Komag on 16/2/2006 at 16:32
Purah used a thumbside trackball during his Thief years and seemed to love it. I always had to bring my own mouse over to his place because he didn't have one, and I couldn't use that trackball to save my life (at least, not my life in the game!)
Mortal Monkey on 16/2/2006 at 17:18
Quote Posted by Subjective Effect
I was interested in the normal, non-thumb, trackballs though. Logitech marble is what I have my eye on.
Logitech Marble is great for 2D applications, but falls a bit short in FPS because of button placement. Additionally, clicking both buttons at once is used as a scrollbutton replacement, which breaks some functions in some applications (IE zooming in UnrealEd).
dracflamloc on 16/2/2006 at 17:41
You pretty much have to go with a thumb trackball. I have the MS trackball mouse that they made a while back and its pretty good. I do think they can be more precise than normal mice, and are better for that carpal tunnel.
Sometimes I miss the mouse, sometimes I miss the trackball. But both can be used in games just fine. Just make sure you get one that feels right for your hand. If your hand is small don't get a huge trackball.
My brother used to use a non-thumb trackball for games and he did alright, but I think that it'd just be too weird for me to get used to.
That Miserable Thief on 17/2/2006 at 15:20
I've used a normal/center trackball exclusively (at home) for everything since 1999. It is very comfortable and doesn't fatigue my arm, hand, or fingers. I've used the Kensington Orbit and the Logitech Marble. Both were good, but the Logitech is optical, so it is smoother and dust/dirt/hair doesn't affect it as much because there are no rubber rollers and metal shafts to move. It has scroll buttons on the inside egdes of both larger buttons. I use those regularly when on the internet, and they feel more natural to me than a scroll wheel.
To me, a regular mouse is cumbersome. There's no reason you sould have to move your entire arm or hand to move a cursor or a player in a game. And, since I've used a standard trackball for so long, I can't imagine using a thumbside. I use my first and/or second fingers for the ball, my thumb for the left-click, and my third finger for the right-click. This positioning is very comfortable and relaxing. There is no problem with button placement at all, and it seems more natural to me to use a thumb for clicking a button than controlling a cursor or player movement.
From my limited experience, I recommend the Logitech Marble Mouse. It costs about $20 and is very comfortable and efficient.
Mortal Monkey on 17/2/2006 at 16:12
Quote Posted by That Miserable Thief
There is no problem with button placement at all, and it seems more natural to me to use a thumb for clicking a button than controlling a cursor or player movement.
If you have really small hands, yeah. I have to curve my hand to hold my thumb on the left button while keeping my index- and middlefinger on the centre of the ball.
I died a lot from trying to click underneath that button :erg:
That Miserable Thief on 18/2/2006 at 05:48
I don't have small hands, and I curve my hand when using the trackball. I think I had the same problem missing the left button when I switched from the Kensington Orbit, which was wider, to the Logitech Marble, but I adjusted rather quickly from playing Thief so much.
I just realized that I use my third and fourth fingers to support the weight of my hand on the middle of the mouse below the trackball (toward the right button) when I'm not using the right button. I suppose I developed that from the slow stealthy gameplay of Thief, and web browsing.
Everyone's different. ponyboy, no one can really tell you what you will like or what feel's comfortable to you.
Quote:
Purah used a thumbside trackball during his Thief years and seemed to love it. I always had to bring my own mouse over to his place because he didn't have one, and I couldn't use that trackball to save my life (at least, not my life in the game!)
I used to go to a friend's for late night Unreal Tournament sessions, and I had to take my trackball (if I didn't take my entire PC) because I coudn't use a mouse to play very well. I can't imagine using a mouse to play Thief.
Keeper Adept on 20/2/2006 at 03:31
I have used an M$ Explorer trackball for about five years now. I've used it for T1, T2, and DS.
There was a short learning curve with going from mice to the trackball, but now I'll never go back.
Cheers.
:cheeky:
huitcat on 20/2/2006 at 16:58
I've used both sorts of trackball, Logitech's, and they both work well for games but the adjustment preiod for the 'thumb' trackball is easier.
ponyboy on 21/2/2006 at 01:59
OK, I feel confident in the plunge to trackball, although I haven't done it yet. Now for the other, less explicit, part of my question: Wireless. Either trackball or keyboard or both. I've had people warn about gaming on wireless devices, mainly because of frequent and unavoidable little glitches in the signal, which, while being virtually un-noticeable when typing and whatnot, can precipitate demises of the sort often described as untimely when speed and pinpoint accuracy are of the essence. Any seed of truth to the warnings?
huitcat on 21/2/2006 at 03:35
Get the dpi and the resolution for one of those new wireless laser gaming mouse(s) and the wireless trackball that comes closest or matches it is the one you want to try.
I'm happy with a 'wired' logitech marble mouse but then I seldom play on-line death matches.
There are some very expensive trackballs out there from Kensington and Suntak that are used for CAD work (that means the company buys them for you ); I don't know how they measure up for gaming but they've got some impressive specs to go with their impressive price. If you get the chance why not check them out?
Ah yes, keyboards.
It's possible to have a keyboard that's perfect in one room of the house and a lagging death trap when you move the desktop to another.
Why whatever-it-is bothers them more than it does the wireless mouse I don't know but it does.
