Keyboard Master Race

[Giga of the Dragon Plus Variety]

Anyone here get all the way through the entire game, B and C sides (most of C sides) with keyboard? I can't be the only one.

[Sigsig]

I beat the entire game (not including no death runs) with an Xbox one and it was absolute cancer. Like half of my deaths were from dashing in the wrong direction because the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ joystick and dpad is so sensitive. Do yourself a favor and play with a keyboard or maybe get a PS4 gamepad.

[MrΩ]

I play celest with a a custom right-handed arcade stick: sanwa buttons with a seimitsu ls-32 stick.
I play shmups (blue revolver, sky force shmups) and I am currently completing celest B-sides.
I am considering, seriously, myself to switch to keyboard in order to play properly those games which require high directional accuracy.
Because the inacuracy of the stick direction, even high quality ones, is getting _seriously_ on my nerves.
It seems way too easy to get the direction wrong with a stick than with the keyboard.
I am also considering building a new arcade stick... but with small arcade buttons instead of a stick, or I'll buy a "gaming keyboard" that to avoid to destroy my main keyboard...

[Illius]

Personally speaking I just prefer the feeling of a controller in a game like this. However, given that you only ever move in the 8 cardinal directions I can see no difference besides preference in this game.

Some games like SMB have some nuances that differ on controler so there can be said to be a difference.

[⑨lnsmall]

Yep, just finished the last C-side, and did it all using a keyboard.

[MrΩ]

With a fight stick or a d-pad, it is really easy to miss the diagonal directions, which is almost impossible to miss with a keyboard (with enough training, I guess).
Each time I play such high accuracy games with my fight stick, I need time to "calibrate" my hand in order to reduce those diagonal direction misses. And even with that, if I change too much my hand position while running an input sequence, it is very likely I'll miss a direction in this very input sequence.

update: this time, in a B-side screen, an input sequence was heavy on diags, but I missed several times the final "up" direction because going in diag. I would not recommend playing the B-sides (and I guess the C-sides) with anything else than the keyboard for new players.

[Ash]

Woot, keyboard is great. Beaten all levels and gotten 15 golden strawberries with it so far, plus a top 100 speedrun on Forsaken City. And that's with a computer that is so slow I've learned to actually time my inputs to before it actually should be happening, with the lag that it has. So keyboard is definitely viable.

[atlas the hun]

I have been playing the game mostly with a controller so far, but I have to say, it is unprecise. Sometimes I get the feeling, that the controller decides the direction not me. Maybe the system is just too sensitive and the slightest deviation is enough to register another direction, but I died countless times, because mid-air the game decided, that my input was e.g. forward, not up and forward. Now doing B-sides and I think, I have to switch to keyboard to achieve greater precision.

[MrΩ]

Originally posted by atlas the hun:

I have been playing the game mostly with a controller so far, but I have to say, it is unprecise. Sometimes I get the feeling, that the controller decides the direction not me. Maybe the system is just too sensitive and the slightest deviation is enough to register another direction, but I died countless times, because mid-air the game decided, that my input was e.g. forward, not up and forward. Now doing B-sides and I think, I have to switch to keyboard to achieve greater precision.

Hi,
Your are describing the clinical symptom of using a controller with high precision games like celest.
It is so frustrating I decided to never ever play similar high precision games with a controller anymore. I have managed to complete almost all C-sides with my seimitsu ls-32 based controller (high grade arcade fight stick). It feels like playing a real FPS with a controller, namely "not the right input device". I was thinking to remplace the stick with 4 small buttons... namely building a "fight keyboard", that to avoid to destroy my real keyboard... then I thought I should buy a mecanical real keyboard to stand as that "fight keyboard".
I was like you, "do I switch to keyboard?" and that in the middle of the B-sides. It takes hours to calibrate my hands to a specific position on the stick, that to minimize, and not nullify, the amount of mis-directions.
I am now ready to eat the bullet: train myself to play those games with a "fight keyboard", it'll take a significant amount of effort its share in frustration too, but I expect much better final results once done.
If you are at the begining of the B-sides: SWITCH TO KEYBOARD NOW!

[Aina]

Hey, Just completed 100% game on keyboard ;)

[itsabrody]

definitely not the only one

[GAYFURRY99]

Keyboard masterrace

[Runa]

Keyboard power

[Gunthak]

That's because 90% of you are playing with garbage d-pads.
Can you imagine playing the best Genesis, SNES, or Neo Geo 2D classics using a PS4 d-pad or the Switch nubs? Or using analog sticks? Or a computer keyboard?

No, you can't imagine that. Nor should you.

Find a competent d-pad, profit.

(I.e., Sega Saturn controller - Lord of all d-pads for 2D action adventure).

[Gunthak]

Originally posted by TULK45:

Originally posted by Eldoro:

Seriously? keyboard for platforming? I guess each to his own preferenses, but are you guys using the analoge or the D-pad?

I used my controller's d-pad (xbox360) and found it much more precise to use the keyboard. It´s true though that controller is nicer to the hand, and maybe some people like you, it´s easier even, but have you tried keyboard? Still, as you say, to each their own.

The d-pad on the Xbox 360 controller is an abomination. Historically one of the worst d-pads ever designed. Using it is an insult to high quality 2D gameplay, and it's actually degrading your experience in those types of games.

[SonicBoomNFA]

Originally posted by Gunthak:

Originally posted by TULK45:

I used my controller's d-pad (xbox360) and found it much more precise to use the keyboard. It´s true though that controller is nicer to the hand, and maybe some people like you, it´s easier even, but have you tried keyboard? Still, as you say, to each their own.

The d-pad on the Xbox 360 controller is an abomination. Historically one of the worst d-pads ever designed. Using it is an insult to high quality 2D gameplay, and it's actually degrading your experience in those types of games.

Moving with 3 fingers on the arrow keys of a keyboard objectively allows for faster/more precise movements than using your single thumb on a d-pad. Ignoring comfort (because that's totally subjective), arrow keys should definitely be better for games like these.