Control preferences in Marathon can be troublesome. Many people play with Keyboard, and many others play with the Mouse and keyboard. This editorial explains some of the pros and cons of each control preference, and then also shows which is a better device to move towards and learn.

The keyboard is advertised to everyone in the demo films that Marathon goes into when it's idle. The films of some guy who plays really badly, but looks real good to those who just bought the game and start out. So, many new players start out in keyboard and learn that, and never really see the potential of Mouse. This article shows some of the perks the potential of the mouse has for net play.

People ridicule what they are afraid of. The mouse has many advantages over the keyboard. The best advantage is the quick lighting fast aiming one can do with it. Where as the keyboard people have to use many keys and combinations at a slow fixed rate of speed to turn and gain aim on a fast moving opponent. The mouse is just one fluid instrument, and is the sole tool to aim at anything flying towards or running by you at any altitude or speed. Some have said that using the mouse requires one less hand to be on the the keyboard to play, I say great! The mouse handles five controls at once (maybe more if you have a kensington thinking two button or four button mouse), and because of this, the second hand on the keyboard is definately not needed.

Now I know I probably have gotten many keyboard players ears beaming red with anger, it is of coarse the common reaction when someone points out that what you believe in is messed up. I would just like to say though it's not too late to change to the better control device, mouse. I know of a few once diehard keyboard players who changed over to mouse, and have vowed never again to use the slow clunky device known as keyboard. I will also add that these players are now doing a hell of a lot better now too.

One thing I had the privledge of hearing from a keyboarder was that keyboard is more accurate than the mouse. ::chuckle:: I tell this to every mouse player, and also to the converted keyboard players (who now swear they will never use keyboard again). You know what they all say? "::some sort of laughter:: You can't be serious someone actually said that, are you?" Sure the keyboard 'sports a consistant and 100% reliable method of turning and looking up and down', but I would give that up anyday to be able to aim and turn on a dime and move completely unpredictable to any of my opponents (unpredictable is keyword, remember this).

As you have probably guessed, I am a mouser. Ever since the demo of Marathon1 was released, I started with mouse control. When I saw it in the preferences to play with the mouse, I was so intrigued. The thought of being able to control where you looked with a whip of the mouse, was new and wondrous. So I played with mouse. It was hard at first (really damn hard), but then it grew much easier every game. I soon had the mouse-eye coordination down to the point it feels to me like I am not even using the mouse to look and move, but more like my mind only is turning and moving my player. I actually can draw better by hand with mouse in photoshop and other drawing programs, and I owe it all to sticking with and using the mouse in game play.

Where am I going with this? I am saying that what a person starts out with they will most believe in. Many people went with keyboard because it was easier to learn, and when playing solo it doesn't really matter so much. A point was brought to me saying that no mouse Vidmasters have vid the same levels the keyboarders have. This is true. However, I don't hold much weight against solo play (meaning I could care less), and the title of this is about net play. I base the skill of a player by their performance against other humans. When it comes to playing a net game with a real living mind, the ball game is completely different. That is why the mouse is not a wildly used device, because not many get to start the game out as a net game. "One doesn't learn to love the mouse until they get their ass kicked by a mouse player in a net game." (from some converted keyboarders).

Quoted from an excellent player from GMT96:Ý"If you put an equally skilled mouser with an equally skilled keyboarder, the mouser will always win." That¼s very true. But I still love hearing the whine of keyboarders when they say "Yeah, well Cybernator is a keyboard player, and he won two of the MacWorld Tournaments." It's like the similar lame whining of the PC people when they say "Yeah, well PCs have more game titles." Both are true, but they fail to include key details. For instance the plea of PC: Macs have fewer titles but they are all 1st quality products, whereas the shoddy millions of redundant 3rd rate titles on the PCs. As for Cybernator, if you actually saw who his competitors were, you would understand how he won and that the above quote does not apply because he was not pitted against equally skilled mouse players.

Also other so called facts that keyboarders like to bring up is that the mousers can't do smooth side circle sweep attacks on the enemies. They show and have proven how effective this is against an alien in a solo game, and I do agree, that the mouse can't really do that maneuver. Regarding this, they say that since the mouse players can't do this one maneuver, how can mouse be the better of the two devices? Well, they again fail to mention another key factual detail, which is: keyboard can't turn and aim as fast as you want like the mouse can (180 in a blink using keyboard? I don't think so)... so then, how can the keyboard be the better device then? eh? huh? ::nudge nudge:: that's waht I thought.

Ok, so all the facts about movements spoken by both sides are true. But who gives a flying monkey when everyone in the same game knows all the moves? If you don't put some thought behind your control, then you will die. Being consitent and predictable insures death, and being as unpredictable to your opponents is key to survival. This goes way beyond the scope of what I can say, because learning how to think is something you have to do on your own and cannot have anyone else tell you how to do it.

I would like to say to those who are keyboard players and are having trouble with net games, switch to mouse. Learn it, I know it might seem hard, but the payoff is so much more rewarding. Maybe many of you keyboard people don't like the jumpy look of the mouse, and like the smooth look of turning around. Well, what IÝhave to say to that is poppycock! Who gives a crap! If someone is behind you with a spanker aiming at your head, what would you rather have; a nice smooth turn while watching the spanker hit you? or, whipping that 180 in a millisecond to waste the guy with your shotguns before they can even blink?

The Keys I use, are as follows. You can use this as a base for if your just starting out. However, my thumb is a very limber extrusion and some of my keys may seem painful to the less limber fingers.

7	8	9
4	5	6	+
	2	3	e n t
0		.

7 and 9 are glance left right
4 and 6 are sidestep left right
8 and 5 are forward backward
2 and 3 are weapon selecters
+ is map view (rarely used)
0 is action key
. is second trigger (although I use capslock now as my second trigger, but thats only because I altered my keyboard to have a non-sticky-capslock key over by my keypad to use for second trigger) [click to see a picture of what I am talking about].
enter is look level (also rarely used now)
Rshift is run (pinky). This however only works on my small Apple KeyboardII. The extended keyboards have the arrow keys and other crud in the middle preventing my pinky from reaching over. And I do not suggest anyone use capslock as a run key (god forbid).

Then I put my turn right and left as the arrows, so they are close by if I want to use them for some reason. And I put the look up and down keys on the up and down arrows also so I can hit them with my palm when I am in an ambush situation and I dont want to wiggle the mouse which sets off the motion detector.

In my final words, don't get pissed at us mouse players during a net game. Just learn the better device, and you will be glad you did. Also, if you are a keyboard player who plays mousers, and you are beating them? Well then... forget everything you just read here and stay with what you use, because obviously those mouse players purely suck, and should be beaten by a keyboarder as their punishment for not learning correctly. ;-)

ADDENDUM Regarding Vidding A few say the only true way to prove the device you use is good, is to vid a level. Well, the Vidmasters page has many mousers on it. Not as many as Keyboarders... but that is the case that most mousers don't really care about the vidding bit (even some on that page say this in their readme files included with their vid films). I am one of them, only did some films to 'prove myself', and not giving a rats ass about all the vid stuff.

Actually, I have talked with many mousers, and they all say they would rather spend their time having fun in a net game, than rehearsing a solo level to make a good film of it (booooring). I would have to go along with that myself. I think it is much more fun to beat up and get beaten on by fellow human beings that think for themselves :-)

So what does this have to do with the article? It shows that not only Keyboarders can be a vid boi, and that mouse is mostly used in net, because the people using mouse don't care much for the whole vidding scene.