WASD hands free?

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kalorvoe
Posts: 55
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2008 7:21 pm

WASD hands free?

Post by kalorvoe »

Hi guys,

I'm considering getting a SmartNav so I can both use it for work and play HL2. I'm wondering if anyone out there can play FPSs totally hands free, and how they handle all the contols other than looking and simple shooting: forward/back/strafe, reload, switch weapons, activate item etc?

Voice control? Do you have to sit there saying "step.step.step. use. left. right right" etc?

some kind of foot-controlled joystick?
kalorvoe
Posts: 55
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2008 7:21 pm

Re: WASD hands free?

Post by kalorvoe »

Nobody replied, so I'll reply to myself for the benefit of future googlers.

My smartnav is still chugging across the pacific, but I tried voice control and Half Life 2 seems to work with edimensional's Voice Buddy (you can get it shareware, but it's worth buying even if you're not an accessible gamer). A little tricky though.

Cons:

-It's easy to over/undershoot wherever you're trying to get to. You can ease this by having several commands for different distances (step, walk, travel or whatever).

-There is a delay. For example if you say "run" it waits half a second to see if you're really saying "run backwards". This may be alleviated by adjusting your commands (eg replacing "run backwards" with "retreat").


I won't be winning any twitch deathmatch comps anytime soon, but I love SP and I can say that it IS possible to play totally hands free! After half a year, I can explore city 17 again!
Seth Steiling
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Joined: Fri Jun 27, 2008 11:29 am
Location: Corvallis, Oregon

Re: WASD hands free?

Post by Seth Steiling »

Thanks for the update, KalorVoe. I personally haven't tried the combination you're using, so it's good to know that it can be an option for those itching to play some hands free FPS.
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kalorvoe
Posts: 55
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2008 7:21 pm

Re: WASD hands free?

Post by kalorvoe »

I've also learned to use a Logitech Marble Mouse (it's a trackball) with my feet.

The biggest problem I've found with Voice Buddy is that once you've said a command there's no way to stop it or make another command until the first one has finished executing. If you say "run" "jump" and your run command is set to run for five seconds, you'll run along the whole distance, stop, then jump straight up. If you say "long run", and then a dropship suddenly drops a platoon of combine commandos up the road, there is NO way to stop running that distance (though you could turn around and run the other way).

trickier to play with, but as I said it can be done. I'm finding easy difficulty too easy but medium too hard. Maybe when my smartnav arrives... :D
kalorvoe
Posts: 55
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2008 7:21 pm

Re: WASD hands free?

Post by kalorvoe »

OK, I was on my way to update this thread and I got a little sidetracked. It's not my fault!

The best solution I found for hands free gaming is to use:

-Footpedals for the WASD (forward, back, left right). I use the Fragpedal Elite II.
-Voice Buddy for all weapons/inventory options.

For quickest response you really need a clicking device too. Voice Buddy has a slight delay that can get you killed. You can map multiple footpedal combinations, use a bio feedback input device, etc. I use a fish mouse and just click the buttons, which minimises hand use (yes I know this makes it technically not hands free :) ).
navquestions
Posts: 9
Joined: Thu Feb 03, 2011 4:23 pm

Re: WASD hands free?

Post by navquestions »

This is perhaps a shot in the dark given the age of the thread, but I was wondering what you do to shoot if the footpedals are doing WASD? I'm interested in replicating your setup for home use.

(When you're not using the mouse, that is)
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