motion controls appreciation post + message for sticks players

[chaotik0]

first of all, if you play sticks i’m not about to bash you for using them, i just wanna talk about how amazing and smart the motion controls are not only from gameplay but also a developer perspective, and talk about how to get into motion controls if you have been using sticks. but, if you play sticks and you are perfectly happy where you are as a player and don’t care about improving, that’s perfectly fine and honestly makes sense, not every player is playing to be the best and instead find fun in just simply playing the game, win or lose, S+50 rank or C-.

(rant incoming, if you want the motion talk just skip this paragraph)
i also want to say the “ew you use sticks?!” idea is really dumb, not just because of what i just stated but also because it’s just a really bad way to think. take eating pineapple on pizza or pouring milk before cereal as an example. so many people have said how much a disgrace those things are and treat it like only psychopaths do those things or something. when you really think about it, why care? they are such minor things in the grand scheme of judging a person for who they are, and they get absolutely blown out of proportion because the seemingly majority (seemingly because it could just be a vocal minority in some cases) of people don’t do that. so instead of letting people enjoy things the way they want, or greatly judging for such tiny little differences someone has from them, maybe focus in what you enjoy and care about. if you’re too busy focusing on those tiny details you are missing out on an entire person that you might end up actually enjoy knowing. that might be a bit much for trying to say let people enjoy games the way they are comfortable playing and the way they have fun, but i hate it when i see people talk down on others for things like that, including *using sticks in splatoon*. just take a moment to think about how stupid of a thing that is to be mean to someone for, and it is already stupid to be mean to someone! ok rant over

anyway now moving on to why motion controls are so cool gameplay wise and so smart development wise!

first, it’s commonly known that the keyboard and mouse control scheme is the best way to play shooters on PC. the mouse aiming specifically is very strong, allowing you to move your camera anywhere at any speed you want, allowing you to track targets extremely consistently. this is only limited by how steady you can move your hand. games started implemented aim assist specifically for players who use controller because of how much an advantage mouse aiming is. i personally think the game aiming for you removes a little bit of the point of the game, but i don’t care that much and it’s slightly unrelated so i’ll move on.

motion aiming throws everything on its head. you get the same aiming as a mouse, but you still get the 1 advantage the controller, which is the intuitive and very easy to use button controls. both of these combined, and also accounting for the way these controls control your character allow the barrier to entry be relatively low but the skill ceiling be essentially nonexistent. from a gameplay perspective, that is really cool, being able to casually have a unique way to aim or competitively take this game to its absolute limit. from the perspective of the developers, well, they made it to exactly do that and they succeeded. it was a perfect way to allow similar mechanical skill levels as other competitive shooters on a console that only has controllers as the way you play the games, and it works for both casual and competitive, and it isn’t forced onto the player, it’s just so smart.

and here is the finale: for sticks players that are already content with who they are as a player and still use sticks, why should they give motion a shot? and for sticks players that really want to get good at the game, or really want to try motion aiming, how should they do that?

first: the motion controls are just so fun to use once you get the hang of them. it might be difficult to learn for a little while, but once you learn them you will feel how nice they are compared to sticks. the reward for learning is so worth it, even if you only look at it from a fun perspective. if it’s still too difficult and you are fine playing sticks, that’s completely fine, but at least you can say you tried them out and you know that you aren’t comfortable with them or just don’t like them

second: if you care about being good at the game, motion controls are worth it immediately. if you learn them early on, that’s just that much more time you have to get used to them before you get to higher ranks and X power.

as for how to get better at using motion controls, this is what i said about how to practice, how to actually learn from practicing, and why learning is the most important part of practice. i don’t want to say what i said already and it would only make this post even longer

Kovaaks for Splatoon?

Is there a Kovaaks (aiming drill simulator) for Splatoon? If so, how can I get access to it? I'm assuming it would be on PC. Would love to get better with gyro aim.

squidboards.com

but that’s just for how you can really learn from practice and how you can practice, but if you want to know the specific mechanics about how to aim with motion there are a lot of great tutorials to get you started

i think chara has one on his second channel but i could be wrong and it might be old.
i know srb2dude(might be just Dude now i forgor) has one i think somewhat recently and knowing him it is probably really good

anyway i’m interested to hear what sticks players think of motion aim even if you didn’t read all of this, i know it’s a lot.

if you did read all this please let me know if it was too rambly or not very coherent to read, and also what you think about what i said if you feel like it

 

[Grushi]

It's kind of underappreciated just how good splatoon feels to play controls-wise, with the motion aim and your movement options, the game feels soooo smooth it's really satisfying

 

[chaotik0]

It's kind of underappreciated just how good splatoon feels to play controls-wise, with the motion aim and your movement options, the game feels soooo smooth it's really satisfying

i have to give credit where credit is due because nintendo is just so good at making their games play smoothly and that has even been true about splatoon, which is completely different from the usual games they are used to making so i just have to give them props for that

 

[Lisku]

I get a lot of “why do you use sticks?” and “ew sticks are so painful to watch” etc. i’ve even seen people impressed at the fact I was even able to make it to S+. i’m just tired of people automatically Assuming I suck at the game just for using a different option. if it’s not meant to be used, then why is the option even there?

 

[missingno]

Analog sticks have always been awful for aiming. It's just something consoles were stuck with for the longest time. But now that we have a real alternative, people gotta get with the times. The future is now, old man.

Of course I understand if someone literally can't use gyro due to a disability or something. Or if you're a casual player with no desire to improve and you simply don't care if it's holding you back, that's fair too. But what I find insufferable are people who seem to think that refusing to learn is something to be proud of. Like the only reason they're still using sticks is to be contrarian. Why?

 

[Lisku]

Analog sticks have always been awful for aiming. It's just something consoles were stuck with for the longest time. But now that we have a real alternative, people gotta get with the times. The future is now, old man.

Of course I understand if someone literally can't use gyro due to a disability or something. Or if you're a casual player with no desire to improve and you simply don't care if it's holding you back, that's fair too. But what I find insufferable are people who seem to think that refusing to learn is something to be proud of. Like the only reason they're still using sticks is to be contrarian. Why?

if you’re not supposed to use sticks then why is it an option? i feel comfortable using them and i don’t see that as “insufferable”

 

[a hot mess]

i used to be a sticks playing uneducated child from the release of splatoon 3 to early fresh season 2023. now that i have made the change to motion, i can deliver blows way faster. the aim is more precise and i cannot imagine a splatoon game without motion controls.

 

[chaotik0]

i’m tired of people automatically Assuming I suck at the game just for using a different option. if it’s not meant to be used, then why is the option even there?

what why did you edit out that you played comp with sticks and are even in s+
also you don’t seem bad with sticks, i saw your clip in your post and you had really good movement (yes aim affects your movement)
i didn’t include anything about playing higher levels with sticks still, so i’m sorry if it made you feel excluded, ignored or like you are bad at the game since the way you play wasn’t even mentioned

 

[chaotik0]

Analog sticks have always been awful for aiming. It's just something consoles were stuck with for the longest time. But now that we have a real alternative, people gotta get with the times. The future is now, old man.

Of course I understand if someone literally can't use gyro due to a disability or something. Or if you're a casual player with no desire to improve and you simply don't care if it's holding you back, that's fair too. But what I find insufferable are people who seem to think that refusing to learn is something to be proud of. Like the only reason they're still using sticks is to be contrarian. Why?

some people are just fine playing with sticks
half of this post is talking about how people play the way they want read the second paragraph like literally it talks about this exact thing
it’s not contrarian and it isn’t a refusal to learn
if someone wants to get good even on sticks, they are allowed to try and they shouldn’t be called “insufferable” for doing it
when they reach a point where they want to improve even more, and feel like sticks are holding them back, that’s when they can switch to motion but they don’t have to

 

[Lisku]

what why did you edit out that you played comp with sticks and are even in s+
also you don’t seem bad with sticks, i saw your clip in your post and you had really good movement (yes aim affects your movement)
i didn’t include anything about playing higher levels with sticks still, so i’m sorry if it made you feel excluded, ignored or like you are bad at the game since the way you play wasn’t even mentioned

its fine. i just didn’t want to seem like I’m bragging

 

[chaotik0]

its fine. i just didn’t want to seem like I’m bragging

i didn’t think it was bragging i think it added good context and also let me know that i didn’t include an entire group of players

 

[Lisku]

i didn’t think it was bragging i think it added good context and also let me know that i didn’t include an entire group of players

ok i added it back

 

[chaotik0]

ok i added it back

yippee!!

by the way have you tried motion and decided you didn’t like it or did you start with sticks and want to only play sticks

i started with sticks in s2 because that’s how you aim in minecraft if you use a controller. it was the only thing i was used to. i felt i played pretty well with it but i wanted to try motion just to test them out and if it isn’t obvious from my original post, i like them very much

 

[Lisku]

yippee!!

by the way have you tried motion and decided you didn’t like it or did you start with sticks and want to only play sticks

i started with sticks in s2 because that’s how you aim in minecraft if you use a controller. it was the only thing i was used to. i felt i played pretty well with it but i wanted to try motion just to test them out and if it isn’t obvious from my original post, i like them very much

i’ve tried motion a few times and it’s really hard, especially for me playing on the handheld because I don’t have a set up. when you have to actually move the screen and it makes it harder to see the game

 

[a hot mess]

use a pro controller

 

[chaotik0]

i’ve tried motion a few times and it’s really hard, especially for me playing on the handheld because I don’t have a set up. when you have to actually move the screen and it makes it harder to see the game

motion is so hard to learn i wish that's how i started so i didn't have to get used to it after using sticks
sticks + handheld maybe you actually have an advantage over everyone else you get to sit in any comfy spot and get to practice anywhere you take your switch with you

 

[Lisku]

use a pro controller

I can’t afford one. why don’t I get a gaming chair and pair my switch to the TV while I’m at it?

 

[a hot mess]

i have the most goddamn impractical setup and i was able to win 6 matches consecutively today.

 

[sevenleaf]

I get a lot of “why do you use sticks?” and “ew sticks are so painful to watch” etc. i’ve even seen people impressed at the fact I was even able to make it to S+. i’m just tired of people automatically Assuming I suck at the game just for using a different option. if it’s not meant to be used, then why is the option even there?

honestly thank you for this perspective - the common caveat to “you should learn motion controls” that isn’t acknowledging mobility/motion sickness/other disability factors is “it’s perfectly fine to play sticks if you don’t want to get better at the game” which. is something i’ve definitely repeated before 🧍. and it’s meant to mean “we aren’t holding everyone to competitive standards, it’s okay to just play the game casually” but it has this undertone of “it’s okay to be bad which you are if you play sticks it’s not like you’ll ever be a competitive player ” which isn’t cool. and i totally didn’t notice that implication until now.

i’d say that every player should be aware that, yes, if you’re able to use motion controls, it’s much easier to aim that way than with sticks. if you can’t use motion for any reason… whether or not splatoon should have aim assist for stick controls to level the playing field a bit is another topic, but i still think you deserve to know the reality of the situation - unfortunately, you’re stuck using the harder option. and if you just don’t want to use motion, you still should know why many players swear by it. informed choices and all that

but like - that’s what it is. harder. not “if you use sticks, you’re doomed to be bad at splatoon forever.” the reason people are impressed you got to S+ with sticks isn’t, or at least shouldn’t, be because we think you’re supposed to be a bad player - it’s because we know stick aim is harder, and it’s legitimately impressive to rise through the ranks on sticks! (though i can imagine it gets tiring to hear that over and over.) and like… admittedly i cannot name any (if anyone else can name anyone feel free to chime in), but i know there are/were successful competitive players who play sticks. fewer than motion players, sure, but they’re out there.

basically: i’m sorry us motion players can be jerks about stick aim, intentionally or not (and we should probably all be a little more mindful about accidentally being jerks about it). i respect you, keep doing what you’re doing

 

[Grushi]

i’ve tried motion a few times and it’s really hard, especially for me playing on the handheld because I don’t have a set up. when you have to actually move the screen and it makes it harder to see the game

Surprisingly I'm also a handeld player because of wacky internet issues, but I've always preferred using motion aim on handeld rather than on tv, even with a pro controller (especially for chargers). My aim feels way more stable in handeld, I totally prefer it, even with the screen moving

Really goes to show everyone's got different preferences!