How extreme are your controls?

How many of you are extremists like I am when it comes to controls in DOOM? I've been using the old-school controls for all my DOOMing years. I have used the Quake style controls on ZDoom and the such, but I am primarily a keyboard extremist. Is there anyone out there like me?

If by "extreme" you mean keyboard only, then I think instead of "extreme" the word you're looking for is "shite".

And you wouldn't be old-school if you were playing in 320x240, because that would require a port. Doom2.exe's standard resolution is 320x200. Doofus.

That was awfully extreme, Adam.

But, anyway, Shady, he's right. Keyboard-only is nice for nostalgia but it's horribly inefficient, and Doom DID run in 320x200x8, not 320x240.

My controls are the fairly-standard E/D forward/back, S/F left/right, W/R strafe left/right, but then I use G for jump, T for duck (in games that support it - obviously not doom), and then 'a' for run/walk toggle. I use the mouse for firing, opening doors, and aiming. I use the 'q' key to change weapons.

Oh yeah, and keyboard only doesn't even really count as old-skool, since people have been using mouse/keyboard since at least 1994, and it dominated dm play starting in 1995.

Keyboard is the only way to play. I *might* use a mouse if Doom was 2D, but probably not.

And Doom never supported 320x240 in the first place you ass horn.

AdamW said:

If by "extreme" you mean keyboard only, then I think instead of "extreme" the word you're looking for is "shite".

And you wouldn't be old-school if you were playing in 320x240, because that would require a port. Doom2.exe's standard resolution is 320x200. Doofus.

I use a joystick. I have it set to be running all the time and I go flying all over the place!

Yeah, I'm still a default keyboard whore. Would love to dm you, as I've only played one other keyboarder in dm out of about 100 mousers.

i use arrows for move forward, back, x+z for strafing; space use/open and control for firing..... later c+f for looking up, down and d for jumping

I prefer the standard keyboard controls. I just can't get used to using the mouse for aiming, strafing, and opening doors.

Embrace evolution.

Z Doom/Legacy/J Doom


forward:w
backpedal:s
strafe left:a
strafe right:d
jump:q
strafe:right mouse button
fire:left mouse button
use/activate:space bar

Doom(not advanced port)


forward:w
backpedal:s
strafe left:a
strafe right:d
strafe:right mouse button
fire:left mouse button
use/activate:space bar

Well I always used a 4 button gamepad until I started dying in Duke3D all the time. I was reading up on how to play better and I found a site that strongly suggested the following configuration:

Up Arrow: Walk forward
Down Arrow: Backpedal
Left Arrow: Strafe left
Right Arrow: Strafe right
Right Control: Duck
Keypad 0: Jump
Mouse: Fire
Mouse2: Open
Mouse2 double: Quick kick
Mouse3: Mouse aim

I forced myself to play like that for a while and I soon found myself circle strafing around bosses like hell and beating the game without any real trouble. I had keypad 1 set up to use the Medikit, so I was reaching it without any trouble. Keypad 4 controlled the jetpack.

Then that hard-as-a-rock game Blood came out and I spent FOREVER hammering that game trying to beat it. It's normal difficulty is probably has hard as Nightmare on Doom, but I finally worked my way through and ended up disappointed by the final boss. Sheesh, about 10 seconds of napalm erases him.

This was also the config that I used for Half-Life and Soldier of Fortune. I made a few adjustments, though. I set the spacebar to reload so I could just reach over and fwak it without any trouble. Mouse3 quickly became use as I needed Mouse2 for alt-fire functions. The best adjustment was setting the weapon special buttons to the wheel in SoF, so I could use the wheel to adjust the sniper scope. It's also cool to hold down Mouse3 so I can lean around corners.... so I ended up beating that game with little trouble.

Lately, however, I've been forcing myself to learn the traditional FPS gaming style. Right now, this is how I have all my games set up:

W: Walk fowards
S: Backpedal
A: Strafe left
D: Strafe right
Left Shift: Duck
Spacebar: Jump
Q: Function 1 (spell select circle in Undying)
E: Function 2 (weapon select circle in Undying, use TOP in Heretic)
R: Reload

I forced myself to sit down with UT for a few hours straight and get used to this config. It's quite similar to my old one, except reloading is easier and I don't have to slide the keyboard to the left to sit comfortably. =)

The best part is that most games are now already preconfigged to a way I can enjoy them.

As always, I play ALL of my FPS games with the mouse UNINVERTED. I can't play a first person game with inverted freelook, it drives me insane. Oddly enough, I can't play a flight sim or a game like Starfox WITHOUT inverting the control... that's the only way it seems natural then.

And of course... if you've read any of my previous posts you'd know that I don't really use a mouse either. I have a Logitech TrackMan Marble Wheel Trackball. It's not quite as good for gaming as a mouse, but it's TONS better in your OS... I get MUCH more precision with Paint Shop Pro.

This brings me to another point... most FPS gamers use one of the above configurations, right?

Adjusting to the trackball didn't take me too long and because of it I've realized something. Think about your Playstation Dual Shock gamepad.

Replace the right-hand analog stick with a trackball. Put your right thumb on it, use R1 for fire and R2 for alt-fire (or use).

Put your left thumb on the crosspad, think of that like WASD. Use L1 to jump and L2 to duck (or use if you hardly ever duck).

That's about as close to a traditional mouser setup as you can get with gamepad, yet even all the new systems are shipping with TWO analog sticks. What in the blue fuck are you going to need TWO analog sticks for? They need to replace the right one with a trackball so we can use THIS for console FPS games!

To be honest... I am SICK of the Turok Kung Fu.

What is the Turok Kung Fu you ask? Well, Doomers, if you've never had the misfortune of being subjected to this bizarre thing be thankful... THIS is how you control most FPS games on console systems:

Left hand: Analog stick for freelook, L1 (or Z) for fire
Right hand: Buttons as WASD, R1 jump

It's obvious why I hate it.
#1 It's BACKWARDS, my freelook hand is moving and my moving hand is freelooking.
#2 An analog stick is NOWHERE NEAR as good as a trackball, let alone a mouse!

So... I just fucking hope a gamepad designer is reading this. Replace the right analog stick with a trackball. Don't force the Turok Kung Fu on us anymore.

ZDoom / Doom Legacy:

A = Jump
Z = Look Up
X = Look Down
C = Center View
Space / Dblmouse2 = Action
Mouse1 = Fire
Mouse2 = Strafe
Mouse3 = Forward

In other words, I mainly concentrate on the mouse. An optical mouse rules. :)

deadnail said:

i cant be bothered to read all that post. deadnail, you talk too much :P

Lüt said:

Keyboard is the only way to play. I *might* use a mouse if Doom was 2D, but probably not.

And Doom never supported 320x240 in the first place you ass horn.

I use the ports but I keep the old school controls on them and occasionally switch to 320x240 for the nostalgia of it. Sorry if I didn't get it EXACTLY right, I didn't think that I needed razor-sharp precision to make a point.

AdamW said:

If by "extreme" you mean keyboard only, then I think instead of "extreme" the word you're looking for is "shite".

And you wouldn't be old-school if you were playing in 320x240, because that would require a port. Doom2.exe's standard resolution is 320x200. Doofus.

I use the ports but I keep the old school controls on them and occasionally switch to 320x240 for the nostalgia of it. Sorry if I didn't get it EXACTLY right, I didn't think that I needed razor-sharp precision to make a point.

ShadyXMR said:

Are you OLD-school? Do you play at 320x240 not because your system can't handle any higher or just for the Hell of it?

Did you mean: "Are you OLD-school? Do you play at 320x200 not becuase your system can't handle any higher, but, rather, just for the Hell of it?

And, yes, optical mouse *does* rule!

deadnail said:

Got some time on your hands, eh?

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Katarhyne said:

That was awfully extreme, Adam.But, anyway, Shady, he's right. Keyboard-only is nice for nostalgia but it's horribly inefficient, and Doom DID run in 320x200x8, not 320x240.My controls are the

If you can beat a mouser >50% of the time keyboard-only...

...the mouser sucks.

Most mousers suck.