WASD vs ARROW KEYS

[BARBEERIAN]

Totally inpsired by the 'Scrollwheel' thread. So which control method do you use for games?

I like my Arrow keys because I've used them since Wolfenstein 3D (though I map left/right to strafe now not turn). I also prefer the layout of that area of the keyboard, numpad rocks, and I like having the '6-box' of keys up above but without everything cramping around my movement keys so it's easy to reset.

I also have a really wide desk, and I keep about 3 feet between the righthand edge of my keyboard and the lefthand edge of my mousepad so 'squeezing' isn't an issue.

(I also contend that WASD was invented for the 'sh*ttily desked' individuals of the world who spend thousands on a gaming computer but won't spend the $200 for a remotely descent sized desk)

 

[Mowque]

Don't play games

 

[ParadigmShifter]

I use a joypad or wiimote for games. Only PC game I play is Civ4.

 

[Dachs]

WASD

Arrow keys are silly. Also I have a laptop without a numpad so there really is no utility to using the arrow keys.

 

[Godwynn]

I like WASD if I have to use my mouse for the game. (I am right handed.)

 

[Defiant47]

When I first started playing actual 3D games, I tried using the arrow keys, because that's what I was used to from Wolfenstein 3D and Doom. Suffice it to say that when I tried wasd setup, I found it was unimaginably easier and more effective.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

WASD gives me hand balance. Arrow keys are very right-side-of-the-desk-oriented. It screws with my computer feng-shui.

 

[Defiant47]

Except that's just strafing, which you don't usually do all that much.

Move this discussion to the other thread?

Are you kidding me? Strafing is the bread of tactical movement!

Imagine you're turning a corner. You want to keep your crosshairs as close to the corner while you move so that you can shoot at anything that might turn up being there. If you don't strafe, you run into the wall corner, rather than moving past it. And talking to your teammates is an *in-any-situation* kind of thing.

 

[Dachs]

Are you kidding me? Strafing is the bread of tactical movement!

Imagine you're turning a corner. You want to keep your crosshairs as close to the corner while you move so that you can shoot at anything that might turn up being there. If you don't strafe, you run into the wall corner, rather than moving past it. And talking to your teammates is an *in-any-situation* kind of thing.

Oh, I do that all the time. I play Pyro a lot, after all. But I talk to my teammates less than you do, I guess. Probably comes from spending so much time on an alltalk server, which inhibits the desire to give away tactical information by voicechat.

 

[truckingpete]

depends what kind of game though....but I'm thinking WASD keys sound good.

 

[Irish Caesar]

I use the arrow keys.

My keyboard is on the far left side of my desk, and the left side of the keyboard is no-man's land.

This also allows me to scratch my back or something with my left hand while using my right for arrowing.

 

[Defiant47]

Oh, I do that all the time. I play Pyro a lot, after all. But I talk to my teammates less than you do, I guess. Probably comes from spending so much time on an alltalk server, which inhibits the desire to give away tactical information by voicechat.

Yeah, I'm used to being in voicechats with my clanmates only for a match. (Man, it's been a long time since I actually played with a team)

For me, very rarely will more than one finger drop out of the wasd setup (that is, ring finger on a, middle on w, and index on d). Usually only when I lean and want to view the scores (q or e and tab), but even then, it's only for the fun of doing something so weird that it takes more than one finger off.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

In Tribes 2 it was ESDF instead of WASD, since W changed weapons; I think A was used for something, too.

 

[LightFang]

Why would you use the arrow keys? WASD is clearly superior.

 

[say1988]

WASD. Numpad is great for some games, but I have a laptop
Mainly because there are lots of keys nearby (for reload, melee, switch weapon, grenade, see scores, enter vehicle, etc) while the arrow keys have only a few keys within easy reach, even on a laptop. On a real keyboard, WASD beats a numpad in most situations since it is on teh opposite side as the mouse, and are more compact.

That said, if I am playing some game that doesn't use a mouse I will often use arrow keys, but that is uncommon.

 

[CCRunner]

WASD for hand balance with the mouse

 

[Annex]

My W key was broken for a while a few years ago, when I had no actual work to do and spent way too much time gaming.

 

[mangxema]

WASD, for the added keys, although the slight offset of the W irritates me to no end. The only time I've every used the arrow keys is when I used to play Descent back in the day with a crappy $5 joystick. Then all I needed was forward/reverse and a pseudo-hat switch.

 

[emzie]

WASD. Allows for many more key bindings, and is easier to transition into typing. ESDF is even better but I couldn't transition into it.

 

[Esckey]

Arrow keys. Then I path/bind all the other keys to be one in the area, weapons take up numbers on the numpad(halflife) use is backspace, rctrl crouch, enter or 0 on the numpad jump, and so forth. I realize WASD is just a simple for binding/pathing buttons but meh I find it far to hard to get use to