Playing Mari0 with the Joy-Cons

General Mar0 discussion has been moved to this subforum!
Post Reply
User avatar
Sky
Posts: 1283
Joined: 08 Mar 2012, 04:35
Contact:

Post » 29 Mar 2017, 08:50

It's time for a report on something nobody asked about but maybe someone kind of wondered: playing Mari0 with the Nintendo Switch's Joy-Cons! (insert ® and ™ as needed)

For the unaware, the new controllers for the Switch are PC-compatible out of the box, no need for drivers. You just connect them via Bluetooth and they're good to go without any other setup. They interface through DirectInput, which is an older standard, so they don't work with every game. However, Löve2D recognizes DirectInput, so they work in Mari0!

Mostly.
...Kind of.

The first setup I thought to try was to put the Joy-Cons together as one standard controller, and play with two sticks. Even though they're technically recognized as two separate controllers, there's nothing stopping one player from using two controller inputs. Curiously, though, the control sticks are recognized as "hats" (like a d-pad) rather than axes, and Mari0 only recognizes axes for aiming the portal gun.

Image
This screenshot was unfortunately not taken with the new capture button.

In other words, this idea was pretty short-lived. You can play like this if you have a platforming-centric mappack (read: doesn't use the portal gun at all), but it's not exactly the best experience out there - especially since, in my testing, the right Joy-Con often had input lag of up to half a second. It was pretty excruciating to say the least, although that's probably just my Bluetooth driver not playing nice. (It's kinda amusing, though, since everyone else is having problems with their left Joy-Con.) If you're just going to platform, using just one on its side is your best bet.

This still leaves us with one other option, however: one Joy-Con in one hand, and the mouse in the other.

Image
This picture, on the other hand, was taken with the capture button. The one on my phone.

The problem with playing like this, however, is the button layout. There's not really a comfortable way to map even just run and jump. You could use SL and SR (the side shoulder buttons), but those are hard to press when holding it like this. You could use L and ZL (the back shoulder buttons), which works pretty decently; however, you have to hold the controller in a claw grip, which I can't imagine doing for more than five minutes - and I have small hands! You could press the stick for one of them, but that's hard to do when you're constantly moving it. Any other buttons require removing your thumb from the control stick, which is no bueno for platforming controls. And just imagine a left-hander trying to play with the right Joy-Con!

In sum, it works, but with plenty of caveats. Final verdict: 2/10, just wait until Super Mario Maker: We Finally Added Slopes Edition comes out.

Let me know if you have other suggestions or opinions, I'm curious to try different configurations.

User avatar
Smear-Gel
Posts: 297
Joined: 23 Oct 2012, 18:49

Post » 08 Apr 2017, 22:26

It's still pretty cool to know that it works a least.

User avatar
Hyperfenix
Posts: 14
Joined: 14 Apr 2017, 08:20

Post » 15 Apr 2017, 03:39

sorry for this bump but, simply putting this (insert level 500 sarcasm here) is:
Would there be a way to make something like this work with the screen aswell (either by using homebrew or something and getting access to the internet browser for Switch and doing what we did with Wii U or direct USB cable ik not that simple but basically "other means"). Another thing is, if you were you use some weird thing to set the controllers up as axes, would it completely work?

User avatar
Qwerbey
Posts: 1280
Joined: 05 Oct 2012, 07:58
Contact:

Post » 15 Apr 2017, 03:48

It'd probably be easier to just mod Mari0 to accept hats, but you never know.

User avatar
Hyperfenix
Posts: 14
Joined: 14 Apr 2017, 08:20

Post » 15 Apr 2017, 03:50

yes probably but im slightly retarded and don't think about easy solutions.

User avatar
Hatopher YeaH!
Posts: 36
Joined: 10 May 2016, 20:18

Post » 09 May 2017, 02:13

Where's the download?

User avatar
Technochips
Posts: 608
Joined: 12 Mar 2015, 16:05
Contact:

Post » 09 May 2017, 14:10

no, he's telling you that mari0 might natively support joy-cons

User avatar
Sky
Posts: 1283
Joined: 08 Mar 2012, 04:35
Contact:

Post » 10 May 2017, 21:43

WillWare wrote:For the unaware, the new controllers for the Switch are PC-compatible out of the box, no need for drivers. You just connect them via Bluetooth and they're good to go without any other setup.
Just so there isn't any confusion - there's no downloads for anything, anyone with a Switch and a Bluetooth connection can try this.

Post Reply