Use Mousewheel to Control Stance - Why the Heck Not?!!!

y0ssar1an · 27-08-2008, 09:26 AM

in virtually every FPS, the only way to control your stance is to toggle between the prone, kneeling, and standing positions with the keyboard. this works alright for cheesy arcade shooters, but for a tactical shooter i've always wished for a more precise control scheme. if i'm trying to conceal myself behind a low wall, my options are basically A) go prone and get an extreme close-up of the bricks, B) kneel to the point where i can see over the wall, but can't shoot over it because the damn thing is 1 cm too tall, or C) stand up with my **** in the wind. why shouldn't i be able to peek my head over the wall just enough to sight the enemy, pop-up to fire, and duck back down in one fluid movement?

think about how many times you've seen someone in-game struggling to adjust their body position. they kneel-prone-kneel-prone-stand-kneel-stand, but they can't get it just right. it's a total immersion-killer to watch them flop around like fish. not only that, but it's incredibly frustrating to get killed during the three seconds it takes to go from prone to kneel, just because you wanted to see over a few blades of grass.

so here's my idea: use the mousewheel to precisely control your stance. when in the kneeling position, wheel-up to stand up and wheel-down to kneel down. as you wheel-up, your character's movement speed increases continuously until you're at full stand. use the mousewheel button to go between kneeling/standing and prone. when in prone, you can wheel-up to raise your head a few inches and wheel-down to hug the dirt. you can go straight from full stand to prone (when you need to hit the dirt) with one press of the mousewheel button. it's a simple, elegant system and it gives you vastly more control over your guy.

Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield tried something along these lines with fluid stance/peek, but the implementation was so clumsy that nobody used it. you had to stop moving, hold down a button on the keyboard, and then wheel-up, and when you did, you peeked up veeeeerrrry sloooooowwly. you couldn't, for example, lower your body position while on the move.

i realize this is a PC-specific idea. i have no idea how this would be adapted for the consoles, and to be honest i don't really care. i've never owned a console and never will (you can have my mouse and keyboard when you take it from my cold dead hands!). i do know that this simple system would be a true game-changer, and it would make digital combat look a lot more like the real thing.

simulacra · 27-08-2008, 10:16 AM

Because the mouse wheel should control movement speed ala splinter cell

Erkeengel · 27-08-2008, 01:47 PM

Just to be flexible in regards to the ability to map the keys thats all.

In RvS for example I use the mouse-wheel to toggle my stance.
My movement speed I toggle with the right mouse-button.

If applicable in OFP2 I will probably do the same as it works for me.

I also agree with the original poster that I find using keyboard-keys in order to change my stance is not something I prefer.

y0ssar1an · 27-08-2008, 05:07 PM

mapping keys is still a toggle-based system that gives you only 3 options. even if you assigned a key to gradually raise your stance (by holding down), the very fact that it's on the keyboard makes it difficult to adjust while on the move. you have to play finger tango to make it work. in my system, you control your movement with the left hand and your stance with the right hand (assuming a right-handed keyboard setup). thus, you can do both at the same time. imagine running at full sprint up a hillside and gradually lowering your stance as you approach the top to avoid silhouetting.

27-08-2008, 09:26 AM	#1 (permalink)
y0ssar1an Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: United States of America Posts: 3	Use Mousewheel to Control Stance - Why the Heck Not?!!! in virtually every FPS, the only way to control your stance is to toggle between the prone, kneeling, and standing positions with the keyboard. this works alright for cheesy arcade shooters, but for a tactical shooter i've always wished for a more precise control scheme. if i'm trying to conceal myself behind a low wall, my options are basically A) go prone and get an extreme close-up of the bricks, B) kneel to the point where i can see over the wall, but can't shoot over it because the damn thing is 1 cm too tall, or C) stand up with my **** in the wind. why shouldn't i be able to peek my head over the wall just enough to sight the enemy, pop-up to fire, and duck back down in one fluid movement? think about how many times you've seen someone in-game struggling to adjust their body position. they kneel-prone-kneel-prone-stand-kneel-stand, but they can't get it just right. it's a total immersion-killer to watch them flop around like fish. not only that, but it's incredibly frustrating to get killed during the three seconds it takes to go from prone to kneel, just because you wanted to see over a few blades of grass. so here's my idea: use the mousewheel to precisely control your stance. when in the kneeling position, wheel-up to stand up and wheel-down to kneel down. as you wheel-up, your character's movement speed increases continuously until you're at full stand. use the mousewheel button to go between kneeling/standing and prone. when in prone, you can wheel-up to raise your head a few inches and wheel-down to hug the dirt. you can go straight from full stand to prone (when you need to hit the dirt) with one press of the mousewheel button. it's a simple, elegant system and it gives you vastly more control over your guy. Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield tried something along these lines with fluid stance/peek, but the implementation was so clumsy that nobody used it. you had to stop moving, hold down a button on the keyboard, and then wheel-up, and when you did, you peeked up veeeeerrrry sloooooowwly. you couldn't, for example, lower your body position while on the move. i realize this is a PC-specific idea. i have no idea how this would be adapted for the consoles, and to be honest i don't really care. i've never owned a console and never will (you can have my mouse and keyboard when you take it from my cold dead hands!). i do know that this simple system would be a true game-changer, and it would make digital combat look a lot more like the real thing.

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27-08-2008, 10:16 AM	#2 (permalink)
simulacra Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 157	Because the mouse wheel should control movement speed ala splinter cell

27-08-2008, 01:47 PM	#3 (permalink)
Erkeengel Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Norway Posts: 172	Just to be flexible in regards to the ability to map the keys thats all. In RvS for example I use the mouse-wheel to toggle my stance. My movement speed I toggle with the right mouse-button. If applicable in OFP2 I will probably do the same as it works for me. I also agree with the original poster that I find using keyboard-keys in order to change my stance is not something I prefer.

27-08-2008, 05:07 PM	#4 (permalink)
y0ssar1an Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: United States of America Posts: 3	mapping keys is still a toggle-based system that gives you only 3 options. even if you assigned a key to gradually raise your stance (by holding down), the very fact that it's on the keyboard makes it difficult to adjust while on the move. you have to play finger tango to make it work. in my system, you control your movement with the left hand and your stance with the right hand (assuming a right-handed keyboard setup). thus, you can do both at the same time. imagine running at full sprint up a hillside and gradually lowering your stance as you approach the top to avoid silhouetting.