Topic: The everything Xbox thread

You can also try before you buy by streaming to your phone and, if you like it, start the download to your console remotely.

Oh, for Nintendo to get out of the digital stone age...

@DarthNocturnal
That's exactly why it works and is so beneficial- it's an option alongside downloading for a native version, not the only way to play (Stadia). It's more of a side bonus you get with Gamepass Ultimate- hey, that awesome Netflix style gaming service you're using, btw you can also stream them if you want. Stream to console, stream to phone, whatever you want.

Ahhh, I hadn't thought of older physical games. Although, aren't all backward compatible games available digitally on xbox's digital game store?

I realized this fall, with all of xbox's extensive work on backward compatibility, xbox seems to be winning at blazing the trail to digital gaming. And that was before xbox's recent, giant acquisition. (*Side note, I'm fairly ignorant regarding playstation's older games library. I got the impression, xbox has blazed a more comprehensive backward compatible games library than playstation. Correct me if I'm wrong.)

@JaxonH Dang, man. You're set! And, yeah, I saw that over christmas, that xbox offers cloud play while if the game isn't downloaed yet. That's convenient/impressive.

@WoomyNNYes
Yes, in fact there's a Backward Compatibility sale going on right how. Lots of 360 games for $5-10.

Yeah, XBox is much better at BC than PS, @WoomyNNYes .... Although PS5 can at least play the vast majority of PS4 games, regardless of whether there's a specific upgrade available, Series S/X play every XB1 game, a fair number of 360 ones & some original XBox ones! They've said that once they've made sure the existing selection plays well, they'll get on to adding more, too

@BruceCM Xbox appears to be leading the market regarding a digital-only console with the Series S.

Digital game ownership, everyone's biggest worry, is less scary with how xbox is now, with all their backward compatibility. While Nintendo thew in the towel on Virtual Console, and they still seem surprisingly content with that move. Which console lets you buy Bajo Kazooie? I forget.🤔😉

edit: Nintendo is in a precarios position. They've axed Virtual Console, and at the same time, the future is rather uncertain since there's no word whether physical switch games will be compatible with the next gen Nintendo console. While xbox is allowing Xbox One purchases to transfer to the Series X/S. Correct me, if I'm wrong, anyone.

And, Nintendo doesn't have analog triggers for car racing sims. I wouldn't be interested in a Series S if Nintendo had analog triggers for car racing games.... and a stronger car racing sim library.

@WoomyNNYes I believe all.of the BC games are available digitally on the MS store, so even if you don't have them on disc you can buy them digital and they are almost always on sale. Also nice thing about the Xbox, Xbox 360 and even Xbox One games is you can buy the external hardrive available for the Xbox One which is alot cheaper then the memory sticks for the Series X/S.

It looks beautiful

Ok that's it... I've had it.

Enough is enough

I'm learning Keyboard and Mouse. I just refuse to tolerate games not offering gyro support any longer. All these Xbox games, completely unplayable as a result. But you know what? Call of Duty, Halo and Gears all have KB/M support on Xbox. So does Zombie Army 4. So do a lot of games, actually. Like 50+ and counting.

https://www.windowscentral.com/list-xbox-one-mouse-and-keyboa...

So I ordered a Couchmaster Lapboard and a Razer Turret KB/M for Xbox, which has a native Xbox key for the home menu and everything.

I'll continue to use gyro on Steam because it's my preferred method of play. And almost all games can do it. But with Xbox supporting KB/M and adding more and more games to the list, this is the ONE SOLUTION to my problem that actually exists.

Its just that time. If millions of PC gamers can learn how to use it, then darn it, so can I.

I could just play on Steam with gyro, but console is so much faster and more convenient, especially with quick resume. So if I can climb out of the analog ghetto and still retain those console advantages, it's worth a shot.

Played some more Forza Horizon 3 today. I maxed out the last festival spot so I can no longer get anymore fans and I am about to hit level 100. Except for a few races and events this one is about done. I found out that the last two barn finds are impossible to get now as they were a limited time deal thing.

Now I just got to figure out which Horizon I want to go to next. I am debating right now between 2 and 4.

@Tasuki If you've had Horizon 3 for a while, and haven't been playing it, DEFINITELY look at the in-game messages. My brother hadn't touched Horizon 3 for two years, and there are literally 150-175+ wheel spins, and there were several cars gifted from Forza dev team, one or two were pretty cool.

Did you get the Horizon 3 expansion pack for Hot Wheels content? I thought that was going to be dumb, but the new roads/tracks content were great, actually - I thought.

Honestly, I really don't love the seasonal changes in-game in Horizon 4. Each season lasts a week (at least it used to). I think season changes thursday moring 9am ET? I may be a freak minority that doesn't like fall/winter in the game (so take that with a grain of salt) but, I don't like being forced and locked into fall and winter seasons for two weeks when I just want to see some sun and greenery, or don't want to drive on snowy roads. Horizon 4 is definitely good.

So, I guess my vote is for Horizon 2, because it doesn't have seasons... (does it? I thought seasons were new for Horizon 4, correct me if I'm wrong, anyone).

Otherwise, Horizon 5 is a safe choice. It's good. I played about 15-20 hours. But it's like 100+GB, fyi. It's like double the file size that Horizon 3 and 4 had.

@JaxonH KB&M really is the best option for shooters, once you get used to it. I had a gyro-enabled setup for DOOM 2016 on Steam, but by the time I played through the older games the old-fashioned way, it was the only way I wanted to play. It's why I'm completely ignoring the FPS genre on consoles I own now.

Keyboard movement takes a while to get used to, and for pure movement, I still prefer analog sticks, but there is simply nothing better for aiming than a mouse. Nothing.

@Ralizah
I love controllers, but I hate right analog aiming.

I love the mouse, but I hate keyboard movement.

The only thing that satisfies both is a controller with gyro as an air mouse. Best of both worlds. But in the absence of that option, it's a question of which I hate more- right stick aiming or keyboard movement? And the answer is definitely right stick aiming. I'd rather use sub-optimal movement than have sub-optimal aim.

@Ralizah
Have you looked into the Razer Orbweaver or Razer Tartarus to emulate an analog stick feel even though it's still digital 4-way movement?

I'd love to use this, but since most Xbox games don't guarantee key remapping it would really only be a good purchase for PC. And PC has gyro already.

But still. This thing looks awesome.

@WoomyNNYes Yeah I play FH3 quite frequently. I maybe take a six months break or so because of other games that come out. FH3 for me is a pallet cleanser game so when I need just a relaxing game I pop it in.

I do have the expansions both Blizzard Mountain and the Hot Wheels so I can look into those. I managed to get the complete edition of FH3 just before they pulled it from the MS store.

And yes 4 is the one that added seasons that was their big selling point for 4, look we have seasons now. I will admit I am interested at how the seasons work but then again from what I have read 2 is a shorter game then 4 so I might just do that one first cause I can get through that one quicker.

Hundred percent agree. Took me a long time to get used to keyboard and mouse and even now I try and keep as many inputs off the keyboard and instead on my mouse as I can, as years later stretching my hand around the keyboard never feels good. However, for as good as I feel gyro is, you just can't quite replicate how good shooting feels on a mouse. I think a controller is basically better for almost every other type of game, but shooters, as close as gyro comes, K&M is where it is at.

@JaxonH I... have no idea how you'd even use that thing. The wrist rest and keypad would be obvious, but then you have this weird little stick thing on the side.

@Pizzamorg I'd say gyro is 70% as good as mouse aiming. It's fully acceptable for games like Resident Evil that don't require super-fast reactions, as well as shooters that rely on a lot of inputs other than moving, jumping, sprinting, etc. Third person games feel better with analog + gyro.

But yeah, for first-person games, nothing really beats KB&M. I really felt it with the DOOM games. I played the full game on PC with KB&M, the Steam demo with dual analog + gyro, and the PS4 version with dual analog.

With KB&M, it wasn't long before I was shotgunning enemies as I leapt over them. It was brilliant.

Dual analog + gyro was fine, although my reaction times definitely suffered, and I wasn't pulling off any crazy stunts.

Pure dual analog... ugh. Have you ever seen that widely lambasted footage of the Polygon guy playing DOOM, where he could barely even hit the demons? It was like that. It sucked.

With that said, I'm still terrible with games that require heavy use of hotkeys or multiple key inputs beyond the basic stuff. Controllers just make more sense for me in that regard.

Yeah, I think the impact can't really truly be felt until you go from one and then back to the other. I played Destiny and Overwatch for years on a controller and I'd like to think I was pretty decent at both. Switched over to the PC versions of both and at the time, in my head, it didn't seem that different but then when I was at a friends house and tried to play those games on a controller again boy it was rough. Like even turning up the sensitivity to the absolute max, it was like my character was weighed down by a dozen sandbags, slowly dragging my reticule around the screen. It was from there I stopped playing shooters on a controller entirely for years, this only really changed with the Switch and Gyro, where I make the odd exception (but I still prefer a mouse overall).

But yeah, despite gaming on PC for years, I still don't feel very comfortable using the keyboard side at all. Games that have a lot of inputs (like I dunno, a melee, a block, a special move, items etc) I tend to basically put all of those on my mouse - I have a Naga Trinity with multiple plates, allowing me to add up to 14 extra buttons on my mouse I think? - as it just feels more comfortable for me doing those with my right thumb. I guess because in a way that is closer to a controller and it is just what my hands are used to.

Oh... My... Gosh...

It's as good as everyone said it would be. It's... dare I say, glorious? 😉

This Razer Turret IS the real deal. KB/M is the real deal. Even in 10 minutes I'm aiming soooo much better in Gears 5 on Series X than I ever was before. Yes, I'm stumbling a bit on keyboard use, but that's to be expected. Rome wasn't built in a day. It took me time to adjust to gyro aiming also. I expect nothing less here.

But tbh, I'm managing much better than I thought I would. I had already researched common key assignments so I knew what to expect. WASD for movement, spacebar for jump, E or F for interaction, R for reload, scroll mouse wheel for weapon toggle, etc. So right off the bat it wasn't that confusing. It's just a matter of building muscle memory now.

I'm blown away by how awesome this Razer Turret is though. It's really heavy, unexpectedly so, which makes it super stable in my lap. I don't have enough room in between my recliner armrests to pull the magnetic mousepad out, not until I get my lapboard and lay it across the armrests, but I used my little armrest mousepad with bean bags on each side that drape over the arm and weigh it down stable. And honestly, it's working incredibly well. And it's much less of a commitment when I just have the keyboard in lap, with mouse on a little armrest mousepad.

I'm a convert. I now belong to the tribe. I get it now. I totally get it. THANK GOD Xbox is allowing this for more and more games. This is so awesome. Now I'm gonna be using KB/M on PC for anything with aiming until I get gud and it feels natural.