Spiral Knights - favored input?

favored input?

22 replies [Last post]

Sun, 09/11/2011 - 08:03

Tengu

So I bought a steelseries PS2-style controller, but through a combination of not playing console games in years and long thumb throw, I'm not liking it. I'm pretty much happy with my mouse/keyboard combo, but...i'm killing my mouse. It was a cheapo no-name from rite-aid, and I've pretty much broken the scroll and right button with my attacking.

So, onto the questions.

1) what do you use for input?

2) does anyone use a 5 button mouse, and use the thumb buttons for shield? That would effectively make this a one-handed game. which would be cool, actually.

3) My main problem is the facing issue with the ps2 controller. Is there a setting to allow running and facing in the same direction via the left joystick (like using a mouse), and if I feel like changing my facing for gunning/strafing, I can use the right joystick on the fly? I know I'm not typing this out very cogently...

I want to have move + face on one joystick until I incorporate the right joystick, much like how mouse movement work until you also use WASD.

Sun, 09/11/2011 - 09:24

Glowing-Ember

I use this. Weapons are on

I use this.

Weapons are on the scroll wheel as default, left click is attack, and right click is shield. Middle click is Walk Forward for when I'm in Haven or whatever and don't feel like using two hands.

X1 (the top arrow on the left) is vial #1, double click X1 is vial #2, X2 is vial #3, and double click X2 is vial #4. No, you can't map that in-game, and no, I don't care.

Then I just use WASD for movement.

Sun, 09/11/2011 - 10:23

Globosa

Legacy Username

I use my mouse and WASD. I

I use my mouse to aim and attack and WASD to move.

I used to have a five-button mouse, but my younger siblings broke it.

I can't help you with that, sorry...

OH GOD IT HAS A BLUE TUMOUR but it does look pretty nifty though.

Sun, 09/11/2011 - 11:27

sterlingd

Legacy Username

I use this:

I use this: http://cyborggaming.com/prod/rat9.htm

The first thumb button (not sniper button, behind it) is for shield, it's also mapped to space and X, the one behind it is PTT for my Ventrilo server.

Sun, 09/11/2011 - 12:27

Birgus

Hey, new trackman model!

Hey, new trackman model! Thanks for letting me know. I use an older one with the IR tracking (from before optical mice matured enough to replace balled ones) but not for gameplay. For Spiral Knights I use the XBox 360 controller; I prefer the comfort of a gamepad even if it makes aiming kinda clumsy, and I have technical issues that hinder mouse & keyboard controls anyway. I hope there's an update to provide an option to disable cursor auto-hide some day, since that would make a big difference.

I think the control customisation allows you to bind moving and facing to the same stick, but I have not tried mapping multiple things to the same input yet so I do not know for sure. I do remember that I can map one thing to multiple inputs, though, for what it is worth. I do not know which facing commands would prioritise, though, if you try running and facing in different directions. I just have my movement stick not affect facing, since my "home" position is with both thumbs on-stick anyway. I have attack, shield, next weapon, and autoaim toggle on the finger buttons- analogous to your L2, R2, L1, and R1 respectively.

edit: If you're concerned about mouse button wear but otherwise would prefer mouse & keyboard control, have you considered putting everything except facing on keys accessible from your non-mouse hand's "gameplay home" position?

Sun, 09/11/2011 - 13:05

Tengu

The mouse I picked up after

The mouse I picked up after my Microsoft 3 button was swiped by the wife was utter junk. Notebook sized, and horrible construction. I do have to say though...that R.A.T. mouse is really really ugly. Like...REALLY ugly.

I've been fooling around with remapping the controls, but so far there appears to be conflicts between move and face on the same stick. There's 3 setup slots, so I'm a little surprised they can't overlap. Maybe I need to set the entire movement remap on one setup...

WASD controls are almost as bad, as I'm using a keyboard from 1999. It was a good keyboard...but it's showing it's age, as it's that old and not mechanical. I'm inclined to hunt down a nicer gaming keyboard, as I would also like the button remap function for my graphic design as well as gaming.

I'm hoping my wife finds a decent 5 button mouse at Walmart today.

Sun, 09/11/2011 - 13:56

sterlingd

Legacy Username

Yeah the R.A.T. Is an ugly

Yeah the R.A.T. Is an ugly mouse but I have tried a dozen mice and none have fit my hand or playstyle like that mouse. Everything is changeable from the grips to the size.
I've got better looking but poorer performing mice on my shelf.

Sun, 09/11/2011 - 19:00

OverDingle

Legacy Username

1) I use WASD + Mouse. In

1) I use WASD + Mouse. In Blast network, I use dpad + Z, though - it plays a lot better. This'd probably work for bombing in the clockworks, but I'm not a bomber.

2) I don't have a multibutton mouse, but what I do have if I wanted to do this is my laptop's touchpad (with left, right, middle click and scroll wheel attached to the side, I can bind all the necessary functions to it.) That said, I don't think it'd be too fun to do. I'm too used to having two hands for this game.

3) Gonna test something here - I know the arrow keys are originally bound to a specific type of turning on a keyboard. When you play with the arrow keys, you automatically turn to face the direction you just hit to move in. Not sure how they'd react to changing your facing when you're moving.

Test complete - if you bind your controller to the movement modes normally attached to the keyboard, your character will automatically face the direction you move in, but will turn if you make him without changing direction. You want to try the 'face north/south/east/west' options instead of the ones you normally use. It's a little unwieldy though - I'd rather suggest using the Dpad on your controller for that if you want it.

Wed, 09/21/2011 - 11:49

03u9

Legacy Username

TrackPad

I use a trackpad, Left click is attack, right is defend. WASD for movement, E for auto target, and ZXCV for 1-4 quickslots. Space switches weapons

Wed, 09/21/2011 - 12:10

Crawdaunt

Legacy Username

I just use my handy-dandy ol'

I just use my handy-dandy ol' logitech mouse. I don't need no gaming mouse bs.

Wed, 09/21/2011 - 13:10

#10

debianlinux

Legacy Username

Arrow keys and 3 button

Arrow keys and 3 button mouse. Numpad 1-4 for quickslots.

Wed, 09/21/2011 - 13:41

#11

BiggestLoser

Legacy Username

Zelda

i know it sounds weird but thank to this thread i just discovered that my mouse wheel is working lol, maybe i hadnt tested it after installing the drivers or somthin

anyway i use default options and space + E for weapon switch

Wed, 09/21/2011 - 14:24

#12

Tersakoff

Legacy Username

I think I am one of the few

I think I am one of the few if not the only person who plays this game with a (drawing) tablet. . _ .
A wacom bamboo fun in case you want to know what it is. Google it.

And I prefer it greatly over the mouse. I have a huge sensivity on it too, and two buttons. Upper one is attack, lower one is switch weapons. I use x to defend, and what I really like is that sometimes I switch to keyboard for moving and tablet for attacking, such as when I'm using guns, and sometimes I use the tablet for moving and keyboard for attacking (z and x).
I use space to scroll up on the weapons and the button from the pen on the tablet to scroll down. Tried mapping it as defense, not the best choice trust me.
Uhm yeah. Generally I love this set up and I could never play with a mouse. Heck I rarely use my mouse anymore. *hugs tablet*

I'm such a hipster. Mouses are too mainstream

Wed, 09/21/2011 - 14:30

#13

Stuffmaker

I use a wired 360 controller

I use a wired 360 controller - and love it. You can set your left stick to both move and face in the same direction (I do) but can't have it change to be both left and right stick on the fly. I just have my left trigger set to strafe and that works good enough for me when I want to gun.

Wed, 09/21/2011 - 14:30

#14

Ladymadeheheheheh

Best choice is

Xbox 360 controller. Expansive device but feels awesome when you play :)
With this the game is an MMArcade which deserve a 10/10 or 97+/100 if reviewed.

Wed, 09/21/2011 - 14:34

#15

Xylka-Mkii

Rawr

If you like to have a new mouse...wait what? fail at my wording not you.
Now I use a Logitech M305.
Small and epic like a bawss.
Check it out.

Wed, 09/21/2011 - 14:42

#16

Dirt

Legacy Username

Hm, you've got my curious on

Hm, you've got my curious on my optional mouse key. I'll give it a shot and let you know what I think. I prefer to use my keyboard for movement when gunning, though!

Wed, 09/21/2011 - 14:50

#17

Tengu

Welp, I just ordered a Razer

Welp, I just ordered a Razer Imperator from Woot.com. It's a 5+ button, so I'm hoping to be able to put everything on the mouse for lazy fighting. I've actually put my PS2 controller to work, and set up the left joystick for movement as well, so I play left hand joystick/right hand mouse sometimes.

BTW, it's a really good deal on the mouse. it's 40 bucks with shipping. It's the previous model Imperator, but that makes it a horrible 5600dpi instead of the dual-sensor awesome 6400dpi or something. /sarcasm. anyway, it's a pretty gnarly $80+ mouse for half price with shipping.

Wed, 09/21/2011 - 18:45

#18

Eldibs

Legacy Username

On the subject of mice... I

On the subject of mice...

I use a Logitech G500. On-the-fly sensitivity buttons, goes up to some ungodly amount of DPI (5700, if memory serves), plus I love the extra buttons. I thought nothing could blow my old MX518 out of the water. I thought wrong.

On the original topic...

I use WASD for movement, Spacebar for my shield, mousewheel to scroll through my weapons, Left-Click is set to run (for if I'm eating at my PC), Right-Click to attack, and CTRL for auto-target. Works fairly well for me. I could probably remap the vials using my mouse's driver software, but I'm too lazy to do so, and have already gotten used to using 1-4 for my vials. The same reason why I don't have my attack and run swapped. Already got used to it.

Wed, 09/21/2011 - 19:10

#19

Quasirandom

I use a Logitech Dual Action

I use a Logitech Dual Action gamepad. I set the directional pad to be both move and face for movement. The four main buttons on the right side are to attack, block, and switch weapons in either direction. The buttons on the top of the gamepad are for vials. One of the thumbsticks is set to control the mouse pointer, so when I need to point at something at some odd angle and shoot it with a gun, I can do so while holding still.

The one drawback to using a gamepad is that I can't shoot in arbitrary directions while moving. That means no circle strafing, as some people like to do against Vanaduke. I'm also a little slower at aiming a gun in anything other than the eight cardinal directions when elsewhere.

But the advantage to using a gamepad is huge: I can dodge. Now, you might think you can dodge with a keyboard and mouse, too. And maybe there are a few players out there who can. But I can't. Hardly anyone that I've seen is any good at dodging, and I've easily grouped with several hundred people in PUGs. Oh sure, they'll get out of the way of some attacks. But not nearly enough to really be good at the game.

How often do you go through an entire level without getting hit, not counting treasure vaults or non-combat levels? How often do you do it in tier 3? If it's not something that you pretty routinely manage to do (e.g., maybe one level per tier) without specifically trying to, then you're not that good at dodging. I can dodge a lot better in tier 3 with a gamepad using a directional pad for movement than I can in tier 1 with a keyboard and mouse.

If you're using a keyboard and mouse, then the reason that you're not very good at dodging is that your controls don't allow it. Having to press two separate buttons to move diagonally? Awkward. It's much more natural on a gamepad. Want to move diagonally up and left? Move your thumb up and left and away you go.

Wed, 09/21/2011 - 19:16

#20

Quasirandom

Also, 5000+ dpi mouse

Also, 5000+ dpi mouse sensitivity is a stupid gimmick unless you're setting the mouse such that moving the mouse pointer all the way across the screen requires physically moving the mouse by substantially less than an inch. If you want to move the pointer all the way across the screen by physically moving the mouse a quarter of an inch, then yeah, you want that kind of sensitivity. If you're moving it a full inch or more to go all the way across the screen, then a 5700 dpi mouse sensitivity will point you at the same pixel as a 1600 dpi mouse. And even then, the higher mouse sensitivity only helps you if being off by a pixel or two is a problem and you're precise enough that even with moving the mouse 1/4 of an inch, you can still easily point at exactly the pixel you want.

Now, getting a laser mouse pointer and a higher sensitivity than something like 400 dpi is great. But there are diminishing returns as things get higher. It's kind of like how 16-bit color is vastly better than 8-bit color, and 32-bit color is a little better than 16-bit color. But while you can make products with 48-bit or 64-bit color, it's a complete waste, because the human eye can't tell the difference between that and 32-bit color anyway.

Wed, 09/21/2011 - 19:49

#21

Eldibs

Legacy Username

I agree with you, the returns

I agree with you, the returns on a 5700DPI setting are barely noticable at best. I got the mouse because of the 1GHz polling rate and the excellent ergonomics (plus my old mouse was wearing out), not because of the ridiculous DPI. However, I have my mouse set to need two inches of space to move all the way across the screen (at 2048x1152), so I might be able to notice some ridiculously minute difference, if I cared to check. I don't.

Wed, 09/21/2011 - 19:53

#22

Arctic-Fern

My mouse is pretty mundane in gaming terms

http://www.gggcube.com/products.aspx?colid=63&id=1

It's the black one with gold flowers. :D

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favored input?