Poll: Screw WADS

[vivster]

what i know from my experience is that most people just don't care about resetting their buttons and always take the default layout
that's why it's so big
not because it is good(which it isn't) but most people are used to it(aka too lazy to remap)

since i started gaming the first thing i always did was exploring all options including the keys and i always put them the way i like for me
i get a lot of shit for using the arrow keys and the numpad for hotkeys
and i'm majorly screwed if a game doesn't support the numpad
but that's how it is and how it will never change

 

[RicoGrey]

Back when I gamed often(having kids takes your gaming from "almost daily" to "those few hours on Friday, when the kids are at their grandmas, but only if I do not have any other obligations to get to")...

...back when I gamed often I used a "Merc Stealth Keyboard". It had exactly what you are talking about. A full qwerty keyboard, yet to the left it is extended and has the WASD keys setup as fairly large arrow buttons, along with a whole mess of other keys you would use for gaming. It was great for a person like me who was stuck between casual and hardcore. You know, the type of player who wanted a serious gaming session yet at the same time gaming was not the main part of my life. Also all the keys were lit up, so it made playing in the dark very very easy.

Now, I use a wireless logitch keyboard/mouse combo that was very cheap, or I use an xbox 360 controller. The aiming is very wonky on the controller, but I find most FPSes to be fully playable at a reduced difficulty setting.

EDIT: I should also note, that the main motivation for getting such a keyboard arose from both playing in the dark and have very large hands/fingers.

 

[Fishyash]

ESDF>WASD.

Okay I am just kidding. The option should be there (and it usually is), and if there isn't, you can probably do well with a joypad instead since most games that involve wasd movement either do well enough or better than using a keyboard/mouse.

 

[killakan11]

we are the gamming master race, we need not your crazy ideas

 

[microhive]

Of course I would like a better alternative if there was a better alternative.

 

[DracoSuave]

The problem with the -idea- of a symmetrical arrow key system is that your hand is not symmetrical. The keyboard placement IS designed ergonomically.

Mind you, I have years of touch-typing experience....

 

[Continuity]

I find WASD controls problematic because they are so unbelievably commonplace almost to the point of an unmodifiable standard. If it were easier to get your fingers oriented around WASD buttons from touch I wouldnt have nearly the issues.

So, It got me to thinking that a solution for this would be to modify keyboards. If you moved the arrow keys to the left side of a gaming keyboard and make a more ergonomic 1 hand control layout around that set of arrow keys, it would alleviate many issues that are created with WASD configurations like tying up text capabilities with movement mapping

TL;DR: Would you use a keyboard with a specialized set of control keys to the left of the letter keys if available, over standardized WASD controls?

Edit:

Read before quoting

Im sorry I find this pretty redundant. WSAD controls are absolutely fine once you get used to them, a matter of playing one or two games through. I have zero problems with WSAD myself, infact there is a very good reason that WSAD has become standard => its the best option plain and simple (I say this having personally started out with other control schemes back in the mid 90's).

If you're having trouble finding the keys then you are simply making the mistake of taking your fingers off of them in the first place, you should only be moving one finger off at a time for example to hit "r" to reload, the other fingers stay on the keys so returning your index finger back to D is perfunctory.

Basically its the same as any other control scheme, it takes some learning and getting used to... believe me learning a 360 controller is no less hardwork for a PC gamer than learning WSAD is for a console gamer.

 

[pegi989]

i grew up with games that you needed to play with the arrow buttons and my other hand was on the spacebar shift and ctrl but that was because they where 2d like jazz jackrabbit 2 (still my fave game)now a day's i just WASD on my merc stealth keyboard and the other hand on the mouse and i would not have it any other way

 

[Canadamus Prime]

TL;DR: Would you use a keyboard with a specialized set of control keys to the left of the letter keys if available, over standardized WASD controls?

Edit:

Read before quoting

There are. That's what gaming keyboards are for.

 

[bl4ckh4wk64]

Eh, it just takes time to get used to WASD, I might try out a newer keyboard to see if it's easier for me to use, but for now I'll stick to WASD. It's actually quite comfortable. Besides, in most games you shouldn't be talking while moving. Save that for when you're in cover, or just buy a mic.

 

[Kuhnaydeein]

Feds is far superior: left hand rests on the home row, with index finger on the nub of the "F" key, access to many more keys, the shift, caps lock, modifier keys and number keys are all in standard locations... How "Wads" ever even cought on is beyond me.

 

[repeating integers]

YES!

Fuck WASD. It feels so unnatural, so clunky to move with it. Gives you about 8 directions to move in. I know I can use the mouse to point, but compared to the stick combo on the Xbox controller it feels... the opposite of smooth, and primitive.

Also, "do you want a better alternative" is a bit of a poorly worded question. Even if something is brilliant, if there is an alternative to it that is better, of course people are going to want it.

 

[Alade]

Yeah, I practiced and perfected my keyboard usage over the use just to start learning all over again, that sounds like a good idea.

 

[tehbeard]

The suggestion of adding yet more keys reminds me of this XKCD comic.

http://xkcd.com/927/

 

[ZeroMachine]

Ever since the first day I used WASD, I thought it was so hilariously simple. I mean, I just got a new laptop after having a laptop that couldn't do shit for a couple years, and yet I can instantly pick up the control scheme again. I honestly never understood the problem with it.

 

[Riobux]

I find WASD controls problematic because they are so unbelievably commonplace almost to the point of an unmodifiable standard. If it were easier to get your fingers oriented around WASD buttons from touch I wouldnt have nearly the issues.

I can't help but think the issue is with you, not with the control scheme. It's common place to the point that not getting used to it is borderline impossible.

 

[thenumberthirteen]

I use a special gaming Keypad (the <url=http://www.logitech.com/keyboards/keyboard/devices/5123>Logitech G13 if you must know), and that's far more comfortable to use than my keyboard since it's designed to fit the hand perfectly, and my keyboard is ergonomic which is great for typing, but not so good for gaming.

WASD is good, and lots of people like it and use it. Those who have a problem should change key bindings (ALL PC games should let you fully customise controls), or get one of the many gaming peripheral alternatives that have been mentioned so far.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

I don't understand why WASD is any different from the arrow keys...apart from the symbols printed on them *le puzzled*

:|

 

[thenumberthirteen]

EDIT: Upon looking, it seems that Razer has picked up the Nostromo product name and is continuing production. ( http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004AM5RB6/ ) If I get pulled in to SW:TOR, I may have to look at my budget about replacing my old Belkin.

No. You will beg borrow and steal to buy one of these MoFos

http://www.everythingusb.com/images/list/razer_star_wars_old_republic_keyboard_full.jpg

No idea when they come out, or how much they'll cost (considering they are full of LEDs and Mini LCD displays I would imagine a lot), but you have to agree that thing is badass.

EDIT: That trackpad is also a display, and the buttons above it are also displays that bind to your equipped powers automatically. I got to have a go with TOR (though not using that bad boy), and I found it to be quite fun. granted it took me a while to acclimatise to the controls as I'm not an MMO player, and knew nothing about my character or the abilities going in.

 

[Smooth Operator]

If I wanted a different input device I would buy one yes, but the default typing stance and WASD fit very nicely so I got no need for it.

And no one is in any way limited by choice of controllers on PC's, so spread your wings a little and find what you like.