Comments on: Challenge Series 2009: Challenge 02

By: T'krau

T'krau — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:49:40 +0000

My first posting here in a long time…

Somewhere up there at the top of the page, Phil asked if anyone uses a Nostromo – I have an N52 that I SWEAR by! Serously, this thing rocks!

Anyway, over the years I’ve developed a standard keybinding layout for the Nostromo/mouse – standard in that I try to bind functions from different titles to the same key(s) on the Nostromo and my mouse. The idea being that I only have to rearrange the keybindings once, and I don’t (usually) have to think about which key to hit to do something when switching titles. Some of the bindings are already pretty default to begin with, others I’ve assigned myself.

WASD – movement
space – jump
R – reload
L ctrl – crouch
F – flashlight (if available)
L Caplock – sprint, run, etc.
E – use
X – zoom (if available)

L mouse – primary fire
Middle (wheel) – weapons swap
R mouse – alt. fire (if available)

Works well for me, but I’ve been using this pattern for a number of years. About now, I doubt that I could be comfortable using a ‘normal’ keyboard without a LOT of retraining.

By: planetphillip

planetphillip — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:01:03 +0000

I didn’t want or expect anybody to use my settings. I just added them because seeing what other people use is quite interesting.

By: tomato _dave

tomato _dave — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:05:43 +0000

Sorry: I used some weird chars in my answer, and some info was left off. I map ‘Space’ to fire and Left Ctrl to ‘Use’

By: tomato _dave

tomato _dave — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:02:51 +0000

Phillip:
Maybe I’m just as crazy, but couldn’t any more use your key mapping than fly unaided to the moon! Here’s what I do for the main ‘action’ keys : made the most sense for me when I started HL1:
Forward, Back, Left, and Right movement : arrow keys, just because its sensible
Primary Fire: , because it’s the biggest and easiest to hit. I secondary Fire from the Left Mouse.
Strafe Left: x
Strafe Right: c
crouch: z (a is jump)
This way I can strafe back and forth using two fingers, and fire almost simultaneously with my left thumb. Killed a lot of folks diving back and forth around corners this way!
Then with the Use key mapped to , I can whack it with the little finger as I get to doors, etc.
Works well for me, and I would be quite dead, I think, if I were to try anything else at this point.

By: Grey Acumen

Grey Acumen — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 10:04:42 +0000

I don’t use the keyboard when I use the gamepad.

This comment has been edited because it broke the comment rules – Phillip

By: Jasper

Jasper — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 12:08:55 +0000

Shoot & Sprint

By: planetphillip

planetphillip — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 08:19:23 +0000

Here’s a question for all of you.

Which actions are the most important for you to be able to do when moving forward?

For me it’s sprint and use.

By: planetphillip

planetphillip — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 08:16:49 +0000

I think we all look for the most effective solution but sometimes there are different solutions to the same problem and of course personal preferences. The point was just to get palyer to question their bindings in the hope that maybe some have made some bad chocies (me, for example).

By: Ol' Scratch

Ol' Scratch — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 04:10:45 +0000

oh, and I enable quickswitch without the silly pics, so I can just smack the corresponding button ’til I get what I want.

By: Ol' Scratch

Ol' Scratch — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 04:09:52 +0000

Okay, I’m sorry, I just cannot do this. I tend to look for the most effective ergonomic solution possible with the given tools, so I tend to minimize as much key bindings that would take my left hand away from the WASD, so I can find it fast when I need it.

My list:

WASD, as usual
Q-quick switch
E- use
R-reload
F-flashlight
G-gravgun
CapsLock-sprint
LeftShift-crouch
1 to 0-weapons
Z-zoom
P-pause (or the pause key)
F2-quicksave
F1-quickload
C-swim up
V-swim down
KPminus-recall squad
KPplus-send squad

Simple and easy to find without looking. I put the quicksave/load where I can quicksave without looking (tho I think I’m going to swap them, it’ll be easier to find F1 without looking). Pretty ergonomic too. I also have weapon swap bound to the scroll ring, and something to mousekeys 3&4, but I don’t remember what they are–I use a Kensington Expert Mouse, 4 button with the scroll ring around the ball; my prior one was the Expert Mouse Pro, that just rocks at playing games.

As for the challenge: nah, not for me. I’m not going to try to get used to something just because, I have a tough enough time with playing new (or different) games as it is, or swapping back and forth from one to another, especially if the controls are significantly different, and they won’t let me change them to match the HL2 bindings I use.

By: Ol' Scratch

Ol' Scratch — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 03:55:52 +0000

Dude… you are going to blow your tendons right out of your wrists with RSI doing that…

I can’t see how you can be effective putting down the controller to hit the keyboard keys, then pick it up again… unless you have three hands… :-O

By: confused

confused — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:28:54 +0000

Hey, don’t blame your inability to play computer-games on the default key binding! Btw my basic analysis of this challenge is as follows: Since I switched “E” with “F” I ended up lighting things up a lot, so I never really got used to it. It wasn’t too game altering but got kinda frustrated when it recurred again and again! Onto the next challenge!

By: planetphillip

planetphillip — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 08:36:36 +0000

Could be, although you may suck with any keybinding!

By: cubedude89

cubedude89 — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 03:01:44 +0000

“”it’s quite possible the change will make you a better player”"

This could be the answer to why I really suck at games!

I just use default settings.

By: C:16937 » Podcast17

C:16937 » Podcast17 — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 03:23:58 +0000

[...] PP 10 Week Challenge #2 [...]

By: Grey Acumen

Grey Acumen — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:08:04 +0000

Thanks, Phil. Now when I tell someone I use a Mouse and Controller for FPS, I can just show them this when their inevitable response is “You FPS with whaaaa?!?”

By: Grey Acumen

Grey Acumen — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:05:08 +0000

The pic with the keyboard shows the only part of the keyboard I use. If you notice, it covers the exact same keybindings that the first pic of the controller covers (Except for the joystick reversal script, which isn’t needed for the keyboard) This keeps me from needing to switch any controls on the mouse if I change from using a controller to a keyboard.
I have very strong muscle memory, which isn’t a problem adjusting between controller and keyboard, since my hand is in a very different position for each. The mouse would be a bigger problem since my hand is in the same position on it whether I’m using the controller or keyboard. The setup you see allows me pretty much ZERO adaptation time needed when switching between controller and keyboard.
The reason why I use alt is because I can just roll my thumb between the spacebar and the alt key. If I left ctrl as crouch, I would have to curl my pinky in far enough that I’d be hitting the crouch key with the back of my pinky fingernail. I can’t see how anyone would find that comfortable.
As for 5 button being heavier that 3 button, why would that be the case? It’s not like those two extra button are made of lead or anything. If it is heavier, it’s because the company decided to make it heavier. Mine is actually a microsoft mouse that I ordered from newegg. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826105183 it’s actually a lot lighter than some of the other mice, but it’s still got enough weight that it doesn’t feel like I’m going to break it just by squeezing it.

By: Ade

Ade — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:55:55 +0000

Hmm, feels like something’s missing from the second pic. Also, aren’t 5 button mice heavier than the 3 button ones?
But it gave me an idea, my bf can’t use crouch much because it’s not in the corner, the laptop has Fn (function number) and then crouch, so to reach that with the pinky means having a crooked hand ) maybe Alt could work
Ok, I changed all my weapons binding to be closer to the movement ones, though the xbow is on x, right under the move backward button, hopefully it won’t cause too much damage in-game, other than that, I got used to them pretty quickly (to my surprise!): 1 to 5 are the same first weapons, 6=slam, 7=rpg, x=xbow, c=357, v=ar2 and b=stunstick, I think. Also, switched the flashlight (now g) with g gun (now f) cus sometimes I was accidentally flashin for no reason.. Now I turn the flashlight on very often, but should solve in a week or so
And I’m gonna keep all these bindings, the results were almost the same in some cases in MP, cus my aim is the same and my movement suffered only a bit. Damn I’m good )
Thx PP for this challenge, didn’t have the courage to try these out til now!

By: planetphillip

planetphillip — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 08:51:09 +0000

Grey Acumen has kindly sent images of his keybindings. Here they are:

By: planetphillip

planetphillip — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 05:27:17 +0000

Depends on your personal preferences.

By: SteveUK

SteveUK — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 00:00:44 +0000

The Call of Duty series of games uses F for USE, so using that isn’t too much to ask…

By: Planetary

Planetary — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 03:54:12 +0000

I use Valve’s default for everything.
Except in TF2, I have voice bound to mouse3 (mousewheel clicking) instead of V, so I can talk while aiming/shooting and alt is scripted to be a panic button. (Spin around fast and attack when held down)

Since I’m on a laptop, with no numpad, options for any fancy configs are much more limited anyway.

By: Jordan

Jordan — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 02:32:44 +0000

Sense i ussaly play Smod tactical alot i changed it to tab, and it was alot easyier, expeccialy picking up grenades and throwing em back

By: Jasper

Jasper — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:11:58 +0000

Old habits die hard.
Failed and do not want to do it again!
Picked ‘Countdown to destruction’ because it’s easy.
Changed LH mouse to move forward and enter for primary fire – this is what my much better half uses. I know, I do not understand it either. Probably a left over habit from Doom or Quake.
Died lots, Did not make it to the rocket. Gave up. Bother!

By: bobdog

bobdog — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:50:27 +0000

I forgot — I do slide my keyboard about 4 inches to the left when I play with this setup. This gives my arms a more natural extension, rather than being cramped together near the mouse.

By: bobdog

bobdog — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:48:46 +0000

I think as long as your hands are comfortable and you can reach all the appropriate keys without having to move your hand and reset it, it’s all good!

By: Ade

Ade — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:53:44 +0000

Yea, noticed that Phillip’s combination makes impossible to strafe left and duck at the same time and I think that is important, if you wanna make a quick exit through a small hole, but still fire at the enemy.. Also, the angle thing is very normal, some keyboards come that way, angled for each hand, so it’s understandable to angle a straight keyboard, I do that, too
I also have the basic key bindings, because some of them are standard in so many games, and even though lately I’ve been true to hl, I’ve gotten used to these.. Tried a few weeks ago to bind jump to scroll, man, that was hard! The point was that you could have 6-8 chances to jump per a whole scroll, rather than tapping the space key, but it was sooo weird.. But I AM gonna change sumthin: the weapons. No more 5 5 5 for slams, 2 2 for magnum followed by click, will place all of them on their own key and.. see how that fails, ahem, goes :S
And nobody should feel weird, I’ve seen a LOT of combos that just made no sense to me, but if the player is used to them or became a better player by changing them that way, then.. fine by me
I think basically you need to: 1.be able to move (but advanced means more than 4 directions: shift+fwd+left/right+space, immediately followed by crouch) and fire (or reload or change weapon) at the same time, or 2.charge (use key) and move a bit and fire at the same time, but this one isn’t common, not too many chargers are placed in fight areas. Anyone got any more rules?

By: bobdog

bobdog — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 01:40:20 +0000

Yup, QWERTY, although my new keyboard is more rectangular than my old one, and I do sometimes hit the WINDOWS key when I’m trying to hit the ALT key — very embarrassing when I’m playing L4D and go AWOL….

Basically, I’ve got two levels of keys that I can reach easily with my left hand, and because I have the forward key bound to my right mouse button, I’m able to duck, run, jump or go side-to-side easily. I do give my left pinky quite the workout though, as it is responsible for 7 bindings.

By: Olrick

Olrick — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 21:19:59 +0000

My binding allows me to keep my left hand allways at the same place, except for tag, flashlight, save/load and screenshot.

Arrows to move
Rigth ctrl to jump
Right shift to duck
Enter to use
KP_ins (0) to reload
* to run or walk
Left mouse to primary fire
Right mouse to secondary fire
Middle mouse to gravity gun (reload in HL1)
Mouse wheel to next/previous weapon
F6 to save
F7 to load
F to flashlight

In HL2:
ù to zoom and $ to squad commands

Keep to mind that I have an european keyboard.

For this challenge I try to bind the use key at E and weel… I tagged many buttons due to proximity of T key and hint Enter several time with no results.

Finally I think I will try to angle the keyboard.

By: confused

confused — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:25:38 +0000

Yep looks perfect to me!