2 keyboard only control questions

[HombreSal]

I've been trying to play Doom keyboard only, because purism and/or because I wanted to try out something new. So far, it's pretty fun, but I have two problems.

 

1: How do you switch weapons quickly. Do I have to press each number individually for each weapon I want to use? Is there no key that switches them as fast as the mouse wheel?

 

2: How do you strafe correctly. It's very awkward to focus on strafing and turning simultaneously. Circle strafing in particular can be a pain. I can't comprehend how does Zero Master do this keyboard only lol.

Edited March 20, 2021 by HombreSal

[boris]

1 minute ago, HombreSal said:

because purism

 

[BoxY]

Where did you get the idea that Zero Master plays keyboard only? 5 seconds of watching his gameplay would tell you he isn't. :$

 

As for binding weapons, ZXCVASD seems like it would probably work fine if you use left ctrl to shoot. But as for circling movements, I don't think there's any way to make it good with kb controls unless you're one of the few elite keyboard runners like Revved or V1perkiller who have been perfecting their game for a million hours, and even then I think those guys mostly work around it by only adjusting their angle when they really need to rather than trying to just duplicate what a mouse+kb can do easily.

[head_cannon]

It's been a very long time since I was a youth playing Doom95 keyboard-only, but the system that worked for me at the time was to keep WSAD set to the common "forward, backward, strafe left, strafe right" bindings, and to have my right hand on , and . which were set to "turn left & turn right", so that I could move & turn simultaneously and get my circle-strafe on. With my ring finger on / (set to Use) and my thumb on the spacebar (set to Fire), I could do everything pretty fluidly without ever having to adjust my hands' position. There are probably a few keyboarders around who can speak with more authority on the subject and relate what works for them, but I still think that the "strafe with one hand, turn with the other" fundamental is key.

 

As to the first question, well, I've never played the Unity port, so I've never used the "Weapon Wheel" feature it added. From Doom to Unreal Tournament to Dusk, I've spent my life playing shooters where you simply reach from WSAD to one of the numbers right above it to switch weapons. I hope that building that muscle memory isn't too much of a hassle for you.

Edited March 21, 2021 by head_cannon

[Jello]

21 minutes ago, head_cannon said:

It's been a very long time since I was a youth playing Doom95 keyboard-only, but the system that worked for me at the time was to keep WSAD set to the common "forward, backward, strafe left, strafe right" bindings, and to have my right hand on , and . which were set to "turn left & turn right", so that I could move & turn simultaneously and get my circle-strafe on. With my ring finger on / (set to Use) and my thumb on the spacebar (set to Fire), I could do everything pretty fluidly without ever having to adjust my hands' position. There are probably a few keyboarders around who can speak with more authority on the subject and relate what works for them, but I still think that the "strafe with one hand, turn with the other" fundamental is key.

 

As to the first question, well, I've never played the Unity port, so I've never used the "Weapon Wheel" feature it added. From Doom to Unreal Tournament to Dusk, I've spent my life playing shooters where you simply reach from WSAD to one of the numbers right above it to switch weapons. I hope that building that muscle memory isn't too much of a hassle for you.

Dusk taught me that I could switch weapons 5-0 to q r z x c v.

[idbeholdME]

1) I have large hands, so I can reach 0-7 with my left index finger. But as said, if you have trouble reaching while in a fight, the Q, W, E, R are also available. The mouse wheel is also not good when there is a large number of weapons, as you have to scroll thtough them all. Even in modern shooters, I swap weapon mostly on numbers if you can have 4+ at the same time.

 

2) You have to learn that, but it's about timing how you tap the arrow keys in a certain rhythm. I do it automatically without thinking about it but I can see how someone not used to it could have difficulties.

 

Also, get a keyboard that will allow you to strafe run to the left and shoot at the same time. Most cheap keyboards will beep at you with this key combination.

Edited March 21, 2021 by idbeholdME

[Murdoch]

Is it me or is the myth Doom was keyboard only really annoying? Even Wolfenstein 3D had mouse support.