Why The Controls Really Are Terrible (And How To Fix Them)

[Dark Dev]

I have two words for all you nay-sayers out there.

Mouse Acceleration.

Mouse Acceleration is probably one of the worst mouse features in gaming and Getting Over It has it. This basically means that if you move your mouse fast, the game will interpret the movement to be larger than you intended. It won't even show the movement, it'll just skip the mouse to halfway across the screen.

Here's a link to Benett admitting "Getting Over It" has Mouse Acceleration as well as what I say below.
http://steamcommunity.com/app/240720/discussions/0/♥♥♥♥861734108809579/

And what really makes this a bad feature is that the developer HID the method to disable this mouse crippling control. To disable mouse acceleration, you have to turn on "Use Trackpad Tuning".

That's right, the most crippling part of the controls aren't even labelled properly. The developer hid it under a different name so no one could fix it. Or even realize it was present.

Once I knew about this, parts like the devils chimney were easy. Or at least, I felt like the jank was taken out of it and beating them became a matter of skill rather than random luck.

[bennett]

It's a matter of taste, but 100% of my testers complained of hand cramps when there was no acceleration curve. The reason is that it's hard to stop yourself making false movements with a mouse, so you grip the mouse very hard to avoid making a mistake.

You may think I should have labeled it differently, but if I labeled it 'Mouse acceleration' then everyone would immediately turn it off and then come here complaining about hand cramps. Design is all about tradeoffs and tuning, and there are no solutions that are perfect for everyone.

When I'm using a mouse, I play with the acceleration on. It's not a conspiracy, it's just a design choice.

[Dark Dev]

I woulda been clever about it in that case. You have voiceover's annoying people for most of the game, you couldn't have dedicated one of them to explaining the mouse acceleration? For example, after the first time they get out of the devil's chimney.

Also, most people who experience hand cramps simply take a break from the game. I haven't had hand cramps yet, but if I had them I'd just turn the game off for an hour or two. You save religiously, so taking a break is easy. Believe me, I've played worse hand cramp games like the original Mario Party. I wouldn't even call it an issue compared to the controls.

Testers though, might feel an obligation to keep playing despite the pain. Were they locked in a room and told to play for 3 hours? Or were they just sent home with a copy of the game to play whenever and report back later? If it's the former, then that's your problem right there.

[aub]

I would agree that trackpad tuning should be labelled differently. I get what you're going for, but personally, I use a gaming mouse and a huge flat mousepad. Hand cramps aren't an issue for me. I would simply suggest referring it to "acceleration" properly, but just adding a warning about hand cramps.

[Nekuro 響]

Its better to have a choice rather than force a feature like that. If you added the mouse acceleration option and people complained about cramped hands, then tell them to turn it off in the options. Personally mouse acceleration is a really terrible feature, because it makes movement really innaccurate.

[em_t_hed]

wasn't terrible controls the point? i mean QWOP.... even with terrible controls in QWOP, it's still possible to high knee run in it... i can't keep it going for very long but the high knee run is definately possible...

i mean a legitimate high knee run... not just bad with the controls because the controls are bad, but a purposeful high knee run

[Dark Dev]

QWOP was about bad controls. This is strictly about perseverence.

[Onyx]

Alternatively, one could simply have labelled it properly and added a warning about hand cramps.

It's one thing to make a game hard, but intentionally misguiding players in game settings is going a bit too far - even if it may have been in good intentions.

[buddy]

Just FYI bennett, like 90% of the negative reviews are from people who obviously hate the mouse acceleration and don't know how to turn it off (because it's labeled weird for no reason). And I'd agree with them, the mouse acceleration makes the game practically unplayable. I guarantee this game would be getting a lot less hate if that crap was off by default.

[PeachNehi]

Honestly, Bennett is staying with the MO of the game by not spoon feeding everything.

[Name Lips]

Thank you, I do feel like this made a huge difference. Like now the hammer is actually doing what I tell it too, and when I fall off the mountain it's because of a mistake I made, not some weird fluke of the controls.

Quite seriously, before I checked this box, I felt like I could move the mouse super carefully to set the hammer on top of an obstacle, and the hammer wouldn't move. I could life up the mouse and move it from the bottom to the top of the mouse pad three or four times, and the hammer would hardly budge. Then a slight twitch to the right or left, and the acceleration kicks in and I'm flying in an unintended direction. I can't recall the number of times I tried to position the hammer under me so I could do a jump, and literally could NOT get it to point that way. It would zip from right to left, despite me not moving the mouse in those directions at all, and only with extreme reluctance position itself under the pot.

With the box checked, I have the ability to actually PICK where the hammer is placed, which I felt I didn't have before. It felt almost totally random, like I wasn't really the one playing the game, and the hammer was actively ignoring my movements in favor of its own agenda.

Now the game is playable. Thanks!

[Name Lips]

It honestly might have to do with the specific mouse you're using, whether you still have Windows-OS-level mouse acceleration turned on (do they stack?), your current mouse curser speed... like I said, I found the hammer almost impossible to maneuver with mouse acceleration turned on. I couldn't position it under me, or deliberately place it ANYWHERE I wanted at all. I know the game is supposed to be hard, and the controls are supposed to be confusing and unpredictable, but I think there's supposed to be some vague notion that the hammer is controlled by the mouse in SOME way. :P

[Clucifer]

Originally posted by bennett:

It's a matter of taste, but 100% of my testers complained of hand cramps when there was no acceleration curve. The reason is that it's hard to stop yourself making false movements with a mouse, so you grip the mouse very hard to avoid making a mistake.

You may think I should have labeled it differently, but if I labeled it 'Mouse acceleration' then everyone would immediately turn it off and then come here complaining about hand cramps. Design is all about tradeoffs and tuning, and there are no solutions that are perfect for everyone.

When I'm using a mouse, I play with the acceleration on. It's not a conspiracy, it's just a design choice.

I'm getting hand cramps with mouse aceceleration active... Trying to move the hammer smooth and precise is laborous, like trying to move it through syrup. Enabling "trackpad tuning" was easily the best of the two options.

[Hammerstrikeb]

Has anyone tried the mobile version? You have nothing to complain about lol. I am going to get this in my steam library now, due to the mobile game. It's super fun and challenging.
I'll be checking this box immediately after reading this, thank you.
Also, Dev... I understand that you may think you know better, and you may, but hiding options just makes me feel like you believe anyone who plays your game is ignorant. I would gather it's the opposite. I'm sure your frustrated, Lord knows I would be, but isn't that the mantra you're trying to convey here or is the narration just there to annoy? (Legit question).
Thank you for your work, the game is great.

[Dark Dev]

I don't even think there's a point anymore. Clearly Bennett doesn't care that 100% of his most hardcore fans disagree with him. The feature could be corrected with the same amount of effort it takes to fix a typo.

[GeneralVeers]

Originally posted by Dark Dev:

Clearly Bennett doesn't care that 100% of his most hardcore fans disagree with him.

I am a hardcore fan, and I say the mouse acceleration is just right.

There. Now you can't say a hundred percent of his most hardcore fans disagree with him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41rr-AJB4q8