Layout does not matter as much in my opinion, it’s been fine since the snes controller and not evolved much past the ps1 controller which still works great to this day. I think per game rebinds are missing very often from games made during the last decade at least. Some programmer with a God complex just decided: this is how I would set the controls now everyone who wants to play my game better get used to this.

On a pc you can at least use some external tool to rebind the controller, but it’s a lot of hassle and there are lots and lots of other games to play. I think this kind of attitude costs customers.

And don’t get me started on console games. They are made for sheeple, there is not even an option to rebind the controller for any games available to this day. Correct me if I am wrong. But I was playing gran turismo in vr at my brothers the other day. The shift up is on the lower button and vica versa for some reason. Sure you can get used to this after a couple of hours but it feels like having look up and down reversed while playing a fps.

Why on earth are there still any games available in 2025 that don’t let the user rebind the controls to their liking?

If you are on the usa or Canada, you can use jmp.chat as an alternative. It provides a phone number via the xmpp protocol. It might be possible to set up on your own server as well, have a look here:

https://jmp.chat/faq

I use conversations on android as well. I think it’s the best app for android. You can ask in the conversations support channel for help, there are very knowledgeable people around:

xmpp:conversations@conference.siacs.eu?join

Snikket is easy to host in a docker container. You would have your own internet messenger for friends and family. Snikket is based on the xmpp protocol thats been around for 20 years, is tried and tested and very lightweight and does take very few resources on your server. things like Nintendo’s messenger and WhatsApp are xmpp based).

Thanks, I did not realise that. So this app is for Mac to Mac communication only. If seems for briar you need to run a server still or messages will get lost between mobile users. How does this new app solve that problem? On mobile phones disconnects will happen regularly as network coverage changes and different network towers connect and disconnect when you are on the move. You might as well spin up your own xmpp server at that point, as that protocol is tried and tested for over 20 years and very lightweight and battery friendly as well…

There is already a really good foss app that does exactly that, it’s called briar and is as secure and private as it gets. The downside with p2p communication apps being, that they eat your phones battery for breakfast. Still a good option for activists or journalists I think. It’s a good way to get around the “server in the middle” problem. Still more convenient to run your own (xmpp) server at home imho…