Need help deciding over a good gamepad

[Alberio]

Hi there. Well, after emulating for some time, Im a bit fed up using the keyboard and now I'm looking for a good gamepad for my laptop. I'm currently looking at Logitech's F series and the Xbox 360 controller, but I don't know if there are better.

 

[HEXiT]

the 360 controler isnt a bad psd. its much more compatable with current games as microsoft have ensured some devs only use the 360 controler. if you dont you may find the controler is either not picked up or is reversed so when you press up the avatar on screen moves down or similar... you will have to use hacked xinput1_3.dll or xinput1_8.dll and xinput1_9.dll drivers to fix this. for this reason alone i begrudgingly recommend the 360 pad. although it is protectionism it is a lot less hassle... the 360 pad is a good pad and its a bit of a shame that microsoft took this approach as the pad does hold its own in build quality, accuracy and cumfort to any other gamepad.

 

[Alberio]

Heheh... I wanted to avoid the 360 pad as well... but how does the 360's d-pad do for intensive things, like street fighter and platformers? I've only ever used it mostly for shooters whenever I play at my friends place

Edit - Could you also point me to the hacked dll files? My friend uses the older Logitech Dual Action and I think he'll appreciate it

 

[Alberio]

Best answer selected by Alberio.

 

[casualcolors]

Alberio, the 360's D-Pad is the worst D-Pad in the history of video game controllers. The sticks and layout are otherwise nice though. If you specifically need a good D pad but still want/need twin analog sticks, look into the Logitech F series (F510 is 19.99 and a good controller with floating D-pad). If you do not need twin-sticks, the madcatz Street Fighter Fightpads are actually very nice sega saturn-style controllers with 6 face buttons but they do have longevity issues. Most of those won't last more than a year, but again, they are relatively cheap at about $30.00 (cheaper until the end of today in the post-Evo sale).

 

[Alberio]

Alberio, the 360's D-Pad is the worst D-Pad in the history of video game controllers. The sticks and layout are otherwise nice though. If you specifically need a good D pad but still want/need twin analog sticks, look into the Logitech F series (F510 is 19.99 and a good controller with floating D-pad). If you do not need twin-sticks, the madcatz Street Fighter Fightpads are actually very nice sega saturn-style controllers with 6 face buttons but they do have longevity issues. Most of those won't last more than a year, but again, they are relatively cheap at about $30.00 (cheaper until the end of today in the post-Evo sale).

Thanks, I was really thinking no one else would reply, guess I'm too used to people responding with the same hour on other forums... but I'm about to order the f510 from amazon, although I'm quite interested where you found one for 20 usd.

Also, do you know where I could find the hacked dll's HEXiT was referring to?

 

[casualcolors]

I bought mine at BestBuy and I believe it was on sale at the time. Anyway, best synopsis I can give you regarding gamepads is, in short:

Platforming/Fighting games: Logitech F510 or Playstation 2/3 controller+motion joy software (best D-pads with twin sticks), Madcatz SFIV Fightpad (best controller overall if no twin sticks are needed/wanted)
3rd person action games/Twin stick shooters/Arcade-style racing games-Xbox 360 controller (it's just more comfortable with its stick placement imo)

 

[HEXiT]

i have the logitech dual action its exactly the same layout and feel as the ps3 pad. but doesnt do runble which i h8 anyway. and if it wasnt for the hacked dlls having to be used i would use it every time over the 360 pad as i like symmetry on my pad.
as for the drivers.

http://www.tocaedit.com/dl/xemulator.zip
you should be able to use this with any game that shows revers controls. if this doesnt work try the controllers own config software.

to use it just copy everything into the games install folder. and remember to keep a copy of this as a backup.

 

[Alberio]

Thanks for everything, you two.
Much appreciated!