Gamepad Virtual Cursor for UI is Live! [Opt-in Only]

(post marked for deletion for privacy reasons)

2 Likes

https://www.roblox.com/games/3649684622/Game-Company-Tycoon
Hopefully it works fine, I can’t really test since I don’t have any console.
Note: It’s enabled on the 1.8.8e version

3 Likes

This is better than pressing a button, Great job roblox!

2 Likes

(This should also address your question, @XOLT1268)

Just because its been done before, doesn’t mean that it should be done again. But, you make an interesting point which I believe we could all benefit from deconstructing:

I think we’re all aware that the reason we have a cursor present in modern desktop computing is because its an accurate, precision-based input form that is natural to the user. Almost no-one these days would suggest implementing a cursor on a mobile phone; but that didn’t stop a lot, and I mean a lot of businesses and brands from attempting to implement that kind of setup.

As we know now, it didn’t work. The reason it didn’t work is quite simple, it’s because the cursor wasn’t in any way analogous to the input behind it. While the scenario is friendlier on console (thumbsticks give a certain, limited degree of movement control), the user’s input is still largely limited by the range and sensitivity of their thumbsticks, a fact that does not happen with a mouse. This limits the speed at which users can interact with the game. This is what makes the controls non-intuitive.

Players and users alike move at their own paces. By adding in a plug-and-play system that uses an input format that just isn’t native to the platform we’re not only limiting that pace and worsening user experience, but we’re allowing every developer to take a shortcut and do the same.

Destiny uses a similar system, that is very true. But you disregarded two caveats in that system. The way the user interface moves and flows to blend in with that system makes it much better — it was designed for console; and even then that very system isn’t without its critics, which is why Destiny made sure to add other ways to navigate the UI.

Wow! Love this feature. This’ll be very great for Xbox users, especially for FPS games like Arsenal or Phantom Forces!

Quick suggestion. You should make this feature to allow Xbox players to chat, since that’s a part of Roblox, is chatting with other Roblox players.

Sorry if I made an error with my suggestion, if there’s something that I haven’t already seen, etc.

I don’t think XBOX allows roblox to chat themselves.
Xbox players can no longer chat, resulting in major loss of playercount - Bug Reports / Xbox Bugs - DevForum | Roblox

Oh, okay. Hopefully that changes since that takes away from the experiencing when playing Roblox.

1 Like

hi jacko (:

they can be helpful but i feel developers dont learn from it
it’s like that saying, “give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. teach him how to fish and you feed him for his life”

instead of trying to build the ui up and make it better, most people just use the ui script it and call it quits.

this is good for newer developers but then they aren’t learning and are just learning to use premade programs from roblox, and no one is forcing them to use these and they can make custom ui if they want but they aren’t going to since they already have ui and have a script. unless they want to advance or just dont like the ui and want to make it better, they stick to the basic premade stuff.

it is enabling developers to be more lazy and not make quality games, and yeah some platforms like mobile benefit from these updates roblox is making, though i feel like it is partly the developer’s responsibility to MAKE the game compatible.

a good developer should know how to make a game compatible and even new players should learn, even if they mess up, you learn from mistakes. its better than having mommy bird roblox still feeding them with these premade updates

premade things like the e to interact system might be good example to show how a proper system should look but shouldnt be reused with no changes what so ever. if it is helping developers, it would enable them to remake the look and design

1 Like

Not sure I understand your points here. Phone touch screen is just like using a mouse, except your finger is the “cursor”. What mobile app uses a separate cursor on the screen? I don’t know of any.

If you say another implementation is “much better” can you please provide clear examples?

The bottom line is, you can use it or not use it. Many Roblox games do not have great gamepad support for UI and some don’t work at all, now they have another option.

As we stated earlier, if you have the time to implement a great UI layout for the UI highlighting system that works with gamepad, that’s awesome. The developer can choose what works best for them.

8 Likes

I believe a part of devSparkie’s message is that by implementing such a control system, developers instead no longer actively attempt to make console controls better and more intuitive - that is, by pressing L2-and R2 buttons to go up and down for instance.

Putting my two cents in here, I feel like while it would cause somewhat higher levels of ignorance with developers, leading to some overview in UX-design, it wouldn’t really affect anything negatively - in fact, it would likely make it better as games that do not support consoles wouldn’t pay heed to these issues in the first place.

1 Like

It sounds like you have more of a problem with search and discovery than the UI feature being added here: If search and discovery is structured to reward experiences that people like better, and people like experiences with custom designed-for-console controls better, there will still be a strong incentive for developers to give their experiences those controls in the long run.

3 Likes

(39) F3X Area Permissions Testing - Roblox

This will be great for XBOX players! Now they won’t need to press the square with the half square behind it then fiddle with the joystick until it goes onto a GUI!

1 Like

Yep! I’d just like to clarify that I myself don’t hold these thoughts, only raising concerns others might have.

That’s not how it works. It’s just like “Yeah!!! Everything should get deleted, pcs explode. Now if you want to be a developer first build a computer, make an OS, and then write software.” It is given to us. What if Roblox deleted stuff like the .Name property? well, They can delete it and say “Well, people won’t understand Binary and stuff if we don’t delete it”

2 Likes

I’m sorry if I didn’t make myself clear enough. In the early 2000’s there were several businesses working on PDA devices where the cursor had to be moved by dragging a finger across the screen. My point is that these devices didn’t succeed because their input method was unnatural, just like a cursor is on a console.

As for the “much better”, I was referring to how Destiny makes the UI move around the mouse, in a parallax effect. If you were to remove this from Destiny, it would make it seem like a poor PC port.

Now, I want to make my point clear. I think it’s great that the Roblox team is trying to make it easier to make games more enjoyable for console players, I just disagree that this is the way to achieve it. I understand this feature took a lot of work and I do not want to diminish the effort that went towards accomplishing it.

My concern is purely centred around the fact that I personally believe that implementing a good UI layout and a UX befitting a console isn’t just “awesome”, but it should be a practical requirement to have a game on console. Without taking the time and dedication necessary to ensure a game is properly compatible with consoles, we’re decreasing the overall quality of the games available on that platform.

2 Likes

This is epic! As a 1/3 Xbox player (I play on all devices hehe) this is so much better than pressing the select button and being confused as to why you cant move. Thanks, Roblox! :]

1 Like

Haha I know right! When I rarely play on xbox, or plug my controller in, I accidently select something and can’t move and it’s so annoying! Now we have a custom cursor we can move around, and select things with noticing. Awesome!

1 Like

So this can be currently tested on xbox?

Yeah that, and also if you have an xbox controller, and plug it into your PC. I’m pretty sure.

1 Like