thumb-sticks. Having the thumbs so raised feels unnatural and bothersome when pressing the stick for a click.
 
I want a controller that has a dedicated HUD button. Instead of going through options to enable/disable on screen HUDs (or not being able to disable it at all) I would love it if there was a button you could just push to fade them in and out. I usually can't stand menus and stuff being on the screen during games, and having an easy option to fade it in and out would be awesome. Great for plasmas too, since it'd fade in and out and be there when you want it but go away when you don't.

Quicksave/load buttons would be cool too, though they'd have to be placed in a spot where you won't accidentally press them.
 
LMAO. the "FPS MASTER" that thing was such a cheap piece of crap.

I would seriously rather use Kinnect to control a game than use that fugly piece of shit. I would be e,mbarassed to even have it in my house. Being caught with a vibrating rainbow colored dildo that played the My Little Pony theme would be less embarrassing.
 
I know this is more about physical features, but how about every console game allowing us to map any of the buttons. Instead of 2 or 3 preset layouts.
It suits the thread fine. I always wanted fully customizable control schemes in games also.

But i would like this to be taken a step further. Make it an OS feature and universally applied by every developer. What i mean is that say for example... Nintendo developed a simple programing language that every developer will use for mapping the controller input but at the same time made available to the user in the OS level so he could experiment with alternative mappings. For the user that don't want to get so involved the traditional presets would still be an option.

This begins to make a hell of a lot more sense since today we have controllers that support motions as an input method besides buttons, so the possible combinations have increased. Imagine if you wanted to assign crouching to a downward motion and jump to an upward motion in a shooter, creating one sweet and natural control scheme that even developers couldn't implement and sharing it with other users.
 

Leunam

Member
I had a Razer mouse that had two buttons that would adjust mouse sensitivity on the fly. I would like that on a controller except as a little wheel instead of buttons.
 

Alx

Member
Vitality Sensor.

Came here to post that. Not a 100% necessary feature, but it shouldn't be too hard to build it into the pad handles, like it's done in fitness machines. There are many ways the use of the user's pulse can be included creatively in games (horror, sport, fitness, dating sims ;) ), but I don't see many people buying it as an external accessory.
 
I would seriously rather use Kinnect to control a game than use that fugly piece of shit. I would be e,mbarassed to even have it in my house. Being caught with a vibrating rainbow colored dildo that played the My Little Pony theme would be less embarrassing.

Sure, it looks kinda bad, but the way the controller was set up was amazing. Having all face buttons on the bottom of the two handles made it so you never had to lift your thumbs up off of the thumbsticks. It was very useful for competitive play in FPS games.

Also, I had the controller for 2 years before I got a 360, and it still felt like new the last time I used it. It wasn't as cheap as people think it was.
 
Sure, it looks kinda bad, but the way the controller was set up was amazing. Having all face buttons on the bottom of the two handles made it so you never had to lift your thumbs up off of the thumbsticks. It was very useful for competitive play in FPS games.

Also, I had the controller for 2 years before I got a 360, and it still felt like new the last time I used it. It wasn't as cheap as people think it was.
Seriously, if MS and Sony bring dual analog controllers yet again without addressing that issue in some way it would be a huge disappointment and reveal a their lack of vision. I left Nintendo of the hook because the controller is already announced but at least they are experimenting with some new things.
 

KevinCow

Banned
I'm not against this, but to be honest, the 360's system is actually better than this. You can bring a USB stick and user any controller, or you can recover your profile online (which since a few firmware updates ago only takes <60 seconds).

How are those options better? They both require wading through menus to select your profile. The first option also takes up a USB slot, so if you want to have wired controllers or if you have more than two people bringing their profiles, you're out of luck. Plus it makes you carry around an extra USB stick instead of just your controller. The second option makes you wait as it syncs to the internet. Even if it's less than a minute, that's still a much longer wait than syncing your controller and having it instantly ready to go.

Versus just bringing your favorite controller with you, syncing it, and being ready to go. Much quicker and simpler.

Now whether that convenience is worth the cost of built-in storage is a fair question, but I don't see how you could possibly say any of the existing solutions are simpler than that.
 

davepoobond

you can't put a price on sparks
couldnt you argue that there are already TOO MANY features on a normal console controller? I dont think detecting your grip would be good at all since people grip their controllers in different ways and i can see someone breaking them after a while.

also, being able to control a thumbstick while pressing face buttons is cheating, you should be ashamed that you should want to be able to do that.
 
I understand so they might have had a good idea but there wasn't much demand yet and it was a bit poorly implanted in regards to game support. It's too bad really, I have to skip most console FPS games since I just can't play them comfortable with two sticks.

The Wii had a interesting idea with splitting things up and making pointer controls possible which actually now reminds me of something else:

What I would like to see as a controller feature is something that the Vita only recently brought to the table, motion assisted stick control. That means the controller would be split up, kind of the two Navigational Controllers or Nunchucks with buttons and sticks that also feature pointer aiming.

So you could aim on the screen for the general direction and then fine-tune with the second stick.

About the Vita. I would like to see a developer make use of the rear touch/track pad as a free look option in a 3rd person or first person shooter. It would make so much sense. Use your middle or index finger on the back of the system to look and use the face buttons, rather than L & R, for shooting and other actions.
 
Honestly, I think TC made this topic for his brainchild, the grip sensor.

I just don't see it working. When I get in high-tensions moments in games, I am gripping the shit out of the controller.
 
I just want secondary trigger buttons lower and closer to the grip. It feels more natural imo and you don't have to constantly stretch out your middle fingers.
 
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