29 replies to this topic

[Buckminster]

HeroForHire, on 14 January 2014 - 10:34 PM, said:

If you find one of those zero-point sticks please let me know -- I'll pick one up. Like you, I have a MS FF2 but 2 of the base buttons aren't responsive so I bought a Cyborg to replace it. I like the FF2 better regarding button placement but my options here are limited and I was in a rush to get a replacement.
Anyhow, I read Mr Inouye's article on editing user.cfg and experimented three hours tweaking it. The joystick still isn't as accurate or as fast as a mouse BUT there is a substantial improvement so I'll continue tweaking and then run a few trials by fire.

The only zero-order joysticks I've seen have been custom built. Maybe if you get your hands on one of those Steel Battalion controllers, but from what I understand converting those is a hobby unto itself.

Seriously, look at doing off-hand joystick & mouse. I have mine set up so that the joystick acts as analog throttle and turning, the hat switch for the four vision modes, trigger is weapons group 3, and the three thumb buttons are weapons group 4, jump jets, and target. My mouse does torso twisting and aiming, and controls weapon groups 1 and 2. I'd still like to get more controls under my hand, so I'm looking into buying a better mouse, but even with what I have it's a great feel. Using the joystick for movement fits my sim needs, and mouse for aiming doesn't gimp myself.

If you do really want to stick with all joystick, you might want to look into LRM and SSRM heavy mechs. Their lock mechanic is a little more forgiving than the pinpoint accuracy of other weapons.

[a gaijin]

WVAnonymous, on 15 January 2014 - 11:21 AM, said:

Yes, high ping adds risk. The occasional two-three second client desyncs are also worse when you're going over 120 kph.

Dragons are like 1970's Pontiac Firebirds. You have to stick your nose waaaay out into the intersection before you can see crossing traffic. Then someone knocks your nose off.

Also, the Dragon weapons are low slung, so you can't utilize cover effectively while firing, unlike Blackjacks and Jagermechs. Even Hunchbacks let you put some of your primary weapons up high so you can stay covered from the chest down.

So once again high ping = more suck to my game... bummer :/


Wow Dragons are that easy to take out cause of their big nose? It's kinda too bad cause Dragons look pretty cool. I've been using the Dragon trial mech exculsively during the 4 hours I've spent user.cfg tweak testing for a joystick (and it still sucks compared to mouse for accuracy) and did notice that the low slung weapons are terrible in areas with lots of ridges like Tourmaline Desert.

[a gaijin]

Buckminster, on 15 January 2014 - 11:29 AM, said:

If you do really want to stick with all joystick, you might want to look into LRM and SSRM heavy mechs. Their lock mechanic is a little more forgiving than the pinpoint accuracy of other weapons.

Thanks for that post, Buckminster. After 4 hours of "edit the user.cfg, run game, test joystick feel for torso twisting for 5 min at Training Grounds, exit game, repeat" I was SRSLY perturbed.
I'll give your method a shot and see how it feels. I was **this close** to just shelving the game (for good?) until Piranha released real joystick drivers for MWO.

To be 100% honest though Piranha Devs should be ashamed of themselves for calling MWO "released" when it doesn't really support joysticks for torso twist like all previous Mechwarrior games have.

Anyhow, thanks again Mr Buck -- you may have provided the workaround needed to keep me interested.
Piranha should send you a paycheck for your PR work!

[Buckminster]

I feel ya. I would tweak the cfg. I'd recalibrate the joystick. And I'd still find that when I'd be trying to twist and aim, I just didn't get that smooth motion. I'd be slowly moving the joystick, and my mech would be all "nothing... nothing... nothing... OH WAIT I TWISTED TOO FAR!" It really cheesed me off.

And unfortunately, I think true joystick support is just not on their radar. They already allow for analog throttle, turning and twisting, and getting that perfected is way behind on the priority list, behind UI 2.0, Community Warfare, DX11, and on and on.

So I hope you find something that works for you.

And yeah, a check would be nice. I'd even settle for some free Premium time.

[Alaskan Nobody]

WVAnonymous, on 15 January 2014 - 11:21 AM, said:

Dragons are like 1970's Pontiac Firebirds. You have to stick your nose waaaay out into the intersection before you can see crossing traffic. Then someone knocks your nose off.

That was the first negative review for the Dragon that actually made me smile.

[IraqiWalker]

HeroForHire, also keep in mind that while in Training grounds, your efficiencies (upgrades unlocked for each mech through the mech tree in the pilot lab) don't actually work there. So don't be surprised if your mech's performance is suddenly better than what it was 10 seconds ago when you go from training grounds to a real match.

Also, if you ever decide to drop with other people, get TeamSpeak, it's free (get the client, not a server), and a freakishly high number of the population uses it.

There are many public servers open to everyone. Just drop by and ask people to drop with you.

http://mwomercs.com/...e-chat-servers/

That link is to a thread that contains a good number of the public servers.

[Acyl]

HeroForHire, on 15 January 2014 - 04:19 PM, said:

So once again high ping = more suck to my game... bummer :/

Yeah, well...limitations of geography. Typically it's not a problem. There's been huge complaints regarding hit registration and latency over the game's lifetime, but right now it's actually decent. So you certainly can brawl or fight mid-range with high latency.

As mentioned by another poster, the biggest issue is the occasional hiccup where you, well, teleport. Or stuff teleports around you. From your perspective, anyway. It won't happen often - but it may happen. If you're fighting long-range or on the outskirts of the melee, it's more likely to be survivable. If you're in a knifefight or close-in turning war, well...that's when speed and responsiveness really really matter.

On a couple items in the thread:- yes, choosing an armoured yet mobile medium mech and dancing around the edge of a fight taking opportune shots is how many people play mediums. There are exceptions - you can certainly stick LRMs on mediums like the Trebuchet, play a mobile long-range sniper role in a Blackjack, or pack a huge engine and a bunch of Streak-SRMs in a Kintaro to hunt light mechs. But generally a medium doesn't have the armour to stand up and brawl like a heavy or assault, or the speed to just dodge and outflank in tight confines like a light mech. Well, okay, you can get some nice speed in a Cicada or Kintaro, and the Centurion can be pretty tanky...but these are general comments, not specifics.

The HBK-4G and Hunchback line in general tends to be more for that midrange circling sort of thing. I mean, you have a stock AC/20 in the hunch. Extreme range on an AC/20 is actually not bad, but it's obviously a better close-in weapon. And yet getting too close and drawing too much attention means you're gonna lose that hunch. You could of course experiment with multiple smaller ACs instead of the AC/20, which also gives you more range. Of course, on the same token, you could try an SRM Catapult build, though using a Catapult as a mid-range/short-range 'mech runs into the same issues as the Dragon. The Cat has a really really big torso...

Honestly, though, in the long run you WILL need to acquire mechs other than the Founder's ones, after all. That's the only way to get your basic, elite, and master skills. Ideally the Founder mechs should be useful in and of themselves, but if nothing else, your experience with 'em will serve in determining what you like or don't like.

Edited by Acyl, 16 January 2014 - 08:23 PM.

[a gaijin]

IraqiWalker, on 16 January 2014 - 04:13 AM, said:

Also, if you ever decide to drop with other people, get TeamSpeak, it's free (get the client, not a server), and a freakishly high number of the population uses it.

There are many public servers open to everyone. Just drop by and ask people to drop with you.

http://mwomercs.com/...e-chat-servers/

That link is to a thread that contains a good number of the public servers.

Thank you for the info and link. Now to look for other DC members to drop with

Acyl, on 16 January 2014 - 08:15 PM, said:

teleport. Or stuff teleports around you.

Thanks for heads up. I don't like surprises. And also for the excellent summary on those Founder mechs.


In other news, I received a reply from PGI on a trouble ticket I submitted for the terrible Torso-twist coding for joysticks:
"Joystick support is still a work in progress. We understand the need for it, however at this point all focus is on UI 2.0. Any improved joystick support would require the new interface to be properly setup (as opposed to doing the work twice)
I understand that there are some aspects to Mech controls currently that would require a significant overhaul in order to properly accept more fine-tuning for joystick controls. Again this is something the devs want to do..... I assure you it is on the way. Some of us want our sim pits."

[Arahantius]

Acyl, on 16 January 2014 - 08:15 PM, said:

As mentioned by another poster, the biggest issue is the occasional hiccup where you, well, teleport. Or stuff teleports around you. From your perspective, anyway. It won't happen often - but it may happen. If you're fighting long-range or on the outskirts of the melee, it's more likely to be survivable. If you're in a knifefight or close-in turning war, well...that's when speed and responsiveness really really matter.

As an additional note - if you have high ping and you decide to take a very fast mech, never ever run through a pack of enemy mechs. The server side latency will bounce you stright into the mechs and you'll come to a dead stop (figuratively and often literally)

[xMEPHISTOx]

Founders Mechas are OP and should be nerfed.