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Joystick or keyboard...which is your preference?

allan14

By allan14
in Jedi Outcast

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RiverWalker Newbie

RiverWalker

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yeah, I have a friend on here who wants to get me a birthday present, I think I'm going to request that, the Nostromo Speedpad, I figure putting push/pull on the mouse wheel, and weapon or force power scrolling on that wheel,... :shrug: looks pretty awsome, is it as much more comfortable than a keyboard as it looks?

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allan14 Newbie

allan14

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I have a friend who used the Wingman Extreme Pro joystick to play the original Jedi Knight and he kicked ass. I could seldom beat him and neither could most of the guys he fought. He insists that the joystick is the best way to play. It always seemed clumsy for me as well.

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Jedi Marso Newbie

Jedi Marso

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The joystick is very efficient if you use it in conjunction with the mouse. I configure this way:

 

Joystick in right hand. Primary axes give me forward, backward, strafe right and left. Buttons are fire primary and secondary, jump (which includes force jump in JO), and crouch. The hat I use for Force push and pull, grip, and ignite saber.

 

Mouse in left hand. Button one goes mostly unused, although I have it bound to cycle through force powers. Button two is my use key to open doors and so on. The only time I have to touch the keyboard is to activate goggles, use bacta, switch a weapon, activate Force speed, healing, or Jedi Mind trick, all of which are bound to the Function keys within easy reach.

 

It was a bit awkward when I first started using it, but now I can't go back to mouse-keyboard. The joystick functions for moving, strafing, and Force pushing/pulling are now merely instinctive and I never 'fat finger' a wrong key trying to move. I'm telling you, it works great!!

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igor Newbie

igor

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First I just used keyboard, that was back in the day of not being able to look up or down, just straight ahead.

 

For a while I used Joystick/Mouse, now that took coordination.

 

Then now I use keyboard/mouse combo, it works fine, and is more natural for me.

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AtomicRoach Newbie

AtomicRoach

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I also use the keyboard & mouse combo, although I recently added a program called Game Commander.. which is a voice activated program. Very, very slick. Basically I use my keyboard/mouse for movements, and then i just my voice for things like force powers (except jump - still use spacebar), stance, taung, etc. For me, it's way eaiser to SAY "absorb" or "heal" when i need it then hit a key on the keyboard. :)

 

 

 

Roach

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Lord Nodata Newbie

Lord Nodata

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Here is my definitive reasoning and pros and cons as to whether or not a game pad will suffice for this game...

 

First off, let me say that the depth of saber attacks in Jedi Outcast almost REQUIRE a tool with a bit more precision in movement then the common keyboard can offer. I know what you're going to say: "No Game pad can beat the precision on my mouse and keyboard!" And to an extent, I agree whole-heartedly with you. HOWEVER, when it comes to diagonal movements for lightsaber attacks, it's infinitely easier to chain several diagonal attacks in a row with a joystick, rather than using 2 keys at once for each diagonal attack on a keyboard, and having to swich between them. So to conclude THAT argument, I would have to say that the ease of hitting my diagonals in succession on a joystick greatly outweighs the ability to hit those same diagonals in succession with the keyboard (remember, the mouse does NOT affect your light saber attacks, other then aim...and I'll get to that later.)

 

So...I ordered this:

 

http://ca.store.yahoo.com/merconnet.../pstopccon.html

 

And played around with it for a bit. Now, keep in mind that I would only DARE consider even using a joypad (in this case my PS2 controller) for this game because of the extra control it gives you over your lightsaber attacks.

 

Also I noticed this about using a gamepad:

The in-game menu only allows you to adjust the "dead-zone" of your joystick. The "dead-zone" is the size of the neutral area on the joystick. The neutral area is where NO action takes place (ie, you're idling.) So, there isn't an adjustment on the in-game menu to allow you to adjust the "sensitivity" of the game-pad. The sensitivity controls how FAST you turn or look (depending on which axis you adjust it for.) So, the in-game menu does NOT allow you to adjust how quickly your character will turn around using the joystick....

 

However, don't fear. There's a simple command that you can type into your jk2mpconfig.cfg file (just tack it on the end there) that WILL allow you to adjust the "sensitivity" of the joystick. These commands were taken from the Q3 cvar list, so I'm not 100% sure they work with Jedi Outcast, but they SHOULD. Also, I am unsure as to what the values for the cvar should be, it's all really dependent on what sensitivity "feels" right to you...just like mouse sensitivity. Anyway, here's the commands:

 

joy_forwardsensitivity "-1" set forward/back sensitivity (negative is inverted)

joy_forwardthreshold "0.15" set forward/back dead zone

joy_name "joystick" set joystick name

joy_pitchsensitivity "1" set pitch sensitivity (negative is inverted)

joy_pitchthreshold "0.15" set pitch dead zone

joy_sidesensitivity "-1" set side sensitivity (negative is inverted)

joy_sidethreshold "0.15" set side dead zone

joy_threshold "0.15" possibly an overall threshold setting all other joy variables removed in 1.08

joy_upsensitivity "-1" set up/down sensitivity (negative is inverted)

joy_upthreshold "0.15" set up/down dead zone

joy_yawsensitivity "-1" set yaw sensitivity (negative is inverted)

 

Now, with these settings, it becomes infinitely easier (and faster) to turn around with the joystick, thus saving you MANY chops in the back. Also, bear in mind that for First-Person Shooters, a Keyboard and Mouse are ALWAYS going to allow you greater control over your aim, so you should ONLY consider using a joypad for this game if you are going to follow 2 guidelines (IMO):

 

1. You can play the game well in 3rd person ALL the time. I say play in 3rd person because it's easier to SEE your lightsaber movements in 3rd person. Also, with a joypad, aiming becomes EXTREMELY limited with guns (as compared to keyboard and mouse-style), thus 3rd person view will make it so that you only have to really aim in the general direction of your target. Which leads me to my second point...

 

2. This style of play (using a game pad) is recommended ONLY for those of you that play the game for the lightsaber aspect. As I've said before, the joypad's greatest advantage comes from that fact that you can get more precise movements (diagonal chaining, moving swipes, etc.) out of the joypad. I do NOT reccomend you using the joypad if you will be picking up and using guns as primary weapons, as the AIM of the pad cannot compare to the AIM with a mouse. However, for lightsabers, directional AIM is NOT as important as WHICH attack you are performing. As far as aim goes, as long as you are facing your opponent, consider your aiming taken care of. The actual swipe/slice that you perform with the light saber is what is going to determine whether or not you break your opponent's defenses.

 

So to sum it up, there it is. The pro's and con's of the joypad, and even a few tips on how to tweak it once you get it. I'll see you on the battlefield.

 

NOTE: I've recently discovered (the hard way) that JK2 does not allow you to adjust pitch, yaw, or anything other than zero area. :mad:

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Hiteche5 Newbie

Hiteche5

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I use to use a joystick in JK1 and I think it worked well. It was very intuitive for me at the time. As the other FPSs came out I went to the keyboard (plus the joystick broke :) ) Now it is just habit. I bet if I were to use a joystick I could get used to it again but the fact of the matter is...what is intuitive to people is what people are going to use.

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Lnt. Kechtt Newbie

Lnt. Kechtt

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I used just the keyboard for JK, I was pretty good too. Then I started using the Mouse for sniping, but never could go all the way mouse/keyboard. JO I can only do mouse/keyboardl. I could see the advantages of Joystick/mouse/keyboard, but am not that cordinated. I'll stick with having all the hotkeys I want at my disposal. Granted I wish my roomie's computer had a better keyboard. I can't stand his p.o.s.

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Essobie Newbie

Essobie

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Originally posted by Njal Storm

this is all i use, and i am 10 times the cyber warrior i used to be....

 

 

 

FUL1_F8GFPC001.jpg

 

I've heard that this thing has problems with different key combinations just like any regular keyboard does (as multiple keys are assigned the same circuit line in the keyboard's innards). This is a shame since the thing only has what... 10 keyboard keys?

 

If you can't push ALL TEN of them down at the same time and have them register in the game, then this thing isn't worth the cash.

 

As far as the little reassignment programmable D-pad thing on the right, I can show you how to make a script that would basically do the same thing to a regular keyboard... and you'd have more keys to work with as an added bonus.

 

Essobie

 

p.s. Keyboard and mouse, of course.

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