Trackpads are crucial if you want to play strategy games or anything mouse based. They also offer a lot better aiming control in fps games (although I think using gyro for aiming is even better than that). They also can be used for fancy touch menus and things like that.
I have actually, I tried using a thumb ball for awhile before swapping to a 52mm fingerball.
Felt like the ball was too small and my thumb lacked the precision to make it a good alternative to a regular mouse. Your mouse looks to have a larger thumb ball than the one I was using, which would help but wouldn’t be enough (I think). To be honest, I prefer the deck trackpads to that thumb ball mouse I was using.
I’m biased, as I’ve used thumb trackballs since the 90s (did also use regular mice and trackpads). There isn’t a lot of choice in trackballs nowadays when it comes to the big names, but there are few little known brands that still provide solid choices for gaming.
Even newbies to both, within hours thumb trackball should be superior to a trackpad imo though.
My issue was that by default it wasn’t sensitive enough, requiring a much longer time and lots of lifted thumb time to move the cursor across the screen, especially across multiple monitors. But when I turned the sensitive up a lot, I started having trouble having the precision needed to click small buttons. A nicer trackball might have enough weight and smooth enough action to “fling” it, which I could see working, but the one I had didn’t work for that.
The deck trackpads have a larger contact surface that the thumb ball I used, and have pretty predictable “fling” ability which helps them move large distances easily while still being reasonably precise.
The fingerball I used was much larger, and I found it easier to have a suitably high sensitivity while still being accurate enough. Although over several months of use I never quite got to the same ease of use as my preferred mouse setup, and the actual shape of the fingerball body was too flat which was ironically unergonomic for extended use.
In the end I went back to using a mouse. I did realize that I kinda use my mouse like a big trackball though, I keep the base of my palm in a fixed location on the desk, and do the majority of moving the mouse by moving it around with my fingers. The sensitivity is pretty high, but using it this way gives me pretty precise control without any ergonomic issues.
Combination of gyro and trackpads is an option for gyro, though it takes some getting used to.
Essentially I think use the trackpad for the main looking around and then the gyro is the last step and allows for mouse level precision.
Trackpads are crucial if you want to play strategy games or anything mouse based. They also offer a lot better aiming control in fps games (although I think using gyro for aiming is even better than that). They also can be used for fancy touch menus and things like that.
The back buttons are also extremely nice.
So use KB+M? Trackpad is a terrible replacement for a mouse/trackball. A lot better aiming in fps vs what? Xbox controller? KB+M?
You heard the him, boys, cancel your orders, you are doing wrong.
For FPS games, I’d rank it Mouse>Finger Trackball>Gyro Aim>Thumb Trackball/Trackpads>>Thumbstick
So yeah, if mouse+kb is available, use that. But that’s not a good option on my living room couch.
Ever tried one of these? Putting thumb trackball together with trackpads is a bit much lol! Lap Setup
I have actually, I tried using a thumb ball for awhile before swapping to a 52mm fingerball.
Felt like the ball was too small and my thumb lacked the precision to make it a good alternative to a regular mouse. Your mouse looks to have a larger thumb ball than the one I was using, which would help but wouldn’t be enough (I think). To be honest, I prefer the deck trackpads to that thumb ball mouse I was using.
I’m biased, as I’ve used thumb trackballs since the 90s (did also use regular mice and trackpads). There isn’t a lot of choice in trackballs nowadays when it comes to the big names, but there are few little known brands that still provide solid choices for gaming.
Even newbies to both, within hours thumb trackball should be superior to a trackpad imo though.
My issue was that by default it wasn’t sensitive enough, requiring a much longer time and lots of lifted thumb time to move the cursor across the screen, especially across multiple monitors. But when I turned the sensitive up a lot, I started having trouble having the precision needed to click small buttons. A nicer trackball might have enough weight and smooth enough action to “fling” it, which I could see working, but the one I had didn’t work for that.
The deck trackpads have a larger contact surface that the thumb ball I used, and have pretty predictable “fling” ability which helps them move large distances easily while still being reasonably precise.
The fingerball I used was much larger, and I found it easier to have a suitably high sensitivity while still being accurate enough. Although over several months of use I never quite got to the same ease of use as my preferred mouse setup, and the actual shape of the fingerball body was too flat which was ironically unergonomic for extended use.
In the end I went back to using a mouse. I did realize that I kinda use my mouse like a big trackball though, I keep the base of my palm in a fixed location on the desk, and do the majority of moving the mouse by moving it around with my fingers. The sensitivity is pretty high, but using it this way gives me pretty precise control without any ergonomic issues.
Combination of gyro and trackpads is an option for gyro, though it takes some getting used to. Essentially I think use the trackpad for the main looking around and then the gyro is the last step and allows for mouse level precision.
https://www.ign.com/articles/steam-deck-trackpad-gyro-mouse-accuracy-shooters-fps-valve
That works, but my preferred setup for controller shooters is gyro+flickstick. I don’t think the trackpad would be as good for flickstick.
Interesting, I’ll have to look into this one