19 replies to this topic

[MartianMonkey]

I've thought about picking one of these up for a long time now. I love MWO and I play several other games (FPS, RTS, RPG, & whatever else catches my eye). I was wondering if anyone else uses one and if it is a good addition over a keyboard.

[GreyGhost]

I just got one. I'm still figuring it out, but I think I like it. Main thing is that control binding in this game needs an overhaul.

[CitizenDick]

ive used the original for years and years plating Quake and Unreal....Ive got the latest Razor and Im getting used to it as well. Ive loved these game pads...

[Voodu777]

This is my current Nostromo profile for MWO. It might help some of you get ideas on how you want your own set up so I thought I'd share. I put WASD on the bottom center, my weapons on the top row plus 6 on the far left of the second row, full stop to the right of the 6, target lock and target info to the right of the W. On the far left of the third row I have override shutdown. I use the button above the D-pad for power up/down, and the D-pad for zoom, heat/night visions, and ECM mode. The thumb button is mapped to space for jump jets.

[siLve00]

MartianMonkey, on 23 December 2012 - 10:42 AM, said:

I've thought about picking one of these up for a long time now. I love MWO and I play several other games (FPS, RTS, RPG, & whatever else catches my eye). I was wondering if anyone else uses one and if it is a good addition over a keyboard.

using a nostromo now for over 13 years...
there is nothing better to play mmo´s ( or games where you have an use for macros ).

Once you play with it... and getting used to it.. you wont miss it anymore.
You can do so many stuff with it ( if you care and take some time and check the right forums for macro setup´s )
if you have 1 you dont need to switch @ every game to "esdf" since your having enough keys in close range to select.

if your not sure.. buy an older version @ ebay for some low cash.
( i still use an old nostro.. its 4 years old by now.. just bought a new one because my old got stolen ^^ )

Edited by siLve00, 07 January 2013 - 02:53 PM.

[Tidezen]

I've heard great things about the Nostromo. I personally use a Logitech G13, which is also a stellar option. It's got a few more keys, although for most games that's not really necessary (On MWO I only use about half of them).

But yeah, either of them are great additions, I don't think I'll ever use the keyboard for game controls again. Especially since voice chat is so standard these days.

[Gremlich Johns]

siLve00, on 07 January 2013 - 02:52 PM, said:

using a nostromo now for over 13 years...

Ditto

I mapped the d-pad for the throttle and the top row of buttons for primary controls like radar and zoom.

Edited by Gremlich Johns, 13 January 2013 - 12:03 PM.

[MrLordcaptain]

I use the Nostromo and I am pretty pleased with it... since you have the option to assign a key to change keymap you can fit all functions (except chat) on it.

[Orbit Rain]

The Nostromo is awesome...razer has some new awesomeness ( bios flashing keyboard bricking software less-so)...The Orbweaver

[Tanara]

I am also using the Logitech G13, mainly since I have other things Logitech too.
I am missing one finger from my left hand, so it is a must for me =)

Couldn't think of playing anything with only a keyboard since I bought it.

You can even read news-headline-RSS-feed with it while dead
The small LCD-display is quite handy with some things, like on TeamSpeak it can show who is currently talking.

[CitizenDick]

Orbit Rain, on 15 January 2013 - 08:20 PM, said:

The Nostromo is awesome...razer has some new awesomeness ( bios flashing keyboard bricking software less-so)...The Orbweaver

The ********!!! I just bought my new one not too long ago..I must have the Orbreaver!!

[Nicholas Carlyle]

I can't quite see spending $129 for one...are any of these wireless at this point?

[knight-of-ni]

I swear by the Razor Nostromo. Now that I'm used to it, I would not use anything else to play MWO.

[Deadxero]

I have one and absolutely love it, use it for every game. Originally picked it up because my left wrist has issues. Using the Notromo not only gives me a nice customization platform, but allows me to play without aggravating my carpal tunnel.

[MartianMonkey]

After looking at a few reviews I think I'm going with the G13. I'm not sure about the hand rest on the nostromo. I have the original G15 keyboard with the LCD and like it. If the nostromo didn't have your hand sitting in an odd position (or at least it looks like it to me) then I would go with razor over logitech.

[Mhyth]

I've been using an original Nostromo N52 for years - I've looked at the TE and now the razor versions but they just felt flimsy by comparison and lacked tactile button feel of the original. Looking at other keypads I've never found one that had a solid thumb D-pad like the original N52 - they were all ***** or sticks that get painful after prolonged use. Over the years I've gotten quite accustomed to using the D-pad for WASD movment rather than four key finger twisting.

That Orbweaver looks like it has potential -

[Vekelsic]

I have been usng the TE version for about 5 years with various games. EVE, LOL, WoW, SWTOR and simply cant fault it for any of them.
The auto profile loading linked to the game .exe file makes playing differtent games seamless.

The razer software in the TE makes it run without any issues since i baught it.

A friend of mine has the G13 and although this has a few more buttons, i find the hand rest much more comfortable for keeping my fingers in the correct place. The shape of the hand rest is completely natural and can be adjusted for smaller or larger hands.

To be honest i think either will be just as good for MWO though.

Edited by Vekelsic, 19 February 2013 - 10:30 AM.

[Ilxuss]

I personally use Logitech G13 and while I find the LCD screen as a useful and rather handy thing to have, I can't get used to playing with it. Whenever I get a new game I always try to play it with G13, but in the end always find the keyboard to be more comfortable. I also find the joystick as unnecessary - it deserves a mention, that it's hard to press the joystick if you want to use it as an extra key, and PC games usually don't require or use a joystick.


About keys: I can't speak for others, but my little finger always rest useless, next to left row of keys and when I need to use it, it takes me a moment to move it and in the end pressing anything with my little finger becomes uncomfortable and delayed.


I also miss extra row of keys above the equivalent of W on G13 (that key is called G4 on G13 keyboard btw ). Without that extra row (which would be an equivalent of 1-6 on keyboard) tasks like switching weapons in FPS games again becomes unnatural.I could place the WSAD one row lower, but then it becomes uncomfortable for me to rest my hand in new neutral position. On G13 those weapon change keys are usually placed left from the "W" equivalent, which is hard to get used to for me.

I think that since Nostromo has similar design and less keys, some of my points may prove to be true for it as well. I really like the LCD screen on my G13, but think that buying it for that sole purpose was waste of money. I usually don't need to create macro's on the fly either.


Since I don't see MWO using LCD screen on my G13 I think I can safely say, that you'll be more than fine with normal keyboard. It may be a better choice to buy something similar to Logitech G15 or G19 "full" gaming keyboard if you want something fancy.


If somebody would like to listen to what I wrote I'll say, as a reference, that I usually use something called "Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard" ( http://www.microsoft...c-keyboard-4000 ) for work as well as gaming and while it may not be the preferred choice for gaming for many I think I'm doing fine. Also I think, that in the end I have wider choice of keys available for my left hand than in either Nostromo or G13. (around 26-28 on my keyboard versus 24 + eventual joystick on G13, but I'm not used to using it in this way).

[Grendalsh]

@Mhyth - The thumbstick on the N52te and Razer Nostromo is removable, and leaves you with the base dpad from the original N52. I've used all three models, and have to say I strongly recommend upgrading from the original n52 to the Razer model

I was fortunate to have Razer send me a review model of the OrbWeaver.. but sadly, I feel it suffers from Razer's mixed bag habit of aweseome and WTF?! The new mechanical keys and dpad are a joy to use.. but the 4 rows of keys are placed.. just off. Granted, I have slightly stubby fingers, but I have difficulty hitting all 4 rows without moving my hand, which defeats the point of a gamepad. I get the 'why', but the execution seems self-defeating.
At present, my biggest grip with the OrbWeaver is with the keymap swapping. It can take up to a second for it to properly swap the keymap, at which point you've already hit the following key and failed to have the expected action occur. It changes the Orbweaver from an 'infiinte number of actions', to 20 keys with an 'infinite' number of delayed actions. (Here, Infinite = 8 keymaps x 21 keys). At present, it's performance doesn't justify the pro-circuit pricetag.

I have a vid up of my MWO setup for the Nostromo, along with setups for other games (coffWoWcoff). Check them out at www.youtube.com/user/grendalsh

On a related note.. I am currently working with a gent on a right-handed Nostromo prototype, with a thumb-ball in place of the dpad, meant to be used in tandem with the Nostromo. The hope is to create a 2-fisted gaming solution that crosses the line between keyboard/mouse and dual-stick gamepad..

[Rowin]

Grendalsh, on 05 March 2013 - 06:12 AM, said:

@Mhyth - The thumbstick on the N52te and Razer Nostromo is removable, and leaves you with the base dpad from the original N52. I've used all three models, and have to say I strongly recommend upgrading from the original n52 to the Razer model

I was fortunate to have Razer send me a review model of the OrbWeaver.. but sadly, I feel it suffers from Razer's mixed bag habit of aweseome and WTF?! The new mechanical keys and dpad are a joy to use.. but the 4 rows of keys are placed.. just off. Granted, I have slightly stubby fingers, but I have difficulty hitting all 4 rows without moving my hand, which defeats the point of a gamepad. I get the 'why', but the execution seems self-defeating.
At present, my biggest grip with the OrbWeaver is with the keymap swapping. It can take up to a second for it to properly swap the keymap, at which point you've already hit the following key and failed to have the expected action occur. It changes the Orbweaver from an 'infiinte number of actions', to 20 keys with an 'infinite' number of delayed actions. (Here, Infinite = 8 keymaps x 21 keys). At present, it's performance doesn't justify the pro-circuit pricetag.

I have a vid up of my MWO setup for the Nostromo, along with setups for other games (coffWoWcoff). Check them out at www.youtube.com/user/grendalsh

On a related note.. I am currently working with a gent on a right-handed Nostromo prototype, with a thumb-ball in place of the dpad, meant to be used in tandem with the Nostromo. The hope is to create a 2-fisted gaming solution that crosses the line between keyboard/mouse and dual-stick gamepad..

I have been using the N52 for years and when it wore out I replaced it with the Razor. I also had issues with the bottom 4 rows however one day i spilled coffee in the keypad so I took it apart (not to hard) to clean and found that if i turned the bottom 4 key buttons around they are much easier to use and recognize when not looking. The 4 keys are slanted towards the middle and reversed they bump up and are easy to use



Rowin

Edited by Rowin, 20 March 2013 - 12:41 PM.