Topic: New Controller for PS3?

[Myxtika1 Azn]

Maybe it's just me, but wouldn't it be better if the trackball was on the left side instead of the right?

And BlackNMild2k1, please edit your post so as to not break the table. I hate scrolling left and right to read a post.  Change it into a real link or something, and make the text short, like with maybe two words or something.

[BlackNMild2k1]

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Originally posted by: Myxtika1 Azn
And BlackNMild2k1, please edit your post so as to not break the table. I hate scrolling left and right to read a post.  Change it into a real link or something, and make the text short, like with maybe two words or something.

Not to sound rude but, .....the screen looks fine to me and I don't even have the window maximized.
the link is hardly a long link [http://www.whitefusion.com/] <-- does it get shorter??
I think you should up your screen resolution to something higher than 320x240

anyway.....
here is your shorter link .

[Myxtika1 Azn]

uh-huh... yeah....  Maybe you'd like to look at your second post in this thread.  See that post about the patent with super long ass link in there? kthxbye

[BlackNMild2k1]

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Originally posted by: Myxtika1 Azn
uh-huh... yeah....  Maybe you'd like to look at your second post in this thread.  See that post about the patent with super long ass link in there? kthxbye

didn't know what post your talking about, but that is from over a month & 1/2 ago (assumed you were talking about todays post) and it is also a direct quote from the patent site, so I wasn't going to alter anything.  And besides that it still doesn't mess up my forum setup as it just breaks it to a new line, so I don't know what to tell ya.

edit: spelling errors

[Myxtika1 Azn]

hmmm.... I just checked this thread with IE and the link does in fact break into a new line.  I'm using Firefox 1.0 and I guess that it doesn't support that feature? Sorry about that.

[Bloodworth]

oh hey I fixed the retarded link thank you very much

[nemo_83]

I saw this coming.    

[PaLaDiN]

"Maybe it's just me, but wouldn't it be better if the trackball was on the left side instead of the right?"

This is obviously a very FPS-oriented controller... so it makes more sense to have it on the right because that's the aiming part.

This controller is only an evolution for FPS games. The difference between an analog stick and a trackball is that a trackball sacrifices the ability to hold the stick in any one direction for added precision.

You can't play Katamari Damacy on this piece of crap.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

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Originally posted by: PaLaDiN
This is obviously a very FPS-oriented controller... so it makes more sense to have it on the right because that's the aiming part.

If you grew up that way... not I, NOT I!  Whether it's been Perfect Dark, 3D Zelda archery, or the recent RE4, lefty-thumb aiming is the way for me.  To restrict aiming controls to the right side is closed-minded and inconsiderate, especically given the rich history and lead time that lefty-thumb analog control has had.  Ubi-soft, Eidos, I hate you.

[Don'tHate742]

God....that has got to be the ugliest controller ever. With Sony's background, I bet it's going to fall apart in 2 months after purchase, maybe 3 if your deligent with it.

Anyways, Nintendo's hopefully gyration-capable controller can provide more control, and precision with more intuitive-ness for gamers and non-gamers alike. You could pick up and play, while with Sony's model, you would pick up, wonder what the hell a ball is doing there, then play horribly. Nintendo could actually market they're controller by pointing out the flaws of whitefusion's controller. Sony should of just kept it the way it was. Even if they are the market leader, if it's not as comfortable, intuitive, and more fun to play then Nintendo's controller; Nintendo will hold dominance over the input interface of next-gen consoles.

Just thought i'd give my 2 cents....

[PaLaDiN]

"If you grew up that way... not I, NOT I! Whether it's been Perfect Dark, 3D Zelda archery, or the recent RE4, lefty-thumb aiming is the way for me."

I can't believe I forgot.

OK, let me rephrase... This is obviously a very FPS-dual-analog-control-scheme oriented controller.

[Myxtika1 Azn]

I don't like the design because having the trackball on the right side just makes it impossible to press any of the buttons.  I guess that the d-pad could be used as action buttons but years and years of conditioning has made it so that I would try to reach for the buttons on the right instead of on the left.

[KDR_11k]

Oh, man, I suggested replacing the right analog with a trackball roughly two years ago. That was in a discussion about the "N5". I hear this thing is patented, should be revoked for obviousness. What I can think up in five minutes should not be allowed to be patented. But hell, the US patent system is so f###ed up they think using cookies to store user information and use that to allow for one click purchases is not obvious.
The site doesn't load for me, though. Claims I have the wrong Flash plugin. I hate jackasses like that who believe they know what my computer is capable of. Especially when they get it wrong.

Myxtika1: I don't see how that has gotten any worse than what dual-analog already is. A trackball isn't a primary method of control unless you're playing an RTS or something. When you want to move your character you still use the left analog, the trackball is a replacement for the c-stick. It does camera control and sometimes aiming.

[Don'tHate742]

Has anyone ever used a track ball? I've seen the pc version of the track-ball mouse, but I stayed away.

Anyways, is it fast? Does it respond well, is it any better than normal mouses, like the light-mouse?

Just want to see what the PS3 is getting themselves into....

[PaLaDiN]

A mouse is a lot better than a trackball. The problem is you need a flat surface for a mouse... but if you have one, then a mouse is definitely the way to go.

It's just easier to glide a mouse over a surface than to continually flick a trackball with your thumb. Not to mention, due to the curved nature of the trackball, it takes at least a while to learn to flick it in the exact direction you want it to... a fact that arcade golf games use to their advantage.

Compared to an analog stick, a trackball does offer added precision over the extent of movement, for small movements... as in, you can more easily learn to specify exactly how much further to the left you want to look. But if you want to turn around 360 degrees for whatever reason, you're better off with a stick, because you can just hold that all the way to the left instead of flicking the trackball twice, overshooting and compensating.

Which also means games like Damacy just aren't playable with a trackball. You're going to have to somehow hold the left stick up and flick the trackball up at a constant, equal and even rate.

At least, this is all based on my experience with trackballs, which admittedly isn't all that extensive.

[Grant10k]

For moving, a stick is better, but for turning, aiming, and rotating in general, a trackball is the way to go. Personally I hate aiming with a stick, in Goldeneye (the good one) it was alright because the controls were absolute, if you pushed the stick 1mm to the left, you'd aim 5 degrees to the left, push the stick a little further and you are now aimed 6 degrees to the left. The problem I have with modern console shooters is that the controls aren’t absolute, if you push the stick 1mm to the left, you keep aiming to the left, if you miss your target (or he moves) you can't just ease off the stick, you have to push it the other way to find the guy again. I know it doesn’t seem like much of a hassle, but if you have a controller with some dead space in the middle from wear and tear then it becomes fairly aggravating.
Also with a trackball you help solve the problem of sensitivity, many games are way too sensitive, making it hard to aim with precision, others aren’t sensitive enough, and even if you push the analogue stick all the way to one side, you still corner like a freight train. A trackball is nice because there is no limit to how far you can turn, if you aren’t turning fast enough, spin the ball faster.

[pudu]

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Originally posted by: Professional 666

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Originally posted by: PaLaDiN
This is obviously a very FPS-oriented controller... so it makes more sense to have it on the right because that's the aiming part.

If you grew up that way... not I, NOT I!  Whether it's been Perfect Dark, 3D Zelda archery, or the recent RE4, lefty-thumb aiming is the way for me.  To restrict aiming controls to the right side is closed-minded and inconsiderate, especically given the rich history and lead time that lefty-thumb analog control has had.  Ubi-soft, Eidos, I hate you.

I agree completely.  I tried to play the latest Turok game and various other shooters or games with first person view shooting like Splinter Cell and I can't aim worth anything.  First of all, I think the C stick on the Cube is terrible compared to the right analogue on PS2 or Xbox.  It has a far smaller surface area to use, it has little grip/friction so I constantly slide off of it, it has corners you get stuck in on the edges of it's range of movement, and it's stiff as heck so any subtle movements are terribly hard (I do think, however, it's ok for things like camera movement where analogue isn't a must).  Secondly, as Professional 666 said, I have spent years training my left thumb for precise aiming and such and trying to train my retarded right thumb is terrible (especially on an inferior stick).  If RE4 forced you to use the right thumb I would be furious to put it lightly.

That being said I believe the BEST contol device for shooters is the mouse.  I've spent an enourmous amount of time playing UT99 (as shown in the demo videos on whitefusion's website) and what they are doing there is nothing out of the ordinary for me...if not, fairly subpar.  The mouse gives you greater range of motion if you have the desk for it and once the track ball runs out of room you have to pick up you finger...an enormous no no.

I guess the point I'm trying to make in all this is that it was hard enough getting good at using my left thumb in shooters on consoles and for some games like RE4 and Zelda I think it fits perfectly fine.  Although for fast FPS games I think the PC/mouse combo is by far the best way to play these games.  Lets all hope Nintendo actually creates a form of interaction so intuitive and precise that they make me eat my own words.  I doubt it though...simply because I doubt gyration (if that's what they use) can be very steady and precise given the fact that no person can remain perfectly still and the lack of friction from a surface or spring will cause some confusion...plus the obvious:  people aren't used to haveing to be in shape to play games.  I can just imagine sweating on a hot summer day with my arms aching trying to beat the last boss in Metroid...getting increasingly angry my tiring limbs are making it next to impossible to accurately hit the mark.

P.S. For those that made it this far: I appologise for the "epic" post here...I'm semi-delerious at the moment :S

P.P.S.P.S  Sorry about all the unavoidable spelling errors, I know it's bad when I'm not even willing to read back through my own post to double check...

[couchmonkey]

I really don't think you're going to have to be that "in shape" to move the controller around in a 5x5 inch area to play.  I doubt it'll be even half as much work as the recent GameCube bongo games.

Edit: P.S. I agree that left-thumb aiming should always be an option.  I've gotten acustomed to right-thumb aiming, but there's usually no reason to restrict it.

[BlackNMild2k1]

IGN.Gear has just run a story on the White Fusion PS2 prototype trackball controller.  And even though they didn't reveal anything new/important, they did mention something interesting.

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Now, the million dollar answer... Yes, games will need to be programmed to take advantage of the REFLEX Control. We're told that developers are very pleased with what they've seen, so hopefully support will be a widespread occurrence. Interestingly, you'll notice that the demo videos are using Unreal Tournament for PlayStation 2; it's definitely not any of the PC versions. Note that that title is well over four years old and has support for White Fusion's controller. What that means, well, all will be revealed in due time...

So what do all of you think it means?

[nemo_83]

I am glad ign picked up on this.  The trackball is a great thumb mechanic for camera.