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New Cube controller
steveo777 writes: "I was surfing through IGN when I noticed this new controller. It made me fall off my chair laughing (people at work are wondering what could be so funny). But it's no joke. Aparently it's for Phantasy Star Online." If this isn't real, why not? Something like this looks like a great idea to me.
and it WILL make playing PSO easier. I have a DC, PSO, and the keyboard. And while yes the keyboard makes chat 100x easier, switching back and forth from controller to kb is a BITCH. This should be good for any multi-player game where a controller is needed to play well, but chat is important. Too bad I don't plan on getting a GameCube.
What, me worry?
I'm gonna be the first to say, I WANT ONE OF THESE FOR COMPUTER. Heck, you've got all the basics in one package. VERY nice.
I'd say that it looks more like you hold it on your lap rather than in the air like a normal controller.
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On a slightly different note, I think that if (read: when) someone hacks the gamecube to run Linux/BSD/etc. and X, this would be a great keyboard/mouse combo.
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
I'm not trying to troll here, but I wonder if this new controller is going to support alternative keyboard layouts like the dvorak. For that matter, what about international layouts? Clearly, the whole idea of the keyboard seems to imply that they plan to release games with a tedious amount of typing (yuck), and that would really suck on a qwerty, IMHO.
"Quoting famous computer scientists out of context is the root of all evil (or at least most of it) in programming." - K
As far as breaking your TV is concerned...
I participated and help set up this year's BotBash here in Phoenix, AZ - outside, we set up a bunch of TV's and other junk for Christian Ristow's machines to rip apart... Fast forward to end of show...
Some TV's were lying around - various people were trying to kick the TV tube's face in - one huy was wearing steel toe boots - it took about twenty extremely hard kicks before the tube would implode.
A controller being thrown at a TV, even a keyboard, would likely do nothing to bust the screen, or the TV - might scratch it, and yeah, it could break other things - but the TV picture tube - nope.
Reason is the Path to God - Anon
You really think this is serious? Has the pun really gone over your heads?
... Now, the game is coming to GameCube, a system with more bits, which results in larger words filled with more characters who have more lines of dialogue. ...
And since when has 'ASCII' made controllers? And doesnt "This is not a joke." make it an even more obvious joke?
The inherint problem with any controller of this type is that you have to radically change hand position when going from chatting to movement, both of which should be common in an online rpg. It has to be rested upon something to type, but movement requires that you hands be wrapped around the sides and back. Even mice are manipulated from the top like a keyboard, and yet all online rpg'ers find the transition annoying. This new controller is the aesthetic and gameplay equivalent of gluing a controller and a keyboard together with Elmer's white. While that might have some post-modern artistic appeal, I doubt it will be anything but kludgy in practice. Why didn't ascii design something that could be controlled entirely from the top, designed specifically for pso?
The ______ Agenda
Why does it need to be a full sized keyboard. You can type pretty fast on these with just your thumbs after a little while.
psxndc
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Hasn't anyone heard of a microphone? Sega made a Dreamcast game where you could speak to other players with the microphone, Alien Front Online. If you play that, you'll know that speaking with a mike is 10 times cooler than typing. It's so much simpler, so much more effective, and so much more fun! I mean, what's more fun, IM or talking on the telephone? Really, online gaming needs to ditch keyboards and get with the voice.
Looking at it and doing a little judging, it looks about the size of a standard keyboard. I took my keyboard and held it as if I were using that keyboard and it didn't feel awkward at all. The only drawback is having to put down your keyboard in order to type something in, but I guess there is no other alternative unless there are arrow keys on the keyboard that will allow movement and such.