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How do you play games on your PC/laptop?


simplen00b

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I finally got round to trying to play Dishonored and Mirror's Edge last night, and I've realised that I'm really out of touch with modern gaming (surprise surprise).

 

It looks like having keyboard controls to 'turn' left and right (rather than strafe) isn't an option any more, so I can't use my usual Thief keyboard controls. Tried the WASD settings and, apart from hating having to strafe instead of turning, my left arm ached horribly after 30 mins.

 

So it looks like the only hope I have of playing these games is with a console-style controller for Windows and I wondered if anyone had any recommendations. I've never used a console and I'd be surprised if I play anything much other than DH and ME with whatever controller I get. (Skyrim, Oblivion, Minecraft, CoD etc have no interest for me.)

 

I'm inclining towards the Microsoft Xbox 360 Common Controller, while Obsttorte's suggested the Logitech F510. Any other recommendations? Or should I try something else entirely? All & any advice gratefully received!

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Just so I understand you. Does this mean that you play PC Games without using a mouse? Sounds awful.

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Badly.

 

No, my laptop just doesn't have enough power to run a lot of games. tried to run LA Noire on low settings a few days ago and it's just wayyy too choppy. I can play TF2 alright on lowest settings.

 

But I use a wacom tablet for the mouse, not the on board mouse. Problem is the readable area is too small and I can never turn around fast (without making mouse over sensitive then on the PC it would be slow...)

 

So yeah , i don't actually play too much. Sidecrollers are my best bet.

 

Never thought about a controller but that might actually be good too, I like to sit back a little and laptop keyboard being right at the screen makes it hard.

 

I always played PS2, so xbox controllers felt weird to me. but i think once you use one a little bit it just becomes 2nd nature.

Dark is the sway that mows like a harvest

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Just so I understand you. Does this mean that you play PC Games without using a mouse? Sounds awful.

Um. Er. Well. If laptop touchpad = mouse, then yes, I use a mouse. :unsure: Arrow keys to steer in RH, touchpad/spacebar/other keys in LH. Never could handle steering with LH via WASD and up till now it's never been a problem.
I use a wacom tablet for the mouse, not the on board mouse. Problem is the readable area is too small and I can never turn around fast (without making mouse over sensitive then on the PC it would be slow...) So yeah , i don't actually play too much. Sidecrollers are my best bet.

I have a wacom tablet but whenever I tried to use it in Thief I just span round and round wildly with no control at all. Maybe I should experiment with the settings. And yeah, apart from Thief, sidescrollers and point&click are pretty much it for me too gamewise. But hey, Raptor still holds up for me B)

 

I was about to have a WHY OH WHY vent about the Death of Turning as a Keyboard Option in Modern Gaming, but I'm going to go to bed instead.

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I've used an old N64 controller for playing emulated old console games off my PC before (laptop plugged into big screen tv). Of course I wouldn't recommend that one for anything but emulated old console games. Somebody in the other thread mentioned mouse emulation, where you can map keyboard keys to movements of the mouse, and I can confirm that works, at least when I did it for a game that needed it to work (there's also joystick emulation that works the same way). So getting a console controller or joystick, or mapping mouse movements to keyboard keys with a mouse emulator are two ways you could go.

What do you see when you turn out the light? I can't tell you but I know that it's mine.

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Isnt "turning" with the keyboard instead of "strafing" + mouse looking outdated since about 15 years or so now? ~ The last time I "turned" with the keyboard was in the mid 90s with Lands of Lore 2 or Doom/Hexen etc. ;P

 

If its not an fps shooter, you can play most games in slow pace with a keyboard + mouse looking and without strafing pretty good too (even Skyrim or Portal).

 

U can try a cheap 5 [insert your currency here] gamepad in PS Style (I have some of them too), there is not that much difference to the expensive ones in the first instance. But i would recommend to just try a simple mouse. For PC gaming a real mouse is always better. ^^

Edited by jysk
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Beneath my keyboard I use a dragball mouse for some years now. This is a mouse with a big ball on it that you use for "moving the mouse". So in fact, you do not have to move the mouse at all, just the ball. It takes some time to get used to it (I needed three months or so until I was able to hit a desktop icon on first try). But it is really worth a try, as you don't need th space you need for a normal mouse and it is way more precise once you get used to it.

 

I have a Logitech Cordless Optical Trackman

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FM's: Builder Roads, Old Habits, Old Habits Rebuild

Mapping and Scripting: Apples and Peaches

Sculptris Models and Tutorials: Obsttortes Models

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There are camera-systems that can track your eyeball movement and move the cursor to exactly where you're looking. That's probably the laziest way to do it. Not sure it's very convenient (or cheap) though.

 

There's also Bluetooth headtrackers, like a little headband you wear that moves the mouse when you move your head, but multiplied (moving your head a little moves the cursor a bigger distance, well you can set it to however you like in the options). They say this is actually the best & most natural tool for spinning the camera for flight sims, since your hands are busy flying, so I imagine it'd be really good for simplenoob's purposes too.

What do you see when you turn out the light? I can't tell you but I know that it's mine.

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If you buy such tools I guess it is relatively expensive. But I barely remember reading an article about constructing such things on your own.

 

IIRC the only things you really need is a webcam (I think this is part of a lot of laptops nowadays) and three LED's. Than you need something to attach the LED's to, that you can wear on your head and a power supply for said LED's. There is free software available that can be used to get the heads position from the webcam footage.

 

I think it has somethink to do with positioning and brightness of the single LED's.

FM's: Builder Roads, Old Habits, Old Habits Rebuild

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I use a regular keyboard and a three button mouse (left, right and the middle button that is also a scroller) Suits me fine! It's the best control scheme ever invented, in my opinion, even better than any console controller. Console controllers have the advantage of analog sticks, and are more compact than mouse + keyboard, these need a table.

 

I would buy the equivalent of a wasd keyboard with an analog stick if such thing existed and I could afford it.

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Thanks for the suggestions guys - on reflection (and after doing a bit more research) I think trying to master a gamepad would drive me potty (and headtracking gear would be overkill for my limited needs).

 

What I've done is allocate move forward/backward to mouse buttons 1 & 2 on my trackball - yes Obs! I have a trackball too! They're great! - and remapped LH keyboard keys for attack/interact etc. I've given it a go in TDM (so I can try it without having to learn a new game at the same time) and - well, wow. Moving around already feels loads more fluid, and as long as I can get used to the remapped LH keys I think it'll make my previous touchpad technique look pretty clumsy. I actually did a mantle while moving backwards, which I don't think I've ever done.

Isnt "turning" with the keyboard instead of "strafing" + mouse looking outdated since about 15 years or so now?
Say 9-10 years - it was included with Doom 3 after all, which came out 2004 - but otherwise, yup, you've hit the the nail on the head; 'looking outdated' pretty much sums me up gaming-wise. :smile:
wait wait wait, is it even possible to play a game without a mouse?!?!

Well, I've been using my laptop touchpad for years. Very happily too. But I think the trackball thing is going to be better.

 

Hey, it only took me five years, but finally I may be starting to learn how to use a mouse properly in gaming. Yay! Woot! etc etc

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Oh man ... if I saw someone playing an FPS and using the keyboard to reorient the view in this day, I'd probably burst out laughing. Not that I have a problem with it--whatever floats your boat. I just find it really funny.

 

For some reason it reminds me of a guy I used to know who would unplug his computer from the wall when he was done with it ... no, he didn't shut it down first. He just unplugged it because he thought of it as any other electrical appliance and didn't know any better. The first time I asked him why he had just gotten down on his knees and crawled under his desk to yank out the cord, I remember laughing until tears were running down my face

 

But as for the thread's topic, on the desktop I use an old mx510 mouse and a kinesis advantage keyboard. I don't play any games on my laptop, but on my "UMPC" (or whatever you want to call it .... it's a UMID Mbook M1 pocketable computer --> http://www.umpcportal.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/umidhands.jpg ... good thing I don't have meaty fingers like this guy), I play FPSs with a combination of the keyboard and the touchscreen--mostly GoldSrc based games. I wrote a mouse hook that (well, once you set up the variables right in the GoldSrc engine right) reorients the optical axis with wherever you tap on the touchscreen. E.g. you tap heads for headshots in CS 1.6 :)

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People should play games the way they please, but I agree with those who have hard times to understand how one can't handle a mouse. For me the mouse is the next best thing to real head turning. I tried to play games with a controller, my hands cramp because I try to put more physical force on the inaccurate view turn, which has no effect. A mouse is like an extension of my will, I imagine where I want to look and just "snap" into that direction. Of course you can also turn very slowly, which is basically the point I am trying to convey: Mouse = full control.

A game like Thief is relatively slow paced and can indeed be played with arrow keys, but for a FPS shooter it is more like self inflicted torture. To me using a mouse has never been about being good and competitive in a game, it is mostly about immersion. Being able to turn the view with a mouse as if like I would turn my head in real life, is most immersive, especially and most specifically in Thief. That is actually one of the main reasons I don't like console, because a game I want to play would not truly work with a gamepad. The Oculus Rift seems to be the best invention since computer games themselves.

 

However, a mouse is not that easy. For me there are several aspects that need to be given. The shape; mice like Zowie AM, Razer Diamondback/Taipan, SteelSeeries Sensei, Microsoft Wheel Mouse Optical 1.1 and similar are mice with a perfect shape for me, perfect length, width, etc. These are gamer mice, but there are normal mice with similar shapes. Also I am an optical mouse user. I tried some laser mice that have acceleration, it was horrible, I felt like I had less control over my turns, very inaccurate. Good optical mice often have no acceleration ,that means the movement is 1:1 and gives you very good control ingame (noticeable for me). Also very important is the right mouse sensitivity in-game. If it is too low or too high, it just feels terrible, it needs to be the perfect middle for me.

Right now I use the mice Zowie AM and Razer Diamondback (which is very old and out of production), love them both. The shape and sensor performance is just very satisfying. Zowie AM has the best cord I've used with a mouse, its so flexible, almost like using a wireless mouse.

Because the right mouse is so important for me I became relatively educated with mouse technology lately, but years before I had no clue, but was lucky to use the right mice by chance (Older version of the Diamondback and a Deathadder, used both for eight years).

It is not necessary to buy a gamer mouse, since they are usually expensive, but the gamer mice outlasted the cheap mice I bought before by far and gave me more comfort and joy.

 

I'd suggest to give the mouse a try, simplen00b.

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I'd suggest to give the mouse a try, simplen00b.

He already has a trackball mouse. ;) (Nothing is better for gaming IMHO)

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Mapping and Scripting: Apples and Peaches

Sculptris Models and Tutorials: Obsttortes Models

My wiki articles: Obstipedia

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@woah - I think watching my gaming technique would make many people cry with laughter. Or just cry.

 

@psychomorph - yeah, like Obs said, I'm now starting to use my trackball. May need to adjust the settings as you advise - mostly it's fine but while playing Glenham Tower last night, I was running away from a pursuing revenant; went to turn a sharp corner but in my panic I turned 360 degrees and ran right back into his welcoming skeletal sword-wielding arms.

 

@jaxa - maybe it's because I have big hands/long fingers, but after 30 mins of trying WASD with Dishonored, my whole left arm (up to and including the side of my neck) was aching very unpleasantly. (I think it was mainly from having to hold left-shift/ctrl down with my little finger while moving.) Really didn't enjoy it.

 

At the risk of making anyone keel over with excitement, I shall list my remapped LH key settings. You may want to sit down or hold onto something secure: -

Frob/interact - X;

Attack - Z;

Crouch - C;

Use - F (guess where I got that from? :smile: );

Cycle lockpicks - backwards slash (on the left of the Z - got fed up reaching over to the P).

I think most of the other controls are unchanged. Been playing TDM for a couple of hours with the new settings and given I'm changing a style I've used for about five years, it's mostly working really well - I get the occasional regression and start tapping the arrow keys and then wonder why I'm blundering around so clumsily. The trackball rules. B)

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I think watching my gaming technique would make many people cry with laughter

Maybe you should upload a let's play of you playing quake III arena. (Just for entertainment ;) )

Are you still using the mouse buttons for movement?

maybe it's because I have big hands/long fingers, but after 30 mins of trying WASD with Dishonored, my whole left arm (up to and including the side of my neck) was aching very unpleasantly

This normally happens when you sit in a wrong position. But as you use a laptop it could also be caused by the small keyboards they usually have. :unsure: Maybe you should consult a doctor :P

Edited by Obsttorte

FM's: Builder Roads, Old Habits, Old Habits Rebuild

Mapping and Scripting: Apples and Peaches

Sculptris Models and Tutorials: Obsttortes Models

My wiki articles: Obstipedia

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the lego games still use keyboard keys to turn the camera, but I use keyboard to move and mouse to look and attack, except in the lego games where you can't use a mouse but it doesn't really matter in the lego games as they're more like a sidescrolling game

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Maybe you should upload a let's play of you playing quake III arena. (Just for entertainment ;) )

Seriously genuinely honestly - I have no idea what kind of game Quake is (I assume FPS, but whether sci-fi/horror/fantasy/warfare/medieval - not a clue). Still suspect I'd get less fun out of playing it than other people would watching me play it. :P

Are you still using the mouse buttons for movement?

Yup. Adapting to it surprisingly well. I have the basic Logitech trackball, and the two small buttons above the big buttons I never really use due to being v. fiddly - ideally I guess I'd have a model that has easier access to other buttons so I could attack/interact with the mouse as well, but not being a full-on gamer, I don't really care that much B) .

Re arm-ache - left arm does ache slightly with the remapped keys but nowhere near as much as it did using the WASD keys. However (another exciting story coming up), my first ever trackball was the classic but now defunct Logitech Marble FX (which I still have connected to my work PC). After two days of using that, my right arm was in so much pain I gave up using it. Didn't touch it for two weeks then thought, 'ah well, give it another go', and - absolutely no problems. No arm-ache at all. :blink: (Told you it was an exciting story.)

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I have no idea what kind of game Quake is (I assume FPS, but whether sci-fi/horror/fantasy/warfare/medieval - not a clue). Still suspect I'd get less fun out of playing it than other people would watching me play it. :P

It's a very fast arena style multyplayer FPS (something like UT or doom in network). We've been playing this on LAN parties sometimes, but not longer then for an hour or so, as you can't concentrate on this for much longer. :smile:

 

If I take a look on the form of the marble trackball mouse, I'm not surprised this one gave you aches. It even hurts looking at it. :P

FM's: Builder Roads, Old Habits, Old Habits Rebuild

Mapping and Scripting: Apples and Peaches

Sculptris Models and Tutorials: Obsttortes Models

My wiki articles: Obstipedia

Texture Blending in DR: DR ASE Blend Exporter

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It's a very fast arena style multyplayer FPS (something like UT or doom in network).

Just looked at some YouTube vids and started getting motion sickness in less than a minute. How do people play that AND type messages at the same time? :blink: I'd last three seconds tops.

Re the MarbleFX trackball - it is generally recognised* that it's the best trackball Logitech ever produced and second-hand ones can still sell for $80-100. Someone's trying to sell an apparently new one on ebay for nearly $500. No, I'm not joking.

*Source: some people on the internet.

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