Explaining driving in SL to a gamer made me feel old

[HeathcliffMontague]

Him: The car doesn't move
Me: Have you tried the arrow keys?
Him: No, just WASD like normal.
Me: Think original DOOM... Just move like that.

Crickets... 

Him: Oh wow it moves with the arrows! And the Shift key has functions too!
Me: Yep. ACS for ya,. Now try to keep up, I'll go slow.

He got it. And he's almost as fast as me, not yet, but catching up real fast But having to explain what the arrow keys are for? Is that a thing? Will there be a Windows 98 service pack soon?

Old but not obsolete as the great philosopher Terminator said.

[Lucia Nightfire]

I was using arrow keys for movement back in Apple //c days. I don't get the WASD crowd.

[Love Zhaoying]

Driving in Second Life is basically Pole Position from first person. Without the gear shift.

[Richardus Raymaker]

Never used WASD in my life. Terrible placed keys for moving. Arrow keys all the way. Shame some software devs still think WASD side only.

[Blaise Glendevon]

I still use arrow keys for MMOing. It's the first thing I do when I set up a new game - rekeybind all that nonsense. It horrifies my younger friends. 

[Fluffy Sharkfin]

1 hour ago, Richardus Raymaker said:

Never used WASD in my life. Terrible placed keys for moving. Arrow keys all the way. Shame some software devs still think WASD side only.

I started off using arrow keys when playing first person shooters but it was pointed out that using WASD instead makes it easier to have multiple key bindings and also provides easier access to the three most common modifier keys (shift, ctrl & alt) which are commonly used for things like run, crouch, etc.

I used to play a lot of fps games and eventually got tired of wearing out my WASD keys so ended up buying one of these...

while it doesn't get nearly as much use these days it does still work perfectly, which is pretty impressive after over two decades considering how many regular keyboards I've gotten through in that period.

[cunomar]

Arrows make you move , the instinctive choice to any child . WASD is not normal , not intuitive , its like using candles for car headlights .

[Fluffy Sharkfin]

6 minutes ago, cunomar said:

Arrows make you move , the instinctive choice to any child . WASD is not normal , not intuitive , its like using candles for car headlights .

I remember when I used to use regular headlights, then I bought a pair of these...

...okay, not really since I mostly ride motorcycles and the melted wax would just drip everywhere when you lean into a corner 😂

WASD may seem like an odd, unintuitive combination for movement keys but considering how common it is in a lot of games it's clearly working for the majority of people.

[Ceka Cianci]

I use WSAD because   my right is my mouse hand and my keyboard hand is my left..

I'm used to going right to left not left to right..plus the number keys are above my fingers and not off to the side..

[steeljane42]

Finding how to enable WASD in preferences was among first (if not the first) things I did in SL 10 years ago. Never liked arrows for movement even back when it was a thing for games too.

But yeah, there's a big difference between the gamers crowd and people who just don't know better and/or got used to something and don't wish to change.

[Blaise Glendevon]

26 minutes ago, steeljane42 said:

But yeah, there's a big difference between the gamers crowd and people who just don't know better and/or got used to something and don't wish to change.

Speaking for all gamers? Okay.

[ChinRey]

2 hours ago, Richardus Raymaker said:

Never used WASD in my life. Terrible placed keys for moving.

The layout of WASD is exactly the same as the arrow keys, that's the whole point. And the placement on the keyboard is as perfect as it can be ... if you use your left hand.

That's the whole point: arrow keys for your right hand, WASD for your left hand. Assuming you're right-handed, the arrow keys are the best option if all you do is moving around, WASD is the best if you also have to use other keyboard shortcuts or the mouse at the same time. For left-handed people it's the other way round of course.

 

48 minutes ago, steeljane42 said:

Finding how to enable WASD in preferences was among first (if not the first) things I did in SL 10 years ago.

I thought WASD was always enabled by default in the SL viewer? It certainly has been for the last 9 years.

 

48 minutes ago, steeljane42 said:

Never liked arrows for movement even back when it was a thing for games too.

Ummm... WASD has been a thing for games for more than 30 years now.

But maybe not on Windows and Linux computers, I wouldn't know about that. WIndows and Linux didn't have true graphics user interfaces until much later so freeing your right hand to do other tasks wouldn't have been that much of an advantage on those platforms.

 

Edited October 9, 2022 by ChinRey

[steeljane42]

1 minute ago, ChinRey said:

I thought WASD was always enabled by default in the SL viewer? It certainly has been for the last 9 years.

That I can't say I remember very well, my experience with default SL viewer didn't last long, however I'm still pretty sure it wasn't on by default there. But for clarification: finding where to enable it in the FS' preferences.

6 minutes ago, ChinRey said:

Ummm... WASD has been a thing for games for more than 30 years now.

I play games for quite a lot longer than 30 years. I do remember it being an option in some ancient games and one could always try to edit games files to remap the controls if it wasn't. Thankfully later on it became the default option for most games after Half-Life started the trend.

20 minutes ago, ChinRey said:

That's the whole point: arrow keys for your right hand, WASD for your left hand. Assuming you're right-handed, the arrow keys are the best option if all you do is moving around, WASD is the best if you also have to use other keyboard shortcuts or the mouse at the same time. For left-handed people it's the other way round of course.

Very much this, but I would also add it's not always other way around for the left handed people either. My rl friend I know for pretty much my entire life is left handed and still uses WASD and mouse with his right hand.

46 minutes ago, Blaise Glendevon said:

Speaking for all gamers? Okay.

Picking on wording? Okay. But yeah, I suppose I didn't include those who play regular games using their dance pads either, or those who can't use hands at all and use the eye tracking hardware among some other specific cases. They are gamers too after all, my bad.

[ChinRey]

19 minutes ago, steeljane42 said:

Very much this, but I would also add it's not always other way around for the left handed people either. My rl friend I know for pretty much my entire life is left handed and still uses WASD and mouse with his right hand.

That makes sense if you are left-handed but ambidexterous enough you can operate the mouse with either hand. With your left hand on the WASD keys you can also reach the spacebar, the shift and Ctrl keys and also a few other keys commonly used for operations without moving your hand.

[Ayashe Ninetails]

WASD is something I started using way, way back. I'm a life-long gamer (started with the C64/128 computers and been gaming almost daily ever since), and I honestly can't think of any game I have in my current collection outside of a tiny handful and the games that don't have movement that isn't mapped to WASD by default. I have a few games made with RPG Maker that are mapped to the arrows, but if you hop into any Steam or GOG or Discord discussion for them, a good chunk of posts will be asking how to rebind. 

The main reason for WASD is because, in most action games, platformers, RPGs, walking sims, MMOs, etc., your left hand is on the keyboard and uses a bunch of keybinds. For example, WASD to walk, E sometimes to interact or if not, Q & E to pan the camera left/right or turn your character or strafe or some other function, Shift to run (sometimes a hold, sometimes a toggle), 1-5 and F1-F4 might be different attacks/skills mapped to your on-screen hotbar (in an MMO, for instance), F for all kinds of random things, TAB or maybe I for inventory, M for map, Space to jump, C to crouch or crawl - pretty common setup. Your right hand in that instance may or may not be used to control your camera with the mouse, navigate menus on-screen, left-click attack, click around the environment, etc. If you have a gaming mouse with a bunch of extra buttons, you can remap all of that (usually, if the game allows) to make combat happen with the mouse instead - or anything else, really. If you're left-handed, you have a few choices. You can reverse everything. Mouse in the left hand (they make left-handed gaming mice, too), keyboard keybinds with the right. Some don't bother and just try to get used to the defaults.

None of this is written in stone - plenty of other gamers just get creative and create their own keybinds from scratch. You see that a lot in e-sports like competitive Fortnite, where speed can really matter. Or some of the more complex MMOs with way, way, way too many keyboard shortcuts and mechanics for their own good. 

In SL, it took me a little bit to untrain my brain from all that. I had been playing Everquest 2 for quite a bit when I first came over here, so I was instinctively trying to smack all kinds of shortcuts, lol. Using the arrows to move is just unnatural for me, personally - my right hand is constantly resting on my mouse (even in games that don't use it!), and it's quite a reach from my daily gaming position to use my left. Using Firestorm feels pretty good for me, though I do have to remember which buttons work and which don't for my purposes. I'm constantly getting jumping wrong, even after 16 years. Don't ask why I never remapped that to the Spacebar. I have no idea. 😄 There are still cases where I'll try to interact with something with E and go flying into the air. 🤦‍♀️

[Love Zhaoying]

3 minutes ago, Ayashe Ninetails said:

WASD is something I started using way, way back. I'm a life-long gamer (started with the C64/128 computers and been gaming almost daily ever since)

I don't remember using WASD!

[Ayashe Ninetails]

3 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

I don't remember using WASD!

WASD really took off with the FPS and MMO crowd. I think Half-Life started the trend (don't quote me). Maybe sooner with Quake? I dunno. Late 90s, in any case.

[Rowan Amore]

You can always tell the gamers using WASD when they accidently jump when forgetting to change focus before typing in local.  Or has that been fixed?  

[ChinRey]

1 minute ago, Rowan Amore said:

You can always tell the gamers using WASD when they accidently jump when forgetting to change focus before typing in local.  Or has that been fixed?  

Hey! I'm not a gamer and I only use WASD when I'm in mouselook but I still make that mistake all the time!

[Rowan Amore]

2 minutes ago, ChinRey said:

Hey! I'm not a gamer and I only use WASD when I'm in mouselook but I still make that mistake all the time!

I've always assumed most were gamers.  My mistake!  I do always ask, "So, apparently you're a gamer?" and most have said yes.  I've always used SL on a laptop and until recently, without a mouse so the arrow keys are second nature now.  I've tried using WASD now so I can mouse but apparently, my left hand is too old to learn new tricks. 

[Ayashe Ninetails]

3 minutes ago, Rowan Amore said:

You can always tell the gamers using WASD when they accidently jump when forgetting to change focus before typing in local.  Or has that been fixed?  

I forgot - I do this, too!

 

2 minutes ago, Rowan Amore said:

 I've tried using WASD now so I can mouse but apparently, my left hand is too old to learn new tricks. 

Noooo, it's not that - learning new keybinds in general takes a bit. It's all muscle memory. I'm a weirdo who watches competitive e-sports on occasion (ON OCCASION!!!), and you always hear people whining "Oh man, I just changed my keybinds last week, why did I do that right before a tournament ahhhhhh gahhhhhh." 😄

I changed my keybinds in another game (I tend to click on skills in that game, which is horrifically slow and clunky) and rebinded some combat to my mouse and I'm fully aware it's going to take weeks before I can get into any sort of PvP again.

[Istelathis]

I remember using arrow keys back in DooM as well, there was at the time no mouse support and the means of shooting was cntrl, strafing was alt, and jump the spacebar so it felt natural.  It was the same with Quake if I recall correctly, at least when it first came out.  Then I believe with QuakeWorld I started to use WASD as well as the mouse to aim with.  Being right handed it works really well, using the arrow keys feels clunky now and I don't have ease of access to multiple keys or bindings. switching to WASD at first was weird, as I was used to using my right hand for the arrow keys, and left to shoot, jump, strafe, and in other games duck, fly, and so on.  Eventually though, it became second nature for me and now it feel awkward using my right hand to maneuver.

I also purchased a gaming mouse with 17 buttons on it, mostly numeric buttons on the side for ease of access while playing MMOs as you often use numeric keys to cast spells or use abilities.  Gaming is a completely different beast now, especially compared to the C64 days of having one button on a joystick and having to press up to jump for many of the games.  I typically have a ton of keys I have to bind.  

Edited October 9, 2022 by Istelathis

[Exavor Diesel]

The vehicle physics in SL are so bad I am really surprised people bother, especially when there's so many games that do it well. The only exception to that is boats, but then boats typically don't handle very well in real life either. 

[Ayashe Ninetails]

11 minutes ago, Istelathis said:

Gaming is a completely different beast now, especially compared to the C64 days of having one button on a joystick and having to press up to jump for many of the games.  I typically have a ton of keys I have to bind.  

This is exactly it. Back when I started gaming, you literally only had to move left/right. If that! Maybe a jump here and there. As gaming took off in the late 80s and 90s, there were many text adventures/graphical text adventures, some early action, minimal commands, you could play with a few buttons. But games started getting more and more complex, and we started needing more buttons. And more buttons, and more buttons. And then you get like 6 skill hotbars on the screen and want to die. 😂

Edited October 9, 2022 by Ayashe Ninetails
Grammaring

[Fluffy Sharkfin]

I suspect that one major reason that the WASD configuration became more widely used is that once online first person shooters started to become popular people quickly discovered that those using a mouse to aim had a considerable advantage over those using keyboard only, at which point people started to rethink using the cursor keys in favor of keys more naturally accessible to the left hand.