newbie to PC .... about the mouse and keyboard..

[QUOTE="FelipeInside"][QUOTE="Cranler"]wasd isnt much better than arrows. neither makes any sense

Cranler

Please enlighten us oh great one....

[QUOTE="UpInFlames"]

Experiment with multiple control setups. Try remapping keys liberally until you find what works for you best. WASD is not law. The first thing I do when I start up a game for the first time is remap almost everything (I use arrows, Right Shift, Right CTRL, Enter, Delete, KP_INS, etc.)

Remmib

I have plenty of keys and if I run out of keys, I map them to the mouse. Actually, I map as many to the mouse as possible to begin with.

There are some good suggestions here, but ultimately, you'll have to try a few, give each some time and do what helps you most because that differs on the person. You'll find eventually when you are on your computer, maybe just reading the site- you end up doing what I do, I have one hand on my mouse, (for navigating the site) and out of habit, I have my ring, middle and index fingers on a,w,d, you get so used to being there, you start doing it without realizing it. Plus keyboards like this one, it's a Razer Lycosa (gaming keyboard with backlighting), has anti ghosting which is helpful in PC gaming and it lets you choose if you only want to light the wsad keys, helpful to some newbies. Also, you can use mouse keys for some of the functions as some others have also mentioned, (I have a 17 button MMO mouse, but use it for all types of gaming Razer Naga), a fully programmable keyboard and fully programmable mouse (gaming grade) are always good options and helpful.

[QUOTE="Cranler"]

[QUOTE="Remmib"] You can't be serious. WASD gives you the ability to hit Tab, Caps, Shift, Ctrl, 1-6, Q, E, R, T, F, G, Z, X, C, Space. More than enough for more games.Remmib

You list all these far away keys but not v and b which are much closer. I can access just as many keys without taking my hand from the standard position.

I use tyhj. I would use yghj but my ringfiner is only a little more than a 1/4 inch shorter than my middle finger so its rests more comfortably on the same row. Your finger should rest on the main keys without any bending effort. With this I have an extra thumb key and lots of keys to the left with the pinky. This is a much more ergonomic and functional control scheme.

False. Lol TYHJ? There is your problem son, you have alien hands. I have been talking about ergonomics for human hands.

The pinky finger needs larger keys like Caps, Shift, and Ctrl due to its less accurate nature, and it prefers to move up and down seeing as that is the way the finger naturally curls.

5, 6, T, G are not 'stretches'...a stretch would be 7 or H...actually, yeah 6 is getting to be a stretch. You can easily keep your middle finger on W while using 5 to pull out a smoke grenade or whatever it is.

But there is really no point in using Shift, Ctrl or Alt, for bindings. Besides, Ctrl isn't easy to push even if you position your fingers on wasd. You also have those sometimes game breaking windows button to deal with, too. Those crash me buttons are always gathered around the Ctrl and Alt keys.

Plus ESDF gives you more access to the more keys... keys that you can't really reach from esdf. Such as easy access to G,V,T,5 and doable access to Y,H,B that you can reserve for things that you want to use less frequent, such as Health restore items or grenade types that you find in FEAR and Stalker. Pinky can also easily access A,Q,Z,CAPLOCK ,TAB, and Shift (although, you can't constantly hold down shift. You can constantly hold down A, though.)

[QUOTE="Cranler"]

[QUOTE="Remmib"] You can't be serious. WASD gives you the ability to hit Tab, Caps, Shift, Ctrl, 1-6, Q, E, R, T, F, G, Z, X, C, Space. More than enough for more games.Remmib

You list all these far away keys but not v and b which are much closer. I can access just as many keys without taking my hand from the standard position.

I use tyhj. I would use yghj but my ringfiner is only a little more than a 1/4 inch shorter than my middle finger so its rests more comfortably on the same row. Your finger should rest on the main keys without any bending effort. With this I have an extra thumb key and lots of keys to the left with the pinky. This is a much more ergonomic and functional control scheme.

False. Lol TYHJ? There is your problem son, you have alien hands. I have been talking about ergonomics for human hands.

The pinky finger needs larger keys like Caps, Shift, and Ctrl due to its less accurate nature, and it prefers to move up and down seeing as that is the way the finger naturally curls.

5, 6, T, G are not 'stretches'...a stretch would be 7 or H...actually, yeah 6 is getting to be a stretch. You can easily keep your middle finger on W while using 5 to pull out a smoke grenade or whatever it is.

wasd is easier to lear because of the position of u down left and right but most most would find the ringfinger more comfortable on the next row up. If you cant press the letter or number keys with your pinky then i guess you cant touch type either. My fingers move more comfortably horizontally when my hand is in the typing position

Sometimes I'm glad to be a leftie, must be damn annoying for your pinky to crouch in games where you can't toggle.

ventnor

[QUOTE="Jack_240"]

[QUOTE="FelipeInside"] I always use C for crouching....cause it's in a perfect comfortable reach and right beneath the WASD.... beneath = crouching :)FelipeInside

funny thing, i've changed the Ctrl 'crouch' to Q .

well, it's not weird if you have curved fingers like I do..LOL

@Threesixtyci- I know this is a late response, but I've been busy/gone, and just reading this thread again, and noticed you mentioned game breaking windows key problems, well, if you use a gaming keyboard (like from Razer for example) the windows key can be deactivated during gaming to prevent that otherwise common problem, it's been around for years now. The keyboard like I own Razer Lycosa has this feature and many others to suit PC gamers and take what would otherwise be common problems out of PC gaming. If you're interested in some of the features PC gaming keyboards offer- the Razer site is www.razerzone.com Fully programmable gaming keyboards and fully programmable gaming mice are really the only way to go if you're into PC gaming. The ability to customize is one of the primary (but not only!) draws to PC gaming. Can create different profiles on keyboards/mice (not required though, just an option) for different users or games for the same user, on the fly, macros - there's so much to PC gaming/accessories. They give you so much control and choice, but won't penalize you if you choose not to use it, and it's easy/user friendly and all my Razer products have lasted through heavy gaming and still in prime condition. Check out their site for information on any other problems you might have as they have addressed all common PC issues well, or feel free to PM me if you like. *Happy Gaming*

ok, I was going to convert to PC gaming if it wasn't for my blue screen of death. I hope it's over now. I'm now replaying Left 4 Dead 2 on the PC and I played it with a microsoft Xbox 360 controller at the time, but now I'm trying to adapt the mouse and keyboards.

my question is .. are there any simple tips for getting better at them?? I'm not used to them at all.

like there is one time in left 4 dead 2 I wanted to crouch and I had to press the Ctrl button and it was too far to reach. All my fingers were positioned as a typing position, if you know what I mean, and I couldn't do it.

sorry if it's kinda a long text but if there is anything plz share it with me and thank you in advance.

Jack_240

1st you need a good gaming mouse.

2nd learn to set the controls the way you like them because they will be different for each game

3rd when I play consoles I have to invert the vertical...so you going from console to pc you might have to invert the vertical.

Difficult to say how to improve playing on the mouse & keyboard except for to use it more often. Like anything, the more you do something the better you get. Your familiarity with the Xbox controller was learnt; the same is true of the keyboard. Personally I am vice versa: I'm still not particularly proficient with a controller but I'm pretty good with a mouse. :P

Edit; Gargh wait, someones resurrected this thread from 2010. Please don't do that! :(