Tank controls were a godsend in the corridor escape, when the camera kept changing angle and you just had to keep pressing forward to run. With standard controls every camera angle change could result in a involuntary turn into the pursuers.
At the very least, when a game like RE4 does tank controls, it isn't anywhere near as disorienting because of the over-the-shoulder camera.
I see. I've recently played remastered on gc and ps4 and switching to mode c (order d, not sure) was a liberation. You should try it if you have the chance.I played the PS1 versions. There was no option to not use tank controls.
First part would be big ass circle, second part would be a big ask without tracking/targeting a central reference point.How does one move in a circle with tank controls? Not spin in place; walk in a circle.What about moving in a circle while facing the same direction?
Yeah, this! But either you have it backwards or the game has a weird setup.hahaha I thought you meant katamari style left stick up right stick down to go left, left stick down right stick up to go right
this is way worse
☝There is good reason virtually no modern 3D title uses tank controls.
We can acknowledge they were useful for the technological limitations at the time without trying to slavishly defend them.
Hold diagonal, if I'm understanding properly.How does one move in a circle with tank controls? Not spin in place; walk in a circle.
You don't without some sort of button assist that breaks from pure tank. Pure tank control allows for movement along the z-axis and rotation about the y-axis; what you're asking for requires movement along the x-axis.What about moving in a circle while facing the same direction?
Yea its weird but I guess most people just have shitty spatial awareness or something. It's really no harder than driving RC car. And if a game has static camera angles it is pretty much the best solution on how to control the character. With '2D' controls you need to be constantly adjusting your movement direction and your character spins in place everytime angle changes. In worst case you end up going back to the previous angle and have to spend time on trying to just progress through an angle change.
What do you mean when you say static camera?Yea its weird but I guess most people just have shitty spatial awareness or something. It's really no harder than driving RC car. And if a game has static camera angles it is pretty much the best solution on how to control the character. With '2D' controls you need to be constantly adjusting your movement direction and your character spins in place everytime angle changes. In worst case you end up going back to the previous angle and have to spend time on trying to just progress through an angle change.
I don't know about you, but I don't control a human in a video game expecting them to act like an RC car.
They don't act like RC car though. They move like most humans would.
They don't act like RC car though. They move like most humans would.
Most humans can start moving in the direction opposite the one they're facing without laboriously turning on the spot first.
I'm glad that's the case, but it doesn't change the fact that it's a band-aid solution to a fundamental problem.
I don't really see what is a fundamental issue. You can change direction while moving forward and going opposite direction requires small pause. This isn't really any different from most modern games.
The goal of most good control schemes is to map the player's intent to the character using the most intuitive, simple means with the least amount of abstraction. Exceptions are allowable where the controls are intended to simulate something else (e.g it's why vehicle controls have a dedicated brake button instead of just holding down to stop).I don't really see what is a fundamental issue. You can change direction while moving forward and going opposite direction requires small pause. This isn't really any different from most modern games.
The fundamental issue is that tank controls simply don't offer the range and flexibility of movement that modern controls do. It's the reason developers stopped putting tank controls in their games.
The goal of most good control schemes is to map the player's intent to the character using the most intuitive, simple means with the least amount of abstraction. Exceptions are allowable where the controls are intended to simulate something else (e.g it's why vehicle controls have a dedicated brake button instead of just holding down to stop).
Tank controls aren't intuitive because they don't map to how we expect human characters to maneuver in space. To use a bipedal example, they make more sense for mechs as a simulation of how inadequacies in mechanical interface design would inhibit a user's ability to control it.
Tank controls have some unintended positive side effects like increasing tension in action sequences but that's caused by poor user experience. You don't want players fighting the controls unless the controls are intended to be part of that mastery (e.g with vehicles). But no one wants to have to re-master human walking in a game when it's literally one of the first thing toddlers learn to do. One of the reasons the balancing mechanic from Death Stranding looks like busywork to me as well.
First part would be big ass circle, second part would be a big ask without tracking/targeting a central reference point.
Yeah, I guess that's it. Strafing is so fundamental to human movement that a complete inability to do so - or minimum needing a special instance to do so - is almost hard for me to remember just how bad it all was. I thought tank controls precluded most things besides spinning and place and straight lines? I've blocked so much of them from memory.Hold diagonal, if I'm understanding properly.
You don't without some sort of button assist that breaks from pure tank. Pure tank control allows for movement along the z-axis and rotation about the y-axis; what you're asking for requires movement along the x-axis.
This too! I instantly think of Katamari when someone says "tank controls" but that's something completely different.Tangential, but when I hear tank controls I think left stick = left wheels, right stick = right wheels. Like the controls on an actual tank :p
Not all games need modern style controls. The reason why we have so homogenized controls now is because games overall are being homogenized.
There would be a place for tank controls if someone made a game that could use them.
Humans do move more like tanks than typical 360 controls though.
Frankly, I'm not too sure what the specifics of the term are; I'm relatively young compared to this board (I got a GameCube when I was 4). Isn't Metroid Prime considered tank controls? You can walk while turning in that.I thought tank controls precluded most things besides spinning and place and straight lines? I've blocked so much of them from memory.
The goal of most good control schemes is to map the player's intent to the character using the most intuitive, simple means with the least amount of abstraction. Exceptions are allowable where the controls are intended to simulate something else (e.g it's why vehicle controls have a dedicated brake button instead of just holding down to stop).
Tank controls aren't intuitive because they don't map to how we expect human characters to maneuver in space. To use a bipedal example, they make more sense for mechs as a simulation of how inadequacies in mechanical interface design would inhibit a user's ability to control it.
Tank controls have some unintended positive side effects like increasing tension in action sequences but that's caused by poor user experience. You don't want players fighting the controls unless the controls are intended to be part of that mastery (e.g with vehicles). But no one wants to have to re-master human walking in a game when it's literally one of the first thing toddlers learn to do. One of the reasons the balancing mechanic from Death Stranding looks like busywork to me as well.
Do you want to move foward? Press foward. Want to turn right/left? Press right/left. Want to to go back? Press back. You can't get more simple than that.
This is my issue with the thread. I can't stand tank controls but I totally get that people can like them and have a lot of love for classics that use them. The idea that tank controls are so good and perfect and so actually totally fine that it's impossible to understand why someone wouldn't like them? Ridiculous.I don't mind you enjoying them, but this idea that they are somehow deserving of love now that we've moved on is...strange. Like, people don't enjoy them. People can like and dislike different things.
I'd say "push the stick in the direction you want to go" is more simple than that.I'm replaying some RE games right now and by Jupiter and Minerva, tank controls are awesome. They are precise and intuitive. Do you want to move foward? Press foward. Want to turn right/left? Press right/left. Want to to go back? Press back. You can't get more simple than that.
Spot onThere is good reason virtually no modern 3D title uses tank controls.
We can acknowledge they were useful for the technological limitations at the time without trying to slavishly defend them.