View Full Version : Mouse control for auto racing?
As a rule, I don't play auto racing games, so I don't know the answer to this: has anyone introduced a steer-by-mouse system into their PC race sims the way Microsoft did with Freelancer? The reason I ask is that there's this cool little import called Mashed (check it out (http://www.getmashed.net/start_here.htm)) that would benefit greatly from mouse control for us PC users who don't like gamepads.
Not that the answer will change the fate of Mashed or anything. I just wonder why, if someone hasn't done mouse steering, they haven't? It seems like such a natural fit.
tronnc
02-28-2005, 04:08 PM
Can't stand racing with a mouse, I had some old dos racing game on my old 386 that I first tried with the mouse. Went back to keyboard after a couple days. I actually prefer the keyboard for all racing games when a wheel is not available, even over a gamepad.
BTW Mashed is a very fun game, especially multiplayer.
I just have such a hard time controlling cars with the arrow keys, and I know I'm not alone. Remember Mafia? The people who couldn't finish the race level were those who didn't own wheels or gamepads. I'm imagining that maybe I could have finished it with mouse control, which I'd think would be much smoother than the pinball machine-type movement provided by keyboard control. Same goes for Mashed. I'm having a hard time staying on the road with the keyboard.
I guess I should just shell out for one a dem gam..er, gamep...ugh! one a dem damn gamepad thingies, huh?
Misguided
03-01-2005, 03:16 PM
BTW Mashed is a very fun game, especially multiplayer.
The control setup for the demo is god-awful. I want to try it, but I can't reassign the keys to save my life, and it defaults to S and X for gas/brake and the arrow keys for left and right. There isn't even an option to change the left/right keys!
It also won't let 2 people use the keyboard.
Furthermore, it seems to recognize my Nostromo but not any of the input from it.
Ugh.
The control setup for the demo is god-awful. I want to try it, but I can't reassign the keys to save my life
Why? You mean you can't figure out where to do it, or you found that but can't for some other reason?
From the Main Menu, choose Configure Game Settings, Setup Controllers, then push the Reconfigure button for the controller/keyboard you want to reconfigure. Click on the key you want to change. It will flash. Then press the keyboard key you want to change it to. When you're done, click OK.
If you did this and it won't work for some reason...I dunno. Worked fine for me. You're right that two people can't share the keyboard, though.
Cold Blooded
03-01-2005, 10:38 PM
As a rule, I don't play auto racing games, so I don't know the answer to this: has anyone introduced a steer-by-mouse system into their PC race sims the way Microsoft did with Freelancer? The reason I ask is that there's this cool little import called Mashed (check it out (http://www.getmashed.net/start_here.htm)) that would benefit greatly from mouse control for us PC users who don't like gamepads.
Not that the answer will change the fate of Mashed or anything. I just wonder why, if someone hasn't done mouse steering, they haven't? It seems like such a natural fit.
Would say the reason it hasn't caught on is because of all control schemes that are commonly available (keyboard, console controller, wheel, mouse), mouselook steering probably "feels like" the furthest thing from driving an actual car by gripping a steering wheel. Very deliberate difference between steering your car right or left at high speeds which comes into play in any good racing game (overcompensating for a poor turn, powersliding, and so on) that you can get with a controller or even a keyboard (pressing the control pad or keys in the opposite direction to compensate). Can't really get that with a free-looking mouse; would probably feel too "floaty" to be natural...
End pointless note number two for the evening...
Not pointless. It makes sense. But for a game like Mashed, which is an overhead racer, who cares about the feel? I just want a way to keep my car on the track.
(Reminds me of my slot car set as a kid. I was always spinning my cars off the track on the corners, because my controllers didn't give me fine enough control to slow down properly. It was either full stop or full bore. I finally just gave up.)
Misguided
03-02-2005, 07:35 AM
The control setup for the demo is god-awful. I want to try it, but I can't reassign the keys to save my life
Why? You mean you can't figure out where to do it, or you found that but can't for some other reason?
From the Main Menu, choose Configure Game Settings, Setup Controllers, then push the Reconfigure button for the controller/keyboard you want to reconfigure. Click on the key you want to change. It will flash. Then press the keyboard key you want to change it to. When you're done, click OK.
If you did this and it won't work for some reason...I dunno. Worked fine for me. You're right that two people can't share the keyboard, though.
Yes, I saw all that, but:
Did it give you the option to change the turn keys? There was no place to do this for me.
Will it let you move gas and brake to the up and down arrows? It won't for me.
Finally, are you using the demo or full version?
Misguided
03-02-2005, 07:54 AM
Not pointless. It makes sense. But for a game like Mashed, which is an overhead racer, who cares about the feel? I just want a way to keep my car on the track.
Yeah, from what I could tell, this is an arcade racer in the purest sense. Feel isn't an issue.
I think it could be done (mouse control) for some games, but the hard part would be dealing with deadzone. I'd like to see progressive steering with the mouse and have the right mouse button auto-center the wheels at the current mouse position so you could make corrections easily without having to get thhe mouse back to an exact spot.
Did it give you the option to change the turn keys? There was no place to do this for me.
Nope. You're right. No place to do this.
Will it let you move gas and brake to the up and down arrows? It won't for me.
Didn't try it, but I assume I can't either, since you can't. I moved them to W and S, with Fire and Drop at Q and E.
Finally, are you using the demo or full version?
Demo. I won't buy the full version the way things stand right now. I may get a gamepad and try that. If that works out alright, I might grab the full game.
krayzkrok
03-02-2005, 10:02 PM
This discussion reminds me of a prototype car that BWM built about... oh, 8 or 9 years ago now. The car was controlled with a joystick instead of a steering wheel. The person testing it basically said "what's the point? It's more expensive than a steering wheel, less precise, and doesn't give you enough familiar feedback to make it safe".
It was an analogue stick, obviously! But I have visions of someone sitting in the drivers seat, plugging their USB mouse into the dashboard, and double right clicking to change gear while cursing as they swipe the mouse ineffectually over the mousepad multiple times trying to negotiate hairpin turns.
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