Why do people seem to think Gamepads are better than KB+M?

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

I only like keyboard and mouse for two thing: Complicated games with lots of controls like Metro or System Shock and RTS games.

Otherwise, the controller is far superior for me purely for its level of comfy and immersion. Immersion is virtually impossible for me when I'm using KB+M. RPGs like the Bethesda games just feel better with a controller.
Shooters as well feel better to me. I know, I know, more accurate aiming, blah blah blah. I'm sorry, when I fire a gun I want to pull a damn trigger.

Most of this is completely subjective. The only place a controller is truly superior is in third person melee games like AssCreed

 

[McElroy]

I've spent so much time in front of the computer screen that there's no question about which I prefer. I guess fighting games are better with a pad (or an arcade stick), but I don't even play any fighting games on the PC anyway so I don't know. I don't really dislike any type of method of input.

 

[SageRuffin]

I grew up on action games and fighters. Therefore, a controller feels far more comfortable.

Don't get me wrong; a the old keyboard/mouse combo does work better in certain games (MMOs, FPS's, to name a few), but if I can use a controller - preferably my 360 controller - I will.

 

[NuclearKangaroo]

Speaking specifically about shooters I always felt that KB+M made them too easy, it's just point & click death. It just feels like cheating to me. It's fine for other games, but I guess I'm comfortable with either setup for any game because I've never limited myself to either pc or console exclusively.

Only in games with no bullet drop or deviation. console ports, basically. They always tend to be easy regardless.

Its either mouse on PC or aim assist on console. Neither of which are hard when bullets go on forever in the straight line.

That's why PC exclusive shooters mix it up.

Try shooting in Red orchestra 2, then come back and say KB+M is easy. Shooting at tiny specks 100-300 meters away. Tiniest movement can make you miss. No crosshairs.

Its like trying to shoot a dick off a fly. And no, there aren't any scopes. Its all eye balling it.

Now I refuse to play anything else. Feels too easy.

well technically there ARE scopes in RO2


man id like that game so much better if it wasnt so glitchy... and if it didnt crash so much... and if it had less shitty open maps, and if it had a better weapon selection

alright needs a ton of work, but i like the basic gameplay, which is saying a lot, i thought i hated realistic games, that free game promotion was amazing

Well only or the sniper class. And if you pick that you get harassed more than a hot girl on XBL.

I managed to get a level 42 scoped 98k. Just 8 levels from my bayonet. Some nooblets automatically pick it because they can't eye ball for shit. Then they whine about how they still can't see anything. We lost a lot a games because of people like that.

And yet with a regular rifle I manage to get more long range kills than the snipers do. And that's sad.

The open ended maps like Arad and Druzhima are actually contest winners. They aren't official. Arad was an updated RO1 map. Its all modder levels. The only actually bad map is fallen fighters, and that's if your AT guys are incompetent.

The weapon selection is also tied to honor. You can't get actual weapon selection unless you are a hero. And that is realistic, because everything is standard issue.

The crashing is a real issue though. I crash when I die, thankfully that doesn't happen to often.

i personally hate pretty much any open map, they all turn into the most frustrating "where's waldo?" games, the maps i actually find enjoyable are maps that combine both close quarters combat and open environments, grain elevator, barracks, cold steel, red october factory, are all good maps, or at the very least decent

and boy are campaign matches miserable, the idea sounds great on paper, but in practice each team tries to pick the worst, cheapest maps in order to gain territories, in your standard campaign match youll play apartments and fallen fighters ad nauseum

i hate unlocking stuff, but checking the unlocks is also pretty standard stuff

bolt action rifle - sigle shot rifle
semi automatic rifle - single shot rifle that shoots faster
sniper rifle - single shot rifle that has a scope

the most interesting of the bunch are the MGs, the fact you need to set em up to use em effectively forces you to play significantly different from other classes


i know they are working with WW2 so the selection is limited, but even then they had some cool stuff

flamethrowers (yes i know these were added on the expasion but im talking about the base game for now), rifle grenades, incendiary grenades, bazookas, etc

they couldve done some more neat stuff with the WW2 theme

 

[Bombiz]

Cause people would rather play a RTS with controllers for some reason.

 

[Cerebrawl]

Funny you mention Rogue Legacy. Because I could not, for the love of god, play it with my XBox 360 controller. The stick is basically an equally shitty version of the crosspad, always misreading my movements making me downthrust whenever I did not want to (and similiar). I switched to keyboard after somewhat around 15 minutes of playtime and did not look back.

I don't have a 360 pad, I use a Saitek P990, it has a non-shit D-pad, I originally got it to play dreamcast emulation fighting games(specifically Rival Schools 2: Project Justice).

 

[purf]

Apart from a bit of Playstation, I grew up with KB/M.

I have a 360 controller; here's what I use it for:
- Trials Evolution (that analogue input is pretty crucial. KB/M works too but makes for a different game)
- Dark Souls (and the controlling scheme might just be the very reason we're not getting friends. I'm not on a couch, bent forward towards the TV screen with the controller pointing down; I'm at my desk and that thing is fucking uncomfortable to hold.)
- Flying around in 3d scenes (in non-gaming stuff)

...and I don't miss a thing.

Redundant thread is redundant.

 

[tehroc]

Each input device has advantages and disadvantages. I would never play MMX with a KB+M for example, but I would also never play Civilization 5 with a controller. Which is why I have both.

This might be a knock on Civilization 5, but the UI is so simple it could easily be transferred to controller. Hell Civ 5s interface is simple enough to get a straight port to mobile devices imo.

 

[Lieju]

Yeah, it's a matter of preference.
I prefer a controller for most games personally, but I'm more of a console (or these days handheld)- gamer.

As an anecdote, I've seen decenttohigh level FPS players from PC and Console go head to head in a LAN match, the console users who were using Gamepads got their cute little buttocks handed to them every time.

I'm not sure how making the game easier is necessarily 'better'. Shouldn't it be about what controls you personally find most comfortable? And that fit with the game and how it's designed?


If someone found KB&M the most natural way for them to play a platformer for example, then why not? Even if other players beat them in that game by using a controller?

 

[Vault101]

Eugh, seems I've kicked up a shitstorm.

I'm not intendting to piss people off, I'm just spouting my own personal anecdote and experience being well versed in both.

well honestly what do you expect?

there is no way for this argument to end well.....

aside from shooters I guess its preference....controlers just make me feel..like my hands are in heavy duty gloves

 

[Lazy Kitty]

Well, kb + m is great, in some situations. So is a gamepad.
Gamepad is pretty good if you don't want to have to worry about pressing the wrong button, or where the keyboard has gone, like when you're wearing an oculus.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

Its like trying to shoot a dick off a fly. And no, there aren't any scopes. Its all eye balling it.

WE DO NOT EYEBALL IT. (sorry, your post reminded me of this part in mass effect 2 lol)

 

[crazygameguy4ever]

I've always used a controller... because i've always played consoles almost exclusively (besides Star Wars Jedi Knight.. which is my only computer game i own) a controller just feel better then a mouse and keyboard.. playing a game with a keyboard and mouse is uncomfortable for my wrists and hands in general..using my PS3 controller feels way more comfortable for my hands and wrists.. controllers were designed for playing games.. a mouse and keyboard on there other hand clearly wasn't and it shows when you try and play a game long term on a computer... but that said.. does it really matter if you like playing on a pc then stick with it, just like i'll stick with consoles

 

[Diddy_Mao]

Depends entirely on the game in question really.

I wouldn't play an RTS or Sim style "god" game with a controller because the UI and control scheme just isn't designed for it.

On the other hand most 3D action or platform games don't control quite as fluidly when using a Keyboard & Mouse. To be fair the latter is largely due to those games being PC ports of console games that probably weren't designed for keyboard controls to begin with.


On a more personal note, I'm left handed and QWERTY controls just don't work for me since I use my left hand to control the mouse. I've played more than a couple games where keybinding options weren't part of the game (usually find this in smaller indy titles) and it's more of a hassle than it's worth to have to customize my keybindings on every game I play so I tend to default to gamepad controls when I can.

 

[SecondPrize]

Being a PC and console user I can see the advantages of using both. But for the broader scale KB+M seems to win out, the control of your whole wrist greatly beats the control of your thumb for FPS games, having hotkeys RPG's readily available. For fighters Gamepad DEFINITELY beats KB+M by miles, but a fightstick wipes the floor with both.

Off the top of my head, the only time I've prefered to use a gamepad was when I HAD to resort to plugging in my 360 controller for Metal Gear Rising and both Dark Souls but those feel designed for gamepads.

As an anecdote, I've seen decenttohigh level FPS players from PC and Console go head to head in a LAN match, the console users who were using Gamepads got their cute little buttocks handed to them every time.

On a more personal scale, my performance on online FPS with a gamepad is just horrible compared to my performance with KB+M.

It's not hard, you pretty much laid it out in your post. The natures of some games lend themselves to M and KB, while others shine with a gamepad. There is no best control method for all games, just best controls for certain games.
edit- best for shooters is of course modified M16s with laser dealies, a projection on the wall in front of you and your teammates lying alongside. Though that was a decade ago so they may have fancied it up somehow since then.

 

[Guitarmasterx7]

Arguments about efficiency aside one is a flat board laid out for indexing, the other is designed around ergonomics. I play games for leisure. Being comfortable is much more important to me than being slightly better at getting headshots or whatever, especially in single player games which a majority of my favorite games are.

 

[viranimus]

Because they are? Even the argument about "precision" of K&M is wrong as K&M only offers greater precision in one element which is "look" control. Gamepads are vastly superior in overall efficiency and ease of use but the one thing they do not get credit for is that they are more precise in "movement" input.

So for example, using the predominant genre where K&M is considered to have unquestioned advantage in first person shooters, yes the speed of which you can hone in on a target is a crucial element to survival, but that still comes at the expense of wildly ineffective movement that feels more like trying to drive a tanker truck with a broken axle.

The truth is theres really only one type of game that benefits from K&M and it has nothing to do with genre. Its isometric viewpoint that makes K&M advantageous. Doesnt matter if its an RTS, RPGs like inquisitor or Diablo or even shooters in Iso Perspective. So when it is one single perspective (of which has long since been made obsolete) and the sheer number of games that are better with gamepads compared to the few that are better in K&M then by virtue of such an unbalanced ratio means gamepads are the superior overall choice. The input method that is optimal for the greatest number of games becomes the optimal method of input overall.

Outside of that, truthfully it falls to the most simple end. Its a poor craftsman who blames their tools.

 

[L. Declis]

*walks into thread*

This looks interesting, I'll just have a read.

*see the room is on fire*

Well, I suppose I'll just leave now.

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Alternative ending:

*Sees the OP saying "Well, OBVIOUSLY keyboard and mouse is better and anyone else who thinks otherwise is stupid"*

Ah, it's one of these threads. I suppose I'll just leave now

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Secret 100% completion ending:

Because I am used to gamepads and while I would only ever play an RTS with a keyboard and mouse (and honestly, I only need the mouse), a game pad doesn't just stick a million functions onto random keys and call it a day, whereas a controller designed game will be a little more clever with how it lays things out and removes useless functions and makes it pretty and nice.

Compare Mass Effect. With a controller, a lot of fun. With a keyboard and mouse, a pain in the arse. But that's my COMPLETELY PERSONAL AND SUBJECTIVE OPINION!

 

[Lunar Templar]

Because most people play console ports on their PCs, rather than play games actually designed for the platform.

^
that, well partly that.

not helped by a lot of actual PC games just not being very appealing.

and lastly, some of us, my self include, are only playing on PC because that's where all they're/my friends are.

 

[Denamic]

Eh, this is the internet, everyone's a douch it's the land of "MY OPINION>YOUR OPINION"

Holding your own opinion over the opinions of others is the universal default state for any sapient being. You'd have to have some kind of mental disability to to hold an opinion you yourself consider inferior to another's.