Gaming on a ergo keyboard

[Architect]

I'm not much of a gamer but have been really enjoying playing Lord of the Rings Online with my son. I had a XBox 360 controller set up on OS X but it didn't work very well so finally gave up. Anyhow in the keyboard department I have three Kinesis Advantage Pro's and a bunch of Truly Ergonomic (Brown, Red and the rare Blue). I was surprised to find out how well these ergo keyboards worked for a complex games like LOTRO. My goal was minimal key mappings as I use the game on several computers and didn't want to have to set them all up. Some notes, here are the primary areas of control with the game

• Movement WASD or arrow keys.
• Camera Number pad or remapped to Page up/Page Down/Begin/End
• Selection Select player or monster. Function keys, tab and delete
• Use Quick slot selection, numbers 1-9

Here's what I found ...

Kinesis

• MovementThe arrows, being built into the home hand position work wonderfully. Movement is trivial. If I prefer WASD that would be possible too, also while using the camera which I like to do. Supports N-key rollover so I can pan while moving which is necessary in a fight.
• CameraEmbedded numpad is out so I did one remapping to the thumb page up (camera up), page down, begin (camera right), end all on the thumbs. Works wonderfully also
• SelectionFunction keys are horrible little eraser keys (membrane) so using the function keys meaninfully is out. I never use them on the Kinesis unfortunately, except for Esc which is necessary
• Use1-9 are easy and intuitive to get to
• Other Tab (select next target, a common action) is unfortunately on the delicate pinkies. No Clear key for lock run forward (can be remapped). N-key rollover. Big (for lap) and comfortable in use.

Truly Ergonomic

• Movement Right hand arrow keys works perfectly with a slight movement of the hand. Further I mapped Ctrl-Right,Left arrow for strafe right and left for added sideways movement
• Camera Having a dedicated arrow block for these movements is symmetric and beautiful. N key rollover gives me simultaneous movement and camera
• Selection Function keys are full Cherry and easy to access
• Use Number keys are easy to access
• OtherI happened to reprogram my keyboard to have Clear (see other thread) and it's on the center row. Tab on the center row for next target. N key rollover. Cherry Reds! Big plus here, I was surprised to find out how much better the Red is for gaming (I tried and didn't like it for working). Easy to use modifier keys for camera (Ctrl)  and movement which wasn't the case for Camera on the Kinesis. Small and easy to transport.

Filco Tenkeyless (for comparison)

• Movement Arrow keys or WASD, nothing special. The arrow keys requires too much hand movement
• CameraNo num pad, gurk! Must use a larger keyboard.
• SelectionFunction keys easy to access
• UseNumber keys easy to access
• OtherN key rollover. Can be gotten with Reds (mine happens to be Brown)

My conclusion was the Truly Ergonomic was the clear winner as the most ergonomic gaming keyboard (at least in this test), the Kinesis takes second with the Tenkeyless in third. Advantages of TE

• Cherry reds
• Real function keys
• Dual symmetric movement and camera arrow controls are intuitive and close to regular position
• Center row tab (select) and Clear (lock run - you run a lot in LOTRO!)
• Layers (see below)
• Dual symmetric modifier keys (Control, Alt and Shift plus number keys are used to access higher level quickslots)

The TE supports six layers that can be programmed. This includes a sticky "Num Pad" layer and a momentary "Fn" layer. Since I use a dedicated keyboard for gaming (with the Cherry Reds) I'm looking into if it makes sense to remap this keyboard specially for games. For example the Num layer could be dedicated to Skirmishes/Battles and the Fn could be dedicated to regular fighting which are shorter.

[pyro]

Do you have any affliliations with TrulyErgonomic? You've been posting comparisons like this for some time now, and everytime the TECK comes out on top.

Ergonomic keyboards made me change movement keys to ESDF. It's the normal resting position and you get extra keys for the pinky. Overall I prefer 2D keyboards, but if you get an ergo keyboard for health reasons a 3D keyboard (Kinesis, Maltron) will force you into correct posture and digit movement and might therefore be a better choice.

[Architect]

Do you have any affliliations with TrulyErgonomic? You've been posting comparisons like this for some time now, and everytime the TECK comes out on top.

No, I was an early adopter (used a Kinesis for years) and have nothing to do with the company. I love the keyboard and so want them to be successful, but am giving my personal honest opinion, anything wrong with that?

Ergonomic keyboards made me change movement keys to ESDF. It's the normal resting position and you get extra keys for the pinky. Overall I prefer 2D keyboards, but if you get an ergo keyboard for health reasons a 3D keyboard (Kinesis, Maltron) will force you into correct posture and digit movement and might therefore be a better choice.

It probably partially depends on the person. I'm 6"3' and have largish hands. It's a tossup between the Kinesis split and TE bent IMO. I like the split 3D as it's marginally more comfortable than the 2D, however it's a huge keyboard that eats space on my sit-stand curved keyboard "tray". My arms feel slightly more comfortable being pointed in as with the TE, and having the center row accessible to both hands is a plus.

[MOZ]

I have been gaming on the ergodox for a couple of days and find it really intuitive.

[Oobly]

If you have an Ergodox or other programmable keyboard or driver you can make a dedicated gaming layer.

Being used to WASD, moving to ESDF with an ergo board is not so bad, but the index finger moves a bit more than with a "normal" board when hitting backwards. A big advantage is the thumb keys 

Overall I'd say it's better to game on an ergo board, more keys within reach and... well, it's ergonomic.

[Architect]

If you have an Ergodox or other programmable keyboard or driver you can make a dedicated gaming layer.

Being used to WASD, moving to ESDF with an ergo board is not so bad, but the index finger moves a bit more than with a "normal" board when hitting backwards. A big advantage is the thumb keys 

Overall I'd say it's better to game on an ergo board, more keys within reach and... well, it's ergonomic.

I've thought about using the Fn layer in my TECHs for different purposes, either a programming or gaming layer, the problem I see with that is speed. For example, I think the "Lore Master" class in LOTRO is one of the most complex avatars you can play in a game. During battle you have to do the following (with keys) {And hand position on keyboard}

• Move Around [Ctrl] Arrow Keys {Bottom Right}
• Fire buffs [Cmd|Cntrl|Shift] 0-9 {Top R-L row}
• Select Players, NPCs and Self F1-F9 (players and NPCs), Backspace for Foes {Keyboard R-L top plus center}
• Adjust Camera Page Up-Page Down-Begin-End {Bottom Left}

This works very well. The keys are spread across the board evenly, which allows for multiple simultaneous actions, say moving while panning the camera (Bottom Right - Bottom Left arrow blocks), or firing then reselecting while the fire completes (1-5 typically/Left + F1-F6 for player/Left or Backspace/Right + movement for foe).

These could be moved a bit though, say to all home row but then you'd have to break up the sequences (0-9 & F1-F12) to keep the shape of the WASD movement keys. Or you could squash the movement keys, but then you have something really unintuitive. In either case you have something you have to think about that is different from the usual way you type. This will slow you down. Maybe ultimately you'll speed up with practice, and perhaps be a little faster than the regular layout, but I don't think that's worth it.

Keep the default mapping is my belief, that way you are practicing your game play while you work. Otherwise you'll just have a confused mess.

[SeriouSSpotS]

Interesting stuff, thanks for posting