THE Optimal Gamecube Controller Scheme: A Dissertation

[Hylian]

I hold the control stick with the middle of my index finger and my thumb. It allows me to do quick persice movements with the control stick without ever messing up.

I don't think I've ever double jumped by mistake. I played an extremly technical fox in melee like this heh. With my right hand I play standard claw having my index finger on X.

Also, I can preform any tech in melee. 20+ JC shines(reversing or moving) reverse alternating waveshines, moonwalking with every character that can, lowriders, SWD, flatlands...anything.

Especially if it has to do with lasers . I out lasered M2K/SilentWolf/Dashizwiz at FC:D. Weaving SHDL's ftw .

 

[Natch]

I hold the control stick with the middle of my index finger and my thumb. It allows me to do quick persice movements with the control stick without ever messing up.

I don't think I've ever double jumped by mistake. I played an extremly technical fox in melee like this heh. With my right hand I play standard claw having my index finger on X.

Also, I can preform any tech in melee. 20+ JC shines(reversing or moving) reverse alternating waveshines, moonwalking with every character that can, lowriders, SWD, flatlands...anything.

Especially if it has to do with lasers . I out lasered M2K/SilentWolf/Dashizwiz at FC:D. Weaving SHDL's ftw .

Ahh, so you have a double grip on the Ananlog Stick. Interesting, but not what I thought you meant. I've seen like, one other player who does that.

 

[pimpostrous]

I guess my setup is completely different from most peoples since i never played ssbm and started off with the nunchucks before switching over to GCC.
I pretty much set up the following

(b) - Jump
(A) - Attack
(R) - Special
(X) & (Y) - Grab
(L) - Dodge

My main issue is that i have a hard time short hopping with the R or L buttons and the y and x are too far away from the c stick for backward approaches. So having the (b) set as jump, i can just slip my finger right to attack or left to utilize the c-stick asap. Also, having R as B saves me the trouble of having to let go of jump in order to do a special attack. Also, the b button tends to be the smallest and easiest to execute short hops with. L remains dodge since that used to be the Z button on the nun chucks. and the X and Y set as grab allows me to grab and a just by sliding across the control.

Overall, this setup is quite different from most people but i found it to allow the quickest of all reaction times. I guess i just suck at hitting the c-stick when the jump is as far away as y or X.

 

[Natch]

I hold the control stick with the middle of my index finger and my thumb. It allows me to do quick persice movements with the control stick without ever messing up.

I don't think I've ever double jumped by mistake. I played an extremly technical fox in melee like this heh. With my right hand I play standard claw having my index finger on X.

Also, I can preform any tech in melee. 20+ JC shines(reversing or moving) reverse alternating waveshines, moonwalking with every character that can, lowriders, SWD, flatlands...anything.

Especially if it has to do with lasers . I out lasered M2K/SilentWolf/Dashizwiz at FC:D. Weaving SHDL's ftw .

I just realized that this "new" method of clawing means I have to edit and lengthen entire chunks of my dissertation. Gah.

And again, sorry for not posting it today. I procrastinated. Don't hold your breath, but I'll try to get it done ASAP.

 

[Deoxys]

I hold the control stick with the middle of my index finger and my thumb. It allows me to do quick persice movements with the control stick without ever messing up.

I don't think I've ever double jumped by mistake. I played an extremly technical fox in melee like this heh. With my right hand I play standard claw having my index finger on X.

Wow, that's awesome. I'll have to try left clawing.

Why your index finger on X over Y? How is your finger positioned to hit X?



Haha, I missed the "middle of my" part and was trying to use the tip of my index finger and was thinking, "wtf, does he take his hand off the controller entirely? I should just use my middle knuckle instead." XP

Do you use your middle knuckle specifically, or the segment between the joint closest to the tip and the middle joint?

 

[MyCurse4Life]

The only thing I change is the tap jump and leave everything else the same.

 

[Penultimate]

Well my configuration is quite strange due to originally playing with a Wii-chuck. So my L is Jump, Z is grab, R is special, X is shield. Its still under testing though...

But then again I havent learnt all the techs so,...

 

[Iamthemovie]

L: Attack
R: Shield
Z: Grab
A: Attack
B: Special
Y: Jump
X: Grab
Tap Jump Off

 

[Wanderer7]

i use the classic controller but the same logic applies for gamecube controller which i also have:

tap jump off
L- jump
R- sheild (can also grab)
Zr- grab (i dedicate my left index finger to jump so Zr is the only Z button i use on the classic controller, and so this works for my gamecube controller)
A- attack
B- special
X and Y - either jump or grab (but i don't use X and Y much because of button location)
c stick - attack (we like Ike and Ike likes tilt stick)

with this setting it has worked very well for me, the only challenge is training the index finger to press L softer for short hops, but you can fast fall too so short hops aren't too much of a problem.

 

[AAP]

I mean you could just get in the habit of having the triggers partially depressed all the time.

How does one remove their trigger springs?

it pretty simple really, the hardest part is getting your controller open if you don't have a tri-wing screwdriver. I've taken many apart with a 5/64" precision screwdriver, but it takes a little extra patience. Then its just a matter of taking apart the shoulder assembly, and putting it back together without springs. At first i was worried i'd have my shoulder buttons slopping around but the analog slider has enough resistance to keep the buttons in. In the end you've got two shoulder buttons that feel the same as a regular button.

but i always wondered as to the tournament legality of this kind of mod, youko and samurai panda made a vid outlining how to do it and they seemed to suggest it was tourney legal. But it could depend upon the Tourney organizer.

Interesting to know what the double claw is, i single claw and find it similar to having a shoulder set to jump. i dunno if my left hand could handle the claw as well, i don't trust my middle finger on the shoulder but i should try it out since my thumb can be real sloppy for directional input.

 

[DKKountry]

Hmm. I played with a controller that had a broken Z button for a long time a while back so now using R+A is my natural way to rgab. I only use Z for Mortar Slides and the occasional grab. That's just me.

 

[Natch]

it pretty simple really, the hardest part is getting your controller open if you don't have a tri-wing screwdriver. I've taken many apart with a 5/64" precision screwdriver, but it takes a little extra patience. Then its just a matter of taking apart the shoulder assembly, and putting it back together without springs. At first i was worried i'd have my shoulder buttons slopping around but the analog slider has enough resistance to keep the buttons in. In the end you've got two shoulder buttons that feel the same as a regular button.

but i always wondered as to the tournament legality of this kind of mod, youko and samurai panda made a vid outlining how to do it and they seemed to suggest it was tourney legal. But it could depend upon the Tourney organizer.

Interesting to know what the double claw is, i single claw and find it similar to having a shoulder set to jump. i dunno if my left hand could handle the claw as well, i don't trust my middle finger on the shoulder but i should try it out since my thumb can be real sloppy for directional input.

Modding your Shoulder Buttons like that is legal. DSF did it to one of his controllers that I saw him using in tournament-I actually asked him about it after his set.

 

[RyanPF]

Am I the only person who puts his middle finger on R? I don't ever use it in Smash but I've always held the controller that way.

 

[smashbro29]

I put the tap jump off and switched the c-stick to do tilts. Nothing fancy just some stuff I wanted changed since melee.

 

[Deoxys]

it pretty simple really, the hardest part is getting your controller open if you don't have a tri-wing screwdriver. I've taken many apart with a 5/64" precision screwdriver, but it takes a little extra patience. Then its just a matter of taking apart the shoulder assembly, and putting it back together without springs. At first i was worried i'd have my shoulder buttons slopping around but the analog slider has enough resistance to keep the buttons in. In the end you've got two shoulder buttons that feel the same as a regular button.

but i always wondered as to the tournament legality of this kind of mod, youko and samurai panda made a vid outlining how to do it and they seemed to suggest it was tourney legal. But it could depend upon the Tourney organizer.

Interesting to know what the double claw is, i single claw and find it similar to having a shoulder set to jump. i dunno if my left hand could handle the claw as well, i don't trust my middle finger on the shoulder but i should try it out since my thumb can be real sloppy for directional input.

"A little extra patience" isn't "2 hours of calloused hands and shouting," is it? Because that's how it went when I tried until I gave up with 2 screws left. Is the precision screwdriver flathead or phillips?

IMO there's no reason to claw with the right hand since you can just set Z to jump and Y to grab like me.

Am I the only person who puts his middle finger on R? I don't ever use it in Smash but I've always held the controller that way.

I do; I actually use it, though.

 

[AAP]

yea i use to use a flat head 5/64" screwdriver ( i now have a tri-wing), the two screws that are deep in the handles can be quite tricky. You have to really push down hard to keep the screwdriver inside the head and since its not the right screwdriver you can't exactly just turn since it fits into the head off-centered. I usually try to picture turning it in a small circle as oppose to just rotating it, to first get them loosened its almost as if you're pushing it in a certain direction depending on where the screwdriver fit in. If you are really stuck u could always order a tri-wing off ebay for like 4 bucks.

As far as the claw thing goes, just an old habit from melee. With the button mapping in brawl there are much more practical ways to do the same thing, like mapping the z button.

 

[tsu-money]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will try to implement them in my own controller scheme and let you know how it works.

 

[SamuraiPanda]

With tap jump off, all you have to do is hit Jump along with up-B or up-smash. This is really hard to do... unless you set Z/L/R to jump. Then all you have to do is hit Z + Up on on the C-stick, or Z + Up and B.

The control scheme I've been using since the beginning of the game is: R set to jump, X set to grab, Tap jump off. I also have my springs removed. I believe this setup is among one of the most optimal and ideal configurations for your fingers, and I figured it out before the game was even released.

 

[ColinJF]

The main disadvantage to tap jump off is increased difficulty of meteor cancelling with your double jump. The window to do so is about half way through the meteor's knockback, but if you input an X or Y before the window, the game will ignore subsequent presses of X or Y for a little while (like teching) so that you miss the window. For whatever reason, you can just go wild with tap jump and get the meteor cancel every time. It's pretty hard to do this 100% of the time with tap jump off because the window varies with your damage and the move being used to hit you.

 

[Kitamerby]

The main disadvantage to tap jump off is increased difficulty of meteor cancelling with your double jump. The window to do so is about half way through the meteor's knockback, but if you input and X or Y before the window, the game will ignore subsequent presses of X or Y for a little while (like teching) so that you miss the window. For whatever reason, you can just go wild with tap jump and get the meteor cancel every time. It's pretty hard to do this 100% of the time with tap jump off because the window varies with your damage and the move being used to hit you.

In all honesty, this is the biggest argument for tap jump on, and the only one it really needs. Up B/Usmash out of shield is character specific, but this is a general thing that truly means something. I can easily argue that Lucario doesn't need tap jump on because his Up B out of shield is so pro it shouldn't ever be used (lol) and that his Usmash out of shield is generally useless, but I cannot argue that a better chance of meteor canceling is ever useless for any character, especially a character who relies on survivability like Lucario.

However, the Z jump is definitely intriguing. I wanna try that. However, I hear that now it may become possible for taking the springs out of the L/R buttons to become legal, and if it does, L/R jump may become a standard setting for tournament goers.

 

[Gindler]

Tap jump off (why wasn't this available in melee!?!?!!?, woulda made yoshi a tad better...)
L to jump...for Egg sliding with yoshi.


That is all. Maybe one day I'll make either X or Y grab since everyone else does nowadays...

 

[Ulevo]

it pretty simple really, the hardest part is getting your controller open if you don't have a tri-wing screwdriver. I've taken many apart with a 5/64" precision screwdriver, but it takes a little extra patience. Then its just a matter of taking apart the shoulder assembly, and putting it back together without springs. At first i was worried i'd have my shoulder buttons slopping around but the analog slider has enough resistance to keep the buttons in. In the end you've got two shoulder buttons that feel the same as a regular button.

but i always wondered as to the tournament legality of this kind of mod, youko and samurai panda made a vid outlining how to do it and they seemed to suggest it was tourney legal. But it could depend upon the Tourney organizer.

Interesting to know what the double claw is, i single claw and find it similar to having a shoulder set to jump. i dunno if my left hand could handle the claw as well, i don't trust my middle finger on the shoulder but i should try it out since my thumb can be real sloppy for directional input.

Would you or someone else be able to point me in the direction of this video? I'm actually interested in modding my controller, as I find it difficult to PS with the empty space between the trigger and internal button.

 

[wazgood]

y is better than x since there is less error % when using a b-move after you jump.

 

[Natch]

****it, people started posting again. Now I actually have to finish this.

Oh well.

 

[AAP]

Hey Ulevo, or anyone else interested, it took some searching but i found it!

The youko controller spring mod how to video, it starts at about 1:30.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buRsXmY6d0E&feature=related

if anything should come up, feel free to send me a PM and i might be able to steer you in the right direction. If you're controller is a little old (who's isn't) the screws can be quite tricky with a flathead as i'm sure Deoxys will attest to. Good Luck.

 

[Delta_BP26]

Tilts to c-stick is all I've changed. I use L for shield, so sometimes I'll change R to jump for easy SH's. Actually, under no circumstances do I not use tap jump.

 

[LuigiKing]

Y for grab is sooo much better than Z. Its just plain faster.

Tap Jump - What is people's issues with this? Do people think its hard to Utilt with it on? Honestly I cannot fathom what the issue is, besides character specific things. You are throwing away the ability to UpB and Usmash out of shield because your fingers suck =/

 

[itsthebigfoot]

one thing i'd like to point out, I use Y and simply put the joint of my thumb on A and the tip on Y, no extra hand motion is required, it might even be quicker since you only have to move for specials and the cstick, instead of cstick/special/jump

tap jump on is also easier to work around than tap jump off (since usmash/upb oos is extremely useful, maybe its just due to my playing dk/bowser) it is pretty simply to tilt and angle shields, the only problem has been losing the second jump during uairs, which is solved by csticking aerials

 

[Ulevo]

Hey Ulevo, or anyone else interested, it took some searching but i found it!

The youko controller spring mod how to video, it starts at about 1:30.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buRsXmY6d0E&feature=related

if anything should come up, feel free to send me a PM and i might be able to steer you in the right direction. If you're controller is a little old (who's isn't) the screws can be quite tricky with a flathead as i'm sure Deoxys will attest to. Good Luck.

Thank you, much appreciated.

On another note, Youko and SamuraiPanda are awesome.

 

[PokemonMaster]

my control scheme:

Tap Jump Off.

R- Grab
L- Shield
Y- Special
X- Jump
A- Atk

feels the most like a classic n64 controll for me

 

[Sandst0rm]

I use the original configuration, except I have L as jump and tap jump off. It works well for me no matter which character I use.

 

[Deoxys]

y is better than x since there is less error % when using a b-move after you jump.

Huh? I don't get what you're trying to say.

Y for grab is sooo much better than Z. Its just plain faster.

Tap Jump - What is people's issues with this? Do people think its hard to Utilt with it on? Honestly I cannot fathom what the issue is, besides character specific things. You are throwing away the ability to UpB and Usmash out of shield because your fingers suck =/

Lol, I can UpB and USmash OoS consistently with tap jump off. My issue is that, if I'm holding up, I keep jumping until all 5 air jumps are used. It's annoying to me when I do uair chains, but I'm past it now and learning to keep tap jump on just so I can do meteor cancels better.

****it, people started posting again. Now I actually have to finish this.

Oh well.

Lol. GJ becoming a "Smash Apprentice."


It's SO hard with a 5 year old controller and a flathead screwdriver!!!!

 

[Kraryo]

For most characters, I use the GCN controller and change the C-stick to tilts, use Y for grabs, and have the Z button be attacks (though I might change it back to grabs). When I'm Lucas, I use the CC, use the B-stick, set ZR to jump, ZL to grab, B to attack, Y to special, and A to grabs..

 

[Chileno4Live]

Well, my controller is set on default except the tap jump is off so i can do Utilts much better, especially with Fox as he sorta needs his Utilt . My fingers are placed the same as everyone else. I do use different buttons for different commands. Most people use L for shield, i use R for some weird reason. I also use Y to jump and not X. I find Y better because it's easier to do rising Fairs, for me that is. And it's just casual for me to jump with Y. I set the C stick to Smashes, might change this to tilts, not sure though. I still use the Z button for grabs though i use alot more Shieldgrabs nowadays.

 

[Plum]

I tried setting jumps to a button on the shoulder but it really didn't work for me.
I already knew having any regular action on Z wouldn't work for me already because trying to learn IC alt throws and CG's was physically painful with Z as grab. My finger couldn't take it so I could already check Z off the list for jump as well.
L and R didn't work for me because of Brawl reading the impute of the button so weirdly where you can't just lightly press it like in Melee. It made quickly jumping harder and SH became harder too.

So I had to settle with just using X for jump. I can't use Y because of like you said, my thumb doesn't follow that path naturally.
I keep both Y and Z for grabs. Z for most characters I play, Y for when I am playing the Ice Climbers and can't put up with using Z so much (though the initial grab is always with Z if it isn't a shield grab. I move to Y so I don't keep using Z)

I see what you are saying in that less movements is always better because it gives faster reaction times but it just doesn't work for me.

As for tap jump, I leave it off. I didn't play Melee seriously enough to learn how to do things regularly with it on. So I always find myself wasting my double jump too often. Especially now that I have taken to using CFalc somewhat seriously (I know... he just makes the game too enjoyable for me to not play him though... G&W is always there for when Cap'n is just impossible ) I basically need it off because it screws up his Uair game and his recovery is bad enough as it is so a wasted jump would kill him.

I wish 64 had an option to turn tap jump off I main Falcon in that game and I waste his second jump a LOT. Like going off stage to kill with a reversed Uair only to find that I'm stuck out there too :\

 

[Smudge]

The reason I choose Z over R is because you’ll be quicker to press Z than you would R, if only by a few frames, Those springs take longer to press down than Z would.

Maybe this is just me, but after trying this a few times I found it a bit awkward and wet back to using R as jump. to save the frames that you would by pressing Z, I took the spring out that made R and L spring back into play, basically turning them into X and Y, just easier to press.