WASD vs ESDF

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

wasd.

that is all.

 

[magicmonkeybars]

I don't use either. I use arrow keys. If I can't remap to arrows, I don't play it.

Really, arrow keys ?
Are you stuck in the 1990's or something ?

OT: WASD, It's just what I'm used to and it's the default that works well enough.

 

[Excludos]

that actully makes sense, i have a hard time with wasd since a lot of the time when i go to hit 'a' i hit capslock instead, i'll have to try this, thanks!

Or buy a keyboard where theres a small gap between caps lock and the A key..which 90% of today's keyboards have

EDIT: so this doesn't become a complete useless reply:
Lets be honest here, people use what they are comfortable with. Since WASD has been the standard since quake1 (because in most shooters, you don't need a million hotkeys, and its comfortable), thats whats most people use. if you feel like you need a column more on the left side, and it doesn't hamper with hitting the number keys and ctrl/shift (Like it certainly does for me) then use that. Infact, I know a guy who uses m,.- He's saying its what he's been using for a long time, and thats what he's comfortable with.

 

[omega 616]

Why not RDFG?Even more keys, or go bat shit crazy and go mid keyboard with YGHJ? Gives most access to most keys.

Do you normally keep your left index finger on g when you type? if so, then perhaps RDFG is for you. But like most Typists, i keep it on F. thus a control scheme where the index finger on F is the most comforatable to me.

But however you play is fine. Game on.

Shit, I actually do put it on G ... I kind of have my left hand spread out more than my right, even though I am right handed.

 

[Kimarous]

1. I've never heard of ESDF before.
2. I've never needed the extra buttons.
3. I'm so used to WASD that ESDF feels wrong.
4. Rearranging all the buttons would be a pain.

 

[Spygon]

one word "counterstrike" alot of people played it and were taught how to use wasd controls because of it.

So my first game on a pc was quake 3 arena that had wasd controls then i started my pc gaming legacy during the counter strike controls.So as i have used wasd controls for such a long time as i can not look at the keyboard and instantly move my hands into a wasd formation that helps when you are using different keys but suddenly have to swap back.

Also when i tried to use the esdf it annoyed me because i was so used to wasd.

 

[Denamic]

I always hold my pinky on shift and ctrl, and it'd get painful fast using ESDF.

 

[natster43]

I have never heard of ESDF controls until now. I always just used WASD for the games I play.

 

[Valdsator]

Never knew people used ESDF. Anyways, I use WASD, and I don't type the standard way (and I can still type fast and without looking at the keyboard). It seems like using ESDF makes it really uncomfortable for me to press the left alt key, and 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. I actually find pressing T, G, and B more comfortable using WASD, but that might be because I'm so used to it.

I'll stick with WASD.

 

[Shilkanni]

When using ESDF, your index finger can get to T, G, & B with much less stretching than WASD,

Obviously - TGB becomes as easy to reach as RFV was before you moved across.

...and your access to the left column (tab, caps, shift,ctrl) isn't hampered at all.

I disagree, I find it significantly harder to hit TAB/CAPS/CTRL and also ALT with my middle finger resting on E. Shift feels different but is definitely reachable. Of course QAZ now becomes available and I'd probably use them.

Furthermore, when using ESDF, your hand is in the normal typing position. Most keyboards have a little riser on the F, so that you can place your hands correctly without having to look at the keyboard.

I can easily find the W key without looking because it's nearer to the edge of the keyboard. For anyone who plays a lot of games this point is pretty much irrelevant as they will get used to their preferred position and be able to get to it fast without looking.

As most people have said, the primary reason not to move across is because you have to rebind more keys. Personally if I have my move forward key on W - I find it effortless to reach CTRL and SPACE which are often bound to something by default.

Lately a lot of the FPS games I've played (L4D2, TF2, Borderlands) don't require too many keybindings and don't have many weapons so there is less need to have a lot of keys available.

For something like Quake3 where there were a lot of viable weapons and using number keys or scroll wheel was too slow and more easy to reach keys might be worthwhile. Also Wow or any game where you can have a large number of abilities.

I use QWES (strafe on Q & E) and I find it more comfortable than WASD. It was suggested to me by a friend when I first played Quake1. His reasoning when he explained it to me was that it was furthest across to the left of the keyboard so most comfortable if you have a mouse on the right.

Depending how much of a gap you have between keyboard and mouse and the width of your keyboard vs your width/comfortable arm position will determine how many steps you could take in from the left-side. Some left-handers use the mouse in the left hand and they have to move the keyboard way over to use WASD or even ESDF, a lot of them will prefer the arrow keys, Num pad, or letters on the right-hand side.

If I get a better desk with more room on the keyboard tray or a bigger keyboard I might move across a step - but only if I'm playing a game which needs it.

I agree if you are going to get seriously into a game it's a good idea to think about bindings and find something good for you, and games which don't let you rebind or make it hard are annoying.

 

[icyneesan]

I only need two buttons for all games
Forward and Kill

You must like to play Pyro in TF2.

its the only class that i actually get a reasonable kill count in D:

 

[Bat Vader]

Whenever I get a new computer game I always make sure to change the movement options to the up, down, left, and right arrow keys. It is easier for me to concentrate and play that way instead of relying on letter keys.

 

[Assassin Xaero]

When using ESDF, your index finger can get to T, G, & B with much less stretching than WASD, and your access to the left column (tab, caps, shift,ctrl) isn't hampered at all.

I actually tried and it felt like I had to stretch more to hit tab/caps lock/shift using ESDF then I did to hit T/G/B with WASD. I use WASD mostly because I'm used to it, used to F as 'use', R and 'reload', and various other things. Plus the whole "normal typing position" thing is meaningless to me since I type with 3 fingers...

 

[assassinslover]

I've always used WASD. If I find the key-mapping for a game is a bit uncomfortable (like in STALKER, and FEAR, wtf is up with mapping important functions to 'Z'? xD) then I just change it to keys that are easier for me to reach without having to look down, or ones that I won't hit by mistake trying to tap a different key.

 

[Sabrestar]

Well, I'm left-handed, so I map everything to my right hand and use my left for the mouse/trackball. That said, though, I use IJKL, which I guess would be closer to ESDF in similarity. And yes, remapping in every game is a major pain, but it's more comfortable for me so I get used to it. I don't use the arrow keys because I have an ergonomic keyboard and prefer to use the actual ergonomic part of the keys. (To NCsoft: for crying out loud, let me do universal remaps! Every time I made a new character in Aion or CoH I had to remap all my buttons again. Fix it!)

 

[Th37thTrump3t]

ESDF??? WTF are you talking about?

 

[TheBadGamer]

I have just been growing up with the wasd, any other way would juts confuse me to no end.

 

[Signa]

Wikipedia
Primarily, WASD is used to account for the fact that the arrow keys are not ergonomic to use in conjunction with a right-handed mouse. This also allows the user to use the left hand thumb to press the space bar (often the jump command) and the left hand little finger to press the CTRL or SHIFT keys

That seems to be the reason for it. I personally use neither. I use arrow keys, and typically have to remap certain keys to surrounding the arrow keys. The reason for it is that I always play in an extremely low light environment,(I ended up getting an illuminated keyboard, but I still feel no compulsion to change) and for me ESDF and WASD are not viable because if your doing something like typing a message, and then all the sudden you need to initiate some sort of movement, its easy to get your fingers lost trying to figure out where WASD ESDF are because all the keys feel the same there, sometimes resulting in your first move going left instead of backwards or the like, until you get your fingers oriented. Arrow keys eliminate that.

So for me its all about what I find to be the most efficent tactile configuration so you dont have divert visual attention to looking down.

Ill be honest, I dont like using letter keys for movement. Seems very counter intuitive to use letter keys for movement, when there are 4 keys on your keyboard that their soul purpose is for movement. Aside from that, on 90% of keyboards, the letter key layouts means that the forward key will invariably be off center from the backwards key. If there is a game that has a WASD or EDSF control configuration, and doesnt allow you to remap the commands to what I want, I will either remap them to a gamepad, or if that doesnt work, I wont even bother playing the game.

My thoughts exactly for years, then I got this

Spoiler

Basically it offers all the advantages of both key layouts while still being off to the left of your keyboard so you don't have to squeeze your arms together or shift your keyboard way off to the side (which frequently is not possible in a LAN party setting). I'm also really really happy with the doubled number row. I always felt it was dumb having to reach for your weapons on the fly if you had to select something further than your 5 weapon. It didn't bother me for the longest time because of being an arrow key user and that meant I always had to reach for a key (the numpad was partially in use for reload and such), but after switching to this, I find there is no going back. Add in the macro bindings you can do with it and it's the best gaming peripheral I've bought.