Hard Light Productions Forums
General FreeSpace => FreeSpace Discussion => Topic started by: Higher Game on May 29, 2007, 01:49:35 pm
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Is it just me, or does this game involve far, far too much mouse picking up? It literally hurts my hand. When I'm in a dogfight and I have to constantly move in the same direction, I have to keep picking up the mouse, replacing it, moving it in the same direction, and it goes on for as long as a minute or so. Often, I simply can't keep up with the computer and I die because I can't turn as quickly as he can. It's so much more comfortable to use the keyboard controls, but I can't aim well when I do that.
Is there any way to make the mouse simply constantly go a single direction until I'm finished? I'm sick of the terrible default controls.
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One (compound) word: joystick
Make the game more fun, too.
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Is it just me, or does this game involve far, far too much mouse picking up? It literally hurts my hand. When I'm in a dogfight and I have to constantly move in the same direction, I have to keep picking up the mouse, replacing it, moving it in the same direction, and it goes on for as long as a minute or so. Often, I simply can't keep up with the computer and I die because I can't turn as quickly as he can. It's so much more comfortable to use the keyboard controls, but I can't aim well when I do that.
Is there any way to make the mouse simply constantly go a single direction until I'm finished? I'm sick of the terrible default controls.
It's being worked on. I'm a mouse + keyboard guy, so I'll try to make sure it gets done.
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sizzler's right. joystick's the only way to play
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Nah, lots play with mouse. The darn joystick I have (X45) is so big, it's silly trying to change directions. I suppose it's the sensitivity is too low... I have the dumb thing hauled all the way to the bottom for full upwards pitch, then the enemy reverses directions, and I have to move the stick about a foot to change to full down... meantime, he's pulled a hard left. Sucks. Mouse, I twitch my wrist (I play with sensitivity all the way up), and I'm turning with him. Then I have to pick it up, and I lose the shot. :mad:
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I'm kind of on the fence. There are times when I want to really sink into the game, totally immerse myself. That's when I pop on the surround-sound headphones, break out the joystick (FFB2, BEAST of a joystick), and ask my wife if there's anything she plans on telling me in the next 3 hours (she understands: she's a gamer too). Sometimes I just want to kick some Shivans for half an hour, and that's when I play with the mouse.
For mouse players, some suggestions:
Get a hi-res, hi-sensitivity mouse. 1000 DPI is bare minimum. I highly recommend the Razer mice. I've been using them since the ball and 2 wheel days, and they're fantastic. There are a lot of gaming mice on the market now, though, so you've got options. You're looking for something between 1k-2.5k DPI (yes, you can still find dense core 2.5k DPI ball mice if you do some hunting, and they are still more accurate than most optical mice).
Learn to play with your fingertips. With resolution and sensitivity cranked, you should be able to rest the heel of your hand on the desk, your fingers resting on the mouse, and move the mouse purely with the motion of your fingers. You should be able to do a full 360 without lifting your hand. This style of control takes a LOT of practice to get used to, but once you do, you'll never go back to full-arm mousing again.
Individual preferences vary, but I find I need a *heavy* mouse. Many gaming mice have adjustable weight systems. This feature will cost ya plenty extra and the weight is almost always on the back end (not evenly distributed across the mouse) which can lead to accuracy issues. If you're the DIY type (which I am), there's a cheaper and better solution.
First, get a tester mouse, of the same tracking mechanism (ball or optical) as your preferred gaming mouse. The magic word here is CHEAP: you can get a mouse of either type for $5 or less, and that's what you're looking for. This is your "practice" mouse, the one you're going to modify first to make sure you've got the process down before touching your $50-120 dream clicker.
If your mouse of choice is a little on the flimsy side, open it up. You'll find that there's a LOT of empty space inside it. Once you've undone the screws, you'll find that the shell of the mouse is in two pieces: generally a top, rounded shell with the buttons and wheel and a bottom plate with the electronics. Don't worry: we're not messing with the buttons or circuit board.
Most hardware stores sell metal joint compound. The package should have two tubes with one nozzle and a plunger on the back. This stuff is HEAVY, nonmagnetic and nonconductive, and thick enough when you initially apply it that it stays where you put it.
Take a look inside the top half of your disassembled mouse. There should be some areas clear of all moving parts and electronics(at least 5mm). Put the two halves of the shell back together to make sure you've got a good idea of the areas that remain clear when the mouse is reassembled. There should be quite a lot of it: most modern mice are mostly empty space. We're going to fill a little bit of that space up.
When you've got a good idea of your safe surfaces on the inside of the mouse, it's time to grab your tools. You will need:
heavy and medium-grade sandpaper
a glass basin of hot water
a sponge
a cheap plastic fine-tooth comb (rat-tail works best)
the metal joint compound
Start by abrading the clear surfaces with the medium grade sandpaper, THEN a quick scuff with the heavy. This creates a good, uneven surface for your compound to grab. Apply a small blob of the compound (about the size of a pea) in the center of each area and spread it with the comb. You may need to bend the comb to get the angle right. After the compound is spread, rake it once in each direction (vertial, horizontal) with the comb. This will provide a good working surface if you find you need to repeat the process to add more weight. This is a process of fine adjustment, and little differences can have a drastic effect on how the mouse feels.
Use the tail on the comb to clean out excess compound in the mixing tube (the little part at the end where the two tubes meet). Clean the comb with the sponge and hot water.
Allow the compound to set. Depending on the brand and type this may be anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours. Reassemble the mouse and give it a test drive. You may find that it's not yet heavy enough: repeat this process as necessary.
Experiment. You may find you like your mouse with the weight centered at the rear, distributed along the sides, etc. I prefer mine weighted a little to the left to off-set the natural bend of the wrist, but that's just me.
Once you've got a good idea of exactly how heavy you like your mouse, you're ready to try it out on the real thing.
Congratulations. You just learned how to make a professional quality gaming mouse out of something you picked up from Best Buy.
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I've got a wireless optical mouse, since it has 2AA bateries, its quite heavy. Also, I sometimes try and use the numpad and the mouse at the same time, but then you can't always get to your afterburner or other controls quickly.
It seems a light mouse is best for constant wrist flicking, but I don't know much about mice of either sort, so...
The wierd thing is, if you move the mouse really fast, then your ship hardly turns at all, so I guess that some speed of movement skill is required.
Of course a joystick is best for long play, but I'm not a good aimer with it.
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While it really doesn't solve the problem that you're having, to echo what's been said in this thread by a couple people, Flight sims will always have problems when being played with a mouse for the same reason why planes aren't controlled by a mouse: A mouse is not an effective tool to control a vehicle in such an environment
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This was the perfect fix: http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,44634.0.html (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,44634.0.html)
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A joystick is the only way I can play. I recommend an inexpensive stick, like a Saitek. The Flight Control System is overkill.
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It has to be the right Joystick though, I've used Joysticks that were far too 'serial' feeling to be used on FreeSpace, much like the mouse controls are now, the only real advantage a Joystick gives you is the ease of z-axis rolling.
I know as a fact that this is on the list of things to do for the SCP.
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Is there any way to make the mouse simply constantly go a single direction until I'm finished?
"bank left", "backward pitch", "bank right", three mouse buttons, go figure. :)
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Is there any way to make the mouse simply constantly go a single direction until I'm finished?
"bank left", "backward pitch", "bank right", three mouse buttons, go figure. :)
I think he wants freelancerish controls.
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lolkeyboardkthxbai
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Just go get a trackball mouse... I've used a USB Logitech TrackMan Marble+
for years and years (12) and it still works.
Plus, you can out turn a joystick user with enough thumb action :D
Works quite well on flying toasters too...
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I just use a keyboard...
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Mouse and Keyboard FTW!
And yeah i know what you mean, thread-starter. But iv gotten good at it. I dont think its that much of a problem.
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As soon as scripting builds go standard, we'll be all set, as someone has made a mod for them that enables mouse-as-joystick.
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When FS2 first came out, i couldnt stop playing it , and kept using my joystick until my wrist was friggin aching..
..........
wait a sec......that sounded a little off.... :nervous:
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It's not that difficult to moe a hand over to the num pad for a few seconds, is it? The num pad automatically uses the max speed you can for maneuvering in any possible direction. Unless you're on a laptop, you SHOULD have a num pad. You know? That little thing that looks like a calculator on the right side of your keyboard?
Here's the default layout for the controls:
3 = up
4 = left
6 = right
7 = rotate left
8 = down
9 = rotate right
Correct me if I'm wrong, but those work for me. I use the num pad for turning towards anything not directly in my HUD.
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:welcome:
Yeah, I've used that too, but it moves your non-mouse hand away from your controls all the way to the right side of the keyboard. BTW, for laptop users, AFAIK you can get a pretty cheap USB numpad at Wal-Mart.
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Yeah, I've used that too, but it moves your non-mouse hand away from your controls all the way to the right side of the keyboard.
I have just spent the last ten minutes NOT making a joke about that statement...
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Ummm... I'll bite, what?
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It's not that difficult to moe a hand over to the num pad for a few seconds, is it? The num pad automatically uses the max speed you can for maneuvering in any possible direction. Unless you're on a laptop, you SHOULD have a num pad. You know? That little thing that looks like a calculator on the right side of your keyboard?
Here's the default layout for the controls:
3 = up
4 = left
6 = right
7 = rotate left
8 = down
9 = rotate right
Correct me if I'm wrong, but those work for me. I use the num pad for turning towards anything not directly in my HUD.
A little off.
2 = Up
4 = Left
6 = Right
8 = Down
7 = Barrel Left
9 = Barrel Right
Ctrl = Make bad guys go away
Spacebar = Make bad guys go away faster
Tab = Run like hell
X = For when they press Spacebar
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Is it just me, or does this game involve far, far too much mouse picking up? It literally hurts my hand. When I'm in a dogfight and I have to constantly move in the same direction, I have to keep picking up the mouse, replacing it, moving it in the same direction, and it goes on for as long as a minute or so. Often, I simply can't keep up with the computer and I die because I can't turn as quickly as he can. It's so much more comfortable to use the keyboard controls, but I can't aim well when I do that.
Is there any way to make the mouse simply constantly go a single direction until I'm finished? I'm sick of the terrible default controls.
There's a script that lets you do this. (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,44634.0.html) However, the scripting road can be somewhat thorny and narrow. Right now, that build is old enough that it may not work with Beyond the Red Line or other campaigns that require 3.6.9. On the other hand, the newer builds have the corrupting-pilotfile code in them.
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It's not that difficult to moe a hand over to the num pad for a few seconds, is it? The num pad automatically uses the max speed you can for maneuvering in any possible direction. Unless you're on a laptop, you SHOULD have a num pad. You know? That little thing that looks like a calculator on the right side of your keyboard?
Here's the default layout for the controls:
3 = up
4 = left
6 = right
7 = rotate left
8 = down
9 = rotate right
Correct me if I'm wrong, but those work for me. I use the num pad for turning towards anything not directly in my HUD.
I used (Before I got a joystick working) the same config, and then used my mouse for the more precise manouvres.
A little off.
2 = Up
4 = Left
6 = Right
8 = Down
7 = Barrel Left
9 = Barrel Right
Ctrl = Make bad guys go away
Spacebar = Make bad guys go away faster
Tab = Run like hell
X = For when they press Spacebar
Shift+/ = make bad guys go away so fast they never return
. = make bad guys go away in a different style
Alt+J = the button you are never allowed to press.
???? = ejection (function not included, for unknown reasons...)