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DualSense Haptics May Be the Most Exciting PlayStation 5 Innovation

thelastword

Banned
The PlayStation 5 is now likely to be less than three months away and so far, it managed to garner far more interest than its main competitor, the Xbox Series X made by Microsoft.

Analysts believe the PlayStation 5 could outsell the Xbox Series X by a margin of two to one. Certainly, so far Sony has been able to 'sell' the benefits of the generational leap better than Microsoft, opting for example to develop exclusive first-party PS5 titles from the get-go.

Sony has focused on highlighting the enhanced 'sensorial' experience provided by the PlayStation 5, mainly thanks to the Tempest Engine 3D audio and the DualSense controller's adaptive triggers and haptics.

The latter may prove to be the most exciting innovation enabled by the PS5 hardware, according to many third-party developers who have already waxed praise onto the DualSense haptics capabilities, pointing out that it can produce brand new sensations while playing games. Take a look at a selection of quotes we've picked from the news.

Young Horses Games President Philip Tibitoski: Previously on pretty much any console that has vibration or rumble, it's a nice feature that sometimes can make things more immersive, but I haven't felt anything quite as intricate and sensitive as the DualSense's haptic feedback. In our game, being in first person, running on different terrain, jumping in and out of water or running into bugsnax, you can feel the difference between running on grass versus running in water versus running on sand or snow. There's weather in our game and if there's a thunderstorm and things of that nature, you can feel where the sound is coming from through the vibration.
We're also using the adaptive triggers. Different traps have different functionalities and some of those are best exhibited through, tension in those triggers or rumble in them to make you feel like you're really using them.
https://wccftech.com/playstation-5-dualsense-hines-impressive/
Bethesda Sr. VP of Marketing and Communications Pete Hines:I've gotten to try the haptic feedback and adaptive triggers on this thing and was very impressed. I think games are gonna do some really cool things with them.
https://wccftech.com/ps5s-dualsense...more-attached-to-characters-supermassive-dev/
Supermassive Games Managing Director Pete Samuels:You mentioned the PlayStation 5 DualSense controller and its features and we've been having some chats about that for a little while now about how we're going to use that.

The whole tactile thing - as much as we can transfer what you'd expect the character's experience to be directed back to the player, I think the better attachment you feel to the characters.
https://wccftech.com/dualsense-cont...uld-be-a-game-changer-says-dying-light-2-dev/
Techland Lead Gameplay Designer Tymon Smektala:I absolutely love the DualSense controller. It's an amazing design, as futuristic as we should expect in 2020 - the sci-fi times we already live in. As for the shape, we need to see how it will fit in the hands, but looking at it I get very good vibes - I think it has a chance to be one of the best in history, just big enough but neat & funky at the same time.

I also think that the haptic feedback and adaptive triggers can be real game-changers, way more than people expect right now.
https://wccftech.com/dirt-5-dev-lot...y-could-have-really-exciting-implementations/
Codemasters Development Director Robert Karp: On the PS5, for example, you have the adaptive triggers that could have some really interesting implementations - particularly for racing. There's a lot of excitement and buzz about it.

You will get different feedback based on different surfaces, we have a lot of different surface types. The haptic feedback gives us the opportunity to do something new and different, help to increase the immersion and feeling.
https://wccftech.com/every-game-des...ks-dualsense-is-a-lovely-toy-says-arkane-dev/
Arkane Lyon Game Director Dinga Bakaba:[...] something we're really excited about is the controller DualSense. It's got a lot of nice features, with the haptics feedback and the active triggers. We're a first person game, we really value immersion a lot in our games and being able to really feel the weapon in your hands, its reaction, how it reloads, how it reacts to reloading... I think every game designer in the world that got their hands on the DualSense think it's a lovely toy, and I think that the players will also enjoy those functionalities. For us, again, targeting immersion it's a really nice opportunity we're excited about, so between power and the controller, it's very, very exciting.
https://wccftech.com/playstation-5-dualsenses-vibration-weapons-clashing/
Counterplay Games Director Keith Lee:What's exciting about the DualSense controller is the fact that it has stereo vibration in terms of the rumblers, as well as resistance on the triggers, so one of the things that you can do is to create, for the first time, a sensation of your weapon hitting another weapon and how it resonates.

The fact that if you're sliding across the ground, depending on the surface of the material--you might slide on gravel or sand or water--the way the vibrations work really feel like the way that those surfaces would feel. So it's a lot more powerful in terms of creating that experience.
https://wccftech.com/quantum-error-...alsense-and-tempest-will-be-used-in-the-game/
TeamKilla Media Co-Founder Micah Jones:For example, we are going to make every gunshot vibrate the side of the hand that would be holding the handle of the gun, vibrate the controller dynamically according to where the enemy hits you. We are going to have the player go to doors that have the possibility of backdraught explosions and the character will place his left hand on the door and if it's hot the controller will vibrate on the left side of the controller to warn the player of an explosion if that door is opened.
https://wccftech.com/ghostwire-toky...rror-dev-praises-ps5s-dualsense-and-3d-audio/
Tango Gameworks Game Director Kenji Kimura:You need to experience it directly because this is very difficult to explain, but the DualSense Haptics and adaptive triggers felt so good that it surprised us. We could feel and experience the various actions and attacks like never before.

Truth to be told, we're long overdue for a control update. Motion controls went quickly out of fashion (though they did find their natural habitat in Virtual Reality games) after the Wii generation, while the DualShock 4's touchpad and lightbar didn't really add much to the experience.

Nintendo did bring an updated 'HD Rumble' system to its Joy-Con Switch controller, developed alongside Immersion Corporation, the same company behind the DualSense's haptics. However, as often is the case with Nintendo, so far HD Rumble has been mostly used well only in first-party games.

With the PS5's DualSense, it seems like many third-party studios are already fully onboard with exploiting the full potential of the highly programmable voice coil actuators, which could add another much-needed layer of immersion to our everyday gaming experience. After all, as pointed out recently by the CEO of Immersion Corporation, we are now in the realm of diminishing returns when it comes to strictly visual improvements from hardware generation to hardware generation. It is thus more important than ever to find other ways to augment the enjoyment of playing a game on a shiny new hardware such as the PS5 and adding tactile sensations that allow users to feel the surfaces their characters are walking on, or the weapons they are holding, certainly fits the bill.


https://wccftech.com/dualsense-haptics-may-be-the-most-exciting-playstation-5-innovation/
 

Lanrutcon

Member
Exciting!

...no, not really. There'll be some launch games that support it (as contractually mandated), and then it'll just quietly disappear unless it proves a massive hit. No dev is going to spend time on this unless it sells games or they get paid to support it.
 

Miles708

Member
I know a decent number of people that turns off rumble entirely by default, because they don't like it, find uncomfortable, create pain in their hands etc.

This tech is interesting for what it is: an enhancement. It will not be groundbreaking (as has not been the hd rumble on Switch) because you can't create software that uses it in a vital way, you always have to account for "normal" input.

It'll be interesting and neat. But, I suspect, nothing more.
 
Can't wait for 10 games in whole generation that will use them...
...unfortunately
Yeah, cous you can predict the future right? What happend with the touch pad on the PS4 controller wil also happen with the Dual Sence controller right? They are complete diverend futures.
Haptic feedback and adaptive triggers are complete other futures wich will have a real impact on games. The touch pad didn't. I think you are completly wrong.😉
 
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Bo_Hazem

Banned
4ciinb.jpg
 

Portugeezer

Member
I do believe that the new Dualsense features will be heavily utilised by third parties because they are passive features, not like touch pad which would have to be used differently in multiplatform games (which is why in most third party games it was just a replacement for the missing "select" button).

You can enhance a game with adaptive triggers and haptics, and technically it is still the same game on PC/XSX. But it is still a differentiator.
 
Exciting!

...no, not really. There'll be some launch games that support it (as contractually mandated), and then it'll just quietly disappear unless it proves a massive hit. No dev is going to spend time on this unless it sells games or they get paid to support it.

Using PS5API

Void OnWeaponJam
(
SetRightTriggerStrength(100.0);
)

Void OnWeaponUnjam
(
SetRightTriggerStrength(20.0);
)

I'd be surprised if implementing these features was much more complicated then that tbh.
 

John254

Banned
Yeah, cous you can predict the future right? What happend with the touch pad on the PS4 controller wil also happen with the Dual Sence controller right? They are complete diverend futures.
Haptic feedback and adaptive triggers are complete other futures wich will have a real impact on games. The touch pad didn't. I think you are completly wrong.😉
Who was talking about touch pad? I mainly thought about "Impluse Triggers" on Xbox One pad, but whatever.
But good point with that touchpad. :messenger_tears_of_joy: :messenger_tears_of_joy:

I reeeealy want to see, how many devs with games coming out this year will use Haptic Feedback besides "exclusive" or "timed exclusive" games like Spider-Man, Deathloop, Godfall etc.
 
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Dnice1

Member
Interesting comments from the CEO of ,Immersion Haptics, the company behind Switch's HD Rumble and PS5's haptic feedback.

A lot has been written about the upcoming DualSense controller for Sony’s next-gen. From the looks of it, the new haptics technology inside the controller will offer an unprecedented new experience that allows for more immersion in games. Talking to investors in Immersion’s most recent financial earnings call, CEO Ramzi Haidamus talked about the DualSense controller and how he believes that Sony has focused on the new haptics tech due to the PS4 already offering quite an outstanding audio-visual experience – one that it’s rather hard to increase by a significant amount.

We believe that Sony has done a wonderful job delivering an amazing surround sound experience over the years”, the CEO said. “That experience is pretty much maximized. In other words, it's kind of hard to increase it by a significant amount. And the same thing with video, the incredible graphics on the PS4 will be improved with the PS5. But we're getting to that point where it is quite an outstanding experience. And therefore, the question is where do you go next, which is why we believe Sony and other gaming consoles are starting to focus on haptics. It's kind of the third experience to get you more immersed in that game.”

 

Bo_Hazem

Banned
I know a decent number of people that turns off rumble entirely by default, because they don't like it, find uncomfortable, create pain in their hands etc.

This tech is interesting for what it is: an enhancement. It will not be groundbreaking (as has not been the hd rumble on Switch) because you can't create software that uses it in a vital way, you always have to account for "normal" input.

It'll be interesting and neat. But, I suspect, nothing more.

Well, there are different people in the world, of course. But pain from the rumble? Well, it's not like holding a drill or something, and rumble gives great feedback in the game.

But it's a personal prefernce. Who don't like them would say gimmick, who do would say immersive. Problem is, they are useful and people want that quality.

I think many bitching about DualSense have already spent a console-worth of money on gimmicky 3rd party controllers that are bare-bone and bland.
 
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Lanrutcon

Member
Using PS5API

Void OnWeaponJam
(
SetRightTriggerStrength(100.0);
)

Void OnWeaponUnjam
(
SetRightTriggerStrength(20.0);
)

I'd be surprised if implementing these features was much more complicated then that tbh.

Agreed, but it took 2 minutes to wrote that code, 5 minutes to review it, 2 minutes to come up with test cases, 5 minutes to get those test cases signed off, 10 minutes for that testing session, 2 minutes to make an addition to the documentation, etc etc. You know how it goes. That's all time that could have been spent on some shrinking horse balls or something.
 

kuncol02

Banned
Yeah, cous you can predict the future right? What happend with the touch pad on the PS4 controller wil also happen with the Dual Sence controller right? They are complete diverend futures.
Haptic feedback and adaptive triggers are complete other futures wich will have a real impact on games. The touch pad didn't. I think you are completly wrong.😉
WiiU screen, HD rumble, sixaxis gyroscope, PS4 touchpad and lightbar...

Adaptive triggers will have biggest impact on sales of new DSes after old one will broke.

edit. I forget about analog buttons of DS2 and IR camera of Joycon
 
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JonnyMP3

Member
Everyone saying that this feature will be ignored by 3rd party but I bet someone like Rockstar would use the crap out of the Haptics. It's in their nature to give that 'immersive' feel to their games and after seeing what RDR2 had for all the little things you could do, they'd definitely try things out. Storyline gun jamming in GTA? Resistance in triggers as you paddle a boat in RDR?
 

bitbydeath

Member
Everyone saying that this feature will be ignored by 3rd party but I bet someone like Rockstar would use the crap out of the Haptics. It's in their nature to give that 'immersive' feel to their games and after seeing what RDR2 had for all the little things you could do, they'd definitely try things out. Storyline gun jamming in GTA? Resistance in triggers as you paddle a boat in RDR?

Haptics literally replaces rumble so it will be used in every game.
 

JonnyMP3

Member
Haptics literally replaces rumble so it will be used in every game.
Yeah I understand that but I'm saying that with Rockstars world game design, the talk about the feel of the weather, swimming in and out of water and other various sensations given off will be properly explored and expressed. It's still up to the developers to properly use the tech because there's nothing to stop them from using them as standard rumble, even if they have replaced standard rumble.
 

Miles708

Member
Well, there are different people in the world, of course. But pain from the rumble? Well, it's not like hold a drill or something, and rumble gives great feedback in the game.

But it's a personal prefernce. Who don't like them would say gimmick, who do would say immersive. Problem is, they are useful and people want that quality.

I think many bitching about DualSense have already spent a console-worth of money on gimmicky 3rd party controllers that are bare-bone and bland.

For what is worth, rumble caused actual pain to me too, but this was on original Xbox (the first Rallisport Challenge had a constant, heavy rumble going 100% of the time... it was devastating for the hand joints).

The point is: you will get haptic benefit in many games, but it will always be a corollary feedback.
To make a stupid example: you won't be able to make a game where the rumble replaces a radar, and make it the only vital gameplay feedback, because people can have any reason to turn the rumble off anyway (even if for simple preference), and you have to account for that, by placing other visual or audio feedback in your game.

That's what I mean when I say it will be, at most, a neat side feature.
 
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Bo_Hazem

Banned
For what is worth, rumble caused actual pain to me too, but this was on original Xbox (the first Rallisport Challenge had a constant, heavy rumble going 100% of the time... it was devastating for the hand joints).

The point is: you will get haptic benefit in many games, but it will always be a corollary feedback.
To make a stupid example: you won't be able to make a game where the rumble replaces a radar, and make it the only vital gameplay feedback. You can't do it because people can have any reason to turn the rumble off anyway (even if for simple preference), and you have to account for that, by placing other visual or audio feedback in your game.

That's what I mean when I say it will be, at most, an awesome side feature.

Well, I feel sorry for you if it still continues (the pain), but most people don't really suffer from that. Never played or even seen OG Xbox in person, and the controller looks horrible enough anyway, so maybe something with that one.

It's not a game breaker if you don't turn it on, it's not a bad thing to have it or gimmick, it's just a supplement to full immersion just like other elements of the game, depending on the devs and how they use it.
 

Miles708

Member
Well, I feel sorry for you if it still continues (the pain), but most people don't really suffer from that. Never played or even seen OG Xbox in person, and the controller looks horrible enough anyway, so maybe something with that one.

It's not a game breaker if you don't turn it on, it's not a bad thing to have it or gimmick, it's just a supplement to full immersion just like other elements of the game, depending on the devs and how they use it.

Thankfully I've disabled that at the time, so the pain got away after 1 week or so :messenger_grinning_smiling:

As you say, it can be a good gimmick to have anyway. Even if it doesn't sound from my posts, I'm actually pretty curious to try this out.
 
If I have the option, I always turn off rumble. It is a nice feature that you forget it exists after 10m playing meaning that it is only wasting battery.
 
Agreed, but it took 2 minutes to wrote that code, 5 minutes to review it, 2 minutes to come up with test cases, 5 minutes to get those test cases signed off, 10 minutes for that testing session, 2 minutes to make an addition to the documentation, etc etc. You know how it goes. That's all time that could have been spent on some shrinking horse balls or something.

(Lol at horse balls)

True there is all of that to consider. But it would still be a drop in the ocean that is game development. Especially considering developers were probably already intending to support basic rumble, so you probably wouldn't need to add much more test time than you were going to anyway.

I think it'll get used more than people are expecting (especially since it's unlikely to be used in a way that is critical to the gameplay, so there's less worry about limiting yourself to platforms with these features) ,unless it turns out players actively hate it.
 

DavidGzz

Member
We'll see but if this makes them really expensive, 3rd party controllers may be preferable for once if they don't add enough to the experience to be worth the cost.
 
So what exactly is it? A more refined rumble?

Cause rumble right now is extremely rudimentary so there is definitely room for improvement.

I would be interested to see it physically versus normal rumble, which I think is just a motor with an uneven weight on it.
 
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