Looking for controller advice for the PC

ner0

ner0

Joined
Aug 21, 2018
So far I've been keeping myself away from the re-releases as much as possible (just like a virgin... :sneaky:). Yet, occasionally, jumping into it, with my keyboard, to do some modding. Anyway, I still don't feel like the games are quite in the spot that I want them to be, but I'm starting to wonder which controller I should get to play this game on the PC. The only controllers I have are:
  1. old Logitech Wingman;
  2. Mega Drive/Genesis knock off 6 button controller from Data Frog (not too shabby);
  3. SNES knock off controller from Data Frog (not too shabby either).
Apart from the first one, the other two are inappropriate for this game, and also I don't think they even get picked up by the game, I bought them a few months back to play roms (which work fine there), also they obviously have no analog pad(s).

I considered getting some PS3/PS4 knock off, but I realize that that may be a problem, particularly with the game itself.
I was hoping I could get some advice from people already playing it on the PC, with controllers.

What should I get for a decent experience of both Shenmue I or Shenmue II?
Xbox 360/One, PS3/4? Official Dreamcast controller with an USB adapter?
Suggestions?

Also, how will these controllers work in game, in for example QTEs? Will the QTEs icons match the controller's buttons appearance?

Thanks in advance for the replies!
 
These days I usually use an Xbox One controller, and it works really well. Previously I had used a 360 controller and its main drawback is a very imprecise d-pad, so I wouldn't recommend that. The Xbox One controller's d-pad is excellent.

I've also used a PS3 Sixaxis controller with my PC in the past, and as I recall there was a bit of a runaround in setting up some software so it would be detected by the computer as a 360 controller, but once that was done it worked well.
 
Zoyous said:
These days I usually use an Xbox One controller, and it works really well. Previously I had used a 360 controller and its main drawback is a very imprecise d-pad, so I wouldn't recommend that. The Xbox One controller's d-pad is excellent.

I've also used a PS3 Sixaxis controller with my PC in the past, and as I recall there was a bit of a runaround in setting up some software so it would be detected by the computer as a 360 controller, but once that was done it worked well.
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Okay, based on this opinion the official XBO controller is the way to go. Do you have to thinker with any software to map controls or does it run out of the box (no pun intended)?

Other pertinent questions:
- What's the average price?
- Does it also come in fully wired versions?
 
On Windows you don't have to use any additional software - it's automatically mapped and ready to go. Average price - these days I usually see them for $30-40 (in the US) depending on the store and the style you choose. As for wired, you just plug in a USB cable, but I don't think it comes with one.
 
Zoyous said:
On Windows you don't have to use any additional software - it's automatically mapped and ready to go. Average price - these days I usually see them for $30-40 (in the US) depending on the store and the style you choose. As for wired, you just plug in a USB cable, but I don't think it comes with one.
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Nice, thanks for clarifying this.
 
I'm a cheap bastard :p
I bought a cloned XBone Slim controller off of China. It hasn't arrived just yet, and I suppose that I may need to use a controller emulator like x360ce, but I'm eager to test it and see how responsive it is. Will leave feedback afterwards, even though I won't have a way to draw a fair comparison. The price tag was 17€, about little less than half the original.
 
ner0 said:
I'm a cheap bastard :p
I bought a cloned XBone Slim controller off of China. It hasn't arrived just yet, and I suppose that I may need to use a controller emulator like x360ce, but I'm eager to test it and see how responsive it is. Will leave feedback afterwards, even though I won't have a way to draw a fair comparison. The price tag was 17€, about little less than half the original.
Click to expand...

You shouldn't need a controller emulator. Windows natively supports USB Xbox controllers. I've used cheap Xbox One controllers before that were surprisingly good. This is what I use and I love it (PowerA Fusion Pro):

115509b5.jpg
 
Oregon Pacifist said:
You shouldn't need a controller emulator. Windows natively supports USB Xbox controllers. I've used cheap Xbox One controllers before that were surprisingly good. This is what I use and I love it (PowerA Fusion Pro):

115509b5.jpg
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I may be missing something, but it seems to me that this PowerA Fusion Pro costs about $40, which is roughly the price of the original.
 
ner0 said:
I may be missing something, but it seems to me that this PowerA Fusion Pro costs about $40, which is roughly the price of the original.
Click to expand...

It's definitely not the cheapest controller but it's still about $20 cheaper than the official Xbox One controller (and is even better in my opinion).
 
ferhound said:
No and sadly that doesnt happen for any other game :/ but in terms of functionality its perfect, the triggers and analogs works perfectly fine.
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Thought as much
I remember seeing a mod in nexusmods that supposedly replaces the XBone buttons with the DS4 ones. In theory it can be done to accommodate any controller as long as someone has the time to get the buttons' images and place them in the DDS assets.

I reread your reply and it's confusing when you say: "sadly that doesnt happen for any other game", did you mean to say "fortunately" instead, or did I not understand your answer?
 
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ner0 said:
I reread your reply and it's confusing when you say: "sadly that doesnt happen for any other game", did you mean to say "fortunately" instead, or did I not understand your answer?
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Generally speaking games don't detect the type of controller you're using, and therefore don't have controller-specific button prompts.
 
DigitalDuck said:
Generally speaking games don't detect the type of controller you're using, and therefore don't have controller-specific button prompts.
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Sure, but in this particular case it does use a specific set of button assets, or is it just a coincidence?
Also, PC games could and should detect between the most popular controllers, namely XBO and PS4 layouts.
 
ner0 said:
Thought as much
I remember seeing a mod in nexusmods that supposedly replaces the XBone buttons with the DS4 ones. In theory it can be done to accommodate any controller as long as someone has the time to get the buttons' images and place them in the DDS assets.

I reread your reply and it's confusing when you say: "sadly that doesnt happen for any other game", did you mean to say "fortunately" instead, or did I not understand your answer?
Click to expand...
I mean that unfortunately other games of the steam library show Xbox buttons when using ds4.
I don't see the necessity for the mod you mention.
 
ferhound said:
I mean that unfortunately other games of the steam library show Xbox buttons when using ds4.
I don't see the necessity for the mod you mention.
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To me it makes complete sense in that the mod introduces the layout of the buttons from the controller you use, particularly in QTE sequences as it it is constrained by reaction and when you see a flashing button with the exact icon that you use on your physical controller you're bound to have a better reaction time than having to translate or train yourself to recognize that a button from a different controller means an X or square, a triangle, etc. But it's not a necessity, to each their own.
 
Microsoft really should make controller awareness a thing in Windows. IE, a controller driver has to declare its inputs (and provide bitmaps of each button), while a game developer can you give you the option to bind controls to a specific input (with the associated bitmap). On-screen prompts would always, always, match the controller you have in your hand, and the developer doesn't have to do any extra work to make it happen.
 
catonkatonk said:
Microsoft really should make controller awareness a thing in Windows. IE, a controller driver has to declare its inputs (and provide bitmaps of each button), while a game developer can you give you the option to bind controls to a specific input (with the associated bitmap). On-screen prompts would always, always, match the controller you have in your hand, and the developer doesn't have to do any extra work to make it happen.
Click to expand...
That would be ideal but quite the stretch given how little memory most controllers have available. Also, Microsoft can't arbitrate something like this. I would settle for game developpers recognizing the most currently used controllers' layouts and program their games accordingly. They could even go as far as allowing the player himself to customize the icons by giving the possibility to at least attribute symbols and colors to each button in case the default ones don't match the player's controller. It would be so easy, much more than customizing a character like RPGs have accustomed us with - little extra work there, not even worth a footnote.
 
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