G15 Gaming Keyboard

(Hakuryu) #1

This is the first expensive keyboard I have ever bought, and while it is very nice, it has a fatal flaw that is not mentioned anywhere. I thought I would mention it here in case anyone is shopping for a keyboard for Quake Wars and was thinking about the G15.

I use arrow keys for movement, and the numpad keys for selecting weapons. I have been using this setup for like 10 years, and its second nature to me.

I decided to get a USB keyboard this time, mainly so I wouldn’t run into the issue of keys not registering if you have 3 held down already- like a PS2 keyboard. So I bought a G15, and started playing ET.

This thing definately makes a difference in my play, but after a while I started noticing that I couldnt always select a weapon right away. After some testing this is what I found. If you hold 2 arrow keys down at once, certain other keys on the keyboard do not work. For instance, hold Up + Left arrow keys, and the numpad keys 1/2/3 do not work. I visited the Logitech website and found other with the same problem, so it’s not just me.

So when I’m running forward diagonally in ET and want to switch to weapon bank 1, 2, or 3… it simply doesnt work. If you use arrow keys like me, then do not buy this keyboard, unless you are ready to switch to the WASD setup. I tried WASD and holding 4+ keys down at once worked flawlessly, but I got horribly owned since I wasnt used to it.

:eek2:

(kamikazee) #2

So basicly, the blind-keys problem is still existant in an USB keyboard. I guess it depends on the keyboard controller instead of the PS/2 bus.

(Joe999) #3

speaking of keyboards: does anyone know if the optimus oled keyboard is already available?

http://www.artlebedev.com/portfolio/optimus/

i just saw it again as a reference when i googled for the g15. but haven’t seen it for purchase anywhere.

(Hakuryu) #4

Wow, that thing is nice.

I dont like the enter key seperated like that at the end, but the keys displaying things are really cool. It must be expensive.

(Pillsbury) #5

Looks nice indeed. The site says it won’t be available until the end of 2006… :frowning:

(datoo) #6

The problem with that optimus keyboard is that it will be insanely expensive and OLED displays have a limited life-span. It’s more a toy for people with disposable income. I know razr is coming out with a gaming keyboard that is supposed to be more responsive and completely eliminate the muiltiple keypress problem. Of course their marketing is usually full of shit, it’s probably better to spend $20 or what have you on a simple functional keyboard.

Also I think this is off-topic, but I’m sure wils is too busy making QW or coffee or whatever it is he does to notice. :tapir:

(B0rsuk) #7

I’d rather play ET using my wacom tablet.

(Dazzamac) #8

Zboard ftw

(Hakuryu) #9

The lcd screen on this thing is pretty cool.

When playing the Prey demo, the logo scrolls around and then during gameplay it shows your health, a compass, and some other stuff, letting you turn the huds off ingame for a really awesome experience.

I so hope Quake wars will have support for this. It would be sweet to have the objectives listed here, along with ammo/etc.

All I got on it now is time and a bunch of system information, trying to work up some ET screens.

(SCDS_reyalP) #10

Sadly, as you have discovered, this issue isn’t directly related to PS2 or USB, but the design of the keyboard. Unfortunately, “gaming keyboard” features tend to be pointless bling, rather than stuff like this which actually matters to gamers.

The first answer here http://www.dansdata.com/danletters058.htm describes a bit about the problem.

(Svanire) #11

People still use the arrow keys?

(Hakuryu) #12

They never stopped. Arrows > WASD. Start another thread if you really want to argue about it.

(SCi-Fi) #13

allot of cheaters use the G15 as its just needed for multi key macro usage.

(Black_Forky) #14

LOL BAN IT. ALL G15 USERS ARE CHEATERS!

OMG1111oneoneoneneon!

(Etnies) #15

Im left handed and i just cant use the WASD keys find it way to arkward, so i use the arrow keys and numberpad like Hakuryu, my keyboard is just standard but its compact the the CTRL key kind of overlaps above the left arrow key, i just cant use any other keyboard although the Zboard looks cool.

(SCi-Fi) #16

no i didnt say all i said allot.

(Hakuryu) #17

And you know this because…?

I’ve tried to setup some macros for ET, but the only thing to really use them for is the chat menu. I now have 1 touch -“need a medic/ammo” and other chat menu options, but it leaves the original chat menu window up after you press V … doesnt work perfectly.

I tried to setup a ‘dance’ macro (from my WoW days), that would move my guy around (waltz), but it simply wont work. You cannot time something like this, because of many factors like latency. I couldnt for example setup a macro to automatically do a trick jump. In theory it would be - Sprint+Move Forward+Wait 1/4 second+Jump, but in practice things like this just dont work. While chat menu will work (3 keys in succesion), setting up something that involves things like movement just wont work right.

Before you call me a cheater for trying the above… I just got this $100 toy, and am going to play with it. I am not a cheater, and actually I use zero scripts or add-ons to help my ET play… vanilla ET.

There is a program for the LCD screen which attempts to display both teams spawn timers, and I would consider this more of a cheat… if it worked perfectly. As it is, you have to guess when to set the timer to start, and every map you have to reset the spawn time (it doesnt know that map X has X seconds til spawn for the Axis for example). I think you can have this shown in ET anyway from a script.

(DG) #18

:???:

bind x vsay_team “NeedAmmo”

(Nail) #19

[quote=“DG”]

:???:

bind x vsay_team “NeedAmmo”[/quote]

my feelings exactly, why would you need a macro ???

(Hakuryu) #20

You dont need a macro for that… I’ve had the thing 3 days, just trying it out.