Accessory A Tale Of Two MMO Gaming Mice

Soul_Est

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There once were was a young man who aspired to be an Industrial Designer yet became a Computer Engineer in a twist of fate. With that in mind, he designed a computer case using what he learnt and applying that to the design. Originally, the lad used a Steelseries Guild Wars 2 mouse but this mouse was not comfortable. He stuck with it and eventually came close to completing the case. When the strain on his hand became too much, he switched to a trackball and the case design came to a stand still. After acquiring enough money with which purchase a new mouse, he did so; only he bought two as he did not know which one to get. Now he had to figure out which one would win to right to work with him to complete the computer case design and to help achieve his dream of becoming an Industrial Designer. And a little gaming never hurt anyone either. Thus begins a tale of two mice...
 
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Soul_Est

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The day of delivery of the two mice had come. The young lad waited much of the morning and early afternoon for them to arrive. Finally, the phone rang and he answered it.

Y.lad: Hello?
Courier: I have a package here for Y.lad.
Y.lad: Yes, that's me. Come on up.


The young lad then pressed the button on the phone that opened the front door. The phone did not respond with a beep. He looked at the phone's screen.

Welcome!
Please Wait...

Screaming internally, the lad ran to his room, grabbed his wallet, slipped on his outdoor slippers and ran downstairs; only to catch a glimpse of the courier that entered the elevator a few seconds before. Internally cursing his luck at that point, the young lad ran back upstairs and caught the courier just they arrived at the door. He greeted the courier jovially, showed his I.D., gratefully accepted the package and wished the courier an excellent day before returning to his abode. In his the room, the young lad carefully opened the packaging, extracted the mice, plugged them in, and shallowly tested the feel and programmability of them. The mice felt better than the Sensei RAW that he previously used the their programmability was somewhat existent according to his initial research on drivers and scripts.

 
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Soul_Est

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After using the two mice for the past week, the young lad realized the each mouse's ergonomics were both suitable and unsuitable for his hand. The Perixx MX-3100 was longer and taller which allowed the young lad to use a palm grip with it. It had a smooth surface which was quite comfy. Its shape did not support his ring finger well. All of the buttons had a stiffer switch to them which made the side buttons somewhat hard to press. The UtechSmart Venus was shorter and squater which allowed the young lad to use a claw grip with it. It had a rougher surface which helped in gripping it properly. Its shape supported his ring finger well. All of the buttons had a softer switch to them which made just right to press. The UtechSmart Venus ended up being just a bit more comfortable for the young lad though he preferred a mouse designed for a palm grip.

 
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Soul_Est

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The young lad now had a look at how versatile the mice were with software configuration. First, he plugged in both mice and tested out all of the buttons. The Perixx MX-3100 only had its main buttons show up with the side buttons not registering anything. The UtechSmart Venus had all of its buttons register with the side buttons registering as the number row (1 to +). The young lad then installed the mx3100drv driver, unplugged and replugged the Perixx MX-3100, and tested it. While the driver allowed for control over the programming of profiles, lighting, and the sensor, that is where its functionality ended. The Perixx MX-3100 still exhibited the same results for its side buttons as before. Configuration for the UtechSmart Venus would take the form of a udev-hwdb file to map the side buttons. The young lad's research did not turn up anything more toward programming the mouse. It would simply continue with its breathing red light effect. "Well this is interesting.", the young lad thought, "I wonder which one I should keep?".
 
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Soul_Est

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The young lad been using the Perixx MX-3100 and UtechSmart Venus interchangeably for the past several days to see which one was right for him. He used them for creativity. He used them for productivity.
He used them for gaming. The MX-3100 grew on him with its better ergonomics. The Venus was much more versatile with all of its usable buttons. The MX-3100 had a better build with its scroll wheel.
The Venus had adjustible weighting. Neither of them were programmable under Linux. After going back and forth between the two mice, the young lad finally decided on what to do.

I will send them both back and get another one!

The young lad then initiated the return. He would pack up both mice and send them back over the weekend.

Then, there was a knock at the door...

THE END
 
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Soul_Est

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I cannot get my thumb to manage all those tiny buttons...

But I want to try getting my left hand in the action someday,,,
*whistles* Maybe test it out first to see if you'll like it?

My end-game is this setup:


Using a HTC Vive, Leap Motion (and required hardware and software), and Gravity Sketch VR. I have dreamt of doing this since I was 10 or 11. I even used similar gestures when imagining designing vehicles in free-space. To have this be possible now is amazing.
 
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Soul_Est

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And the second to last part is up. Tomorrow, I'll conclude this tale (maybe).
 
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zovc

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FWIW, I'm also of the "MMO Gaming Mouse" persuasion and I've used the Razer Naga Epic, the Roccat Nyth, and a left handed Razer Naga when my new year's resolution last year was to become ambidextrous/left handed (lol?).

Out of those two, I much prefer the Naga Epic for its wirelessness (and the fact that you can just yank the cable out of the charger and plug it into the mouse to charge it while you use it) and its overall feel. I ended up losing my original epic because the LMB failed (there are youtube videos for fixes but I was too lazy) and then I lost it in a move. The Roccat Nyth doesn't fit my hand quite as well, but I'm comfortable with it now--the main gripe I have is that it's very hard to lift the mouse without pressing any of the buttons on the thumb grid.

It's a shame Razer hasn't re-released the Naga Epic with a newer design language/aesthetic.
 

Soul_Est

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FWIW, I'm also of the "MMO Gaming Mouse" persuasion and I've used the Razer Naga Epic, the Roccat Nyth, and a left handed Razer Naga when my new year's resolution last year was to become ambidextrous/left handed (lol?).

Out of those two, I much prefer the Naga Epic for its wirelessness (and the fact that you can just yank the cable out of the charger and plug it into the mouse to charge it while you use it) and its overall feel. I ended up losing my original epic because the LMB failed (there are youtube videos for fixes but I was too lazy) and then I lost it in a move. The Roccat Nyth doesn't fit my hand quite as well, but I'm comfortable with it now--the main gripe I have is that it's very hard to lift the mouse without pressing any of the buttons on the thumb grid.

It's a shame Razer hasn't re-released the Naga Epic with a newer design language/aesthetic.
There is the Razer Naga Epic Chroma now.
 

Soul_Est

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How old/new is that one? It looks like the exact same one I had a few years ago. It was wireless and RGB, I thought that was what made it "epic" compared to the regular Naga. Could have been called the Naga Epic Chroma back then and I just forgot about that part of the name.
So you were hoping that Razer updated the design to match the language that they used with the Lancehead?
 
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zovc

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So you were hoping that Razer updated the design to match the language that they used with the Lancehead?

Something like that. There were some consistent problems with the Naga Epic (/Chroma?), particularly that its left mouse button failed. When you run into manufacturing-oriented issues like that, it's nice to see a re-launch of the product rather than crossing your fingers that new units will have it fixed. When I was considering buying a new one, I was pretty much set on getting a refurbished mouse since it was like 99% that that was why the mouse 'failed' and what was fixed before being resold.

But, the Lancehead has a simultaneously less boring and more tasteful design language (IMO). And it'd just be cool to have the mouse see marginal upgrades like maybe the introduction of side-scrolling or improved battery life. Sort of "why not?" improvements after a few years.
 
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Soul_Est

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And thus concludes a tale of two MMO gaming mice. As for what took their place? I may just post an epilogue here or post in the new toys thread.
 
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