Hey yo ladies and gentlemen! Sergey Broader is in touch, once the editor of the portal about console video games Stratege.ru, and now the host of the podcast “At the Edge of the Universe” for him. I have a passion for video games. Don’t feed bread, let you push buttons while exploring mysterious worlds and fighting powerful bosses. But there is one strange zest in my love: playing shooters absorbs me more than anything else. Gamepad shooters.
I got carried away with this craft more than ten years ago and still can not stop. For the last two years I have been actively practicing in multiplayer, where I have made tangible progress. From personal achievements – the title of “Ultimate Predator”, emblems for 20 kills and 4,000 damage per match in the console version of Apex Legends, as well as getting into the top 1% of Call of Duty: Warzone players with K/D 2.7 in crossly. For all the time I managed to try a lot of gamepads, platforms, modifications and settings, mastered the Claw grip method. I have something to tell you!
Let’s start with the fact that the default view settings in all console shooters are just awful. They are intended rather for inexperienced beginners who first picked up the controller. For those who want to become better, there is a chance for salvation, but they will have to give up old habits and almost learn to play again.
In an ideal world, we would turn this parameter to zero, but this is just a utopia. The device of modern 3D analogues can initially allow a slight misalignment of the sticks, which in turn can lead to their drift.
Drift stick (Eng. Drift – “drift”) – a violation of the centering of the stick in the zero position, due to which the deviation of the 3D analogue is recorded even at rest.
This phenomenon causes the character or camera to move in any direction without permission. With the wear of the mechanism, the effect intensifies. It is usually treated by cleaning the potentiometers of the problematic 3D analog or by replacing it completely.
To hide this flaw, dead zones were introduced. They depend on the specific instance of your gamepad and you will have to select their sizes yourself. Strive for a minimum, but so that the sight does not lead to the side without your knowledge, and you can clearly control it.
Look Sensitivity is the ratio between the amount of stick deflection and crosshair shift in the game. May be called joystick sensitivity, camera sensitivity, stick sensitivity, and so on. It is often divided into two separate parameters: sensitivity on the x-axis and y-axis, but it is better to keep these values the same so that the control of the stick is more intuitive.
Sensitivity, like tastes, is an individual concept. It needs a special approach and it is possible to reveal the very one only through long practical wanderings. But the principle is as simple as two and two. Strive for the maximum, but look for your comfortable limit. Start with low values and gradually increase this parameter when you realize that the current speed is not enough for you.
Output Curve is a 3D analogue input signal processing graph that is responsible for the dependence of the camera movement acceleration on the stick deflection. May also be called recoil curve, response curve, type of reaction when aiming, and similar terms. In modern games, it usually has several options for customization, but in early projects it is completely absent.
Secret forbidden knowledge begins with this setting, because choosing it correctly will allow you to get a little closer to the accuracy of a computer mouse. There are a lot of output curves, but we will analyze only their main types.
Standard – slowing down the sight when the stick is deflected to the middle and a smooth decrease in the effect after. Not at all responsive and not very efficient. In fact, this takes away more than half of the stick travel, which could help with micro-movements. This output curve is widely used by developers as an unshakable standard, including in those games where this parameter cannot be configured.
Linear – directly proportional dependence of the speed of movement of the sight on the degree of deflection of the stick. The linear output curve is the most optimal in the vast majority of cases.
Dynamic – gradual acceleration of the sight in the first half of the stick stroke and a smooth deceleration in the second. It may be called differently, an example is taken from the Call of Duty series. It is an excellent analogue of the linear output curve, more sensitive in micro-movements.
Your choice: linear curve and its analogues. In this case, you get the opportunity to both quickly turn around 180 degrees, and comfortably bring the sight to the head of the enemy from a sniper rifle. All crosshair slowdown options, such as Doom Eternal’s vision smoothing, should be turned off to make crosshair control more intuitive.
Aim Assist is an algorithm that adjusts the player’s shooting process for the most comfortable gaming experience. It is widely used for both gamepad and computer mouse control. In modern shooters, it is divided into two main types: sticking and magnetism of bullets. Sticking slows down the crosshair when approaching an enemy, and magnetism slightly adjusts the bullet’s flight path to make hits seem fair to the player. The first type is used mainly for the gamepad, and the second for both types of game pads.
The behavior of aim assist is game specific. If we talk about multiplayer projects, then this is often a barely noticeable slowdown of the sight near the enemy, but in single-player and some frivolous multiplayer games there is also an option for auto-aim (Eng. Auto Aim), which automatically aims the sight at the enemy.
Contrary to the diatribes of many keyboard and mouse adepts, in the multiplayer of most shooters, aim assistance is poorly expressed. Sometimes she even gets in the way by clinging to knocked out enemies. However, once a year the stick shoots, and therefore if the help works adequately, then it is better to leave it. You will hardly notice the work of an assistant, but it will be a little more comfortable to play.
