Killzone 2 Update Patch Addresses Controller "Dead Zones?"

It's no surprise that Guerilla has issued a maintenance patch for Killzone 2 - continually updating great games is something good developers do - but did you realize they may have issued some minor control tweaks in response to a certain vocal minority?

By now, most of you are probably familiar with the debate: some gamers have complained of what they're calling "input lag" regarding the turning controls in the game, while Guerilla claims it makes the game feel more authentic and realistic. You know, like how soldiers have to operate with a lot of weight on their backs...? Well, this patch may have addressed the issue to some extent, as a few players are reporting a slight change in the way the game feels; some are saying the controller's "dead zone" (a delay when a character goes to turn around) has disappeared. At first, we thought this may only affect the multiplayer modes, but now reports are coming in that say the patch also affects the control of the single-player campaign. For our part, we have a feeling we'll have difficulty noticing any significant differences, although we may recognize the removal of the supposed dead zone. Everything should still feel very much the same, but then again, we didn't have any problem with the controls to begin with.

We're not entirely sure if this was the express purpose of the maintenance patch or if they also added some normal stability updates, but obviously, this slight control alteration has been snagging headlines.

Related Game(s): Killzone 2

3/6/2009 Ben Dutka

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Comments (55 posts)

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Mornelithe
Friday, March 06, 2009 @ 9:45:29 PM
Reply

Absolutely unbelievable. I'm still at work (on my 14th hour...ugh).... But yeah, people on the Sony forums are not pleased at all. Killzone 2? More like foldzone 2. They folded faster than the french.

Morne

0 up, 0 down

Akuma07
Saturday, March 07, 2009 @ 12:14:55 AM

If you guys dont know my position on the controls, go back to the first article about this. i had a very long rant about it.

and i would like to say, i LOVE the changes.

the game is now, perfect.
they fixed everything i wanted them to. THANK YOU GG FOR LISTENING =]

0 up, 1 down

Random_Steve
Saturday, March 07, 2009 @ 4:08:20 AM

foldzone 2. Catchy title

0 up, 0 down

BeezleDrop
Friday, March 06, 2009 @ 10:04:31 PM
Reply

So the controls weren't as "tight" as some shooters, once you get used to them you don't notice.

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Akuma07
Saturday, March 07, 2009 @ 12:15:19 AM

they are tighter then a dolphins butt now. =]

0 up, 0 down

ps92117
Friday, March 06, 2009 @ 10:26:04 PM
Reply

The patch has not arrived yet for me, how bout you guys?

0 up, 0 down

JofaMang
Friday, March 06, 2009 @ 10:39:08 PM
Reply

I hope that this was an accidental side effect of some other change, and not a direct response to a few mouthy whiners.

I appreciated the dead zone in the game, as it also felt like a skill balancing tool. KZ2 rewards smart tactical play over snap reflexes. I have played reflex shooters for about a decade now, and really appreciate what I felt was a gameplay advancement that was truly next gen.

I still log into SOFII now and then when I need my fix of that now mostly bland and worn out genre. CoD has kept it fresh and interesting with such an emphasis on rpg-like character advancement. Which KZ2, thankfully, has plumbed and made their own unique version of. Combined with the thinking needed for success online, I have been wooed.

Smitten, even perhaps.

1 up, 0 down

TheUglyBassist
Friday, March 06, 2009 @ 10:51:37 PM
Reply

I really don't see where the patch changed anything about the controls. People on gamefaqs are just going nuts about how much better it feels. I, along with a few others, see little to no change.

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Deleted User
Friday, March 06, 2009 @ 11:01:01 PM
Reply

Are the only people who visit the Official Sony PS3 forums teenage boys? Man, I'm sick of these 98% teenage male message boards like that one and GameFaqs. It's also pretty sad to see more parents allowing minors to play Killzone 2; it's obvious from the horrid grammar and sentence structure that the majority of posters there are 13 year old boys. Who cares? I haven't downloaded the patch but I doubt I'll notice any difference.

0 up, 0 down

JasperLoons
Friday, March 06, 2009 @ 11:20:19 PM

Yeah, the official playstation boards disgust me.

Anyway, I'm not seeing any change personally, but I never had any problem with the controls anyway.

1 up, 0 down

somethingrandom
Sunday, March 08, 2009 @ 6:40:19 PM

You think there's a problem with letting teenage kids play Killzone 2? I must say, your quite ignorant. Depriving anyone of a masterpiece such as Killzone 2 is unethical. Damn near torture. By the way, what is it in Killzone 2 that you find you must protect minors from? Do not think you know more than a child's parents what is appropriate for them. Why do you disrespect people like this? Do you just want to laugh in their faces that you can play Killzone 2 and they can't? That's sick.

0 up, 1 down

PS3_Wizard
Monday, March 09, 2009 @ 11:38:46 AM

Wow Somethingrandom...are you serious? You do know that Killzone was intended for ages 17+ right? Brighat was probably talking about 16- year olds. How can you say most teens should play a game where every other word is an F-bomb and you have the ability to pop someone's head off, leaving a semi-realistic dismembered neck to gawk at?

And nor did he say that he didn't want them to play the game. Thats what you ASSUMED. Just because YOU would let YOUR kids play a violent and foul language game doesn't mean all kids should be able to.

EDIT: he even said he's tired of seeing 13 year old boys on message boards. If you are indeed old enough to buy killzone, then i doubt he would have a problem with people complaining about it.

Last edited by PS3_Wizard on 3/9/2009 11:43:14 AM

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somethingrandom
Monday, March 09, 2009 @ 9:57:53 PM

Hey, it was ESRB that determined who this game is intended for. Nobody else. I believe that teens will not go out and start murduring people because of the game's realism. I also believe that it will not cause adolecents to think this behaviour is condoned or acceptable, just because people swear in a video game.

Last edited by somethingrandom on 3/9/2009 9:59:07 PM

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PS3_Wizard
Tuesday, March 10, 2009 @ 9:16:10 AM

Where do you think the ESRB came from? Parents complaining about the content of some video games ofcourse. I work part-time at gamestop and I can tell you that alot more parents take the ESRB rating into account when buying a game for an underage kid. Hell I even saw one mother tell her THEN 17 year old kid he couldn't play World at War, even though he was old enough to buy it himself.

Yeah MOST adolescent kids might not act out like the characters in the game, but don't most underage kids still pretend to have super powers and do stupid things like backyard wrestling? Hell after backyard wrestling launched for the PS2, look at how many kids where in the news for injuring themselves after jumping off their roofs onto their friend on a trampoline?

I think everyone can agree, younger gamers are more prone to doing what they see on T.V., video games or music videos.

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I_defenestrate
Friday, March 06, 2009 @ 11:38:45 PM
Reply

Maybe they didn't change anything and just said they did as a placebo effect..

That would indeed be awesome.

I also liked the way the game controlled. It's been one of my greatest fps experiences to date. (If not THE greatest)

Last edited by I_defenestrate on 3/6/2009 11:44:17 PM

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JasperLoons
Friday, March 06, 2009 @ 11:45:41 PM

Hehe, that placebo idea crossed my mind too.

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Daedusian
Friday, March 06, 2009 @ 11:49:09 PM
Reply

I also haven't noticed any changes to the controls. And like many others here, it doesn't bother me either.

LOL.. I hope to god that GG never altered the controls in the first place. Then all of the complainers will be shown how idiotic they sound/look. Now that will make my day!.. =)

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Qubex
Saturday, March 07, 2009 @ 1:08:02 AM

I haven't noticed changes either.

Q!

"i am home"

0 up, 0 down

ZubraZap
Saturday, March 07, 2009 @ 12:17:10 AM
Reply

This is hilarious they actually patched it! I don't care either way because I beat the game with the "dead zone" controls. LOL!

1 up, 0 down

BTNwarrior
Saturday, March 07, 2009 @ 3:03:36 AM
Reply

Weird, I didn't notice any deadzone?

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HANZ64
Saturday, March 07, 2009 @ 6:09:20 AM
Reply

Sry but what's a deadzone?

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wano
Saturday, March 07, 2009 @ 6:46:42 AM

theres a lot of words being thrown around at the moment and used for different things. But I think Im right in saying that deadzone, specificaly, is the amount of play in the controls. Think of it like this...you can move the ps3 stick around a tiny little bit before it actually starts moveing anything on the screen (that is the dead zone)

a little extra..

the ps3 pad has more dead zone than a 360 pad (i think), but has less resistance to start moving the stick..(so has less over run after pushing the stick)....tit for tat..... In not sure, but I think the less resistance the analouges have (more dead zone) also makes the control pad last longer.....at the end of the day, its not a big deal, you will just find you get used to either set up if you use them enough....

Hope im not talkin rubbish here (or i understood correctly), i just got up and need my morning brew before i can think properly ;-)

Last edited by wano on 3/7/2009 6:49:25 AM

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Sir Shak
Saturday, March 07, 2009 @ 7:27:26 AM
Reply

It's a subtle change , I just noticed it . I don't think this would frustrate anyone already used to the controls . Maybe we can finally have some peace now .

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TheUglyBassist
Saturday, March 07, 2009 @ 11:54:13 AM

Then check out the Gamefaqs forums. It's seriously like Vietnam over there.

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TheRaPtuRe
Saturday, March 07, 2009 @ 8:43:28 AM
Reply

i noticed in single player but not online

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kevyd09
Saturday, March 07, 2009 @ 9:27:21 AM
Reply

i didnt notice any dead zone to start off with and now that i have the update i still dont notice any diference, so either way it hasnt spoilt the game for me:D

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herukuti
Saturday, March 07, 2009 @ 9:33:16 AM
Reply

the controll changesare game breaker now you can go up on more opponets at the same time.

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BTNwarrior
Sunday, March 08, 2009 @ 4:02:06 AM

I don't get it

I could go up against two people at a time before and come out alive, it just depends on who is a better shot. They get the control update to you know

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LegioN
Saturday, March 07, 2009 @ 9:51:44 AM
Reply

I never had a problem with the controls, still don't, nothing has changed.

In all honesty, i don't think they did anything. I think it just had a placebo affect on those who were complaining about it.

In any case, at least all the crying/whining that was going on has stopped now. For the most part..

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JPBooch
Saturday, March 07, 2009 @ 10:03:55 AM
Reply

The more you play with the controls the better they feel to me. I didn't notice any dead zone and after the update I don't see any difference. I've had problems strafing one way and then quickly strafing the other, like trying to take out a turret on the other side of a door.

I would have like a crouch that would hold you there or even a prone position. The stick to a barrier idea with the crouch is a little cumbersome.

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herukuti
Saturday, March 07, 2009 @ 10:19:37 AM
Reply

when i say gamebreaker i refer to matches between opponents and precision,

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daizycutter
Saturday, March 07, 2009 @ 10:21:11 AM
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seems to me that guerilla couldnt change the way the controller ( deadzone) lags anyway ..the game is made that way with heavy processing and textures slowing it right down! i think wot you have right now is the best speed the game can do..guerilla are using other arguments like "its more realistic" and "thats the speed you would use a gun anyway" basially trying to re-invent the wheel, the frustration kicks in when sometimes it can take a huge amount of bullets to bring sumone down(online)whilst dealing with controller lag and deadzones still a good game tho cod4 online still beats it tho imho

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Xplicit
Saturday, March 07, 2009 @ 10:28:39 AM
Reply

i did notice an improvement on the slight lag, makes the game feel a bit faster, like COD

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slugga_status
Saturday, March 07, 2009 @ 10:43:26 AM
Reply

The last thing this should feel like is COD. I never understood the complaints in the first place. The complaints about dead zone was fixable without a patch. It's called customizing your control settings. You can change your control layout along with the sensitivity of the analog sticks.

The game felt very realistic to me with the way it was made. They shouldn't change it to appease the COD lovers. Don't get me wrong I loved COD 4 MW. At the same time though I don't want to by another FPS that feels like COD. There wouldn't be any point in playing it. If I want COD I'll buy and play COD.

I swear it's time for some people to stop all the complaining about controls because it's not what they're used to. If you don't like it don't play it. K2 is by far better then COD more realistic.

1 up, 0 down

PS3_Wizard
Monday, March 09, 2009 @ 11:50:46 AM

I wish I could give you +10 for that post. I couldn't have said it better myself.

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NoSmokingBandit
Saturday, March 07, 2009 @ 10:51:05 AM
Reply

Is this the 1.20 patch? I downloaded that yesterday and didnt notice anything. I love the controls though, it makes you think about what to do next instead of jumping out and headshotting everyone like you can in COD. Sev feels real. He feels like he is carrying all sorts of crap with im. His gun feels like it is made of metal instead of paper mache.

2 up, 1 down

slugga_status
Saturday, March 07, 2009 @ 11:09:20 AM
Reply

I agree with that. Not bashing COD as it had me hooked for a long time. But after playing Resistance 2 and now KZ2 it doesn't feel realistic. I'm sure COD MW2 will do very well this year. Just wish people will realize that not EVERY FPS needs to be like COD. I'd hate it if Tekken was like Mortal Kombat or if NBA 2k9 was like NBA Live.

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TheUglyBassist
Saturday, March 07, 2009 @ 11:58:35 AM

Yea, and I don't see why they act that way. It's the only game where I see it too. 8 Billion questions as to why it can't play like COD or how X Developer needs to learn from Infinity Ward. I, myself, don't want different franchises to play out like each other. Back in the PS2 days, when I clocked in many hours on Socom II but then tried out MGO, I would never have said Konami needs to learn a few things from Zipper. They're two different games that control and play totally different and that's the way I want it to be.

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ps92117
Saturday, March 07, 2009 @ 11:52:19 AM
Reply

After complain I actually got use to it lol without the patch.

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daizycutter
Saturday, March 07, 2009 @ 12:12:14 PM
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like it or not the problem part is online not with the singleplayer game ..the response time between two players is massive...

i dont want it to be like cod4 i want it to be better...i see the ps3 zealots are infecting this forum just as the sony ps3 forum !!!

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jlch777
Saturday, March 07, 2009 @ 12:23:18 PM
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i didn't notice any changes in the control either.

0 up, 1 down

convergecrew
Saturday, March 07, 2009 @ 1:34:28 PM
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I love the changes personally. I cant believe some of the people over at Gamefaqs etc. are saying "Killzone is dead" because they changed the controls. GG improved them yet people whine about the changes now. No wonder many developers dont listen to gamers. Most of us are immature and idiotic.

1 up, 1 down

Gregory Freeman
Saturday, March 07, 2009 @ 1:51:31 PM
Reply

the patch also fixed s-gun auto aim.. and rebalanced the sniper rifle...

0 up, 1 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Saturday, March 07, 2009 @ 2:42:03 PM
Reply

The changes help a bit in online multi, but why is every small change to a game 16mb?

Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 3/7/2009 2:45:31 PM

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Banky A
Saturday, March 07, 2009 @ 4:12:46 PM

Because it's Killzone 2

<3

0 up, 1 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Sunday, March 08, 2009 @ 1:32:09 AM

It's EVERY game though, some sorta standard, I'm not complaining just curious about that.

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somethingrandom
Sunday, March 08, 2009 @ 6:44:53 PM

Perhaps they need to update the entire control file for it to work, or most of the update is instal files. Actually, I find most game updates are 13MB.

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bigrailer19
Saturday, March 07, 2009 @ 3:03:42 PM
Reply

@slugga_status
i agree with you 100% the thing that ircs me the most is people actually complaining its not like cod, lol why should it be, why make a game just liek another, in my opinion if you dont like it go play COD, instead of compaining, when u could be playing. anyways its funny the controls never bothered me and ive defended them plenty of times, and last night i was on (after the patch was downloaded) and i was moving around the controls and seeing my characters reactions and thinking to myself why are people complaining this moves and feels great, now although i didnt mind it before did i just notice how fluid it felt cus there was a change i dont know but now that this is mentioned, maybe! also i wasnt able to obtain a few badges (boost/front runner badge) and now i can since the patch so maybe that was involved also?
Lovin it, i want my top 1% trophy so bad!

Last edited by bigrailer19 on 3/7/2009 3:06:03 PM

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Ivan_PSP
Saturday, March 07, 2009 @ 4:55:11 PM
Reply

I hate this damn patch i wish i can play the game the way it was before. If i can change back i will just have to trade the game maybe for Uncharted: drake's fortune. My PSN ID: Ivan- msg me a solution if you know one please.

1 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Sunday, March 08, 2009 @ 1:36:09 AM

Maybe if a bunch of people b*tch they will give us a patch which has a toggle option in the menu for it.

Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 3/8/2009 1:36:25 AM

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BTNwarrior
Sunday, March 08, 2009 @ 4:07:11 AM

Really? I personally didn't notice any difference. But if you think it made the controls faster you could turn them down in the options menu

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WorldEndsWithMe
Sunday, March 08, 2009 @ 2:41:33 PM
Reply

Hmm, no sir I don't like it.

0 up, 1 down

RadioHeader
Sunday, March 08, 2009 @ 3:34:18 PM
Reply

Well since I was one of those bitchin about the feel of the game, it's only fair to mention that I like it much better now. Thanks GG.

1 up, 0 down

Wage SLAVES
Monday, March 09, 2009 @ 2:17:34 AM
Reply

I love it. I found it near intolerable to play only cuz I get motion sickness really easy. Some FPS' really pull it outta me and Killzone was one of 'em. The aiming isn't super COD4 tight, so it keeps its unique feel. Im lovin it now that I can actually pulloff a headshot now and again.

1 up, 0 down

Fenrir
Monday, March 09, 2009 @ 9:31:32 AM
Reply

Better, now. Like Socom, where you can toogle the dead zone for the controller.

1 up, 0 down

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