NightStalker on 29/12/2006 at 01:18
Quote Posted by Elentari
Plus once you have played 1 and 2 there are hundreds of fan missions to work your way through. :D Which sort of gives you a never-ending source of 'new games'.
dont forget about T2X ;)
Martek on 29/12/2006 at 03:09
Quote Posted by ZylonBane
The numpad is for lefties. Otherwise your hand is almost a foot away from its normal resting position on the keyboard. And do you find typing to be daunting?
Yet oddly, the numpad is situated where your right hand is naturally closest.
I use the cursorpad/numpad via my righthand, and mouse with my left. Long time ago I made myself "mousedextrous" and flip the mouse back and forth between hands as the moment suits (not just in video games, but in my daily computer usage).
The cursor/numpad area has long been for me a much better "main character control" keypad than the typical "wasd" type setups that many/most seem to find so preferable. And my "fat fingers" seem to have much better luck with accuracy on the non-staggered cursor/numpads.
In Thief, up/down move me back/fwd (surprise!), and left/right are my strafe keys. I use the mouse for turning. My right hand rests over the cursorpad. On my 20-year-old OmniKey/Ultra keyboard, there is a "\" just to the right of the right-shift, and I use it for crouch on/off (my index finger sets right on it with a slight movement). In between right-alt and right-ctrl is a "*" that I use for momentary crouch (my thumb easily taps it). On the upper cursorpad, [Ins], [Home] and [Pg Up] seem natually suited for lean left/forward/right, while just below [Home] the [End] key is for creeping forward. [Enter] with my index finger clears any inventory item off. Oh, and right-ctrl is always for jumping.
In Thief I don't really use numpad much, but have some inv items assigned to some of the keys. In other games I use it for reloading (typically on numpad 0), ammo-type-change or (in SS2) firing mode on the numpad-period. The other keys for camra control or whatever. I don't really use many keys via my left hand in most games.
As they say, different strokes for different folks. :)
Cheers,
Martek
Weasel on 29/12/2006 at 03:48
Quote Posted by Martek
Yet oddly, the numpad is situated where your right hand is naturally closest.
That's what ZB meant, I think: your right hand it on the numpad because your left hand is on the mouse. It's usually the mouse that goes in the dominant hand.
I'm left handed for certain things (writing, drawing, tooth-brushing, and eating) but I got used to using a mouse right-handed from the beginning. I've got pretty good at drawing with a mouse in my right hand and it's also handy when I want to write with my left hand while using a computer.
ZylonBane on 29/12/2006 at 04:05
Quote Posted by Chewbubba
You might like Deus Ex: Invisible War. It uses the same ridiculously bloated engine TDS does, it's mostly an RPG
No, IW is barely an RPG. It completely gutted Deus Ex's character advancement system and replaced it with a cut-down aug system that doesn't allow any permanent character choices.
Martek on 29/12/2006 at 04:42
Quote Posted by Weasel
Quote Posted by Martek
Yet oddly, the numpad is situated where your right hand is naturally closest.
That's what ZB meant, I think: your right hand it on the numpad because your left hand is on the mouse. It's usually the mouse that goes in the dominant hand.
I'm left handed for certain things (writing, drawing, tooth-brushing, and eating) but I got used to using a mouse right-handed from the beginning. I've got pretty good at drawing with a mouse in my right hand and it's also handy when I want to write with my left hand while using a computer.
I got that - it was actually part of my [poorly made I suppose] point - that why should the "dominant hand" be relegated to doing the less complex stuff (pushing a mouse around, hitting two buttons and maybe rolling a wheel) when it is probably better suited to coordinated-manipulation of a bunch of different keys. I'm a "righty" and use the mouse in my left hand because it then frees up my right hand to use the superior-for-control cursor/numpad keys.
But right or left-handed, it just seems logically better to use the cursor/num keys for movement and control due to their layout vs. the staggered and offset rows of the letter keys. However, beyond that - if it's "hand dominance" that influences the choice then it seems counterintuitive to me that a "lefty" would prefer those keys over a "righty" (or rather perhaps that a righty would prefer to use the alphabet keys when they already have more natural digit dexterity in the right hand).
Ahhh, probably doesn't make sense to anyone but me... :p
Cheers,
Martek
mimosa on 29/12/2006 at 14:49
THANK YOU ALL - I guess with so many people telling me the same thing, I'd be very dumb to not listen. OKAY - I'm going to try again on the keyboard. Thief 1&2 are probably a good place to learn because, as you'all have pointed out, fast reactions are not essential.
I'll play around with the keys and try out different combinations (as advised) - I will, hopefully, find a combo that works for me.
(PS It's not that I don't like SC - it's just that it doesn't have the atmosphere of TDS, I'm not drawn into the game in the same way.
Thanks again - so many voices cannot be ignored!!!!!
Hewer on 29/12/2006 at 20:23
I don't use the wasd setup- I've made my own where f is the 'walk forward' key because it's got the little stud on it. That way I can figure out where I am on the keyboard while playing Thief in the dark.
d is strafe left, g is strafe right, c is move backwards, r is run forward, e is lean forward, b is toggle crouch, h is lean right, s is lean left.
I can't change weapons or items on the numbers or f keys without moving my hand out of position, so having the easily findable f key as my base, I don't have to look down to figure out where I am.
Andarthiel on 31/12/2006 at 03:15
T1,T2 and I highly recommend Metal Gear Solid if you have a PS2 or even a PSX.
Annakis on 1/1/2007 at 03:54
All the solid game recommendations have been listed, but as for controlling and movement, there are far better alternatives out there than decades old keyboard layout.
I played Thief TDS like most FPS, with MOMO wheel pedals with Fragpedals for sidestepping and zooming. Thus you have totallly fluid and accurate control over your speed (+ speed modifier keys). Thief 1 and 2 don't support wheel pedals so using only FP. Once you get used to controlling movement with your feet there's absolutely no return to asdw-cramps. And say hi to leg-cramps. ;)
Also Nostromo n52 is so far best keyboard replacement I am using. I have G15 as keyboard, but macro recording/keys are only consistently used feature in that. LCD panel has some great uses too, like showing IM's or FRAPS info if you are in the game.
Nostromo, while looks cool and all is not as comfortable as it looks, especially for asdw movement, which it was obviously designed for. It is better than keyboard though, but since I use my feet for movement I've mapped all needed actions and weapons to n52 (with shift modes there's more than enough room for everything). As for the gaming mouse - R2 took about a week to really accustom to, since it is so light, and you basically control it with your fingers. R2 just kicks butt, especially with killenflor matress and silicon coating. Old mouse design and so called "gaming mice" biggies boast feel like a ton of bricks on a sandpaper after that. R2 is way more comfortable, swift, accurate and highly configurable. Plus it stores all configurations to an on-board flash memory. But it's really useful as a secondary mouse only for gaming, as desktop use is a bit too awkward, especially since it doesn't have mouse-wheel or any ready-to use Internet buttons.
Belkin n52, R2 and Fragpedal combined cost about $170, Fragpedal being the most expensive. All worth it, if you are serious about gaming and really like to get rid of age-old asdw-crap/cramps. Also if you have racing wheel with pedals you're good to go at least on some FPS-games (ie. Doom 3 doesn't support, F.E.A.R. supports). Fragpedals on the other hand work with any game.
(
http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=157024#)
(
http://gamingmouse.com/)
ZylonBane on 1/1/2007 at 19:29
But does anybody buy all those gadgets who isn't an elitist douchebag?
