Keyboard emulation Re:Ideas for FPS useage.
Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 1:57 am
I saw another thread about this topic, but, for whatever reason, thought a new thread might work better.
I play a lot more FPS and RTS games than I do sims, although it was for the driving and flying sims that I bought a TiR3+Vector.
I admit, I haven't tried using mouse emulation to directly control an FPS yet, but, frankly, I just don't see it being very useful, much like using a joystick or even gamepad controller for something more than a lame console ported shooter, like Half Life 2 or Call of Duty.
I can also understand why developers aren't interested in developing inputs that can seperate the view from the aim. It is just contradictory and unintuitive, and those guys are usually concentrating on bigger things, like smooth netplay and anti-cheating. I can see this being useful in a sneak game, but I just don't see it becoming standard.
However, there are a few areas where the TrackIR might instantly become useful, without the need for any modification to the existing game structure.
What would be very useful, I think, would be to have the ability within TrackIR to map different zones of 'headspace' with a key trigger. Similiar to mouse emulation, but instead supplying some limited keyboard emulation.
Some uses:
Stance: Someone else had the idea that when you duck down, the FPS char would crouch, or prone. With the idea above, you could have a lower hemisphere of 'headspace' map to the default crouch or prone key. As long as you are ducking, it is holding down the key. When you come back to a neutral position, the emulated key is released, and your game character resumes his normal posture.
Zoom: ever since Quake 1 most FPS's have had the ability, even if it is only via console commands, to change the field of view. So, obviously, you could map the TrackIR's Z axis to a zoom axis, if it has it, or map 3 planes of z 'headspace' to zoom in, normal, and zoomed out FOVs. Some people might like the to map a zoom in hemisphere to something like the 'aim down sight'.
Lean: many current games have keypresses to lean left and right. I leave it to the reader to imagine how this could work.
In summary, instead of waiting for game developers to "come around" to TrackIR, I think keyboard emulation is something that Natural Point developers can implement, that will instantly make TrackIR useable in EVERY game, past, present, and future participle. Heck you could use it for desktop applications as well.
Anyway, I've got the brand new TrackIR sitting there, but it's waiting for the Battlefield 2 fever to subside.
Stickshift
I play a lot more FPS and RTS games than I do sims, although it was for the driving and flying sims that I bought a TiR3+Vector.
I admit, I haven't tried using mouse emulation to directly control an FPS yet, but, frankly, I just don't see it being very useful, much like using a joystick or even gamepad controller for something more than a lame console ported shooter, like Half Life 2 or Call of Duty.
I can also understand why developers aren't interested in developing inputs that can seperate the view from the aim. It is just contradictory and unintuitive, and those guys are usually concentrating on bigger things, like smooth netplay and anti-cheating. I can see this being useful in a sneak game, but I just don't see it becoming standard.
However, there are a few areas where the TrackIR might instantly become useful, without the need for any modification to the existing game structure.
What would be very useful, I think, would be to have the ability within TrackIR to map different zones of 'headspace' with a key trigger. Similiar to mouse emulation, but instead supplying some limited keyboard emulation.
Some uses:
Stance: Someone else had the idea that when you duck down, the FPS char would crouch, or prone. With the idea above, you could have a lower hemisphere of 'headspace' map to the default crouch or prone key. As long as you are ducking, it is holding down the key. When you come back to a neutral position, the emulated key is released, and your game character resumes his normal posture.
Zoom: ever since Quake 1 most FPS's have had the ability, even if it is only via console commands, to change the field of view. So, obviously, you could map the TrackIR's Z axis to a zoom axis, if it has it, or map 3 planes of z 'headspace' to zoom in, normal, and zoomed out FOVs. Some people might like the to map a zoom in hemisphere to something like the 'aim down sight'.
Lean: many current games have keypresses to lean left and right. I leave it to the reader to imagine how this could work.
In summary, instead of waiting for game developers to "come around" to TrackIR, I think keyboard emulation is something that Natural Point developers can implement, that will instantly make TrackIR useable in EVERY game, past, present, and future participle. Heck you could use it for desktop applications as well.
Anyway, I've got the brand new TrackIR sitting there, but it's waiting for the Battlefield 2 fever to subside.
Stickshift