wlj

i have been an exclusive console gamer all my life and just started playing PC games back in May when D3 was released. I ,of course, have been using mouse and keyboard for my dungeon crawlers (D3, Path of Exile, and Torchlight 2) However, I think it is time to learn how to play a FPS with a keyboard and mouse. I haven't been playing a lot of FPS this year, but what I have played I use my 360 controller with my laptop. I have always heard how kb/m is the most accurate way to play a FPS, so I want to learn. It feels VERY awkward to me right now, but hopefully with practice it will become second nature. Do any of you guys have any tips for me?

Noonan

Practice. Maybe pick a game you've already played through and go through it again using M/K to get used to it. Once you do, it'll be hard to go back to a controller for a FPS. The quickness you will have aiming with a mouse is on another level from what a controller can do.

Nausicaa

Adjust the mouse sensitivity until it is comfortable. Most games have it set too low by default, meaning you have to move the mouse quite a bit to look around. Up it so minor wrist movements result in 45 degree turns. This will go a long way making the experience better - mouse dragging sucks.

Practice in single player for a bit to get the hang of moving and tracking targets. It really is true that kb+m is far superior to a game pad. However if you jump right into MO BF3 or CS or something, you'll be eaten alive.

wlj

i have a "gaming mouse" -- the Razer Deathadder which I really like. It is very customizable and has a couple extra buttons on the side. You can also tweak the sensitivity of the mouse quite a bit. i want to say it is 3500 DPI...i could be wrong though. I don't even really know what that means.


it also has a pulsing blue light on it

covenant

I never could get good with a mouse. I use a trackball. Easier to move the ball with two fingers than the mouse with your wrist or whole arm.

wlj

that thing looks like HAL from 2001 Space Odyssey

AGuyNamedMike

Another vote for giving a trackball a try. I'm a mouse guy myself, but many of the very best FPS players I know personally use a trackball.

Krayzie

I was actually looking into replacing my mouse with a razer but I saw this today. It seems pretty questionable.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1323093/r...on-data-mining

Drexl

The DPI is essentially the sensitivity of the mouse. I have a Deathadder as well and the 1800 DPI is perfect for me, but the right DPI will depend on your screen resolution and how you move the mouse. For instance, some players like a very low DPI as they palm the mouse and move it a long ways with their arms.

I hadn't heard that about the Synapse. I don't install their software.

wlj

when you play FPS what do you have the 2 buttons on the side set to?



i like Razer's stuff. I have 3 devices from them. Deathadder, Nostromo, and Onza(360 controller) I have been happy with them all.

Kelkee

The KB setup I always used was:

R-SHIFT, Move Forward. (Use ring finger)
R-CTRL, Move Back. (Pinky)
Z, Right Strafe. (Middle)
X, Left Strafe. (Index)
SPACE. Jump. (Thumb)

This was the most natural and comfortable for me.

msdmoney

My suggestion is to get a keypad like the n52te (used to be made by nostromo, now made by razer I think) or the logitech g13. The mouse is easy to get used to IMO, it's the keyboard that really isn't suited for gaming. A keypad has a joystick for movement, which you are used to from controllers, and a condensed button layout.

I've never really liked aiming with a controller, pushing the reticle just never felt right to me, The transition between aiming, the dead space and then player movement always felt unnatural. But accurately clicking on things with a mouse in an FPS always felt intuitive because I was used to it from just using a computer. I would say my time was fairly evenly split growing up between consoles and pc, although I played some FPS's on the PC growing up, the first one I really got into was n64 goldeneye and then I moved onto other console shooters before I eventually went back to gaming on the computer.

Drexl

I tried the N52te, and I felt that the placement of the D-pad was awkward for movement (although it did work well if I just used it for 4 extra buttons). Your hand is level in a typing position, so your thumb is at an angle. That's a bit different from a gamepad, in which your hand grips it like in a handshake position so your thumb is on top. Maybe I'd adapt to it over time; I don't know.

Plus, I'm used to my mechanical keyboard, and they use the standard rubber domes.

foxdvd

muscle memory...you play it enough, you get use to it...

Just use the mouse...pick a game like Half-Life 2...play it on easy..when you find the game is easy, switch to normal and so forth. By the end of that game you will be a stud with a mouse...

Also, a lot of console games cheat with controllers to compensate for the lack of refined control...be it snap on/larger hit detection/ auto center...this does not make a controller better, it just makes the game easier...

Because of this I found Halo 2 on PC to be a much harder game because it lacks that famous Halo auto correct that is so slight many don't even realize it is there...but other games like the above Half Life 2, I can run on the highest setting on my pc with no problem, but get eaten up on the 360..

wlj

i have a Razer Nostromo. I like it alot, but i haven't tried it with a FPS before.









Last night, I played Doom 3 BFG edition with the mouse and keyboard. I figured that would be my best bet. There really isn't alot of fast paced action, just shooting a some monsters in corridors. I actually did really well with it. The aiming was alot more accurate. Then I decided to switch to borderlands 2 and that didn't go so well. tons of different enemies coming in all directions was pretty difficult for me. however, i am determined to get the hang of it. My worry is, when I get Halo 4 for christmas, me being used to the kb/m -- I will struggle with the controller

foxdvd

It is like riding a bike...I was a HARDCORE pc gamer until my ex wife bought me a 360 a few years ago (I already had ps3, but at the time it was a Blu-ray player for the family) With the 360 being in my room I found myself playing it more and more and got hooked. Recently getting back into pc games (thank you Diablo) I found I got back into mouse with FPS real easy, even though I had not played a FPS with mouse in a long time....same thing with the console...Diablo ate up 2 months of my 360 time...and getting back to the 360 was easy..

Krayzie

From what I am reading, all the new releases will require Synapse.

starman9000

Random question, I'm a returning PC gamer from a long hiatus and just installed Half-Life Anthology, is there anything I NEED to install (mods?) before I play this. I found some info on a high-def pack, and think I have that going. It will be my first time with it.

mhg83

Black Mesa is all you need

starman9000

That's interesting. Does everyone prefer that version, or is there a reason a first timer to HL should play the original still?

mhg83

Didn't realize you never played hl1. You should probably play through the original graphics first since BM doesn't have the last levels yet.