Gamepad recommendations

[Multidirectional]

God damnit, I just got 360 pad few weeks ago and was pretty happy with it. Now I read all this stuff about it breaking down fast. I hope that's not always true. My previous cheapo dual shock lasted for 6 years, it still does. Got 360 for compatibility reasons, was tired of x360ce crashing games during rumble.

 

[Multiple Sarcasm]

Guys, I haven't played racing/flight sims since the last century - are gamepads okay for those? I don't want to buy separate stuff like steering wheels, joysticks and whatnot.
I tried the X360 one at the store and the steering was all wonky and felt a helluva lot worse than WASD. Is it a matter of getting used to it, or am I just too old for this shit?

 

[tuluse]

Guys, I haven't played racing/flight sims since the last century - are gamepads okay for those? I don't want to buy separate stuff like steering wheels, joysticks and whatnot.
I tried the X360 one at the store and the steering was all wonky and felt a helluva lot worse than WASD. Is it a matter of getting used to it, or am I just too old for this shit?

They're "ok" yes. Both ps and xbox controllers have analog triggers now so you can control acceleration, braking and steering with more nuance than on/off.

If you play arcade style games this doesn't matter, but anything remotely sim like and you need some level of control.

 

[TheGreatOne]

Get an arcade stick. Precision controls and build quality/longevity. Sega Saturn style game pads are also great for emulation/console games. Keyboard and mouse are superior for 3D games, except for Japanese PS2/PS3 era console games that were ported to PC like Dark Souls, but outside of PS2 emulation games like that are rare. And even in most of those PS2 games you don't have to control camera angles very often. That's why I wouldn't bother with a 360 or even with a PS3 style controller. You already have mouse for shootan games, so rather than getting a gamepad with analogue sticks that are inferior to your mouse, it makes more sense to get something for those games where keyboard and mouse are inferior (=Saturn d-pad or fighting stick)

 

[Multiple Sarcasm]

Alright then. Thanks, guys. Will try a few more controllers, and if none of them feel right at the store, I'll just buy the least terrible one and try it out over a weekend (the store is usually tolerant of exchanging something that doesn't work out).

 

[Phage]

In my opinion, what's worked very well for me as someone who actively plays a lot of ports and uses a lot of emulators:

Third Person action games and 'precision' platformers like Meat Boy - Wired 360 controller, although the Wired Bone controller might be better (don't own a bone for comparison)
Fightan' games - Xbox 360 arcade stick. I personally have a budget one that I modified with Sanwa parts, but springing for a Tournament Edition is worth if it you have the disposable income
Almost everything else - Keyboard + Mouse. Currently using a Ducky 3 Shine for Keyboard and a Deathadder for the mouse. Honestly though any mechanical keyboard and any half-decent mouse will be serviceable enough.

Have to be honest, when it comes to Racing and Flight sim games I have no idea. Why not check out a joystick for flying or a wheel for racing?

 

[Astral Rag]

I use xPadder and a PS2 or GameCube controller for platformers, fighting games and emulated console games. I also have a wired 360 controller that I mainly use for racing games. The 360 controller has a criminally bad d-pad.

 

[Siveon]

My setup is about the same as Astral's. PS2 adapter + Xpadder and a 360 controller. I use the 360 controller for anything I can't play with my PS2 controller.

Getting a gamecube adapter so I'll fill in the entire emulation spectrum.

 

[Abu Antar]

The DualShock 4 is the most comfortable controller I have used. Previously, I used a DualShock 3 on some PC games.

 

[Muty]

I've had 2 wireless 360 controllers for more than 2 years and so far I had no issues with them, except that they are a bit laggy..

 

[Ebonsword]

Both of my wired Xbox 360 controllers were starting to go bad, so I picked up one of these:

I think that the buttons and triggers on it are much better than the standard Xbox 360 controller, and the D-pad is infinitely better.

I'm not sure that the analog sticks are an improvement, though. It seems to be harder to make small adjustments with them (like when sniping)--possibly due to a bit of a deadspot in the center of the sticks? Maybe it will get better as I break it in, though.

 

[Severian Silk]

I bought an Xbox 360 controller last month made by GameStop. I hope it lasts.

Guys, I haven't played racing/flight sims since the last century - are gamepads okay for those? I don't want to buy separate stuff like steering wheels, joysticks and whatnot.
I tried the X360 one at the store and the steering was all wonky and felt a helluva lot worse than WASD. Is it a matter of getting used to it, or am I just too old for this shit?

I played Freespace, IWar 2 and Tachyon using a PS1 controller attached via a USB dongle. Worked pretty well, though I couldn't beat the second to last battle in IWar 2 so I don't know how it ends. I will try again using the new controlller.