Arrow keys or w,a,s,d keys?

Re: Arrow keys or w,a,s,d keys?

WASD is clearly the superior config. It's right in amongst the rest of the keys, so if there are any other functions you need binding you dont have to stretch your fingers any further than the next key. It's far less clumsy than the classic but outdated arrow keys config.



I'm left handed and i still use the mouse with my right hand and WASD with my left, it just seemed natural. I've only ever seen one left handed person use the mouse left handed and it looked bloody awkward.

I am a very good player and use the arrow keys. I used to be a WASD player, but actually prefer arrow keys.

There are enough keys around the arrow keys to access everything I need, provided you have atleast a 3 button mouse (with wheel) and two side buttons.

I also prefer the arrow keys, because the keys that are nested around it, are nicely organized. YOu have your six keys right above, the whole numpad to use, and then enter, shift, cntrl etc on the left which are nice large keys.

BUT, I do think WASD has a huge ergonomical advantage over arrow keys. Your arms will be right in front of you, and not all the way on the right. To combat this, i move my keyboard all the way to the right, so my arrow keys are all the way where the WASD would usually be.

Guys, its useless arguing whose setup is more effecient. It all comes down to preference. Some athletes like to use titantium golf clubs, while others prefer steel or aluminum. Its how you use your tools to get the job done, and not the tools doing it for u.

Re: Arrow keys or w,a,s,d keys?

WASD is clearly the superior config. It's right in amongst the rest of the keys, so if there are any other functions you need binding you dont have to stretch your fingers any further than the next key. It's far less clumsy than the classic but outdated arrow keys config.

unless you're left handed and dont want to use the num pad i see no point in using the arrow keys, i used them for MOHAA and it made me do horible at Bf2 for the first couple weeks i played it because i wasnt used to WASD.

I'm left handed and i still use the mouse with my right hand and WASD with my left, it just seemed natural. I've only ever seen one left handed person use the mouse left handed and it looked bloody awkward.

Re: Arrow keys or w,a,s,d keys?

unless you're left handed and dont want to use the num pad i see no point in using the arrow keys, i used them for MOHAA and it made me do horible at Bf2 for the first couple weeks i played it because i wasnt used to WASD.

[DeadCRAP_]

Re: Arrow keys or w,a,s,d keys?

ty soo much for turning my thread into the jerry springer show...

[WolfAlmighty]

Re: Arrow keys or w,a,s,d keys?

I am sorry, but this is BS. Unless I put my hands in a very uncomfortable position (which would totally gimp my ability to move around effectively), there is no way i can hit \ (your prone, correct?) without moving my hand (and I have fairly large hands). From the comfortable position, I have to move my wrist a good two inches to reach the '/.' My setup, I can hit all 18 of those keys even if my wrist were locked down. You HAVE to move to reach the / key.

I'm sorry, but no, it's not. My pinkie rests on the Enter key, so it's just one quick key up to hit prone, no hand movement required, and it by no means gimps my ability to move around effectively. (BTW, I have nothing mapped to forward slash; prone is backslash, but I'm guessing you just mixed up your slashes in the last two instances.)

But really "instense firefight" is not the only time you need to be able to access things quickly, or where accessing them quickly doesn't give you a distinct edge. Such as switching positions in a vehicle, i have immediate access to that.

As do I. Gunner postion is mouse 4, driver is mouse 5 (that's for land vehicles, since I fly air vehicles using the joystick).

Being able to open a parachute instantly IS quite an advantage.

Well yes, which is why I mapped it to the largest key on the keyboard, since generally when I need my parachute it's because I've just bailed out of a jet or heli and CBA to find the 9 key or some other dinky key on the keyboard and I need to hammer the biggest one there is, which is spacebar. I almost never need to use my parachute when on foot unless I'm jumping off of a building in which case it's really not that hard to move over to spacebar (and half the time the damn parachute doesn't open anyway :laugh: ).

VOIP is of great importance,

Agreed, which is why I have it mapped to apostrophe, again, one key away from my pinkie.

as is being able to choose any weapon instantly (which I imagine you must use your wheel for OR you have to move your hand).

Nope, wrong again. The exception being things like AT rockets or defibs for which I use my wheel. Otherwise, mouse 4 is pistol, mouse 5 is rifle/switch modes, and KP0/Insert is knife (one key away, no hand movement required).

Seriously, do what you like, but there is no way that you can argue that using some isolated keys that require hand movement to reach almost any other key (while almost completely removing the thumb from the equation and not having any keys immediately under it) is just as good as having all the keys you need right at your fingertips.

Actually, I can argue that and I just did in fact. Just because something works well for you doesn't mean it's the setup that everyone should use. I'm sorry to hear that you cannot fathom anyone being able to successfully play using a keyboard setup other than yours, but unfortunately that's the way life goes sometimes. I've used this same setup for over 900 hours and I can hit any key I want any time I want without hitting a wrong key, etc. so trust me, it's perfectly viable, desipte what you may think. But I do appreciate your letting me do what I like. Mighty thoughtful of ya.

~Wolfgang

[DeadCRAP_]

Re: Arrow keys or w,a,s,d keys?

heres my keys agin...

Arrow keys for movment
middle mouse button to prone
space bar to jump
left mouse button to fire
right mouse button to look down ironsights
caps lock for squad things
enter for spawnpoint stuff
right shift for sprint
e to enter vehicles

Re: Arrow keys or w,a,s,d keys?

All of which I can do without shifting my hand an inch.

I am sorry, but this is BS. Unless I put my hands in a very uncomfortable position (which would totally gimp my ability to move around effectively), there is no way i can hit \ (your prone, correct?) without moving my hand (and I have fairly large hands). From the comfortable position, I have to move my wrist a good two inches to reach the '/.' My setup, I can hit all 18 of those keys even if my wrist were locked down. You HAVE to move to reach the / key.

If ever the day came where I'd need to have access to 18 different keys in an intense firefight situation I'd worry a hell of a lot more about my brain's ability to handle it all than my fingers and hand.

At first it is a bit confusing. However, I don't think about any of it now. . . it is all automatic. But really "instense firefight" is not the only time you need to be able to access things quickly, or where accessing them quickly doesn't give you a distinct edge. Such as switching positions in a vehicle, i have immediate access to that. Being able to open a parachute instantly IS quite an advantage. VOIP is of great importance, as is being able to choose any weapon instantly (which I imagine you must use your wheel for OR you have to move your hand).

Seriously, do what you like, but there is no way that you can argue that using some isolated keys that require hand movement to reach almost any other key (while almost completely removing the thumb from the equation and not having any keys immediately under it) is just as good as having all the keys you need right at your fingertips.

[WolfAlmighty]

Re: Arrow keys or w,a,s,d keys?

The advantage comes from the fact that I have access to 18 keys without shifting my hand position at all. I can hit any of these buttons instantly, you have to shift and then press to get to most of your keys. It may only be a tenth of a second slower, but that is a lot in an FPS. On top of that, I don't know how you can have access to 18 keys at all from that position without MORE than a shift and an actually movement of your hand.

There are no buttons immediately adjacent to the arrow keys. There are 11 keys immediately adjacent to UHJK. Not only that, but with your hand on the arrow keys, there are no buttons immediately under the natural position of the thumb, I have 3 under there. How can you not see the advantage of that?

Simple - I don't need 18 keys to be able to play this game, and I honestly don't see why you would, either. I mean, in a firefight, which is really where you'll need the most quickness and where that extra .1 seconds will matter, how often are you going to need to be VoIPing your commander, or using your parachute, etc.? You'll need to move, reload, prone/crouch, jump (well not so much anymore I guess), aim/zoom, and fire. All of which I can do without shifting my hand an inch. I can also pick up a kit, enter a vehicle, spot/request medic/support/ammo/repairs/whatever else while keeping my hand in the exact same position. What other keys do you need, TBH? Sure, you have access to more keys than I do, but since those keys are either non-critical or not used at all, how exactly is that an advantage at all? That's like saying you have an advantage of jumping three feet higher than me but both of us can reach up and touch the ceiling without needing to jump at all. If ever the day came where I'd need to have access to 18 different keys in an intense firefight situation I'd worry a hell of a lot more about my brain's ability to handle it all than my fingers and hand. :p

~Wolfgang

Re: Arrow keys or w,a,s,d keys?

WASD 4 lyfe.

Re: Arrow keys or w,a,s,d keys?

Middle finger on W
The two Others on A and D
The Thumg on the space bar
The little Finger on the Ctrl or Shift

Re: Arrow keys or w,a,s,d keys?

Really? Like what? Okay, yes, I have to move my hand off of them to go grab my joystick when I hop in a jet, or when I want to type out a message to the team, but otherwise, when exactly do I have to move them off of the arrow keys? In 930 hours I have yet to find such an example. Care to elabourate?

I can hit y, i, o, l, ;, ,, m, n, b, v, c, b, g, f, t, rightwin, rightalt, space all without shifting my hand position at all. That's 18 keys.

From the arrow keys, I can hit Ctl, shift and 0 and 1 on the num pad allowing similar hand shifting. That's 4 buttons vs 18. I use everything single one of those 18 keys all the time. Maybe 2 of those 18 I don't need such quick access to, but it is nice just the same.

As have I, and I don't see what distinct disadvantage you're referring to. Unless you're saying me having my hand on the arrow keys instead of WASD is what's giving me lag, connection problems, causing the servers to crash and also accounts for random bullet deviation, of course.

~Wolfgang

The advantage comes from the fact that I have access to 18 keys without shifting my hand position at all. I can hit any of these buttons instantly, you have to shift and then press to get to most of your keys. It may only be a tenth of a second slower, but that is a lot in an FPS. On top of that, I don't know how you can have access to 18 keys at all from that position without MORE than a shift and an actually movement of your hand.

There are no buttons immediately adjacent to the arrow keys. There are 11 keys immediately adjacent to UHJK. Not only that, but with your hand on the arrow keys, there are no buttons immediately under the natural position of the thumb, I have 3 under there. How can you not see the advantage of that?

Re: Arrow keys or w,a,s,d keys?

I got really screwed up using wasd. My pointer finger would always go to the "f" for home row. once I lift my hand off the keyboard, my habit from typing would find the "f" key and I'd be messed up in a firefight- So I had to learn something new. Crazy, but I swap my mouse to the other side of the keyboard and use my left hand for the mouse and all my infantry controls in the 10 key!

Num5: fwd
Num4: left
Num:6 right
Num:2 back

Num8: enter/exit vehicle
Num7: reload
Num0: prone
NumEnter:crouch
right arrow: jump

PgDown: talk
pgUP: Commander talk
Home: main radio
End: secondary radio

other arrow keys: Camera views
spacebar: parachute

Re: Arrow keys or w,a,s,d keys?

Ok i dont know if everybodys sick of hearing other ppl controlls yet but I have to throw mine in I think its great. I am a right hand mouse user and wasd all the way so on to it my mouse

-left btn=fire
-right btn=zoom
-mid btn=main wepon
-side scroll left=grenades/GL/at rocket(i like this one)
-side scroll right=pistol
-default internet back btn=voip
and 2 btn under mmb for sensitivity more for tank less for sniper
if I click my mmb while my main is out it switches firing modes

-wasd=normal movment
-q=comma rose
-e=enter/exit
-r=reload
-f=weapon 5 (helth pach/ammo pack,clay,mines,c4)
-g=pickup kit
-z=prone
-c=weapon 6 (difibs)
-x=starts fraps recording
-v=fraps screenshot
-b=switch views
-rt alt=ptt teamspeak/vent
-lt alt=parachute
-spc bar=jump
-lt shift=run
-lft ctl=crouch

[WolfAlmighty]

Re: Arrow keys or w,a,s,d keys?

I don't mean to be arrogant (okay, maybe I do :)) but if you are using the arrow keys you have to move your fingers off of them to do certain things.

Really? Like what? Okay, yes, I have to move my hand off of them to go grab my joystick when I hop in a jet, or when I want to type out a message to the team, but otherwise, when exactly do I have to move them off of the arrow keys? In 930 hours I have yet to find such an example. Care to elabourate?

You have to move your hand, while my hand does not move, I just do a quick finger press.

Again, no, I don't. I have to move my fingers off of one button to press another just like you do, but the hand itself doesn't have to move at all, barring the few instances I mention above. Oh yeah, I have to move it every now and again to adjust my mic if my squadmates can't quite hear me. Forgot that one earlier.

Believe me, I have been playing FPS since wolfenstein. I have tried a million different setups and using the arrow keys puts you at a distinct disadvantage.

As have I, and I don't see what distinct disadvantage you're referring to. Unless you're saying me having my hand on the arrow keys instead of WASD is what's giving me lag, connection problems, causing the servers to crash and also accounts for random bullet deviation, of course.

~Wolfgang

Re: Arrow keys or w,a,s,d keys?

w - middle finger
a - ring finger
d - pointer finger
s - middle finger
space (jump) - thumb
left ctrl (crouch) - pinky
z (prone) - middle finger
left shift (sprint) - pinky