Hand Tremors

[Greykemp]

I''m 70 and recently developed hand tremors. Not TOO bad. just enough to make reaching the 1-= row a hit/miss affair. So I keyed the number pad to do the job for me. However, the 5 doesn't work (reserved and not changeable). In addition this means if I reach for the left ctrl, Alt and come back I sometimes find my fingers on the wrong keys. Sooooo I'm researching hud/keybind layouts so I don't need to reach so far...Any layouts that might work would be greatly appreciated. A controller was suggested but I've never used one so I imagine the retraining period might be extensive. Thoughts about that?

On a similar note, I saw a hud layout with the some of the hot bars configured into a block of 3x4 instead of a line. How is this done? Can't find in in the help.

[SilkaN]

snip

70? Holy moly, I know it's offtopic but when did you get into video games?

I'm afraid I can't help much with specific layouts (since my hands are still working as intended), but I think there is no special "block" layout option. They most likely used the HUD layout customization feature (in the main menu) to arrange their hotbars like that.

[MuseTraveller]

First off, at this age and you are adventuring in Eorzea! /fistbump I hope you are enjoying the game! Maybe Duty Finder will meet us for we're in same datacenter!
For me personally I've found switching between hotkeys using ctrl and alt is bit too straining! You can fit all keys you need in 2-3 bars and perhaps click them with your mouse instead? I'm at work now and I can't check in game but I trust the hotkey bar layout can be changed in the character settings menu.

[Greykemp]

Yep, off topic. My mother was the first female computer systems analyst in the US. Worked for Boing. Ended up the Chief of the FDIC computer audit dept. I started reading reams of paper she brought home somewhere around 1960 or so. Zork, Adventure, Then the Ultima Series, Might & Magic, etc. Warcraft when it started, Eve, EQ, EQII, Archage, skimmed a almost all of the MMOG's and had a few hundred standalone RPGs, SSI, Dozens of Strategy types. Loved Turn based, Not so hot about RTS.... etc.
Hey, a guy needs a hobby right?

[Reinha]

Would the hand tremors affect how accurately you can use your thumb? I'm asking because I find MMO mouses to very convenient, because the buttons are easy to reach and you can map exactly one action bar to the side buttons and then another action bar with the Shift modifier, a third bar with Ctrl and so on. Using one of these mouses you wouldn't have to move your left hand from the WASD keys and the right hand is still available to pan the camera and click objects while doing a rotation.

My own mouse is similar to this and I have no regrets.

[LunaFaye]

I never use the "default" keys either, even tho there's nothing wrong with me, besides my hands are being small and I can't reach most of the keys if I would stick with the regular setup. while I re configurated some of my keys to the numblock, I decided a couple of years ago to buy a gaming mouse. Best decision I've ever made, started with a razer naga and switched to a logitech G600. Now all I gotta do is lean back and press the 20 buttons on my mouse lol.

To the UI configuration being a block, you can press K in the game (if on pc) or go under character configuration -> hotbar settings -> make sure "hide unassigned slots" is marked -> scroll down and chose 12x1 -> pick all the hotbars you want and apply -> close

Now open your hud layout and move the bars underneath each other. apply and close. Put all the skills in the hotbar that you want or items etc. and every slot that isn't used will be invisible.

Example, place skill A on 1, skill B on 2, skill C on the first slot in the bar above, Skill D next to it. Now slot 3-12 will be empty (but invisible) in both bars and it will look like a block. You can customize your hotbars the way you want at anytime under the hud layout screen. Hope it helps.

[Kaethra]

Would the hand tremors affect how accurately you can use your thumb? I'm asking because I find MMO mouses to very convenient, because the buttons are easy to reach and you can map exactly one action bar to the side buttons and then another action bar with the Shift modifier, a third bar with Ctrl and so on. Using one of these mouses you wouldn't have to move your left hand from the WASD keys and the right hand is still available to pan the camera and click objects while doing a rotation.

I was just about to suggest the very same thing.

Personally I don't have the dexterity that I had even 4 years ago. But my reaction time is much much better than even back then due to my MMO mouse. I personally use the G600. I've used the Naga displayed above (or an older version) as well as the Scimitar from Corsair.

Naga broke on me within 6 months. But I've heard they've gotten better. Corsair is my favorite physically, though the software has to be reinstalled. G600 has been the most reliable. All of them are between $40 and $60, the cost of a normal gaming mouse.

[Kacho_Nacho]

I''m 70 *snippers* I saw a hud layout with the some of the hot bars configured into a block of 3x4 instead of a line. How is this done? Can't find in in the help.

I can't help you with a mouse or controller but I do know how you can get your hotbars into 3 by 4 blocks.

First go to System. Choose Character Configuration. Click on the Display button on the upper left. Now, drop down to Hotbar Settings. The icon looks kind of like two block, diagonal crosses. It's the second from the bottom.

There you go! There are all your options, including how you want each bar displayed.

Hope this helps.

Oh! I shake too. My doctor has me on a medicine (requip) for it but he also suggested I start drinking tonic water with quinine. It works! You may wish to try it yourself.

[Serilda]

For what it's worth my wife swapped from keyboard/mouse to controller for medical reasons and it did not take her long to adapt at all. I hope you find a method which works for you - but please don't be too concerned about trying controller out! I am full time controller normally but at events I use keyboard/mouse (it's too hard to reproduce my weird controller setup on a time limit) and even with my weak skills I can adjust surprisingly quickly.

[SilkaN]

Hey, a guy needs a hobby right?

Just asked since we're only in 2017, a year in which 70 year olds playing video games are still a rarity. Personally, I think it's awesome.