EVE Online

I have subscribed to it for 4 months now, but I dont really play much. I think its fun to develop skills and play it once in a while tho. I like most aspects of this game but not ...

- The lack of keyboard shortcuts. I get RSI/muscle pain in the muscles extending the left click finger when I play Eve for a few hours. In other games I have found it much easier to variate input methods to avoid this.

- The lack of pickup teams. Sure, it _is_ possible to hook up with some ppl you dont know to do gang mining or haul/mine with them. In practice, this game is 90% soloing unless you are in a big corporation.

I am considering cancelling because of these 2 reasons.

I agree with u that keyboard shortcuts should b more configureble (i just hope that CCP will do something about it soon) but ....

I'm  playin EVE like 18 months now and i've never join a big corp and i don't have problems picking up or join some random folks 4 shootin rats or pvp huntin or mining or whatever u do ingame. So in that issue I disagree with u. I belive if u don't have any communication problem u can meet a lot of cool folks (not all of course) and do stuff as a team.

Fly safe !

AbAStein   

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Originally posted by Erxi

- The lack of keyboard shortcuts. I get RSI/muscle pain in the muscles extending the left click finger when I play Eve for a few hours. In other games I have found it much easier to variate input methods to avoid this.

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I don't follow this one at all. Press ESC, click the "SHORTCUTS" tab and configure the keyboard shortcuts to your preference. I'm not sure what else you could want.

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- The lack of pickup teams. Sure, it _is_ possible to hook up with some ppl you dont know to do gang mining or haul/mine with them. In practice, this game is 90% soloing unless you are in a big corporation.

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I have no problems in this area at all. Go to a busy system like Rens, Pator, Luminaire, etc. and throw out, in local, a "Looking for anyone interested in doing whatever". You will usually get a couple people who want to gang and do something. After a few times, you should have a few people on your buddy list who you can tap for future gangs, even if you are not in a corp. I have run complexes and missions I couldn't normally solo, as well as mining gangs in low security space this way.

I miss keyboard shortcuts for accessing context menus on space objects and the menu you get by right clicking on space itself, to choose destination. The scanning menu cant be accessed by the keyboard. You cant move items between different inventories with the keyboard. You cant browse the market or escrow by keyboard. You cant fit your ship with the keyboard. Hm thats all I can think of right now.

Interesting to see what you write about pickup teams. I havent really tried hard to get any and I am still a newbie.

Given, you can not do everything by keyboard. But you originally stated:

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Originally posted by Erxi

- The lack of keyboard shortcuts. I get RSI/muscle pain in the muscles extending the left click finger when I play Eve for a few hours. In other games I have found it much easier to variate input methods to avoid this.

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The gist of this seems to be that you need to change up your imput methods so you aren't continuously just clicking a mouse, right? Well if you are switching back and forth between the keyboard and mouse, aren't you doing that? I mean sometimes I get in a fight and am hitting F1, F2, F3 to fire off my weapons. Sometimes I click the icons. You can take away a lot of the mouse clicking this way.

Another thought, how about a different imput method that might work better for you. There are digitzer pads that use pens that can be used to move a mouse cursor, touch pads, trackballs, touch screens and joysticks. Just a thought.

Anyway, if you are dead set on leaving can I have your stuff?

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Another thought, how about a different imput method that might work better for you. There are digitzer pads that use pens that can be used to move a mouse cursor, touch pads, trackballs, touch screens and joysticks. Just a thought.

Anyway, if you are dead set on leaving can I have your stuff?

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I am not dead set on leaving. I am considering it. That means I havent reached a conclusion yet. In any case I wouldnt give away anything.

I have tried all mouse movement input methods I can afford. Now I am using a trackball on my left hand and mouse on my right arm. When I write large ammount of text, I use speech recognition software.

RSI is a big issue, but you can prevent it or at least minimize the amount of trouble you get from it. I agree with you that there are many things in Eve that require mouse input. If you want my professional advice (System Developer, Senior Network Administrator), get yourself some free-ware RSI software.

Along with that, don't hold your mouse the whole time. When you are traveling, sit-up straight and relax your shoulders a bit. Even when you are mining, it takes roughly one minute for one batch of ore to get into your cargo hold. Use this time to relax the shoulders, flex your fingers and perhaps even stand up and walk around for a sec. I myself have even put on cargo expanders so I can move around for three to four minutes while keeping an eye / ear out on what's happening.

Also, some things about using the mouse:

• Make sure that you have enough room to move the mouse. Whenever possible use wide and large movements. Restricting mouse movement to 1 square inch is guarenteed to give you increased stress in your fingers and polse. These tiny movements generate strain on the muscles in your fingers and lower arm.
• Consider switching the arm that you use the mouse with from left to right on a regular basis. This helps to prevent build-up in one arm. One side-effect is that you will get increased accuracy in both arms.
• Try to put as many actions as you can in hot-keys and use the keyboard as often as possible. While it isn't possible to get away with the mouse as a whole, you can reduce mouse interaction significantly.
• If you have the means, get a mouse-board with a mousepen. Holding a pensil is a more natural posture that gives less strain on your muscles. If you want to get even more high-tec, use a input device that follows your eyes. They are available, but they are costy.

All in all, don't play games until you get a physical condition. Pause for five minutes every hour or half an hour you play. It's not that you will get significantly set-back if you pause once in a while.

Anyway, I am rambling but my concerns with healthy computers demanded me to type this in. Hope this is of some use to somebody. Just my 0,02 isk.

Grtz.©

M.