Systems with best and worst controls?

[TuzenTCA]

Alright! It has to be the Dreamcast controller's grandfather. It is so similar in so many different ways.

[JB]

Alright! It has to be the Dreamcast controller's grandfather. It is so similar in so many different ways.

898514[/snapback]

I'll never understand why they chopped a pair of buttons off.

[hookem]

I never really cared for the CX40... it's probably why there ever was a 3rd party controller market. Still, the 5200 takes the prize on the worst. It's like the edsel with pushbutton steering of the controller world... besides being pretty impractical, it was filled with useless features. I'm thinking just the complexity of those controllers made it tough for Atari to ever make a significant margin on the 5200.

 

Best? I lean towards the stock Saturn controllers. Can't remember my hands ever getting cramped or tired, even after hours of Virtua Fighter 2 or Sega Rally. Probably XBOX next, then Sega Master System.

 

Third party favorite, which I loved on the 2600 and Amiga, was the little SlikStik. People used to swear by the wicos, but they just seemed too big to be really playable unless they were mounted on something..

[TuzenTCA]

Alright! It has to be the Dreamcast controller's grandfather. It is so similar in so many different ways.

898514[/snapback]

I'll never understand why they chopped a pair of buttons off.

898595[/snapback]

 

Me either, I said they were similar, not identical.

 

Same realitive shape, same general button placement, the fact that something is detachable, be it the cord or a VMU. And that it has the back buttons, d-pad and a toggle analog jotstick.

[+doctorclu]

Best for me:

 

Atari cx40 (Left handed naturally but ambidexterious thanks to public education in the 70's)

Atari Jaguar.

 

 

Worst for me:

PS2 controller (and really most "modern" controllers.)

Intellivision

Colecovision

 

 

The basic idea here is to keep it simple.

 

And since I am a huge fan of Star Raiders, the only reason the 5200 is not in the worst list is due to the fact that you can play an AWESOME game of Star Raiders with that controller. A 360 stick is great then.

[JB]

Alright! It has to be the Dreamcast controller's grandfather. It is so similar in so many different ways.

898514[/snapback]

I'll never understand why they chopped a pair of buttons off.

898595[/snapback]

 

Me either, I said they were similar, not identical.

 

Same realitive shape, same general button placement, the fact that something is detachable, be it the cord or a VMU. And that it has the back buttons, d-pad and a toggle analog jotstick.

898858[/snapback]

Oh, yeah. I agree they're similar. That was more a tangental observation than anything else.

Sega took what is arguably the perfect gamepad, made it short a button pair, then downgraded the d-pad and stuck the controller cable on the wrong side.

[Famicoman]

Fav 1st Party: Hmmm, N64, SNES

 

Least fav 1st Party: Atari 5200, Intellivision

 

Fav 3rd Party: Most Atari 2600

 

Least Fav 3rd party: Any contoller made within the last 10 years

[sega saturn x]

Sega took what is arguably the perfect gamepad, made it short a button pair, then downgraded the d-pad and stuck the controller cable on the wrong side

And they still failed to make a rumble pack built in!

[+kisrael]

Sega took what is arguably the perfect gamepad, made it short a button pair, then downgraded the d-pad and stuck the controller cable on the wrong side

And they still failed to make a rumble pack built in!

898942[/snapback]

On the one hand, I'm in favor of "downgrading" the number of buttons just to lessen "finger confusion" -- like all those damn shoulder buttons on the PS2's. But I know some genres miss em, mostly fighting games.

 

VMU was an intriguing idea. The mini-gameboy nature was a little odd, but having a private screen built into the controller could be a boon in a lot of ways. (Heh...a wireless stick could become its own little independent gameboyish system again, though battery life might be a concern as always.)

 

Actually with everyone jumping on the wireless bandwagon for controllers...will batteries be built in or removable? Imagine having to give up a marathon session of gaming 'cause your controller dies out on ya...

[A.J. Franzman]

Best for me:

 

Atari cx40  (Left handed naturally but ambidexterious thanks to public education in the 70's) 

898865[/snapback]

If you don't mind having the cord come out the right side, it's a very simple mod to open the CX40 and change the 4 directional connections to make it "left handed" with the button at the upper right.

 

I wish gamepads were so easy to modify... who the hell decided d-pads should go on the left, anyway?

[TuzenTCA]

Alright! It has to be the Dreamcast controller's grandfather. It is so similar in so many different ways.

898514[/snapback]

I'll never understand why they chopped a pair of buttons off.

898595[/snapback]

 

Me either, I said they were similar, not identical.

 

Same realitive shape, same general button placement, the fact that something is detachable, be it the cord or a VMU. And that it has the back buttons, d-pad and a toggle analog jotstick.

898858[/snapback]

Oh, yeah. I agree they're similar. That was more a tangental observation than anything else.

Sega took what is arguably the perfect gamepad, made it short a button pair, then downgraded the d-pad and stuck the controller cable on the wrong side.

898906[/snapback]

 

 

Sega took what is arguably the perfect gamepad, made it short a button pair, then downgraded the d-pad and stuck the controller cable on the wrong side

And they still failed to make a rumble pack built in!

898942[/snapback]

 

 

Sega took what is arguably the perfect gamepad, made it short a button pair, then downgraded the d-pad and stuck the controller cable on the wrong side

And they still failed to make a rumble pack built in!

898942[/snapback]

On the one hand, I'm in favor of "downgrading" the number of buttons just to lessen "finger confusion" -- like all those damn shoulder buttons on the PS2's. But I know some genres miss em, mostly fighting games.

 

VMU was an intriguing idea. The mini-gameboy nature was a little odd, but having a private screen built into the controller could be a boon in a lot of ways. (Heh...a wireless stick could become its own little independent gameboyish system again, though battery life might be a concern as always.)

 

Actually with everyone jumping on the wireless bandwagon for controllers...will batteries be built in or removable? Imagine having to give up a marathon session of gaming 'cause your controller dies out on ya...

899025[/snapback]

 

I don't know what they were thinking on that controller cord placement. I understand they had a lot going on up there with the dual VMU ports and all but they could have snaked it out the back versus the stupid clip thy molded into the case. That plastic clip always eventually wore out its usefulness.

 

The VMU was an original idea, at least in my opinion. I remember my son playing games or something on it like a mini handheld.

 

I agree with the "finger" confusion, I think the XBOX controller has too many buttons on its face.

 

I still believe in R&D they found that old Saturn controller and used it as a base for the Dreamcast controller. Hell, they probably still had teams working on stuff for the Saturn and just moved the project to their new system after it failed, or phased out.

 

Edit:

 

They did make a rumble pack attachment module though.

 

And I am sorry for hi-jacking this post I'll quit commenting on the Sega 3D Controller, which by some was voted the best controller.

 

PS. Does it have some sort of gyro in it, 'cause it seems that it moves when I change hand position.

Edited July 26, 2005 by TuzenTCA

[sega saturn x]

They did make a rumble pack attachment module though.

 

And I am sorry for hi-jacking this post I'll quit commenting on the Sega 3D Controller, which by some was voted the best controller.

 

PS. Does it have some sort of gyro in it, 'cause it seems that it moves when I change hand position.

The rumble pack made the controller much heavier (i had the same problem with the N64) and meant you could only use one VMU in the controller. And i am not aware of any gyro in the 3-D pad.

[JB]

I don't know what they were thinking on that controller cord placement. I understand they had a lot going on up there with the dual VMU ports and all but they could have snaked it out the back versus the stupid clip thy molded into the case. That plastic clip always eventually wore out its usefulness.

I've never found the clip genuinely useful to start with.

It gets in the way more than anything else, IMO.

 

 

The VMU was an original idea, at least in my opinion. I remember my son playing games or something on it like a mini handheld.

The VMU isn't as revolutionary as it gets credit for, being largely a knockoff of the PocketStation.

The idea of a screen in the controller is interesting, but as far as I know no games made any real use of the feature.

 

I agree with the "finger" confusion, I think the XBOX controller has too many buttons on its face.

I prefer the 3/3 setup, personally.

My gripe with the XBox is more about layout than anything else.

 

I still believe in R&D they found that old Saturn controller and used it as a base for the Dreamcast controller. Hell, they probably still had teams working on stuff for the Saturn and just moved the project to their new system after it failed, or phased out.

 

PS. Does it have some sort of gyro in it, 'cause it seems that it moves when I change hand position.

Nope. You've pr'ly got a loose analog "stick" or something.

[sega saturn x]

I always noticed there seems to be a tab sticking out on the saturns 3-d controller. What is it there for?

[spacecadet]

Yep that's the 3-D controller used in a whopping 13 games i think.

898499[/snapback]

 

It's used in *every* game. It's just a standard Saturn pad with an *extra* analog control stick. The d-pad still works just like on all the other Saturn controllers - the only difference is it's the best d-pad available on any controller. The analog pad could be switched on or off as needed.

 

btw, to whoever asked, I wasn't just "calling" it the Saturn 3D pad, that's its name. See this pic:

 

http://images.channeladvisor.com/Sell/SSPr...T-3DCont__1.jpg

 

Notice in the top right it says "3D CONTROL PAD".

 

Yes, this is the father of the Dreamcast pad, but Sega went and took basically the perfect controller and sapped all the good stuff out of it. The 3D pad is so friggin' comfortable, with such an awesome disc-shaped d-pad, the cord going the right way out (and detachable!), 6 buttons in a standard configuration *plus* triggers... I mean it was perfect. The DC pad has more things wrong with it than I can even count - I don't even know why they made most of the changes they did, they don't make any sense whatsoever.

[JB]

I always noticed there seems to be a tab sticking out on the saturns 3-d controller.  What is it there for?

899181[/snapback]

If it's the one I think... the cable is detachable for unknown reasons. Push the tab toward the cable, and a block of plastic is unlocked and slides out.

[shep]

I'd like to point out that I love the VB and GCN controllers...my favs!

[JimmydelaKopin]

Best and worst controllers?

 

Well...most ergonomic controls for me are the PS2 controllers.

 

And, though I never owned one, I've read everywhere when it premiered that the 5200 joysticks were too "loose". That is, you would move your onscreen icon wildly by merely touching the joystick. Lack of precise control is bad for a videogame system.

 

Still, I've always wanted to own an Unroller Controller.

 

One more thing: despite all the nostalgia many people (including myself) have for the 2600, the one thing that was a definite minus for the system was the need for so many controllers to play all the available games on the system. Joystick, paddles, keyboard, driving paddles, keypad, children's controller, and slip-on-joystick fire button. Gotta hand it to modern gamemakers: one controller for all different types of games works for me!

[Famicoman]

[i prefer the 3/3 setup, personally.

My gripe with the XBox is more about layout than anything else.

 

899165[/snapback]

The layout might be gripe-able, but when you're thrown into Halo with it, it becomes your best friend.

[JB]

And, though I never owned one, I've read everywhere when it premiered that the 5200 joysticks were too "loose". That is, you would move your onscreen icon wildly by merely touching the joystick. Lack of precise control is bad for a videogame system.

It greatly depends on the game.

 

Some games have virtually no dead zone, others have utterly massive ones.

 

That wasn't a fault with the controller as much as the software.

[shadow460]

The NiGHTS pad (as I call it) had the detachable cord to allow the connection of a Jump Pack. It works kinda like the DC modem--take off something that fits good into the system, add peripheral, and re connect the part you took off. I assume the Jump Pack was to use the octagonal hole in the pad's bottom as a support point.

 

It's an awesome pad to use for most games, but I feel like the games that should take advantage of it can't. I feel like it's just not designed well enough for an analog pad. The Dual Analog outshined it in that area by a long shot, though the NiGHTS pad is more advanced.

 

Pros and cons: Both pads are comfortably large. The NiGHTS pad allows on the fly selection of analog and digital modes. It's used much like the Gyurss arcade stick, and lacks precise side to side analog control. It features an expansion port that was never used. It also has a major dead zone in the middle.

The Dual Analog has pinpoint steering type control, but the sticks are oddly placed. It's got two cross patterns on the front (better for games like Virtual On than Sega's own pad). It has no expansion port of any kind, and is difficult to switch from analog to digital modes in play. The Dual Analog allows you to push down on the analog sticks for L3 and R3 functions just like any PSX/PS2 controller based on the Dual Shock design.

 

Really, though, it's hard to find anything negative about either pad.

BTW, the Dual Analog was the large, short lived controller Sony released right before the Dual Shock. Mine was lost with my last PSX, otheriwse I'd post a picture of it.

[JB]

BTW, the Dual Analog was the large, short lived controller Sony released right before the Dual Shock.  Mine was lost with my last PSX, otheriwse I'd post a picture of it.

901285[/snapback]

Seen it before.

Most notable feature, IMO, is that it has bigger handles. Given I find the standard Sony handles too small...

 

Edit: picture.

http://www.axess.com/twilight/console/detail/psx_a.html

Edited July 30, 2005 by JB

[panda_racer]

best: N64, cx40, genesis, jaguar

 

not best: gamecube, really weird N64 3rd party controllers (i'm thinking of the one that looks like a sting ray.. anyone else know what i'm talking about?)

[ApolloBoy]

If you don't mind having the cord come out the right side, it's a very simple mod to open the CX40 and change the 4 directional connections to make it "left handed" with the button at the upper right.

899037[/snapback]

 

Actually, the old AtariAge magazine did an article on this...

[pinball22]

best: N64, cx40, genesis, jaguar

 

not best: gamecube, really weird N64 3rd party controllers (i'm thinking of the one that looks like a sting ray.. anyone else know what i'm talking about?)

901528[/snapback]

 

You mean the ones that are this shape?

 

 

I have a couple of those (one made by Interact, one EA Sports with a sort of rubbery covering all over it).

I think they're OK, but I've had a lot of people not like them.