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Re: SmartJoy FRAG, a threat to online gaming?
Posted By: full-bore <pfcox@mc.net>	Date: 11/12/04 1:58 p.m.
In Response To: SmartJoy FRAG, a threat to online gaming? (BOLL) : I bought this little thingy, to see if it really was a danger to online : multiplayer balance, and because I was curious. : : The SmartJoy FRAG arrives in a simple bubble-plastic-thingy with a few : papers. : I wont go into detail what everything is, as that's not really what I want to : talk about. : The adapter itself has two PS/2 ports color coded for mouse and keyboard, it : also has a port on the top where you can attach a memory card or the XBL : headset apparatus. : : I tried to use a few different keyboards and mice, noticing that using a USB : keyboard with a PS/2 adaptor worked better than just a PS/2 keyboard. : When using a PS/2 keyboard I would get keys that stuck with, not meaning : physically stick, but the releasing of the button is never registered, and : thus the SmartJoy FRAG thinks it's still being pressed. : I have no PS/2 mouse so I couldn't test that, but when using a USB mouse I : found the heaviest gave the best feeling, as the movement is kind of : smoothed, which feels more awkward with a flimsy mouse. : The mouse movement is acceptable, but it feels a little choppy, and not very : precise. There is a small delay, it might be really tiny, but compared to : PC games tiny is huge. : Performance waries pretty much, especially as the device sometimes resets : spontaneously causing a few seconds without controls, and if you have : changed your settings without saving those will also be reset. : I scrapped the predefined controls and overwrite it with my own, making the : change a little easier. : A few other things than just performance to take into consideration: : The feel of triggering a weapon is completely different, as you don't have : triggers (with resistance) anymore, just mouse buttons (no change for PC : gamers then, I guess). : There's no rumble feedback, which IMO really adds to the way you feel : connected to the game / immersed. : The sensitivity when driving vehicles is much lower, and it makes it hard to : drive with the mouse, even if using the highest sensitivity setting in the : game, as you have to do several drags when turning. : Shooting with the SMGs gets a bit more tiresome, as you have to continuously : drag the mouse to keep on target, instead of just adjusting your aim : stick. : The control scheme just isn't made for a mouse and keyboard setup. : : The fact you reload, enter vehicles, pick up weapons and activate machines : is the same button makes is a little odd to use it on the keyboard, where : at least I am used to have different buttons for most actions. : Firing gets a little confusing if you have the primary fire on the left : mouse button, and then have secondary/grenades on the middle or right : button. It works as long as you don't dual wield, as soon as you pick up : another weapon you'll notice the problem; the left mouse button fires the : right weapon and the middle/right mouse button fires the left weapon. I : guess you could invert the buttons, and always fire with the middle/right : button, but that would be really awkward if you are used to the left mouse : button. : : Halo2 has several systems made only for gamepad usage and not mouse usage, : like the sticky-aim and the decreased vertical sensitivity. : It's not very easy to find a stable surface around your TV setup that is : really comfortable. You need it mostly for the mouse, but maybe for the : keyboard as well. : You might get unpopular if you try to use it in split screen multiplayer, : even if I right now can't see any real advantages to use it. : : At the moment I feel like I have more control with a standard controller than : with the SmartJoy FRAG, and definitely more immersion and feedback. This : isn't really a surprise as Halo2 is not meant to be played with a mouse : and keyboard, and has no real support for it. The SmartJoy FRAG is in the : end just emulating a gamepad. : I will most likely not use the SmartJoy FRAG if I don't have to, as I don't : enjoy using it at all, actually. The slipstreamed controls for the : standard controller are just that good. : So, finally, in my eyes the SmartJoy FRAG is no real threat to online : multiplayer, as it isn't close to performing what a mouse does for a PC : shooter. Not from what I can tell anyway. I'm going in the opposite direction. I just got my SmartJoy Xbox USB adapters for my laptop (http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?category=83&products_id=2701&).

Message Index

SmartJoy FRAG, a threat to online gaming?	BOLL	11/12/04 12:09 p.m.
Re: SmartJoy FRAG, a threat to online gaming?	whswarrior87	11/12/04 12:18 p.m.
Re: SmartJoy FRAG, a threat to online gaming?	Hawaiian Pig	11/12/04 12:18 p.m.
Re: SmartJoy FRAG, a threat to online gaming?	Vidd	11/12/04 12:20 p.m.
Re: SmartJoy FRAG, a threat to online gaming?	CYBRFRK	11/12/04 12:24 p.m.
Re: SmartJoy FRAG, a threat to online gaming?	KP	11/12/04 1:45 p.m.
Re: SmartJoy FRAG, a threat to online gaming?	CYBRFRK	12/3/04 3:20 p.m.
LAG *NM*	KP	12/3/04 9:36 p.m.
Re: SmartJoy FRAG, a threat to online gaming?	Louis Wu	11/12/04 5:24 p.m.
Re: SmartJoy FRAG, a threat to online gaming?	ragereset	11/12/04 9:30 p.m.
Re: SmartJoy FRAG, a threat to online gaming?	full-bore	11/12/04 1:58 p.m.
Re: SmartJoy FRAG, a threat to online gaming?	MarkHawk	11/12/04 2:16 p.m.
Re: SmartJoy FRAG, a threat to online gaming?	kaine904	12/12/04 5:18 p.m.