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PC to Console FPS -help-

Giggzy

Member
I made the decision a few months prior to the release of the X1/PS4 that I wanted to take my focus away from PC gaming and into console gaming. I'm sure I'm in the minority with that decision, but that's neither here nor there...

My question is, how the hell do you aim with a controller? Transitioning from the precision of a mouse to a controller is extremely difficult for me so far.

Any tips to get better besides playing more?
Should sensitivity be high or low?
Certain way to grip the controller?
Better button layout?

All help is wanted!
 

Zomba13

Member
I made the decision a few months prior to the release of the X1/PS4 that I wanted to take my focus away from PC gaming and into console gaming. I'm sure I'm in the minority with that decision, but that's neither here nor there...

My question is, how the hell do you aim with a controller? Transitioning from the precision of a mouse to a controller is extremely difficult for me so far.

Any tips to get better besides playing more?
Should sensitivity be high or low?
Certain way to grip the controller?
Better button layout?

All help is wanted!
Badly.
 

Blinck

Member
I made the decision a few months prior to the release of the X1/PS4 that I wanted to take my focus away from PC gaming and into console gaming. I'm sure I'm in the minority with that decision, but that's neither here nor there...

My question is, how the hell do you aim with a controller? Transitioning from the precision of a mouse to a controller is extremely difficult for me so far.

Any tips to get better besides playing more?
Should sensitivity be high or low?
Certain way to grip the controller?
Better button layout?

All help is wanted!

Honestly is just practice.
Also accept the fact that you will never aim as good as on the PC, for obvious reasons.

But yeah just practice and try different sensitivity levels.
 

lethial

Reeeeeeee
I made the decision a few months prior to the release of the X1/PS4 that I wanted to take my focus away from PC gaming and into console gaming. I'm sure I'm in the minority with that decision, but that's neither here nor there...

My question is, how the hell do you aim with a controller? Transitioning from the precision of a mouse to a controller is extremely difficult for me so far.

Any tips to get better besides playing more?
Should sensitivity be high or low?
Certain way to grip the controller?
Better button layout?

All help is wanted!

Aside from playing more, these are all very subjective questions. Try it out for a bit, switch up the buttons and sensitivity to what you like.
 

ElTorro

I wanted to dominate the living room. Then I took an ESRAM in the knee.
My question is, how the hell do you aim with a controller? Transitioning from the precision of a mouse to a controller is extremely difficult for me so far.

It's crucial to fine-tune your aim by strafing with the left stick, not by trying to align the crosshair with the right stick. The adjustments made by strafing are slower and hence more precise. The right stick is only good for the initial and rather rough aiming.
 

Durante

Member
My question is, how the hell do you aim with a controller?
Nobody knows. Some people think they do, but it's mostly just clever software.

It does get better with practice, but you never remotely reach the level of accuracy and responsiveness possible on a mouse.
 

madmook

Member
Just play more, you'll get better.

Sensitivity high/low is a personal preference and usually does not equate to skill.
 
My question is, how the hell do you aim with a controller?

At my first my response was to laugh at you, but I understand and respect your decision. Making the jump from a K&B to a controller is simply going to take some time and also some assistance from auto-aim, usually FPS games include that function.

All I can say is trial & error and make use of those sensitivity sliders.
 

see5harp

Member
I have no problem going back and forth from console to PC. Aim will never been exactly the same as with raw mouse control but you should be fine. Typically I just leave at the default setting for sensitivity.
 

erpg

GAF parliamentarian
I've done the same, and it's a hard transition, especially with games like Killzone which don't offer auto aim.

Every game does auto aim a bit differently, so it's just something you have to keep at and practise.
 

Haunted

Member
Press LT (that's the left trigger), the game should lock on to the nearest head. Now press RT (that's the right trigger), you should score a headshot and win the game!

If this doesn't work for you, check the options for an "aim assist" or "sticky aim" option and crank those babies up!
 

ElTorro

I wanted to dominate the living room. Then I took an ESRAM in the knee.
By the way, aiming in FPS games was the one thing the Wii Remote was really good for, at least in those games with good implementations like Metroid Prime 3.
 

Grief.exe

Member
Any tips to get better besides playing more?
Should sensitivity be high or low?
Certain way to grip the controller?
Better button layout?

All help is wanted!

To be honest I watched some pro COD gameplay after Eurogamer posted that tournament last year where both teams were yelling at each other like 12 year olds.

I saw pro players missing way too many shots, I don't think you can ever be really good at console FPS, just proficient enough to beat other players.
 

Evolved1

make sure the pudding isn't too soggy but that just ruins everything
Auto-aim is there for a reason.

If you're good with a controller, auto-aim is actually an annoyance.

Press LT (that's the left trigger), the game should lock on to the nearest head. Now press RT (that's the right trigger), you should score a headshot and win the game!

If this doesn't work for you, check the options for an "aim assist" or "sticky aim" option and crank those babies up!

Hahaha so salty... yeah, it's easier to aim with a controller now. That's why m&kb players dominate gamepad users in head to head. Must be their immense skill!
 

Chettlar

Banned
High sensitivity, and make small adujstments by strafing while you aim.

I was about to suggest the opposite. Several people said high sensitivity, but that made it more difficult, since I didn't understand how the stick really worked well (cerebrally I did, but not as far as learning the feel I didn't).



I think actually lower sentivity is better, OP, since you have more time to learn and get the feel for the stick. High sensitivity can actually be frustrating since "I DIDN'T MEAN TO TURN THAT MUCH DAMNIT."

And yes, just practice. Try some games that have a right-stick-is-camera mechanic (FPS, TPS, etc.) that are more slow paced. You'll get the feel for it soon enough.
 

Giggzy

Member
"aim assist"

How dare you betray the glorious master gaming race !!! D:

I know, I know. I see I'm getting some responses in regards to leaving PC. I guess the older I've got the more I enjoy "couch gaming" and also playing with friends and family, which they've always been console gamers.
 

patapuf

Member
Strafe and adjust with the other stick

tinker with the sensitivity until you find your sweet spot (which may change once you get more used to it).

After that it's just practice. It's a bit less intuitive than mouse controls but it works well enough.
 

test_account

XP-39C²
I think you will just have to practice and try to get used to it. I used to play a lot of first person shooters on PC, and i couldnt play it on console because it was too difficult to aim (this was back in the PS2 days though). Now i play Killzone Shadow Fall on PS4 and have no real problem with aiming (this is a game without aim assist).


I saw pro players missing way too many shots, I don't think you can ever be really good at console FPS, just proficient enough to beat other players.
The word "good" is always compared to something though. But this is the whole point with competitive gaming, regardless of which platform you're playing on. You get on the same playing field, and those who are better usually wins.
 

Randam

Member
Start with a lower sensitivity.
I am pretty good at cod on consoles, but after a break I start with lower sensitivity.

And yeah, if you aim to far to the left strafe to to right.
 

Chettlar

Banned
Why not just buy a keyboard and mouse adapter?

Because they are expensive.

If you do want to try that out OP, there are two main ones that work pretty well that I know of:

(Click the images)

This is probably the best one you can get. It's discontinued, but you may be able to get it on Ebay:



I have not actually used this one, but I used it's predecesor, and it was certainly serviceable:



The second one is great because it also works as a PC mouse. And if they kept the firmware update (That I myself suggested to them :D Yup, I feel proud of myself), then you can use it in place of a 360 controller on your PC, thus tricking your computer and allowing you to not have to remap the controls specifically for it (and being able to say, use it as the second controller if in a co-op game like portal, or do things like push slightly forward on the stick to go slow, since you can't do that with a normal keyboard).
 
Get an FPS Freak stick thingie, when I got mine for my 360 my K/D went way up immediately. But then you learn the game and feel of the controller better and you won't need it as much.
I don't bother with one on my PS4 now, but for a short term fix it REALLY helped me.
 
Play some single player campaign on easy. After a while I turned aim assist off because it messes up with aim.
I really recommend play some CoD SP because of aim is tuned really well and default button layout is most comfortable for most players. It is popular for the reason.
 

Evolved1

make sure the pudding isn't too soggy but that just ruins everything
There's an issue with console shooters atm where devs are giving us a really generic sensitivity slider that doesn't always allow a user to find their sweet spot.

Every console game should have acceleration, deadzone, x/ysensitivity sliders in the options... but most don't. So you're stuck with whatever dev programmer thinks is best, and often it's crap.

Look at most of the PC devs that started porting to consoles... their analog setting s are atrocious. Far Cry 2 and 3 for example... good god. FEAR.... ugh. So many, so bad.

And no options to adjust them...
 
You just have to get used to it. I remember having that problem when I was a kid. It was almost impossible for me to use an Xbox controller. Now it's basically subconscious.
 

Gestault

Member
You're learning to train a whole new set of muscle memory. Yes, you can do it, it just involves playing the games themselves. Yes, mild aim assist is something that helps. Yes, you will want to destroy the Dual Shock 3 if you end up playing with that, because its dead-zone creates some issues for precision shooters.
 

Rizsparky

Member
There's an issue with console shooters atm where devs are giving us a really generic sensitivity slider that doesn't always allow a user to find their sweet spot.

Every console game should have acceleration, deadzone, x/ysensitivity sliders in the options... but most don't. So you're stuck with whatever dev programmer thinks is best, and often it's crap.

Look at most of the PC devs that started porting to consoles... their analog setting s are atrocious. Far Cry 2 and 3 for example... good god. FEAR.... ugh. So many, so bad.

And no options to adjust them...

I agree, I hate that ADS sensitivity configuration is non existent in most shooters.
 
As someone who prefers M&K for FPS I find some console shooters are much better than others.

The Darkness and other Starbreeze games make great introductions to console FPS imo, as do 3rd person shooters which I now prefer on pads to M&K. Also Rail shooters like REZ and Child of Eden make good practice games too.

OFC you're jumping straight into Xbox 1 or PS4 so your gaming options are limited, but there is nothing stopping you from playing the PC ports with a pad.

Call of Juarez: Gunslinger improved my aiming speed (especially arcade mode), I believe it's available on PC too.
 

Giggzy

Member
Start with a lower sensitivity.
I am pretty good at cod on consoles, but after a break I start with lower sensitivity.

And yeah, if you aim to far to the left strafe to to right.

I guess that's the biggest thing I need to learn, strafing to aim. On PC strafing would be used mainly for making yourself harder to hit with all the control coming from the mouse. Now I have to adjust to strafing being an important tool to actually getting my crosshair on the enemy.
 
My question is, how the hell do you aim with a controller?

You don't

what game is it you're playing?
If call of duty you replace aiming with pressing the aim down sights button to make the aimbot snap on to the enemy, then if he moves too far you go out of ADS and then back in to reactivate it

And Op I'm really biting my lip here
 

Riptwo

Member
The transition from playing PC FPS games to console ones felt a lot like my transition from keyboard only in the Wolf 3D era to KB+M post-Quake. There's a bunch of frustration at first since you can't react like you used to, but now I find it easy to switch back and forth between the different control schemes. It just takes time before it becomes second nature.
 

Chettlar

Banned
You don't

what game is it you're playing?
If call of duty you replace aiming with pressing the aim down sights button to make the aimbot snap on to the enemy, then if he moves too far you go out of ADS and then back in to reactivate it

And Op I'm really biting my lip here

I'm really not sure why the OP is jumping into console gaming (other than he has friends with consoles and/or exclusives he wants to play), but meh, I don't see the point in discouraging him.
 

Giggzy

Member
You don't

what game is it you're playing?
If call of duty you replace aiming with pressing the aim down sights button to make the aimbot snap on to the enemy, then if he moves too far you go out of ADS and then back in to reactivate it

And Op I'm really biting my lip here

BF4. I'm trying to become adequate enough in time for Titanfall. Watching gameplay videos of the alpha test made me realize how horrible I am. I'm always aiming at the feet, or too far to the left or right of an enemy. If an enemy and I come around the corner at the same time then I'm instantly screwed. I can't twitch aim on a controller.
 

EGM1966

Member
Going by my own experience keep playing even when you want to throw the stupid inaccurate slow ass sticks controller at the wall and don't stop until you realize you're getting headshots.

Oh and immediately play with the sensitivity until you find something that aligns somewhat to your needs.
 

Gumbie

Member
OP I've moved more towards my consoles too. Fps on controller just takes getting used to. Feels weird at first just takes practice.
 

AlexBasch

Member
Funny, I can't play PC FPS's because everyone is a ninja with a death adder sidewinder gojira gaming mouse and 120FPS. ):

But yeah, after that I had to move the sensibility slider a bit more to get a hang of console aiming again. Battlefield 3 default control sensibility or whatever works very well for me, whilst I need to increase it on other games.
 

Zemm

Member
I did this with CoD4 and it was just really uncomfortable, I think people under appreciate just how comfy a good mouse and keyboard setup can be. Promised myself I'd never play a console fps online again and have stuck to that, I will occasionally play a shooter on a console but again it's just really uncomfortable. I wish they'd let you use mouse and keyboard for the single player, ban it for the MP for all I care!
 

Evolved1

make sure the pudding isn't too soggy but that just ruins everything
I agree, I hate that ADS sensitivity configuration is non existent in most shooters.

Yeah, I think there should be those three sliders for every type of camera in the game:

ADS
FPWV
FPV
OTSV

But I think most devs think so lowly of console gamers... they'd assume we'd fart and fall over dead having to deal with anything more than generic "SENSITVITY".

Right now I'm playing a lot of Warframe, and I can just feel that they have different sensitivity for X and Y axis... and I'm stuck with it. I can't get a smooth diagonal because I'm fighting their stupid presets. Set by some dev who probably doesn't even play console games primarily... why.
 
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