This post is not a guide but rather a blog of what I did to mine. Follow /u/tallbrahh's imgur album (linked below) as it is very detailed and easy to follow.
A month or so ago I got myself and Orbweaver as my new gaming peripheral. The learning curve takes about a month but I will never go back to using WASD on the keyboard. I absoluetely love it, especially flying in Star Citizen.
I just have a few gripes with it.
Although I like green I don't like the green enough when i can change it myself.
MX Blues are nice but they're too light for me and they're too clicky for my modmic.
The task? Break it open and replace the switches and LEDs
Big thanks to /r/mechanicalkeyboards where another user did the exact same thing that I was planning. [LINK TO POST]
Fortunately the Switches are PCB mounted and not plate mounted. This makes replacing the switches MUCH easier
Rational for switch placement: I'm a heavy typer so naturally Blues are too light for me and since I need a less clicky alternative I would have to get the less popular MX-clears. These are essentially heavier MX-browns. However for the WASD keys I wanted to add the quickness of linear switches. And of course since MX reds are too light I got a few MX-blacks for 05-12-13-14 WASD keys.
Using the Binder clip of death I was able to split the switches and sort out their parts ready to be switched. The black housing on all the switches are the same so you only have to replace the internals
PCB back (the two prong above the switch stem are when you need to unsolder for the LEDs fortunately there's an hourglass shaped piece that inhibits sodler flow so you can't easily mess it up and short something out.
I'm sure there's a way to make a mechanical G13 IIRC the mod of /r/mechanicalkeyboards made his nostromo mechanical Yep
I'd like te G13 more but it lacks the buttons that are above WASD. It depends on what your used to gaming. Personally I need them.
However I think the best implentation for a gaming peripheral would have an analouge thumbstick like the G13 and a scrollwheel/throttle nested somewhere like the old nostromo, that and more buttons&analogue wheels all around everywhere.
well i mean put the wheel not in place of buttons but between the main button bank that now has 5 rows (& maybe 6 columns too) and the thumb apparatus. Or maybe mount the wheel 90° for the thumb.
I myself am a heavy typer myself, I type normally and my Headphones pick up the Sound of the Cherry MX Blues, SO Hard and i have friends that believe i'm SLAMMING my fingers onto the keyboards when i'm really not.. I wish the Cherry MX Greens were much popular on stuff like this and keyboards. the only thing i found were the CM Storm keyboards.
the button layout is mostly subjective and columns don't need to be odd. your fingers can't see that. And naturally games utilize more buttons to the right of WASD not left, because keyboard. G13 and OW need a 5th row though.
Ergonomics are also subjective to a point, atleast the orbweaver has adjustability for people with different sized hands.
> And naturally games utilize more buttons to the right of WASD not left, because keyboard.
I meant that most people coming over from a keyboard to a dedicated pad will be used to moving their fingers to the right more than the left to hit extra buttons.
@Paw Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I haven't the slightest clue what I'm saying. Maybe you're that person that gets something nobody else does. It sounds like what you have going on in your head is something I'd be really interested in seeing some day.
Well with the King's Assembly it just treats both as the same device I believe. And then you can use one or the other, but it's not intended for you to use both as a mouse at the same time. That would be really interesting to see if people could follow you mice though. I mean humans are inherently incapable of true multitasking, so I doubt it would actually work. Though maybe with enough time it could be pretty usable for the most part. And actually with the KA you can don't have to buy both. You can get just the left or right hand part.
Ah okay I get what you're saying. My biggest curiosity with the device is not how it'll feel ergonomically since like you said, it's probably fatiguing to use, but instead how it'll actually feel in your head to use it. I'm personally very actively bothered by the lack of keys I can use while playing a game, and it makes me think having so many options for key presses around my fingers may feel less obstructing.
My girlfriend bought me a Logitech joystick for christmas for use in Star Citizen and I am loving it so far it really makes flying feel much more fluid and natural than using the buttons on the keyboard and the mouse. My Aiming accuracy has decreased but I assume that will get better with time. I might pick up an orb weaver to use for throttle and menu controls.
My Aiming accuracy has decreased but I assume that will get better with time.
Yep it will, a sticks skill ceiling is higher and is more immersive. and also right now the game isn't done with its control inputs it's not perfect and ESP was the first step to making joystick combat better.
