Lately a recent trend of mine has been trading my keyboard/mouse for a controller. Five years ago the thought of playing a PC game with a controller would’ve seemed like a ridiculous idea. This trend of mine started last year with the Witcher 2, where I could not wrap my head around playing with the keyboard and mouse and quickly plugged in my Xbox 360 controller for a better experience.
Recently I was fortunate enough to get into the Diablo III beta, and after fiddling with game for an hour or so I realized the game wasn’t that much fun playing with keyboard/mouse. As a matter of fact I didn’t even need the keyboard I was easily playing the game with one hand on the mouse and the other hand holding a drink.
For me that was unacceptable, I wanted my left hand to be just as active as my right one (this sentence can be taken out of context) so I started thinking, what if I was playing with a controller? Well as of now Diablo III does not support controller (although Blizzard is working on that) so I downloaded Xpadder, a software that allows you remap buttons on your controller to emulate keyboard strokes and mouse movements.
After setting it up I booted up the game and started playing with the controller. At first it was a bit hard to get used to the controller, but practice makes perfect and I soon found myself dominating just as hard as if I was using a mouse. But most importantly I was having more fun playing the game with a controller. Both my hands were being put to good use and to me it really felt like I was playing a game.
Most PC gamers I know would be puzzled as of why one would choose to play with controller, as a matter of fact most of my friends and staff were baffled when they saw me playing with controller and told me that they would take keyboard/mouse any day over controller to play Diablo III. To each their own but I would say at least try it before making any judgments on a certain play style.
If what I played is any indication of how the game may function on a console then Diablo III is a perfect fit for console owners. In the past I would be against such thing, but I am on-board for what this game can be like if played on a controller.
If a person is not using one hand/the keyboard that would suggest to me that the person is clicking all their skills with the mouse in order to use them... while I can see that being possible in the beta, I can't imagine that being a reasonable way to do anything even remotely difficult in this type of game.
While I think it's cool that some people have found unique input methods to play the game with (I've always thought that maybe I should learn to use a trackball for games, for instance) I really doubt that the reasoning behind it (only using one hand) will really be an issue once there is even the slightest chance of being killed by things.
Well, some of the classes didn't need more then a few skills in the beta, some were quite useless without the ability to rune them, if i needed a 3rd of 4th skill i just binded them to the mouse, i hardly ever use my keyboard hand in the beta.
I don't really understand the appeal of the controller for a game like this - the joystick controls the mouse cursor? That sounds like it would make it more difficult and awkward to pick up a piece of armor, open up your equipment panel, swap gear around, etc.
If a person is not using one hand/the keyboard that would suggest to me that the person is clicking all their skills with the mouse in order to use them... while I can see that being possible in the beta, I can't imagine that being a reasonable way to do anything even remotely difficult in this type of game. While I think it's cool that some people have found unique input methods to play the game with (I've always thought that maybe I should learn to use a trackball for games, for instance) I really doubt that the reasoning behind it (only using one hand) will really be an issue once there is even the slightest chance of being killed by things.
Or they are like a lot of us and have a mouse that has all the spells hotkeyed to it, never use the keyboard (other than to open menus, but that is rare) Actually my inventory and spell menus are tied to the mouse as well
Or they are like a lot of us and have a mouse that has all the spells hotkeyed to it, never use the keyboard (other than to open menus, but that is rare) Actually my inventory and spell menus are tied to the mouse as well
I bet many people think they will use all those mouse buttons as they do in for example WoW. In this game clicking different parts of screen accurately will be more important than mouse buttons and with most of the mouses buttons are not located convenient enough to easily move it and press buttons at the same time. IMO the best mouse for this game is one which has just 2 or 3 buttons all at the top of the mouse. The best would be one without stupid scroll and instead it would have normal 3rd button there. This way no matter how fast you would move your mouse and how often I doubt anyone would press any button to slow or by accident.
If you are using a non-standard mouse with 4 buttons in addition to the left and right mouse clicking, and then complaining about not using both hands, then you're the one to blame for your situation though. If not, then everything is fine with using one hand.
My point about a mouse only was that in order for you to play the game with only one hand, you have to be deliberately making it such through one way or another. It's not just that this game was designed to use one hand so the controller is the answer...
My only worry is the accuracy of a controller on higher difficulties. If you playing solo this wouldn't really matter but once you start to multi this COULD (no way without seeing it in hell/inferno) pose a problem with the group dynamic. Also while this could be quick for melee, this would pose targeting problems for AoE abilities that need a targeted location. Especially if you placing them on opposite ends of the screen in quick succession.
I could see this being really workable. The right stick for aiming an the left for moving. I honestly find myself wishing from time to time that I could use WSAD to move around so I could just use my mouse to aim, but Blizz didn't want to add that feature
I can see it working on a console, but it would change a lot of the mechanics of the abilities.
For example, with a controller, there's no way to project Corpse Spiders (hover over the link to see a tooltip!!! Yay) to the location you want. Sure you can aim in a direction, but you can't indicated how far to throw it.
Or they are like a lot of us and have a mouse that has all the spells hotkeyed to it, never use the keyboard (other than to open menus, but that is rare) Actually my inventory and spell menus are tied to the mouse as well
I bet many people think they will use all those mouse buttons as they do in for example WoW. In this game clicking different parts of screen accurately will be more important than mouse buttons and with most of the mouses buttons are not located convenient enough to easily move it and press buttons at the same time. IMO the best mouse for this game is one which has just 2 or 3 buttons all at the top of the mouse. The best would be one without stupid scroll and instead it would have normal 3rd button there. This way no matter how fast you would move your mouse and how often I doubt anyone would press any button to slow or by accident.
I'll have you know I play just as good with mouse and keyboard as I do alone with my Naga Epic. All the buttons are conveniently located at my thumb which handles 1-5 and that's about it.
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Not even Death will save you from Diablo Bunny's Cuteness!
I can see it working on a console, but it would change a lot of the mechanics of the abilities.
For example, with a controller, there's no way to project Corpse Spiders (hover over the link to see a tooltip!!! Yay) to the location you want. Sure you can aim in a direction, but you can't indicated how far to throw it.
Think about it this way, it got you your 1500th post. Grats
I can see it working on a console, but it would change a lot of the mechanics of the abilities.
For example, with a controller, there's no way to project Corpse Spiders (hover over the link to see a tooltip!!! Yay) to the location you want. Sure you can aim in a direction, but you can't indicated how far to throw it.
Basically my thoughts. In fact, I was thinking of exactly that skill too.
I could see it being fun, but I just can't see it working as well, unless there is a big change in spells. If we liken D3 to Bastion, gameplaywise, then we what might have to be done - everything is either a single direction (Incinerate), cast at your feet (caltrops), or thrown at a set distance. Again, I just can't see how D3, as it is, could succesfully be played at high levels, given how hard they claim Inferno is going to be.
And on a side note, is anyone else sad that Caltrops is not a thrown trap, but one that goes at your feet? I am.
Item management and navigating menus will be a pain without a mouse - I'm curious how they will implement this effectively. I recently bought an xbox controller for my PC to play other games, and I have to admit it's pretty darn comfortable. If I can get by playing D3 on my controller I'll definitely do so... less hand cramps == more play time
I am definitely a fan of mouse control. Just couldn't give that up for the ease of ability use a controller may offer. There always seems to me to be a problem with sensitivity of joysticks when compared to the accuracy of a mouse.
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Thoughts?
While I think it's cool that some people have found unique input methods to play the game with (I've always thought that maybe I should learn to use a trackball for games, for instance) I really doubt that the reasoning behind it (only using one hand) will really be an issue once there is even the slightest chance of being killed by things.
I don't think this can be true.
Does this man have any videos, of him playing with a controller, uploaded?
Or they are like a lot of us and have a mouse that has all the spells hotkeyed to it, never use the keyboard (other than to open menus, but that is rare) Actually my inventory and spell menus are tied to the mouse as well
I bet many people think they will use all those mouse buttons as they do in for example WoW. In this game clicking different parts of screen accurately will be more important than mouse buttons and with most of the mouses buttons are not located convenient enough to easily move it and press buttons at the same time. IMO the best mouse for this game is one which has just 2 or 3 buttons all at the top of the mouse. The best would be one without stupid scroll and instead it would have normal 3rd button there. This way no matter how fast you would move your mouse and how often I doubt anyone would press any button to slow or by accident.
My point about a mouse only was that in order for you to play the game with only one hand, you have to be deliberately making it such through one way or another. It's not just that this game was designed to use one hand so the controller is the answer...
BANISHED! I CAST THEE OUT!
seriously though, whatever makes you happy. As long as your mod is not sending anything back to Bnet, you should be fine.
I'll say what I've said before:
I'll have you know I play just as good with mouse and keyboard as I do alone with my Naga Epic. All the buttons are conveniently located at my thumb which handles 1-5 and that's about it.
Think about it this way, it got you your 1500th post. Grats
I'd play Zelda and Mario on a mouse and a keyboard if I could
Basically my thoughts. In fact, I was thinking of exactly that skill too.
I could see it being fun, but I just can't see it working as well, unless there is a big change in spells. If we liken D3 to Bastion, gameplaywise, then we what might have to be done - everything is either a single direction (Incinerate), cast at your feet (caltrops), or thrown at a set distance. Again, I just can't see how D3, as it is, could succesfully be played at high levels, given how hard they claim Inferno is going to be.
And on a side note, is anyone else sad that Caltrops is not a thrown trap, but one that goes at your feet? I am.