Some Design Questions Regarding The Dpad And Analog Pad


.Gogeta§§J4BR.

that brazilian guy =`]
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Hello, I don´t use the gp32x forums so much, it´s been years actually... Maybe some of you already know me(I hope these are good memories, lol) ='P

I'm starting to keep track of all the pandora development and one main issue I have is, unfortunately, about the design. please, i´d like to discuss these important points as it´s one of the key features the pandora will bring (good controls).

Is the dpad going to be clicky? Will I be able to hit diagonals with ease?
I don´t know why I get the feeling this is going to be annoying to press (click) like a gba sp, plus the unreachable psp-like diagonals (and while the psp is easy to open and fix this by yourself, i´d hate to open a pandora!)

Also, am I the only one who thinks the left analog is too much to the right?
it´s like playing the ds and trying to get precision and comfort out of your left thumb stretched till the middle of the screen!

thx in advance
 
.Gogeta§§J4BR. said:
Is the dpad going to be clicky? Will I be able to hit diagonals with ease?
I don´t know why I get the feeling this is going to be annoying to press (click) like a gba sp, plus the unreachable psp-like diagonals (and while the psp is easy to open and fix this by yourself, i´d hate to open a pandora!)

Also, am I the only one who thinks the left analog is too much to the right?
it´s like playing the ds and trying to get precision and comfort out of your left thumb stretched till the middle of the screen!
By "clicky", do you mean microswitch clicky? If you do, then no. The dpad will be membrane-based like most controller d-pads, not microswitch-based like the GP32/NGPC.

You should have no trouble hitting the diagonals with the d-pad. The render is a little misleading - The d-pad is circular with a raised cross on it. It is not cross-shaped like the NES d-pad. The space between the cross arms is still part of the pad, which should make hitting diagonals easy.

How comfortable the controls are will depend on the size of your hands. If you have very small thumbs then the analog pads may be a bit of a stretch. Most people, however, shouldn't have any trouble. Everybody who has printed out a scale mock-up of the device says the controls are more comfortably positioned than they look.
 
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Nice to know the dpad will be better than it looks :)

"How comfortable the controls are will depend on the size of your hands."
not really.
the xbox 360 controller is comfortable and people with different hand sizes can confirm this.
it's all due to the controller form and how comfortably your left thumb is over the analog
while on the pandora, you have to stretch it to the right, which I think will hurt you after some time of playing =`\ that's what I'm talking about
 
You can check out the mockup videos MWeston did in YouTube. It looks easy enough, but no one can really tell if it will be comfortable or not after hours of playing :p
 
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