Well, I thought I knew the answer until I saw the RE4 comment... Are you referring to the fact one analog stick moves the view and the other analog moves the targetting reticle?
people refer to games such as 'god hand', and 'p.n.03' as having 'tank controls'. i've played 'resi 4' and 'p.n.03' but i can't explain to myself why it's called 'tank' controls and when people started using the term.
Tank controls, as a term, is usually applied to third-person action games where the control of the character is non-intuitive. For example, in most modern games if you pull back on the controller the character will turn around and now face you. In a "tank controls" game the character will just reverse (start walking backwards).
Dorks. Tank controls refer to a characters movement when they are similiar to that of a tank. IE you have to turn before you can move forward or backwards. Tanks have no wheels to turn so they have to lock-up or reverse one of the treads to turn. I am pretty sure RE4 does NOT have tank controls although your movement is limited.
I usually hate these types of games so forgive me if im wrong but i think Tomb Raider 1-3 might have had them, earlier RE games, God Hand.
Its so nasty playing those because even though a human can move in 360 directions no problems in those games you had to turn and face the direction you wanted to move.
i used to find it frustrating sometimes in the earlier resi evil games, and at some points i got confused as to what was up and what was down.
i think the tank controls worked great for p.n.03 though. the enemies all have very mechanical patterns of movement which need to be memorized, so if vanessa's movements were more human then she could easily just walk around to shoot the robots from any angle. the fact that she is basically a robot too makes the game all about moving and dodging and shooting at just the right times.
thanks for clearing this up. and yes, i know what an actual tank is!:P
Dorks. Tank controls refer to a characters movement when they are similiar to that of a tank. IE you have to turn before you can move forward or backwards. Tanks have no wheels to turn so they have to lock-up or reverse one of the treads to turn. I am pretty sure RE4 does NOT have tank controls although your movement is limited.
I usually hate these types of games so forgive me if im wrong but i think Tomb Raider 1-3 might have had them, earlier RE games, God Hand.
Its so nasty playing those because even though a human can move in 360 directions no problems in those games you had to turn and face the direction you wanted to move. _AbBaNdOn
If this is the definition of 'tank controls' then yes, RE4 does have them.
Controls where you rotate your character to point them in the direction you want to go..like driving a tank..The old style Resident Evil games are the perfect example.
i'm curious, is it an 'official' term that developers use, or was it invented by the gaming community?
just_nonplussed
It's a derisive term so I think the community came up with it. I first saw it used in EGM to describe one of the earlier RE games. I think it was Crispin Boyer.
Ok I surrender! RE4 does have tank treads. I wouldnt believe you guys so i looked at some video's lol. I thought the controls had been improved and i thought the only thing i wished was that it had some side stepping/side rolling. But yeah those are tank controls. Its been awhile since i played it.
i'm curious, is it an 'official' term that developers use, or was it invented by the gaming community?
aspro73
It's a derisive term so I think the community came up with it. I first saw it used in EGM to describe one of the earlier RE games. I think it was Crispin Boyer.
Would you rather move like a tank or a human being?? Its a completely insane method of movement for a human being.
_AbBaNdOn
it depends on the game. it works for the suspense in resident evil. i don't think walking like a human should be the convention, but i guess it can be annoying if it hampers gameplay and the photorealistic characters jarr with the mechanical movements.
Resident Evil 1 has tank controls, not Resident Evil 4.vgmrsepitome
Only if the term implies something about the camera system in use.
In both the earlier REs and in RE4, you have to rotate your character before you can move them in another direction from a stand-still. RE4 character movement controls identically to how it was in the previous games, except that the player's perspective on the character was moved to behind-the-back.
Would you rather move like a tank or a human being?? Its a completely insane method of movement for a human being.
just_nonplussed
it depends on the game. it works for the suspense in resident evil. i don't think walking like a human should be the convention, but i guess it can be annoying if it hampers gameplay and the photorealistic characters jarr with the mechanical movements.
I agree that it depends on the game. I have no problem with tank controls as long as the game doesn't become unnecessarily frustrating as a result, and that has never been the case for me. The perspective-independent movement in the earlier REs is what messed me up, not the tank controls.
I am pretty sure RE4 does NOT have tank controls although your movement is limited._AbBaNdOn
Oh it does, all they ever changed with RE4 from the previous games was the camera position, the controls, in regards to movement, were never fundamentally altered. Heck, RE5 still has the very same controls too, just with the minor addition of strafing.
Log in to comment