I am concerned about the reliance on 360 controllers..

When you have the rift on you can't see your hands, so the XBOX360 controller is probably the most familiar controller, so the best 'one' to use.

you can use a 360 controller on the PC it's one of the most common controllers that's why it's supported.

I agree that games should not just assume you have one, and should always provide the best possible control schemes for a variety of input devices. However, it won't change the fact that some games just work way better with the analog control you get with a controller, and the 360 controller is a great one as far as controllers go!

Getting a xbox "Wireless Gaming Receiver" was the best thing I ever did for my PC gaming experience (especially now that the Rift is here) -- it was $14 and let me use a wireless 360 controller with the PC. Thing is, it's hard to find an official adapter that says "Microsoft" on it. I have no idea where I got mine -- I tried going through my purchase histories on various sites and can't figure it out. The aftermarket ones have no label or X360 or XBOX360 etc. Not sure if there's really that much of a downside anyway, since they are relatively inexpensive.

"usb420" wrote:
you can use a 360 controller on the PC it's one of the most common controllers that's why it's supported.

Yes, but it's not so much "supported" in the majority of games as it's almost required. I haven't developed in Unity yet, so maybe a few of you could help me; Is it difficult or a stretch to add in a toggle to select Mouse+Keyboard/360Controller/(Pipedream)Joystick? Not just for controls but for in-game instructions or action buttons?

I know it wouldn't be prohibitively expensive to buy a 360 controller, but honestly I hate using them, and seeing as the Rift is a PC device it just doesn't jive well with me. I'm completely comfortable using a mouse and keyboard and don't find the lack of vision to bother me in the slightest.

Or, and this would be the most desirable, is there a way for me to "hack" someones demo to add in my own joystick support?

I'm thinking of the best flying demos like Heli-Hell and RiftChopper not being playable for me and my joystick despite my best efforts.

Well yeah, sorta. But there's few facts to consider:

1) XBox360 controller is the most common controller and many people own it
1.1) Even if they only own PC controller (very very many people own some controller), there's a XBox360 controller emulator software, and since in the Rift you can't tell the difference, it's virtually the same
2) As it's already mentioned, in the Rift navigating the controller is a lot, and I mean A LOT easier than navigating the keyboard*.
3) The controller provides two analog sticks and two analog triggers, which is quite more analog controls than you get with PC controls, and honestly, using your mouse isn't exactly convenient in VR
4) Using controller doesn't constraints your physical movements to a single allowed location, so you can lean over a lot with no issues.

* I can back it up with my personal experience - whenever I put my hands off the keyboard, I have to look for these little pins on the keyboard to locate F and num5 button. Because there's these little pins there it's relatively easy and doesn't takes long, but Enter key, arrows and function keys don't have them so if you didn't hit them in first attempt, it's really pretty hard to hit them at all, I often have to just mash buttons under my fingers and see what happens, until I could find the right button. Navigating for backspace is a pain.

In no particular order, these are notable reasons:
1) The Xbox 360 controller is the most common gamepad on the PC.
2) It's also the best gamepad on the PC. Sad but true. There have been a lot available over the years, and when you actually look at them the 360 controller has the best mix of ergonomics, inputs, and quality/feel. It has pretty much killed the game controller market on the PC, although truthfully the market was full of shit products before it came out.
3) The analog sticks are perfect for conveying velocity (and specifically the difference in velocity over time). Mice, on the other hand, are good at conveying absolute differences in position. Same goes for positional tracking - it's great at conveying absolute position, but if you want to work on velocity a game pad is typically better.
4) Xinput is ridiculously easy to work with, in part because it's designed around the Xbox controller form factor. No messing with "axis 3" for the triggers and "axis 7" and "axis 8" for the left stick - every Xinput compatible controller has a similar layout and is expected to enumerate in the same way. It's incredibly easy to incorporate Xbox 360 support in a project, and it's really had to screw up. Want to know how easy? I added basic Xbox 360 controller support to Quake II VR in an evening. It took me longer to refit the menus to work with it and add configuration support to the menus than it did to get controller enumeration/input working.
5) Ergonomically, gamepads are superior to pretty much everything out there for VR. Hydra's/etc are nice, but have some pretty severe ergonomic issues when you start looking at them for prolonged use. I've heard of some stuff using the rotational sensors on Wiimote's and the Hydras (but not position tracking) that is promising, but the ergonomics of it are still off.
6) The install base for the 360 beats the Hydra, and for people who own a Rift it's not unreasonable to expect them to have a 360 controller already. You can, of course, use a keyboard and mouse but a 360 controller will offer a significantly better experience with VR. If you're going to go for the best compromise between experience and people who can use your product, designing around a 360 controller is where it's at.

Good points. Half of them are what I said though. But I can't just pass by without noting that #4 is completely irrelevant, adding or removing feature is only a matter of consideration of end user experience, not your programmer experience.

Also, the Hydra went out of sale, and STEM is much more expensive and isn't even on the market yet, so yeah.

"raidho36" wrote:
But I can't just pass by without noting that #4 is completely irrelevant, adding or removing feature is only a matter of consideration of end user experience, not your programmer experience.

Completely irrelevant? Many of the demos are the work of a single person or a very small team. Additionally, there are some of us who have been inspired to get into development because of the Rift and are learning as we go. A developer with limited skills and/or limited time must make decisions based on what they are capable of doing and what they have time to learn and implement. Of course developers should consider what the end user experience will be, and I *do* believe that it should be one of the most important considerations, but sometimes what is practical will have to win out.

Ideally, every game/demo should include support for every peripheral the end user might want to use, and allow them to remap the keys/buttons to be exactly what is most comfortable for them. But we aren't all working under ideal conditions.

Thank you, Captain Obvious! You have saved the day!

Yes I know that. But unless you want to earn yourself a bad name, you better don't go like "sorry pals, there won't be <insert feature name here> support because I can't be bothered to read three pages manual online".

"raidho36" wrote:
Thank you, Captain Obvious! You have saved the day!

I apologize for stating the obvious. Your previous statement suggested to me that there were some obvious things you had not considered. There must have been some misunderstanding on my part.

"raidho36" wrote:
Yes I know that. But unless you want to earn yourself a bad name, you better don't go like "sorry pals, there won't be <insert feature name here> support because I can't be bothered to read three pages manual online".

My suggestion would be to post on the thread of a game that does not support a feature you would like and kindly ask the developer if they would consider adding the feature. I think you will find many of them are open to the idea but have practical considerations beyond just "read three pages manual online".