Digital Foundry Article Technical Discussion Archive [2013]

[zupallinere]

Obviously analog stick placement is a religious argument so I will be ecumenical and say both are good for different things. I prefer the xbox way for fps where forward is in a more comfortable position. Everything else I normally have no problem with. I don't understand why there isn't a asymmetrical controller for PS3 ... it's BT for cryin out loud !

If the sticks on the DS4 are farther apart and the trigger is better all the better.

 

[patsu]

I have seen asymmetric sticks 3rd party controllers.

I suspect some people will find the new controller surprisingly comfortable as well vis-a-vis the asymmetric placement. Part of the controller feel is due to the weight distribution, and shape/contour of the controller. They can guide and influence how your hold it.

The uncertainty is the touch pad. How useful ?

And the button feel.

 

[orangpelupa]

ps4 gamepad from various source that i read in these few days
- trigger and face button no longer spongy, not rubber-ey.
- touchpad clickable (i dont really understand it, its click-depress? or just click-touch?)
- analog stick improved in travel, deadzone, and grip.
- the DS body are more fit to palm (maybe longer or wider?)
- heavier than DS3

for the face button, i think the feels will be more like DS1 rather than DS2 or DS3.

 

[zupallinere]

ps4 gamepad from various source that i read in these few days
- trigger and face button no longer spongy, not rubber-ey.
- touchpad clickable (i dont really understand it, its click-depress? or just click-touch?)
- analog stick improved in travel, deadzone, and grip.
- the DS body are more fit to palm (maybe longer or wider?)
- heavier than DS3

for the face button, i think the feels will be more like DS1 rather than DS2 or DS3.

I believe you can actually press the the touchpad as a button Apple Trackpad style, Supposedly it has a mass o sensors (1920x900) I hope that such resolutions are exploited so I can kill or cause mayhem with a little more flair and accuracy.

 

[patsu]

ps4 gamepad from various source that i read in these few days
- trigger and face button no longer spongy, not rubber-ey.

Sony made the buttons digital. Face buttons are no longer spongy because they are not pressure sensitive anymore.

All DS4 reviews confirmed that the sticks, triggers and buttons have been "tuned". Would love to check them out personally.

The LED lightbar is for matching players manually (e.g., Red LED for the player with red lightsaber). That way my wife wouldn't have to ask us say, which LittleBigPlanet character she's controlling (all the time when she's playing).

Its poor man's Illumiroom effect is only useful in a dark room.

 

[James Car]

I appreciate that argument, but things have changed and a LOT of games are twin-sticks; certainly the most popular titles. That's why I like the DS layout - for twin-stick control its symmetric, and for asymmetric controls the layout doesn't much matter and the input type is as asymmetric as the layout (button mashing one thumb, fine motor control the other).

Oddly, the genre where your thumbs are mostly on the sticks is for FPS. The genre where xbox has historically been seen as the place to be for them.

For most other 3rd person action games, your left thumb will be one on the left stick, and your right thumb on the face buttons.

I do hope the ds4 is more comfortable. Mostly the sticks. Either way, I'll deal with it, or just get a 3rd party pad.

 

[ERP]

I don't have a final controller, but the beta one I have is much better than the DS3.
Specifically the sticks feel a lot better, and the inclusion of the pivoting L1/R1 buttons is also a big win, it also feels better in my hands at least.

 

[Arwin]

There are Xbox shaped third party controllers for Playstation 3 actually.

 

[AlNom]

Never really had a problem with the placements. They're just... different. For DS3, the L2/R2 design & the stick movements were my main gripe. Glad to hear that has improved. The sticks do need some resistance I think. I also like the handle bars now, or at least they look more comfortable.

For the XO, one would hope they have fixed the bloody D-pad. :| Not sure I like the aesthetic design of the XO controller either. The top bit looks bad and I somehow just don't like that they made the middle part between the handles flat instead of curved. The emphasized letters (colour letter on black) just don't look right. At this point I'm not sure what the point of a letter is given the distinct colours. I mean, when I explain to my brother & non-gamer friends what button to push, I have to say the colour anyway.

 

[zupallinere]

There are Xbox shaped third party controllers for Playstation 3 actually.

I guess my google fu sucks because I couldn't find it when the thought first stuck me. My quest continues ...

 

[upnorthsox]

I guess my google fu sucks because I couldn't find it when the thought first stuck me. My quest continues ...

Yes it does.......

http://www.target.com/p/ps3-pro-eli...sku=13217769&gclid=COyi5vSq_bcCFWVo7AodQD8ABg

 

[zupallinere]

I don't have a final controller, but the beta one I have is much better than the DS3.
Specifically the sticks feel a lot better, and the inclusion of the pivoting L1/R1 buttons is also a big win, it also feels better in my hands at least.

I didn't know about pivoting button ! That's sounds great. So nice to see some more evolution of these things since this is where the proverbial rubber meets road.

 

[zupallinere]

Yes it does.......

http://www.target.com/p/ps3-pro-eli...sku=13217769&gclid=COyi5vSq_bcCFWVo7AodQD8ABg

Thanks and you don't have to be soooo happy about it

 

[DJ12]

Surely the triggers pivot R2/L2 not R1/L1?

 

[Gubbi]

But why? Why is it better to have the left thumb more forwards than the right thumb?

Ergonomics, it is just a more natural position for your thumb.

Usually you use your right hand for both thumbstick and buttons. The original XBox controller had symmentrical thumb-sticks, the S controller was much better in a lot of games that used buttons. Also the thumbsticks on the DSs are too close together for my size hands.

I've never had playstation paws (tm) with the S or the 360 controller, the way I had with PS1, DS1&2 controllers.

Cheers

 

[Aeoniss]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-inside-metro-last-light

So "at least" double the performance from an 8 core Jaguar CPU.. Where would that put it in terms of effective performance?

And I guess at an even more basic level- what does this mean for us end users? Will BF4 60fps @ 720p on PS4 mean that it will be as good looking (or better) than the high end graphical settings on PC version?

Sans ridiculous settings like 8xMSAA or something. Obviously enormous diminishing returns and impracticality on certain settings.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

If you're in front of the television and the screen is dark won't you be able to see the reflection of the DS4 LED?

If true, that be kinda rubbish. If the light on the controller being reflected on the TV is intended to be used as a feedback mechanism, the same result could be achieved by putting a coloured glow around the player character to signify health, which would work from all viewing positions. No one has tried this before as it quite frankly would look a bit poop. Except maybe if you were playing a fairy with an aura. Otherwise I see nothing wrong with an on-screen health bar, screen-based health indicator, near-player health bar (floats above head, or under feet), or even character appearance changing according to health.

Myself, I would never put player feedback info on a light on the console-side of the controller. Vital information needs to be immediately to hand. I'd only use the colour in games using the camera where you can see the controller on screen.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Ergonomics, it is just a more natural position for your thumb.

Then surely the right stick should be in the same further position, and the face buttons underneath?

 

[idsn6]

The original XBox controller had symmentrical thumb-sticks, the S controller was much better in a lot of games that used buttons.

No it didn't.

 

[Arwin]

If true, that be kinda rubbish. If the light on the controller being reflected on the TV is intended to be used as a feedback mechanism, the same result could be achieved by putting a coloured glow around the player character to signify health, which would work from all viewing positions. No one has tried this before as it quite frankly would look a bit poop. Except maybe if you were playing a fairy with an aura. Otherwise I see nothing wrong with an on-screen health bar, screen-based health indicator, near-player health bar (floats above head, or under feet), or even character appearance changing according to health.

Myself, I would never put player feedback info on a light on the console-side of the controller. Vital information needs to be immediately to hand. I'd only use the colour in games using the camera where you can see the controller on screen.

Have you ever heard of ambilight tech? Anyway, health was just a random example.