Porting over my controls thread I posted in 2013 in the hardware section. https://forums.robertsspaceindustries.com/discussion/25309/controls-demystified-sc-edition-pt-i/p1 While the information is still valid, this would be a good time to do some cleanup and editing but for now it's copypasta. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Greetings Citizens, this is my attempt at organizing my musings on controls into a single entry, doing my best not to sound like a douche. This is the second edition of this, dubbed v1.2. Its is a WIP that represents my *current best understanding of the underlying issues, and no doubt there will be refinements as I move forward. I have a lot of respect for members of Star Citizen and gaming community, and highly value any feedback, corrections, or oversights you want to share. There are no stupid questions, and I welcome scrutiny too since without external pressures to do this better, Id still be stuck on my partial correct v1.0 (bottom). My intention is not to tell anyone what type of controls are better or worse (hint-theyre all better and theyre all worse! but rather to hopefully clear up some of the persistent myths that have clouded the issues beyond useful discussion in many cases. In addition to needing a basic understanding of the underlying mechanics for our own benefits as users, it's also important we know what were talking about in case we decide to lend potentially influential opinions on the subject.. What got me going on this was trying to fly my sailplane flight simulator (Condor), between flights in my real glider. Problem is a sailplane cockpit feels and looks nothing like sitting in a chair at a computer, and immersion eluded me despite the rather high fidelity of the simulator. Through experiments conducted while being able to purposefully jump back and forth from RL flying to my evolving glider simpit, I was able to put my finger on what I feel are the key elements necessary for immersion and the list of non-negotiable items was much shorter than I expected. I have found that removing or half assing any of these baseline pillars is pretty much a dealbreaker though. Its actually not that difficult in many cases to adequately fulfill these minimum requirements, but it may require knowing more about the controls than is common in some cases. Im not saying there isnt a lot more to it, just that these are the bare minimum items I feel need to be taken care of first or else the rest of a simulator project runs the risk of becoming irrelevant. From my experiences, most of what immersion there is to be had comes from these 4 things, and the better they are done the more believable the effect, and like Paretos Principal 80% of the result comes from the first 20% of the work. Going beyond these in most cases is an exercise in diminishing returns as far as I can tell, and likewise failure to sufficiently meet the requirements of this list can break the magic of even the most visually detailed cockpit. These are the key to getting to what I call the saturation point, the subtle point at which one can effortlessly suspend their disbelief and become fully engrossed in the virtual task at hand. To me, this is the whole point of a simulator of any type. The Essentials for Immersion 1. Correct seating position/ergonomics 2. Believable/functional controls 3. Fill thy eye with screen 4. High fidelity audio Sounds simple enough, right? Well, maybe not. Number 1, 3 and 4 can potentially be easy since plenty of perfectly acceptable solutions exist, but number 2 is where it can fall apart since controls can be a complicated subject when you examine them more closely, and also I feel the most important item on this short list. I didnt specify head tracking here, since its kinda a cross between lines 2 and 3, but if there is any view panning function in-game, this really should be done with head tracking and almost warrants an entry of its own. The interface you use to experience a simulator is not merely there to augment or facilitate the experience, it IS the experience! Failing on any of these, especially controls, is the boner-killer of immersion and for me killing immersion = killing fun. YMMV. Im certain no one reading this needs a screen/monitor lecture and more than likely could lecture me on the subject and it's not so hard to come up with good seating or audio; leaving only the topic of controls to expand on. http://i.imgur.com/NQM1TCE.jpg http://i.imgur.com/JX4uBar.jpg