Howdy. Before we begin, I'd like to offer some background information about who I am and my cause. In July of 2014, I was involved in a motor vehicle accident and fractured the c2 vertebrae in my neck, rendering me unable to move. Due to my young age and the the less severe nature of the injury, i was able to regain movement. I showed signs of recovery while i was still in the ICU, wiggling my fingers and toes. The doctors began working to enroll me in one of the best inpatient rehabilitation facilities in the country and I began working with physical and occupational therapists to really retrain my body. I've since recovered the ability to walk but the damage was done, I still have very reduced sensation from the neck down. Consequently, I cannot play World of Warcraft with a mouse and keyboard. Any ambition to return to azeroth was nothing more than a dream to me, until I discovered ConsolePort. Consoleport is an addon you can get from curse/twitch that allows you to, with the help of an input program such as xpadder, x360ce, or wowmapper, play World of Warcraft with a gamepad. The design of the addon is awe inspiring, providing efficient gamepad support for WoW that truly surpasses gamepad support for other big name titles such as ESO, BDO, FFXIV, and Tera, which is amazing considering WoW has never been intended to play with a gamepad.
Now, this has been a touchy subject in the past, but on behalf of players with injuries everywhere, and even players who just want casual fun or prefer gamepads, I reached out. I messaged Jeremy Feasel(AKA @Muffinus) on twitter with my story and to ask if he could forward my inquiries to someone who handled player input and UI for the game. Much to my surprise, he replied to me and informed me that several members of the Blizzard/WoW family themselves actually play with gamepads due to injuries, and suggested creating a forum post. I'm hugely appreciative of Jeremy, and if you're reading this, thank you.
Compiled in a list, the creator of ConsolePort, Munk, has several recommendations in his "Wishlist" of things to see to aid our cause and his in development for ConsolePort. Of course we'd all like to see a native gamepad support for the game with the Blizzard polish on it, but nevertheless, here are a few of our hopes.
Interact with Nearest NPC/Object Button: This is one that could benefit the entire playerbase, as large name content creators have mentioned in the past. Mike Preach from Preach gaming mentioned how beneficial an interact button would be for the game, as more and more games pop up with this feature, it's easy to fall prey to the allure of it. Most games that do have some form of base gamepad support will have this. Unlike the "Interact" keybind that's already in the game, this would not require a person to physically mouse over a npc or quest item in the world in order to interact with it, instead they could look at the item and press an interact button to have it interact, because how many of you truly enjoyed the "Aww, Nuts!" world quest? Munk was actually able to whip up a feature that does this moderately well with the current api using nameplate scanning/targeting, you can check that out in the following video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWEKWeRAXoU&feature=youtu.be
Reset Mouse to Center Screen: One of the biggest issues we have when playing is losing our mouse cursor. The nature of ConsolePort utilizes a call to "lock" the mouse cursor as if the right mouse button was pressed. This allows us to use our right thumbstick to control the camera as if it were any other console RPG. At any time of our choosing, we can bring the cursor back up as needed to interact with what we need to, but when a player is in heavy combat, it's easy to simply forget where your cursor was last, because it's very likely that your cursor hasn't even been on the screen for minutes at a time while you were fighting that boss or getting kited by that frost mage in a bg *cough* buff ret mobility *cough*. While we originally had a solution for this, it was erratic sometimes and relied on memory reading to simply snap the cursor back to the center of the screen every time the mouse cursor was locked. The memory reading feature has since been discontinued in wowmapper due to concerns for players accounts. We never had problems with anyone getting in trouble before, but Topher, the developer of wowmapper didn't want to risk anyone's account. In an ideal world if some level of gamepad support was added to the game, we could simply use a set of crosshairs in the middle of the screen to act as a reticle for us to cast ground target spells and interact with npcs, but currently our best and easiest solution is to implement an extra keybind in the game that, when pressed, returns the mouse cursor to the center of the screen. Even simply having the peace of mind that our mouse cursor is at center-screen, we can utilize [@cursor] macros knowing that it will always cast as if the mouse was centered. I personally use a macro like this for my warrior with heroic leap.
Macro Conditional for Ground Target Abilities: As you can imagine, using a gamepad can be a bit tricky for casting ground spells such as rain of fire, blizzard, totems, etc, and for these, the [@cursor] conditional just doesn't work quite right. This again is a system we did have a solution for in the form of memory reading, but alas it is gone. I've healed many m+ on my shaman and suffered greatly at how inconvenient it currently is. We must cast the spell, select where to put it, and click our left thumbstick to cast it. This isn't a huge deal for instant cast spells, but for others such of healing rain or flamestrike, clicking the left thumbstick can be finicky as it requires you to press it just so and not move afterword to cast. Not being able to feel my hands, i struggle with this, especially in high intensity mythic+ situations when I need to drop my resto shamans artifact ability but it fails because i just barely bump the thumbstick after the click and my character moves, cancelling the cast. Sadly, using an [@player] conditional for the macro is also not ideal for these spells because, by nature, healer and ranged dps are supposed to stand at range away from enemies. Our current solution for this is to allow another macro conditional that will let you press the keybind a second time to cast the spell instead of requiring a mouse click. For example, I need to cast Earthquake, i press my hypothetical earthquake keybind of Right Trigger + A Button, aim Earthquake, and press Right Trigger + A again to place it. This again is an option the playerbase as a whole can benefit from.
If you'd like to read the article from Munk himself, he includes screenshots of what the API code may look like if development of these options did become a possibility, as well as elaborates on his own thoughts. Feel free to check that out here:
http://consoleport.net/home/api-wish-list-open-letter-to-blizzard/
Speaking for the ConsolePort community, we ask these changes not because we want the game to be easier to play as a whole, but we ask these changes so that we may play at a level of competition that's at least little closer to our mouse and keyboard brethren. I personally am a mythic raider, I've achieved Cutting Edge in the previous 3 raids. From the logs I do have currently, my personal numbers are respectable considering how far behind the top players I am due to having taken a break in 7.2.5(Around 10ilvl behind and still working on fully unlocking my 2nd and 3rd relics at the netherlight crucible) but the number of classes and specs I can play at this competitive of a level is somewhat limited. Personally, I've been retribution since TBC and it would take something catastrophic to change that, but many new consoleport users may find that their desired class or spec just feels unintuitive to play on a gamepad, and for whatever their reasoning for using a gamepad may be, they can't enjoy it they way they'd like. We've recently even seen a resurgence of new users joining our discord and joining the discussion with us. Munk has received a ton of fantastic feedback praising him for creating a system that allows players to use a gamepad. ConsolePort may be the only WoW addon out there that has the unique ability to contribute to the subscriber base by allowing people who don't want to use mouse and keyboard, or indeed players such as myself, who can't use them, enjoy the game again.
I'd like to express my gratitude now for anyone who gave this the full read, it was a big ol' thing, but something many of us are passionate about. I'm sure we'd all be ecstatic to see any form of efforts coming in Battle for Azeroth to help bridge the gap for us gamepad users and players with injuries. We're all proud to call Azeroth home and all of us are just looking for a way to play. I appreciate the read.
Socomm
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TL;DR pls, I'm guessing it's something like requesting controller support for a game that was never intended to be played with controllers.
Any consoleport accommodations that don't have unintended advantages have my full support. I'm glad you found a way. :)
That would be ideal, but not entirely. A couple features here and there to unburden us a little. It's as i say in the opening paragraph, consoleport really does do it's job better than every other game with gamepad support I've seen. There are just some aspects that currently have no easy solution for us.11/13/2017 03:29 PMPosted by GreeneggTL;DR pls, I'm guessing it's something like requesting controller support for a game that was never intended to be played with controllers.
Thanks! I was beyond excited when i first found consoleport and was able to play again.
Any consoleport accommodations that don't have unintended advantages have my full support. I'm glad you found a way. :)
We have a disabled veteran who has very limited control options. Taking some time to help him has made an amazing difference. I want to do as much as I can so this was a great read. Big applause and good luck getting better interface design.
With regards to a centered mouse cursor, it would help immensely if they split up (or duplicated parts of) the CameraSelectOrMove API functions.
If the Camera and Select bits were given standalone functions, one could toggle the mouselook part on (for the controller to take over) and leave the cursor centered and on screen for selection/hover/ground targeting/etc.. without having to programmatically reset the cursor every tick.
If the Camera and Select bits were given standalone functions, one could toggle the mouselook part on (for the controller to take over) and leave the cursor centered and on screen for selection/hover/ground targeting/etc.. without having to programmatically reset the cursor every tick.
That's an interesting suggestion. One we've never thought of. I could definitely see that being a benefit to us. The only reason my heroic leap [@cursor] macro works is because I swing the camera way down so the macro is guaranteed to get maximum distance when I press it. Other spells that require precision targeting wont work with an @cursor macro for us because it's just too inaccurate to attempt dropping it without being able to see our cursor.11/13/2017 04:07 PMPosted by JosefineIf the Camera and Select bits were given standalone functions, one could toggle the mouselook part on (for the controller to take over) and leave the cursor centered and on screen for selection/hover/ground targeting/etc.. without having to programmatically reset the cursor every tick.
Bump for a well thought out post.
I play with half a controller, just so I am not hunched over the k/b.
https://world.splitfish.com/fragfx-game-controllers/fragfx-fragchuck-pc-mac.html
14 buttons with motion trigger paired with a Rival 500 mouse give me all the keybinds I need.
I play with half a controller, just so I am not hunched over the k/b.
https://world.splitfish.com/fragfx-game-controllers/fragfx-fragchuck-pc-mac.html
14 buttons with motion trigger paired with a Rival 500 mouse give me all the keybinds I need.
11/13/2017 04:22 PMPosted by Dosaku14 buttons with motion trigger paired with a Rival 500 mouse give me all the keybinds I need.
Without knowing the capabilities of consoleport, most of the questions i've received were about how I fit all my abilities on my gamepad.
Left trigger serves as shift, right trigger serves as ctrl, left trigger + right trigger serves as shift+ctrl.
A standard gamepad these days (ps4/xbox/steam) has 14 buttons on it. 14 buttons x 3 modifiers is 56 keybinds including the standard unmodified buttons, so technically 14x4. I actually have more keybinds now than i did before my injury.
11/13/2017 04:36 PMPosted by Socomm11/13/2017 04:22 PMPosted by Dosaku14 buttons with motion trigger paired with a Rival 500 mouse give me all the keybinds I need.
Without knowing the capabilities of consoleport, most of the questions i've received were about how I fit all my abilities on my gamepad.
Left trigger serves as shift, right trigger serves as ctrl, left trigger + right trigger serves as shift+ctrl.
A standard gamepad these days (ps4/xbox/steam) has 14 buttons on it. 14 buttons x 3 modifiers is 56 keybinds including the standard unmodified buttons, so technically 14x4. I actually have more keybinds now than i did before my injury.
The biggest issue I think for most people is circle strafing- there is no easy way to do it and use other abilities simultaneous... things that target cursor like traps are problematic as well.
These things became apparent to me right away when I tried out a controller with consoleport.
11/13/2017 04:22 PMPosted by DosakuBump for a well thought out post.
I play with half a controller, just so I am not hunched over the k/b.
https://world.splitfish.com/fragfx-game-controllers/fragfx-fragchuck-pc-mac.html
14 buttons with motion trigger paired with a Rival 500 mouse give me all the keybinds I need.
Love their controllers - use one on my PS3 for playing FPS games all the time. :)
11/13/2017 04:38 PMPosted by DosakuThe biggest issue I think for most people is circle strafing- there is no easy way to do it and use other abilities simultaneous... things that target cursor like traps are problematic as well.
These things became apparent to me right away when I tried out a controller with consoleport.
Yeah, this is why I don't pvp too terribly much. i just started doing rbgs with my guild and we've beaten some decently high mmr teams but character control is much more difficult in a pvp setting. Theres a ton more micromanagement to be done
Have you thought about adding voice commands as well as foot peddles with your console port?
I have heard of some good ones out there that a few paraplegic players use to play WoW. I don't know the specifics so I cannot help you there. I just know that the programs exist and they might be able to help you out.
I have heard of some good ones out there that a few paraplegic players use to play WoW. I don't know the specifics so I cannot help you there. I just know that the programs exist and they might be able to help you out.
If a game like final fantasy 14(that's the mmo right?) can do it wow could easily do it as well. They made very clever use of the controller that allows the player to have access to a lot of abilities on the hotbar by just using the triggers.
11/13/2017 05:18 PMPosted by ValdraneHave you thought about adding voice commands as well as foot peddles with your console port?
I have heard of some good ones out there that a few paraplegic players use to play WoW. I don't know the specifics so I cannot help you there. I just know that the programs exist and they might be able to help you out.
No, though I do know what you're talking about. ConsolePort doesn't generally need that much depth for accessibility because there are those programs that do it far better than a wow addon could.
I made a post asking for an option to turn on auto loot. Like in realm reborn, I mean people already abuse the mail system having things mailed to them instead of looting. An option that takes away the clicking of a corpse would make the flow of the game and using a controller much better.
Having personally played with the poster of this thread, I can say he's done amazing things that make it astounding to learn he plays with a controller. This is a game with huge appeal and huge potential, and the more players that can play despite any disabilities/etc they may have the better!
The playerbase does amazing things with addons, but the rest of the utility for the addon-makers to work with needs to come from blizzard. Obviously it's time, but it's definitely time that many players will benefit from, and for each player that benefits from it directly, hundreds, if not thousands, will benefit indirectly through their best game possible
The playerbase does amazing things with addons, but the rest of the utility for the addon-makers to work with needs to come from blizzard. Obviously it's time, but it's definitely time that many players will benefit from, and for each player that benefits from it directly, hundreds, if not thousands, will benefit indirectly through their best game possible
11/13/2017 06:10 PMPosted by KleenexzThe playerbase does amazing things with addons, but the rest of the utility for the addon-makers to work with needs to come from blizzard. Obviously it's time, but it's definitely time that many players will benefit from, and for each player that benefits from it directly, hundreds, if not thousands, will benefit indirectly through their best game possible
We're all hugely appreciative of the functions api developers put in the game, even if the feature isn't announced with trumpets and fanfare, addon developers can find them and use them.
I don't use it, but I've definitely recommended ConsolePort to a ton of people looking to play with a controller. I think it's great that Munk started the project and that it has provided a relief to a lot of players that would have otherwise quit. I gladly support any changes to make the game function as well for you all as it does for those of us still using the keyboard and mouse. :)
Try out xpadder.