WASD Keyboard Ordered - Now Three Questions

Midcon113 · Post by **Midcon113** » Tue Apr 27, 2021 2:38 am

20 hours ago, Martin Schmalenbach said:

Congrats on your new keyboard!

Does it play nicely with the emulator at all?

And where did you order it from? I'm struggling to find the order details.

Cheers

Martin

Commander X16 Deluxe Keyboard by 8-Bit Productions LLC and Chloe Corporation 87-Key V3 Mechanical Keyboard - WASD Keyboards

I haven't tried the emulator myself - I was so happy with this I just replaced my normal PC keyboard with this one! I'll probably order another one from WASD for my main PC keyboard once the X16 ships. As Perifractic says though, I'm sure it works pretty darn well with the emulator!

Midcon113 · Post by **Midcon113** » Tue Apr 27, 2021 2:38 am

On 4/24/2021 at 11:03 PM, Perifractic said:

We’re really glad you’re happy with it!

Perifractic, X16 Visual Designer

http://youtube.com/perifractic

Couldn't be happier! Thanks!

rje · Post by **rje** » Tue Apr 27, 2021 2:39 pm

On 4/26/2021 at 1:31 AM, Martin Schmalenbach said:

Does it play nicely with the emulator at all?

I love my WASD Commander X16 keyboard. It works perfectly fine with the emulator -- and I use it as my primary keyboard as well.

I got clear switches, so it's a little noisy, but these mechanical switches feel so much better than the Topre keys on my Happy Hacker 2.

DigitalMonk · Post by **DigitalMonk** » Tue Apr 27, 2021 3:00 pm

Just curious... Are the PETSCII graphics icons on the tops of the keycaps or the fronts of the keycaps?

DigitalMonk · Post by **DigitalMonk** » Tue Apr 27, 2021 3:11 pm

I have never had an SNES either, and did some considerable digging looking for some kind of controller that wasn't just a very close copy of the original SNES gamepad layout (because, personally, I hate that layout). I have no personal experience with the following, so I can't give any kind of recommendation or anything, but I'll probably try to get something like this:

https://smile.amazon.com/Ultimate-Arcade-Fighting-Stick-Nintendo-Super/dp/B00005O4G5/ref=sr_1_15?dchild=1&keywords=ultimate&qid=1619536103&s=videogames&sr=1-15

Midcon113 · Post by **Midcon113** » Tue Apr 27, 2021 5:19 pm

2 hours ago, DigitalMonk said:

Just curious... Are the PETSCII graphics icons on the tops of the keycaps or the fronts of the keycaps?

Hi - they're on the top, which frankly I like better. Not the same as the original C64 but with my 50 year old eyes, they're easier to read. ?

Midcon113 · Post by **Midcon113** » Tue Apr 27, 2021 5:20 pm

2 hours ago, DigitalMonk said:

I have never had an SNES either, and did some considerable digging looking for some kind of controller that wasn't just a very close copy of the original SNES gamepad layout (because, personally, I hate that layout). I have no personal experience with the following, so I can't give any kind of recommendation or anything, but I'll probably try to get something like this:

https://smile.amazon.com/Ultimate-Arcade-Fighting-Stick-Nintendo-Super/dp/B00005O4G5/ref=sr_1_15?dchild=1&keywords=ultimate&qid=1619536103&s=videogames&sr=1-15

Oh that's interesting - never have seen that variation. I'll have to look into that - thanks!

ZeroByte · Post by **ZeroByte** » Wed Apr 28, 2021 4:20 am

Someone’s going to make a Bluetooth to SNES controller dongle. Just use that (or make one)

The overall ergonomics of the SNES controller may be outdated but the construction, feel, and responsiveness of the buttons and D-pad themselves are superb.

BruceMcF · Post by **BruceMcF** » Wed Apr 28, 2021 1:22 pm

One approach to the ergonomics of the relatively flat classic dogbone (though IMV substantially better than the ergonomics of the original NES controller) is similar to improving the ergonomics of the flattish Switch or Switch Lite ... get a grip.

DigitalMonk · Post by **DigitalMonk** » Wed Apr 28, 2021 1:44 pm

Thank you for the recommendations. My problem is that I grew up in the era of joysticks, and I can't use a dpad for movement. I can use it as a menu, but I have significant mental lag for movement. I know that probably sounds insane for people even one or two years younger than I am...

I've even noticed this on shooters. If I can configure movement onto a joystick and aim with my mouse, I'm much more dangerous than I am with keyboard/mouse.

I'm not ecstatic about the fighting stick layout either, because I'm noticeably right handed and I find that I generally need more dexterity on movement than for firing or actions. (This reverses on first person shooters where aiming is such a fine detail process at high speed, but I don't expect frenetic first person action on the X16)

Worse comes to worst, I'll just buy a snes connector and a digital joystick from some other system and wire it up.