Gamepad or Keyboard ?

[FifaDude]

Hi, first post so go easy.

Am I at a considerable disadvantage by playing FIFA 2003 with keyboard over someone on a gamepad ?

I've never touched a footie game before this, but I'm getting hooked and would like to be good at it to compete online.

Without wanting to splash out on a pad if I'll not get any benefit, I'm quite comfortable on the keys, but mabey there's a lot of gameplay I'm missing out on with the cursors and QWEASD combos.

I can attack, sprint, tackle, pass, send player runs, lob etc no problem, but once I get near the goal the main thing I seem to be screwing up totally is shots. They go high, wide, too soft, and very rarely on target. Would a gamepad give me a level of accuracy with shots that a keyboard simply cannot replicate ?

I've driven loads of driving games, and know they are impossible with keys (I have a FF wheel and it makes driving games 1 zillion % better).

Is a pad a MUST to be good at this game ? If so can you give me some examples of things that simply cannot be done on keys that a pad would make almost second nature.

With a racing game its an easy thing to do. I.e. Analogue brakes give you the ability to control exactly how much pressure you want to excert and and an analogue wheel gives you the ability to be incredibly accurate with your steering. Where cursor keys are simply no where near the control you need to drive a car.

I noticed in the Fifa readme.txt a couple of pads are "highly recommended", does this mean necessary to be a winner ?

Thanks for any info.
Dude.

 

[Buffon]

gamepad

gamepad is way better and easier...
i've got the thrustmaster dual analog, and it's pretty good.. the keyboard is just to difficutl to play with
trust me GAMEPAD all the way

 

[Gerrard 17]

thrustmaster dual analog is awesome, and i think you can afford $20

its really worth it

 

[?uestlove]

what i'd like to say is that you would be proficient either way, coz its all a matter of getting used to the controls. when i started playing fifa on pc i was so frustrated but it was only because it was a football game that i kept on playing. i'm sure there are others who will agree with me. no bragging intended, but i'm able to get and an average of 4 a goals per game a season using the keyboard. i am completely comfortable with. in fact, when i use a pad to play i get totally messed up. so it all depends on what you start playing with, pad or keyboard.

PS: you will soon get the hang of scoring. it takes some time to understand it.

 

[FifaDude]

i do understand the point about what ever you get used to you can become good at, but for some kinds of games a controller is a must.

eg. a mouse in a FPS game, or a wheel in a driving game. without these you stand no chance

with FIFA is it the same principle ?

does the analogue nature of a pad controller give some level of control that you cannot do with key combinations.

if i'm pressing say up and right do move diagonal, or press down left and shoot to keep the ball low and aim for the left, then I thats as much control with keys as I have.

could I use an analogue controller to control exactly the horizontal direction I wanted to be running or shooting in ?

does the analogue controls of a pad actually give you smoother direction and turning,

with the keys it seems like the movement directions are very "ON or OFF"

for example with an controller could I run in smooth arc like shape ? with keys it seems you have to run straight, then diagonal, then straight a bit more, then diagonal a bit, etc etc,

mabey this is just the game itself as I said I've no previous experience

its not that i cant afford the controller, but i generally do feel more comfortable on a keyboard than holding a controller, but if I'm loosing out on the fluidity of the movements and directional control of the player then I will convert.

i'll just get one as a test anyway i think, i'll never know if I dont.

 

[Acidtrip]

I thought playing with a gamepad is fun .. but its soo uncomftable, weird & not as fun, the buttons are confusing so I went back and returned it, keyboard is the best!

 

[PornStar]

key board all the way!!!!!!!!!!

 

[T-101]

I started fifa2k3 and keyboard was kinda hard many missed tackles and retarted key presses. However just now i've gotten a good hang of it, and I'm enjoying the controlability I've achieved. I might try a gamepad however if I found out one of the worlds best fifa players uses keyboard then there's no need is there

 

[?uestlove]

fifa isnt really better or worse with a controller or a keyboard.

personally, i dont think there is anything a controller can do better. and as acidtrip remarked, i tried using a controller but i kept on missing my tackles and shots. so i returned to the keyboard, which is great.

btw, i play quite a few driving games with the keyboard. even though a wheel will be totally intuitive, i manage.

 

[XP-Chael]

digital vs analog

what you guys need to understand is that the analog control gives you 360 degrees of movement and aiming, while keyboard only gives you 8 directions.

Example would be the through pass button, you aim with a keyboard, and you only have 8 directions to point and "send a through ball in the direction you are pointing. While with a 360 degree analog controller you have 1 degree increments in which to point your player and THEN "send a through ball in the direction you are pointing."

Same goes for shooting, you want that finer degree of aiming especially during those crucial pinpoint 1on1 slot shots to the corner of the net.

If that doesn't make you realize the power of analog over digital, I dunno what else will. It's the same as using a flight yoke/wheel/joystick in a flight simulator or driving sim vs using a gamepad, of course you want the analog controls.

XP-Chael

 

[T-101]

so XP Chael what controller do you recommend for FIFA?

 

[cwhein]

Gravis Gamepad Pro USB $19.99

Can't go wrong with the Gravis Gamepad Pro if you're looking to buy your first gamepad.

 

[phloax]

i use microsoft sidewinder USB and it works better than the keyboard for me

 

[FifaDude]

Cheal, thats exactly the kind of info I was after.

i wasnt sure if the game allowed precise shooting via analogue controls, and I do feel very limited to hard striaght or diagonal directions with the cursor keys.

gonna, get a Wingman Rumble pad. thanks a lot.

 

[valioso]

i use a gamepad.. but it depends what you are used to..
i play consoles a lot so a gamepad feels more normal in my hands

 

[XP-Chael]

heya

I personally use the Belkin Nostromo

http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProd...Section_Path=//Root/Nostromo...ingTools/ct_Id>

Because with the utility, I can set the RIGHT analog stick to Rx and Ry, and have it be my freestyle control stick just like xbox, ps2 and gamecube

I love it feels good, and the layout is similar to any generic ps2 clone.

I recommend anything with a RIGHT analog stick, but make sure the software included or downloaded allows you to map the right analog axis to Rx and Ry.

At work I have a gravis aftershock and it works great with Fifa 2k3 also (right analog default works as freestyle control no problem)

I have tried the logitech rumble pad (2 analog sticks also) and it seemed to work ok, but I wasn't able to play much with it.

Good luck!

XP-Chael

 

[nikeportugal]

hey XP

Hey XP!!

Didn't know you were on this forum as well..

Well yeah.. I figured i'd warn all the Thrustmaster users, or anyone looking to get a thrustmaster that you can't use the right analog stick for freestyle control .. so it sucks the big one.

I'm really pissed off at EA and Thrustmaster for not putting the effort into getting freestyle control to work on this pad.

 

[XP-Chael]

nikeportugal!

hey! how are you doing? I feel bad you aren't able to get the performance out of your thrustmaster just yet. Hang in there, hopefully there will be a fix soon

XP-Chael

 

[T-101]

what are the logitech gamepads like? do ps2 & xbox releases work with the pc too? from what i've read someone used a ps2 converter and it worked however the logitech wingman seems like the pad to get, because there's currently problems with the right analogue on the fire storm.

I also wonder if usb is better then cordless. Cordless do have lag right?

 

[FifaDude]

i dont think cordless have lag, i use a cordless mouse/kb for games (q3, and so far fifa) and i havent noticed lag at all.

btw, my skills are improving on keyboard, i've played half a league for Newcastle utd (on beginner i admit) and i started the season loosing the first 3 games, but now am 4th in the league and qualified for 2nd round champions league.

my best win was 11-1 but some games are tough especially the champion league games

so i'm better ob keyboard, but i still think a pad would give more fluid play. waiting on Santa for a Rumblepad.