Interesting.
Would like to see this for Counter Strike players.
Interesting that some of the players switch up equipment from time to time. For instance, you can see MVP using the G9x in one picture, and the Steel Series Sensei in a couple of others.
That said, anyone notice that they are actually using those laser sensored mice, the G9x and Sensei? Tells me the whole "built-in acceleration" problem isn't that much of a problem, as I always believed.
Seems to me the most favored mice are the Sensei, G9x, or Abyssus. With a couple of Deathadders and Zowie Micos here and there.
One thing I notice right away is that SC2 players tend to use different mice compared to CS players, possibly favoring other features and characteristics of the mouse over sensor reliability. It is not so much that acceleration is not an issue, it is more that in comparison to FPS, sensor accuracy and reliability does not play as big of a role in RTS. You see the same thing for MOBA players. In competitive FPS, you will find very few people using laser sensors in general. Even if they are sponsored by Steelseries, they go out of their way to avoid using mice like the Sensei, even going for models that are no longer in production like the Ikari optical. NIP is one example. The gear they use is on the website. I believe one of them had the Sensei listed as his mouse, but he has never used it in tournaments (and it has been removed from his list of equipment).
All acceleration is, is that in addition to distance translating to cursor movement, the speed with which that distance is covered also affects cursor movement. This is not always a bad thing, and people can get used to it. However, most people in FPS prefer the simplicity of mouse movement=cursor movement. Adding speed to the equation makes things needlessly complicated in a game where precision aiming is key. It is especially noticeable for people using lower sensitivity, where long sweeps at variable speeds are common. This amplifies the effects of acceleration. That is not to say that acceleration is bad for everyone and in every FPS. Many Quake players prefer it. What it gives you is an automatic variable sensitivity. With positive acceleration, you move slow for precision shots, then automatically the cursor moves very slow on the screen. You move fast to turn 180 degrees ingame, and you do not have to cover the same distance as without acceleration. One other reason people turn it off however, is because it is hard to get consistent across games and different mice. Personally I found it very hard when trying (software) acceleration to get a handle on it. But that is mainly due to many years of low sensitivity gaming without acceleration (Counter Strike GO ingame 1.75; 500 DPI; Windows sensitivity 6/11). The slight positive hardware acceleration on laser sensors is not nearly as bad (or noticeable) but I feel it hurts more than it helps since there is probably some inaccuracy and difference between what I expect the cursor to do and what it actually does, not being used to it. It is hard to unlearn muscle memory.
In RTS however, things are kind of different. Acceleration might for example be actually nice to have if a large part of mouse-movement is used to control the camera. In addition, when pinpoint accuracy is not key in the game, the trade off of having an automatic variable sensitivity for accuracy could be more worth it. It is also common to have a much higher sensitivity compared to top FPS players, which in practice greatly reduces the effects of acceleration.
However, despite all this, people do overreact to the slight hardware acceleration found in modern laser mice. Especially when not playing genres where it can be an issue. I feel that a lot of people do not understand what it is or how it affects gameplay. At the same time, I feel it makes sense to focus on sensor quality when buying a mouse. Though other factors of both the sensor (max tracking speed, lift of distance etc.) as well as the mouse itself (type of switches omron, huano, shape, weight) should also be taken into consideration. This is clearly what the SC2 players are doing.
