How in the Hell...

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oldschoolsmd

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Ok - I looked around the boards, looked everywhere for this - so not just throwing this out -

I can not find ANY decent information on the gamepad. How to deal with the thing, how to best set it up for the game...

In my opinion, the design sucks. I'm not 12 years old, so maybe my hands are too big. But there's just no way in hell I can actually wrap my hands around this stupid thing to have access to the back buttons, the front buttons, and the stupid joysticks at the same time.

Now the SEGA controllers were great. They fit in your hands comfortably. Even the back buttons.

So is there a controller without this weird alien freakish shape that I can buy?

Also, how do you guys set up the controller? Do you use those analog joystick things, or is the arrow pad better?

Last night, after trying every freakin' option, I just slammed the stupid controller into the floor and smashed it to bits. Not ever putting one of those pieces of crap in my hands again.

But I love this game. If I could actually have any element of control over the car, I'd probably enjoy it.

So any ideas? I'm just hoping there's a Sega shaped gamepad I can get, or SOMETHING to get past this crappy controller. I also bought the madcatz version of it - sucks just as bad, but worse.

Thanks for any ideas or help on this. I can't be the only one who thinks the controller is completely retarded.
 
Most games I use the Joysticks, but for Gran Turismo I use the Arrow pointer thingy buttons.

Oh, and Welcome to GTPlanet!:)
 
Well I've been searching the web for a Sega shaped controller - no luck.
As for the steering wheel, I've considered it a few times - but the reviews are always mixed. Plus shelling out $60 on a controller seems like overkill.

I'm 6'3, so I think my hands are just too big for the standard controller - I just can't fit my hand around it. The ends of it end up sticking into my palms when I wrap around to access the back switches. And my thumbs seriously overextend past the buttons. Every time I use it, I get hand cramps.

Is there an adaptor out there that allows the use of other controllers?

I've been trying to get "gold" on all the licensing tests - and have succeeded on the first four or five - but when it comes to handling multiple buttons (applying the break, then shifting down two gears immediately, etc.), there's just no way to pull it off. The controller literally falls out of my hands - I can't hold it.

So thanks for the info so far. At this point, I'm thinking about buying some molding puddy and just reshaping the thing myself.

But it'd be cool to find a controller built for people with larger hands. Since I bought the PS2 a year ago, I've rarely played it - primarily because the stupid controller literally cramps my hands.

Thanks.
 
im 6'3 (i have large hands) and i dont have any problem with it, guess ive gotten used to it
 
There are a heap of after-market controllers out there - but they have the same basic shape. I don't personally have a problem with it, but I suck at GT3 with it - mind you, I've run a steering wheel with PSX games since 1996, so I'm probably not the one to ask...
 
Well, I don't have big hands, but I find the two sticks to be the most comfortable and effective input. Left stick steers, right stick throttle/brake. I almost never use the buttons unless I biff it and have to back up.

L1 downshift, R1 upshift (whichever the larger of the two back side buttons are; I can never keep that straight) are natural top me and I shift without thinking about it.

I also have a Momo wheel - the leather one with steel paddle shifters - and I love it. However, a wheel is totally dependent upon having something solid to mount it to, and a comfortable seating position.

Welcome to GTPlanet, by the way.
 
Well you use your 3 leftover fingers to hold the controller up.. your index finger to run the r1 r2 and l1 l2.. then your thumbs to control the rest of everything. then have some space between your palm and the controller. you could also use the very top of your palm (like just under where your fingers connect) to keep it stable.

You said you had troubles running all the buttons while holding the thing up, i assume you have recently gotten your ps2 and havnt had many if any other systems, but you said differently so i have no idea whats going on. maybe you have a life so you dont play it much so you have trouble getting it down. just dink around with it one day until you find a way to keep it stable and comfortable

perhaps you should try a different system, xbox maybe?
 
I'm wondering how your trying to hold the pad, you should be holdiding it like DoZeRxXx just said and it fits everyones hands who I've ever seen pick up one a PS2 pad.
 
Played around with a bunch of different setups but settled on the following:

steering - right joystick
lthrottle - eft joystick forward
brakes - L2
emergency brake - L1
hold lower gear (I use an auto tranny) - R2
reverse - R1
 
Originally posted by oldschoolsmd
I'm not 12 years old, so maybe my hands are too big.
Click to expand...
I'm 12 and my hands fit on the controller fine...
 
So, from what I'm seeing here, there really is no way (or at least it's not preferred) to actually wrap your hands around it in such a way that you can actually tap any or all of the buttons.
You're basically supposed to use the two analog sticks and the rear switches? I think I might be able to pull that off.
But, using the controller that came with the system - I get a LOT of oversteer using the analog sticks.
Is that because I need a new controller, or is it just one of those "patience" things?
And thanks again for all the input - I do stay too busy to play with this game every day for hours on end, but with my Sega, I used to be really good with the controls.

So one last plea for help - for people with bigger hands, there isn't just a bigger controller, or at least one that's a lot more comfortable? The MadCatz controller I bought sucks just as bad as the original one.

Or maybe there's a USB controller adapter that would work with the PS2? I know PC's have tons of options?

Thanks again for all the help.

And maybe I'm just "out there" - but I'd think there's probably tons of people having serious problems with getting any precision out of these PS2 gamepads. Fine for fighting games or goofing around in the arcade version - but they just suck when you're trying to go for "gold" on your licensing tests.

Rather than feeling like I'm having fun driving the car, I feel like I'm playing an updated version of "Pac Man" - tap left, then quickly tap right, then left left, right back button, left...

It's more like learning a maze than driving a car - and that's just, to me, obnoxious.

Thanks.
 
Originally posted by oldschoolsmd
So, from what I'm seeing here, there really is no way (or at least it's not preferred) to actually wrap your hands around it in such a way that you can actually tap any or all of the buttons.
Click to expand...
Yes, just how DoZeRxXx said to, I have no problem, none of the people I've ever played the PS1 or PS2 with have ever had any problems. Use your right thumb for the right stick and/or the X,O,square and triangle and your left thumb for the left stick and/or the d-pad, and use your 1st fingers(? the one next to your thumb's) for the shoulder buttons (R1, R2,L1, L2).

As far as the capabilities of pad control, some of the fastst lap times and license times are done using the pad.
 
thanks - I'll give all these tips a shot tonight.

I was just really thinking that it was absolutely impossible to score gold on those initial license exams with the base controller.

:banghead:

But I guess I'll keep on keepin' on.
 
Since you left your "location" empty, I don't know if going to Best Buy is an option for you, but after looking around on their site, there seem to be a few controlers, many infact, that appear to be larger in size then the standard PS2 Dual Shock.

Here is an example:

5626361_ra.jpg


Take a look around their site as I saw many, 4 pages to be exact, of PS2 compatable controlers.

The one pictured above seems to be going a bit overboard, I mean a fan?! But there were others that didn't include such frivilous features.

Take a look. www.bestbuy.com
 
I checked BestBuy - in NYC here - and they had a Logitech Speed Force Wheel on sale for $17.99.
So I was all hyped to go out and buy one - but given it sounded too good to be true, I checked it out on the web, and apparently, that wheel was placed under the wrong category - only works on the GameCube.
I take it there's no way to make a GameCube controller work on the PS2?
I just don't get why I'm the only one having problems with this controller, though - the Sega Genesis controller was the bomb - you could totally hold it perfectly in your hands, and I even had one with extra buttons on it, just like the PS2.
But I'm gonna run up to Best Buy and see what they've got - I just can't deal with this thing.
I paid a crapload for this thing when it came out, and I've never played it cuz of the awkward controller. After an hour, I feel like my hand is gonna be permanently crippled.
 
I have big hands and the DS2 controller made mine cramp. I had to use something else, so I chose the Logitech Wireless from last year's production, which is larger than the new one, and my problems were solved. It makes the DS2 look like a kid's controller. Oh, it is! My bad.

Having said that, there is nothing like their Pro wheel, even if it is not necessary, so I am getting one of them, along with GT4.

If you want to use a manual trannie, then you need to reach buttons properly. If not, you'll soon learn how it all works.

Cheers,

MasterGT
 
Well - my hands are permanently mangled - but I finally did get gold on all the licensing dealios, except the final one. Working on that one...
But seriously - the PS2 controller sucks.
I can't believe there's not a bigger market for a real freakin' controller.
I'm also gonna look into snagging a "wheel" - but I think that would qualify me as an official "gamer", which really can't work for me unless I start scoring tons of pot and plan on living with my Mom.
Does anyone know if there's anywhere you can find solid review of the various controllers - I tried that IGN or whatever site, and they're obviously more interested in placing ads on multiple click throughs than supplying any freakin' information.
Maybe the gods who run this board can set up a controller review (other than the one on the wheel), organized by controller? I could definitely use the info.
And, to start things out:

Original PS2 Controller - total piece of crap, hard plastic, not comfortable, too small, bad layout, useless analog stick

MadCatz Dual Force - piece of crap, slightly more comfortable mimic of the original PS2, bogus "steering wheel" mode isn't even selectable in GT3. Analog joystick also pretty much completely useless for precision control.

etc.

Thanks to everyone for all the info.
 
well i appreciate you might have some difficulty, but compared with previous game controllers I love the Dual shock desin. Admittedly i dont have huge hands, but you won't get anywhere telling everyone that a controller 90% of people are happy with sucks. I, like neon duke prefer the analog sticks for controls as the pressure-sensitive x button after a while gives me what me and my bro like to call 'playstation thumb'. it really hurts. If you are using that, that would be better for you, but hey i'm not really the one to judge
 
well i imagine the D-pad or buttons must be less precise than analog sticks surely?
 
plus, there is no way they could make a controller for everyone, like for instance i hate the xbox controllers because i have relatively small hands ans both (even the smallone) just don't work for me. The DS2 is fine for me tho! I think maybe you would be better suited to a steering wheel
 
My brother has very large hand also and he has been disatisfied with the small shape
of the DS2. I glued some quarter in thick foam insulation onto the handles with a little
extra lenght extending the handles. he stopped complaining at least. They acutally pad
the handles also makeing it more comfortable. On my own controller I filled and sanded the joints to ellimate rough edges. which helped. I would actrually like it if the X button was just a bit larger so it wouldn't leave an indent in my thumb. I have done OK with
the DS2 as I have 288 Gold licence tests all better than demo times. (all 6 leader board
slots on all the tests.) I just use the buttons and manual transmission.
 
Interesting, but I have small hands and the DS2 suits me perfectly; Sony can't cater for everyone out there...
 
Sony doesn't need to make anything different. A third party company already makes pads that slip onto the handles of the DS2. All they have to do is make some with different sizes or thickness to fit a wide varity of hands. Sony has never quite got it as ergonomics go, and they never will. Even thought there is new management in the works.
 
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