Together Retro: The Quake Series / Quake Live -WHEN TO PLAY?

[isiolia]

Enough to the point I'm researching keyboard & mouse upgrades. My Coolermaster set is nice, but it's pretty entry level. If I end up using them a lot for FPS then I'll want something better.

If you haven't added one since taking your game room pics, you may want to start with a mousepad. There are a variety of sizes and materials to suit taste, with varied cost...but a decent cloth pad is often under $10, so it's a cheap place to start (I just use an $8 Steelseries QcK).
It's less a matter that your mouse won't track well, and more one of feel. As nice a job as the little Teflon feet on most mice can do on a typical desk, a mousepad will usually be smoother.

[MrPopo]

I've personally never subscribed to fancy mice and keyboards; I've got a Bluetooth wireless set because I don't want to run a longass cable between the computer and the couch. The only time I've had a problem is with the wireless Surface mouse; it doesn't seem to like reading well on the couch, probably due to the tiny size of the sensor and laser. The only time I actually need it is when I've got my map software on my Surface going while I play Might & Magic fullscreen, and then I use the back of the Surface cover as a mousepad and things are fine.

[noiseredux]

If you haven't added one since taking your game room pics, you may want to start with a mousepad. There are a variety of sizes and materials to suit taste, with varied cost...but a decent cloth pad is often under $10, so it's a cheap place to start (I just use an $8 Steelseries QcK).
It's less a matter that your mouse won't track well, and more one of feel. As nice a job as the little Teflon feet on most mice can do on a typical desk, a mousepad will usually be smoother.

yeah I've actually been using a Steelseries for a while now. It's fine. I have a nice big one I got free when I bought my i5, but it's actually too big for my current desk. Though I'm planning to get a new desk in a couple months.

I've personally never subscribed to fancy mice and keyboards;

The Cooler Master set I have now is nice and comfortable. But it was a $30 set, and you get what you pay for. This set is meant as sort of a "my first gaming keyboard and mouse," and as such, isn't really made to last. I got them about a year ago w/ an Amazon giftcard, and I've been plenty happy. BUT, there are times when they just don't work and I have to unplug them and plug them back in to get them to work again. More annoyingly, the mouse wheel has started making a loud squeaky noise. I mean they're fine for now, and honestly if you want to spend $30 on a combo that you can run into the ground in a year I'd still recommend them, but I'd like to at some point upgrade to a set that's better built.

[dsheinem]

Have you used a mechanical keyboard yet noise? It is like going from an Ascii Stick or something to an HRAP or similar.

[isiolia]

I've personally never subscribed to fancy mice and keyboards; I've got a Bluetooth wireless set because I don't want to run a longass cable between the computer and the couch. The only time I've had a problem is with the wireless Surface mouse; it doesn't seem to like reading well on the couch, probably due to the tiny size of the sensor and laser. The only time I actually need it is when I've got my map software on my Surface going while I play Might & Magic fullscreen, and then I use the back of the Surface cover as a mousepad and things are fine.

They can have value, but a lot of the specifically-for-gaming ones aren't going to be a real upgrade unless you make a point to use the added features (macro keys and whatnot). I stepped back to a more basic mouse model last time I got one because I simply didn't use the profile features that my previous one had.

I do think there's something to be said for quality, and general feel. For me, after acclimating to a mechanical, typing on a membrane keyboard tends to be at least a step down, if not noticeably more difficult.

[noiseredux]

Have you used a mechanical keyboard yet noise? It is like going from an Ascii Stick or something to an HRAP or similar.

I've used one of those old IBM mechanical ones at work as it happens. But no, never for gaming. I have clicked around on various ones in stores to try them out. Ideally I'd like to find a mechanical keyboard that isn't super loud though. I'm thinking that the blue or brown switches are less loud than the reds? Although that's assuming Cherry - I'm pretty sure that Razer, Logitech, etc use their own mechanical switches?

[dsheinem]

Ideally I'd like to find a mechanical keyboard that isn't super loud though.

pfffffft

[isiolia]

Razer has green and orange switches that are basically clones of Cherry blue and browns. Not sure on Logitech.

Blues are the truly loud, since they have a real click at the actuation point. Blacks and reds are linear, and browns have a bump but no audible click.

Outside of blues, a good part of what makes mechanicals loud is bottoming them out. What tends to be the case is that the pressure needed is lighter than with membrane keyboards, and with those, you tend to need to press the key down all the way to boot. So people start out hammering keys -way- harder than they need to.
If/when you adapt to the lighter touch needed for a mechanical, and where the key actually registers, you stop bottoming out keys all the time and it gets quieter. You can also install o-rings on keys to dampen them.

[ExedExes]

Played Quake III Arena on Dreamcast today. I have the keyboard and mouse, and it turns out that the side roller was a little dirty so that's why my turns weren't working. How I missed my regular optical mouse!

As for regular Quake, finishing up Episode 3 by the end of this week.

[GSZX1337]

Wow, March is almost over already? Talk about being fashionably late. I love this game series, but I didn't like the original much at first as I didn't know about its mouse support and used the keyboard controls like an idiot. I strayed away from my resolution to play more RTSes and Point and Click Adventures, and have been replaying the game in Darkplaces.