Xanager

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Just read somewhere the there is an adapter coming out to use Keyboard and Mouse with the Xbox. Some say it won't make a difference, some go so far as to say it will ruin the game.

Any thoughts on this?

Groucho

I like the idea, but it's not really practical to set up a mouse and keyboard in front of my sofa.

Xanager

Yeah, but how do you feel if you were playing with a controller, and someone could dominate w/ a mouse and keyboard?

I honestly don't know how I feel about it. I'm curious to when it comes out if it lives up to the expectations. Some say console games aren't built for mouse and keyboard, so maybe it won't be an advantage. Everything is speculation until is comes out

Decker

It's made by LikSang and has the very Japanese name of the SmartJoy FRAG. It will use the PS2 keyboard to control on either system (with seperate SmartJoys, though).

trigun

Well, maybe it will shut up the pad people that say they can play as well as anybody that's using a mouse/keyboard

kvrdave

I have a wireless one, so it is quite practical. However, I think I prefer the way it is now.

Cusm

Dave what are you using to support your mouse/keyboard? I will think about getting one if it is good with the XBox, but without the games being designed for mouse/keyboard it may not be an advantage.

Groucho

Yeah, the issue isn't the wires, but sitting back on the couch and still being able to use the mouse. Can't just run it on my leg.

fumanstan

Sounds good to me. Works better, plays better.

young

use something like this if you want


as i totally suck at halo, i welcome this adapter if it works well. i'd welcome a smaller gaming controller even more... one of those fps controllers.

Josh H

Not something I'd get as I got through single player Halo fine with the controller and have never been able to get the hang of keyboard/mouse controls (love the mouse aiming, hate the keyboard part) in PC gaming.

I have no interest in multiplayer/online gaming, so it's not an issue for me in that aspect either.

Michael Corvin

Bring it on!

Xanager

Ha! Hopefully we can get some major DVDTalk Halo2 action going on when it comes out.

I'd be interested in seeing how it would be using a mouse. I've always thought it would be far superior, but Halo implements the controller the best the I've ever seen. I've never had any problems managing with it It will be interesting nonetheless.

sfsdfd

I'll never understand how people can play FPS games with a joystick, or even a set of joysticks. A mouse is the most intuitive look-around device known to man - it's even better than a head-mount setup, since you aren't limited by the range of motion of your neck.

Similarly, a key-based device seems the best interface for controlling movement. A joystick allows a greater range of speeds, but honestly, I've never seen the point of that. No one ever walks around in FPS games. That's why all modern games have an "auto-run" option, and why it's usually checked by default. So you don't want precision as much as immediacy: the shortest possible delay between deciding to move forward and moving forward at top speed. A joystick with a range of motion features a longer delay than a simple button, and for no real purpose.

I did try playing GoldenEye and some other console FPS games with PlayStation/Dreamcast/etc. controllers. They seemed terrifically clumsy, even after many hours of play.

- David Stein

AGuyNamedMike

I'm a clumsy fool with a controller, but can hold my own with a KB/M. This might actually convince me to buy an XBox.

JPRaup

you could also use a VGA adapter, thats what I might do

Xanager

A VGA adapter? How would that make a difference?

Trigger

Halo was the smoothest controlling FPS on any console ever... that's a big part of why it was so hugely popular and why it pulled FPS fans away from their PCs. That video is kinda funny cuz it shows a video of Halo and then some hands working a mouse and keyboard. Could be the PC version of halo for all I know.

But anyway - there are other games that I'd like to use a mouse/kb with, so if someone could find me that Phantom console keyboard/mouse, I'll buy it. The big problem with this KB/Mouse thing is that we don't know how the keys are going to be mapped. Are they going to use space bar for jump and ctrl for crouch? WSAD? Arrow keys? Will E be Use or will they make it 'lean' in games that support that? I may just have to pick one up later though if it looks like everyone else is getting one and using them in multiplayer.

WepaMan

I would have to guess that it will allow you to hook up your XBOX on your computer desk. Thus, it would be more comfortable to use the Mouse/Keyboard while playing.

Xanager

I gotcha, I was thinking he was going run the keyboard and mouse through the vga adapter. My stupidity...

Their site says you can customize the keys. How, I don't know.

superdeluxe

Mouse and keyboard...the true way to play a FPS.

warcp

Agreed. Mouse and keyboard beat all. If this is true, it'll definitely ruin online competition for anyone unable to afford the adapter or unable to manage a keyboard/mouse on the sofa. They should put it in as a room search string- Keyboard use on/off option.

tek2k

it was popular, i agree, but pulling away fps fans away from their pc? i don't think so. halo might have been a big deal to console gamers, but pc gamers didn't really care for it much.

fumanstan

I agree. Halo certainly didn't pull me away from my PC as i could never get used to the controls. While i eventually played and beat it on PC, i didn't think it was particularly special. For console games and gamers it was a breakthrough, for PC gamers it was just another solid FPS.

sfsdfd

I've played Wolfenstein/SOD, Doom 1/2/3, Quake 1/2/3, Heretic 1/2, Hexen 1/2, Thief 1/2, Tribes 1/2, Outlaws, Unreal, Unreal Tournament/2003/2004, Half-Life, Medal of Honor, Call of Duty, Citizen Kabuto, and probably a hundred other FPS games. Seriously, FPSes basically consumed my undergrad years.

Halo is still one of the best I've ever played. Yes, I played it on the PC, with kbd/mouse. It really is an incredible game.

- David Stein