The XBox wireless controller for Windows, and why it sucks

[bhsup]

I just got an XBox wireless controller for Windows. I have some issues. I'll start with my initial blathering on chat and then continue with the specifics...

<VRWCAgent> This xbox controller is designed really, really stupidly. I fear I've wasted $41
<*> why do you even have an X-Box?
<VRWCAgent> Xbox wireless controller for windows
<*> wuss
<*> DOSBox is BestBox
<VRWCAgent> For games that are "allegedly" better to play with that than a keyboard and mouse.
<VRWCAgent> But my brief experience with it tonight reveals fundamentally ******** flaws
<*> heheheh
<VRWCAgent> I mean, it had to have been secretly designed by Steve Jobs as a troll against MS
<*> maybe SJ isn't really dead
<*> he just had himself rebuilt as a cyborg and infitlrated MS to make them suck even more
<VRWCAgent> hah, no, it's old. The driver disc taht came with it is dated 2009
<*> only 4 years man
<VRWCAgent> Anyway, I am gonna write a post in the computer section about how sucky it is.

So okay, I unwrapped it and it had everything hardware-wise, so that was great. Controller, wireless hub, disc, paperwork, and two duracell batteries, which I must say was nice. Beats the hell out of two generic batteries that even money says would fail and leak on your component in a couple of weeks. So props there, the actual packaging meets my approval.

Now for the complaints:

• The disc that came with it had ONLY drivers. No manual, not nothing. Just the drivers, which btw were from 2009.
• I finally found a manual on the official xbox site, but that doesn't explain everything. Nowhere does it tell me what that little round port with two slots next to it on the back side are for. I guess I'll just osmosis that information out of the ether tonight when I sleep.
• The joysticks are so ridiculously placed, it's just beyond sad. Why they have them at an uneven slope to one another is beyond me. I haven't ever used a gamepad like this in my life,s o it isn't that I am used to one way of doing things, but not having them straight across from one another feels so unnatural and awkward. They really need to swap the right joystick and the four button diaganol button group. This is my single biggest complaint.
• There is no damned off switch! I have to yank the battery pack out of the back. WTH man, how hard would it be to put a little on/off switch on this thing? Maybe where that unknown function dash - hole - dash thing is...
• The triggers and the bumper buttons should be swapped. Assuming one would have to sometimes use both the bumper and trigger at the same time, that obviously means you are supposed to use your middle finger on the trigger and your index finger on the bumper. It feels so awkward and unnatural, ALMOST as bad as the joystick controls, but not quite. Triggers...index. Duh. Any moron could have told MS that.

Okay, that's about it for my complaints so far. The others have to do with game specific issues that really are not the fault of the controller (hello, how the hell do you sprint in skyrim? I have no idea what "LS" means in the controls setup and I've tried every combo I can think of...)

I damned near ordered the PS3 durashock 3 controller instead since there is software that makes games think it is an XBox controller. Particularly given just how bad the joysticks actually feel, I am thinking perhaps now that I should have gone that route.

Now, to end this on a pleasant note. It is -very- well constructed and just feels durable as hell. So kudos there.

 

[Zelig]

Don't need drivers unless you're on XP, it's plug-and-play on anything more recent.
Port on the front is for chatpad or wired headset - nothing useful, safe to ignore.
The analog stick is better like this, you'll get used to it.
Don't need an off switch, just set it down when you're done with it and it will turn off automatically. Just like all your other modern electronics.
You very rarely need to use the triggers and bumpers at the same time, I never use my middle fingers.

 

[sanabas]

Okay, that's about it for my complaints so far. The others have to do with game specific issues that really are not the fault of the controller (hello, how the hell do you sprint in skyrim? I have no idea what "LS" means in the controls setup and I've tried every combo I can think of...)

Left Stick. aka L3 on a playstation.

The thumbsticks also act as buttons if you push them down. There are certainly some games that use the right stick for movement, and the R3/RS button turns normal movement into a run, or a sneak, or whatever.

I don't like the layout of the xbox controller either, in particular the shoulder buttons and sticks. There's also the issue that my 360 controllers do not work with my PC. PS3 controllers do though, so it's not a problem for me. And the only game I think I've bothered to use it for is Privateer. Don't play a lot of action-type stuff on the PC.

 

[Mise]

I prefer "LS/RS" terminology to "L3/R3".

All of those things are just standard teething problems you get with any new piece of kit... Not much sympathy from me old man

 

[bhsup]

I don't want sympathy, I simply want Microsoft to redesign it to cater to my preferences. Is that really too much to ask??

 

[illram]

It will not turn off automagically if you turn the PC off before the controller turns off. So beware of that. It will endlessly look for the connection until the batteries die. Huzzah!

 

[Zelig]

It will not turn off automagically if you turn the PC off before the controller turns off. So beware of that. It will endlessly look for the connection until the batteries die. Huzzah!

Yeah, but you're not supposed to turn your computer off either, the controller will automagically turn off before the computer automagically turns off.

Or you can plug the wireless receiver into a powered USB port.

 

[bhsup]

Yeah, but you're not supposed to turn your computer off either

That's a personal preference thing. I do usually leave mine running, but some folks don't.

Thanks for the heads up on that, Illram.

 

[Zelig]

Those folks are silly. As I've mentioned in several other threads, sleep mode in modern computers is very close to "off", the fans stop, the GPU/CPU stop, basically only the RAM is still powered.