Multiple Setups

What's your preferred setup to help level the playing field with keyboard+mouse gamers?  I've tossed together a list of solutions, but this is only a start to the number of possible configurations!

Gaming is for everybody to enjoy: it's a way to pass time, it's a distraction from pain, and it's an outlet for frustration.  Plus, you get freakin' epics!

Left-hand Mouse + FPS Pad

This is my personal favorite for those that have a fully functioning left hand.  It is as close to the traditional setup as I think you can get, really.

Pro's

 - Natural WASD movement
 - Access to many customizable keys

Con's

 - Takes a few weeks to get used to left-hand mousing, if you're new to it
 - While it is a close substitute, you still need a full keyboard to communicate
 - Cost (you've got two devices to buy)

Source

Razer Death Adder - Left Handed Edition
Cyber Snipa Game Pad 2

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Gamepad

I can't remember which Final Fantasy it was that was native to PS2, but whichever it was, must've sucked trying to type out messages to guild mates and party members.  At any rate, this is also a somewhat natural solution.  While WoW was certainly not designed to be played with two thumbsticks, it is a transition that we gamers can relate to, going from Counterstrike on the PC, to Halo on the X-box.

Pro's

 - If you own a console, there's no purchase necessary!  Just grab your 360 or PS3 controller
 - Turbo!  Seriously, no one crams in more GCD's in a fight than I do, if I'm playing on my PS3 pad
 - With the proper setup, the buttons being so close together and ergonomic, I can smoothly switch from a DPS spell, to a utility spell without my hand jumping halfway across the G15
 - Put your feet up and relax!  Playing WoW while laying back on the couch is awesome!

Con's

 - Cursor movement is awkward and slow (YOU try going from a wrist movement to a thumb movement)
 - No ability to type or communicate, without sitting up, which cramps the relaxed vibe
 - Can't heal - if a scrub raider forgets to move out of fire, there's no way my thumb is gonna save his life

Source

Any USB gamepad
 Xpadder - for button assignments

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Macro-ready Keyboard

 For those that have difficulty with digital dexterity (look it up, it has nothing to do with technology), the creation of macros that can execute a string of abilities with a single click is hugely beneficial.  Yeah, yeah, it's cheating, whatever.  I guarantee you the people that look down on others for utilizing a G15 or similar have no disability.

Pro's

 - Come on, hit 1 button, and a series of spells are triggered, how awesome is that?!

Con's

 - Keyboards like this are usually expensive
 - If you need to change something in the middle of an execution, you're stuck
 - Players that rely on procs (ie. Balance Druids) are SOL, because a macro cannot dynamically change

Source

Logitech's G13, G15, G19, or G510
or similar from other brands, but I'm far too lazy to link them

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Trackball + Speech Recognition

I am lucky to not have to resort to this, but say you're just flat out missing a few fingers.  If you've still got a good thumb, you can control the cursor with it, and then use a microphone and software to control left and right clicking, movement, spells, heck, even looting.

Pro's

 - Allows the severely disabled to play WoW - something that would ordinarily be impossible

Con's

 - Limits the speed at which you can react

Source

Trackball from Logitech or similar
Killer Software's Speech Recognition engine

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Foot pedals

Shameless self promotion incoming: I put up a super awesome post about how to craft your own foot pedals out of nothing more than an old keyboard, a box o' springs, and a roll of duct tape (scroll down to read it).

Pro's

 - While not a complete solution, it's a great addition to any gamer's setup, not just the disabled
 - It's free!

Con's

 - This DIY solution will probably wear out after a couple months of use, but you can always repair it with more duct tape! (252 uses for duct tape <-- click that there link)

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Maybe I've been watching too much Scrubs lately, but I feel the need to sum up with a cheesy/sentimental line,

play the game the way you want to and don't let your physical limitations hold you back from getting what you want to get out of WoW.

It's Imminent!

Ready or not, the dash to 85 is just days away!  Here's a list of resources I plan on utilizing to tip things in my favor, ever last bit that I can...

Wowhead (for quest and item data, duh!)
Sterling's Realm First 85 Guide
Arixan's Guide to Mount Hyjal
QuestHelper (the addon)
My own post (here) about factions, enchants, craftables, etc.
An auto-pick-up-and-complete-quest macro (google search ftw)
My pretty, pretty G15 keyboard
A PS3 controller, while running Xpadder
This here MMO-Champion guide
That there Yogscast video
The Nectar of Life

DIY: Foot Pedal

 2-pedal USB foot controller by Infinity: $55 + S&H here

For some time now, I've been shopping for a cheap PC foot controller.  I figure,

my toes aren't doing anything useful while I play and I could take the strain off my right hand, if only I had keys at my feet.  

I could assign things like:

• Auto-run
• Travel form
• Macro: 'target last hostile' + 'use loot-a-rang' for auto-looting with one toe
• Speak over Ventrilo
• Mount / dismount
• Cooldowns (barkskin, nature's grasp, etc.)

The uses are many and varied and it's not hard to see the appeal of being able to run around a quest with one hand and one foot, rather than with two hands.

So, then came the real challenge: I've got an extra keyboard laying around;

couldn't I just construct my own USB foot control, out of a few household items, rather than dropping $50-100 

for something that would function identically?

Items you will need:

1) An old keyboard

2) Duct tape

3) Box-o-springs (hardware store, $4 or so)

4) 1' x 1' of 1/4" hardboard, or similar light-weight material for foot pedals (hardware store)

5) 2' x 2' of 3/4" particleboard panel for base (hardware store)

Tools:

1) Small skill-saw (a jig saw or even hand saw will suffice, OR if your hardware store is good they will cut the panels for you)

2) Flat-head screwdriver

3) Time: about 30 minutes

#1 - Prep Work

First, with a screwdriver or similar, pull off all the keys from your dusty-old keyboard and bin them.  Be sure to save a handful; you'll need to reattach them later.

Determine how many pedals you want (I went with three) and for each, cut your 1/4" hardboard into a 2" x 5" piece.

Select one spring per foot pedal, of the appropriate height and tension (I found that springs are technically not even necessary, but I like the feel of them, so use a light-weight spring, your foot will thank you!)

#2 - Tape It

I began by selecting which keys I would reattach - this was mainly a space issue - and I understood that whatever key I selected, I would re-map it later, to the desired ability.

Then, I dry-fit everything together.  When I was happy with the action of the foot pedal, I began taping with the hardboard.  Tape, liberally, both sides of the foot pedal, so that it rests in the desired position.

You can see in the picture above: duct-tape on both sides of the pedal.  Then, I used small strips of tape, slid it into the spring as far down as I could manage, and I fastened the spring in place.  Notice the pencil mark on the right-side of the picture: I used pencil to mark everything during my dry-fit.  This is crucial: one mis-tape, and you've got to start over.

#3 - The Final Steps

The picture above shows the rested action of my first foot pedal.  No need to tape the spring to the pedal, as long as the spring is fastened down to the board, it's not going anywhere.  The feel of this pedal is surprisingly natural and smooth (aside from the loud click of the keyboard button).

 

This image illustrates all the components of the finished product.  You will notice the pencil marks again, which now are not necessary, as I butt the keyboard tray directly to the springs.  I only need to secure the tray into place, again using more duct tape.

#4 - Finished Product

Now all that's left to do is plug it in and assign the keys to the desired abilities.

Ghetto?  Heck no!  When was the last time that you had company over and they crawled under your office desk to make sure all was tidy?  I promise you -

no one will ever see this or know it is there, except for you.  So who cares if it's duct-taped all to hell??

Update: more Cataclysm spreadsheets (for healers still)

Consumables (Alchemy)

Enchants

Gear from Professions

Reputation Faction Rewards

Leveling Aids for Cataclysm

The trek from 80-85 is daunting enough for your average player.  But, if you suffer from a disability, it can be that much more tedious.  I, personally, will be grinding out those 5 levels on a PS3 controller.  Mobility is difficult, mousing is difficult, and versatility is certainly a challenge (being able to quickly use less common abilities such as Thorns, Barkskin, Travel Form, etc).

So what to do?  I've made a personal goal out of being in the top 10% of my guild for leveling and I hear that final ding can come as early as Friday-morning.  Here are some tips for those that face the unique challenges of playing a game designed for a fully-abled player.

#1 - Loot

If you aren't an Engineer, you may be missing out on a key leveling aid: the Loot-a-rang.  This item, when clicked, will automatically loot the nearest corpses for you.  No need to right-click with precision.

So: for those non-Engineers (myself included), we've got to figure out if this is worth the effort.  Say, for example, the average player takes 1.0 secs to loot a corpse.  I would estimate I take 2.5 secs to loot that same corpse.  While 1.5 secs doesn't seem like a big deal, let's say that it takes 2,000 kills to make it to 85 (this is a complete and total guess).  That is 3,000 seconds extra that I will require.  That is 50 minutes.  Less than an hour?  Doesn't seem like a big deal.  But still, it's also difficult and frustrating to do all that looting.

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#2 - Macros

I cannot recommend highly enough, the use of out-of-game keyboard macros.  A G15 or similar keyboard, or even a 3rd party piece of software that allows you to generate custom macros with, say, your F-keys, comes in handy!

With this keyboard, I can assign ONE single key to: cast Starfire [wait to finish casting], cast Moonfire, cast Insect Swarm, cast Hurricane, cast Starfire [wait to finish casting], etc...

Being able to program pauses and multiple casts into one macro has long been called (by some) border-line, or even outright, cheating!  But, to the not-fully-abled player, it can mean the difference between an enjoyable experience in World of Warcraft, and being flat-out unable to keep up.

You can find info on the G15 keyboard here.  And AutoHotkey is an excellent app for creating custom macros, as is Workspace Macro.

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#3 - PvE Server

No pretty graphic here, but a hard and simple fact: leveling on a PvE server is easier than doing the same on a PvP server.  Because you aren't a vulnerable target to players of the opposing faction, you can take your time, steal a deep breath, and readjust yourself whenever you need to (provided no NPC mobs get too near).

Again, this is something that has been dismissed as 'Care Bear' to the fully-abled.  But, YOU try surviving a PvP encounter with your left-hand on the mouse.  Better yet - tape take off your 5-9 keys and all your modifiers (alt, ctrl, etc) and see how you fare!  This is the reality to many of the underrepresented disabled's.

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God-speed to you all, come December 7th!  Don't get discouraged - remember that there are thousands of us out there.  We are the ones working 25% harder than everyone else, to achieve the same goals, and we are proud of our achievements!

More Cataclysm info (for Healers)...

This is how much of a nerd I am - I would have put these lists together, even if I wasn't planning on posting them on my blog...

Reputation Information for Healers in Cataclysm

Enchanting Information for Healers in Cataclysm

FPS Pad + WoW

Recently, I splurged (this is a relative term, since I'm on a tight budget) and purchased a Cyber Snipa Gamepad V2 FPS keyboard for my PC and explored the possibilities of raiding and questing with this device.  I am not ready to give a complete review of my findings, but it's time to make an initial blog post about it.

First of all, this is the keyboard we're talking about...

This device is intended to be used in the Left hand, in place of a traditional keyboard.  It is catered toward FPS as you can see, in the following ways...

- The layout of the keys are designed for common FPS bindings

- Certain keys are labeled ie. - [ CTRL "Crouch" ] and [ SPACE "Jump" ]

- The number keys (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0) are narrow, as their use is limited in most FPS

It doesn't take a gamer even, detect that this thing was NOT designed for WoW.  For one thing, the number keys are close together and difficult to quickly identify.  But, this begs the question: can we redesign our keybindings and take advantage of this semi-ergonomic layout?

Here was the challenge!  And after one good-solid go at it, I honestly am not very impressed with what I have come up with.  But, let's continue.

1. I use a left-handed mouse, and so this is in my Right hand

This means, I've got to learn WASD with my Right hand.  Not a big deal, but it is a hump to get past.

2. My modifiers are CTRL and ALT

Thus, I can easily bind (6) keys with two different modifiers, for a total of (18) easy-to-reach keybindings.

3. Macros, Anyone?

There are a number of free-to-download programs that will allow the remapping of keyboard keys on a deeper level than WoW.  Some will even allow you to write whole macros!  This becomes important in a simple way: I can now assign F1 for example to a DOT rotation.  With a single button, I can cast Corruption, Curse of Agony, and begin to power up a Shadowbolt.

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As a Resto Druid, I need to bind the following spells...

Healing Spells - (8)
Rejuvation, Regrowth, Swiftmend, Wild Growth, Lifebloom, Nourish, Healing Touch, Tranquility

Cooldowns - (4)
Innervate, Tree of Life, Rebirth, Nature's Swiftness

Utility/Defensive Spells - (6)
Shadowmeld, Barkskin, Cat Sprint (Dash), Nature's Grasp, Cyclone, Entangling Roots

Miscellaneous Bindings - (6)+
Target, Mount, Bags, Guild Pane, Quests, Map, Character Screen, etc.

This is what my initial map looks like...

I will need a couple more weeks of raiding to tell how much I like it.  So far though, my pinkie hurts a bit.  I may think about rebinding some of the keys on the right side.  Especially if I am tank healing.

More to come...