It seems that you're using an outdated browser. Some things may not work as they should (or don't work at all).
We suggest you upgrade newer and better browser like: Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer or Opera

×
Community
Blake Stone seriesControls: what was originally favoured?(14 posts)(14 posts)
(14 posts)
Pages:
1
This is my favourite topic
Posted July 24, 2014
To my shame I'd never heard of the Blake Stone series before I spotted it on GOG about four or five years back, and it's only been in recent months that I've attempted to play it. However, each time I do, I find myself irritated at the limitations imposed on the controls, as well as the ability to map them. Strafing is restricted to a switch, for example, and the game using mouse movement to control forward and backward movement is, in my opinion, utterly bizarre. While I realise that there are workarounds like NOVERT and mucking about with keymappings in DOSBox's config, though, I'm reluctant to go to those extremes,

What I am curious about, though, is how players controlled this game back when it originally saw release. Did people actually favour the mouse, NOVERT or otherwise? Did they stick to the keyboard, remapping the keys to as comfortable a layout as it could provide, or did they plug in a controller?

Bizarre question, right? Well, there's a reason. Personally, I'd like to play old games as they were at original release or as close to it as possible, either because I've missed out on them the first time around or because all efforts to "modernise" them in any way just do not sit right with me. I'm the sort of person who has come to favour Chocolate Doom over other Doom source ports, for example, because they're all adding these shiny features like mouselook, full 3D, texture filtering etc, and it just doesn't feel like Doom any more. If that makes sense.

So, I'm currently looking at Blake Stone right now, wondering which control method I should play this with.
Posted July 25, 2014
Use the keymapper of DosBox which the game uses to change the keybindings. More info in this older thread.
Posted July 25, 2014
avatar
The-Business: Use the keymapper of DosBox which the game uses to change the keybindings. More info in this older thread.
That wasn't what I was asking. -_-'
Posted July 28, 2014
I always used a Gravis Gamepad. Blake Stone has built in support for it.
Posted July 28, 2014
I remembered playing this as a lad, and used only the keyboard. Arrow keys to move and smashed spacebar to shoot.

I think so, at least. It was a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time ago xD.

Nowadays, I use wasd setting + mouse.

Regarding your preference for unaltered settings, I agree with you. It is better to retain the original feeling of the game, but I need moouselook to really enjoy a FPS nowadays, so always use a sourceport when available. But as an example with zDoom, when playing the "vanilla" experience (that is no brütal or similar), I tend to avoid things not present originally, such as jumping.
Posted July 29, 2014
For this game as much as I know, they used everything included as features of the game, so mouse for quick aiming and camera rotation + ctr, alt, space, arrows for everything else. Even Doom veterans used mouse back in the days, even tried doing novert and always running so it's pointless to take some ways of playing for sake of orthodox experience if most of players used them anyway. I don't remember many people using joypads for games like Wolf-like and Doom-clones though...
Posted July 30, 2014
avatar
HenitoKisou: For this game as much as I know, they used everything included as features of the game, so mouse for quick aiming and camera rotation + ctr, alt, space, arrows for everything else. Even Doom veterans used mouse back in the days, even tried doing novert and always running so it's pointless to take some ways of playing for sake of orthodox experience if most of players used them anyway. I don't remember many people using joypads for games like Wolf-like and Doom-clones though...
My reluctance to use novert at the moment is simply a matter of uncertainty at this point, so that's that's good to know.

My first experience with Doom was Final Doom back when I finally got a Windows PC (around the time 98 was released), and there were a lot of concepts I just found totally alien to myself at the time, including mouse control and remapping the keys, so a lot of my time trying to play was spent fumbling with the keyboard. Truth be told, I'd never heard of novert until recently. O_________O

Hell, PCs in and of themselves were a complete enigma to me back in 97/98, though I wasn't exactly a bright kid back then either. :\
Posted October 16, 2014
Doom, Wolfenstein 3-D, Blake Stone, Catacombs, Dark Forces, Duken Nukem 3-D... even Quake...
ALL the major FPS of the mid 90's I played with a keyboard only.

The originals with simple controls... Doom, Wolf-3D
*My right hand on the arrows keys.
*My left hand on the far left of the keyboard:
--Index Finger hovered over L-ALT (strafe mode) and SPACE (open)
--Middle Finger hovered over L-SHIFT (run)
--Ring Finger hovered over L-CTRL (shoot)

With the advent of looking up/down, jumping/crouching, inventory, most games with a nice default that I also used
* A , Z - Jumping, Crouching
* [ , ] , ENTER - Inventory Left, Right, Use
* Insert/Delete/Home/End/PageUp/PageDown - Looking controls.

It wasn't until I played a "Delta Force" that had, by default, the Strafe Left & Strafe Right mapped right to the Left & Right Arrows. That was the first game I played where you REALLY had to get precision aiming to make shots and I got used to the mouse and keyboard style of play... but I still can't use WASD... I use the arrow keys, the keys nearby and a gaming/multi-button mouse.

Even now when I go back and play Blake Stone or Doom I have to use my good old keyboard only style... with the mouse in hand I'm ALWAYS trying to look up & down!!! However when I go back to Duke Nukem or Quake, I have to remap completely with Mouse Aiming and Strafing mapped right to the arrows.
Posted October 19, 2014
I use mouse for movement and left Alt for strafe. Control or left mouse button to shoot. Space or right mouse button to open doors. This is also how I played the first 3D shooters back in the 1990ies. Using keyboard arrows for movement was also quite common, but you lose precision and speed.
Post edited October 19, 2014 by igrok
Posted October 21, 2014
avatar
MrPointless: To my shame I'd never heard of the Blake Stone series before I spotted it on GOG about four or five years back, and it's only been in recent months that I've attempted to play it. However, each time I do, I find myself irritated at the limitations imposed on the controls, as well as the ability to map them. Strafing is restricted to a switch, for example, and the game using mouse movement to control forward and backward movement is, in my opinion, utterly bizarre. While I realise that there are workarounds like NOVERT and mucking about with keymappings in DOSBox's config, though, I'm reluctant to go to those extremes,

What I am curious about, though, is how players controlled this game back when it originally saw release. Did people actually favour the mouse, NOVERT or otherwise? Did they stick to the keyboard, remapping the keys to as comfortable a layout as it could provide, or did they plug in a controller?

Bizarre question, right? Well, there's a reason. Personally, I'd like to play old games as they were at original release or as close to it as possible, either because I've missed out on them the first time around or because all efforts to "modernise" them in any way just do not sit right with me. I'm the sort of person who has come to favour Chocolate Doom over other Doom source ports, for example, because they're all adding these shiny features like mouselook, full 3D, texture filtering etc, and it just doesn't feel like Doom any more. If that makes sense.

So, I'm currently looking at Blake Stone right now, wondering which control method I should play this with.
I used a Gravis Gamepad or k+m for Doom back in the day. Nowadays, when playing the Doom 3 BFG versions, I play with the Xbox 360 or similar pad. Originals in DOSBox, I use a Pinnacle profile for the modern pads. Works pretty well and is more comfortable for my hands than using k+m. Same with the other 3D shooters (Blake Stone, Rise of the Triad, Wolf 3d, DN3D, Hexen, Heretic, etc.).

Flynn
Posted October 28, 2014
Everything Pre-Doom it was arrow keys and ALT to strafe.
Doom onwards, was Arrow Keys and , + . to strafe.

Quake I played keyboard only for a long time (Infinite circle strafing!) and could always beat my mate who was a mousekeyteer :P

That is, until I got a Voodoo1 and GLQuake and also discovered the +mlook trick (In Quake 1 you had to HOLD down a button to mouse look; +mlook made it thing you were always holding down that key!) then I learned to use the mouse to aim and also rocket jump :D

Which is what I have been doing until Halo...


Still, Quake 1 is still my fav FPS by far; Fast movement and good balance. Close second is probably the original Unreal Tournament. Can't stand the slow pace of more modern shooters.
Post edited October 28, 2014 by Cyker
Posted March 08, 2015
avatar
MWink: I always used a Gravis Gamepad. Blake Stone has built in support for it.
I played with a Gravis Gamepad also for both this, and Wolf3D. With the modifier key for strafing, there's not really a more advantageous way to play. It's not like Doom.
Posted May 24, 2015
it plays quite well with only keyboard controls, just like Wolfenstein 3D. but only having a strafe key, and no strafe-left / strafe-right is annoying. same olde limitation as W3D.
Posted May 25, 2015
avatar
MWink: I always used a Gravis Gamepad. Blake Stone has built in support for it.
avatar
Firebrand9: I played with a Gravis Gamepad also for both this, and Wolf3D. With the modifier key for strafing, there's not really a more advantageous way to play. It's not like Doom.
Same here.
Pages:
1
This is my favourite topic
Community
Blake Stone seriesControls: what was originally favoured?(14 posts)(14 posts)
(14 posts)