Please let me move around without holding down the right mouse button

Same feedback in every release

I have seen no satisfactory workarounds to avoid having to hold down the right mouse button when moving around. This is painful, and shouldn't be necessary (as Skyrim doesn't demand this).

 

Kara, did you try to use CTRL+M in connection with WASD keys or use the autorun feature?

 

I tried out different options when they were suggested as workarounds, but I didn't find any satisfactory.

If I recall correctly, I had to toggle CTRL+M off to be able to click on something. Has that changed?

I use Autorun all the time, but it is a pain in the neck to have to turn it off again when you want to stop. I usually end up running into things, overshooting the place I wanted to stop at or stopping too soon and having to move into position holding down the right mouse button.

 

I am not completely satisfied with the controls either.
I miss an option to hold down the left mouse button to just change camera view while moving but NOT the actual movement direction. I suggested this a couple of times since a few month ago. But it is still missing. For the key mappings that SotA is still missing to support I use voice attack to set up a key mapping that fits to my play style.

 

I believe Kara was referring primarily to moving with the mouselook option turned on.

The CTRL-M "solution", as proposed by some people, does nothing to address the following issues.

1. This is the most serious issue: It actually does nothing to aid moving using just the mouse - one still needs to hold down the right mouse button (which happens to be the subject of the OP) to be able to do it with just a mouse.
   
2. Combined with the WASD (+QE) keys, it provides one with a weird combination of using only WASD+QE keys and mouselook moving, the end result is a bit like actual proper mouselook moving, but with an added lag -- not quite as bad as moving with the W + QE keys, but still very noticeable. On the plus side, it looks OK in places like cities, on the minus side, it is totally unusable in any "serious" situation, especially in combat, besides being very unintuitive (like driving a car with a mouse that emulates a joystick)
3. It is a toggle by nature, just like the autorun feature. I sometimes use these in places like Owl's Head (especially if I feel like walking properly instead of dashing around). If one needs to frequently move and stop, move and stop, especially if one want precision to moves, then it simply isn't feasible.
   • And one can't work around that either, because toggles are very tricky or sometimes impossible to map to mousedown & mouseup events, especially if you want to combine them with something else (which kind of would defeat the purpose of not needing to hold down two buttons).
4. Using the keyboard + mouse combination just for moving around feels absurd. Why the requirement of two hands for such a simple thing?

I think the solution would be pretty simple.

I think the root cause behind this, is that button combinations (like holding down mouse buttons 1 and 3 simultaneously, as in this case) are essentially unmappable in some, perhaps many, maybe even most, mouse software solutions. In other words, as an example, I can't do a mapping that would be like holding down mouse buttons 1 and 3 when I press mouse button 8.

Therefore a working solution, I believe, one that would a) be implementable and b) would add functionality without taking away functionality, would be:

• Firstly, provide a simple mapping for combined mouselook + moving action(this is something I've proposed before). For example, mouselook moving is currently only possible by holding down the right and left mouse buttons. By default it can be a key combination, a sensible one could be Shift+W for moving forward with mouselook. Same thing for moving backwards with mouselook: Shift+S. The thing is, these kind of combinations can be easily remapped to whatever one prefers (for example, I could remap them to my mouse backward and forward buttons).
• Secondly (this is optional but would be very nice). Modify the Auto-Run functionality (that which is currently mapped to NumLock by default, I think it is named a bit incorrectly as it can be Auto-Walk just as well) so that it behaves like a car's cruise control: It "locks" the way you moved, until you perform some other moving action. So if you were running forward, lock that. If walking backwards, lock that. If you were running with mouselook active, you lock that.

 

I don't see the problem with it? And this isn't Skyrim, so get over it, please... I find it very fluid and natural...

 

Well it isn't normally an issue with those who do not have repetitive injury problems, new or old. Like tendonitis, or carpal tunnel for examples. Arthritis can also be a problem for some people, and not necessarily the aged.

But for those of us that do have some wrist/hand/elbow problems, it hurts after a while to play and forces us to log off. I am sure many players have had to experiment to play longer sessions by changing the finger that does right button holding on the mouse.

What the OP suggests I also agree.

I use autorun a lot but say whilst running it is fun to look around with only the mouse movement and not have to press any key/button. And WASD is awkward in autorun.

 

OP +1

 

@Ceara_Quein Yup, got arthritis in my hands ... I often rotate fingers on the right mouse button (and left sometimes) during long sessions. Occasionally I've had to switch hands altogether...that's a challenge I'll tell ya! I've commented on game controller compatibility awhile back, but I don't expect it to happen in the near or medium near future. Xpadder is an option I've played around with and it actually works pretty well! I can see myself using it full time in a year, maybe two if I'm lucky.

 

Maybe some kind of gaming joystick is a good solution? I never tried any, but it just sounds like it might work.

 

This is not a question of simple preference. People are experiencing physical pain because of this.

 

PC gaming is one of the few venues where being left-handed is an advantage. Controlling the mouse with my left hand, I use the arrow keys to go forward, backward, target, jump. And the numeric keypad is perfect for hot keys.

I sympathize with you Kara, no one should have pain when doing what they love to do. I hope a solution is forthcoming.

 

I would say you're playing too many hour at a sitting, if it's painful, you should take a break... Any repetitive movement will cause pain eventually, that's your body telling you to stop "it's hurting"..... Try a "trackball" instead of a mouse, Kensington has a nice one for cheap, I changed because a mouse hurts... Just a suggestion... http://www.kensington.com/us/us/4493/k64327f/orbit-optical-trackball#.VhyoW6SFOpo

 

Yes it certainly sounds like it might work But the problems stays basically the same: if a function (moving with mouselook) cannot be re-mapped to a multi-button gaming mouse, how could the situation be that different with a gaming joystick/controller? (although I can certainly appreciate the irony.. )

 

I would LOVE a video of someone demonstrating playing SotA with a trackball...bring the popcorn!

More seriously, the problem is not "playing too many hours at a sitting" (actually I would find this kind of suggestion somewhat arrogant, like folks having these problems would be so thick that it didn't occur to them to have breaks), the problem is that it really is physically very awkward for some. For example, I use a mouse 6-10 hours a day without any issues, this is the only thing currently giving me problems (and no it does not require hours..), and it cannot be remapped to something more convenient.

 

For the right hander, there is this keyboard that I use at work. http://evoluent.com/products/kb1/
Very "handy" for the use of mouse plus keyboard.
There could be some improvements, but it not meant for gaming... but it could work in a lot of situations.

I have been experimenting now with the CTRL+M. Yes, this is exactly how I play my normal FPS games, but the lack of a cursor makes things tough. It might work for fighting if I can figure out how to use the skills via keyboard. Thanks for letting me know about it though, it is food for thought.

 

The downside to mouselook that I have is that it always requires having to toggle it on and off to interact. That's a pretty standard approach in games that provide it.

 

I fired up FarCry to remember how they did interaction. It was with proximity and the reticle. I cannot think of a way this would work here. I think I will just have to map ctrl+m to my mouse. I also use the vertical mouse from that evoluent company as my gaming mouse. Six buttons and very nice for shoulder and wrist problems.

 

I had never heard of a vertical mouse.
I was trying to get used to playing lefty , but that looks like it is worth a try. ty

 

I still wish they'd add in actual controller support for the Camera controls in the game so I can play on my Tablet or Nexus Player without camera lag from having to emulate the mouse to a controller stick which really doesn't work well at all.