Why were tank controls so common in early 3D games?

it was a logical means of navigating an environment with limitless numbers of possible camera angles, and would stay consistent even if said angles changed constantly. That's how I figure it at least.

I think the work involved in making a 'natural' scheme is also vastly understated. Tank controls were way easier than making movement relative to the current camera position and not have that look/feel like crap.

Because tanks are better than mechs and would kick their asses with the same tech base.

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>>2923382
>tanks are better then mechs

Get a load of this asshole. Have fun hitting me with your slow ass rounds and small cannon elevation arc as I go from walking to flying in 10 seconds, and then come down on your ass and rip your turret off with my actual appendages.

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Like Battlezone?

No real analog joystick for most early 3D, so tank style controls made sense.
/thread.

>>2923387
>slow ass rounds
Ignorance detected.
>walking to flying in 10 seconds
Guess that means you sacrifice lots of armor in order to be light enough to fly. Plus, you'll be less aerodynamic than a dedicated aircraft.
>rip your turret off with my actual appendages
Powered by what, exactly? How is it that your appendages can have actuators powerful enough to rip off a tank turret, but the turret can't have actuators that allow it to quickly track you as you fly over? Do you know anything about a tank's targeting computers? Did you know that the military's research into mechs is solely for small-scale carrying of cargo on uneven terrain (guess you should go tell them how wrong they are)?

>>2923359

I could imagine the /v/ user's thoughts as he created this thread.

"Yes! I've discovered a new thing that creates arguments and causes controversies among /vr/ users! I must tell /v/, add it to the infographic of ways to torment /vr/ that I am making, and create a thread to watch them argue! Ha ha ha! I am smart and a very good person. Now, where did I pull my anal toys?"

>>2923664
>>2923381

This. Now nobody respond. Go to /v/ if you want to shitpost, okay? :)

>>2923359
No Analog Sticks that could detect more than 8 directions.

>>2923726
Are you retarded?

>>2923359
Because they're independent of camera perspective, meaning wonky early-generation 3D camera controls would be less of a hinderance.

Also games with pre-rendered backgrounds and camera perspectives that switch on the fly (ie, Resident Evil) pretty much require these controls, or else you end up veering off in the wrong direction when the camera shifts.

>>2923765
Probably. Meant more like analog sticks weren't standard on home consoles, and being stuck with an 8 directional pad is kind of limiting in that regard. It wasn't until the Dualshock was introduced and became the new standard that the modern "Left Stick moves Character relative to Camera, Right stick moves Camera relative to Character" scheme really became viable, and even then it took years to figure that shit out. But I am potentially retarded.

>>2923813
But early 3D games weren't on home consoles anyway.

>>2923813

The Dualshock actually never became standard on the PS1. There are very few games that outright required it, if any, and most games still catered to players who used the regular d-pad because it was so common and the Dualshock was released relatively late.

It was certainly and obviously the standard on PS2, though, and analog stick play was the standard on N64, with most games being designed to take advantage of it and very few using the d-pad, and even fewer requiring it.

>>2923396
Reminder: This is what tank controls actually means.

Especially in /vr/ context.

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>>2923359

Because most controllers only had either one, or zero analog sticks.

>>2923675
I can imagine your thought process when you were making this post.

"Aww yeah, I'm totally going to shitpost on /vr/ it's going to be so awesome and epic and maybe my mommy will hug me. I sure hope I don't screw up at the end and use the word "pull" instead of "put". Oh well, it doesn't matter since I'm a huge faggot."

>>2923359
It's so much easier to code than doing it the way it's usually done now. It's also a better control system where accuracy is more important than quick changes in direction.

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>>2923359
At least post a kawaii tank anon-kun

Basically it comes down to precision of control and being able to do cool stuff like walk backwards while shooting on one hand, and being a big fucking baby on the other.

The discussion came up hard in this mech game for steam even though tank controls were literally the only way they could have the game mechanics they wanted.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/274500

>>2923359
Lot of devs were still experimenting with the idea of fully 3D games. It wasn't even until partway into six gen that a second analog stick fully moving the camera became common.

>>2924326
>not pulling out your anal toys

>>2924993
>posts kawaii APC instead

Smooth and precise are hard to implement in, even worse in 3D environments. Even anything as simple as moving forward can fuck up in a 3D game; On D-pad you can only press left, but in a 3D game even a fraction of a degree can send you off course.

>>2925306
>2015+1
>not keeping your butt plugged 24/7
>ishiggydiggy