1) What controller are you using?
8bitdo nes30 pro gamepad, set to xinput (simulating an xbox controller, all of my references to buttons will be referencing the x-box button layout)
https://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Bluetooth-Controller-Classic-Joystick/dp/B018K3Q4KS
2) Does the controller work?
Yes...ish. The controller settings "FAQ" ingame says to use steam big picture to "automagically" configure the controller... I have absolutely no idea how to use bigpicture mode, but I tried anyway, and it messed everything up until I undid it and ran the game normally. Then it all worked fine.
3) How's the gamepad customization screen?
An unreadable mess, I studied it for 5 minutes and came to the conclusion that I was just going to have to mash buttons until I figure out what they do. I still have no idea what the trigger buttons do, or why so many of the buttons were mapped to absolutely nothing when they actually did have uses ingame. (see picture1.jpg)
...Also, using the button test shows that all the buttons work properly. Press A+Y to stop? okay... it didn't stop... the controller preview buttons are still lighting up, and the menus start to behave unpredictably like only some buttons were released. Ultimately I alt+f4'd to fix it. (see picture2.jpg, the mystery box in the bottom right appeared and climbed in number from d-pad input)
4) How does your gamepad feel in-game? Has anything changed that you’re used to playing with?
It's completely unplayable. I had to turn zombie population to "none" in order to be able to test it because I can't stop accidentally sprinting and drawing attention to myself, a sprint toggle is an absolute must.
...Also, when I'm sneaking up to smack a zombie from behind, and I press the attack button, the screen decides to zoom suddenly and jarringly and very very far away, and much further than I can usually move it with the mouse. Scouting and attacking cannot be the same button, that's a problem, because I also want to be able to see into the distance without swinging my weapon.
...And, why is there a shove button? (left bumper) With mouseclicks, shoving happens automatically depending on proximity to my target, it's intuitive and works super well and I have no idea why I would ever need a second button for this.
5) How would you like your gamepad play further improved?
Having 3 d-pad directions for quick-equip seems wasteful, instead, d-pad up could show the same options as pressing 1, 2, 3 has on keyboard, showing only the "best" weapon of various categories. That way, the right d-stick could be for highlighting the moodlits... yes I still mouseover the moodlets, all the time, I feel blind and weird not being able to see tooltips for various things.
2nd: the out-of-game menus are a bit confusing, I kept moving the cursor to "save/load preset" and then tapping right and wondering why the next button wasn't becoming highlighted. I eventually figured out that I needed to back up a step for the "next" button to be replaced with a controller button prompt, which I didn't do instinctively because I assumed pressing B would back me out of the menu I was in. (see picture3.jpg)
3rd: Foraging menu works great, but I'd like a button to quickly start the action without having to scroll down past all of the options. I set the option the first time, and I just want to repeat the last forage command again.
6) Do you play in split-screen? If so, how is this beta playing?
No, it's too early for this I think.
7) Can we stop you in menus?
Please don't, I often open the inventory menu and then walk around to glance very quickly into all the containers and dead bodies I walk past. For the record, this is fantastic on controller, scavenging feels AMAZING as-is and I might have a hard time going back to mouse and keyboard after this.
8) What other gamepad bugs or weirdness have you noticed in this build?
When I hit X, A X and Y suddenly stop working, and all my input prompts vanish. Turns out, this is because I pressed it while there were no context sensitive options available. It still acted like the menu had opened, but it was invisible because there was no actions to take, so I had to press B to tell it that I didn't want to do anything to get my buttons back.
9) This build also contains a java lwjgl upgrade. Have you noticed any changes in game performance and stability, especially at higher resolutions?
Inconclusive. I had no issues, which is a big deal for my weakling laptop, but I also turned off zombies so I can't say anything for sure.
10) What's the Number 1 most important issue that you'd like to see resolved?
I want more control over how my camera moves around during sneak mode. I'm not sure how, this seems like a difficult problem to solve, because I sometimes also need the sneak mode simply to move around quietly or aim my attacks without looking far off into the distance too.
Note: I didn't test firearms at all.
COMPLIMENT TIME
I feel like my test essay was very negative, but those problems aside, I am super excited for controller support to be fully ironed out, even moreso than before I tested it! (and I was pretty excited before) What parts of it did work, worked REALLY well, and I was grinning ear to ear my first time hopping into a van and driving around at full speed, without any problems or confusions at all. The menu I found to turn the key was a nice solution to what I thought would be a hard problem! I also really liked how the bumpers flip through inventory pages, it's extremely intuitive.
