Ok, I've posted this before but I'll post again to clear something up that people are just not understanding about Killzone 2's controls. People are confusing lag for actual control movement and aiming design choices.
How Killzone 2's controls differ from other shooters.
1.) Analogue sticks are my arms, not just my eyes.
This is the first one, the one that causes aim to overstep, or continue even after you've let go of the stick, or not move properly until you've pushed the sticks with some force.
Other shooters have the analogue stick as purely a directional guide. They are basically your eyes, and you generally get steady consistent aim throughout stick movement. You also move the weapon as if it weighed nothing. You feel no real resistance at all, and the analogue is used for nothing more than to direct your cursor.
How does Killzone 2 differ? For a start, the analogue stick is not just a directional guide, but instead a strength gauge. Imagine the analogue sticks are your arms, not just your eyes, and that what you are holding weighs something. The harder, longer or more forcefully you push the sticks, the more sudden, strong and long the movement in the game will be. The more delicate you press them, the more gentle the movement will be. Because strength is variable, the aim is too. If you apply gentle force in any direction at the same force throughout, it will move at a consistent slow speed. Push the stick hard and long in a direction however, and not only will it move in the same way, but perhaps a touch more than when you let go of the stick. The reason for this is that inertia and momentum kicks in and this is something that you have to account for. The analogues are essentially a strength metre, and the effects of that are replicated with a unique aim acceleration set up.
My tips on how to account for this system is basically to see the analogue for what it is, not just that aiming guide but also the strength gauge. Be delicate with movement and aim, just as you would be in real life. Jamming the analogue stick from one direction to the other will get you no where. It's essentially like swinging a rifle with all your might from one direction to another. Instead, be subtle, use the full range of the analogue sticks. You don't always have to hit the edges of the analogue sticks, sometimes delicate taps are all that is needed.
2.) The computer doesn't help me.
Another key difference that KZ2 has when compared to nearly all other console shooters is a lack of auto-aim. This game nearly has none. When in hip fire, it has a tiny amount of it, but in iron sights it has none. Either way, the game has exponentially less than any other console fps, so naturally it's going to be much harder to be pin point accurate, since for once you are expected to hit things with your complete personal skill, the computer isn't going to help you.
The way to get by this is simple practise. And, some of the tips I mentioned above in part 1. Imagine the entire range of the analogue sticks as a mouse mat. In the past with console shooters, all you had to do is is push in the right direction at whatever speed or strength (only thing that really makes a difference is your timing) and the computer generally does the rest. In KZ2 all the space between the centre point of the analogue stick and the edge the analogue stick hits is similar to mouse mat space. Use it wisely, but be sure to use all of it. Swinging a mouse to the edge of the mouse mat every time will get you no where right? Think of Killzone 2 the same way.
3.) These guns react realistically
The guns are going to act with a degree of realism, meaning, they do have recoil and kick back. They will sway, lug, snap, kick and shoot up when you over fire them. To overcome this you basically follow one very easy rule. Burst fire. Extremely short bursts at that. Keep them concise and short, and practise some patience/restraint and before you know it you'll be the harbinger of death to any who stand in your way.
Hip fire is actually very effective in this game, provided you do stick to burst fire. Use it for short to medium range kills. The same burst fire rule applies to Iron Sights too, of which I recommend for medium-long range kills.
4.) It's not just weight
Objects that have weight, are also affected by inertia and momentum. People sometimes forget that. Everything that does carry weight in Killzone 2 is affected by these two factors. As I've touched on in the other parts, this applies mainly to your rifle, but it also applies to other things such as grenade throwing (consider it's weight, gravity etc) and it also applies to running. The longer you run, the more constrained you get with turning, or at least with how sharp you can turn. KZ2 uses a similar system to Gears of War when you use the CNN cam run. You run with such force and speed that you turn in slower arches, so you almost have to plan your turns slightly ahead of time. Momentum kicks in and propels you in a forward direction to a heavy degree, so account for that when turning whilst you are running.
I think that's it for now. But to end it I'll just link to a video I took of me playing through the demo (posted it before). It just gives an example of how some of the tips I gave above come in to play together. Including delicacy of control/aiming precision, running properly, throwing grenades, using burst fire and so on.
Please watch it in High Quality.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUhuiJvBgaI
Message Edited by NIBZY on 02-08-2009 08:22 PM
