Spiral Knights - UI and other improvements for Gamepad users

UI and other improvements for Gamepad users

8 replies [Last post]

Sat, 03/30/2013 - 09:29

Glacies

Thought I'd ask this due to the MASSIVE Incoming UI Rework! incoming. (I asked it there but it's a good idea to ask here)

They're mostly cosmetic things and I'd rather this be later on the list since you should be focusing on more major updates. I know the userbase for Gamepads is small but I'd still like to see more focus towards us:

Add Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and "Button Number" icons for Gamepad users on the UI. So instead of Social displaying F6 it'd display "SELECT" or "BUTTON 11" or whatever button is currently mapped to it.
Allow more UI navigation with the Gamepad. I don't mind switching from my mouse but whenever I'm in a place where I have to walk across the living room constantly without a wireless Keyboard or Mouse is a hassle when I'm trying to change equipment constantly or select a mission or join parties is a pain. I'm not lazy but it becomes a real hassle to constantly walking back and forth to constantly select parties, click play again in Lockdown over and over.
Allow Re-connectivity when the Gamepad disconnects. This is one I have been bothering OOO for awhile now but Spiral Knights is the only game that once your Gamepad disconnects you have to restart the entire game to reconnect it. Suggestion on this would be if it's currently not possible, why not at least apply a check every time a level loads? All though it'd be a temp. fix and would still be annoying because if you were in a Lockdown match, you'd have to wait until the next match for it to work again. It's still better than having to restart the entire game.

First one is simple and the other two are a bit more complex but it's something I'd like to see for Gamepad users.

Sat, 03/30/2013 - 09:35

Thunder-The-Bright

well

OOO is not responsible if you connect things not compatible with the game. in a few words, it's not their fault, it's yours.

Sat, 03/30/2013 - 09:41

Glacies

Except Gamepads are compatible with the game. If they weren't, I'd be using something like Remotejoy to map my Keyboard but they are indeed compatible with the game. The Third one is even a glitch that OOO has acknowledged. (And before someone says it, I hate Remote Joy)

They even have a Wiki Page for it here: http://wiki.spiralknights.com/Gamepad

Besides, it's just suggestions.

Sat, 03/30/2013 - 09:49

Zeddy

@Thunder-The-Bright

Do we have to have this discussion every time gamepads are brought up? The game is compatible with gamepads. You can move in every direction and aim in every direction with the analogue sticks, the game supports this out of the box. No configuration is required to make most gamepads work with the game, the inputs are there already. Just the fact that you can, in fact, map gamepad buttons completely invalidates any completely backwards claims that "the game is not compatible" with gamepads because it is.

You can map buttons.

You can use the sticks.

They work with the game.

Gamepads are compatible.

The devs themselves use gamepads when playing the game. Now can we get on to the part where some features for gamepads are a bit lacking? A lot of menu stuff is impossible to navigate without a mouse. There is no cursor to show which direction you are aiming if you're not using a mouse, which is terrible for the style of guns SK uses (low firerate, every shot counts). The left and right triggers do not work at the same time. There might be more, but those are my gripes.

Sat, 03/30/2013 - 12:29

Autofire

You are experiencing a PICNIC ERROR!

Daisywheel like in Steam's Big Picture. :P

Anyway, +1 in this thread.

Also, force feedback would be cool...like when we get, activate elevators, have a Nitronome blow our (or the enemies') faces off, when we craft things, etc. Of course this you would be able to toggle it.

Allow Re-connectivity when the Gamepad disconnects.

I don't understand this...what PC game supports this?

Sat, 03/30/2013 - 12:48

Glacies

When using a Wireless Controller (Xbox 360 Wireless) after 10 minutes of being idle, the Controller disconnects itself. In every Controller Compatible game, you can hold the "Guide" button and it'll reconnect and work in the game again. In Spiral-Knights when this happens, when you reconnect the controller, it doesn't work until you reboot the game.

Sat, 03/30/2013 - 14:56

Autofire

You are experiencing a PICNIC ERROR!

Ah ok. You see, I don't use a wireless gamepad. This is really how I would program it if I had the time and/or I was the one making the stuff.

The thing is, the Xbox controller's idling should not be game controlled. It should be hardware/firmware controlled. For example, when your gamepad idles for 10 minutes, it can shut off. However, the driver should be telling the game that the gamepad is still plugged in. The game won't know any difference. It will just say "He's not touching any of the sticks/buttons." When you turn it on again, the driver should pick it up. The game won't know it ever even turned off, and will happily continue to let you use it.

Every PC game I've encountered has decided to halt talking to the gamepad if you unplug it as your playing. I always have to restart the game. Would you mind giving a few examples for games which support this reconnecting thing? Because by what you're saying, it sounds like it would have to either use built-in hot plugging (term for constantly checking for new devices; this would slow the game down a lot...) or it would have to rely on the underlying OS, which might cause issues. Which also brings make me ask...what OS are you using? Because an Xbox gamepad is Windows made Xbox, so they'd be the ones with the special drivers. Linux and maybe Mac do have their own drivers, but I doubt it is as full-featured.

Sat, 03/30/2013 - 15:38

Glacies

Alan Wake
Assassin's Creed
Bioshock
Bioshock 2
Bioshock: Infinite
Batman: Arkham Asylum GOTY
Batman: Arkham City
BIT.TRIP Beat Runner
BIT.TRIP Beat Runner 2
Borderlands
Darksiders
Darksiders II
Dead Space
Dead Sapce II
Dead Rising 2
Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead 2
Sonic Generations
Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing
Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing Transformed
Sonic 4 Episode I
Sonic 4 Episode II
Trine
Trine 2

Are all I have tested on out of my massive list of Steam games. I think the reason it allows me to reconnect is because I'm using an Xbox 360 Wireless Reciever. (Search it on Amazon and you'll see it) So it's constantly plugged in. My OS is Windows 7 64-bit.

Spiral Knights is the only game I have had problems reconnecting despite the fact that it's plugged in.

Sat, 03/30/2013 - 20:03

Autofire

You are experiencing a PICNIC ERROR!

Ah that's what's going on. I'm guessing Steam is managing it. You see, Steam and SK are more disconnected from one another than other games. You might want to ask on the Steam forums about this, too. (It might be SK...yeah, I really can't tell.)

Of course, I have no clue at this point. I was assuming it was Linux or something like that. They don't have as good gamepad support as the others.

Although I have no real reason to say this again...