D-pads and sticks

[Metal_Slug]

Brought about by the recent aquisition of Vampire Savior.


Well, I have a Saturn without an arcade stick so I'm stuck with the default pad for now...

I pretty much haven't used a d-pad for fighting games... ever. I bought an arcade stick with my DC the day I got it (along with Soul Calibur) and have been using it ever since without even considetring a pad...

Well, I've noticed some pluses and minuses. Plus-I can tap buttons a LOT faster on a pad...

But.. Minus: Not used to pulling off QCFs, Shoryuken motions... anything of that sort with a pad... Practice, maybe.. but it's just so much more fluid with a stick, I think...

Anything techinical of that sort seems so much easier with a stick... But I have to admit, it is much easier to rapidly tap buttons on a pad...

Thoughts, if any?

[Kidnemo]

I love sticks the best. The amount of control and reaction time can't be beat imo. But only if its on an arcade cab. I can never seem to do as well sitting on the floor, having the stick in my lap (lol), or with it setting on a table as I can if I'm standing at a cabinet.

So for home use its all about a nice pad, but I'd prefer to play at a cabinet.

[StriderKyo]

Sticks all the way. Pads are a bad habit to get into. It may seem you can slap buttons faster, but in the end you can move between buttons more easily on an arcade layout. SF3 is pure murder, even on a 6 button pad - the raging demon is pain (I have to rearrange my fingers, keyboard-style, just to pull it off, which kinda telegraphs what I'm going to do). And you are a ninja star if you can parry with any reliability on a d-pad.

But the worst thing is that just as you have a hard time pulling off moves on a pad now, you can go the other way and start becoming less exact on a stick. This sucks if you walk into an arcade after a layoff of a few months and get your ass handed to you by somebody you know you could beat if you could execute properly. Just my opinion on the matter, after some painful arcade KoF 98 experiences...

[FirstBlood]

... both accessories can work pretty well in fighting games, if (and only if) you use them often... with the Dreamcast Pad, i became increasingly good at pulling Shoryuken motions (F,D,D/F)... where as when i started playing, i had tons of trouble with pulling a dragon punch... but the big problem with using a pad is the buttons... you simply cannot move your thumb fast enough for most every game... that's whats so great about the Stick...

only problem i have with the stick is that it's harder to dash forward and back than it was with the Dpad... still... it's not enough of a problem to go back, because having all of the buttons under your fingers at all times is something you just can't live without...

[MechDeus]

Originally posted by StriderKyo
And you are a ninja star if you can parry with any reliability on a d-pad.

Sweet! I'm a ninja star!

The Raging Demon sequence isn't very hard at all on the Saturn pad. I once actually comboed it into another one using Morrigan's Darkness Illusion in Vampire Savior (as she finishes it, she flips backward and knocks her opponent backward, I pulled it off again as she was finishing, she air-dashed with it out of her finishing animation and connected again as my friend was still in his backflip animation. He wasn't pleased with me).

But the worst thing is that just as you have a hard time pulling off moves on a pad now, you can go the other way and start becoming less exact on a stick. This sucks if you walk into an arcade after a layoff of a few months and get your ass handed to you by somebody you know you could beat if you could execute properly.

This is completely true, I blow with a stick because of how I'm used to performing moves.

The main difference is that the pad relies on the speed of your fingers and the ability to move them around fast, whereas the stick uses your hand itself and your fingers are over the buttons, so less flexibility is needed. Different strokes for different folks (not like that... ewww...).

The Saturn pad is the best gamepad for Capcom-style fighters there is, once you get used, you'll be kicking plenty of ass. On that puppy, QCFs are easier for me then dashing forward.