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why not just make kb and mouse usable on consoles
Battlerock
Member CommonPosts: 1,393
in Hardware
Im seeing alot of buzz about mmo on consoles. Everone thinks you need to dumb it down to play with a controller. Why not just require and enenable mouse and kb?
Comments
It's not so much a matter of not being able to add mouse and kybd, but that they don't necessarily work for how people play their console games. The console unit is usually near the TV and a good 6 or more feet from the user. The user is often sitting on the floor, recliner, or couch with little, if any, surface area for a mouse, let alone a stable surface for a keyboard.
In that light, it's important not to require a mouse and keyboard. At best, make it optional.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
You would be right on a NES or SNES, put the controller have gotten more complex than a keyboard in the past 10 years.
PS3 can use USB keyboards and mice.
Im currently playing Dust 514 with a keyboard and mouse.
Its up to the developer to implement keyboard and mouse controls however. DCUO could use keyboard for typing but not mouse for controls.
Requiring the use of keyboard and mouse would cut the target audience to "console owners, who like MMOs, own keyboard and mouse they can attach to their consoles, and have their console placed so that they can use keyboard and mouse with it comfortably and effectively for longer periods". It's so small a population that it would be hard to make the game financially viable, and it's hard to justify targeting to that population when most of those people likely also have PC and PC gamers are so much larger audience.
The "require" part is why it wont work. You'll see all kinds of crazy logic about where people sit and such but people hook computers up to TVs all the time and sit in the same places they do when they play a console.
There isn't a good reason why they don't support kb+mouse as far as I can tell.. There is a good reason why they don't require it though.
I had a keyboard, mouse, and mic for my Dreamcast console.....
Sony won>>>The end
Rage quits ensue.
You actually couldn't be more wrong. A two year old is better with a controller because that's what you've chosen to put them in front of and teach. Put that 2 year old in front of a computer and they will learn the proper controls in no greater amount of time. Source: I have kids.I really doubt the OP had 2-year olds in mind when this thread was created...
That Guild Wars 2 login screen knocked up my wife. Must be the second coming!
The common reasons for not requiring it has already been discussed so I'll leave that dead horse alone.
With regards to making it optional however I didn't notice anyone state why companies don't pursue this route and typically it is because of production cost.
The VAST majority of games on consoles will in fact be played via a controller and in some case are better suited for it. Most, not all mind you, games that have attempted to provide support for one or the other end up making a GUI system that easily favors one setup over another in which case there is always plenty of lashing out by the community that came up short.
That is a LOT of extra time and thus money that is spent on a system which ultimately frustrates the intended audience. By definition that is not a good business model to pursue. The few instances where this is not necessarily true were usually games that were developed from the ground up with console/pc compatibility.
TLDR: Added production cost is generally not worth the effort.
Well first of all all current gen consoles have USB ports for keyboard and mouse so it is already possible its just up to the game to have that option.
Second of all most gamers that primarily play on consoles like to play games with gamepads. Pretty much all my friends think playing games with keyboards is silly and uncomfortable.
Me personally who plays games with both but still prefer to use gamepads over KB and mouse if the game has gamepad choice as an option if i play a game on PC.
Yes because no one who plays on consoles also plays or uses PCs................ This is modern times the home computer is as common place as the television and used by all age groups in most homes.
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The Eagle, yes? I have one of those too. All it does is emulate the controller with the kb+m. It's good enough, but it's nowhere near as what it should be with native kb+m support. And when the aim assist kicks in, ugh...
PS3 has always supported usb kb+m natively, but very few developers ever added support. CS:GO and (as someone else mentioned) DUST 514 have built in support. I think there's one more, but the name eludes me.
So I guess it's better to ask the console developers :P
Consoles do have this thing called Voice chat. Also as has already been said you can plug a keyboard in for typing if you feel the need.
No signature, I don't have a pen
in final fantasy 11 people just used a USB keyboard for chat if they were playing it on a console
Are you shitting me? Does M+KB actually work properly as a controller method in DUST? Please say yes...
Also, I agree with OP, optional proper M+KB support would do only good for the next gen consoles, RTS games could storm the console market which would be a big plus. Plastic desktop-board for couch use, 10 bucks, less if you tinker one your self, takes about 15 minutes to make a decent one.
It's also worth mentioning that there is no rule to use consoles in livingroom while sitting on the couch, you can use it just like the PC should you choose to do so, sitting at the desk only difference being that your PC unit is now replaced with a console.
I can see many people including my self doing this if M+KB support would become standard controlling method for a next gen console. Heck, many people might buy an extra console just to use the machines in two different setups. When the prices go down, you can buy two consoles anyway with half the price of one high end gaming PC.
I use mouse and keyboard almost exclusively in DUST 514. The only thing I use the controller for is the vehicles. I just find them easier to drive with the controller.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
Time to promote my PS3 from exclusive BR/Netflix player to a gaming machine then. Exciting times indeed.
As was mentioned allready. Unreal3 and Dust514 are basically the only games that offer nativ USB keyboard and mouse support and they work like a charm.
Adding this support is down to the devs, but they usually don't bother, as this would require additional work and would alienate alot of the console-players, who sit on their couch with a gamepad.
Look at Dust514 were the people with keyboard and mouse pawn the gamepad-players in that regard.
There's aftermarket solutions to this issue in the form of special hardware/controllers to emulate keyboard and mouse. FragFX, Hori, Eagle, etc.. just to name a few. They don't work exactly like a keyboard/mouse-combo on a PC unfortunately and feel rather sluggish due to the linear input.