Speculative R&D: Game Controllers

[rusty_shackleford]

I bought this because Aweigh recommended it even though he has me on ignore

@aweigh

[aweigh]

fine i'll take you off ignore but don't tell anyone else

[BobT]

fine i'll take you off ignore but don't tell anyone else

If you could respond to my controller queries and then put me back on (if you want to), that would be great, thanks.

[J1M]

reWASD is indispensible for me, unfortunately. It is the single most important piece of software on my PC.

I like it a lot but I only use it to invert axis in poorly made games that don't offer the setting.

[aweigh]

MONEY WELL SPENT

[Segata]

but why

[aweigh]

well

technically the screen is there so u can configure your controller settings from there, without having to use the PC or smartphone software. You can run calibration routines, adjust the deadzones for triggers and analog sticks, change the rumble vibration intensity level, mute or unmute, change your current button profile, cycle through the different adaptive trigger 'force feedback' settings, etc.

ofc first thing to do is fuck all that and put a funny gif on it.

[maidenhaver]

I liked the results. The right stick on my steam deck barely exists, I always use the track pad.

[aweigh]

just a simple video showing someone using flydigi gyro.

personally i don't care for gyro, but i guess someone here might and would like to see a use case for it.

[GhostCow]

Any gamepads with ps style analog stick layout and hall effect sticks yet?

[aweigh]

Any gamepads with ps style analog stick layout and hall effect sticks yet?

not yet, not in PS stick layout. none that i can think of right now.

closest you can get is buy a custom controller from a custom controller company, like AIM or Battle Beaver, but I don't usually recommend those. Their work is shoddy and extremely, EXTREMELY overpriced. Some of them are offering the option of putting in HE sticks to existing dualsense controllers, but I don't trust their work. They also take weeks or months to deliver, and have shitty warranties and/or no warranty.

[Oyster Sauce]

Looking into getting a new mechanical keyboard and good lord this is autistic

[Statesman]

I have always wanted a modernized take on the OG Xbox Controller S


With even more buttons added:


The closest I've seen have been the Flydigi Vader 2/3 (and older Apex 2), but dislike their gamer design.

Now this is quite interesting. Would love to have one in hand to try it out, since it seems like the best of both worlds. That guy is a beast designing professional-looking products from scratch.

[J1M]

Black and white buttons would be much preferred over this thumbstick click nonsense.

I got my Elite v2 Xbox controller. Is the expected grip to use all four fingers? (Shoulder, trigger, paddle1, paddle2) Or to use the pointer finger for both shoulder and trigger and not use the pinky finger outside of grip?

Seems like there's room for improvement regarding paddles. I am assuming they are this way to accommodate hand sizes but I can't help but think appropriately placed buttons would be better.

[GhostCow]

This gamepad seems to be the best option if someone wants Playstation analog placement and hall effect sticks. The prices are pretty insane though and I have no idea what the battery life it like. Hopefully way better than a dual sense.

https://hyprcontrollers.com/products/signature-designer

[Oyster Sauce]

Looking into getting a new mechanical keyboard and good lord this is autistic

Got a Blackwidow. Liking it a lot.

[PayStation]

Looks nice. I'm still happy with my 2012 Cooler Master keyboard. New keyboards these days have so many types of switches; it must be a headache to choose. How are the Razer switches? $200 keyboard must be top of the line I suppose.

[Oyster Sauce]

Looks nice. I'm still happy with my 2012 Cooler Master keyboard. New keyboards these days have so many types of switches; it must be a headache to choose. How are the Razer switches? $200 keyboard must be top of the line I suppose.

I know nothing about the differences between switches and I want to keep it that way. Feels fine to me.

[Anon]

Looking into getting a new mechanical keyboard and good lord this is autistic

Got a Blackwidow. Liking it a lot.

No numpad is really convenient but man I can't live without it

[aweigh]

This gamepad seems to be the best option if someone wants Playstation analog placement and hall effect sticks. The prices are pretty insane though and I have no idea what the battery life it like. Hopefully way better than a dual sense.

https://hyprcontrollers.com/products/signature-designer

i posted a couple of videos exposing the shoddy worksmanship of HYPR. I don't personally own one of their custom controllers but from what I saw I wouldn't recommend it.

battery life is the same because all they do is modify an existing dualsense.

[GhostCow]

Gay. I wanted xinput so that's a deal breaker anyway

[aweigh]

Gay. I wanted xinput so that's a deal breaker anyway

the Scuf Envision Pro is a really nice controller that's XINPUT, PC-specific, and copies the Playstation stick layout and shell design, but it doesn't use HE sticks.

(I'm assuming you want the Playstation stick layout). Currently there are no Playstation controllers with HE sticks that I can think of, besides questionable "custom" controller offerings.

Victrix said they're going to put out HE modules for their modular Victrix BFG Pro controller so when those finally come out later this year that would make it the first HE stick PS controller, but of course that hinges on whether or not you actually want to use their controller. I'm not completely sold on it, though I've heard favorable things about it.

[aweigh]

@GhostCow mind you i mention the Scuf Envision Pro specifically only because i'm assuming you want something that uses the PS shell and PS layout.

if you're willing to go xbox layout you have a ton more options, at least insofar as controllers with HE sticks are concerned. I'd probably recommend a flydigi controller in that case, which are slightly cheaper. flydigi high-end offering, the apex 4, is only $150 versus the Scuf envision Pro's $180.

also, i've mentioned it before but i'm a big fan of the dualsense Edge. No HE sticks but at least the sticks are modular and replaceable. I do agree it's insanely overpriced for what it is, tho.

[aweigh]

[Statesman]

Guess someone listened to me, Hyperkin is making a modernized take on the OG Xbox Controller S

---

Pros: HE Sticks, HE Impulse Triggers, added Bumpers, kept OG Back/Start positioning and White/Black Buttons.

Cons: No wireless (thanks to Microsoft) and probably high price (for the capabilities it offers).

[aweigh]

By the way, for whatever it's worth here is my current rotation of "main" controllers:

(in no particular order)

- DualSense Edge


DualSense Edge is my "main" controller for anything 3D, or when I just want to play a modern game. Last game I played through using it was RoboCop: Rogue City. All-around general purpose, great fit for any genre. Feels ridiculously premium in the hand, incredible build quality. Admittedly very over-priced, however. Hard to justify paying $200 for a controller. I like it so much I bought it twice just to have a backup in case anytyhing goes wrong, so I'm not left without one. It's essentially an upgraded DualSense, and that's a compliment as the DS is already an exceptionally well-made controller (later models, anyway. Early batch of DS controllers had problems).

- Flydigi APEX 4


Flydigi Apex 4 is my go-to "Xbox-shaped" controller. Slightly cheaper at $160 (can be gotten for cheaper at other places, I got mine for $140 on MinixPC dot com). This thing also feels incredibly well-made, and I'm a big Flydigi shill, by the way. I love all of their controllers. I own 5 different Flydigi controllers, and the Apex 4 is their design peak. Everything on the controller works great and feels amazing, perfectly shaped analog triggers, clicky and responsive bumpers, mechanical-switch DPAD and face buttons that feel great to press (Flydigi DPAD is also exceptionally accurate as well), but the star of the show are their high-tech Hall Effect analog sticks with adjustable tension; I have *never* felt smoother analog sticks in my life. They're also the most ACCURATE sticks I've ever used as well. They feel like an absolute dream during use, they feel absolutely friction-less, and the adjustable tension works better than it does on the Elite controllers. The reason I call this my go-to "Xbox-shaped" controller is that the Xbox shape can be more ergonomic for holding down the bumpers or triggers compared to the Playstation-shaped controllers, and I like binding sprint to the right bumper in some games (like RDR2), so I end up holding down the right bumper for long periods. It's more comfortable to do this on an Xbox-shaped controller than on a PS-shaped controller, at least for me.

- 8bitdo Ultimate Bluetooth


And this is the final "main" controller in my current rotation, the 8bitdo Ultimate BT. At $70 it is the cheapest one on the list. It's very well made, feels very solid in the hands. No mechanical switches anywhere on this one, all rubber-membrane buttons and that's fine because they all perform exceptionally. I mainly use the 8bitdo controller to play 2D games, side-scrollers and platformers, or anything that requires heavy DPAD use. Currently using it to play through Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes. Not really much more to say, it's cheap (relatively speaking), and it's well-made. The 8bitdo DPAD is unique and the only place where you can find a "soft" SNES-style DPAD in a modern controller. Incidentally it is also very, very good for using with fighting games. The 8bitdo controller is also the one I use when I want to play a fighting game with a pad, by the way. The Flydigi DPAD is also good for fighting game but it's less comfortable than the "soft" 8bitdo DPAD.

Note that my intention here wass not to "review" these controllers, if that was the casse I would have to write a lot more about each one. Just wanted to give my current Top 3 in case anyone was wondering, and include a brief "use case" scenario for why I rotate between different controllers. Obviously if I really had to I could play anything just fine using any one of the controllers, nobody needs 3 controllers at a time, but it does feel nice to use one that "fits" a game better. Basically, I like keeping 1x PS-style controller, 1x Xbox-style controller, and 1x controller that has a soft and accurate DPAD for 2D games. Those are my main 3 controller needs, and these 3 are my current ones fulfilling them.

Honestly don't see myself buying another controller for a while, I'm pretty damn satisfied right now.