View Full Version : Direction Pads.
in these arms
10-12-06, 18:34
Back then we used the directon pas and not the Analog sticks. Do you want to use the Direction Pads for TRA?
silver_wolf
10-12-06, 18:36
i think it should be an option,just to add that classic feel.
StUdEnT rAiDeR
10-12-06, 18:40
If you used the D-pad controls she wouldn't move as smoothly, correct me if im wrong...
Virusbuster
10-12-06, 18:42
One could say the direction pad wasn't as smooth as the analog stick, but I think they added to the feeling that you were in control of Lara. Still, this depends a lot on how the game mechanics work, and if it's the Legend engine, I don't think the direction pad would work very well.
i've got so used to analogue sticks i hardly ever use the D pad direction buttons..........for any game
I don't think it'd work now:
With DPad - press right and lara turns right
With Analog - press right and she runs right
It's to do with the camera angles I think, so unless they've got options for the old camera system as well (Hah, only in my dreams) then I can't see the Dpad options returning :(
lorien elf
10-12-06, 19:31
It's too bad then, 'cause I actually had always prefered it and hated it when they introduced the analog stick in AOD, where we couldn't use the D-pad anymore. I had thought the d-pad was easier,
True, I still prefer Dpad over Analog stick when playing TR.
It makes it a heck of a lot better on Tr6 if you play on pc with a Ps controller, and use the Dpad. :tmb:
LaraLover32
10-12-06, 19:43
When I was little...I always loved the D-Pad...For every game...I used absolutely nothing but the D-Pad. Now that I am a teenager, I HATE using the D-Pad. I use analog sticks for EVERYTHING. I just got done playing TR1 again, and the D-Pad annoyed me soooo much!!!!
da tomb raider!
10-12-06, 19:52
I'd love to play TRA with the direction keys but if Lara's movement is the same as Legend's, then it wouldn't be the same anyway, and I couldn't really care.
I'm not bothered about the direction pads, either option will suit me.
Its annoying that this game isn't coming out on Xbox, I find that controller alot easier to use than PS2 analogue.
If anyone want to use the D-pad for this game, let them have that option.
Its still not going to play like classic TR1 though because the moves are from Legend.
R.I.P D-pad, you will be missed. I guess Lara has more options now than she used too, maybe it's a bit too hard to work
Moon-Safari
10-12-06, 21:51
CD wont do it. They're hard on having the D-pad be the quick draw weapons. I never minded going through my ring menu to chose my weapons and see all the fun stuff i accumulated. But CD will never know that joy. All they know is fast pace gaming.
I loved the D-pad! :hug: It felt a lot more precise than the joystick. Part of that is there isn't enough resistance in the joystick to feel like you hit the right spot and can maintain that position with it. It helps to have a really fat thumb when using the D-pad. ;) Then you can rock over the 4 positions to get just the right combo of pressure and turn and run at the same time. :D With just a minor adjustment of pressure you can adjust the angle of the run. ;)
You can tell the pros of old school D-pad controllers, they all have huge callouses on their thumbs! :p I guess the rookies don't want to put up with sore thumbs... :mis:
Now I have to get used to this overly light pressure of the joystick! :( I've been using it for several years and quite a few games and it still doesn't feel as natural to me as the D-pad. Sadly, most game don't even give you the option of choosing which one you prefer, the joystick or the D-pad. :(
I cry foul, that's discrimination against us D-pad lovers! :hea:
Moon-Safari
10-12-06, 23:45
Running jumps towards the first rope in Legend is impossible unless you adjust the camera. I preferred it more when the camera stayed behind your head. Like the Vman said, maintaining a consistent direction forward is impossible if you don't place the camera directly behind you. The directional buttons were always the same no matter where the camera was positioned, so you knew what you were in for.
Mikel Croft
10-12-06, 23:47
I find the dpad really hard to use, these days... even if I go back and play the old tr's, I just find it slow and frustrating.
Moon-Safari
11-12-06, 00:01
Everything wasn't eight miles away in Tomb Raider 1, so wherever you had to go, it was more a matter of taking your time to reach hard jumps and death defying traps. Once you practiced jumping and navigating enough, you could breeze through a level like a pro, unlike legend which always allowed you to fly through the level from the first time through. No skill required.
dottiematrix
11-12-06, 01:02
I prefer the d pads for sure. I tend to over correct with the stick and go to far, turn to far etc...
you can rock over the 4 positions to get just the right combo of pressure and turn and run at the same time. With just a minor adjustment of pressure you can adjust the angle of the run.
Yep, I do exactly that ( and I don't even have a fat thumb, lol) it makes for turning corners smooth, especially if you gently press the walk button a bit to slow her down some without stopping.
Blockoland
11-12-06, 01:26
If given a choice - I'd use the d-pad. I find it an easier and more precise method of control. I find that it is easier to 'overshoot a target' when using the analog stick than when using the d-pad.
I find it perfectly easy to move in any direction - N, S, E, W, NE, SE etc. when using the d-pad.
Unfortunately nowadays most games don't give you the choice. Developers could give the player the choice if they wanted to. It's just that it would mean more work for them. More work - why bother?
Moon-Safari
11-12-06, 02:45
if they assigned navigation to the d-pad, then the left analog stick could be freed up for a new feature. like lets say they could use it for manual aiming. if you pressed it down, it would draw laras weapons and then you could target an object over her shoulder. or they could just give us the option to use the D-pad for navigation and the analog for gun selection.
I've mastered both the D-pad & analog controls in TR games. Games just don't use D-pad anymore & there's something a little robotic about it. Analog control is more graceful, if analog control is hard in a game then it's not the control method itself thats at fault, but the programming for that game. ;)
The D-pad control was great in the originals but the analog control is also great in TR Legend. The ease you can navigate in Legend is down to the design of the level layout & not because analog control makes it too easier! I really doubt that the D-pad will be used of even be a control method option in TRA, of future TR games (or most new games).:)
Oh I would also just like to add that I wouldn't mind if there were an option to use the D-pad as I find both this & analog just fine as a control method.:)
I prefer the analog sticks over the D-Pad. For the newer TR games, anyway. I only play the old ones on PC.
Ada the Mental
11-12-06, 13:05
Nah,I'm used to the analog sticjs now.I don't think that the slightly robotic movement of he D-Pad would suit new games...
Lara's Boy
11-12-06, 14:07
You can tell the pros of old school D-pad controllers, they all have huge callouses on their thumbs! :p I guess the rookies don't want to put up with sore thumbs... :mis:
Ah...brings back memories of the sore, bandaged thumbs of my youth :D
I would really love the D-Pad to return; I always felt it was more accurate and easier to manage. However, with the new camera system, I think still using the D-Pad would be a disaster! If they returned to the fixed camera angle from the classics, then I believe the D-Pad would probaly return.
If anything, directional pads.
Without the screen lever
It's to do with the camera angles I think, so unless they've got options for the old camera system as well (Hah, only in my dreams) then I can't see the Dpad options returning :(
My dreams too http://209.85.12.234/html/emoticons/mellow.gif (on PC that is)
AnthonyShock1515
11-12-06, 16:58
naaa, I think MOST of the legend controls should stay.
I think the LR triggers on the back should control each pistol, like the L controls the Left pistol and vice versa.
it doesn't bother me whether I use the D-Pad or Analog stick, I can use them both.:)
I just finished TR1 and so my fingers have only just gotten used to D-Pad again. I suppose it's a little like a joystick, except in the middle of the D-pad, the stick is missing.
You can actually cover all 4 D-Pad buttons at the same time with 1 thumb, and then move your thumb slightly in different directions and you're kind of simulating some jerky movements of a joystick (remember those clunky joysticks they used to have years ago?)
But, I do miss the precision you get with D-Pad. I tried switching to analog sticks in the older TRs, but you have to be very delicate with the movements and lining Lara up for a jump, so I gave up in the end and went back to good old faithful D-Pad.
I would love the D Pad to come back (along with the original controls) but I don't think they could be made to work with the new graphics. The beauty of the old system was that you could interact with the whole landscape - if there was a ledge within reach you could climb it, even if there was nothing when you got up there. I think that the sacrifice made for flashy graphics is less exploration through the levels.
I don't care, but I think TRA will use analog sticks.
:wve:
fallenangle
13-12-06, 00:09
Until TR: AOD the D-Pad was by far the best method of playing all the earlier TRs, even after they introduced analogue stick control with TR3,
I've always preferred it for it's precision and subtlty.
In fact the TR3/4/5 analogue joystick controls on the PS were just awful - just getting Lara to walk in a straight line was an accomplishment. The dead zone on the Dualshock sticks combined with the poor responsiveness all PS TRs have was more than enough reason to stick to the D-Pad. However when introduced I did start using the right analogue stick for 'free look'.
Interestingly the DC versions of TR4/5 also had a unique and rather good mix of D-Pad and (better) joystick control, splitting walk/run between the two.
vBulletin® v3.8.4, Copyright ©2000-2010, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.