I just don't see how this makes any sense. On one hand, you're not gaining any significant benefit by using a stick instead of keys for movement.

On the other hand your left hand now has access to maybe 2 or 3 buttons instead of ~23 keys. And those 23 keys are just the ones that are available without moving your hand.

Further, you don't want to get used to a control scheme that's not compatible with all games. I'm sure there are many games that won't correctly detect a gamepad.

Even further, gamepad controllers aren't designed to be held by only one hand --- it seems like it would be awkward, though I suppose a person can get used to it.

Originally posted by DingleSpitz:

Has anyone tried out one of those?

I've tried this a long time ago for Quake3.
It's not that deep - just use any controller for movement and a mouse for camera/aiming.
No need for a single handed specific devices as any controller will do if you are OK with number of buttons on left side.

If for some reason a game makes problems you can use a 3rd party app and change controller inputs to act like WSAD keyboard inputs. But most games should just work.

Originally posted by C1REX:

I've tried this a long time ago for Quake3...

Twenty-plus years ago there were people who tried playing Unreal Tournament, etc. with actual joysticks. Like you said, any analog (or pseudo-analog) controller is basically the same input, if not the same experience/control.

But not only do I not see an advantage, a binary control with a constant max speed seems the superior method for quick and agile control.

Originally posted by Dryspace:

Originally posted by C1REX:

I've tried this a long time ago for Quake3...

Twenty-plus years ago there were people who tried playing Unreal Tournament, etc. with actual joysticks. Like you said, any analog (or pseudo-analog) controller is basically the same input, if not the same experience/control.

But not only do I not see an advantage, a binary control with a constant max speed seems the superior method for quick and agile control.

You can use dpad for WSAD controls. Ps1 gamepads I’ve tested didn’t even have analog sticks.

Originally posted by C1REX:

You can use dpad for WSAD controls.

Well, yes... But then I don't understand the reason for trying to use a controller instead of a KB in the first place. Am I misunderstanding something?

I have used the Belkin N50 (no longer made) for over 20 years now. I sucked at gaming using a keyboard for movement. The Dpad on the N50 was a game changer. They are always available on ebay. The updated N52 is also an option. It gives you more keys but I don't like the ergonomics of it as much as the N50. The Razer version of the Belkin design is unusable because the dpad movement is totally different.

https://static0.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/img_5a3b3555dee67.png

Originally posted by DingleSpitz:

Hey all! 👋
I wanted to start a discussion on a topic that doesn’t get much coverage, despite how promising it is — hybrid control schemes (particularly for shooters), where you use a mouse for aiming and a controller (or similar device) in the left hand for movement.

Potential Left-hand devices (what I found so far):

• Left Joycon
  
• Left Doyoky® Controller
  
• Left Hori® Controller
  
• Left Mobapad® M6
  
• Grifta® Morphing Gamepad
  
• Left VR Controller
  
• Wii-Nunchuk or Wii-Remote
  
• Xbox Adaptive Joystick
  
• PS Move® Navigation Controller
  
• Splitfish® FragFX Controller
  
• Razer Orbweaver/Tartarus
  
• Azeron Cyborg® Gaming Keypad
  
• Simply a regular Gamepad (only using left part)

Has anyone tried out one of those? What are your experiences? How do you manage to press other buttons without interupting running/stick input? Which Software do you use? Did you run into any software issues or other drawbacks? Which keys do you map to which buttons? Did you experience input delays? Please feel free to add your thoughts on this topic! 👾😁

I have been using an Azeron key pad for a number of years now and its genuinely awesome.

My only gripes are :

It cant be wireless, without lots of messing about.
Cable is a little short.
Quite expensive £200
Games don't recognise the analogue stick, well they do, but think its an xbox, but using the thumb stick to just mimic wsad, works perfectly fine.
And it takes a while to learn it, even now after 5+ years of using Azeron I still forget what some keys are, but thats 100% me.

However if I could be bothered I am sure there is a way to make it work.

It's plug and play and very easy to set up and to keep it easy for me, I just set the thing up with the most common PC controls I have 28 buttons and thumb stick to configure.

I combine this with a G502 mouse and I only need to reach for the keyboard for F keys and a few other awkward keys that sometimes get used.

I rarely have to do any rebinds as I seem to have set set the Azeron profile up pretty well.

You can set up other profiles for other games if you want, I did try this feature for a bit, but decided to just make the mapping on the Azeron the same for all games and it works great for most if not all the games I play.

I can't recommend this controller enough

Its almost fully adjustable
can get them it whatever colours you want
Software is great
Build quality is great.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who prefer joystick over WASD keys. I find sprawling my fingers over the keyboard just for gaming uncomfortable and prefer my XBox 360 controller on one hand.
But, for first-person view/shooting games, the mouse is superior for looking and shooting.
While I don't play competitively, I still dunno if it's "weird" having a controller in one hand and a mouse in the other.

Given my XBox 360 controller is on it's last legs, I decided to buy an Xbox Adaptive Joystick[www.xbox.com] off eBay, given it has the button layout I'm used too from standard controller.

When I get it, this will be my standard layout for first-person PC games:
Joystick (tilted) = Movement
Joystick (pressed) = Sprint
x2 = Use
x3 = Flashlight
x1, x4 = Spare buttons for specific functions.
x5 = Jump
x6 = Crouch


Other than that, given I'll need a replacement controller for standard gaming, I'll get one of the new Steam Controllers when they come out given it's a handheld controller designed for PC gaming with FPS in mind so I dunno how good that is.

I'm like you in that I view the mouse as the obvious best choice for aim. But the controller as far superior when it comes to movement.
Because it is very intuitive and you don't have to spread your hand to reach Certain keys, or mis-press keys because your pinky is required for whatever item or action those keys are bound to.

And then having to find proper placement after you take your hands off the wasd keys for map, inventory, number keys etc. can also be less intuitive than the triggers and joystick.

Controller will always be objectively more ergonomic as it was purpose-designed for video game movement.

The ability to move omnidirectionally with variable speed is also crucial in games where you don't always just want to go full speed. Sure I can walk with Keyboard if I remember the Z key is walk and don't accidentally hit shift instead (has sent me off the roof of a few buildings)

I feel like it makes so much sense to use controller input for movement and mouse for precision when looking and aiming! I've been trying out different options for a while.

I was using the Tartarus for a while but I kept accidentally hitting the d pad, and alternating between the extra button and space bar so cumbersome. The space bar is quite far away from the rest of the keys.

Now I primarily use a joycon in my left hand with the joystick mapped to WSAD and the left trigger as space bar for jump.

I use a mouse with scroll wheel as RB and programmable side buttons to act as action buttons (X, B, and R3 on an Xbox controller) and after some tinkering and muscle memory it works really well!

My ideal mouse would have ABXY buttons on the left side and a big button below to act as R3.

I want to get the MobaPad M6 for that extra paddle button, but this setup works for now!

I got my XBox Adaptive Joystick and it works as fine as I hoped. Though, it was bigger/longer than expected and I have to reposition my index and middle finger from the x5 and x6 buttons to the edge of the controller to hoist my thumb up for more steady movement but other than that, works fine.

The XBox Adaptive Joystick along with the controller[www.xbox.com] was specifically made for players with disabilities, but Microsoft/XBox could've marketed it as a gaming controller of it's own! Though given the controller isn't recognised by most Steam (or just Source) games, you'll need to rely on Steam Controller settings to set buttons to keyboard commands. (Also, may need to unplug and replug the controller for it to be recognised, for some reason.)

My mouse is an old Warwolf gaming mouse. It's old and sometimes a bit unresponsive due to age but it's a six-button gaming mouse.

If I were to design a gaming mouse, I would split the left and right mouse buttons horizontally and add two extra buttons under the back and forth thumb buttons. Though a standard six-button gaming mouse would still be fine with me.

I wouldn't mind if Razor or Logitech make a fully left handed mouse

I came across this discussion through a Google search. I'm looking for an even better device, but I can say that a generic PS4 gamepad worked well when using only my left hand, except for the weight on the right side which is a bit bothersome and requires undesirable compensatory effort. I'm not against PC keyboards, but my device is a laptop and I prefer to work with an separated device to save its keys, and besides, I like to play in a chaise lounge or some kind of zero-gravity or reclining chair where a regular keyboard connected to the notebook becomes a hindrance. What I mean is that I need to hold the controller like a joystick or the experience won't be good. At a desk, I even used a Belkin N50 clone, but the keyboard proved more comfortable for me, so I abandoned that option. A cheap option that I tried but didn't use extensively are VR controllers for Google Cardboard; my model is cheap and unreliable, but there are more refined options for sale. I wasn't familiar with half of the devices you mentioned and I'll investigate them further, but I can say that the Playstation-type joypad is a reliable and inexpensive alternative, it's just not ideal because of the weight of its right half.

The original consumer product like this was the Nostromo n50 SpeedPad made by Belkin which released in 2001. This is the product that eventually became the Razer Orbweaver/Tartarus after Razer eventually bought out Belkin from their partnership on manufacturing Razer branded successors to the Nostromo.

I've used many of these types of "left-hand keypads" since that original Nostromo n50 including every iteration of the Nostromo until Razer took it over. They are a great control setup and certainly can offer significant advantages. Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II was one of the games that I played a lot at the time when I got the n50 when it launched. It allowed for a significant advantage because I could simultaneously use the mouse-look to aim and swing/throw the lightsaber while also moving forward/backwards and strafing left/right with my left thumb, while also executing multiple force powers with the keys under my left 4 fingers. This allowed you to very easily and naturally force-run along a wall, jump off the wall and simultaneously force-grab someone and throw them into an abyss.

The downsides of the n50, its successor the n52, and the last version Belkin made the n52te (Tournament Edition) was that the thumb control was an 8-way D-pad; even though the n52te had a joystick-like top on it, it was still an 8-way D-pad. The original Razor version was just a rebrand of the n52te using a refactored Razer software.

The one I liked the best was Logitech's G13. It had an actual analog mini-joystic for thumb-stick movement, two thumb buttons flanking the stick, and a a good layout of "G" keys that had a good natural contour. I still have most of them and still use the G13 but sadly and unfortunately Logitech never made a successor to the G13 and they stopped supporting it in their control software.

Has anyone looked at Nhuads one handed controller in combination with a mouse? It's wireless and in combination with a wireless mouse will give me portability + precision.