Im trying to up my game but would like suggestions on how to get it set up. Im left handed (mouse left hand / keyboard right hand). At the moment, I'm using the numberpad for keybinds. Problem is Im having to use my thumb on the arrow keys to move and have no fast access to -shift, -alt, or -cntrl keys. If I hit the -num lock- key, my buttons shut down until I realize what has happened.
The left handed position of the wasd keys are the pl;' keys. That position gives easy access to all the modifier keys. Problem is if I accidently hit the -enter key, the keybinds shut down again. Is there a relatively safe program that will temporarily deactivate the Enter key until I reactivate it? Preferably compatible with Vista (and soon Win7) and the G15 keyboard. Or any other ideas that Im missing?
If a solution doesnt exsist, then Im looking at the XKey Profressional button pad. But I have yet to see any discussion on this product from actual owners that play WoW (durablity, lag, ease of setup, etc).
1) I feel as though I'm getting some kind of RSI injury on my right wrist from sitting at a computer 8 hours a day programming, and then coming home and playing WoW for many more hours (mostly Arena). Has anyone that's used a 'handshake' style mouse (like Microsoft Natural Mouse (Newegg)) found it to be suitable for twitch movements in a game? It seems great for regular computer use, where the style of the mouse might force you to use less wrist muscles and more shoulder/arm muscles (thereby reducing stress on your wrist/thumb), but I'm not sure if it would be a good choice for WoW/Arena where I spend the entire time holding right-click down and mouse-turning.
2) The location of the 'alt' key on keyboards. Most of my macros involve an alt- (and a shift-) modifier...but it's awkward to hold my left thumb under my hand to be able to hit alt all the time. It makes me wish for a keyboard where the alt key (and, in an ideal world, other keys, as well) was more in the center of the keyboard via a much smaller spacebar Or perhaps under the spacebar. Anyone know of a keyboard with a "non-standard" spacebar/alt/etc key layout?
2) The location of the 'alt' key on keyboards. Most of my macros involve an alt- (and a shift-) modifier...but it's awkward to hold my left thumb under my hand to be able to hit alt all the time.
Why don't you just use ctrl- instead of alt- in your macros? Might be a bit akward to get used to at first, but since you are already using shift- your pinky should be in a good position to reach ctrl-, too.
I see a few people have the Razer Naga. I'm considering buying one but just wanted to know - how are you finding it for WoW?
Is it comfortable for long raid sessions?
Is it easy to move the mouse without accidentally pressing buttons?
Are the buttons "tactile" (do they click/other feedback?) or are they more like TV remote buttons (just pressure)?
Any bad points you've noted?
Obviously reviews on the manufacturer's website are going to be pretty much positive, so I wanted to hear from actual players!
I don't know how comfortable it is for raiding, but for everything else it is indeed comfortable. I was worried that my thumb would work too hard, but so far it hasn't been a problem at all.
The mouse is easy to move without accidentally pressing the buttons. They click nicely, like left- and right-click mouse buttons do.
They say it'll take 18 hours of play to get used to the mouse, but in my experience it's a lot more. I'm still getting used to the 12-button grid. So far I'm properly using 7 of them with almost no errors, and I ordered the mouse as soon as it was available. I must be a slow learner.
I've been reading further and some people have been saying that they couldn't get the software that came with it working and used an addon downloaded from the Curse website that did the same thing, but obviously used addon memory space instead of the buttons being recognised outside of the game and simply mapped using the standard in-game mapping process. Is this a problem anyone here has experienced so far?
I'm not bothered setup/configuration-wise either way, but as I play on both desktop and laptop computers, I need to be more careful of memory-hungry addons on the laptop as it can slow things down somewhat.
Last edited by Shadefoot : 12/01/09 at 11:34 AM.
Reason: Spelling!
One thing I'd recommend if you are having RSI from using ALT/CTRL/SHIFT with your hotkeys is to bind mouse buttons 3/4/5 to ALT/CTRL/SHIFT. I recommend X-Mouse for that purpose if you don't already use mouse button mapping software that came with your mouse. Then your left hand doesn't have to do any crazy contortions to hit modified keys. This has helped my wrist/hand pain considerably, and, through chording any of the 8 combinations of right-handed ALT/CTRL/SHIFT with left-handed keypresses, a huge number of hotkeys can be directly activated.
One thing I'd recommend if you are having RSI from using ALT/CTRL/SHIFT with your hotkeys is to bind mouse buttons 3/4/5 to ALT/CTRL/SHIFT. I recommend X-Mouse for that purpose if you don't already use mouse button mapping software that came with your mouse. Then your left hand doesn't have to do any crazy contortions to hit modified keys. This has helped my wrist/hand pain considerably, and, through chording any of the 8 combinations of right-handed ALT/CTRL/SHIFT with left-handed keypresses, a huge number of hotkeys can be directly activated.
My bigger problem is RSI on my right hand (with the mouse). The whole alt/ctrl/shift doesn't cause me any pain, it's just a bit awkward and, as you indicated, makes it difficult to hit certain keystroke combinations.
I bought a naga recently and have been very happy with it. My only real complaints with it are the 7, 10, 11, 12 are a little hard to hit for my hand (which I worked around by simply not binding anything to them) and the standard mouse 4, 5 buttons are in an awkward position and difficult to use while moving as you have to actually adjust your hand to manage to hit them with your index finger. The mouse is a bit lighter than the Logitech G5 I swapped from, but I got used to that pretty quickly. The button resistance is spot on: not enough to make pushing them difficult, but enough that you pretty much won't push them in while moving unless you really manhandle your mouse.
As far as keybindings go, the current option for the buttons is either 1 through = on your keyboard or 1 through 9, 0, +, - on the numpad (requires numlock to be on), toggled by a switch on the bottom of the mouse. I simply use it in numpad mode personally, and haven't tried their addon. My understanding is that it's basically a slightly tweaked Dominos.
As far as keybindings go, the current option for the buttons is either 1 through = on your keyboard or 1 through 9, 0, +, - on the numpad (requires numlock to be on), toggled by a switch on the bottom of the mouse. I simply use it in numpad mode personally, and haven't tried their addon. My understanding is that it's basically a slightly tweaked Dominos.
This is personally bugging me a lot. If I set it to Numpad I can't properly use modifiers as 'Shift-Numpad8' becomes 'Up Arrow' etc. Setting it to the normal 1-9 is suboptimal; I lose a few easy-to-reach keys.
I'm not sure if their addon allows further customization or not. One of their reps said they'd have further keybinding options soon™ but didn't give any information beyond that. It may not be possible at the moment.
I might be totally lost here, as I don't own a Naga, but I could bet that 3.2.x added native ingame support for the Naga? So why do you need an addon if there should be native "naga_mousebutton_10" (no idea what they are named ingame) binds available?
The WOW mouse is good mouse. It is fully customizable with the buttons and the colors. You can have 10 profiles and link them to WOW characters. The best part is that it isn't just a WOW mouse, you can customize it to other games as well.
The Steel Series software caused crashes and complete system lock-up for me on Windows 7 64bit. The in-game detection was also spotty (possibly related to me having installed their software for customization) so I junked it and bought a G9X from Logitech.
Originally Posted by Zeln
I'm pretty sure the only reason you're on this planet is the phone rang and startled your dad.
I've gone through a lot of hardware in the past couple years, so I'll just touch on the high and low points.
Keyboard: DAS Keyboard, accept no substitutes.
Most keyboards produced these days have silicone pads separating two contacts. The DAS Keyboard has individual gold plated switches for each finger and individually tensioned springs tailored to the strength of the finger. Tab/Caps/Shift/A take less pressure to activate than F/G/H. After acclimating to the crisp response of this keyboard, every other device feels spongy.
Left-hand Devices: Nostromo n52, Logitech G13.
Both of these are fine products. I found that I was unable to adjust the n52 to comfortably fit my hand during extended sessions, while the G13 provides a place to rest my hand that allows easy access to all buttons. Movement using a thumbstick instead of WASD allows me access to a full array of instants while running out of the fire, which is nice when I'm on my warlock.
Overall I prefer the G13, but I miss having the circular button on the n52 to use as a state modifier. The buttons near the thumbstick can be bound to shift or control, but not as an internal modifier within the provided software. I'd love to be able to use these buttons to switch to the M2 or M3 macro set without having to look away from the screen. This may be me doing it wrong.
Headsets: Razer Barracuda, Logitech G35.
I've had the Razer Barracuda since shortly after it was released, and I loved it despite the crappy microphone. Everyone seemed to be able to hear me OK, but I frequently lost the tiny detachable mic and it looked dumb sticking out of such a large headset. Unfortunately, the left speaker is attached by a single screw which worked its way loose at some point and left a nut rattling around inside the casing.
I was nervous about switching to the G35 because I'd be going from a real surround sound headset to simulated surround, which meant sound processing would be handled on the CPU and I wouldn't benefit from my sound card. I've been pleasantly surprised with the G35. It blocks out surrounding noises much better than the Barracuda, and the surround sound quality is top notch. Positions of ambient conversations in Dragon Age are accurate, volume is appropriate for distance to target, etc. Testing in TF2 as a Medic, I was able to sidestep a demoman's grenade because I heard the heavy 'Thonk' noise of the launcher precisely behind me. Definitely recommended, though I wouldn't have replaced the Barracuda if it hadn't died.
Razer mice don't like me. My DeathAdder wore out within ~4 months - right click started doubleclicking and then stopped responding entirely. I replaced it with my old MX Revolution, but quickly remembered that the mouse has trouble connecting to the charger - unless placed precisely on the base, the leads don't connect and the battery doesn't recharge. Same story with my old MX 1000. I'm now using the Razer Lycosa, but occasionally the cursor jumps straight up for no apparent reason. In WoW this is no big deal, but in TF2 it can leave me wasting dozens of rounds on the sky as a Heavy, so I'm looking for a new mouse.
Ideally, I'd like to see a mouse that has 4-5 thumb buttons on the left side - a typical group of two above the thumb, a group of two below the thumb, and a 5th in front of the thumb would be ideal. This would allow me to bind shift, ctrl, alt, and ~ (my vent key) to thumb buttons instead of taking up the two buttons near the joystick on my G13. As it is, I have shift and ctrl bound near my thumbstick, so moving locks me to 1...= and alt+1...=. Recommendations are appreciated, but I don't want the Steelseries mouse and I'm hesitant to use a Razer mouse thanks to my experience with the DeathAdder and Lycosa so I'd have to hear a few testimonials before I tried the Naga.
1) I feel as though I'm getting some kind of RSI injury on my right wrist from sitting at a computer 8 hours a day programming, and then coming home and playing WoW for many more hours (mostly Arena). Has anyone that's used a 'handshake' style mouse (like Microsoft Natural Mouse (Newegg)) found it to be suitable for twitch movements in a game? It seems great for regular computer use, where the style of the mouse might force you to use less wrist muscles and more shoulder/arm muscles (thereby reducing stress on your wrist/thumb), but I'm not sure if it would be a good choice for WoW/Arena where I spend the entire time holding right-click down and mouse-turning.
2) The location of the 'alt' key on keyboards. Most of my macros involve an alt- (and a shift-) modifier...but it's awkward to hold my left thumb under my hand to be able to hit alt all the time. It makes me wish for a keyboard where the alt key (and, in an ideal world, other keys, as well) was more in the center of the keyboard via a much smaller spacebar Or perhaps under the spacebar. Anyone know of a keyboard with a "non-standard" spacebar/alt/etc key layout?
1) Faced with the same work->play usage patterns and resulting twinges of RSI, what I did was just start using my mouse in my left hand at work. Most of my mousing at work isn't at all demanding, and it took very little time to get used to. I didn't switch my OS to "left-handed-mode" or anything (that would swap the left and right click buttons), just moved the mouse over to the other side and used it with my left hand. Wrist problems went away, and I continued using the mouse on the right when I went home.
2) You could look into a free program like KeyTweak to just remap some of your keyboard's keys. You only need to run it once, it has a neat GUI, then you restart and key assignments are changed permanently (well until you next remap them anyway). I left my alt keys alone, but I replaced my capslock with an extra left-CTRL, which made a low of keybindings much easier to reach.
I've gone through a lot of hardware in the past couple years, so I'll just touch on the high and low points.
Keyboard: DAS Keyboard, accept no substitutes.
Most keyboards produced these days have silicone pads separating two contacts. The DAS Keyboard has individual gold plated switches for each finger and individually tensioned springs tailored to the strength of the finger. Tab/Caps/Shift/A take less pressure to activate than F/G/H. After acclimating to the crisp response of this keyboard, every other device feels spongy.
Only problem with these keyboards is that they are about 80 $ overpriced. Das Keyboard I was a Key Tronic E03600, Das Keyboard II a Cherry G80-3000 and Das Keyboard III is a Costar CST-104.
The Cherry G80-3000 without the "Das Keyboard" brand, but with exactly the same technology and layout costs about 40 $ (the new one is more difficult to get since Costar doesn't sell their keyboards directly to customers).
Only problem with these keyboards is that they are about 80 $ overpriced. Das Keyboard I was a Key Tronic E03600, Das Keyboard II a Cherry G80-3000 and Das Keyboard III is a Costar CST-104.
The Cherry G80-3000 without the "Das Keyboard" brand, but with exactly the same technology and layout costs about 40 $ (the new one is more difficult to get since Costar doesn't sell their keyboards directly to customers).
I'm using the original Das Keyboard, so I can't really speak to the differences between the Das II/III/S and their respective inspirations. However, the Key Tronic E03600 uses membrane switches and the original Das uses mechanical switches, which is a huge difference and worth the money. It also has blank buttons, which is functional as well as sexy because it forces you to touch type which means all your attention is on what's happening on screen. I never noticed that I looked down when fishing for the '7' until I got my Das, and that helped me break bad typing habits.
It is quite expensive for a keyboard, but I think you get what you pay for here. I'd avoid the new Model S for gaming though - it apparently only has 3-key rollover. Look for the a secondhand copy of the original or a Das II.
1) I feel as though I'm getting some kind of RSI injury on my right wrist from sitting at a computer 8 hours a day programming, and then coming home and playing WoW for many more hours (mostly Arena). Has anyone that's used a 'handshake' style mouse (like Microsoft Natural Mouse (Newegg)) found it to be suitable for twitch movements in a game? It seems great for regular computer use, where the style of the mouse might force you to use less wrist muscles and more shoulder/arm muscles (thereby reducing stress on your wrist/thumb), but I'm not sure if it would be a good choice for WoW/Arena where I spend the entire time holding right-click down and mouse-turning.
I use the Vertical Mouse from Evoluent. It doesn't have as many buttons as many of the advanced gaming mice (5 buttons if you count pressing the mouse wheel) but I find it very comfortable for use at home and it works just as well as any regular mouse. It is light in spite of its larger size and fairly high res. The benefit is not related to using fewer muscles, it is supposed to be from the fact that you don't rotate your hand just to hold it (the twisting motion of the two bones in your wrist that allow you to rotate your hand from vertical to horizontal). It allows me to use a regular mouse at work - although I'm not on a computer anywhere close to 8 hours a day at work - with no issues. It does take some getting used to; when I first tried it I kept finding myself subconsciously rotating my hand to the top of it to hold it like a regular mouse.
11/11/09, 6:17 PM
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