Hi guys, new posting here although i have been reading for a while. I’m trying to get into fighting games more seriously and after platinuming MK vs DC on a DualShock with my thumbs being very sorry I did, I decided to pick up UMVC3. I got to where all I needed to do was the missions and started in on them with a DualShock.
As you might imagine massive frustration ensued with directional input not working very well with either the d pad or the analog stick. I noticed Amazon had a Sf x Tekken Madcatz fightstick on sale for 99 so I picked it up. The difference is flabbergasting. The fightstick made everything much easier. Anywho after all of that my question stems from threads I’ve read where “pad vs stick” is discussed. Are “pad” players actually using the standard console controllers or does pad refer to something else?
pad vs stick is a matter of preference nowadays. anything you can do on a stick can be done on a pad with some tweaking of buttons. however, if you choose to go the pad route, you’ll need to get a wired controller and converter for tournament play, as wireless pads aren’t allowed to anything bigger than a local gathering.
I use a stick for MvC2 on PSN… but when I play for real and there’s a Dreamcast around, I use a DC regular pad…
I learned Super Turbo on a Dual Shock 1… and even now I’m better on a DS1 with Blanka no less than I am with stick.
My biggest problem with pads is that you get used to a pad… and then it changes… Sticks are forever.
(e.g. nothing uses a DC pad anymore, the DS2 has weird buttons, the DS3 has those annoying triggers instead of buttons, the Xbox pad has those bubble buttons that I can’t do shit with, the 360 pad just doesn’t feel right to me for the RT/RB buttons)
IMO I think it is a preference. If you like a pad better than a stick, than by all means, stick to a pad. But I wouldn’t just throw the stick away. I have been playing FGs with a pad my whole life, but everyone that I play with competitively play on a stick. Sticks, in the long run, are probably better than a pad as they feel smoother and I guess feel better overall for FGs. But the learning curve for me is too big for me to transition, although I still would like to learn a stick haha. But, yea, to me its just a matter of preference
The only advantage of a stick in this game is the fact that you don’t get callus on your left thumb. That and having the ability to choose which buttons to charge with when using Viper/Zero/Vergil instead of using a L shoulder macro. Otherwise you can do anything on stick on a pad in this game, and a lot of things are easier due to the dash macros, especially for plinking dashes/tridash attacks, FChamp was actually complaining about Fanatiq’s Magneto and his built in tridash plinks.
Alright then, I present to you a challenge. Here is a theoretical situation: I have a Dualshock 3 with 10 buttons, and I need to configure my controller to accommodate all of these below.
[LIST]
[]I need all 6 inputs (L, M, H, S, A1, A2) assigned to a button each.
[]I need to be able to dash.
[]I need to be able to hit both assists at the same to do a Cross Combo Attack or whatever it’s called.
[]I play Phoenix Wright, so I need to be able to hit L+S, M+S, and H+S. That’s not all, though: I need to be able to Maya plink, so I need to be able to do a QCF while plinking an attack button to S.
[]I play Zero, so I need to be able to charge my buster AND charge switch at any time. And I still need to be able to do everything (e.g. plink dash, call assists, hit M or H) while charging my buster.
[]I play Rocket Raccoon or Taskmaster, so I need to be able to hit L+M, M+H or L+H depending on which variation of the super I need.
[/LIST]
Now tell me a possible configuration that I could use on a Dualshock 3 that allows me do ALL of these things. Even if you could (which I doubt), it would probably be confusing and uncomfortable. Compare that to a stick, where all of the above is achievable with a very simple layout.** Using a pad is not a preference, it’s a handicap. **A good comparison is that it’s very possible to run in high heels or thongs (flip flops if you’re American) and with some practice you can get used to it, but it’s much easier to just use runners from the get go.
Using a pad comes with numerous disadvantages and very, very few advantages. There are only two that I can think of and neither are really applicable to this game. For one, 2ATK is obviously easier with a macro but in this game the dash input is very lenient and I don’t think I’ve ever screwed up a dash on a stick. Ever. Secondly, double tapping a direction is easier on a pad but only if you use the actual D-Pad. If you do use the D-Pad, that means you have to move your thumb if you want to press L3. Besides, double tapping is very rarely useful.
There are some games where you can use a pad and be fine. For example, the Soul Calibur games are pretty pad friendly. But with Marvel 3? Like I said, it’s not impossible but it’s incredibly inconvenient and you probably won’t be able to do everything that you want to do.
for starters, hitting both assist buttons calls team supers. crazy, i know. that’s one button that isn’t required.
Dash can be easily set to R2 as it is by default. you could even set it to L+H attack, giving you both a dash and the required super input.
using Phoenix Wright…not sure why i’d do this to myself with pad or stick, so i’m going to go ahead and give you him, though you can set up M to a shoulder button if you feel so inclined.
Zero is easy, set L1 to L attack and L2 to assist 1. works perfectly fine.
for Task, do what i do and set L+H attack to R2. you can easily reach L+M and M+H, L+H is the only awkward input you need to plan for.
regardless, there are more than enough buttons to cover any inputs you need on the pad. you can even use R3 and L3 if you so desire. Pads have come a long way, and it is really a matter of preference nowadays rather than straight up limitations. and you can’t really say it’s awkward, because you would naturally be learning your gameplan around those controls you set up to accommodate your needs. it’s STILL a matter of preference, what is awkward to one person is natural to another.
Do that and I’ll tell you what limitations it has. Also, when I was talking about hitting both assists buttons I didn’t mean you need a macro. I just meant that you can’t (for example) set A1 to R3 and A2 to X, because it’s impossible to hit those both of those buttons at the same time.
It’s funny that the title was read and the topic immediately became a “pad vs stick” argument and the guy’s question was something else completely. Yes the “pad” is a DualShock 3, in the case of PS3 users.
I’m impressed that you actually did think about it. Now, that configuration won’t work because:
[LIST]
[]In case you didn’t know, to Maya plink you have to do QCF + ATK~S. Tildes are used to denote plinking, right? I don’t know. Anyway, you could probably do that with the L variation, but M and H? There’s no macro for the H version, and for the M version you’d have to use L3 which is awkward if your thumb is on the analogue stick and impossible if your thumb is on the D-Pad.
[]How am I going to charge switch? When I start a lightning loop, I need to switch the button to either M or H. I can’t use M because that’s bound to L3 (do you honestly expect someone to be able to do TK dragon punches while holding down L3?) and I can’t use L+H because that locks out the L button.
[]You can easily do L+H, but what about L+M and M+H? To do L+M, you’d have to press L1 and a face button together (awkward), and for M+H you’d have to press L3 and a face button together (also awkward). Remember, this is immediately after doing a QCF because you’re doing a super.
[]Even stuff that isn’t impossible (like X-Factoring) is still a pain in the ass to do. With your configuration, you’d have to press X, R2 and L3 all at the same time. Compare that to, on a stick, you have to press four buttons that your fingers and thumb are already going to be resting on.
[/LIST]
You cannot honestly tell me that someone would prefer to do all of this convoluted shit rather than use an arcade stick. Stick is simpler. Stick is easier. You’d be able to get by with a pad if you played simple characters and didn’t need to charge a buster, search for evidence or do multiple variations of a super. But still, you’re limiting the number of characters and teams you could play. And, if you’re the sort of person that has a ton of different teams, you might have to change your control configuration in between every team switch just to accommodate the different buttons you need.
You’re welcome to try again, but I guarantee you that there is no pad configuration that allows you to do everything you’d ever want to do that matches the simplicity and ease of just using an arcade stick. I know this because I actually used to use a pad in this game.
no one cares about playing Phoenix Wright. if you want to play him, do your thing. i’m not setting up a controller configuration for the worst character in the game.
hold Triangle to charge your buster during LL’s. use L1 as your L attack while you do. this isn’t difficult. takes some practice, but Mihe and a few other Zeros i’ve seen on stream play pad and have no difficulty performing LL’s. why was L3 your first thought for holding M?
as i explained in the post you disregarded, L+M and M+H are easy to hit with face buttons. your thumb can easily press Square and Triangle together, as well as Triangle and Circle at the same time. hence why they do not need their own input buttons. you’re trying to make this more obtuse than it really is.
set XF to R3? if you have difficulty pushing all 4 face buttons at once, there’s still a button input i left alone. to top it off it never gets touched so there wouldnt be any accidental XFC’s.
the only reason this controller configuration is so wonky is because you expected me to accommodate for three characters no one plays together. if you’re playing Zero, you’re not going to use Phoenix Wright or Raccoon, and odds are you wouldn’t use Task either. so all i need is the L1 = L attack setup for it. Task/Raccoon are easily accounted for by setting L2 to L+H so that R2 can remain the default LMH if you so please. and, again, Phoenix Wright is irrelevant. if you’re playing him, you can set something up involving the M button so that you can hit the second evidence slot. i don’t know anything about Maya plinking, so it’s not like i can exactly account for it in my setups.
I’m actually not. Might as well mention it, you know.
Actually, people do care about Phoenix Wright. I care about playing Phoenix Wright. And I did do my thing. And it was annoying. But then I bought a stick, and it wasn’t.
You’ve got me there. The way I thought of doing it was stupid. Even still, since your finger is resting on L1, your left hand is going to be in a different position to usual and thus doing motions is weird if you’re used to holding the controller normally. Yeah, it’s nothing that you can’t fix with practice but that’s practice that you would never have to do with a stick.
Maybe your thumb. My thumb is pretty small.
Fair point. I don’t know why I didn’t consider this.
Who said anything about playing them together? I could have 3 different teams, one with each character on it. If I did, I would have to go into options and change my controller configuration every time I wanted to switch teams. Again, with a pad, you’re limiting yourself. What if I meet some button mashing scrub online and I want to play Phoenix Wright just to troll him? I’d have to leave the match to reconfigure my controls.
Basically, all you’ve been proving is that it’s possible to do stuff with a pad. I don’t deny that. If using a pad was unworkable, then there’s no way that I would have stuck with this game for a whole year before switching to a stick. But with a pad, you’re not only limiting the teams that you can play, you have to generally put in more work to use one. That’s why I think a stick is better. Also, remember what I said:
Some of it does, in fact, come down to preference. But not all of it. There are several things that are just outright easier on a stick.
yes, a pad is a standard ps3 controller, and stick refers to an arcade stick. i’ve never heard anyone call their xbox controller a pad, so i’m not sure on that one.
i completed all UMVC3 missions, minus shuma and jill, on my ps3 controller. sentinel’s 10 was probably the hardest. people reported that “the hard part” is a 2-frame link!
I grew up playing fighting games in the arcades so I use stick for Marvel. I use pad for everything else and also keyboard when playing games on the computer/laptop. I can also play Marvel on pad but it feels way more comfortable and still makes me remember the MVC2 days back in the arcades.