PC Shmupping + Keyboard

tommyb · Post by **tommyb** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 4:53 am

Quick question, does anyone here use a keyboard while shmupping in MAME or playing Touhou games or anything on a PC, really?

I just can't get the hang of it -_-

CStarFlare · Post by **CStarFlare** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 5:03 am

Yeah; it actually works pretty well for me since my right hand is pretty good on the arrow keys.

captpain · Post by **captpain** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 5:04 am

Didn't PROMETHEUS get like a gazillion points in DoDonPachi with a keyboard? Confirm/deny, anyone...?

Kaspal · Post by **Kaspal** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 5:04 am

i do, and whwnever i switch to my PS2 to paly some mushi or DDP, i have a hard time with the gamepad...

i dont know, but if its danmaku, i can do pretty well with the keyb, but if its a "regular" shooter, like say the strikers series, then im pretty much screwed... cant pass level 4-5 consistently while playin with the keyboard.

croikle · Post by **croikle** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 5:38 am

captpain wrote:Didn't PROMETHEUS get like a gazillion points in DoDonPachi with a keyboard? Confirm/deny, anyone...?

Yes, I think he holds the known Western records in DDP and Guwange, and plays with a keyboard.

themachinist · Post by **themachinist** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 5:39 am

i think indstr has a keyboard for an avatar with "best joystick" or something on it.

Aru-san · Post by **Aru-san** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 5:55 am

Arrows keys to move, Z for normal fire, X for bombs, C for full auto, SHIFT key for Start (in the case I need to hold certain button combos before start; had to do this on certain games like Dangun Feveron (and also because 1 won't register if I have Z and X held down)).

Yeah, I'm pretty used to keyboard play myself.

tommyb · Post by **tommyb** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 6:05 am

Ugh I was just playing ESP Ra.De and I sucked with the keyboard. Oh well, just gotta get used to it. It's like learning to play it all over again, moving with the keyboard is so much different then the 360 pad. But I figure the keyboard is way more like the arcade.

Zebra Airforce · Post by **Zebra Airforce** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 6:24 am

I have to use my left hand for movement, or I'll play terribly. Horizontal shooters and platformers are really hard with a keyboard.

Aru-san · Post by **Aru-san** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 6:27 am

Zebra Airforce wrote:I have to use my left hand for movement, or I'll play terribly. Horizontal shooters and platformers are really hard with a keyboard.

The only time I use my left hand for movement is on certain games that don't have autofire (like Guxt, Gradius, BugsRider, etc), in which, WASD is movement, and JKL are my primary control buttons.

I also use this control scheme on console emulators like NES and Genesis because it feels more comfortable to play with at least an approximation of that of an actual controller.

Pixel_Outlaw · Post by **Pixel_Outlaw** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 6:46 am

I use three fingers while using the keyboard. I have my index on the left arrow key, middle finger on the up or down key and the finger next to it on the right key. This gives you almost instant left to right or right to left changes in speed since you already have a finger in the direction you want to go. With a D pad there is a very very slight pause between direction changes as your thumb crosses the deadzone.

emphatic · Post by **emphatic** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 7:48 am

Pixel_Outlaw wrote:I use three fingers while using the keyboard. I have my index on the left arrow key, middle finger on the up or down key and the finger next to it on the right key. This gives you almost instant left to right or right to left changes in speed since you already have a finger in the direction you want to go. With a D pad there is a very very slight pause between direction changes as your thumb crosses the deadzone.

I agree. Although, I MUST use my left hand on the arrow keys, so I have my arms crossed when playing on the (laptop) keyboard (or if you can't reconfigure z, x, c buttons). Numpad 0 for fire, numpad "," for bomb etc is a good setup for a full size keyboard.

Emph

indstr · Post by **indstr** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 12:07 pm

Pixel_Outlaw wrote:This gives you almost instant left to right or right to left changes in speed since you already have a finger in the direction you want to go. With a D pad there is a very very slight pause between direction changes as your thumb crosses the deadzone.

You are correct, sir

^ There's how I like to rock my PS2 games.

Here's another thread I created about the issue a while back. At least 4 other people use this adapter as well

http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.ph ... 2+keyboard

sikraiken · Post by **sikraiken** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 4:59 pm

It ultimately all boils down to what you get used to using.

kozo · Post by **kozo** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 8:03 pm

emphatic wrote:
Pixel_Outlaw wrote:I use three fingers while using the keyboard. I have my index on the left arrow key, middle finger on the up or down key and the finger next to it on the right key. This gives you almost instant left to right or right to left changes in speed since you already have a finger in the direction you want to go. With a D pad there is a very very slight pause between direction changes as your thumb crosses the deadzone.
I agree. Although, I MUST use my left hand on the arrow keys, so I have my arms crossed when playing on the (laptop) keyboard (or if you can't reconfigure z, x, c buttons). Numpad 0 for fire, numpad "," for bomb etc is a good setup for a full size keyboard.

Emph

I've done that before, but I typically just do what Pixel Outlaw does too. I quite love keyboards for gaming, but I still use a USB Saturn pad too sometimes, depending on the day and how I feel.

bsidwell · Post by **bsidwell** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 8:54 pm

Probably half of Team SDA is using keyboards and they seem to be doing OK.
(And before some smartass suggests this -- no, it's not the bottom half.)

Ed Oscuro · Post by **Ed Oscuro** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:08 pm

PC Shmupping + keyboard = Action DOOM by Scuba Steve.

t0yrobo · Post by **t0yrobo** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:10 pm

I do the 3 fingers on the arrows also. never had much of a problem, I think it's a result of growing p with pc games rather than consoles.

Ed Oscuro · Post by **Ed Oscuro** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:30 pm

I used to do the three fingers but sometimes it really does hurt my reaction time.

It really depends on the game. Something slow like RayForce works just fine with my 360 pad, but other games really need something better.

emphatic · Post by **emphatic** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:40 pm

Perhaps someone should design a hybrid key/arcade controller with a 4 button layout you can rest your fingers on instead of a stick/pad.

Middle finger on <up>, ring-finger on <left>, index-finger on <right> and your thumb on <down>. That could be very ergonomic and precise. Happ buttons, or something with a little push resistance would be great.

_____|up|
|left|____|right|

___________|down|

______________________________|fire 1|__|fire 2|__|fire3|

_________________________|fire 4|__|fire 5|__|fire 6|

Emph

indstr · Post by **indstr** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:53 pm

emphatic wrote:Perhaps someone should design a hybrid key/arcade controller with a 4 button layout you can rest your fingers on instead of a stick/pad.
_____|up|
|left|____|right|

___________|down|

Nice, although there should be a right handed version as well.

As I've mentioned before, I just use the numpad, middle finger on 8, index on 4, ring on 6 and thumb on 2. Although I may end up changing it to 0 as I get older before I get arthritis

Or even the right arrow on the other arrows. Not sure. I'm sure it will feel wrong at first but then I'd get used to it

RackGaki · Post by **RackGaki** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:54 pm

I play Trouble Witches with a keyboard, since I never bothered figuring out why it wouldn't work with my DOA4 Hori stick. I use the Shift+z+x+c and arrow key setup like Aru-san.

My ringfinger hurts after an hour, though.

Ed Oscuro · Post by **Ed Oscuro** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:58 pm

emphatic wrote:Perhaps someone should design a hybrid key/arcade controller with a 4 button layout you can rest your fingers on instead of a stick/pad.

Yeah, I've thought about this as well - playing Numan Athletics will do that to me.

j^aws · Post by **j^aws** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 10:14 pm

emphatic wrote:Perhaps someone should design a hybrid key/arcade controller with a 4 button layout you can rest your fingers on instead of a stick/pad.

Middle finger on <up>, ring-finger on <left>, index-finger on <right> and your thumb on <down>. That could be very ergonomic and precise. Happ buttons, or something with a little push resistance would be great.

_____|up|
|left|____|right|

___________|down|

______________________________|fire 1|__|fire 2|__|fire3|

_________________________|fire 4|__|fire 5|__|fire 6|

Emph

http://forums.shoryuken.com/showpost.ph ... stcount=18

I've also seen it done with keycaps, instead of arcade pushbuttons too...

Ed Oscuro · Post by **Ed Oscuro** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 10:16 pm

Interesting layout but lol the art and the peeling plastic

trivial · Post by **trivial** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 10:21 pm

Q*Bert should have had something like that

diagonals are my li'l hiccup. can't do them fast on the arrows or the numpad.

emphatic · Post by **emphatic** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 10:53 pm

Here's a concept design I whipped up. Not gonna build it though. Think about this thing resting in your lap and you put both your hands on there (I know, "that's what she said"). You could easily reprogram this for left/right-hand preference. Who said firebuttons has to be aligned next to each other, right?

Having them mounted on a slightly tilted angle like this should be easier on your wrists as well.

Emph

LaserGun · Post by **LaserGun** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 11:21 pm

Gimmick or Genius?

RackGaki · Post by **RackGaki** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 11:50 pm

Gimmick.

Neat one, though. Maybe I would love this if I was left handed, and could use a joystick with my right hand. It seems much easier to rest my fingers on the keys and tap on a key that to fiddle with that thing.

captpain · Post by **captpain** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 11:59 pm

LaserGun wrote:

Gimmick or Genius?

You have got to be kidding me.

PC Shmupping + Keyboard

PC Shmupping + Keyboard

Re: PC Shmupping + Keyboard