What's The Most Flexible Portable Controler?


MagicPants

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I'm rather impressed with the :pandora1: 's controls, but Ican't help but look at any portable controller and add my own two cents.

I've never been satisfied with console controls, because they never hold up well against a mouse (in shooters anyway). I don't want to start a flame war here. But I would like to discuss the virtues of various control schemes.

When you move a mouse its position controls the position of the pointer. This is what's known as a "zero order control".

When you use a joystick its position controls the velocity of the pointer. This is what's known as a "first order control"

A throttle on a car or plane controls the acceleration of the car or plane. This makes it a "second order control" or accelerator.

So position is order 0; velocity is order 1; and acceleration is order 2.

Joysticks work well for moving a character because they are order 1 controllers and map well to velocity. It is difficult to control velocity with a mouse because their orders don't match, a mouse is 0 order while velocity is order 1. The further the order of the control from the order of what you are controlling the harder it is for you to control.

Now when you look at a zero order control there are two types: relative and absolute. A mouse is relative because you can pick it up and put it down without moving what you are controlling. A touch screen/pad is absolute because you lift your finger/stylus off it, move it ,and put it back down and what you are controlling is now in a different position.

Given that mice work so well for shooters I'd conclude that zero order relative controls are best for this sort of thing. So has anyone seen something like this on a console or portable controller?
 
Of course, those are only general rules, and they don't cast a control system in stone. However you bring up some interesting points. For instance, the Wii controller is all three - it has a direct "light-gun" style interface, a set of accelerometers and a control pad, which means that it covers all bases.

But the fact is that the style of the game makes much more difference than the actual control system, so long as both are well-thought out and programmed effectively. A case in point - XQuest2 (fantastic freeware game) - accelerates a ship using a mouse. The control system is actually remarkably smooth and it's HORRIBLE to play using the keyboard or joystick.

This is, however, one of the problems I'm having with STPPC2x - because the games are designed for a mouse so a lot of code needs to be written to make the GP2X joystick act like a mouse. You end up doing an awful lot of accelerate this, limit that, ignore those... etc.

For your "zero-order" controls, you're talking mice, lightguns, touchscreens and similar inputs. So on portable devices the only ones that are really viable are touchscreen devices (unless you want to carry a third-party device around). For FPS, you're really looking for mice or lightguns (one of which is "relative", one of which is "absolute"). So again, the general rules break down. To be honest, most FPS's need a keyboard AND mouse to be playable (once you use that system a lot, you absolutely cannot play the same games on a joypad or other console controller).

I very much doubt you'll ever find a portable console with a lightgun or mouse. It breaks the portability. The nearest you get is touchscreens and touchpads. I'm personally waiting for some sort of Nintendo console that has a break-away mini-Wiimote on it. So you can play the games with the Wiimote inside the console (by tilting the console itself, using the control pad) but can then "pop" the Wiimote out of it to make it a lightgun/standalone wireless controller if you happen to be somewhere you can use it.

Failing that, I'll stick Wiimote drivers on a Pandora... :D
 
ledow said:
I very much doubt you'll ever find a portable console with a lightgun or mouse. It breaks the portability. The nearest you get is touchscreens and touchpads.
Don't know about that, one could easily include a trackball instead of a joystick.
 
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In my school years I completed the Half-Life and Unreal with using only keyboard. CS breed-ed generation is only interested in killrate value more than gameplay.
Only that I know it is a trackball devices that perfectly matches you.
411PZMZ3AEL._SL500_AA280_.jpg


There also a series of Genius little gamepads(pandora took its' name from them) named Pandora Maxfire Pro
G-Pandora_2.jpg
4sm.jpg
 
I got so excited and craigx mentioned they have found nubs.

As an adolescent boy I was always fascinated with nubs nice to know that hasn't changed :D
 
I know it was a pun of your side, but a foldable keyboard can be smaller AND is much better
 
PlopperZ said:
imec said:
Logitech Wireless USB Controller


I second that. I've got one and it's the best controller I've ever used.
I leave my computer on for long perods of time and haven't had any problems

I've got one of those too, they're very good indeed! They're pretty much a clone of the Dual Shock 2, but better made and wireless.

Don't know if I'd describe them as portable, though.
 
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I'm not sure if anyone is really answering the question as it was asked.

I've pretty much always been a console man. Although RTS and Sims are computer games for me. My FPS ave always been console games - so the whole "mice are better" argument has always been lost on me.at

All I can really say is: a ) you can plug any mouse you want into the Pandora (USB or BlueTooth) - b ) it has a touchscreen (and analog nubs, and a d-pad...) c ) what more do you want? You've got your 0, and 1 order controls covered.

Do you want a trackpad? Do you want a trackball? Do you want another nub - like the ones on laptops?
 
Question, because we now have blue tooth, can we use a ps3 controller? From what I know, they use bluetooth. It would be perfect for the psx emulator! ( Its so Light).

-Spadoof
 
Spadoof said:
Question, because we now have blue tooth, can we use a ps3 controller? From what I know, they use bluetooth. It would be perfect for the psx emulator! ( Its so Light).

-Spadoof
If someone ports a driver.
It seems to me that there is a linux driver.
I know how you feel. I love the Dualshocks.
 
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MagicPants said:
chad78 said:
My FPS have always been console games - so the whole "mice are better" argument has always been lost on me.
-Must fight urge to start flame war-

That is a completely valid opinion.

i think this video provides a pretty good example of why it can be considered "better"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSPECIAL OPS3Dl_nn2fW0&feature=related
basically, with a mouse you can make very slow and precise movements and slow ones, accurately.
anyone who has played hl2 dm with the .357 know what im talking about.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFKj6A7FcWE
any who, gamepads are the most comfortable, save a full arcade setup.
 
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They're both very different.
Each having it's own good and bad points.
But please, don't turn this into a flamewar.
 
i'm not wanting to start a flamewar, either. I'm sorry if I came across rudely. I was just saying I've never understood that side of it - not that it was not a completely valid opinion. It is completely valid - just not one that I have understood personally.

I just wanted to know what else could have possibly been added to the Pandora. I mean, what other kinds of inputs could have been added?
 
I like using a mouse because it is a lot more accurate, and I find that I'm better when using one than a gamepad.
I like gamepads because they seem to be much more fun to play for some reason, which is why I prefer them over mouse.

As for alternative controllers there's fightsticks (which would not at all be good for FPS) there's been some speculation on wiimotes, possibly lightguns, trackballs, etc. etc.
There are many different kinds of good inputs out there, but dual analogues were probably the best choice.
 
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