What controller do you use?

[PAPER/ARTILLERY]

I'm surprised by the number of people who use keyboards, tbh.

Tried it again last night just to see if I was not giving it a fair shake and it feels really much inferior to using a gamepad. Which is also why I am intrigued if the difference b/w using a gamepad and an arcade stick is similarly vastly different.

I bought my first stick not long ago and at first it felt weird and unresponsive to be honest. Once i got used to it though it definitely improved my game. Horses for courses though, your mileage may vary etc.

[Gingerzilla]

Yeah the idea of a gamepad or the keyboard (yuk) kind of takes away the fun of the arcade and the whole experience for me I must say. But then again Rsilver gun is easier on it. Each to his own.

[gs68]

Keyboards just slow me down. I decided to give up pads and sticks for Lent (yeah I know lol religion but this was less out of faith and more out of challenging myself) and tried playing stgs on a keyboard.

I think at some point I said fuck this and stopped playing shmups altogether until Easter.

So yeah no, Saturn pad master race. And also FSTE with a Seimitsu LS-32-01 swapped in, except playing it on 99% of PC shmups is a pain in the fucking shit because doujin devs have never heard of a POV hat, and some PC shmups don't accept XInput devices at all (e.g. Crimzon Clover). That's what JoyTokey is for I guess.

[emphatic]

I've never got my hands to interface properly with a pad. I always overshoot directional presses and mashing buttons with the thumb is a crazy idea. Keyboards are great for playing most arcade games, though I still use arcade controls, as that's what I've been playing on since 1986. When I get some time to play games seriously again, I might build myself a hitbox.

[Hagane]

My problem with keyboards is pressing diagonals accurately. That's where they are much worse than sticks.

[Ex_Mosquito]

I used to play Tetris - The Gandmaster on my laptop keyboard before I decided to get the pcb, it was mainly out of convenience because I find I lose speed and precision using a pad and it's hard to play with a stick on a laptop without a dedicated table. I found after playing for 10mins on a keyboard my wrists and the back of my hands would start ache terribly, to the point where I'd have physically stop playing after 20mins because of the cramp from elevating my hand/fingers over the same keys.

The light action of Japanese controls feel effortless and more natural to me.

[Sinful]

Well, I wish I had I good Arcade Stick (only got Street Fighter & MK Sticks), so that making the transition to Sticks easier (plus I need a better setup for them. As I play gaming on a bed).

So yeah, I just use gamepads now, since the NES days. Preferably with a circle D-Pad a la Sega Genesis 6 button pad/Japanese Saturn, and X-Box 360 (thought the 360 D-Pad could be much better). For my Plastation 3 & PSP, I slap a PSP D-Pad cover on, and preto. Instant Grade A D-Pad (better then 360 & just as good as Sega ones). Too bad this same trick don't work for PS2 gamepads. Them's are shit no matter what. And don't get me started with the PSP Go. I hate Sony D-Pads with a passion. Breaks my heart when I seem them picked as fave.

Xbox 360: Official wireless controller
PC: Shitty typewriter-like keyboard

Why not pick up a cheap X-Box 360 wired controller? (Get the white coloured GameStop ones. Even though their Analog sticks ain't as good & gamepad probably won't last as long. As other wired 360 pads have a really strange D-Pads that make you feel like you're power drunk playing. I kid not).

[Gingerzilla]

Ok just solved the Sega Saturn problem today by making a quick trip to Akiharbara by chance as I was that end of town. BooMZ
Just picked up mint condition Sega HS-0130
So happy now (like you cant tell) What a beast. Got it cheap ($50 less than Amazon) Built like a tank. Two players. Works like a dream.
So I will be selling the Hori ss- fighting stick if anyone wants it.

[Eno]

Wired 360 gamepad, bought it mostly for shmups. Loved playing on keyboard, but somehow used to strain my wrists pretty hard, a problem I've never had with any other game genre before.

[Seppo Hovi]

A Logitech K200 USB keyboard. It was a rather cheap one sold at the local mall, so I bought it. Has served me fine.

[Thjodbjorn]

Ok just solved the Sega Saturn problem today by making a quick trip to Akiharbara by chance as I was that end of town. BooMZ
Just picked up mint condition Sega HS-0130
So happy now (like you cant tell) What a beast. Got it cheap ($50 less than Amazon) Built like a tank. Two players. Works like a dream.
So I will be selling the Hori ss- fighting stick if anyone wants it.

Ugh. That's pretty much the stick I want most.

I typically use a Hori HRAP ex-se or the SE-Kai on the 360 for shooting.

[MathU]

I prefer a keyboard when I can (a Sidewinder X4 currently). Sadly, a controller is all but necessary when playing one of the many doujin shooters by your typical incompetent Japanese PC developers because they have the absolute worst default key setups and never any options to customize them. For those I use a Wii Classic Controller Pro. They are by far the biggest reason I ever got myself a controller for PC games in the first place, though emulating some 3D games with a real analog stick is a major plus too.

Not shooting related, but basically the only 2D games I am actually more comfortable with playing on a controller over a keyboard are puzzle games (especially Tetris Attack/Puzzle League series), I believe because they make use of rapid-fire directional tapping rather than directional holding and my left thumb is just better at that compared to the other fingers. For everything else, isolating the cardinal directions to separate digits allows for finer control compared to a directional pad, for me anyway.

The same thing applies to other inputs as well. In common with arcade tops, keyboards allow for much more finesse with lots of inputs because you don't have a single finger doing work on a bunch of face buttons; the work load can be spread out making use of more of your hand instead. They allow for much easier button mashing too.

[Bananamatic]

5+ years old Logitech Classic Keyboard 200 from Tesco that cost $10 with both legs broken, a missing button and full of neckbeard droppings

[CHI]

just plain old-school and use an arcade stick

Any stick and buttons will do, i can't shmup with a pad

[Despatche]

various real keyboards. i have never ever ever ever been able to make a pad "work" for any [type of] game, and i really doubt that would change if i tried a saturn pad. i'd like a stick for fighting games, and i'll probably make it a hitbox.

people who say gamepads are better than keyboards have no idea how important having access to three directions at the same time (as opposed to one) is. it's got nothing to do with fanboyism or getting used to anything or whatever, that's gamepads.

please do not ever use a laptop or laptop style (apple) keyboard for anything, let alone playing games; that is probably where a lot of the hate/apathy is coming from.

i'm bad at games because i don't put effort into anything i do, not because i use a keyboard. a keyboard is not some disadvantage to be overcome; that's gamepads.

[heisenbergman]

^ what keyboard should one use and how should it be configured? I only have access to a laptop keyboard because I game on a, well, laptop.

[Nasirosuchus]

Either a Dualshock 1 or Dualshock 2 controller.

[Zengeku3]

^ what keyboard should one use and how should it be configured? I only have access to a laptop keyboard because I game on a, well, laptop.

Unless your laptop keyboard is giving you noticeable issues when playing, you should just stick to using it.

[Ed Oscuro]

^ what keyboard should one use and how should it be configured? I only have access to a laptop keyboard because I game on a, well, laptop.

I haven't gotten one yet but:
http://codekeyboards.com/

However, I play Typing of...the DYEED (and everything else) just fine with a "nasty" bubble membrane Saitek.

I think any keyboard is fine really, so long as it has properly shaped keys and a good enough key rollover (N-key rollover, aka NKRO, is the best but probably not important; I believe the CODE keyboard page when you say that CTRL + ALT + SHIFT not adding to NKRO is a good thing, and then you've still got the arrow keys and so on).

[Bananamatic]

please do not ever use a laptop or laptop style (apple) keyboard for anything, let alone playing games; that is probably where a lot of the hate/apathy is coming from.

I got pretty high scores on chorensha normal/hard on a netbook

[cskcsk]

Madcatz se with seimitsu Ls 32-1 and clear top seimitsu buttons (forgot the model no.)
Ls32 has been getting a little loose , looking for something with a very short throw to replace.

[null1024]

I usually use my white JP Saturn pad or a charcoal SCPH-1080 PS1 controller.

[MSZ]

The current stick I use:

[spadgy]

I could only ever use a stick to really enjoy a shmup. Seimitsu LS-56-01 sticks mechanisms tend to be the ones I prefer to chuck into stick casings.

EDIT: I also really do like the better iOS shmups, so also my finger!

[Bonus!]

(dumb question, deleted)

[manatworks]

ok, i used usb saturn pad most of the time. used to have EX-SE but have to let it go because of moving : P

[hecheff]

DDR Mat

On the other hand, this would be a flashy way of inputting the Konami Code.

[evil_ash_xero]

For shmups on the Xbox and Dreamcast, I use a Saturn pad via adapters, unless it uses too many buttons(Galuda II). Then I use a PS2 pad on the Xbox, and the official pad for Dreamcast.

On PC, I use a Logitech Rumble Pad.

Everything else, I just use the default system controllers.

[nesrulz]

I use my custom arcade stick, for all arcade games, especially for shmups.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=treGjcGXi-Q

Of course, there are exceptions, example: OutRun. And then I use another controller, example: gamepad or wheel.

[Picozord]

I mostly use this: