Advice about devices, please?

[Alvhe Feleo]

If you want to skip the brief intro start at the red text, but it's worth reading and it's relevant.

Hello everyone, I've been reading across this subforum and noticed how many people use arcade sticks, xbox gamepads and whatnot. I've always used my PS3 controller because it's the only gamepad I own and for some reason I though it would feel better than a keyboard for a fighting game (I play on PC).

After so much reading I decided to give my keyboard a try out of curiosity but expecting an experience similar to Dark Souls (which is unplayable without a gamepad). I've been soooo gimped all this time! I don't know if it's the PS3 controller only, whether it happens with every other controller and I have no idea how an arcade stick feels (I've never owned one myself), but using the keyboard tripled my efficiency in 5 minutes.

I've used the pad for so long that it feels weird to use a keyboard now, but all those combos that I couldn't manage to link with the gamepad even though everyone said they were so easy, all that crap that came along (like jumping unintendedly or using tarkatan stab when I wanted to tackle) is gone. It took me a couple of minutes to settle and have my brain understand the space bar was the new block button, but it's only a matter of time I make myself comfortable with those controls and start kicking butt again.

After that I stood in awe for about a minute, wondering how many games I've lost because I was playing handicapped, then I started wondering if it would be worth buying an arcade stick, since the keyboard feels so much better than the gamepad. I came to the conclussion (eventually) that maybe other devices would further enhance my control over the game, and I'm quoting @Pig Of The Hut here about the DS4 which is supposed to be better than the DS3 I've been using:

I'm 33 years old, been playing fighting games since I was 10 and not ever, not even the xbox 360 pad, the 3d0 pad for way of the warrior, any arcade stick have I ever NEUTRAL/BACK/FORWARD jumped so much in my life when attempting to do a back forward 2 input or motion.

So here comes the great, ultimate question. What is the best control device?

Now, that question is a bit too wide to answer at once, I'll make it to narrow it down:
- I have no experience using arcade sticks at all, so any insight is appreciated. I currently have a DS3 (Playstation 3 controller), a mechanical gaming keyboard (K70 RGB red MX) and a crappy X360-shaped controller for phones, which I've tried and they all misbehave somewhere.
- I don't need the most expensive device, I only want the controller type that gives the best performance. In other words, I don't want to jump when I do [back,forward,1], when I want to do [down,back,forward,2] I don't want to get [down,back,down,forward,2](This one happens a lot with the keyboard). I want precise input feedback.
- Aside from providing generic information (such as "gamepads are the best!") I'd also appreciate if someone who has had the opportunity to try some devices could share their opinion (such as "I recommend the xbox360 controller because..."), specially those arcade fighting game lovers who own more than 1 controller type and/or have tried different setups.

PS: For those who recommend reading other threads around like Hit Box reviews and that stuff, I already did. I need feedback from several people to get my hands on the stuff.

Thanks in advance to everyone who can help me out, and sorry for the wall of text!

 

[jmt]

I've been playing on stick for over 20 years and when mkx came out I played on stick too. Then I decided to try the ps4 pad and I never looked back. Thing works perfectly.

I tried playing mkx on a friends XB1 and that pad is horrible.

 

[_xFriction]

if you like keyboard, you'd like a hitbox. hard to try before u buy tho :/

 

[Alvhe Feleo]

It's not that I prefer keyboard over gamepad, it's that on a gamepad using the d-pad it sometimes registers up/down when it's not intended, using the stick is unplayable and using the keyboard I have slight issues with some specific specials. If I'm going to play a game against other people at least I don't want to be handicapped.

I will further illustrate what I intend to explain with a summary of my experience. I've been a hardcore gamer for the past 15 years. I've played every game genre from Super metroid to Mortal Kombat X, trying everything I came across and going a bit competitive in games like Counter Strike. That damned game where 75% of a player's skill level is based on whether he has his rates correctly set up. My friends think I cheat because "I shoot them before I see them", but the fact is my cfg (rates, interp and other geeky stuff) let me get the server data before they do, so I have a split second advantage (in that game, that split second means win or lose). That's further enhanced because I use a 144Hz monitor that shows more than twice as many frames as their 60Hz TVs retrofitted to serve as computer displays. On top of that I use a mechanical keyboard against their membrane crap and a precision laser mouse with adjustable DPI up to 6.6k as opposed to their optical, fixed 800 dpi mice.

I don't even know if I'm better than them, it's possible that I'm just the same level or even worse, but I have a 90% win rate and the cheater nickname just because my computer runs twice as fast and provides a much better experience.

When it comes to MKX I've had instances were I lost because I jumped when I tried to do a special, others where I win after doing a special when i tried to jump back and kick to space out but my controller says he prefers doing a special that gives me an underserved victory, and instances where I simply can't do a fatality because it's [back, forward, back, forward, 2] and I duck and jump out of nowhere.

That's why I need the most responsive device, to avoid both losing because the character went nuts and winning when I don't deserve to because my character did a random attack I didn't intend to.

Also about the hitbox pad, as I said before I had already checked that out but it only looks like a keyboard with huge buttons. I don't think there's any difference between a keyboard and one of those hitbox pads, except it has less buttons but adapted to the fingers' length.

Does anybody have an idea about the steam controller? I'm not sure touchpads would be good for a fighting game but maybe they are worth a shot...

 

[Alvhe Feleo]

Hey guys, I still need some guidance here. Some people say sticks are better than pads, others say pads are equally good... Hell, I even watched the review by Perfect legend on the PDP MKX fight pad but nothing comes clear, it's always the same "do whatever you want" choice which doesn't help at all.

The TL;DR version of my previous posts in case someone wasn't willing to read the wall of text:
I play on PC and have been using a PS3 controller to play. So far so good, until I found out the D-Pad sucks (my character would randomly jump/duck while I was trying to do some B,F or F,B moves) and I can't pull some combos because my thumb isn't quick enough, e.g. Kung Lao's 112124. I switched to keyboard controls and while I have improved my skills the whole control scheme sucks, e.g. a basic combo like B3,2,1 is displayed on the keyboard as ALKJ (this doesn't make any god damn sense!) whereas it was with the controller, and on top of that the keys are too close to each other so it feels clunky.

I checked the Hit Box and I don't really like how it works, so the only choices are a fightstick or a fightpad where I can claw-grip, but I'm afraid the fightpad will have a bad d-pad too and it may also not offer a good claw-grip support.

Anyone, please, help a fellow player get this one right!

PS: The maximum amount of money I can spend right now is 100€.

 

[C-Sword]

So this?

 

[Bilbo11]

Hori fight pad (ps4) never looked back.

(from MK9 Ps3,(IGAU, DS3) (SFIV (DS3), Mk9 (DS3), (MKX,DS4>Hori FC4, never looked back)))).

Note: want to try Hitbox, but its Expensive to import to Australia.

Let the fights begin

 

[EGP Wonder_Chef]

As a former Keyboard player myself, I can't imagine you not liking Hitbox.

The only difference is up being with your thumb, but it isn't hard to get used to.

 

[_xFriction]

a simple switch of two wires changes the thumb button to down....if you're already used to it forget it

 

[Alvhe Feleo]

@C-Sword that costs around 300£ which is over 300€ according to the description. In any case I don't see how that would work. Hadn't seen it though, thanks for the info.

@Bilbo11 That might be what I was looking for, thanks. I'm from spain and that pad doesn't appear in amazon.es so I missed it. It's cheap, if it doesn't break or wear off after a short period of time I might buy it overseas.

@EGP Wonder_Chef maybe you are right, I will set the space bar to jump and see if it works out, but I'm already having trouble with block assigned to it so i don't expect much.
@_xFriction that would make it even harder IMO.

Thank you everyone for the ideas, I'll look further around the hitbox. I'd still like to hear about fightsticks, it seems like you need to spend 150-200€ to get a decent one but that's too much money for the moment, however if someone knows about worthy sticks I'm all ears... Or eyes.

 

[Icepick]

If you need a dpad with a claw grip, I would go with the Hori. I actually use the Hori with the claw grip when I play UMVC3 on my controller.
To be honest, I would avoid the fightstick. The fightstick is a lot more complicated than a fightpad. I will not go into details about the fightstick vs fightpad debate. All I will say is a fightstick is not a controller I would recommend if you never used one.
I would have to agree with the general consensus that a Hitbox would be your best bet. It has the control of a keyboard with the advantage of arcade buttons.

 

[Alvhe Feleo]

I've been reading around about other users' experiences and stuff online and found interesting choices. I'm finally going to get a cheap Mayflash stick that costs as low as 20~25 bucks. It's a piece of crap in general, but a lot of people recommend it as the best option if:
1. You have no idea whether you will like arcade sticks or not.
2. You don't have a lot of money to spend currently.
3. You want the choice to upgrade (it looks like the shell can be modded a lot).

I case someone else is in the same boat as I am, the plan is deciding whether I like arcade sticks over gamepads and if it turns out I prefer sticks the Mayflash can be modded (there are a lot of guides out there for that specific stick). Otherwise I will invest in a good gamepad where I can get a good claw grip.

Thank you very much for trying to help me out everyone! It's a pity I won't end up with a quality stick, but I don't have the money and even if I had it, I'm still not sure if it's worth it.