Ship Flight. Keyboard vs mouse

banikslave

This is more out of curiosity. While beta testing the Romulan Character Tutorial, I noticed that the instructions given to newbies is still to steer using the standard WASD.

Personally, I find the ship to be an absolute NIGHTMARE to fly using WASD. The space map is multidimensional, and on top of these keys you have weapons as well. As a newbie I dreaded space battles until someone told me how to steer my ship using the mouse.

Does anyone else find mouse much easier that WASD? I am wondering if that should be the "default" control setting given in the tutorials instead?

Or is it just me :P

wast33

the man in my ear tells me: it's just him, we are two ^^ :P

malakhglitch

I usually use the mouse to maneuver. Heck of a lot easier.

mbp101287

I fly with WASD myself. Only use the mouse for menus and button-clicking.

Leaves my right hand free to work the 10+ keys on the numpad that I have bound to offensive powers.

Defensive powers I have bound to the numbers over the letters. I can still easily activate one of those powers while still steering my ship.

tatyanasergei

General rule of MMORPGS, that I learned from my 'hardcore' raiding days in more serious MMOs, is that the mouse will always be more precise for character maneuvering and you should train yourself to toggle keybind powers with your left.

maxvitor

Well I have all of my maneuvering keys keybound to also redistribute shields whenever I press them so I'm doing the WSAD thing.

corbinwolf

Cant imagine using a mouse to steer my ship... that being said, I also cant imagine being left handed but that doesn't mean it doesn't work. So if a mouse is your thing, go ahead.

My mouse runs on batteries anyways and so the last thing I need is to be dead in space when it dies out! :rolleyes:

revalah

It's more of an issue flying an escort, but frankly flying with the keyboard gives me a sense of precise control that you simply cannot get while flying with a mouse. It also allows you to select targets and do a whole lot of other stuff. Using the mouse for movement is simply giving too much functionality away.

You can see how well I control an escort in this vid. Shameless self promotion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZMqh2UBOIU

ursusmorologus

I use keyboard for controlling the ship, weapons, etc., and only use the mouse for camera control and target selection. I try really hard not to move my hands off their resting position. I've been playing this way since I broke my joystick while playing Wing Commander, so its pretty natural to me by now.

TBH it is only easy with the capital ships, feasible with shuttles, and difficult with fighters. Same is true for a Freelancer mod I play that has everything from battleships down to light interceptors.

bloctoad

I primarily use the mouse for movement but when making sharp turns or a "Crazy Ivan" I will also use the keyboard for a tighter vector.

mntlrptrs

Am I the only ambidex here? I usually fly Freelancer style (with mouse) but depending on the situation/position in combat I switch flight/board controls all the time. I don't get much RSI that way either :cool:

Bottom line is: change controls the way it fits YOUR gameplay best. It might take a while to configure and fine-tune but it'll be worth the initial hassle. Some people might have valuable or interesting suggestions, just keep an eye out.

Just think JKD: Adopt what is useful, discard what is useless, and add your own.

Good flight!

capnmanx

I use the keyboard in space, but alternate between keyboard and mouse on the ground. Mouse control is too imprecise in a 3D environment, unless what you are really controlling is a cross-hairs and your ship is just getting dragged along behind it.

Besides, in most MMOs, 'keyboard turning' is bad because it is slower. It doesn't really work that way in STO space comabt, since the ships have a set rate of turn.

tatyanasergei

capnmanx wrote: »

Mouse control is too imprecise in a 3D environment

See, though, I find the opposite to be true. My movements wind up being far more precise in space when I use the mouse as opposed to using WASD. So I think this is an example of YMMV, not an absolute 'this is the correct way and the other method fails'.

edrickvellorin

I use both, though I altered the config so that instead of having to hold down both mouse buttons I toggle mouse nav on and off with the right press and use the left button to turn based on the mouse view. (Just moving the mouse in mouse nav mode moves the view.) Mouse flying is normal for non-combat use.

In combat, if I want to keep the enemy in sight, I often use the keyboard for turning. Since I use autofire configured to stay active as long as I'm in red alert (and have a target) I don't have to worry about firing weapons, though before I learned how that worked I used to keep mashing the space bar. For certain maneuvers (usually outside of combat) I find the mouse to be a bit more precise since the direction can be fine tuned a little bit better as opposed to using a key press which rotates the ship a set amount, which may be more then I want it to move.

To make boff skills easier to do on my laptop's keyboard, I use the alt+number and shift+number for 2nd/3rd trays instead of ctrl+number.

capnmanx

tatyanasergei wrote: »

See, though, I find the opposite to be true. My movements wind up being far more precise in space when I use the mouse as opposed to using WASD. So I think this is an example of YMMV, not an absolute 'this is the correct way and the other method fails'.

Could be.

When I try to use the mouse to steer, I'm wobbling all over the place. I can never just turn right or left, I turn up or down too whether I want to or not. That means a lot of time wasted with pointless manoeuvring in a big ship, and my aim being thrown off a lot when flying something nimble with narrow forward firing arcs.

But that could just be me.

I like having a buttons for 'left', 'right', 'up', and 'down'; it means I can give clearer direction to my ship. I don't get that with a mouse.

f9thaceshigh

yeah, I prefer to steer using the Keyboard, that's how I'm used to flying in bridge commander, and it frees my mouse up to move the camera and designate targets, or to click powers.

tatyanasergei

capnmanx wrote: »

... and my aim being thrown off a lot when flying something nimble with narrow forward firing arcs.

...

I like having a buttons for 'left', 'right', 'up', and 'down'; it means I can give clearer direction to my ship. I don't get that with a mouse.

Again, though; I find it easier to move where I want to by pointing my vessel -exactly- where I want it to go. Which also winds up keeping my narrow-arc Science powers in line a lot more accurately. And as far as I know, all but one of the members of the PVP premade I run weekly do the same!

Both ways are equally valid- Player preference and comfort is what really allows a given player to excel with one over the other.

realitynexus

I myself use both, depending on weather or not I feel like using the keyboard that day.
In PvP however I always use keyboard, less awkward for me.

psycoticvulcan

I use the keyboard for maneuvering, and the mouse for using weapons/abilities.

voporak

For me, my left hand is always planted on the WASD during space combat. But while it is there, I can also easily hit the impulse + and - keys (q and e). So I can maneuver while throwing my ship into reverse to get it lined up with its DHCs. Additionally, I have my "spam" key bound to x. When I'm in a cloaking ship, I put the cloak there (x is bound to tray power 1). Otherwise I'll put something like Aux2SIF so I can spam it every 15 seconds.

My right hand is almost always on the mouse, pressing tray powers, selecting targets, etc. Sometimes when I'm fighting slower enemies or players I can let go of the mouse and press my keybound tray powers. Row 1 is bound to the numbers, row 2 bound to the F numbers, and row three to the keypad. Row three is where I put my less used/unused/sector space powers. In battle I never maneuver with the mouse.

milandare

I use keyboard to move on the ground, tracking pad in space. I am left handed and using a laptop. I have no number pad.

In space: I use backquote (left of the 1 key) as my fire key which keeps me near the number keys and saves the more important parts of my keyboard from abuse. One ergonomic defect occurs in space, when the game sometimes decides I'm not pressing both mouse buttons. If I don't notice until too late then I slam into stuff (if I hot-key Ramming Speed this is almost a 'benefit'). Another risk is hitting Esc by accident but with practice that very rarely happens. The track pad is close enough to the keyboard to also use my right hand for keyboard zoom-in/out and friend-targeting. The track pad is also always handy for clicking on things, but not when I need to steer. The greatest quality of life improvement to the game since I started is Control-Q/A/Z for pickups.