worst controls ever

[TOOMSKI2000 0]

i find the controls easy enough to use - but i have to admit i use TRACK IR VECTOR EXPANSION kit si my head takes care of stuff like leaning left / right and zooming in and out etc so i have less work for the keys to do and i dont need to use the free look button as TRACK IR takes care of that for me.

Ovarall i think the keys / command system is easy to use with my set up

[Turtlefarm 0]

Uhm... I use the cursor keys too and I use right ctrl for assuming the prone position.  Maybe it's a problem with your version?  I use v1.03

Really? My version is 1.04.5121 (english version released in Finland a few weeks ago). My version just wont allow me to set right ctrl to anything. Hmmm... if yours is working then maybe this issue might be fixed in the next update.... Hopefully.

[wamingo 1]

Uhm... I use the cursor keys too and I use right ctrl for assuming the prone position.  Maybe it's a problem with your version?  I use v1.03

Really? My version is 1.04.5121 (english version released in Finland a few weeks ago). My version just wont allow me to set right ctrl to anything. Hmmm... if yours is working then maybe this issue might be fixed in the next update.... Hopefully.

Left ctrl doesn't seem to work in combination with anything. Not even the default Lctrl+'R' will do the lower/raise weapon, it will just force reload. Right ctrl on the other hand seems to work fine. If this has anything to do with me having a danish layout I don't know. This is full game 1.04 too.

The demo did not have this problem!

[sniper pilot 36]

The controls are fine.

[frederf 0]

*shoots Sniper Pilot*

[horrgakx 1]

I think they're hard. I'm not used to using the WSAD approach and I tried redefining but gave up.

They are not intuitive or quick - I often find myself pressing the wrong thing.

I've just got the full game today and I've not managed to stay alive for more than 10 seconds after killing someone.

[jasono 0]

Practice makes perfect mate.

Keep using the keys until you get basic use of them, won't be long before your racking up the kills

[dm 9]

I think they're hard. I'm not used to using the WSAD approach and I tried redefining but gave up.

They are not intuitive or quick - I often find myself pressing the wrong thing.

I used to think the same thing when OFP came out (I was a "hardcore" arrow key user )

After playing some other games (namely a lot of BF2, HL2, CSS, Swat 4 and whatnot) I got used to the WASD approach, and its actually a lot better (you're a lot closer to a lot of other keys which are handy for rapid use)

[norsu 180]

I usually use WASD combination in simple FPS games but in ArmA I'll stick with arrow keys and numpad. This gives me more hotkeys that are easily accessed than WASD way.

Too bad you can't map ctrl in 1.04, I used to have change weapon in it but now I have to use space .

As for bad controls, well one shouldn't rush them in ArmA. There are some more or less useless controls like sit down and salute which shouldn't be a priority when mapping keys effectively.

[max power 21]

zomgzorz, can you not map right ctrl anymore? That's gonna be an onion in the ointment :/

[norsu 180]

Apparently not. It's now classed as a reserved key like F1-F12 for some reason .

[max power 21]

DAMN IT! Why would they reserve it?

[Turtlefarm 0]

DAMN IT!  Why would they reserve it?

My feelings exactly! At least in my 1.04 version it's reserved. Annoying to say the least. And what's more mind boggling, it seems to serve no apparent purpose.

[Balschoiw 0]

Ok, I´m one of these guys who has a twisted brain, so the outcome is that I´m left-handed. That means that my trackball is left of the keyboard. Right now I´m using the regular setup but as I have one of these computer tables that have limited space for keyboard only I end up with un unsatisfying solution.

Question in short:

Does anyone have a working and practicable solution or keyboard setup for left-handers ?

[Scrub 0]

Hi Balshow,  I have a basic 101 keyboard and use:

The arrow keys for movement

keypad 0 for weapon cycle

numpad period for reload

insert-home-page up for prone-kneel-stand

delete and page down for leaning

/ for sprint

ctrl (damn the reservation of that!! for walk

space for map

numpad numbers I'm constantly changing for everything from comms to weapons.. still have to find a good mix with all the options

shift for night vision.

Rarely do I have to move my hands off this position, and sometimes I switch to my right hand and have to mirror the controls to the opposite side of the keys  

Hope this helps get a more comfortable posture for ya, seems pretty cramped!

[walker 0]

Hi all

If you are serous about gaming or a military sim buff or developer and wanting good controls.

http://www.ideazon.com/global/products/fanggamepad.asp

Have a look through their site they have various solutions but that one is my favourite.It is a U.S. Military training combat pad — now declassified, for non-military personnel, for PC gaming use.

Here is full size picture

http://www.ideazon.com/global_images/products/fang/fang_top.jpg

Also their various keyboards this incorporates the above in to a normal keyboard.

http://www.ideazon.com/global/products/mercgamingkeyboard.asp

And then there is their specialist gaming boards

http://www.ideazon.com/uk/products/zboardgamingkeyboard.asp

and

http://www.ideazon.com/uk/products/keysets.asp

Hopefully there will be one for ArmA soon.

Kind Regards walker

[fasad 1]

DAMN IT! Why would they reserve it?

Actions can now be linked to 2-key press combinations, and BI have chosen to use CTRL+key for common commands. For example, CTRL+G will raise the landing gear of an aircraft. To make this system functional, CTRL should not be linked to any other command.

[max power 21]

DAMN IT! Why would they reserve it?

Actions can now be linked to 2-key press combinations, and BI have chosen to use CTRL+key for common commands. For example, CTRL+G will raise the landing gear of an aircraft. To make this system functional, CTRL should not be linked to any other command.

In what way? To protect the users from themselves? I would not map that control to any key press combination.

[fasad 1]

I agree that is would be more flexible if the game allowed you to map any key to be the modifier, and I sure have nothing to do with any decisions BI make! One possible explanation is hardware - (cheap?) keyboards cannot send some combinations of keys at the same time, and as the ctrl key was always designed to be a modifier, it would one of the least likely keys to encounter this problem. For example, my keyboard cannot send E,D and L at the same time, but it can send E,D, CTRL, SHIFT and ALT at the same time.

Allowing 2-key press combinations adds to the number of commands available. I can't see how that could be considered a bad thing. I personally liked the ctrl = fire setup of OFP.

[frederf 0]

The 1.05 patch is decreasing the number of reserve keys.

[Col. Faulkner 0]

Hi all

If you are serous about gaming or a military sim buff or developer and wanting good controls.

http://www.ideazon.com/global/products/fanggamepad.asp

Have a look through their site they have various solutions but that one is my favourite.It is a U.S. Military training combat pad — now declassified, for non-military personnel, for PC gaming use.

The German edition of ArmA came with a money off coupon

for one of them (I suspect that the "declassified military

combat game pad" waffle is just marketing nonsense though).

[docrings 10]

/begin rant

I still find the controls "clunky" even after playing OFP and Arma intermittently over the past six years. Yes, it can be learned (space, 1, 2. GAAK!) But, for someone who can't spend hours on end for months at a time playing, the controls always take some re-learning at every sitting if it's been a week or two.

Many controls (beside Q, W, E, A, S, D) are NOT intuitive like:

1. Changing weapons: F cycles some weapons (rifle and grenade), but refuses to change weapons, like to your SMAW. Stupid. Pressing the center mouse wheel "button" (and also "F"!) is not going to be intuitive to a new player coming from other FPS's. Changing weapons isn't even on the main keyboard control diagrams in the manual... the center mousewheel button is called "default menu item" on page 4: "use the action menu to switch to secondary weapon (if you have one)." WTF? How is that instructive to someone learning the game?

I remapped the "change weapon" command (Blank by default), under infantry controls, to my side mouse button (Button #4), You can try left ctrl button if you don't have extra mouse buttons... as long as it's not something you would accidentally hit in a firefight.

This game needs a voice command system like the recent Tom Clancy game, End War. That was slick (didn't like the game, but the voice command was well implemented).

e.g.

"All, Crouch"

"Unit 3, attack" (while holding mouse cursor over target)

"All, hold"

"Radio, airstrike" while holding laser on target or on the cursor on the map.

Other commands very poorly outlined in the manual and not trained:

Rearming at trucks and depot boxes.

flying UAVs

So far, the few aircraft I've tried to fly have been more difficult than they should be (even the manual says that it is so): simple fix. Just make it possible to fly aircraft simply with a microsoft sidewinder or other common joystick. Frickin'-A, just make it work out of the box, without having to remap everything. Throttle is right there (doubles as collective for helos), twist for rudders, stick to bank/climb/dive... how hard is that? Buttons for gear, flaps, weapon select, switching seats. I shouldn't have to have my hands leave the joystick to do the most common tasks. I had better flight controls on cheap-a$$ flight-sim games 10 years ago.

Another example: I had a HALO jump in a mission, and after he landed, he was lying down uninjured, but wouldn't get up. There was no control I could find to make him stand up, and unlatch his parachute. That is just insane...had to restart the mission.

The gear screen "G" is a mess. All my gear neatly packed on the right, and on the left is a mish-mash of all that same gear, and randomly arranged enemy gear I'm trying to sort through to pick up... sheesh. Again, this interface has been done better in about a hundred RTS and FPS games over the past 15 years.

The manual is a joke. White font typeface over a dark image, on TWO PAGE WIDE FORMAT, which loads a bit too slow when changing pages due to the stupid background graphic and it's just hard to read. Stupid and pointless.

The manual, as well, has poor descriptions of keyboard commands for later reference. Noobies shouldn't have to replay through the training scenarios just to look up how to change weapons... or if one wanted to look at the manual for reference, what page is that command on exactly? So it's off to the options, controls screen to sort through the commands.

The editor commands are just one huge block of white paragraphs on page 17... hard to read format and a hurried description, with little detail on how to use best.

If I have the time, I'm going to start writing my own "nOObie Guide to Arma 2"... something that needs to be written for nOObs or the infrequent player (like me), or we/they will just put the game on a shelf... which is a shame, because it's a great simulation, but with flaws in instruction from the software company. The learning curve is higher than it needs to be.

I would have been more happy with an easier to read basic manual with Times Roman font on a white page, than the manual PDF I downloaded. I don't care that "Cooper" scored high on his mental health exam (page 13)... he's only as smart as the player in the game. Idiotic drivel, and wasted reading versus learning the controls, weapon descriptions, options.

/end rant

it's 1:30am... time to quit for the night...sorry for rambling... but I'm pissed at BIS for short-changing us gamers, and making nOObies not want to play it...

Doc

Edited August 15, 2009 by docrings

[echo1 0]

So, am I the only one who remaps the controls of other games to work like OFP/ArmA? *

* Well, a mixture of Rogue Spear, Flashpoint and some bits of Half Life 2 when appropriate

[franze 196]

1 - This thread is over 2 years old.

2 - This is not the ArmA2 forum.

3 - As per rule 10, this thread is now closed.