Archived from groups: alt.games.grand-theft-auto (More info?)
Ok, I kinda backed into the GTA series. The first real contact I had
with it was VC on the PC. I didn't own a PS(2), and had no real
intention of getting one when I had the supreme gaming arrangement
sitting here under my desk. I was vaguely aware that GTA existed, but
didn't really have it float to my consciousness until PC Gamer did an
article on the release of Vice City. Normally I don't much care for 3rd
person games, but it looked good enough that (with a friend's
reccomendation) I decided to go for it.
Man, what an idiot I was to have waited so bloody long.
Long story short, I played VC and III on the PC and enjoyed the hell out
of them. Then when San Andreas was announced and a firm date was
established I went down and got a PS2 (much to the delight of my
children) because I didn't want to wait the 6 or more months for it to
come out on the PC. Naturally I picked up the GTA double pack for it and
wound up playing all of VC and some of III over again on the PS2.
I don't want to spark a debate or flame war, but there are advantages and
disadvantages in both versions. The graphics (naturally) are far far
superior on the PC. Totally understandable since your television is
limited to 640x480 resolution maximum, and has a dot pitch that would
make any PC gamer's eye twitch in pain. Even HD tv (as I understand it
anyway) only doubles that resolution at max, and I don't think even does
that.
On the PS2's side is the analog controls. I didn't even realize that the
buttons were analog too until I read it somewhere and found out that I
didn't have to control my speed with pulses of maximum acceleration.
Mind you I don't wind up using that feature much. Personally I like the
D-pad for steering, I can't use the stick well enough to get the fine
corrections that would bring out its advantage.
Where that stick shines, however, is in controlling choppers. I had
always done the little twitchy thing of tapping the button at a certain
rhythm (or however the hell you spell that) to get the forward speed I
wanted. On the ps2 I didn't have to have that jerkiness.
Now, don't think I like the whole control scheme of the ps2 better, just
the analog nature of them. I think that all of the 3d GTA games play
vastly better in nearly any situation with a keyboard and mouse combo. I
look forward to breezing through some of the more impossible missions
with access to a mouse/keyboard control set up. (the motorcycle through
the viaducts with big smoke? at least the first of Zero's missions (since
that is as far as I have gotten on those)). Trying to make your
character do any truly precise movements on the ps2 requires a dexterity
I don't naturally posess or a lot more time than the game is willing to
allow you. The best example I have is the hidden package in VC that is
on the end of the beam at Avery's construction site. On the PC that was
total cake, I didn't even think about it being tricky let alone
difficult. On the ps2 it took me at least a half hour to finally get the
damn thing.
It's the lack of an absolute direction control. There is no way to make
no-name(tommy?)/Tommy/CJ go *forward*. They only go forward *relative*
to the camera position. If the camera position changes, so does the
direction you have to push the stick to get them to go "forward." With
the mouse, you have that camera and all the turning capability in your
hand.
Anyway, I want to keep the advantages of both. Personally I would have
loved it if R* had put in support for a keyboard and mouse into the ps2
version of SA. The machine supports use of them, I wouldn't think it
would have been that difficult. I want to find a way to use a ps2 like
controller for at least the flying on San Andreas PC.
My problem is this, I have some ps2 controllers, and an adapter thing
that is supposed to allow you to use them on the PC, but it isn't working
right in Vice City. None of the buttons work (though I might be able to
fix that with some control redefinition), and the stick doesn't seem to
have any analogness to it. I get in a chopper and push forward and it
dives just like I were using the ON/OFF keyboard controls, forcing me
back into the jerkyness again. I do NOT want to try to pass flight
school with controls like that! I already destroyed a controller because
of flight school on the ps2, I can't imagine how pissed off the PC
version would make me with non-analog controls.
What controls/controllers do you all use for VC on the PC? Do you have a
particular game pad that works nicely? Would a joystick work? Does VC
even support analog controls on the PC?
Ok, I kinda backed into the GTA series. The first real contact I had
with it was VC on the PC. I didn't own a PS(2), and had no real
intention of getting one when I had the supreme gaming arrangement
sitting here under my desk. I was vaguely aware that GTA existed, but
didn't really have it float to my consciousness until PC Gamer did an
article on the release of Vice City. Normally I don't much care for 3rd
person games, but it looked good enough that (with a friend's
reccomendation) I decided to go for it.
Man, what an idiot I was to have waited so bloody long.
Long story short, I played VC and III on the PC and enjoyed the hell out
of them. Then when San Andreas was announced and a firm date was
established I went down and got a PS2 (much to the delight of my
children) because I didn't want to wait the 6 or more months for it to
come out on the PC. Naturally I picked up the GTA double pack for it and
wound up playing all of VC and some of III over again on the PS2.
I don't want to spark a debate or flame war, but there are advantages and
disadvantages in both versions. The graphics (naturally) are far far
superior on the PC. Totally understandable since your television is
limited to 640x480 resolution maximum, and has a dot pitch that would
make any PC gamer's eye twitch in pain. Even HD tv (as I understand it
anyway) only doubles that resolution at max, and I don't think even does
that.
On the PS2's side is the analog controls. I didn't even realize that the
buttons were analog too until I read it somewhere and found out that I
didn't have to control my speed with pulses of maximum acceleration.
Mind you I don't wind up using that feature much. Personally I like the
D-pad for steering, I can't use the stick well enough to get the fine
corrections that would bring out its advantage.
Where that stick shines, however, is in controlling choppers. I had
always done the little twitchy thing of tapping the button at a certain
rhythm (or however the hell you spell that) to get the forward speed I
wanted. On the ps2 I didn't have to have that jerkiness.
Now, don't think I like the whole control scheme of the ps2 better, just
the analog nature of them. I think that all of the 3d GTA games play
vastly better in nearly any situation with a keyboard and mouse combo. I
look forward to breezing through some of the more impossible missions
with access to a mouse/keyboard control set up. (the motorcycle through
the viaducts with big smoke? at least the first of Zero's missions (since
that is as far as I have gotten on those)). Trying to make your
character do any truly precise movements on the ps2 requires a dexterity
I don't naturally posess or a lot more time than the game is willing to
allow you. The best example I have is the hidden package in VC that is
on the end of the beam at Avery's construction site. On the PC that was
total cake, I didn't even think about it being tricky let alone
difficult. On the ps2 it took me at least a half hour to finally get the
damn thing.
It's the lack of an absolute direction control. There is no way to make
no-name(tommy?)/Tommy/CJ go *forward*. They only go forward *relative*
to the camera position. If the camera position changes, so does the
direction you have to push the stick to get them to go "forward." With
the mouse, you have that camera and all the turning capability in your
hand.
Anyway, I want to keep the advantages of both. Personally I would have
loved it if R* had put in support for a keyboard and mouse into the ps2
version of SA. The machine supports use of them, I wouldn't think it
would have been that difficult. I want to find a way to use a ps2 like
controller for at least the flying on San Andreas PC.
My problem is this, I have some ps2 controllers, and an adapter thing
that is supposed to allow you to use them on the PC, but it isn't working
right in Vice City. None of the buttons work (though I might be able to
fix that with some control redefinition), and the stick doesn't seem to
have any analogness to it. I get in a chopper and push forward and it
dives just like I were using the ON/OFF keyboard controls, forcing me
back into the jerkyness again. I do NOT want to try to pass flight
school with controls like that! I already destroyed a controller because
of flight school on the ps2, I can't imagine how pissed off the PC
version would make me with non-analog controls.
What controls/controllers do you all use for VC on the PC? Do you have a
particular game pad that works nicely? Would a joystick work? Does VC
even support analog controls on the PC?
.
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