What do you think of the Carrier control method?

[javelin10 0]

I find it very unintuitive and clunky. I can see where they are going with the port engine/starboard engine forward/reverse thrust propulsion idea, but the way the forward/back left/right keys map to it is really hard to use even when you are manoeuvring close to an island, let alone when engaging the enemy carrier. Try reversing, then introduce a little turn and see what I mean. One engine goes to stop, the other goes full forward :confused: And one keypress should definitely not take you up to full speed, requiring you to throttle back to find a slow setting.

Also, I don't know if this is just my keyboard but if I try and hold down two keys at once (say, forward with a bit of right turn) the second keypress doesn't register.

Just a simple two forward and two back buttons, one set for each engine, where you hold down the button to smoothly increase/decrease the throttle setting, would make a lot more sense to me. Anyone agree?

[Gazzareth 1]

I would have to agree with you there. It would also be useful if you could control the carrier with keys whilst you used the turret with the mouse..

G

[Derbysieger 11]

I would have to agree with you there. It would also be useful if you could control the carrier with keys whilst you used the turret with the mouse..

G

You can already do this afaik. At least I always steer the carrier around when I shell the enemy carrier with the carrier weapons.

[Wh1sper 0]

I never steared the carrier manual, yet.:butbut:

[liquidpinky 11]

Controls great with an xbox controller funnily enough. ;)

[Gazzareth 1]

You can already do this afaik. At least I always steer the carrier around when I shell the enemy carrier with the carrier weapons.

My Bad - don't know why I didn't just try it - obviously thinking of the original !!

G

[R33GoNe 1]

the only thing i have found is the left and right when going backwards are not as you would expect IE they are reversed

[Dajunka 10]

Controls great with an xbox controller funnily enough. ;)

I am left handed and have trouble with the movement keys, which for some reason, you can't remap. So does a xbox controller work with all moment commands in Carrier command, if so where can I buy one? I don't want a xbox, just the controller.

This is what I need, yes?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-USB-Wired-Gamepad-Controller-Microsoft-XBOX-360-PC-Windows-Black-UK-/230774294132?pt=UK_Controllers_Attachments&hash=item35bb384674#ht_1943wt_1396

Edited April 16, 2012 by Dajunka

[Appogee 1]

I find it very unintuitive and clunky.

Well, it is an aircraft carrier, not a speedboat, after all :-)

I think it simulates two thrusters and a rudder quite well.

[Imp0815 1]

This is a PC game why would they optimize the Controlls for a Controller?! Anyways the Control feeling is realy bad, it is more like trying to move soap on a nailplank. First it does notthing but when you press harder it slipps all the way throught the room.

[javelin10 0]

Well, it is an aircraft carrier, not a speedboat, after all :-)

I think it simulates two thrusters and a rudder quite well.

Ah, but I'd have to disagree with you there, mate. The carrier accelerates more like a speedboat then a large vessel, and the control method only simulates two thrusters, not a rudder at all. If the thrusters aint thrusting, then the boat aint turning.

Seriously, though; I'm not expecting realism - the devs have the right to make the game as abstract as they like, I would just like a more intuitive control method with a keyboard.

BTW, Liquidpinky, do you find the radial menu very useful? I find they don't work well with a mouse, so I've completely ignored it so far...

[harbinger 1]

I've found the Radial menu unresponsive and confusing - gave up with it and just manually click things.

I've tried setting up my Razer Naga and Nostromo to use with the beta, no luck at all - think that is a driver issue and not related to the Beta.

[Dajunka 10]

This is a PC game why would they optimize the Controlls for a Controller?! Anyways the Control feeling is realy bad, it is more like trying to move soap on a nailplank. First it does notthing but when you press harder it slipps all the way throught the room.

Yeah, why are the controls in a PC beta mainly dedicated to the xbox? I mean you can't even use a normal pad or stick, just a crappy old xbox controller, and I would suspect it's because of this you cannot change your keys. Not good, in Carrier command, good control is everything.

Edited April 17, 2012 by Dajunka

[Appogee 1]

the control method only simulates two thrusters, not a rudder at all.

Really? If I recall correctly, the carrier will turn in the direction of the rudder indicator when moving forward, or the opposite when going backwards. Which is similar to my experience with watercraft.

If the thrusters aint thrusting, then the boat aint turning.

That too would be consistent with the way a rudder works...?

Anyway, I'll check it out again tonight.

Or maybe some kindly developer can drop in and tell us what specific steering mechanisms they're simulating :-)

[liquidpinky 11]

BTW, Liquidpinky, do you find the radial menu very useful? I find they don't work well with a mouse, so I've completely ignored it so far...

The radial certainly seems to work well with the controller so far, although I am not 100 percent convinced by the current BIS default button actions though. Sometimes feels that you are using an unatural button choice for some of them.

[javelin10 0]

Ok Appogee, you made me go back and play with the carrier handling, and it's not entirely conclusive, but I don't think a rudder is being modelled here. Inconclusive because you can't make any kind of turn without having one of the engines at a different setting then the other - the controls don't allow it - but probably still negative because when examining what I thought might be a rudder indicator, the small horizontal scale above the engine throttle settings (which I sort of ignored up to now) I noticed that when making a forward right turn, i.e. ships heading increasing in value, the indicator is to the right, but when making a reverse 'right' turn (heading still increasing) the indicator is still to the right.

This makes me conclude the horizontal scale is a turn indicator and not a rudder, and that there is no other suggestion of the existence of a rudder. In any case, rudder or no, I don't like the carrier controls ;)

@Liquidpinky: Do you find the functions on the radial menu very useful in achieving your missions? It occurred to me when reading your post that I had never even tried them! Doesn't look like Harbinger had much use out of them, but I'd hate to miss out on a control feature due to over-reliance on my keyboard.

[Nicholas 5]

This is a PC game why would they optimize the Controlls for a Controller?! Anyways the Control feeling is realy bad, it is more like trying to move soap on a nailplank. First it does notthing but when you press harder it slipps all the way throught the room.

Because they are also releasing the game on consoles.

[Imp0815 1]

Where can i get my money back?

[msa 1]

I am left handed and have trouble with the movement keys, which for some reason, you can't remap.

+1

As a leftie the WASD keys are not good. Tried remapping them to the arrow keys but didn't work.

[Derbysieger 11]

I wouldn't mind an option to change keybindings to suit (other) left handed players but to be honest I can not understand your problems (I'm left handed too, so I should know). The first computer I worked and played on had the mouse on the right side. It was a bit confusing at first but after a few hours I got the hang of it.

I can not write or paint with my right hand (well I can, sort of. But...), I eat with the knife in my left hand and fork in my right hand and some scissors can be a real pain in the *** but apart from that there is rarely anything where I have trouble to adapt.

Of course everyone is different but even other left handed people I know have their mouse on the right side of the keyboard - simply because that's what they're used to.

[Dajunka 10]

Control of the carrier is very strange. Once you start moving it, you can't seem to get it back under control.

[Hawk Firestorm 10]

Well like most I'm one of the ones that dive in without the manual. :)

And tbh I think its a good test of the design of any UI and control method if the user can pick it up quickly because it's about what they have seen and come across before.

This one however well it took me 15 mins to find the map, and a good while to find the other interfaces because unlike many games where you expect to have the mouse pointer free to click on a icon which toggles with the right mouse to perform a action like movement etc this one doesnt.

The 'map' rather than opening up another window was totally zoomed in so that it jsut basically looked like a menu background and was rather confusing to find.

And the key speed and direction controls are very unwieldy, as per the orginal game I'd rather have mouse control available to set the speed etc I wanted

Someones had a bit of a technical orgasm as I like to call it, they were looking at how super sexy it was over fuinctionality and how the user interacts with it, other thing that was quite disconcerting was the change in mouse DPI from what it was in windows in the menu's.

[Gazzareth 1]

This one however well it took me 15 mins to find the map, and a good while to find the other interfaces because unlike many games where you expect to have the mouse pointer free to click on a icon which toggles with the right mouse to perform a action like movement etc this one doesnt.

The 'map' rather than opening up another window was totally zoomed in so that it jsut basically looked like a menu background and was rather confusing to find.

And the key speed and direction controls are very unwieldy, as per the orginal game I'd rather have mouse control available to set the speed etc I wanted

I know what you mean about the map - although once you get used to it then it is much better than going for a key every time, given the choice now I would leave it as is - although you should be able to change the mapping.

As for the Manta controls I think it would be too slow and unwieldy to do it as per the original game, in this you need much better control over speed than you can get by the original control method. The current method gives you very quick and makes it very maneuverable.. ..

G

[Hawk Firestorm 10]

Also the wheel menu well I know you guys are prolly looking to port this to consoles but for the PC version can we have mouse Icons please.

Wheel menu's don't work well on the PC.

[harbinger 1]

I wouldn't say radial menu's don't work - I've kind of liked them ever since Planescape Torment :)

I just prefer to have the mouse pointer visible, and for the commands issued to actually work consistently. Why on earth does Emergency summon all Mantas when I've programmed them to attack other targets? I want Emergency to get my silly Repair Walrus to do it's job and not fall off a cliff at the earliest opportunity.