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When the controls kill all your enthusiasm (RDR2)

Yeah I think the execution in this game is really bad. Rockstar games are becoming more and more like movies, taking control away from the gamer. I didn't even like how the game auto guided on when going up/down a staircase in GTA V but this is a whole new level.

I am still only 2 or 3 hours in (after getting attacked by a bear) I bought it at launch and I have pretty much no desire to play (slog) on... that would be UNTHINKABLE for a Rockstar game just last gen.

I don't feel like I am in control, and when I am, the controls and movement are AWFUL... truly peasant-level stuff going on here. Clunky, jarring, unresponsive, confusing and unintuitive. WTF... could it get any worse?!

After the open world MGS V Phantom Pain I am spoiled, that had the best 3rd person controls on the planet. Fluid, slick, precise and intuitive even for your broad skill set. Rockstar's game is just an embarrassment by comparison.

Fuck your cinematics, Rockstar. I want a game, not a film.
 
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I did have this instance where I walked up to some fighting brothers. They then asked me to shoot bottles off their heads with my pistol.

Turned out I was only carrying those pistol-sized shotguns, and I couldn't switch to something else. The game wouldn't let me. I was able to shoot the first set of bottles by aiming slightly above them, but on the second challenge I shot one of the guys dead.

That was pretty dumb. Was I supposed to know I had to carry a revolver when I approached those guys? I don't think anyone could excuse this flaw.

They go through all this trouble to have 'realistic weapon carrying' but then halfway through a mission the game just gives you a set of weapons it thought was useful, and they just appear in your hands magically after a cutscene or something. Can't switch to the weapons you want either. And it all just feels a bit pointless. Early on they try to teach you to take the right weapons with you and prepare for the situation, and then it ends up being meaningless for the most part.

But yeah, the controls themselves feel slightly clunky and unresponsive, and the same button can have very different actions appointed to it. I've had it happen where I was trying to mount my horse, but instead grabbed a random passerby and the police came out in full force to kill me. I hated hitching the horse too, which was surprisingly finicky. I did get used to the controls somewhat after a while, but I kept struggling with it throughout the game.
 
Name a few reasonably well-received AAA titles with worse controls. Let's say 80+ Metacritic from the last five years or so. I'm drawing a blank.
 
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Name a few reasonably well-received AAA titles with worse controls. Let's say 80+ Metacritic from the last five years or so. I'm drawing a blank.

The Witcher 3. Controlling Roach, and the combat.

(Though I have no issues with either one to go into meltdown mode, but they were heavily criticized/divisive as well.)
 
The Witcher 3. Controlling Roach, and the combat.

(Though I have no issues with either one to go into meltdown mode, but they were heavily criticized/divisive as well.)

Oh, I hate Witcher 3 controls as well. RDR2 and TW3 are 1A and 1B for me. Beyond those, I can't think of any glaring examples. I'm thrilled that Cyberpunk will be first person. Having the option of first or third would have probably been best, but if it had been third person only, my hype would be about half what it is now.
 
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Oh, I hate Witcher 3 controls as well. RDR2 and TW3 are 1A and 1B for me. Beyond those, I can't think of any glaring examples. I'm thrilled that Cyberpunk will be first person. Having the option of first or third would have probably been best, but if it had been third person only, my hype would be about half what it is now.
GTAV. Especially coming after Max Payne 3 where as flawed as it was with the cut scenes and shit the shooting was sweet and everyone hoped they'd finally get it right in GTA too after it. Also, GTAIV tbh.

Why would your hype half if it looked like a spectacular third person game? If it controlled like MGSV with the added RPG trappings and world, maybe some Max Payne gameplay stuff on top, I'd be fine with it for example. If it looked like Skyrim or Witcher 3 again then yeah, bleh. I love FPV games and love to have FPV wherever it works, be it action games like FPS or stealth games like Thief or RPG games, melee combat games, whatever as long as it's done well, so I love what I've seen of it but I doubt I'd even consider the view point at all had they shown an amazing well controlling third person game in its place. I never considered I'd want the Souls series to be an awesome FPV immersing experience with cool first person melee systems for example. I'd like to see that game too, but I'm not pained Souls isn't it.
 
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We have one of these threads almost every day here. Not clear on what the point is exactly as the games critical and financial success are already secure. The controls feel fine to me and when I see videos like this it reminds me that most of the folks who whine on forums just aren't particularly good at playing video games.

 
GTAV. Especially coming after Max Payne 3. Also, GTAIV tbh.

Why would your hype half if it looked like a spectacular third person game? If it controlled like MGSV with the added RPG trappings and world I'd be fine with it for example. I love FPV games and love to have FPV wherever it works, be it action games like FPS or stealth games like Thief or shooting games, RPG games, melee combat games whatever as long as it's done well, so I love what I've seen of it but I doubt I'd even consider it at all had they shown an amazing well controlling third person game in its place either.

Agreed on R* games in general.

As for Cyberpunk: because I wouldn't expect it to control like MGSV based upon CDPR's track record. I own TW3 on PC and PS4, have tried probably a dozen times to get into it, and have never made it through more than half of the base game. (I did the same with 1 and 2. I'll never learn.) It's a game I should love, but the controls take the enjoyment out of it for me. If CDPR were to pull it off, hell yeah, I'd be all for Cyberpunk in third person. I would have my doubts going in, though.
 
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Well I have my doubts for their first person too, but we'll see. If it works well and their next game is third person then I'll hope they learned to make good third person like they showed they learned to make good first person with this one, basically learned they need to improve their core gameplay systems all around. I won't think of it's gonna suck again and if it does, well, it's still on them not learning :(
 
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We have one of these threads almost every day here. Not clear on what the point is exactly as the games critical and financial success are already secure. The controls feel fine to me and when I see videos like this it reminds me that most of the folks who whine on forums just aren't particularly good at playing video games.



Yes. That's totally what it is. That's why we have threads almost every day about the terrible controls not just in RDR2, but every other game that we're terrible at playing as well. Congrats on your l33t RDR2 skillz. I 'm just a scrub, obviously.

The game reviewed well and made money. Nothing more to discuss, apparently.
 
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Yes. That's totally what it is. That's why we have threads almost every day about the terrible controls not just in RDR2, but every other game that we're terrible at playing as well. Congrats on your l33t RDR2 skillz. I 'm just a scrub, obviously.

The game reviewed well and made money. Nothing more to discuss, apparently.

Well to be accurate the game reviewed exceptionally well and has probably made close to a billion by now.

As for the controls, if they are broken they should prevent any player from fluidly controlling the action. However, there are videos all over YouTube of players doing just that on RDR2.

So what's the issue? Why can't you and the rest of the forum show this level of mastery? Here's a hint—it's not because of the controls buddy. Practice or move on to something your skills can handle.

 
I haven't played the game but based on most people's complain, R* went little too far with "realism" for sake immersion which apparently makes it pain the ass to play.

I personally can get immersed in games like DQXI that has very cartoony artstyle. I don't need realism or useless survival mechanics, I just need to care about the characters and the world.
There is nothing wrong with realism at all. You can do animation to make it fell realistic.

But not add input lag just to fuck with the controls without add any realism at all.

TLOU has more weight realism in the controls than RDR2 without any noticeable input lag.
 
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Well to be accurate the game reviewed exceptionally well and has probably made close to a billion by now.

As for the controls, if they are broken they should prevent any player from fluidly controlling the action. However, there are videos all over YouTube of players doing just that on RDR2.

So what's the issue? Why can't you and the rest of the forum show this level of mastery? Here's a hint—it's not because of the controls buddy. Practice or move on to something your skills can handle.



These sort of statements are so fucking dumb they make my head hurt.
 
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These sort of statements are so fucking dumb they make my head hurt.
But don't you see how masterful it's in the video to constantly use slow-motion lock-on and then automatically shoot folks' limbs and faces off, that's legit skillz, I bet you didn't even pass the tutorial!

Bonus skillz for pressing a button to watch an awesome cinematic stealth melee kill. Every review praises RDR2 for being hard as nails, it's out-Dark Souls-ed Dark Souls and will be the legit gamer benchmark.
 
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Please don't outright attack other users like this. Both yourself and the person you're replying to are just being overly upset about a completely subjective topic.
These sort of statements are so fucking dumb they make my head hurt.

Or maybe your head hurts because you're so fucking dumb. Lots of possibilities I suppose. Think we're done here.
 
We have one of these threads almost every day here. Not clear on what the point is exactly as the games critical and financial success are already secure. The controls feel fine to me and when I see videos like this it reminds me that most of the folks who whine on forums just aren't particularly good at playing video games.



Git'er Gud?!
 
Ohhhh I keep watching the video waiting the part where the dude shows the so "talked" skill.

Deal with input lag is not skill.

There is a big difference between: 1) press button, animation start until 3 seconds late the shot happens and 2) press the button, nothing happens until 3 seconds later the shot happens.

One is realistic implementation in game design the other is just bad game design.
 
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New Rockstar game comes out.

Everyone buys new Rockstar game.

Everyone notices the controls and gameplay are dog shit.

New Rockstar game comes out.

Everyone buys new Rockstar game.

Everyone notices the controls and gameplay are dog shit.

Notice a pattern here? This is equally applicable to Bethesda jank although that last shitty Fallout might have been the final straw for even the ball gag swallowing gaming consumer.

There's only one solution to this problem.


I would say if rockstar continues to push out bad controls like this with their mission fail states in a open world game I'll not buy their game anymore

For Bethesda's game though, it's the no tolerance on mods and multiplayer that turns me off, as long as mods are supported and it's a SIngleplayer focused open world game it's still a must buy for me even if they continue to make slight tweaks of that ancient engine, mod support is so important for me, fallout4 ends up being one of my favorite game this gen, I stil sank in 1000 hours of fallout 4 and Skyrim this gen just because of still being one of the most moddable AAA games out there, I want a new engine but if mods are taken away, I'd rather they keep it like it is.
 
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The controls didn't kill my enjoyment of the game, but its like when you get missions done, its like who cares. The game makes you feel like you never accomplish anything meaning full.
 
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Ohhhh I keep watching the video waiting the part where the dude shows the so "talked" skill.

Deal with input lag is not skill.

There is a big difference between: 1) press button, animation start until 3 seconds late the shot happens and 2) press the button, nothing happens until 3 seconds later the shot happens.

One is realistic implementation in game design the other is just bad game design.

I don't see any lag in those videos. The dead eye is a special that has to be managed like any other special in any other game. Think it's cool and allows for a lot of creativity. Here's a guy that uses it almost exclusively for dodging and does all his shooting free aim. You just can't deny the impact of skill in this discussion. Sorry if that offends some here. Well, actually that's not true. I'm not sorry at all. 😎

 
The controls aren't all that bad. The issue is with how long everything takes. The process of getting on your horse and going to a location takes simply too long and there is not a quick way to handle it. More than once, I put the thing on auto, got up and did laundry or something else. This really should not be happening. Witcher 3 had a great solution. Had a few signposts to fast travel too, then could get on your horse and ride a bit to get back in the game. This was a great solution.
 
I don't see any input lag in the videos, as if they show when the player presses the button to see how long it takes for the animation to start after that, lmao.

Hey guys, there are videos of people completing The Witcher 3 so clearly the combat controls don't suck. In fact, every game is perfect, Bubsy 3D included, save for game breaking bugs cos someone beat them.

Cos clearly everyone criticizes the game's difficulty, now if it feels fun or not, they just can't get past the hard tutorial so they claim the game is bad when really they just can't play for shit, what total nooblets!


Even before it shows the numbers in slow motion you can see it's a huge delay to start his animation. Couple it with the animation and build up to full speed movement being slow and it's bad. Other games may have a similarly long response time but if the character is speedier, snappier, it's better. Bad doesn't mean you can't finish the game, it's just bad. Plus you feel it even more than you can actually see it.
 
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Had a good time doing some missions today, then wanted to run to my horse and get on. Pressed triangle right next to it and then bam, tackled a cop standing right next to the horse to the ground. Immediately let him go, but already had a bounty on my ass and the whole fucking city full of cops on me.

As if navigating trash Saint Denis wasn't a hassle enough already, now I had to run through it, with cops behind me and a ton of pedestrians in front.

Who thought it was a good idea to put these two functions on this one button?

I forgave rdr2 a lot of terrible design decisions, cause the fun ultimately outweighed the problems, but now it's starting to wear me down. Probably because I get more and more tired of the we need more money blah blah rigid and often boring main missions.
 
Game was a disappointment for me especially after how much I loved the first one. I actually uninstalled it this morning. I don't care how good the story gets, or how good the ending is the slow pace and horrid controls make me not enjoy playing the game.

Not every game can be Nier Automata or Nioh.
 
Well to be accurate the game reviewed exceptionally well and has probably made close to a billion by now.

As for the controls, if they are broken they should prevent any player from fluidly controlling the action. However, there are videos all over YouTube of players doing just that on RDR2.

So what's the issue? Why can't you and the rest of the forum show this level of mastery? Here's a hint—it's not because of the controls buddy. Practice or move on to something your skills can handle.



Yes only experts can press the square button to pick up dynamite as prompted by the game, only to vault off a bridge because square is also the vault button. Yes, we're all retards as the game is only designed to be played by genius spawn such as yourself. Catch a fuckin' grip.
 
So the people that didn't like the controls of RDR2 should quit playing video games because the story made you cry? Lol

lol this.

Might as well say The Order 1886 is GOTY too.

I own and like Red Dead 2, but folks.....be honest about those dated ideas and horrid controls. We don't need to HOLD A DAMN BUTTON to confirm picking up a body, animal or skinning or looting etc. Annoying and legit makes no sense. So yes....I do want to pick that up, not really sure why the game is making me hold it as if I'm not sure I want to open a door or loot a body LOL!

So I feel even AC Odyssey has done more to earn that title then Red Dead 2. The game tries new concepts, lets you go underwater, has a wealth of options for combat as well as from what I hear (feels good to play)

So I don't hate Red Dead 2, but it doesn't deserve any GOTY award against stuff like God Of War.
 
Yes. That's totally what it is. That's why we have threads almost every day about the terrible controls not just in RDR2, but every other game that we're terrible at playing as well. Congrats on your l33t RDR2 skillz. I 'm just a scrub, obviously.

The game reviewed well and made money. Nothing more to discuss, apparently.

This.

What I don't get, is many of us legit own the game and can confirm this. We keep having this crap happen because many so called journalist are scared to speak up about it. Why is this man WALKING ONLY when people talk? Is he mentally or physically ill or? How about at Camp? I was in a damn shoot out in a house and this man went from RUNNING to walking as if a damn shootout wasn't happening. It makes zero sense and no excuse for this strange movement. The game just feels awful and the design choices they made are extremely questionable. I'll walk when I FEEL like walking, not this strange FORCED walk as if Arthur is really 102 years old like The End from MGS3 ,even that dude could move faster lol

The honor system is an after thought and the concept of "good" or "bad" is irrelevant when Rockstar pretty much forced this dudes narrative from the jump.

Example.

Arthur -" no one needs to die here gang"

Game- "Arthur can choose to kill or let go of the civilians"

CAN HE DOE? Cauuuuuuuuuuse sounding like he actually made up his mind BEFORE that mission started, as in the character legit doesn't behave as such and it even contradicts the damn game.

Be like "we outlaws" ...also them "don't hurt no one bruh"

Your honor goes to zero....not NEGATIVE, thus you gain nothing from outlaw status (if we even say one exist) you simply just don't go up in honor.

FBI comes in your camp and the whole gang like "ok, we'll clear out of here for the 2 of you agents" Lets them leave unharmed.

I'm sorry but as much as I like the IP, its clear this game is westerns for Disney or something. The game doesn't want to actually live up to that M rating and its extremely tame for a time that was as wild as it got ie "wild west" etc. Its like, you are a gang of killers bruh, act like it lol
 
Last time played the story took a turn i hated. 100% gunfights. Press aim to snap to body. Slightly hold up. Headshot. Repeat. Even when you can't see the enemies because it's too dark. Aim, up, shoot. Whac-a-mole Redemption 2.
The gameplay feels so archaic.
 
I've been quiet about my dislike of red dead 2 because I assumed it was just me that felt this way. The controls are complete garbage and the realism is a step too far to be enjoyable for me. Match that with terrible menu and I was done after 4 or 5 hours. It just isn't as good as the first game at being a game.
 
I just want to add you can belong to both camps.

The controls and combat are shit. The menus are confusing and I never really did master them in real time.

And the game is great, the story is compelling and the world is beautiful.

I finished the game and did not resent it, but they should have tightened the controls and simplified the control wheel thing. They also should have fixed the HDR, surround sound and PS4 Pro res (I plyed on the X, just saying). This is the largest and most successful game developer, they took their sweet time and still didn't nail the simple stuff (and some technical pieces).
 
I just want to add you can belong to both camps.

The controls and combat are shit. The menus are confusing and I never really did master them in real time.

And the game is great, the story is compelling and the world is beautiful.

I finished the game and did not resent it, but they should have tightened the controls and simplified the control wheel thing. They also should have fixed the HDR, surround sound and PS4 Pro res (I plyed on the X, just saying). This is the largest and most successful game developer, they took their sweet time and still didn't nail the simple stuff (and some technical pieces).
You are dam right.

Overall the game is really outstanding but the controls are garbage.

That something really bad about the game... same happened with The Witcher 3.
 
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I gotta say...the controls killed my enjoyment too. I beat the game, wanted to replay it, but the auto-aim just feels like I'm playing the game on Autopilot and I just choose the destination and the manual aim is just really bad not matter how much you adjust the deadzones, mixed with the 30fps lock and it just kills my enjoyment and I don't really have any intention of touching the game again. It actually feels worse to play to me than RDR1 did. That said, I love pretty much everything else about the game and can't WAIT to play it again on PC where I can use a mouse to aim and have 60+fps. I really hope they release a PC port very very soon.
 
Therw are a lot of different control settings.
I found classic firstperson controls and camera follow level off, to be good, it's not for from other 3rd person games.
 
I just want to add you can belong to both camps.

The controls and combat are shit. The menus are confusing and I never really did master them in real time.

And the game is great, the story is compelling and the world is beautiful.

I finished the game and did not resent it, but they should have tightened the controls and simplified the control wheel thing. They also should have fixed the HDR, surround sound and PS4 Pro res (I plyed on the X, just saying). This is the largest and most successful game developer, they took their sweet time and still didn't nail the simple stuff (and some technical pieces).

I also, am of this camp. Everything about the game was spectacular except the gameplay. The game will likely make my personal top 5 of the year, despite the controls. It just could have been so much better.
 
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