Controller setup for one-handed use

**Maèl** · #1 10-01-2009, 05:53 AM

Hi!

We had a discussion in shoutbox about how to handle WOW with the use of only one hand.

In game I've tried to help somebody who also has the use of only one hand and a couple of people have lost digits so it isn't a very uncommon problem.

That's just a challenge and you will have to make your one controller count.

Things are easier if your useful hand is the right one since there are some frankly awesome mice for just that.

I will try to keep this thread updated as suggestions roll in.

Now what I need is more ideas. for instance I heard of folk using trackballs. There is that Logitech G13 and a couple of great mice I don't know.

Mice
Logitech MX Revolution

This mouse has a very precise resetting scrollwheel for thumb usage. You can set this to strafing. It also acts as a button which you could set to forard/backward movement. The two buttons above that are very reachable and should also be customized.
This allows for movement while clicking on skills in the interface.
To my knowledge there is no direct lefthanded version of this mouse but Logitech has a couple of very sophisticated left handed mice.

Razer Naga

This is a new mouse that promises quite a bit of potential to replace the keyboard alltogether. I have yet to see it in the wild so I can only say that if all those buttons turn out to be reliably reachable by the thumb this could very well be my next mouse.
It has sparked some conversation here on TS.
New Razer MMO Mouse

Key Pads
Belkin n52te

Now what I use is this little baby here. It is as good as it looks. You don't have to move your wrist, just your fingers. It is very ergonomic. The direction keys for the thumb are not as precise as I wished them to be and I seriously doubt it is practicable to bind them to the mouse cursor. There is no version for the right hand to my knowledge.

Pedals

Now I haven't used pedals since I stopped playing hardcore combat flight sims, but those ad another tool to your arsenal. It does take some time getting used to.
Synapse fessed up shielding by foot so it most definitely is an option.

Fragpedal Elite USB Gaming Footpedal

A quick Google yielded this baby. I don't know it. Looks nice.
Weapon

User Interface

The user interface is the most important thing to customize and yet I will have to work in it. Since I want to try everything that I suggest myself it will take time.
Meanwhile I can just explain what I had used in the past.

Group Buttons

Back in the day when I still was a clicker I used a great add on called Group Buttons. It allows you to put buttons underneath portraits applying those skills to the target belonging to the portrait.
Group Buttons v4.98 - Interface Additions - World of Warcraft Mods, Addons, and More!
Loz had made a very nice UI addition which brightened my day as a clicking healer in 5 mans.
It hasn't been updated since 2007 but there are alternatives which I will look up for you.

**Maèl** · #2 10-01-2009, 05:54 AM

reserved

KnThrak · #3 10-02-2009, 12:44 AM

What about the Razer Naga? The mmo-focused mouse with 12 extra buttons?

Thaak · #4 10-02-2009, 01:18 AM

I was a small part of that shoutbox conversation and i put a bit of thought/research into it and came across this.

OCZ Technology | Products | OCZ Peripherals | nia - Neural Impulse Actuator Product info on company website

Newegg.com - OCZ OCZMSNIA Neural Impulse Actuator - PC Game Controllers

The era of the brain controlled gaming is still very far away, but from this day on, your thoughts will be changed. OCZ has produced the Neural Impulse Actuator (nia) after several years’ hard working which marks a new era in gaming. The nia is an unprecedented peripheral to be used in conjunction with your mouse for a more immersive gaming experience.

There are a number of sensors that installed in the headband to read your brain wave signal, and convert them into control signals. OCZ has turns the previous RS-232 serial port connection into the more common USB interface, and uses DirectX API for multi-threaded importation of commands. DirectX has faster data transfer speed than other means; the new version of the software can also support multi-core processors and have faster processing speed to transform brain waves from the PC to the computing tasks.

Working with the nia’s calibration program, the Actuator captures a variety of signals, such as facial muscle movement, eye movement, brain Alpha waves and Beta waves to control the game. So you can launch the desired behavior and shoot with the "blink of an eye", without lifting a finger.

Thoughts?

**Maèl** · #5 10-02-2009, 05:02 AM

Back in university I was involved in some AI and human machine interface projects. There was a similiar technology available(but iirc the used skin conductivity). It was somewhat usable, but limited in the ways you could use it. But that was over 10 years ago(dang!).

5 years ago or so they managed to train people to controle prosthetic limbs. Again, this was unprecise and frustrating. I think the mechanism here is similiar with one cruzial difference. You are not using nerves that perform a task they were vaguely related with. And I guess you should pick up ZEN Buddhism in order to use it. I predict headaches.
I want one tho.

I took a look at a smart mouse that can transform gestures into input impulses like mouse or keyboard clicks. But I think thats not practical(tho immensely cool) when it comes to twitch gaming.

I can only comment on stuff that I have used. My first impression of the Naga(based on pictures I saw on the web) is utter fail. Longitudial movement of the thumb is rather limited, so I doubt you can make use of all rows of the mouse without repositioning your hand on the mouse which is a no-no. When I see one in a store then I will try it. If it works for me you will see me dancing in the streets. But yes, it might be the best shot you can get.

For similiar reasons I utterly despise the G13. You can't reach all keys without moving the wrist. There is no clear position for the hand. I tried it in a store where it was on display and I couldn't comfortably reach all keys and that controller without moving my wrist.

When it comes to disabilities things like these become very noticeable, I guess.
Me, I'm just lazy.

**Mert** · #6 10-02-2009, 08:50 AM

On the subject of the UI, Bodafasa's UI was designed from the ground up with "clicking" rather than keybinding in mind, so it may be woth a look for some ideas.

I did also once see an addon (whose name I forget just now I'm afraid) that could use scrollwheel click to bring up a ring menu and then the scrollwheel to rotate it to the spell / action / bag slot / whatever you want. Think Secret of Mana on the Super Nintendo if you ever played that.