I got some questions the other night about my binds and figured this would be good info for those looking to get a little more reaction time and ergonomics in their FPS sessions...
Way back around 2000 or so I started mapping jump and crouch to the side buttons on my mouse when playing CS, then started using the scroll wheel button to handle reloading (I now have knife on there too on my Logitech G500). Then when getting into Battlefield 2, a bunch of the guys I was playing with were using Z-Boards... This was (I think) the first keyboard that had a dedicated grouping of duplicated keys on the far left of the keyboard for better gaming. It used swappable overlays to identify which keys did what:
Zboard.jpg
Since I wanted to use a different remap, and also played other games at the time, I found one that was sleeker, more ergonomic, and without the overlays called the Omega Merc... The backlit version was called the Stealth:
merc.jpg
BTW you can cycle through various backlight colors to match whatever your PC's color scheme is. This made such a huge difference in being able to do complex keystrokes while moving. It also decreased wrist and hand strain during long gaming sessions. Here is a review I posted on Newegg when getting a replacement recently (my previous one was 7 years old and had tons of abuse):
I can confirm now it is the exact same keyboard, just different branding.
So here is where the key layout comes in... I have a template for this and I hand-write in my binds when I first get a new game. The current Battlefield one goes on the side of my case to I can see it next to my monitor... I just decided to revise the handwritten one to a typed version, so I wanted to show how this thing lets you lay out your keys very conveniently:
MercWorking.png
I love the thing and could never go back to gaming without it... As such, I think I am going to buy a 2nd one to keep in the box, so I have the current one, a brand new extra, and the old one for spare parts.
Manufacturer Page
Newegg Page
Way back around 2000 or so I started mapping jump and crouch to the side buttons on my mouse when playing CS, then started using the scroll wheel button to handle reloading (I now have knife on there too on my Logitech G500). Then when getting into Battlefield 2, a bunch of the guys I was playing with were using Z-Boards... This was (I think) the first keyboard that had a dedicated grouping of duplicated keys on the far left of the keyboard for better gaming. It used swappable overlays to identify which keys did what:
Zboard.jpg
Since I wanted to use a different remap, and also played other games at the time, I found one that was sleeker, more ergonomic, and without the overlays called the Omega Merc... The backlit version was called the Stealth:
merc.jpg
BTW you can cycle through various backlight colors to match whatever your PC's color scheme is. This made such a huge difference in being able to do complex keystrokes while moving. It also decreased wrist and hand strain during long gaming sessions. Here is a review I posted on Newegg when getting a replacement recently (my previous one was 7 years old and had tons of abuse):
Pros: Extremely durable, current one is 7 years old and pretty much perfect. I am replacing now because over the years of gaming I have hammered the keys and spilled, and now the WASD cluster on the right is having issues when pressing buttons simultaneously. That is after 7 years of abuse though - this thing is truly durable.
Backlighting is good, adjustable color and intensity.
It's heavy, and just feels solid, so it doesn't flex or slide around when typing.
The gaming-key cluster on the left side is what you are getting this for, and it is awesome. Good 'shelf' for your palm, and the keys are laid out to be able to reach all of them, multiple simultaneously. The keys having different shapes, depths, and curvatures really help with muscle memory, etc.
Cons: Only downside is the number pad cluster on the right is a bit more difficult to use. I program during the day using a normal keyboard so when I have to work from home I do adjust a bit to using the number keys across the top of the keyboard.
Other Thoughts: My current one from 2006 is the Omega Merc Stealth... Merc had a line of keyboards where you could swap our modules depending on the game you were playing, but the Stealth was more of a streamlined one - and the regular ones were not backlit. I chose this because I remap my keys, so the custom game modules would not match my bindings anyways. The thing is still kicking other than the one issue mentioned above, and from the pictures nothing has really changed now that SteelSeries is making them.
Backlighting is good, adjustable color and intensity.
It's heavy, and just feels solid, so it doesn't flex or slide around when typing.
The gaming-key cluster on the left side is what you are getting this for, and it is awesome. Good 'shelf' for your palm, and the keys are laid out to be able to reach all of them, multiple simultaneously. The keys having different shapes, depths, and curvatures really help with muscle memory, etc.
Cons: Only downside is the number pad cluster on the right is a bit more difficult to use. I program during the day using a normal keyboard so when I have to work from home I do adjust a bit to using the number keys across the top of the keyboard.
Other Thoughts: My current one from 2006 is the Omega Merc Stealth... Merc had a line of keyboards where you could swap our modules depending on the game you were playing, but the Stealth was more of a streamlined one - and the regular ones were not backlit. I chose this because I remap my keys, so the custom game modules would not match my bindings anyways. The thing is still kicking other than the one issue mentioned above, and from the pictures nothing has really changed now that SteelSeries is making them.
So here is where the key layout comes in... I have a template for this and I hand-write in my binds when I first get a new game. The current Battlefield one goes on the side of my case to I can see it next to my monitor... I just decided to revise the handwritten one to a typed version, so I wanted to show how this thing lets you lay out your keys very conveniently:
MercWorking.png
I love the thing and could never go back to gaming without it... As such, I think I am going to buy a 2nd one to keep in the box, so I have the current one, a brand new extra, and the old one for spare parts.
Manufacturer Page
Newegg Page
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