I posted this on the official KZ2 forums here.

For those of you that know me, I am pro-ps3, but I’ve also played BioShock, Halo 3, Gears 1 +2 all on my multiple Xbox 360s. Thru some testing, this is what I found, and also a temporary solution that should work for anyone still having a problem, and those who don’t have any problems with the games controls.

Control / Controller Issues

Let me first say that I have been defending the controls in this game. I really don’t see a huge problem with them, and have gotten used to them and do fairly well, sitting at a 1.30 fragrate. I was at 1.48, however I wasn’t ready for the ranking up part and playing against shotty’s, snipers, turrets, drones, and rushers, so a 1.1 fragrate during that adjustment period brought it down.

Now, on to the issue at hand: part of the problem, I believe, is the ps3 controller itself, or more specifically the analog sticks. There is much more “travel” in the ps3 analog sticks when compared to the 360’s analog sticks.

From extreme left on the 360 and ps3 stick to the extreme right, we have about 60 degrees of “travel”. However, on the ps3 sticks, there is more distance between the circular edge of the stick and the middle, so there is more “travel” on the ps3 stick to move the same 60 degrees.

I have switched between Gears of War and Killzone 2 a few times comparing the controls, and to be honest they are very similar, however the 360 trigger is a touch more sensitive than the ps3 trigger, so in Gears you can just “tap” the trigger to fire, however in Killzone 2 you have to fully depress R1 in order to fire (again, more “travel” to accomplish the same goal).

I fully believe that it is this “travel” among the right stick and R1 (mostly the stick) that is frustrating most people. Especially in a game where you are constantly trying to adjust your aim, the fact that there is no sweetspot among the analog stick due to how much “travel” is involved can be frustrating, as these message boards have shown. I think the left stick is very responsive for this game when compared to the right stick, where it is easier to adjust your aim with the left stick than it is the right.

I don’t know if GG can program a solution for this, but I have found a solution that should work for most people, and having tried it myself, I will not go back because it has completely fixed this issue for me, even though I didn’t think there was an issue to begin with. Here is the solution I came up with:

So, if you are getting frustrated with the controls, or just want a better feel, take a small rubber band and wrap it around the post of the right stick as I have done. You may want to use a larger or smaller rubber band, depending on how much “travel” you are comfortable with. Of course, you will have to play around with the sensitivity settings again because you have shortened the “travel” and may need to up the sensitivity a bit.Also, it would be nice if we could adjust the sensitivity on the fly during MP, because different maps require slight adjustments in the X/Y sensitivity.

And I also agree that the zoom button should be mappable. L1 makes it somewhat difficult to crouch and zoom, and R3 just makes the whole “travel” issue worse because of clicking and trying to aim/unclick, etc…R1 zoom and R2 firing with L1 crouch and L2 grenade would be awesome, in my opinion.

In light of everything I’ve said, I want to say to the developers, in the light on these minor problems, this is one of the best shooters I have ever played, and I’ve played a lot. I can see why some of the 360 crowd might be whining about this, because they are whiners anyway (teehee), but I do think what they are saying holds some truth, because they have been playing shooters for 3 years on the 360 relentlessly, so even though they can be juvenile, they know a thing or two about controls.

But again, awesome game, awesome job, awesome awesome awesome!!!!

I hope this helps those of you who are frustrated, don’t let something this simple keep you from playing this game or recommending it to your friends. I believe that GG will tweak this, so for now, get those rubber bands going and I’ll see you in the warzone!!!!

psn id: Gamer20