The Legitimacy of Control in TFH

[riverhippo]

Hi, I'm Hippo. Proud brony since 2011, and backer for TFH. I'm excited to get my hands on the game and play with everyone, but I do have one very important concern.

I am not a pro gamer. Much worse, I'm not really that into fighting games. I feel fighting games have very competitive communities and I have never felt like a badass in any fighting game ever. When the game launches, I will be known as "practice". Now don't get me wrong, I will not be upset at all if TFH is a competitive community, but I fear I won't be able to fit in. And in some aspects, it requires me to just practice and learn fighting game mechanics, mechanics that might be common to someone who is used to these kinds of games.

But I have a question about control. Sometimes a game requires skill and experience to understand how to succeed, but often even after basic understanding of combos and block sequences someone who is playing the game on a keyboard might have a problem against someone who has a trickshot gamepad of some sort. (Another example of this would be playing first person shooters with keyboard and mouse vs joystick. Keyboard and mouse is often the advantage.) Sometimes the lack of control in losing is what makes it so demoralizing when you lose. I can have fun playing a game even if I suck if I at least have control over my failures. I see some people trying to question compatibility of gamepads and fighting sticks and I'll be honest, its intimidating. I never thought of a fight stick as a competitive advantage, I thought they were just a novelty.

So this is a long post to ask a relatively short question, but I wanted to properly illustrate my perspective. How acceptable will XB360/XB1/PS3/PS4 controllers be compared to the competitive meta in Them's Fighting Herds? How much is someone gimping themselves by using a keyboard? And when open tournament time comes, are there restrictions or requirements?

P.S. Arizona is best bovine.

 

[Yok]

You're not gimping yourself at all by using a keyboard. It's a common misconception that keyboards are somehow worse than other forms of input.

TFH and most other fighting games (Excluding things like Smash) use digital input for everything, which means keyboards are actually really good as a result. It's just a case of making sure you're using sensible keys.

I use a Hitbox, it's an arcade stick without the stick, essentially a streamlined keyboard built for fighting games. I'd suggest remapping your keyboard in such a way to emulate a Hitbox layout.

The only potential issue when it comes to using a keyboard however is the chance of ghosting. If your keyboard is super old then you may not be able to press multiple keys at the same time, which'll obviously hinder your ability to play.

At the end of the day your controller choice is personal preference - whatever you're comfortable with. I'd say that something that's using analogue input is "sub-optimal", but it's negligable enough that it really doesn't make a difference. There are plenty of pro players in other games out there using analogue sticks and triggers just fine.

When it comes to tournaments I imagine that anything TFH recognises (Which should be most controllers considering TFH uses the Z-engine) as a functioning controller will be legal. As long as your choice of input isn't using any crazy macros you'll likely be fine.

 

[Vulapa]

I used to play with a keyboard before getting my fightstick, and it was easier to execute certain stuff like short-hops and charge moves with an input that multiple fingers can provide faster.

There is some legitimacy with using a keyboard, and if you prefer playing with that (or if it's your only viable option) then no one else should stop you. Just be mindful of the said inherent problems that come with the input you are using.

 

[Patthecat]

It all comes down to your preference, there has been a pro for each type of of usable controller out there. Using one over the other will not gimp you as long as you have mastery over that particular controller because whatever fits your hand the best will ultimately help you the best in the end. I use 360 and Xbox One controllers for fighting games and I've done very well for myself with them. Each controller type does have its pros and cons but finding one that best fits your play-style is key.

I would recommend not using a keyboard only because it's usually not allowed for local tournaments (because you never know if you might want to play in one for the funsies one day!)

 

[CamTSB]

It all comes down to your preference, there has been a pro for each type of of usable controller out there.

Since everything has mostly been said in here already I'll just personally chime in to add a little respectable blue to the situation. Pat is correct, any control option is absolutely fine, as long as it is the one that works for you.

Mind you, tournament controller options will be decided by the TO, and considering TFH will really just be a PC game for the foreseeable future there's lots of options for controllers there. Even on console games I've seen people play at tournaments with keyboards hooked up to fightstick PCBs in order to use it on the console. People go to great lengths to be able to use the control scheme they prefer, and that's a really cool part of the FGC in general.

 

[riverhippo]

Good stuff guys. I see a very large portion of controller users talk about the brilliance of XB1 and XB360 controller compatibility, since its windows. I have a PS4 controller. Will I have any issues? I know games like Rocket League optimized very well for controllers, and works with both sony and microsoft controllers with flying colors. But I also know some games are optimized for microsoft controllers but not for Sony's.

 

[OCisbestungulate]

Good stuff guys. I see a very large portion of controller users talk about the brilliance of XB1 and XB360 controller compatibility, since its windows. I have a PS4 controller. Will I have any issues? I know games like Rocket League optimized very well for controllers, and works with both sony and microsoft controllers with flying colors. But I also know some games are optimized for microsoft controllers but not for Sony's.

TFHs will handle just about anything you can plug into it. I use as PS3 controller, but I have my computer thinking it's a Xbox controller. Quite fond of it I am.

 

[riverhippo]

TFHs will handle just about anything you can plug into it. I use as PS3 controller, but I have my computer thinking it's a Xbox controller. Quite fond of it I am.

Do you ever have issues and with what games? I know a game like Elder Scrolls Online has controller support for PC users in 'beta'. But it really only supports XB1 controllers, and doesn't sync perfectly for PS4 controllers, despite the game also being a PS4 port.

 

[OCisbestungulate]

Do you ever have issues and with what games? I know a game like Elder Scrolls Online has controller support for PC users in 'beta'. But it really only supports XB1 controllers, and doesn't sync perfectly for PS4 controllers, despite the game also being a PS4 port.

Funny you should ask me that now The controller recently stopped working properly with my system, but that's prolly due to the program I use. Outside of very, very, occasional hiccups like this, it works perfectly with everything I've used it for. The only issue was with Darksiders 2, but that was just a minor graphical glitch in which I'd get back boxes on the screen rather then 'A' or 'B' when the game was trying to teach me the controls. The functionality was fine. I've even used it for BlazBlue (a Japanese fighting game if you didn't already know), and the controls were as fluid as I could hope for.

Edit: Fixed it right up and now it's right as rain.

 

[GammaLyrae]

People that win tournaments use all sorts of different input options, ranging from the official console pads, custom made fightsticks, or even legacy controllers, including bizarre options like people that use adapters to use PS1 controllers on modern platforms. A popular variant of the traditional arcade stick is the 'hitbox', which more or less gives you keyboard-style button layouts, but with arcade-style buttons.

Whatever works for you, duder. I dumped a bunch of money into sticks for years, eventually sold 'em all off as I realized I was far more comfortable with regular controllers.

 

[Borin]

I think This Video is very useful. The guy explains things like this very well.

 

[Salty Beef]

Well.. I think the normal gamepad controller I'm going to try using mostly is the 8BitDo Nes classic thingy. Gonna try it on GuiltyGear rev, and MVC.

Buuuutt. I'd love to give a fighting stick a try. And in that case I'd rather make one instead of buying a prebuilt one. Mostly because it would feel super special.

But I don't really feel like spending over 100$ on one if I don't like it. Might try the Hori Fight stick Mini to test the waters. Unless someone has a better suggestion for getting my feet wet.

 

[Salty Beef]

Huzzah! I finished my Fight stick already! A real beauty isn't she?

 

[TheGoldenW]

Huzzah! I finished my Fight stick already! A real beauty isn't she?

Woah! No one is gonna be able to beat you with that!

 

[Salty Beef]

Woah! No one is gonna be able to beat you with that!

I know right!? and Who even needs joysticks? those are soooo oooold.

lol

 

[TheGoldenW]

I know right!? and Who even needs joysticks? those are soooo oooold.

lol

Watch out, king of the new meta game right here

 

[Salty Beef]

Whelp, never mind about makin' a fight stick. Me and my bro just got ourselves some Mayflash F500's. Still wanting to try customizing the art though.

Feels purdy good. Although I had to change the gate from 4 to 8. I hate 4 gate.

So just curious. How many of you use fight sticks?/what's your preferred way to play fighters?

Note. I still use Xbox360 controller for most games. Also the 8bitdo nes30.

 

[Mage]

Whelp, never mind about makin' a fight stick. Me and my bro just got ourselves some Mayflash F500's. Still wanting to try customizing the art though.

Feels purdy good. Although I had to change the gate from 4 to 8. I hate 4 gate.

So just curious. How many of you use fight sticks?/what's your preferred way to play fighters?

Note. I still use Xbox360 controller for most games. Also the 8bitdo nes30.

I've always used controllers even though they're technically inferior to sticks for certain fighting game techniques. At the moment the only controllers I've got adapters for are some crappy 3rd party controllers though. (Well, that and an SNES controller, which I'm not really sure how well that would work with this game). I might need to buy another adapter.

 

[Rodya]

some crappy 3rd party controllers

They can't be worse than my 5 dollar bootleg Megafire PS2 controller, I've thought about making my own stick, but I honestly don't know how to decorate it, and shipping fees add a lot to the total cost.

 

[TheGoldenW]

I'm so lazy I've never bought a cord to plug a controller into my computer. I should probably change this, and soon.

 

[Ravvij]

Not sure if this should go here, but I've been having trouble with controllers. It doesn't keep the control settings and will default in the middle of a fight, and it can't differentiate between my ps4 controller and the simulated xbox360 controller; when i go to "controller" and press left on the left stick it gives a controller image while when you press right on the left stick it gives an image of an arcade style fight stick. Is there a way to fix this?

 

[ph00tbag]

If it works for you, you can use it.