Left-handed player models

[Col.Flanders 0]

I'm a leftie and have become accustomed to being a right-handed infantryman but every now and then it still flips my mind when I suddenly realise I'm using my weapons with the wrong hand.

Who, (I'm refering to lefties here - because the rest of you "normal people" probably wouldn't care ), would like to see a left-handed option for player models?

Not only would it serve to allow us lefties to feel more at home in our virtual bodies (and boy, it would), but could also serve tactically in the sense that a leftie, when in formation, could take up the left flank while leaning out to the left from behind cover etc.

I realise there are implications here with ejection slots being on the right side of weapons and all that but I personally don't care about being hit in the virtual forehead by an expended virtual shell or two.

Out of curiosity...to all the real military folk out there...How are lefties trained in the real world? Do they simply use the same weapons? Are they issued left-handed versions of rifles etc.? Or is it a case of what the education system does in my country and force you to write with your right hand from the moment you can draw with a crayon? (I resisted this bitterly so they gave up )

Sincerely,

a die-hard leftie.

[Dallas 9]

Yes I'm left handed too.

I'm just too used to using a right hand model, even in the games that provide an option, I go for right hand. With a pen I write like a blind three year old with my right hand, but I've always used my right hand for the mouse.

When I served some young first lieutenant declared everyone had to operate grenades and rifles with right hand, because the safty pin and rifles were right hand only and and walked off. Then our weapons instructor freely translated said: Screw that.

[JdB 151]

I guess this is something defined in the engine = only BIS can change it (giving an option between left or right handed usage of weapons would cost even more time), which is doubtfull, as it contains no apparant improvements to the stability of the game, it's graphics or it's gameplay.

Just another novelty to add to the bottom of the long bug/wanted features-list...

[Sgt_Eversmann 1]

Making an Option for ArmA (weapon left hand / weapon right hand) would mean:

Redo all Animations

Redo Proxies

Option for choosing if left handed or right handed.

Dunno if this is worth the work

[CameronMcDonald 146]

Yeah, I'm a southpaw. Wasn't this option available in Elite? I thought it'd be available in ArmA, if it was for ye ole XBox. Obviously not.

[Sgt_Eversmann 1]

Yeah, I'm a southpaw. Wasn't this option available in Elite? I thought it'd be available in ArmA, if it was for ye ole XBox. Obviously not.

you go and concentrate on your ACU Units, and maybe you are bored and will make some other decent and nice reskins. No need for you to think about left handed weapons

Just joking

[l mandrake 9]

Signed. As a leftie I would love to play as left-handed for greater immersion.

[CameronMcDonald 146]

you go and concentrate on your ACU Units, and maybe you are bored and will make some other decent and nice reskins. No need for you to think about left handed weapons    

Just joking

Now, now, just cause I'm ACU-orientated...

[opteryx 1562]

I'm left handed too.

It doesn't bother me that the soldier I'm controlling is right handed very much, that something I've gotten used after many years of playing FPS games.

What does bother me very much is that there's no preset configuration option in the control setting for left handed people because I use my left hand on the mouse, as you can probably guess it means that when I'm using my right hand on the keyboard, I have to push half the keyboard off my desk which is VERY uncomfortable.

I would very much like a alternate configuration for left handed people.

[Balschoiw 0]

Quote[/b] ]What does bother me very much is that there's no preset configuration option in the control setting for left handed people because I use my left hand on the mouse, as you can probably guess it means that when I'm using my right hand on the keyboard, I have to push half the keyboard off my desk which is VERY uncomfortable.

Mirrored brain connection here aswell, and I totally agree with you on the controls. This should be definately a must-have in all games. With Arma it´s a bit difficult to find a good setup for lefthanders as there are a lot of keys to be assigned and the numpad is used for the lookie - lookie stuff.

I don´t really need left-handed models though. It would look surreal if the casings would always smash into your face when firing

[wamingo 1]

Why would animations need to be redone? Could animations not be reversed on the fly? Flipping an axis can't be that hard. I'm not sure at what cost cpu time wise though. Maybe some texture problems too.

[Dallas 9]

^^ I've setup my movement and primary action keys on the num pad, I do this for every game. It's also possible for ArmA, but you have to invest atleast an hour or so, because it almost requires a total remapping of ArmA's 250.000 different key commands.  

[opteryx 1562]

^^ I've setup my movement and primary action keys on the num pad, I do this for every game. It's also possible for ArmA, but you have to invest atleast an hour or so, because it almost requires a total remapping of ArmA's 250.000 different key commands.

I would be really grateful if you could post your setup.

[baddo 0]

About how left-handedness is dealt with in a military. While I was serving in the FDF I didn't see anyone using their assault rifles "left-handed". If I recall correctly (9 years have passed since then, so it's not in fresh memory anymore) it was even told to us in weapon training that everyone should use their weapon in a similar manner, on their right side. This is definitely true and necessary for parade situations when the group must look uniform.

When we were at the shooting range my memory tells me that everyone kept their weapons similarly there too. But to say again, this starts to be an old memory.

In a real battle situation I think you can hold the weapon with your toes if it gives better results than holding it in your hands.

About the equipment I can say for sure there was no separate equipment for left-handed people, everyone got the same stuff and had to deal with it.

I'm right-handed so I didn't have any problems with that.

I think it is not needed in ArmA. But what do I know anyways, it's "right" for me

[opteryx 1562]

I've fired several rifles, pistols and shotguns (nothing automatic) the "left handed" way and it's not really a problem, but I can tell you one thing, and that's holding a rifle the "right way" is a very effective way for me to miss what I'm aming at.

[Col.Flanders 0]

I find that mind-boggling, Baddo!

I mean, imagine doing something your whole life one way ( like hitting a baseball), and then one day someone tells you you have to do it the other way and your life depends on it!

I don't know how I would cope with that. I mean, my left eye is dominant. My body KNOWS which way it wants to handle a rifle. I'd look like a girl trying to shoot right-handed. And if my life depended on it...I think I'd run like a girl if I were forced to do it that way.

I reckon I could do it right-handed for marching and parading etc. but to be effective with the weapon in combat...no chance.

[baddo 0]

Yes, yes, I believe it is difficult.

I didn't say I am sure about how people used their assault rifle at the shooting range. My memories are old and it might have been so that some people used their rifles left-handedly. I just don't remember seeing anyone do it.

For parades I am 100 % sure that everyone had to keep their rifles in exactly the same way. That is understandable and I believe not a big problem for left-handed people, as it is not a battle but just show.

As I said, in a battle it doesn't matter how you keep the rifle if you get good results   It would actually be foolish to start telling people to keep their rifle in some certain way if they then would not be as effective.

[Balschoiw 0]

I always shot with he "right hand" as the weapons I started shooting with had their case - ejection to the right, like the G3 for example. If I shot with the left hand there would have been a severe risk of getting the hot brass in the face and/or elsewhere where it really hurts.

I have never had any problem with shooting right, infact I thought it was a lot easier as the "guiding" hand for me is the left one, so I always had the feeling that it was no disadvantage.

Today a lot of weapons are customizable, like the G36 for example but I never felt the need to switch to the left hand.

Judging by numbers it´s quite good to train right-handed as once you have to grab a weapon, not yours, you can just go on shooting.

Mouse/trackball is strictly left though as is writing.

[Clavicula_nox4817 0]

I'm lef thanded, but my right eye is my dominant eye, which means I write left and do everything else right. It's a bit awkward to hold my weapon right handed, but it gives me the better sight picture. I wouldn't mind having the option for left handed firers in the game.

[Jackal326 1181]

What about us weirdos that fire rifles left-handed and pistols right-handed? Maybe two options, one for pistols and one for rifles

[opteryx 1562]

I'm one of those people who's super left handed, I almost can't do anything like a right handed person for some reason, what's even funnier is that a few years ago I discovered that my hand writing looks way better if I write mirrored from right to left, if I do it on a transparent piece of paper and hold it up in front of a light looking at it from the backside, my hand writing looks quite normal.

Writing from left to right however looks like something written by a freaking third grader

An Arab guy told me once that my Arabic writing (the little I know) style was very good actually

Unfortunatly that doesn't help me very much when filling out applications in Norwegian/English/Whatever

[Le++ 0]

I'm a left-handed shooter, and I've always fired with my left hand. On parade I have to hold the rifle with my right hand, as was said, to keep the company uniform, but when shooting I shoot with my left hand.

Spent cartridges hitting your face is a risk, but most rifle don't do that (normally the cartridge is ejected sideways and a little forward, but sometimes it get thrown backwards), and with most new rifles with a right-side ejection port having a brass deflector it's not much of a concern. Also, some rifles (like the Tavor) have a customizable ejection port, so it can be set to eject from the left side for a left handed shooter.

About the possibility of putting it in game - I've been fiddling with it a bit, still to no success, so maybe some better modder might come and make it possible.

[baddo 0]

I always shot with he "right hand" as the weapons I started shooting with had their case - ejection to the right, like the G3 for example. If I shot with the left hand there would have been a severe risk of getting the hot brass in the face and/or elsewhere where it really hurts.

The RK - 62 throws the shells to the right too so that might be one good reason for left-handed people to use it on their right side.

Good point is also which one of your eyes is better - if your other eye is clearly weaker than the other one then there is no point using it even if you need to change to your "secondary" hand then.

In games like ArmA I would like to see more variety in the soldier models. Maybe left-handedness could fit in too. Another thing is how much it actually improves the experience for the left-handed people? Mainly, would it be worthwhile for game developers to consider it.

[opteryx 1562]

All I care about is getting a decent configuration for left handed people, how the the soldier I'm controlling hold his gun matters little to none for me.

[max power 21]

If you implimented left handed shooting, you would have to impliment red-hot brass hitting you in the face.. which means left handed players should have faces full of bottle-shaped scars. That sounds like a lot of work!