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[Fahdis]

Lol this whole thread is Gaf shitting on the OP. I suggest we give him gold.

 

[Ar¢tos]

Directional pad is basically just more buttons at this point.

But they are more buttons with a directional sense to them, ex: cycling through spells/items up<->down/left<->right in some games, it would be harder for the players with them being just more face buttons with no sense of direction.

 

[Soodanim]

I have a Steam controller, and I tried using a touch replacement for a d-pad. I don't like it. Maybe it's because I don't like haptic feedback so I turn it off entirely, but even if I did it wouldn't be the same as a physical d-pad.

Pads are very useful for some things. For others they're a downgrade, and that's the problem. When the proposed replacement is at best a sidegrade, it's not worth it.

 

[Raonak]

Who the fuck is navigating a UI without a dpad lol

 

[Spaceman292]

Not once did I say "fighters don't need dpad" Im saying the genre is niche enough now where it doesn't warrant traditional controller to have one, especially sin e a large majority in the fighting game community have moved on.

Street Fighter 6 is coming out this summer

 

[anthraticus]

Nah...I need them for certain stuff like driving & fighting games when analog sticks cut it

 

[LordMuffin]

I must've slept too much and awoken in the year 2099 because directional buttons are still fundamental. A bad D-pad is definitely a deal breaker for me, so much so that I prefer a cheap wired 3rd party controller to the standard joypad that came with my XSS, just because it has a proper non-clicky D-pad.

 

[deriks]

It's not broke, so don't fix it

 

[Soodanim]

I must've slept too much and awoken in the year 2099 because directional buttons are still fundamental. A bad D-pad is definitely a deal breaker for me, so much so that I prefer a cheap wired 3rd party controller to the standard joypad that came with my XSS, just because it has a proper non-clicky D-pad.

Clicky buttons has always been my problem with Xbox controllers (and Steam Controller). There's no need for it. My feedback is feeling the button press and the game responding.

 

[AV]

The battle continues between Victor and Apoc for the worst threads on GAF.

 

[Fake]

Dpad from Dualshock 4 and Dualsense are life.

 

[Midnight Bliss]

when you need precision you need a dpad

 

[01011001]

Not once did I say "fighters don't need dpad" Im saying the genre is niche enough now where it doesn't warrant traditional controller to have one, especially sin e a large majority in the fighting game community have moved on.

the fighting game community has moved on because many were fed the lie that a fight stick is superior to a dpad, which they absolutely are not.

a dpad is still by far the best way to play a fighting game, unless you wanna learn how to use a hitbox, which is only for highly dedicated players since it's very unintuitive at first and will not be everyone's cup of tea even if they try to get into it.

 

[SmokedMeat]

D-pad has been obsolete for years now. The last time I found it effective was playing Frogger on Xbox 360.

Well, it is handy for non movement commands. Like bringing up a camera or selecting items.

 

[01011001]

D-pad has been obsolete for years now. The last time I found it effective was playing Frogger on Xbox 360.

Well, it is handy for non movement commands. Like bringing up a camera or selecting items.

you must play a very small amount of genres to say that...

 

[nightmare-slain]

the only times i wished i had a dpad on my switch is when i played FFVII. a game from 1997. or when playing Smash. using the directional buttons feels awkward in those two games.

i prefer analog sticks. directional buttons are good in menus but honestly i could live without them. so for me only time a dpad matters is an old 20+ year games or fighting games.

 

[somesang]

Am I the only person that wants more tactile buttons? D-pads are flexible. Give me 6 triggers, back paddles, select, start, options, share - the whole nine. I guess I want mouse/keyboard + sticks but you know, ergonomic and not stupid.

 

[IDKFA]

It would be cool if it was replaced with a laser, then when you move you let thumb over the laser it knows what direction you're pressing.

 

[SmokedMeat]

you must play a very small amount of genres to say that...

I play an absurd amount of games. D-pad for movement is a thing of the past.

 

[Tams]

Did you even listen to the video you posted OP?

The presenter says he thinks d-pads are still better as they are discrete, clear controls. And you need only look at Xbox controllers to see that eight-way or 'infinite' ones are just never as precise.

I get the appeal of pads instead and for some games they are a better use of that controller space. But for many games, a d-pad is better - platformers, fighting games, shumps, and adventure games were you want to be sure of your actions. Even in shooters they are nice as you don't as easily choose the wrong weapon/item/command.


If one set of controls had to be changed on a controller, then I'd go with replacing the face buttons with a second d-pad, perhaps an eight-way one. Kind of the opposite of the Joycons (I honestly wish they'd gone that route).