Best D-Pad for PC gaming

[it290]

IMO the 8bitdo M30 is leagues beyond any of Retro-bit's stuff, dpad included.

FWIW, I picked up the Fighting Commander Octa (PS5 version) and while it's okay, I honestly don't love it. The dpad is perfectly serviceable but nowhere near the level of the M30 or original Saturn pads. The clicky buttons, while nice, don't really have the right travel/feel and end up getting fatiguing to play shmups with if you're going to tap. Finally, the square button is very close to the touchpad, which means the pad constantly gets hit by accident which is an issue with things like the Capcom Fighting Collection where this button brings up the ingame menu. There's a switch on the back to disable the pad and other extra buttons like start buttons while playing, which is nice, but really it was an entirely avoidable issue anyway. I can only really recommend it for playing fighting games using claw grip, but for everything else with a six button layout I think the M30 is a better get.

[Air Master Burst]

IMO the 8bitdo M30 is leagues beyond any of Retro-bit's stuff, dpad included.

How is the latency on those? I hear the d-pad is comparable to the Retro-bit, and I would LOVE to have shoulder buttons that don't suck! I would have already grabbed a wired one if they had it, but I've had bad luck with wireless pads in the past, and the only wired ones they sell have the Nintendo style cross that I've never quite got on with.

[it290]

See here:

https://rpubs.com/misteraddons/inputlatency

I use the 2.4ghz one (wireless), which has only 1ms of latency wired but closer to 11 wireless. This isn't amazing, but it still beats out Retro-Bit's Saturn pad which clocks in at closer to 17. The Bluetooth version of the M30 also fares slightly worse than the 2.4ghz version in both wired and wireless modes but still beats out the Retro-Bit. Honestly, though, I own all of these controllers and still feel they're all pretty usable since we're still talking about less than a frame. When stuff gets into the 20-30ms range is when I really start to feel it. If you're looking for good wireless performance in a controller, Dualshock4 / Dualsense pads are some of the best lag-wise for PC use.

EDIT - also, in case this wasn't clear, you can totally use the M30 in wired/USB mode if desired. This is pretty much true with anything 8bitdo makes.

[BrianC]

Also some controller vary in response depending on platform and polling rate. If that lag detector on DS4Windows is accurate, PS4 and PS5 controllers have less lag on windows when using wireless than they do on MiSTer.

[copy-paster]

I'm using Logitech F310 controller right now. For $20 this thing is decent for retrogaming use and shmups. D-pad is circular and Saturn-style but from what I see almost every dpad on F310 have this slight rotating thing, although not a big issue and as you play more with it you probably forget it has those at all. I also heard that the analog deadzones are the worst but I haven't try FPS or 3D games yet.

[BrianC]

I'm using Logitech F310 controller right now. For $20 this thing is decent for retrogaming use and shmups. D-pad is circular and Saturn-style but from what I see almost every dpad on F310 have this slight rotating thing, although not a big issue and as you play more with it you probably forget it has those at all. I also heard that the analog deadzones are the worst but I haven't try FPS or 3D games yet.

F310 gave me problems in Blue Revolver becuase the d-pad presses all directions at once when pressed in the middle.

[copy-paster]

Yeah it register as all direction press if you press middle, better than randomly register as random diagonals though.

[SeeNoWeevil]

I had a terrible experience with the Bluetooth M30. Dropped inputs (Bluetooth in general seems unreliable in my room though) and the d-pad would sometimes stick down.

[Licorice]

I had a terrible experience with the Bluetooth M30. Dropped inputs (Bluetooth in general seems unreliable in my room though) and the d-pad would sometimes stick down.

I've had the same issue with the sticky d-pad. Drove me mad. Still one of my favorite input devices, and my go to for games that require shoulder buttons (I decided to use keyboard for everything else). I originally bought the bluetooth for use with emulation on my phone, so I might buy a receiver version for use with my desktop.

Paired with an SN-30, The only input option I don't have covered is analog stick + 6 face buttons and 2 shoulder buttons, which is used for e.g. Starfox 64.

[Infiltrator]

Hori has a new version of the Fighting Commander with improved dpad (including software-adjustable directional inputs, so you can literally turn it into a 4 way pad if you're playing Makaimura or Pac-Man or whatever) and microswitched buttons. I feel like this one is gonna be pretty hard to beat:

https://stores.horiusa.com/fighting-com ... -xbox-one/

My pad arrived today and my first impressions were that it felt nice and solid, not too heavy (no rumble motors) with a decent length cord. I first tried in on my 360 through a Wingman XB and it worked fine in the menus and stuff... up until I set about DDP DFK and realised that (apprently) they come out of the box set in 4-direction mode- wtf? Anyway, not an issue, I stuck it in my PC and downloaded the Hori app thinger which then proceeded to download a firmware update to the pad.

It was easy enough to set the dpad to normal 8-way operation but surely it should come set like that out of the box? The dpad can only be set to 4-way or 8-way, it's not multi-adjustable as such (or at least I couldn't fathom it) so the four profile settings will be for 4-way/8-way and a set of button remaps.

The dpad is precise and has a good amount of resistance to presses, not mushy at all, no float and feels nice to use. Once I'd swapped it to 8-way was nice to use in PC Annalynn and UMvC3, I didn't have time to try it in any shmups once I'd changed it.

The short throw analog stick is brilliant, it's quite heavily sprung with a definite snap back to centre but it makes sense with the short throw. I tried it in XB360 Daytona through a Wingman XB and it was fine, all the buttons did what they needed to do.

There are 6 microswitched face buttons (A, B, X, Y, RB & RT) and the LB and LT buttons are on the right shoulder where RB & RT would usually be. Where the LT & LT buttons would usually be (ie on the left shoulder) are now the Left Stick Button and Right Stick Button which is a really cool touch. I've always found those stick buttons less than useless and in some games they just get in the way if they're used for anything. The microswitches are nice and light when you press them.

TL:DR- Nice pad, it's replaced both the 360 Afterglow (shmups) and Mad Catz SF4 (fighting games) pads I was using

Just noticed this post now. That Hori Pad does look interesting. Do you have experience with the previous Hori 6 D-Pad? And have you since tried D-Pad on shmups?

[BareKnuckleRoo]

I used to use Hori's earlier XB360 iteration of their 6 button pad, the EX 2 Turbo:



The D-Pad is great for shmups, no complaints with the buttons. There are only two complaints I ever had with it: the first being that the D-Pad wasn't positioned where the analog stick was (their fighting commander pad was even better for pure D-Pad only gaming). And second, the analog stick started ghosting a bit (why we still lack good built-in deadzone options in games as a standard config feature is beyond me, it'd fix so many "ghosting" sticks just to raise deadzone a bit). A friend who had the pad also ended up having the same ghosting issue on the left analog stick eventually. However, if you don't care about the analog stick, you can physically disable it by literally using pliers to rip out the joystick which breaks the connection without affecting the rest of the controller.

Hori also made a later pad called a Gem Pad EX (brightly coloured, slightly less firm D-Pad but still solid for gaming). You can generally trust them to nail a good D-Pad I think.

[sunnshiner]

Hori has a new version of the Fighting Commander with improved dpad (including software-adjustable directional inputs, so you can literally turn it into a 4 way pad if you're playing Makaimura or Pac-Man or whatever) and microswitched buttons. I feel like this one is gonna be pretty hard to beat:

https://stores.horiusa.com/fighting-com ... -xbox-one/

My pad arrived today and my first impressions were that it felt nice and solid, not too heavy (no rumble motors) with a decent length cord. I first tried in on my 360 through a Wingman XB and it worked fine in the menus and stuff... up until I set about DDP DFK and realised that (apprently) they come out of the box set in 4-direction mode- wtf? Anyway, not an issue, I stuck it in my PC and downloaded the Hori app thinger which then proceeded to download a firmware update to the pad.

It was easy enough to set the dpad to normal 8-way operation but surely it should come set like that out of the box? The dpad can only be set to 4-way or 8-way, it's not multi-adjustable as such (or at least I couldn't fathom it) so the four profile settings will be for 4-way/8-way and a set of button remaps.

The dpad is precise and has a good amount of resistance to presses, not mushy at all, no float and feels nice to use. Once I'd swapped it to 8-way was nice to use in PC Annalynn and UMvC3, I didn't have time to try it in any shmups once I'd changed it.

The short throw analog stick is brilliant, it's quite heavily sprung with a definite snap back to centre but it makes sense with the short throw. I tried it in XB360 Daytona through a Wingman XB and it was fine, all the buttons did what they needed to do.

There are 6 microswitched face buttons (A, B, X, Y, RB & RT) and the LB and LT buttons are on the right shoulder where RB & RT would usually be. Where the LT & LT buttons would usually be (ie on the left shoulder) are now the Left Stick Button and Right Stick Button which is a really cool touch. I've always found those stick buttons less than useless and in some games they just get in the way if they're used for anything. The microswitches are nice and light when you press them.

TL:DR- Nice pad, it's replaced both the 360 Afterglow (shmups) and Mad Catz SF4 (fighting games) pads I was using

Just noticed this post now. That Hori Pad does look interesting. Do you have experience with the previous Hori 6 D-Pad? And have you since tried D-Pad on shmups?

I haven't tried the earlier pad, no. The d-pad on this controller is pretty good for shmups but I'm probably not the best person to give advice on it because I'm not very good!

[Infiltrator]

Just noticed this post now. That Hori Pad does look interesting. Do you have experience with the previous Hori 6 D-Pad? And have you since tried D-Pad on shmups?

I haven't tried the earlier pad, no. The d-pad on this controller is pretty good for shmups but I'm probably not the best person to give advice on it because I'm not very good!

Is the D-Pad gentle and effortless to press or is there quite a bit of resistance making it feel like work? ie. By comparison to the prior 6-button fighting commander D-Pad I posted earlier, which felt akin to a thumb exercising D-Pad in how much effort (due to strong resistance) was required to press.

[BrianC]

you got the tags mixed up. I found the d-pad on the Fighting Commander Octa to be very good. Doesn't feel like too much resistance to press, but it's made of harder plastic and the tips of the d-pad, while not sharp, are less smooth. The buttons are a huge improvement and are microswitched. Very nice feel.

[Lander]

The 2.4Ghz Retro-Bit Saturn pad is the best I've used: Nice even response for easy directional rolls, not too much resistance, and good protocol / button mapping options.
However, beware the wired version; I recently picked one up for 10 quid thinking it was a steal based on my experience with the wireless one, but it feels way worse - stiff pad, stiff buttons, just generally cheaper and nastier.

I'm surprised to see the 8bitdo M30 get so much love. I have the 2.4Ghz version, and despite edging it out in material and build quality, the experience is poor compared to the Saturn pad - the D-Pad has too much resistance and doesn't consistently hit diagonals, and there's no option to switch it between DInput and XInput protocols so actually getting it to work with a given piece of software is really hit-or-miss.

[Infiltrator]

Alright, the Hori Fighting Commander OCTA just arrived a bit ago. Downloaded firmware and gave it a test run with Gradius III SNES. And the verdict is not good.

It all seemed good at the start before I got to gameplay, such as the resistance felt minimal and gentle. However once arrived at gameplay, the transition to diagonals isn't that smooth. ie. I'm dodging bullets with the diagonals barely registering, thus feeling like I'm mostly dodging bullets with the right-to-down, instead of smooth right-to right/down-to-down transition (the desired result of almost circling around bullets).

So this controller is already packed and ready to be returned.

The 2.4Ghz Retro-Bit Saturn pad is the best I've used: Nice even response for easy directional rolls, not too much resistance, and good protocol / button mapping options.
However, beware the wired version; I recently picked one up for 10 quid thinking it was a steal based on my experience with the wireless one, but it feels way worse - stiff pad, stiff buttons, just generally cheaper and nastier.

I'm surprised to see the 8bitdo M30 get so much love. I have the 2.4Ghz version, and despite edging it out in material and build quality, the experience is poor compared to the Saturn pad - the D-Pad has too much resistance and doesn't consistently hit diagonals, and there's no option to switch it between DInput and XInput protocols so actually getting it to work with a given piece of software is really hit-or-miss.

Thanks for the warning on the wired ones. I was thinking of trying the Saturn variant D-Pad to see how it compares to my current champ, the wired Sega Genesis 6 that adds also L and R shoulder buttons. In the area of seeing if it's got a more gentle D-Pad resistance on the Saturn variant.

Pity the wireless is no good, as I'm also looking to reduce input lag. Though with RetroArch, there seem to be enough cores (PS1, SNES, Genesis, PCE, NES, etc) that have read ahead feature for dealing with input lag... though not all, such as a fave of mine, the Sega Saturn Beetle emulator (though it has other things to help reduce input lag).

[sunnshiner]

Alright, the Hori Fighting Commander OCTA just arrived a bit ago. Downloaded firmware and gave it a test run with Gradius III SNES. And the verdict is not good.

It all seemed good at the start before I got to gameplay, such as the resistance felt minimal and gentle. However once arrived at gameplay, the transition to diagonals isn't that smooth. ie. I'm dodging bullets with the diagonals barely registering, thus feeling like I'm mostly dodging bullets with the right-to-down, instead of smooth right-to right/down-to-down transition (the desired result of almost circling around bullets).

So this controller is already packed and ready to be returned.

The 2.4Ghz Retro-Bit Saturn pad is the best I've used: Nice even response for easy directional rolls, not too much resistance, and good protocol / button mapping options.
However, beware the wired version; I recently picked one up for 10 quid thinking it was a steal based on my experience with the wireless one, but it feels way worse - stiff pad, stiff buttons, just generally cheaper and nastier.

I'm surprised to see the 8bitdo M30 get so much love. I have the 2.4Ghz version, and despite edging it out in material and build quality, the experience is poor compared to the Saturn pad - the D-Pad has too much resistance and doesn't consistently hit diagonals, and there's no option to switch it between DInput and XInput protocols so actually getting it to work with a given piece of software is really hit-or-miss.

Thanks for the warning on the wired ones. I was thinking of trying the Saturn variant D-Pad to see how it compares to my current champ, the wired Sega Genesis 6 that adds also L and R shoulder buttons. In the area of seeing if it's got a more gentle D-Pad resistance on the Saturn variant.

Pity the wireless is no good, as I'm also looking to reduce input lag. Though with RetroArch, there seem to be enough cores (PS1, SNES, Genesis, PCE, NES, etc) that have read ahead feature for dealing with input lag... though not all, such as a fave of mine, the Sega Saturn Beetle emulator (though it has other things to help reduce input lag).

Did you use the app to change it from 4-way to 8-way? Mine came set up 4-way for whatever reason.

[Infiltrator]

Alright, the Hori Fighting Commander OCTA just arrived a bit ago. Downloaded firmware and gave it a test run with Gradius III SNES. And the verdict is not good.

It all seemed good at the start before I got to gameplay, such as the resistance felt minimal and gentle. However once arrived at gameplay, the transition to diagonals isn't that smooth. ie. I'm dodging bullets with the diagonals barely registering, thus feeling like I'm mostly dodging bullets with the right-to-down, instead of smooth right-to right/down-to-down transition (the desired result of almost circling around bullets).

So this controller is already packed and ready to be returned.

The 2.4Ghz Retro-Bit Saturn pad is the best I've used: Nice even response for easy directional rolls, not too much resistance, and good protocol / button mapping options.
However, beware the wired version; I recently picked one up for 10 quid thinking it was a steal based on my experience with the wireless one, but it feels way worse - stiff pad, stiff buttons, just generally cheaper and nastier.

I'm surprised to see the 8bitdo M30 get so much love. I have the 2.4Ghz version, and despite edging it out in material and build quality, the experience is poor compared to the Saturn pad - the D-Pad has too much resistance and doesn't consistently hit diagonals, and there's no option to switch it between DInput and XInput protocols so actually getting it to work with a given piece of software is really hit-or-miss.

Thanks for the warning on the wired ones. I was thinking of trying the Saturn variant D-Pad to see how it compares to my current champ, the wired Sega Genesis 6 that adds also L and R shoulder buttons. In the area of seeing if it's got a more gentle D-Pad resistance on the Saturn variant.

Pity the wireless is no good, as I'm also looking to reduce input lag. Though with RetroArch, there seem to be enough cores (PS1, SNES, Genesis, PCE, NES, etc) that have read ahead feature for dealing with input lag... though not all, such as a fave of mine, the Sega Saturn Beetle emulator (though it has other things to help reduce input lag).

Did you use the app to change it from 4-way to 8-way? Mine came set up 4-way for whatever reason.

There was only one thing to turn on/off in the D-Pad section, nothing mentioning 4-way or 8-way. There were no instructions anywhere as to how to work the app either. There was a manual link to their website, but took me to their steering wheel, and didn't figure out how to navigate it back to the control pad. Nor could find anything via google or YouTube either for how that app really works. If you know something I don't, feel free to share, doesn't look like Amazon.ca person is going to arrive today for the pickup. So still have time to try something.

Showed in the app diagonals registered and could move diagonally, but they just barely seemed to register. And this wasn't the first D-Pad I noticed this more right angles movement issue, have returned several D-Pads since starting this thread. So just chalked it up to be another one of those D-Pads.


EDIT - Doubled checked and my controller wasn't stuck on 4-way, but 8-way. Also figured out how to adjust sensitivity via the app (have to use the controller only, not the mouse), and tried lowering sensitivity for left right down up more than the sensitivity of diagonals as a workaround. And nope. made it worse. Also toggled balanced on and off. Seems like an issue in the physical design of the D-Pad. It's just one of those D-Pads.

[sunnshiner]

There was only one thing to turn on/off in the D-Pad section, nothing mentioning 4-way or 8-way. There were no instructions anywhere as to how to work the app either. There was a manual link to their website, but took me to their steering wheel, and didn't figure out how to navigate it back to the control pad. Nor could find anything via google or YouTube either for how that app really works. If you know something I don't, feel free to share, doesn't look like Amazon.ca person is going to arrive today for the pickup. So still have time to try something.

Showed in the app diagonals registered and could move diagonally, but they just barely seemed to register. And this wasn't the first D-Pad I noticed this more right angles movement issue, have returned several D-Pads since starting this thread. So just chalked it up to be another one of those D-Pads.


EDIT - Doubled checked and my controller wasn't stuck on 4-way, but 8-way. Also figured out how to adjust sensitivity via the app (have to use the controller only, not the mouse), and tried lowering sensitivity for left right down up more than the sensitivity of diagonals as a workaround. And nope. made it worse. Also toggled balanced on and off. Seems like an issue in the physical design of the D-Pad. It's just one of those D-Pads.

Yeah, the lack of guidance/instructions is infuriating. I was wondering if the whole 'adjustability' thing is a bit of a sticking plaster for poor design? Like it's cheaper to make an app and call it a feature than retool for a new pad? That said, I like the pad and I can hit specials on fighting games ok with it and I don't seem to be any more terrible at shmups with it.

[Lander]

I wonder what kind of mechanism the OCTA uses if it's offering app-based sensitivity settings for its D-Pad; Traditional 4-switch designs really don't have any kind of variables to tweak, being binary by definition. The only thing I can think of offhand is some post layer that cardinalizes the output for 4-way-only games like Pac-Man, but that's a pretty niche use case.

[Steven]

The best d-pad for PC, or anything else for that matter, is on your keyboard.

[copy-paster]

^ Well said, been a keyboard player since day 1 for shmups. I do still use my F310 for Saturn and PS1 shmups, and it might be just me but I perform worse when using D-Pad for any 2D vert shmups no idea why I do better if the verts are 3D like Raystorm and Crisis.

[Air Master Burst]

The best d-pad for PC, or anything else for that matter, is on your keyboard.

I prefer a hitbox so up and down each get their own finger.

ETA: I replaced my buttons with Punk Workshop buttons with Cherry Silent Blacks, and it's real sweet.

[Steven]

The best d-pad for PC, or anything else for that matter, is on your keyboard.

I prefer a hitbox so up and down each get their own finger.

You can do that on PC as well; just map whatever you want to wherever you want it to be. If you want up to be the down arrow key and you want down to be tab or whatever, you can do that. I'm not sure why you'd want such positioning, but if that's really what you want...

[Air Master Burst]

I also prefer the larger round buttons and the layout, but that's a good point.

[Lethe]

IMO the double-thumb setup is an important part of the Hitbox layout which has a little bit of a flawed translation to keyboard. I don't know about you guys but my thumbs' fine motor is much less precise than my inner digits' so control is harder, and if I do something like pressing it against the side of the keycap to minimize the motion then I risk actuating the key by accident when I use one of my other fingers. You can do double-thumb on the spacebar but I don't like one of my movement keys being so different, plus it's cramped. It's not a big deal in stuff like fighting games where you essentially only have 3 directions, but in precise 4-way games like shmups it's been a minor stumbling block. It's still way better than using 3 fingers though.

[Air Master Burst]

I only use my left thumb on my hitbox, but I also switched the inputs so the thumb button is down and the middle finger is up. I find it more intuitive that way since I don't play fighting games so up is rarely my jump button.

[evil_ash_xero]

I've just recently got the 8Bitdo Ultimate Wired Controller, and I find it to be pretty darn good. Reminds me a lot of
the Switch's Pro Controller.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MRXMP9J?ps ... ct_details

[null1024]

I only use my left thumb on my hitbox, but I also switched the inputs so the thumb button is down and the middle finger is up. I find it more intuitive that way since I don't play fighting games so up is rarely my jump button.

I really want to install a switch in my Hitbox so I can do this without needing to open it up and swap the connections every time [especially since I think the quick disconnects are rated for like a couple dozen cycles before they wear].
I did spend some time trying to play inverted with thumb as down [both for STGs and fighting games], but ended up switching back since the default config has a ton of advantages for fighting games. Learned well enough there, but my performance in shmups is abysmal on hitbox in thumb-as-up config.

I mostly do just play shmups on keyboard, but none of my keyboards are great.
I'm kinda tempted to build another button box controler with the spare buttons I have after changing the colors on my hitbox just for playing other games with, but just for non fighting games.