41 replies to this topic

[Modo44]

I would agree on keeping the mouse, because Logitech don't break, except for personal experience with these specific sensors. I had the G7 (exact same sensor as the G5), and it was good. However, it was one of the first high-DPI laser sensors, which turned out not good enough, and were improved a lot over time. I am now using the G500, which is easily the more precise mouse, especially (but not only) at high sensitivity settings. Despite Logitech's best efforts with the drivers, the G5 is only OK by comparison -- the relatively old sensor tech is showing.

Edited by Modo44, 20 November 2013 - 09:58 AM.

[Fuerchtegott]

Koniving, on 20 November 2013 - 08:49 AM, said:

That mouse's shape looks somehow very female. Pretty thingy. :-)

[Prezimonto]

left mouse = left side firing group
right mouse = right side firing group
mouse 3 = tag or LRM
keyboard 4/5/6 for extras (only use a few load outs that have 2 weapons groups + tag + LRM's so I only ever use the 4 key)

I am pretty okay with swapping between chain fire and not during a fight if I'm running too hot.. just need a few seconds around a corner while cooling off to make it happen.

I do best with mechs that are simpler, have few larger weapons and fewer weapon groups. Lots of reasons for this, but at least part of is that there's less to mess up in a close fight. My complicated weapon group mechs are almost always LRM boats where I'm running close to a line for heat when firing secondary multiple laser weapon groups and LRM's together (stupid Catapult C1 takes so much effort to get reasonable scores).

[Kali Rinpoche]

Here is my single mouse, no game pad, set up. (Yeah, to the return of fire selected group.)

Mouse

I use RAT7 mouse, with DPI selector set to 800 dpi, and max weights added to mouse. (It has a broken left side button (3) and I still love it b/c its heavy, low profile, and has easy to reach sniper button to take DPI super Low.) I bought 2 replacements for it (Corsair and Naga) and can't stand the size or lightness of either of them.

LB Fire selected
RB group 2
B4 where I always put missiles b/c not effected by mouse shake. (SRM LRM Narc)
B3 -Broken-
Z Group 3
Weapon groupings
1. Weapons I fire the most. Generally AC's or LL (set to chain fire.)
2. Secondary main weapon group. Generally ML/SL/MG set to chain/linked depending on mech role.
3 Copy of 1 but set to linked if more than 1 weapon. If group 1 is 1 weapon I put SSRM here if equipped.
4. LRM/SRM
5 & 6 Specific situation weapon groupings. Bleed heat combos etc...

I set fired selected indicator on group 1 with arrow key. I deal most of my damage with button 1,2, & Z, but use the arrow keeps to tab right to 5-6 for close range brawling or chain fire combos. That way if I need to move/turn/escape I arrow to weapon group I need to be accurate with and Fire with LB. This along with lowered dpi gives amazing accuracy.

I realize my combo might sound strange and simple, but finding what works for you is most important.

Example: AS7-DDC
G1. 2 LL (chain) (Fire select LB set here to start)
G2. AC20
G3. 2 LL (linked fire)
G4. 3 SRM 4 (chain)
G5. 3 SRM 4 (linked)
G6. Alpha

Edited by Kali Rinpoche, 20 November 2013 - 11:03 AM.

[Mercer Skye]

Lot's of people running different set ups. It's easy to see that it's just a matter of what is comfortable.

Personally, I try (but not too hard) to utilize all weapon groups.

Mouse 1/2 is Group 1/2, like most people.
Mouse 3 is Alpha Strike. (Scroll Wheel button).
Would be nice if we could get the scroll wheel officially mapped so that we could cycle weapon groups with it.

That's it for the mouse, as I'm an old school 'lo-tech' player. (have always played MW: Anything with a keyboard).

WASD are unchanged. Keyboard 2 is 'fire selected', keyboard 3 and 4 are unchanged, keyboard 'Q' and 'E' are groups five and six. Keyboard '~' and '1' are cycle left and right. Tab is Target
(it would be nice if they implemented 'reticle targeting').

LShift is push to talk (does get slightly annoying when I have to use text to communicate).

Vision modes don't really matter, they're usually not 'heat of the moment' keypresses.

Chat buttons are a touch different (LOP; L-ance, O-ther teammates, P-ublic).

Crazy how efficient you can become on a keyboard. And as silly as it is to respect fictional characters, I secretly applaud the 'Mechwarriors who were able to effectively pilot more than just a couple 'mechs.

[mark v92]

i have the G5 mouse too but i dont rly have that problem. maybe insert more weights in the mouse? you can also move group 3 to your scroll button so your mouse doesnt go sideways. i have it on default because i dont like scroll shooting

[Unnatural Growth]

Wow, some of you guys are running some pretty serious hardware!

All I have is keyboard/mouse and I'm running a Logitech M510 5 button mouse. This is my second one in 6 months, I spilled a drink on my first one, and I can tell you that bourbon and apple cider will glue down mouse buttons 1 and 2 quite effectively. Unfortunately, it did so while a team mate in a Cicada ran by me, and he thought I was FF him on purpose...



I run anywhere from 3 to 5 weapons groups depending on loadout and weapon ranges.

[Frosty Alpha]

Holy cow. Thanks for all the replies! I'll try some of those ideas when I get the chance. I'll start by messing with the keyboard bindings, and maybe stop by Best Buy to try out some new mice in person.

[Buckminster]

To throw one more setup into the mix...

I use joystick and a plain old mouse.

On the mouse:
left button is group 1 and right is group 2. Pretty straight forward there

On the joystick:
forward and back is throttle
left and right steer
trigger is group 3,
my three thumb buttons are group 4, jump jets, and select target
my hat switch is zoom, night vision, heat vision, advanced zoom

I've considered buying a better mouse, to give me a couple more buttons. I'd really like to have the option for a toggle ECM (not that I've been piloting my 3L lately) and shutdown override within easy reach.

[XphR]

Heheheh I like the " lop " for Lance, Other and Public, been using " l;' " myself.. but if that ever changes its lop for sure.

[Void Angel]

Frosty Alpha, on 19 November 2013 - 09:14 PM, said:

I apologize in advance if this question has been answered elsewhere on this forum, but my cursory search has been unsuccessful. What tricks do you guys use to be able to fire 3 or more weapon groups accurately using a mouse?

I am currently using a Logitech G5 gaming mouse that I've had for about 5 years, and I find that I can shoot pretty well with the left and right click, but pressing any other button on the mouse moves it slightly and I wind up missing. MWO is tricky because in order to hit a moving target with a Large Laser (for example), you need to not only get the reticle over the target, you have to KEEP it there for a full second to get all the damage delivered.

For example, suppose you have a K2 with one LL on each arm, one LL on each side torso, and 2 AC2s (the heat management would be horrible, but just for the sake of argument). I would put the AC2s on left click, because I would need to fire them often and accurately, the arm LLs on right click, and the torso LLs on one of the side buttons (e.g. mouse 3). Well... I actually did try this build at one point, and every time I hit the side button, I would spray the laser beam all over the mech I was trying to shoot because my mouse would move a few millimeters.

Do you guys have any suggestions? Do you bind keys to weapon groups? Should I invest in a new gaming mouse with buttons that are easier to press?

Thanks.

It sounds like your hand doesn't quite fit the mouse - I can relate, since I have big ol' slappin' hands with large palms and shorter fingers. If you're not able to reach the thumb buttons you're looking for, you may have to try to change your grip on the mouse, or set the mousewheel to fire some weapon groups. I don't know about the G5, but my G500 has left- and right-click options - even if the game doesn't recognize the buttons (WoW didn't, for example) you can still bind them to keyboard keys and then bind those keys to the proper weapon groups. =)

As far as weapon groups themselves, I'll very rarely use more than three groups. The reason for this is that you're using up attention managing those extra groups (no matter how practiced you are at them) which could probably be better used for incidental things like watching the world around you and aiming at things. Thing of it as a matter of "cognitive ergonomics." My general rules for weapon groups are as follows:

• Group your similar weapons together whenever possible. If you have an ERPPC and two medium lasers on an arm, you obviously don't want to fire them all together. Similarly, if you have a double stack of LB-10X Autocannons on one side of your Atlas, and 3 SRM6s on the other side, you don't want to fire them on the same button. You will invariably miss with one or the other side in actual combat conditions.
  
• Group weapons together in similar locations. Pay attention to where your weapons fire is coming from and where it goes, especially on large 'mechs. My Battlemaster 1G has two AC/5s on one arm, and ER LLaser on the other arm, and 6 MLasers on its chest. The chest lasers go on my third button, and the arm weapons fire with the mouse button on the same side as the arm (left arm, mouse1; right arm, mouse2.) Even if you have the same weapons on each arm, splitting the arms into separate groups for heavy, high-heat weapons fire allows you to fire while only partly exposed without wasting ammunition or heat.
  
• Put responsive weapons on easy buttons, less responsive weapons on harder buttons. You want the buttons you can most easily reach to fire your most responsive weapons. My thumb button isn't as easy for me to press, for example - the sideways pressure alters how the mouse is held and this tends to create a tiny fraction of a second in transition. It makes sense to put my arm-mounted weapons on my first two buttons so that I can more easily hit fast-tracking targets. My Thunderbolt 5S has an AC on the left arm, a laser on the right arm, three lasers on one torso, and SRM6s on the other. I use the left and right buttons for the left and right arms, the thumb button for the lasers that I have to torso track anyway, and a fourth button for the SRMs, which have radically different "ballistic" characteristics.
  
• Use similar setups whenever possible. If you set up your key bindings the same way every time, you have less of a mental transition when moving between BattleMechs - some of which will have radically different loadouts.

[Lochiel]

Koniving, on 20 November 2013 - 08:49 AM, said:

I love this mouse so hard. Logitech G300. Costs around $40. I haven't played with the software profiles, but I make extensive use of the on board profiles. For MWO I use really low (?) DPI. My mouse can barely make it across my screen.

I also use the Razor Nostromo gamepad. I bought it used off Craig's List. Best $40 I've spent. That I make extensive use of the software profiles.

Right - Target. I think that Targeting your target is one of the most important things you can do. Drives me crazy when I'm spectating and the pilot doesn't target.
Left - Align Legs with Torso. I might have to change this some day, but for now it feels real natural to point my torso where I want to go, and this helps that happen.

Left shoulder buttons - Primary and 2nd weapon groups. It is easy to press both with one finger if I need too.
Top Right shoulder button - Missiles.
Bottom Right - Unused 4th group.

[Koniving]

An unusual configuration indeed.

[Gremlich Johns]

Just ditch the mouse and come over to the darkside that is using a joystick. Lots of weapons groups available. And use the Razer Nostromo for the other hand. (for those of you that prefer a mouse, awesome. I, however, use a joystick to great effect.)

Edited by Gremlich Johns, 23 November 2013 - 07:24 AM.

[Void Angel]

Mouse v. Joystick is preference. Whether or not a mouse is empirically better depends on whether you have a zero-order joystick or not. =)

[Buckminster]

What is this either/or with joystick vs mouse? Use both!!!

[Frosty Alpha]

Sorry to bump an old topic, but as the OP, I thought I should report back with the solution that worked for me.

I tried out some of those fancy mice at best buy, but I came to the conclusion that I would have the same problem. The fundamental issue is that I only have 5 fingers on my right hand! I need my thumb and ring finger to grip the mouse firmly, my pinky to drag along the mousepad for traction control, and my fore and middle fingers for left and right click. Hitting any buttons with my thumb, ring finger or pinky will inevitably cause a loss of accuracy.

As for my left hand, all but the pinky are used for piloting (WASD and jump jets), so I assigned left shift to weapon group 5, and that has worked out pretty well for me. I had to move push-to-talk to left ctrl, but that's ok because I really shouldn't be moving, shooting AND talking at the same time.

As an example, I have a battlemaster build with 2 ER LLs, 4 MLs, and 2 MGs. I assigned the ER LLs to left click, the MLs to right click, and the MGs to left shift. If I had missiles, I would put them on the side mouse buttons: mouse 3 and 4.

[sneeking]

MonkeyCheese, on 19 November 2013 - 11:56 PM, said:

Everything else

Targeting, normal movement, snap to direction arm lock is done by the keypad on my razer nostromo and all speed variables like max speed and full stop are mapped to the thumb dpad, JJ are the button over the dpad

I see you use a nostromo, I have an early version of this ( almost identical in every way to look at ) the belkin n52te.

do you have issues with the 05 button top right corner ? MWO refuses absolutely to let me map it to anything, iv even tryed changing its physical assignment from within the belkin software. windows recognises that iv done this but still MWO will not accept the button for any reason.

Edited by sneeking, 28 December 2013 - 04:34 PM.

[TercieI]

sneeking, on 28 December 2013 - 04:30 PM, said:

I see you use a nostromo, I have an early version of this ( almost identical in every way to look at ) the belkin n52te.

do you have issues with the 05 button top right corner ? MWO refuses absolutely to let me map it to anything, iv even tryed changing its physical assignment from within the belkin software. windows recognises that iv done this but still MWO will not accept the button for any reason.

Works fine on mine (missile door toggle, FWIW)

[sneeking]

strange, its just that one button.

not too bad ( many people online can't get em working at all on win7 )