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[btkadams]

this is mostly likely a very stupid question, but i am just now getting into the world of pc gaming.

are PC versions of games more difficult when using a controller than their console equivalents? i ask because PC games must be designed around the mouse and keyboard. mouse and keyboard players are quicker than someone with a controller, so wouldn't a PC port of a multiplatform game need to have increased difficulty for the mouse and keyboard players to feel the same challenge? i suppose i am mostly talking about 3rd-person/1st-person shooters.

i am currently getting parts together to build my first PC (with the great help of the new PC gaf thread), and this is something that i have always wondered about. if i played far cry 4 on pc with a controller, would the game be any more difficult than playing on a ps4? do the devs tune the difficulty up, assuming that most of their audience would be using a mouse and keyboard?

i definitely prefer using a controller versus mouse and keyboard, so any input from PC players that use controllers is greatly appreciated. is difficulty ever an issue when using a controller? i'm certainly not against a challenge in a video game, but i don't want to feel like i'm enabling hard mode every time i use a controller.

 

[Stone Ocean]

i ask because PC games must be designed around the mouse and keyboard

It's the exact opposite, to be honest

 

[Regiruler]

A large majority of games are focused around a controller

Good KBM in games that aren't shooters are a rarity

Though you get bragging rights if you beat senator armstrong with it

 

[Shiny Llama]

Typically games are exactly the same regardless of platform, but this can come into play with cross-platform competitive multiplayer.

 

[LordAmused]

You should play 3rd person / driving games with a controller.
For the rest, use the keyboard+ mouse.

 

[Mohasus]

It is pretty much the same as the console version, with the aim assist removed when using KB+M (sometimes not even that).

 

[-MD-]

Mouse just improves your accuracy/camera speed. The difficulty of the game itself doesn't change from platform to platform.

 

[BPoole]

The Witcher 3 handles game difficulty with gamepads well

 

[Crimsonclaw111]

Difficulty doesn't really change from a standard difficulty on consoles, as the enemies and layouts are still the same.

 

[Moon_frogger]

Far cry 4 for example is exactly the same. Sure it's probably easier but not dramatically different that they'd need to redesign the game. Put the game on hard and it's still hard.

 

[Bright-Light]

The Witcher 3 handles game difficulty with gamepads well

Weird. Is that pic a joke, cos my version of witcher 3 doesn't say that when I'm swapping between controller and jb/m. Mine just says "game pad detected".

 

[Valnen]

The great thing about PC gaming is that games don't need to be designed around any specific input method, since you have every input method ever at your fingertips. You wouldn't say Project Cars is designed around mouse and keyboard, afterall. I get so mad when people whine about specific games not working well with mouse and keyboard.

 

[artsi]

Weird. Is that pic a joke, cos my version of witcher 3 doesn't say that when I'm swapping between controller and jb/m. Mine just says "game pad detected".

Yeah it is.

 

[justjustin]

It's always up to the developer, but in every case I've seen the game is balanced the same on PC and console. Even when using a controller on PC, shooters typically have the same aim assist and turning acceleration as their console counterparts.

 

[TAJ]

Games are mostly designed with controllers in mind. Kb/m is just Very Easy mode if we're talking about FPSs. In action games it's like "Why do you hate yourself?" mode.

 

[BPoole]

Weird. Is that pic a joke, cos my version of witcher 3 doesn't say that when I'm swapping between controller and jb/m. Mine just says "game pad detected".

I actually don't know if it's real or not. I played TW3 with a KB/M

 

[Dr. Buni]

You should play 3rd person / driving games with a controller.
For the rest, use the keyboard+ mouse.

Mobas aside, I like playing pretty much everything with a controller.

 

[Mace_Dragon]

Games are mostly designed with controllers in mind. Kb/m is just Very Easy mode.

Definitely. One example I can vaguely remember is Max Payne 3. Anyone please correct me if I'm wrong. The hardest difficult, aside from AI aggression and frequency of healing items, removes aim assist for controllers. The removal of that feature is a obviously a non-issue for kb/m.

 

[patapuf]

You should play 3rd person / driving games with a controller.
For the rest, use the keyboard+ mouse.

3rd person games work just fine with KB/M. I'd argue that in particular many 3rd person shooters work better with KB/M.

Can't beat that mouse camera control.

 

[Corpekata]

Most games don't change.

The only recent notable one was Dragon Age Origins, which had higher difficulties than the console versions (hard console = Normal PC) because of the way the camera and mouse controls worked.

They didn't do it with the others because KBAM was an afterthought.

 

[Csr]

A large majority of games are focused around a controller

Good KBM in games that aren't shooters are a rarity

Though you get bragging rights if you beat senator armstrong with it

That sword cut/slash mechanic whatever it was called was a lot easier for me to use with the mouse, i was struggling with the controller in some of the final boss battles after i played most of the game with it and i switched to mouse and it helped a lot.

 

[SirMossyBloke]

I actually don't know if it's real or not. I played TW3 with a KB/M

Ewww.

 

[Miker]

3rd person games work just fine with KB/M. I'd argue that in particular many 3rd person shooters work better with KB/M.

Can't beat that mouse camera control.

Yeah, Witcher 2 was so much better with m/kb, but it was built w/ that control scheme in mind first. I haven't played Witcher 3, so I don't know if that remains true.

 

[-MD-]

Ewww.

How's it eww? The whole trilogy is great with KB/M.

 

[BPoole]

Ewww.

Why?

 

[Exuro]

Ewww.

? tw3 with kbm is great.

 

[NIN90]

PC versions are usually an afterthought with multi-plat titles.

 

[Vex_]

I wonder how long before this topic gets derailed into a kb/m vs controller debate?

Anyways. As a new PC gamer myself, I thought the same as you tc.

 

[hey_it's_that_dog]

The secret purpose of this thread is negging PC gamers, right?

"Oh, your input methods are so superior... games must be so easy for you. I'm not sure I would want to play every shooter on easy mode like that."

 

[krameriffic]

People seem to labor under the delusion that the quick aiming that you get with MKB controls in an FPS doesn't translate over to third person games, which makes no sense at all. I have more control with MKB in Assassin's Creed and Batman than you do with a controller. Analog sticks don't magically become faster for quickly turning or more precise for quickly aiming just because you swap an FPS gun model out for a third person full character model. The only thing tha hampers MKB controls in these games is when there's really bad mouse acceleration or just a general lack of intelligently implemented keybinding support.

This is primarily a console gaming forum, which is what makes you find many people here who prefer the controller. It's what they're used to, and admittedly many games today are designed with it in mind, which is one of the only things that makes them even a tolerable control method. The only place they have an advantage is in games where the player has no camera control or are controlling something like a car that doesn't benefit from mouse look. These games render the most important part of the MKB combo useless (the mouse). They also don't have sufficient complexity to benefit from the enormously larger number of buttons a keyboard has than a controller (something that sim games/RTSes/MOBAs benefit from).

 

[Nemesis121]

If you own a 360 controller most of the games made after 2006 were mapped just like the 360 version, just plug and play, this generation gonna change PS4 will have more of the exclusives and when they are ported don't know how it will work for Xbox controllers on PC..

 

[patapuf]

To directly answer OP's question:

Console ports are very rarely rebalanced for MK/B. You don't have to worry about these games being too hard (exept in MP, obviously)

It's PC only games/genres where you have to check if a controller is comfortable to play. It's usually pretty apparent when it isn't.

 

[bati]

It really depends on the genre. I've been a PC only player since I started gaming so using KBM is second nature to me. And you'd still have to hold a gun to my head if you wanted me to use it in 3rd person action games like Dark Souls.

If the game doesn't require precision aiming or fast pointer movement or heavy menu navigation/inventory management then gamepad will likely end up being the more comfortable choice.

 

[I H8 Memes]

Games difficulties are designed around controllers. Thats why single player fps and tps games are so ridiculously easy with a mouse. Even a game like Dark Souls I played through with a mouse first and ended up with like 150 deaths(no DLC). Second playthrough I had a controller and had about 250 deaths (with DLC). Less deaths the first time through the game. Enemies just coudnt handle the speed of kbam circle strafe.

 

[Skux]

I really want a controller with more buttons. I love the Witcher 2 and 3 with gamepad controls, combat and movement makes so much more sense, but selecting spells and items with a wheel is a chore.

 

[Kinthalis]

Depends on the game.

Gears of War one on Pc, for example, featured more enemies with difficulty increasing AI routines.

The original Dragon Age: Origins was basically one step highe ron the difficulty ladder compared to consoles (normal was hard on consoles, hard, nightmare).

There are many game slike tha,t but that's been shifting around lately.

 

[Barrow Roll]

People seem to labor under the delusion that the quick aiming that you get with MKB controls in an FPS doesn't translate over to third person games, which makes no sense at all. I have more control with MKB in Assassin's Creed and Batman than you do with a controller. Analog sticks don't magically become faster for quickly turning or more precise for quickly aiming just because you swap an FPS gun model out for a third person full character model. The only thing tha hampers MKB controls in these games is when there's really bad mouse acceleration or just a general lack of intelligently implemented keybinding support.

You're not wrong about the benefits of mouse camera controls, but I think a lot of people, myself included, prefer the analog control for moving your character in a 3D space that you only get with an analog stick. Being able to fine-tune how your character movies and speed simply by tilting the stick just feels more natural to me than CTRL + WASD to walk. The same goes for triggers and games that have different functions based on how much pressure you apply.

To answer the OPs question, multi-plats are almost always developed for consoles first and balanced around controllers. The difficulties are almost always identical between platforms, regardless of the input method.

 

[nOoblet16]

People seem to labor under the delusion that the quick aiming that you get with MKB controls in an FPS doesn't translate over to third person games, which makes no sense at all. I have more control with MKB in Assassin's Creed and Batman than you do with a controller. Analog sticks don't magically become faster for quickly turning or more precise for quickly aiming just because you swap an FPS gun model out for a third person full character model. The only thing tha hampers MKB controls in these games is when there's really bad mouse acceleration or just a general lack of intelligently implemented keybinding support.

This is primarily a console gaming forum, which is what makes you find many people here who prefer the controller. It's what they're used to, and admittedly many games today are designed with it in mind, which is one of the only things that makes them even a tolerable control method. The only place they have an advantage is in games where the player has no camera control or are controlling something like a car that doesn't benefit from mouse look. These games render the most important part of the MKB combo useless (the mouse). They also don't have sufficient complexity to benefit from the enormously larger number of buttons a keyboard has than a controller (something that sim games/RTSes/MOBAs benefit from).

It's still quite situational I believe, Gears 2 and Gears 3 are not on PC but those two games would be extremely difficult to play with KB+Mouse simply because of how the game revolves around movement more than aiming (which is where KB+Mouse reign supreme), and the way wall bouncing and slide cancels work. It's hard to explain if you don't know what these two things are but I'll just say that the movement you see in Gears 2/3 would not really be something that can translate well to KB+Mouse simply due lack of analogue sticks and how different the keys are to a controller buttons (this is actually a very important reason). This is an extreme example if what would (I hate it though) be close to impossible to do with a keyboard because in order to accomplish this you need to be able to press two keys at the same time at tremendous speed (one key that you alternate after each move and use for direction and one for the cover taking action), Gears 1 was on PC but it's also known to be a considerably slower game with a different meta game than Geas 2 and 3 where fast movement was the thing that made the game.

 

[erawsd]

I really want a controller with more buttons. I love the Witcher 2 and 3 with gamepad controls, combat and movement makes so much more sense, but selecting spells and items with a wheel is a chore.

You can customize the controls pretty easily. I used my DS4 to play Witcher 3 and set it up so that I could instantly cast spells using R2+face buttons without using that combat wheel. I also used up,down,left,right swipes on the Touchpad to correspond to map, inventory, character, and bestiary menus, and pressing it did quick save.

I imagine the same can be done with an Xbox controller, you just need a 3rd party program that lets you create custom macros.

 

[grandwizard]

People seem to labor under the delusion that the quick aiming that you get with MKB controls in an FPS doesn't translate over to third person games, which makes no sense at all. I have more control with MKB in Assassin's Creed and Batman than you do with a controller. Analog sticks don't magically become faster for quickly turning or more precise for quickly aiming just because you swap an FPS gun model out for a third person full character model. The only thing tha hampers MKB controls in these games is when there's really bad mouse acceleration or just a general lack of intelligently implemented keybinding support.

This is primarily a console gaming forum, which is what makes you find many people here who prefer the controller. It's what they're used to, and admittedly many games today are designed with it in mind, which is one of the only things that makes them even a tolerable control method. The only place they have an advantage is in games where the player has no camera control or are controlling something like a car that doesn't benefit from mouse look. These games render the most important part of the MKB combo useless (the mouse). They also don't have sufficient complexity to benefit from the enormously larger number of buttons a keyboard has than a controller (something that sim games/RTSes/MOBAs benefit from).

Preach. The idea that any third person game is superior with analog sticks is a fallacy. Anything that gives you free camera control is superior with a mouse, yes even melee based games like Batman benefit from fast camera targeting and not having to choose between action buttons and camera control, but having both simultaneously.

 

[patapuf]

Preach. The idea that any third person game is superior with analog sticks is a fallacy. Anything that gives you free camera control is superior with a mouse, yes even melee based games like Batman benefit from fast camera targeting and not having to choose between action buttons and camera control, but having both simultaneously.

Which is why many melee action games have a lock on.

 

[Leafhopper]

Only time I use a controller is if it's a fighting game, platformer or racing game. Otherwise I try to use Keyboard and mouse as much as possible. Only a bad game would work against a specific control scheme. Or if the devs did a lazy console port.

Ewww.

Have we reached the point where people frown at others for using keyboard and mouse?

 

[c0Zm1c]

Have we reached the point where people frown at others for using keyboard and mouse?

No, sadly, that's been around for years.

The beauty is in having the choice though, and not which is better.

 

[Orin GA]

People seem to labor under the delusion that the quick aiming that you get with MKB controls in an FPS doesn't translate over to third person games, which makes no sense at all. I have more control with MKB in Assassin's Creed and Batman than you do with a controller. Analog sticks don't magically become faster for quickly turning or more precise for quickly aiming just because you swap an FPS gun model out for a third person full character model. The only thing tha hampers MKB controls in these games is when there's really bad mouse acceleration or just a general lack of intelligently implemented keybinding support.

This is primarily a console gaming forum, which is what makes you find many people here who prefer the controller. It's what they're used to, and admittedly many games today are designed with it in mind, which is one of the only things that makes them even a tolerable control method. The only place they have an advantage is in games where the player has no camera control or are controlling something like a car that doesn't benefit from mouse look. These games render the most important part of the MKB combo useless (the mouse). They also don't have sufficient complexity to benefit from the enormously larger number of buttons a keyboard has than a controller (something that sim games/RTSes/MOBAs benefit from).

Damn straight.

 

[Leafhopper]

No, sadly, that's been around for years.

The beauty is in having the choice though, and not which is better.

Hmm, I guess it has and you are right, having the option of one or another is great.

 

[M3d10n]

Many games disable the aim assist when played with a mouse, but there are many that don't and thus become piss easy (the shooting bits, of course). Lost Planet is an example, specially when using the sniper rifle.

 

[Duxxy3]

It varies. For racing games - controller is much easier. For anything that involves aiming - mouse is waaaaaaaaaaaaay easier.

 

[Solid Samus]

I echo the sentiment that it's ridiculous to act like KB/M ain't awesome for pretty much everything besides racing and fighting games. And this is a perfect example. Check this out.

This is my mouse. It cost me fifty bucks. It's got an amazing sensor, and it features software that lets me program individual macros for all those extra buttons, for each game.

As a result, while playing The Witcher 3, all in the palm of my hand, I not only have the accuracy and speed of camera control that the mouse provides, I've also got

- 'DPI Shift' mapped to Sign use
- 'Forward' mapped to Dodge
- 'Backward' mapped to the Quick Menu
- 'DPI Up' mapped to Strong Attack
- 'DPI Down' mapped to Targeting
- 'Switch Profile' mapped to Inventory
- Left and Right on the mouse wheel mapped to my Silver and Steel sword individually
- and, of course, Left and Right mouse button mapped to Attack and Guard individually.

All of this means that I have all of the game's most relevant functions at the tip of my fingers at all times, and as with any other game I choose to play with this mouse, I can even control the camera seamlessly at the same time I trigger any of them, a privilege you have to pay upwards of $150 to enjoy with a controller. It's allowed me to become noticeably better at most games than I could ever be with a controller, because I choose exactly which of the game's functions (or advanced keystrings/macros) are relevant and map them somewhere where I can readily access them at all times.

Even users of standard ass kb/m combos enjoy a wide swath of functionality beyond most controller setups in most games, and if the only hurdle is discomfort, there's plenty of ways to address that. With a little deal hunting anyone can have a KB/M combo that generally outperforms a next gen controller for the cost of a next-gen controller.

Shit, my keyboard has 18 macros on the left side, and three buttons above those denotating 'sets' of macros I can switch between - meaning 54 total for each game. When I'm playing GTA V, I can press one macro key, and it calls me a taxi. I press another, and I call Lester. I press another, it calls me a helicopter or a blimp. I press one of two at the bottom of that set of macros, and within two seconds my options menu has opened itself and has already toggled between FXAA and MSAA x2, ensuring that I hold a steady 60 despite my settings overkill wherever I'm at.

I switch 'sets', and suddenly the top 10 macros instantly open my quick menu, switch between one of my ten saved sets of clothes online, and close the quick menu, in literally half a second. The bottom 8 allow me to utilize online functions, such as eating snacks, applying armor, and setting quick GPS objectives, in the same incredibly short amount of time.

Switch over to the third set, and I've got all my favorite single player cheats ready to activate instantly at the push of a button.

KB/M ain't no joke.

 

[CambriaRising]

I actually don't know if it's real or not. I played TW3 with a KB/M

Total bullshit. The game doesn't do this.

 

[Durante]

People seem to labor under the delusion that the quick aiming that you get with MKB controls in an FPS doesn't translate over to third person games, which makes no sense at all. I have more control with MKB in Assassin's Creed and Batman than you do with a controller. Analog sticks don't magically become faster for quickly turning or more precise for quickly aiming just because you swap an FPS gun model out for a third person full character model. The only thing tha hampers MKB controls in these games is when there's really bad mouse acceleration or just a general lack of intelligently implemented keybinding support.

This is primarily a console gaming forum, which is what makes you find many people here who prefer the controller. It's what they're used to, and admittedly many games today are designed with it in mind, which is one of the only things that makes them even a tolerable control method. The only place they have an advantage is in games where the player has no camera control or are controlling something like a car that doesn't benefit from mouse look. These games render the most important part of the MKB combo useless (the mouse). They also don't have sufficient complexity to benefit from the enormously larger number of buttons a keyboard has than a controller (something that sim games/RTSes/MOBAs benefit from).

Yeah. If the M/KB implementation is at all decent third person games play very well with it.

Depends on the game.

Gears of War one on Pc, for example, featured more enemies with difficulty increasing AI routines.

The original Dragon Age: Origins was basically one step highe ron the difficulty ladder compared to consoles (normal was hard on consoles, hard, nightmare).

There are many game slike tha,t but that's been shifting around lately.

I didn't know about Gears, but I remember the changes in Dragon Age. Was it really a straightforward renaming though? I think the general number of enemies in encounters was reduced.