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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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My big problem with this controller is, when I throw it at my television in frustration, it might break something.
I hope they work hard to keep the weight down. Maybe it's made of carbon fiber?
I'll have to grow some longer arms before I can even reach both sides of the controller at once, but hey, once I do, PSO will be taking up even more of my time!
The page asks is the thing can be held. Of course it can... space your hands about 1 feet away from each other in the air, palms facing each other.
Ok... now start twindling your fingers as if you're playing a game!
Ok, got it? Seems comfortable enough doesn't it? Ok, now scream something you'd scream during game play. Like "COME ON! I HAD THAT!" while moving the imaginary controller around like a mad man.
There you go!
Congratulations!
You successfully look like an idiot.
And you thought it was a pain to take your hands off the keyboard to use the mouse!
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.
So would you type with your nose?
This just looks like some of the wireless keyboards I've used with integrated track ball and buttons on both sides.. Works fairly well for basic mouse manipulation, but I can imagine doing anything fast or precise with that controller- There's something strange about haveing your hands that far apart.. Is this just a slow plodding point-and-click game?
air and light and time and space
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.
Dialogue like:
w00t! My b0X0r h4Z m00r B1tZ +heN yuRz!!
Stellar.
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?
You can tell this is for children friendly market! No one-handed typing :(
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
What about something similar, but it would "telescope", so that it would act as a regular controller if you wanted it, but you could pull it out for keyboard functionality? Just another stupid idea.
Last post!
Notice the arrow keys... they are much like how I remember old apple computers - up-down-left-right all in a row. Obviously the arrow keys would not be used as much as the controller for the gaming, but there might be times where you want it setup better.
Ok, it looks cool. I mean, besides the fact that it's a foot wide, it does, as many have stated.
But I think we need to take off our slashdot goggles and think who this is marketed to.
The n64 was eventually marketed to little kids, come on, pokemon rights were bought exclusively by nintendo. My little brother has one and it's all he plays.
My question is, if they can't type, is it supposed to hold their sippie cup?
...I mean really? It just a keyboard with a joystick on the left and some buttons on the right!
Do this: take your keyboard and put it in your lap. Then take your hands and place them at the left and right respectively. Is that so uncomfortable? Actually I think it feels great, specially for games where you have to type.
And of course you can hold it up in the air... but why? I mean, if you are going to type a lot, might as well just leave it on your lap! And we don't know how heavy it is yet!
Hell, if it's heavy, it'll be a good workout for those geeky arms you have! j/k
I remember every Christmas when younger, I could tell which were gameboy games, NES games, then came SuperNES or Genesis packages under the Xmas tree. I knew the exact weight, size and shape of each console game package. Wow, I think this honkin thing might make me think my parents got me a baseball bat or soemthing.
It sure would throw me off, if this monster comes bundled with PSO that is...
"It takes many nails to build a crib, but one screw to fill it."
Oh yes, and we all know how many thirteen-year-old videogame addicts are stuck on the Dvorak layout ;-).
Seriously, I've never understood the myth about QWERTY sucking due to how spread out the common letters are. It's *good* that it has the common keys so spread out, because it means you use different fingers to hit them in sequence. I've only seen one study which claimed the Dvorak keyboard layout was measurably better, and interestingly enough it was by a Mr. Dvorak...
The story that QWERTY was invented to slow down typists is a myth. It was indeed invented to reduce jams, but it had nothing to do with slowing down typists. Jams occurred when adjacent or nearly adjacent hammers struck in quick succession, so QWERTY was designed so that successive keys would likely be well apart from one another. That's the whole reason. It actually helps *speed up* typing, because you're likely to alternate hands and use different fingers between successive keys. Maybe Dvorak is a little better, but it's certainly not a crushing defeat for QWERTY.
ZFS: because love is never having to say fsck
So is the controller going to be called "The Dvorak" or "The American Simplified"?
This controller, although it looks completely insane, is completely sane for the reason that it was built: to help someone play Phantasy Star Online better. In fact, I could see many uses for it if a lot of games start going online. Can you imagine attempting to DM some goulish monster and try to type out a message for help on a standard 4-5 button gamepad? It would be almost to completely impossible. Perhaps it looks strange now, but I can definately see multiple uses for such a controller sometime close in the future. Just my $0.02 worth
-mrbkap
Something that you could use with special keywords to issue commands, open comm links of special channels, etc. complete with command macros so that you code speak code words and initiate very complex sequences.
I'm sure that everyone here can see it now, and imagine the possibilities for enhanced game play.
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
I've never played the games mentioned in the article, but I'd love to have a keyboard that had a gamepad built in.
Why limit yourself to an 8 button gamepad?
I'd assign every key to a Tekken Tag 10 hit combo.
And I'd figure out how to play as the creature when using unknown and assign that to a key as well.
The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. - Benjamin Franklin
From the press release:
The KeyMouse XP is the worlds first mouse to integrate a 120 key keyboard inside a mouse. This gives the user the advantage of not having to switch between keyboard and mouse - a repetitive movement which costs the user time and productivity.
The keyboard is located between the left and right mouse buttons.
When asked how difficult this new mouse would be to handle Logitech would only say that the user would need a really big-ass mousepad.
"They do not preach that their god will rouse them, a little before the Nuts work loose." Kipling, 'The Sons of Martha'
Mario is standing in front of a pipe.
> Jump inside pipe
You can't reach it!
> Walk east
You've reached a dead end.
> Walk south
Mario fell off the platform! Play again?
> q
Goodbye!
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
The emacs religion: to be saved, control excess.
(BTW - this is my 200th post! )
Cheers,
Jim in Tokyo
-- My Weblog.
Mind you, I use a Logitech cordless keyboard pro and my mouse mat is an old SNES mouse pad, so I guess I'm a little biased.
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.
I would love to play this game on my new 100" TV!
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rm -rf
But Sega says that Phantasy Star Online has a player base of 300,000. That rivals Everquest and Ultima Online in size. I would imagine the manufacturer of this control to be very pleased is they can sell this thing to a quarter million or more people.
My sigs always suck.
This keyboard/controller looks like a pretty sound idea, and holding it in your lap does indeed seem to be the intended method of operation...which is all good and fine, but underneath all this is the question of "Why do consoles insist on keeping their beloved D-Pad and thumb buttons?"
If you have a keyboard in front of you, you can navigate throughout the game without any additional controller foolishness on the sides. The keyboard alone can more than cover all the functions of any game pad. WASD for motion/navigating menus, plenty of keys to replace controller buttons, etc.
Also, for the height of console adventure/PRG tedium, fire up Raiders of the Lost Ark on your Atari 2600, and take joy in finding that one joystick is for moving Dr. Jones, and another is required to manipulate your inventory! Little brothers are finally useful for something!
Leveling up builds character.
I've never done it or seen it successfully activated, but there is one website that has a key combination for it and all the rest of the tricks and tips have been accurate.
t ek ken_tag_tournament.htm
http://www.game-revolution.com/games/codes/ps2/
The only other trick I haven't been able to accomplish is suppossedly if you set the high score under bowling you can bowl as Dr. B.
I'm up to about 220, but I need to beat 268.
Oh, I also haven't beaten the game in less than 5 minutes 30 seconds. I've only gotten 5 minutes 48 seconds. Suppossedly it unlocks some special Heihachi character.
The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. - Benjamin Franklin
http://www.somethingawful.com/news/8-28-2000/ninte ndo/controller.jpg
Men believe what they want. - Caesar
... is going to require it be water resistant or completely waterproof. (Among other liquids that may come from the lap of a Slashdotter with a keyboard in hand. Har har. :p)
(note to Slashdot: the controller is a joke.)
Do you like German cars?
These anecdotes demonstrate something about the tube construction. You can't easily break the CRT from the front -- even dropping another extra-heavy monitor on it won't crack it -- but a brick dropping a few inches onto the neck will implode the tube.
The curved rear glass is only as strong as it has to be to support the air pressure. 14.5 psi * area of the tube probably = a few tons, but it's formed as a 360-degree arch shape, so all the glass is in compression. Glass is surprisingly strong in compression; any little cracks that start are forced closed instead of growing.
The nearly flat viewing area has to be very thick, since air pressure will be trying to bend the center of the screen inwards, and glass is not great at resisting bending. (Pushing in the screen stretches the outside surface around the edges and the inside surface around the center, and this will pull cracks wider.)
Also, when electrons are accelerated through several thousand volts and then stopped suddenly in the phosphors, they tend to emit x-rays. So you need a thick glass plate with lead (oxide?) dissolved in it to stop the x-rays. X-rays may also be emitted sideways, but it costs and weighs less to wrap the sides of the tube in lead foil than to use thick glass there.
Making the exposed part of the tube hard to break is just a fortunate side-effect of the mechanical requirements...
OK, so I don't know if that picture is a hoax or not, but for a game requiring text input I don't see why this is such a big joke. Has anyone seen those keyboards that are coming with the new set tops for interactive TV? They are basically the same thing (interactive buttons on left, remote control buttons on right, keyboard in middle.) Of course I wouldn't use this controller much, if at all, but I usually stick to sports and shoot 'em up games. I think people who like games that include chat or other text interaction could really use such a controller.
~ now you know
>
> below my feet
If you're lifting them like that, those aren't the *old* ones. . . .
I had an Ehman 19" back in 1989 for my SE/30. Moving it around was done by staggering, not walking.
When it went bad, I sent it back under warranty. They told me to send it back in the original packing material? Huh? I explained that it came on a shipping pallet with a sheet of cardboard wrapped around it and a boxtop over that, all strapped together. He groaned. "Oh, one of those".
hawk, who still prefers greyscale to color
Now this is when the reader says, "But you still have to take your hands off to use the mouse!"
And I respond, "Nope, I am using a Thinkpad and the Trackpoint is very natural to use with just a slight tilt of your right hand."
Of course playing Diablo on a Thinkpad will give you a serious case of RSI.
Lasers Controlled Games!
This looks like the perfect keyboard for Vishnu!