controler support for the pc version

the issue
ggg is working to implement controler support for their pc version.

good sides
people who like to play games designed for controlers cause they got subpar mouse skills (harhar), will enjoy this.
they also don't have to bother with outdated hardware anymore and actually own the hardware they play poe with.

bad sides
the pc game has to change and already changed.

in preparation of controler support, ggg already removed the one core challenge poe had: "to not pickup fragments to play poe more efficiently".
it's a no brainer now to occasionally click on a stack of fragments to satisfy the basic needs for low value stuff instead of buying it from less efficient players.

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other changes are regarding skills that require exact mouse placement of items on the screen.

while the pc version let's you more freedom, the aimbot functionality implenented for the console tech will make one input method being superior to the other and people will always play the superior one.

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i won't since i'm that oldschool to think that controlers are ok for jump'n runs and flight/racing sims but you can't play first person shooters or real pc arpgs with it. every arpg with controler support is playing itself like a jump'n run cause you just do that and cycle through options.

just pressing the right buttons at the right time and aiming at the right direction with your stick are easier skills than aiming with the mouse.

solution
insted of letting the inferior tech win and dumbing down your game for couch potatoes, make the game require keyboard/mouse input on consoles. and let the pc version as it is.


i feel pretty alone with that attitude, what's your arguments for either side?

I personally think an argument against accessibility as an option comes across as poor form.

There are plenty of exiles that have physical limitations, and/or where a controller helps with hand/wrist problems.

I dont see how this would impact the traditional m&k players, as 99% of the existing game mechanics remain the same, minus some loot targeting and pickup.

The notion that gameplay might be "easier" is both subjective, and generally anti-player when considering reasons someone might want to use a controller.

If they change the game into something I no longer enjoy, I'll just play a different game. PoE and I aren't married. They aren't going to base this type of design choice on what we want. They'll base it on income. They'll go where the money is. That's reality.

I like that I can pickup 5 wisdom scrolls at a time.
I use a controller for other games that are not side scrollers.
If they allow controller for PC, it makes no difference to me and, to Darth's point. accessibility is a good thing.

It's a tough balance.

Accessibility is always a nice thing, especially mechanically. But going so far as to change "core" game mechanics to more easily fit controller support, is a dangerous path to walk down - if you want to respect long-time players. Do everything they can to fit a controller to PoE? All for it. Do everything they can to fit PoE to a controller? Please don't.

The are no "core" mechanics being changed or adjusted. Thats alarmist for no reason. Hell there is already a console version to look at before anyone clutches any pearls.

I cant think of a single game that suffered, or ventured "down a dangerous path" simply by offering additonal accessibility.

Providing gamers options isnt a bad thing, not even remotely, and trying to fear monger isnt helpful.

Controller support for PoE is completely fine.

I, for one, am very interested to see what the controller support looks like. I currently play PC version on a GPD Win 3. It's a PC that looks like a switch lite with a sliding screen to reveal a keyboard.

Windows, and steam, recognize the gaming inputs as an xbox controller. The keyboard is pretty terrible, but fine for accessing non-time sensitive things things like the skill tree or atlas. Using steam for controller support with an odd mix of each joystick fighting over the mouse for control works reasonably well. Left stick for movement and right stick for normal mousing around is fine but took a while to develop a feel for mousing to intended spots. By making use of button combos, and designating one button as a "mode" key, I have quick access to all my flasks and (almost all) non-ctrl skills. I use auras, golems, heralds, etc on the ctrl set of skills.

My biggest issue with this setup is not so different than the interface issue with standard k+m setups in that I needed to sacrifice a skill slot for movement (I chose Q) so that I no longer occasionally waste a map portal by accidentally exiting a map immediately on entry. This also prevents accidental item pickup or entry into side areas. This also makes it so I can't combine a guard or blink skill with movement, but I can still put that guard or move skill on the left click button and trigger it manually.

As this is the PC version and I'm just emulating k+m, there is no aimbot involved.

Assuming GGG implements this right, and it appears they're taking their time in order to do so, there is no reason that people enjoying this game in their own way needs to affect your gameplay negatively.

Sure, for an FPS or RTS, a K+M setup is superior unless balance is artificially skewed. POE, as an aRPG, doesn't have the need for perfectly precise headshots or 150+ APM to be played effectively. Controller support should be baked into the game.

thanks for the input guys, i'm totally with shagsbeard on this one.

the hilarious point is: i'm not even good with keyboard/mouse. (just tried easy sirus today and got my ass handed on a platter). i just like the options and the challenge.

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imho, there is no "clever playstyle" possible with a controller. it's not fun pressing buttons to auto-aim, auto-hoover, auto-placement, castOnXxxKill/Lag/Stun/CatOnMyKeyboard. in my time we called that "cheating".

the decision to support controlers is seriously limiting their design space, all future development needs to be controler compatible.

so? so long and thanks for the fish :) enjoy your "additional accessibility".

my shelf is still having an old joystick from my c64. if i find an adapter, maybe i can use it to play the new "poe - gianna sisters edition".

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siliguous wrote:

As this is the PC version and I'm just emulating k+m, there is no aimbot involved.

yeah, it depends on ggg's implementation of controler support in the pc version.

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DarthSki44 wrote:

…not even remotely…

Nice (unintentional?) play on words haha

I don’t plan to use a controller much. But imagine casually running blood aqueducts from your couch. Or making some walking simulator auto bomber build and running easy maps, again from the couch. A controller sounds like a great option for casual play styles.

ITT: How to say you're a staunch member of the PC Master Race without saying it.


If the controller support is as bad as the ps4 configuration don't bother. I was frustrated at it within an hour and deleted the game. It blows my mind how games as complicated as Elite and XIV can feel so natural on a controller but PoE cannot.

And it's not because it's an ARPG either.

Ironically an old Exile and I were playing Wolcen this weekend and he commented that it seemed perfect for a controller setup, and I completely agree. I've now played more ARPGs on console than PC (some are ports, to be fair) and my long held prejudice that isometric ARPGs work better with m+k no matter what is dead and buried. I LIKE driving my character rather than directing them. It reminds me that one of the inspirations for the whole genre, Gauntlet, was *always* direct control rather than point and click. There is some sort of circle completion to ARPG characters being driven rather than directed. I love how much more engaging it is.

But PoE? For a game that brought so many innovations to the table in 2012, it sure is stuck in the past. Too many crucial decisions made early on that assume PC usage, the biggest being trade. And that assumption meant all development would be PC-centric, to the point where we saw even a hint of console development as a personal betrayal. Don't pretend you don't remember the outcry.

Not to mention the frankly ludicrous notion of having to buy all those mtxes again, including what was by then a costly collection of stash features.

Console development for PoE has not escaped the so-called red headed stepchild status, and with it a controller setup that screams 'we don't have a clue how these things work'.

I would be very impressed if they can make controller usage competitive if not intuitive. I just think there are better ARPGs out there for 'driving' the character. PoE is too committed to using the character as a vehicle for largely predetermined outcomes based on build to make driving that character much fun.

PS your view of ARPGs (and fps) on console as "jump n run" is antiquated and simplistic, OP. But you admit you are 'old school' (as if I am not merely for dropping old prejudices?) so no harm if that's where you want to stay. Just be aware that PoE may well be the last hurrah for 'popular' trad PC ARPGs...I personally find that thought depressing, given how much it dumps on what I consider key to any ARPG: minimal need to interact with others.

That's probably the biggest positive for me as a console gamer reformed from PC: games on console assume you don't have a keyboard. I kind of wanted that from PoE on console in fact, because I actually still very much enjoy playing the game in and of itself. A pity it felt like a PC game trying to cram itself into the restrictions of a console rather than taking advantage of the console's strengths.