I admit it: I'm naturally drawn to alternate controllers for gaming on the PC. That's not to suggest that I like game pads—there's something downright evil about the way they can reduce a good control scheme to the nightmare that is console gaming—but rather that I like controllers that are more... well... alternate. That is, I like controllers that give me better (read: more natural, flexible, and powerful) ways to interact with the games I play. The Microsoft Sidewinder Strategic Commander (MSSC), which has apparently been discontinued if not quite completely disavowed, is the perfect example because it gives RTS fans the ability to take their left hands off the keyboards and put them to more intuitive use.
So when Belkin released their original Nostromo Speedpad n50 controller I sat up and paid attention. I loved the basic premise: to give the gamer a more ergonomic set of keys for the left hand while providing some additional control options. What ultimately prevented me from buying one was that the device was simply too limiting; i.e., it had too few keys for me to abandon my keyboard. I'm one of those people who quickly runs out of keys to bind in first-person shooter (FPS) games because my left hand is simply incapable of reliably using many of the keys within reach on a standard keyboard. There are only so many keys that I can hit reliably and repeatably in the heat of the moment; in effect, a standard keyboard simultaneously provides less than I need and more than I can handle.
So when the Nostromo Speedpad n52 revision was released I should have paid more attention. Unfortunately, I tend to develop blind spots. It's one of those things I knew I should probably look into, but my memories of the n50 made it a pretty low priority. I remember reading of its release, but it was quickly forgotten amidst other more pressing concerns. It was only when I got a chance to see an n52 demonstrated—thanks, Thor!—at a recent get together for my gaming clan that my interest in the whole thing was rekindled.
A quick trip to Best Buy secured a unit for my evaluation. I could have done better on-line than the $39.99 I paid locally, but I much prefer to avoid shipping and could return the item to the store with relative ease if it didn't work well for me. I got the device home, downloaded the latest software and drivers from the web, installed it, and was using it within a minute or two. Seriously, figuring out how to open the packaging took longer than installing the n52. I love it when USB devices actually work like they should!
The n52 features a pretty wide range of controls to say the least. The device sports no less than fourteen keys, which are by default mapped to the same keys that normally surround the left hand on a regular keyboard (if positioned over the traditional WASD layout). But in addition to those keys the n52 also sports an orange, circular button under the thumb, an eight-way "D-pad", a wheel control, and one more button placed just a bit too far out of reach that serves as a space bar by default. It doesn't have foot pedals, a steering wheel, or a joystick, but the n52 pretty much covers all the other bases.
I think what I like most about the unit is its ergonomic design. I can't speak for other gamers, but I know that on those rare occasions when I get to spend more than a couple of hours playing without being interrupted my left hand often goes to sleep at the keyboard. I have tried a gel-based wrist rest, using a different keyboard, etc., but the bottom line was always the same: the angle of my wrist coming up to meet the keyboard on my desk was always such that my circulation would suffer. That's no longer a problem with the n52. The device provides a nicely shaped rest for the palm that seems to alleviate all such problems, giving me a solid and comfortable place to rest my hand.
Better still, the keys are laid out quite differently than a keyboard. To wit, they're straight. Whereas the keys on a keyboard are somewhat staggered, the keys on the n52 are laid out so that the keys in the middle row are exactly above/below the corresponding keys in the lower/upper rows. That means that it does take some getting used to, but believe me when I say that one's fingers will appreciate that subtle shift. The keys are also a bit larger than is normal and have a more solid feel, which I really like. Prior to making the purchase I read of problems with keys sticking on the early units, but I've observed no such problem with mine.
The only real complaints I can level against the unit's physical design are that (1) the space bar is just a bit too far out of reach for my liking, and (2) I can't seem to get the hang of using the wheel. Regarding (1), I have pretty big hands, so I'm betting most users will feel that complaint even more keenly than I do. And regarding (2), there's just something about where the mouse wheel is positioned that makes it difficult for me to use it. It's not so much that the wheel is out of reach, as with the space bar control, it's more that the wheel is just hard for me to find. Whereas the thumb button is right under my thumb, the D-pad is easily accessible just below it, and I can't fail to hit the space bar if only I'll reach for it, I can easily miss the wheel. I don't know whether others will have the same problem or not; maybe I'm just a bit clumsy in this respect.
The hardware is pretty neat by itself, all of the controls being relatively well laid out and largely pleasant to use, but it's really the software that brings the n52 to life. Each control on the device can be reprogrammed, and none of the controls on the n52 are limited in their function; i.e., anything that can be done with any one control can be done with any other control. There are limitations to what the controls themselves can do, of course, but there aren't any artificial limits imposed that allow certain controls to be used in some ways but not others. It always frustrated me that my options for programming the movement axes of the MSSC were quite limited; the n52 has no such annoying limitation. In brief, the profile editor lets the user configure any given control to:
As one might expect, each of the four n52 states (normal, red, green, and blue) can be configured independently of each other state. For example, it's possible to configure all of the device controls one way for the normal state, another way for the red state, yet another way for the green state, and still another way for the blue state. The result is an enormous number of potentially complicated functions immediately available at the player's fingertips. Whereas the original n50 just wasn't powerful enough (at least in my view), the n52 almost seems like overkill with the huge number of possibilities. I'm not sure what limits exist for the number of steps in a macro because I haven't found any; a single macro can execute a huge number of instructions from a single keypress, probably more than are genuinely practical for any game.
To illustrate the kind of power the n52 provides, consider some examples. It is possible to configure the n52 for use with Warcraft III (W3) so that a single button can greatly simplify the initial build order for multi-player games. In just a few minutes I assembled a macro for playing the Night Elf race that (1) starts building another wisp, (2) sends two of my initial wisps to mine gold, and (3) assigns the other two to build a moon pool and an altar of storms respectively—and all within a couple of seconds! No human being can manually issue such detailed orders so quickly, and that gives the player using the n52 quite an edge.
Such power also makes it possible to trigger a complex sequence of moves quite easily in FPS games. How about being able to whip around a full 180° while switching weapons, fire off a burst, and then turn around again in Unreal Tournament 2004 all with a single keypress? How about a macro that makes it possible in Raven Shield (RS) to dash off a quick text message to the team, press the keys necessary to trigger the in-game "Reloading!" voice bind, and then reload one's weapon all with a single keypress? The only omission I've really noticed to date is a lack of ability to re-assign the n52's controls programmatically through its own macros. I don't think it's possible, but it's just about the only thing I haven't been able to do. What I'm really after is the ability to cycle through a sequence of macros on a single control and being able to re-program the unit would allow that. But it's not a very big omission, and I doubt seriously whether anyone else will even notice it. The profile editor is just that good.
And while I'm talking about software, did I mention the loadout manager? I didn't think so. The loadout manager makes it possible to manage the configurations for up to five different Belkin controllers connected to the same PC. That is, a profile may be specified for each of up to five controllers and tied to a specific game. And the loadout manager can be set to automatic, which will load each of those profiles into each controller when the associated game is loaded into memory. That might sound confusing but it really isn't. What it means to the user, at the end of the day, is that once one has created profiles and loadouts for each game, one never need fuss with them again! The loadout manager will load them into the device(s) as needed, which is exactly the way it should work in my book. I create the profiles, assign them to a game, save the loadout, and then just forget about them completely; the loadout manager does the rest.
So what's the final verdict? I give big kudos to the developers for making a nearly perfect gamer's controller. Heck, the thing doesn't even slide around on my dusty desk; somehow the plastic on its underside manages to stay put beautifully. I always had to clean my MSSC's rubber feet before every gaming session to prevent movement, but I don't even have to do that with the n52. I've noticed that I need to clean the top side of the unit, but that's the result of my hands sweating from the frequently triple-digit temperatures out here in California; users in a more sensible climate shouldn't have to worry.
Suffice it to say that the flaws with the n52 are few and far between. The unit definitely takes some getting used to—I've been getting killed a lot more while searching for the right control in RS for a while now—but I am already confident the effort to retrain myself will be well worth it. I love the feel of the device, its great flexibility in programming, its wide array of controls, and the division of labor between profiles and the loadout manager. Whereas I used the MSSC with only some of my games, I will be migrating to the n52 with all of them; it's just that good. I highly recommend checking it out. It's well worth the price.
09/14/2004