Razer's New Mouse Optimized for MMO and RTS 218
An anonymous reader writes "XYZComputing has a review of Razer's new Krait mouse which is specifically designed for massively multiplayer online gaming as opposed to the usual design focus of first-person shooters. From the article: 'The criteria for an appropriate mouse for each style of gaming are different, or at least Razer would want you to think that this is the case. With the market starting to accept products like gaming mice and gaming keyboards, it was only a matter of time until someone introduced a mouse for a certain type of game. While it is easy to be skeptical of such an idea, Razer has a great reputation and may actually be onto something here.'"
Optimized for MMO? (Score:5, Interesting)
With only 3 buttons, no way I'll be using this mouse in WoW. I ran out of buttons here on a Logitech G5: left and right for the usual select and action, thumb is an instant cast I use often so you can hold your hand on WSAD, tilt left is autorun, tilt right is the "oh shit" button, desperate prayer on my priest, ice block on my mage.
It may seem an overkill at first, but it really is much easier to keep moving / casting with your left hand and not have to worry about the actions mapped on the mouse.
1200 APM (Score:4, Interesting)
Because every RTS out there is a frigging starcraft-like clickfest right?
I can't even start to understand how the number of clics per minute you can perform with that thing may impact your RTS experience (you usually aren't limited by your clicking speed and most good RTS players use keyboard shortcuts a damn lot, making mouse much less important), and it's even worse for MMORPGs (which you can usually play pretty efficiently without even having a mouse if you know the keybindings).
In a word, this mouse is stupid and this article is pure slashvertisement. And if I get a mouse specifically for RTS and/or mmorpg it'd better has at least half a dozen buttons so that I can bind all kinds of actions to them and not an ass-sucking 2 buttons + roller.
Reversed Roles (Score:4, Interesting)
I don't play RTS's competitively, but it seems like the Copperhead would suit RTSers better, and the Krait would be better for FPS's.
Ok, how does this scream "MMORPG"? (Score:4, Interesting)
To be honest, I don't even know what I'd want in a "MMORPG mouse". How is a mouse supposed to make a difference when playing MMORPGs? You neither need ultra-high precision, nor perfect click timing, nor anything else I could think of.
So what makes a MMORPG mouse MMORPG?
Strange choice of information (Score:5, Interesting)
- Frame rate over 6400 frames per second (5.8 megapixels per second)
- High speed motion detection, up to 40ips and 15g
- Zero acoustic Teflon feet for smooth motion over any surface
- Gold plated USB connector for maximum conductivity
- 7 foot, lightweight, non-tangle cord
On the other hand I completely missed such information as whether the scroll wheel has detents (making it click if you turn it). I for one can't stand those gliding wheels that offer no tactile feedback and which are a real pain if you try to select a weapon in a FPS game; not ahving this feature would be a dealbreaker for me, and much more important than the fact that it's got "non-slip side rails" (yeah, cause I can't remember how often my mouse went flying across the room... but maybe it's necessary for those 438 feet/sec people).That is... good? Better than 4 megapixels per second, I presume? If I use a 2 megapixel digicam, how do I have to set the shutter speed to equal the performance of this mouse?
Ok, 15 g acceleration, works out to 15*9.81m/s^2, that's about 438 feet/sec^2. If I have that kind of acceleration on my mouse I'm clearly doing something wrong.
Unlike all those noise mice we all know and hate. I keep waking up at night and hammering on the wall to keep my neighbour from driving my insane with the decibels created by his mouse. I only hope they do something about those deafening clicks next.
We're talking binary signals, right? The ones that are either "on" or "off"? That don't need a perfect connection as much as, say analog signals?
Ok, what's a non-tangle cord? One that magically uncoils itself? I see no rotating connection on either the mouse or the plug, so I assume that's just marketspeak for "a reasonably straight length of standard cable". Oh, it's "lightweight", so make that "a reasonably straight length of cheap standard cable"
Ban Monster Inc! Ready ur weapons! (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Strange choice of information (Score:5, Interesting)
20 actions per second. Hummm... Lemme imagine pulling this kind of stunt. Most vigorious masturbation is less than 10 actions per second.
- Infrared engine powered by Razer Precision
Doesn't ring a bell.
- 1600 DPI, twice that of conventional high performance sensors
How many pixels (of pointer travel on screen) per point of movement? I mean, if I have a screen of 1600x1200, moving the mouse an inch would send the pointer across the whole screen width with 1:1 mapping. Pretty much unplayable, aim at a 16x16px icon with that, you need 0.01 inch hand movement precision. Of course the points get downsampled, and as result the extra resolution - wasted. Useless.
- Ultra large non-slip mouse buttons, tactile response design
Didn't happen to me to slip on a mouse button or any problems with finding it. But clicking accidentially by resting my palm on the mouse - yes. The bigger the buttons the better the chance for unwanted click.
- Award winning Razer drivers featuring On-the-Fly sensitivity adjustment
Drivers could support on-the-fly sensitivity adjustment. For any mouse.
- Frame rate over 6400 frames per second (5.8 megapixels per second)
That means about 100 frames per screen display frame. Your character can turn 3 times around before the screen updates to show it, thanks to this mouse. More frames per second than the screen can show is useless.
- 16 bit data path, as compared to 8 bit and 12 bit data paths
used by other conventional mice
transferring data of what? Usually mouse sends relative movement distances. At 6400 frames per second, relative distance between two frames can't be more than 3-4 bits long number.
- Always-On(TM) Mode - the optical sensor never powers down -
provides instantaneous response at all times during gameplay
I didn't know "Always-On" was a trademark. Anyway, seems like removal of a feature...
- High speed motion detection, up to 40ips and 15g
I'd like to see your hand after having it accelerated by 15g. All bones powdered. Meantime, 4.6km/hour isn't all that much, normal walk speed is 6km/h.
- Buttons - 3 physical buttons optimized for gaming response and independently programmable
I see 2 buttons and clickable wheel. Wanna bet how often clicking the wheel results in "rotate wheel" event?
- Non-slip side rails and new ergonomic ambidextrous design
Sounds so '80s
- Zero acoustic Teflon feet for smooth motion over any surface
Means lower friction = always getting too far, need extra force to stop.
- Gold plated USB connector for maximum conductivity
For maximum $$$ conductivity that is.
- Size: 5.04" length x 2.5" width x 1.54" height
Pretty unwieldy. If you use a mousepad, more often than not it will stick off one side of it.
- 7 foot, lightweight, non-tangle cord
I get that with a $3 mouse. Cheap and easy to break.
Re:RTS mouse? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Strange choice of information (Score:3, Interesting)
Actually, yes, pretty much. The sheathing of a non-tangle cord is vaguely elastic, like rubber - in the absence of other constraints, it will straighten itself out. It doesn't actually prevent tangling, per se. If you just coil it up and put it down, it'll uncoil right away - if you constrain it (with a tie or a bag) it'll push itself into a something reasonably like a good coil, so it doesn't get tangled as easily.
Great for headphones. I can't imagine why you would want one on a mouse.
Re:looks like a mouse... (Score:3, Interesting)
Carbon Fiber MouseMat (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:Optimized for MMO? (Score:3, Interesting)
Movement is done all with my left thumb which lets me do a whole hell of a lot quickly as I have 4 fingers free. Extra mouse buttons help with auto-run, jumping, and toggles.
Easily the best setup I've ever used.
It could be improved though--main problem I've noticed is panning around to look while keeping moving. Doing so requires the mouse right-click and pan, but then when I need to select something I have to stop looking. What I'd really like is some sort of foot pedal/pad/ball for one of my feet that controls where my character is looking. That would be sweet and in some ways make WOW PvP more intense than a FPS/CounterStrike.