Which FPS had the the most favourable/worst player control/movement? Simulated head movement or a fixed view? Physically accurate acceleration/deceleration or direct control without any latency? What''s your opinion?

Well the gameplay tends to be the same in all latest FPS.
Mouse to move your head, keys to move/strafe.

They all do it pretty well. While it''s not realistic, I like how some games let you throw weight around in midair to change the direction you''re going (Quake 1 and 3, and many others)..

In my experience, FPS''s tend to be much alike.

My preferences run to bobbing and (de|ac)celeration. I also like moving whilst in mid-air.

I generally prefer, however, second-person games, like Heretic II. 2P is better than 1P, IMHO, for ''spatial puzzles'' (the kind of thing that platform games are full off - jump onto this platform, jump onto that platform). 1P, on the other hand, is better for aiming and for immersion in general. I''d like a game where you get to choose between the two as you please.


Just Plain Wrong

I like to turn head bobbing off. I dislike air control because its not realistic. I know many games have a million other unrealistic features, but I really don''t like air control. I''ve never noticed acceleration/instant movement in FPS''s, so I''m not sure which one I prefer.

Proceeding on a brutal rampage is the obvious choice.

In my opinion character control is one of the most important aspects of a first person shooter. Apart from the technical side, if the control/movement is not intuitive and appealing, it can ruin the whole game for me.

I''m currently implementing character control logic myself and i base the movement on newtonian physics which we all know. Although i have a rather sophisticated physics subsystem with which i could simulate physics realistically, i chose to tweak the physics parameters and sacrifice realism in the name of gameplay.

One of my worst impressions was when i played the original Half-Life for the first time. I felt as if i was skating on ice which made it slightly difficult to play.

Games which scored better were, for example, NOLF and Global Operations. Although i haven''t played it yet, Halo seems to have very appealing player movement, as far as i can tell from seeing several video clips.

N64:
James Bond for N64 really had some crappy player controls, besides a GREAT game!

PS2:
James Bond for PS2 really had some crappy player controls, besides a GREAT game!

PC:
Wolfstein <-- !!! :D (besides a GREAT game)...Alley Cat got a nice physics-engine

I dislike head bobbing.

In Jedi Outcast, the player movement is unexact - the player will slide forward a little even after there is no input and the movement animations have stopped. It''s more noticeable in third person than first person, but still a little annoying.

I''ve recently been playing America''s Army, and I really think they have the movement "feeling" down perfectly, except that going prone/crouching take too long - in real life if you were under fire, you''d just drop down, not put a hand down and slowly lower yourself.

-Jipe

What you experienced in Jedi Outcast, "anon", was deceleration in action. I think it''s good to have such functionality, as long as it doesn''t interfere with the player''s intended actions. Unless the game is about mastering the controls ;-).
On the other hand if the players'' movements would stop immediately it wouldn''t look and "feel" good.

The solution cannot be found at the extremes, i guess. It rather lies somewhere in between. Balance is the key here.

Halo''s controls are very similar to any other FPS''s. Thumbstick for head motion, and another for WASD-like movement. Being analog, Halo gives better rez for getting from point A to point B than a keyboard''s binary keyUp/keyDown. Buttons for weapon switch, grenade switch, flashlight, jump, melee, action (reload/keypad), fire gun, throw grenade. Thumbsticks double as keys for crouching and zoom.
Typical controls with thumbstick resolution and a convenient package. Unless you''re under 15.

Controls are good if you can understand them and use them easily. While I can''t think of any that I don''t like, some of the resulting models are aggrevating. Like the Red Faction bullets and the Quake jump-dodge-run models (double the gravity, and I *can* hit).

-Sta7ic