3D mouse and KSP WOW !!!!!!

[Bessy]

so i design 3D parts for machining and 3D printing so i spend a great deal of time in solid works etc

i have a 3D mouse to help me with this

well i normally clear my desk get my flight sticks out etc to play KSP when i should have been leaving the 3D mouse plugged in

the SPH VAB for eg are stuck on rails when using the normal mouse making it annoying to move the camera to place landing gears and fuel lines between fuel tanks etc

well the 3D mouse lets me look anywhere from any angle for eg in the VAB u can move the camera location to the front door and look out if u wanted to

when in flight you can move the camera off the mouse driven center of mass focus and look from any angle too say an engine at the bottom of the craft and then look completely away from the craft no your not even limited to the 60* or what ever the actual limit is when looking holding the center mouse button to pan your look your not even limited to being up right u can flip the camera right over and look at the ship upside down if u wanted to

hate when i have to stumble across things by accident like this

but there you go thought id do a little post about it

[Guest]

I want one

[FancyMouse]

Yup it's ridiculously helpful in VAB struggling with a complex piece, or dealing with a base connected by KAS pipes. My only complaint is that right click move will reset focus - have to be really careful about that. But overall I rate it positive.

[psychopoak]

you know what... if you want to do so, you can buy using a TrackIR. it will allow 6 degrees of freedom from anywhere your point of view is.

it is a bit like controlling a mouse with your head... and it is especially usefull when flying as it is meant to be use in flightsims

Edit: sorry, as I read my post it can sound a bit aggressive, but it's not meant to. but what you describe can be achieve with a trackIR. however a 3D mouse should be interesting to use as a inflight controller. but I read several post of people having tried and not being convinced by that usage. what is your opinion on that?

Edited October 9, 2015 by psychopoak

[FyunchClick]

Could you do a little video on that? I'd love to see what you're talking about in action.

[wossname]

I too use a 3D Mouse (bought for CAD software but is awesome for KSP).

Other benefits are being able to get SMOOTH control of RCS jets (and EVA jetpack jets). This is unbelievably valuable when docking or flying back to your craft. You can literally hover 10 feet above the Munar surface completely motionless or make graceful swooping motions around bits of the scenery without having to mash the WASDEQ keys like a maniac.

Works very well as an aeroplane controller too, as you get 6 analog axes of movement (roll, yaw, pitch rotations and X, Y, Z translation).

Plus you can do somersaults with the camera in the VAB/SPH if you want to, which is useful for looking underneath a large complex rocket to make sure your asparagus staging is set up correctly.

My 3DMouse is a "3DConnexion Space Navigator" for about £85. It's pricey but the build quality is fantastic and it's incredibly heavy so it won't lift off your desk or slide around. I've been using it for about 6 months now and would recommend it to any serious KSP player.

[Red Iron Crown]

I use a SpaceNavigator, it is love. Totally free camera control, and analog control of the craft. I don't like it as much for planes as I would a regular joystick, I've been tempted to rig up a grip I can slip over it for that.

Also: SpaceNavigator is the best name for a KSP peripheral ever.

[Kiro]

I use a SpaceNavigator, it is love. Totally free camera control, and analog control of the craft. I don't like it as much for planes as I would a regular joystick, I've been tempted to rig up a grip I can slip over it for that.

Also: SpaceNavigator is the best name for a KSP peripheral ever.

Thanks for the recommendation, I just ordered one from Amazon.

[Red Iron Crown]

Thanks for the recommendation, I just ordered one from Amazon.

Nice! Be prepared for a bit of a learning curve (takes some hours to get used to), as well as playing around with the sensitivity settings, for me it was waaay to sensitive by default.

[KerBlammo]

Oooh! I have a SpaceNavigator! Unfortunately I'll have to wait till next week before I have a chance to get back to KSP, but I'll give a try too.

[nohelmet]

I have one too - unfortunately it isn't well supported on the Mac. I could get it to work but I don't think it's quite worth the price there. Experiences may vary, of course.

[wossname]

for me it was waaay to sensitive by default.

Same here, it sometimes feels like a logarithmic pressure curve but at other times linear, perhaps further improvements will follow in KSP 1.1. (fingers crossed!)

I have mostly left the sensitivity settings alone in KSP for now as I like to have twitchy settings for when I'm using CAD software with the device.

[Red Iron Crown]

I found it better to set up a profile in the 3DConnexion software for KSP and adjust there rather than use the KSP settings tool as it has more options, but YMMV.

[Bessy]

yeah the sensitivity is well high on default for KSP

i use a 3DConnexion space pilot myself

i will see about uploading a video to youtube and posting it here for you next week sometime

it doesnt end in the VAB and in flight

you can navigate around the the space center menu when you can select the buildings etc it doesnt let u get low enough to fly thru the bridges in the menu tho haha but i think its more todo with the hit boxes as u get stopped by the buildings

and its brilliant in the map screen also free look around the map

yeah making sure you dont hit the scroll wheel as it resets ... id like that to be kept tho as it does help you get back to normal view if u get too lost haha

KSP should come with a banner saying works best with a 3D mouse tho XD

and i didnt think on the RCS going to have to give that a try thanks for that tip

the great thing for in flight is on large ships been able to move to the small science things like thermometers etc and right click them with ease as u can look from any angle ... as it does get hard normally when all your mass is way on the other end of the ship and your sat trying to get a good view on the tiny hitbox from a far as the focus is on center of mass normally

really tho id love for them to be a seperate window that is solid with lines to the part so u can click them with ease as the current system is really annoying anyways specially if your ship is flipping about

Edited October 9, 2015 by Bessy

[goldenpsp]

Sold. I have been eyeing one for awhile but was unsure how it would actually work in game. Buying one now

[wossname]

To be honest I do not think that Squad appreciate how good it is to have a 3D Mouse. If they did then they would have fixed some of the glaring sensitivity issues and camera glitches you get from time to time. We need to get this topic onto the dev's radar somehow.

Sold. I have been eyeing one for awhile but was unsure how it would actually work in game. Buying one now

First thing you should do when you get it is get into orbit and do and EVA then use the jetpack with the 3D Mouse (hit "Scroll Lock" to switch between camera control and ship control mode for the 3D Mouse). Also experiment with the camera angles (use the "V" key to switch between them) as the "Free" camera mode gives most intuitive control in most cases while on EVA. When in ship control mode the 3D mouse replaces the WASDEQ keys completely, you can still move the camera around with the normal mouse.

It's amazing how much realism is added to docking and EVA with these devices, it's pretty great.

Edited October 10, 2015 by wossname

[Stoney3K]

Come to think about it, if you want to splurge, the SpacePilot Pro (is that name a coincidence?) may be a perfect dedicated controller to fit all of your KSP control needs.

http://www.muizenshop.nl/0/498/p/3dconnexion-spacepilot-pro/29591/

At $550 it's a bit steep though.

[wossname]

Come to think about it, if you want to splurge, the SpacePilot Pro (is that name a coincidence?) may be a perfect dedicated controller to fit all of your KSP control needs.

http://www.muizenshop.nl/0/498/p/3dconnexion-spacepilot-pro/29591/

At $550 it's a bit steep though.

Looks like gimmicky trinkets to me. I'm more than happy with my basic model, which doesn't take up much desk space, its actually about the same size as a normal mouse, a bit taller perhaps.

[FancyMouse]

you know what... if you want to do so, you can buy using a TrackIR. it will allow 6 degrees of freedom from anywhere your point of view is.

it is a bit like controlling a mouse with your head... and it is especially usefull when flying as it is meant to be use in flightsims

Edit: sorry, as I read my post it can sound a bit aggressive, but it's not meant to. but what you describe can be achieve with a trackIR. however a 3D mouse should be interesting to use as a inflight controller. but I read several post of people having tried and not being convinced by that usage. what is your opinion on that?

I would imagine this device actually won't do well in KSP because unlike first-person game, KSP has this third-person view with much bigger range of the camera. This either means you'll have to move a lot, or the device and your head motion have to be super accurate to be useful. Did you really buy one and get a acceptable performance?

3D mouse is immune to this problem because the 3D mouse hardware position decides your velocity, not location, on each axis.

[Stoney3K]

I would imagine this device actually won't do well in KSP because unlike first-person game, KSP has this third-person view with much bigger range of the camera. This either means you'll have to move a lot, or the device and your head motion have to be super accurate to be useful. Did you really buy one and get a acceptable performance?

3D mouse is immune to this problem because the 3D mouse hardware position decides your velocity, not location, on each axis.

TrackIR works great if you fly IVA, but it's not very useful for the third person view that KSP uses a lot.

This control panel from Saitek looks interesting as well (the top buttons would be great for toggling SAS/RCS or switching from translate to rotate mode), but it's only 3 axes.

http://store.madcatz.com/brands/saitek/Saitek-Side-Panel-Control-Deck-PC.html

[psychopoak]

I would imagine this device actually won't do well in KSP because unlike first-person game, KSP has this third-person view with much bigger range of the camera. This either means you'll have to move a lot, or the device and your head motion have to be super accurate to be useful. Did you really buy one and get a acceptable performance?

3D mouse is immune to this problem because the 3D mouse hardware position decides your velocity, not location, on each axis.

actually I am a fligthsim enthusiast, so I had the hardware before I knew KSP. I didn't buy it especially for the game. on the other hand, I was curious to see how it would perform in the game when Squad announced the trackIR support. and as you pointed out, it need a bit of thickering and fideling around to be trully comfortable using the device.

As I have this since 5+ years, I had plenty of time to find response curves that fit my needs in flightsims, and I am use to move my head to move the camera so I can be relatively acurate, but a 3d mouse should suit your KSP needs way better. I have to pause the hardware in several ocasion as some tiny movements of my body have repercussions in the game, which could be disorienting when you try to set up maneuver nodes for example

[psychopoak]

yep, as Stoney3K said, it's works perfectly once you fly IVA and that's mainly my way to use it. it is also cool to use while docking to a station for instance, but it loses a bit of its purpose as the windows are usually tiny on spaceships.

and on 3rd person, it can help to orient yourself while approaching a station. When you control camera with the mouse, movements are centered on the ships. but if you use a T-IR, it grants you a whole new range movements centered where the camera is, not on the ships which once again is helpfull but not necessary.

for those who want to give it a try, there are free alternatives like FaceTrackNOIR, which works like a T-IR but all you need is a webcam. it is not as powerfull and reliable, but it gives a taste of what to expect.

[Tyko]

I picked up a SpaceMouse today and it's only partially working. I can move around the KSC, but it's not doing anything in VAB and in space I can only zoom in zoom out. 

I noticed that toggle camera/flight control is mapped to scroll lock and when I hit Scroll lock I get a text note on the screen that says it's switching modes, but regardless of which mode it says I'm in, I can only zoom camera in and out.

Any advice?

[RocketBlam]

One of you guys should make a video and show us, I'd be curious to see that.

[Hupf]

Mission Report. After an evening of trial & error, it seems I've gotten it to work after initial problems as described by @tjt.

System: Windows 10 64 bit. SpaceMouse Pro.

The most important thing seems to be to use the " 3DxSoftware " driver (version 3.18.0, found under http://www.3dconnexion.de/service/archived-drivers.html after filtering for Windows 7), not the most recent one (" 3DxWare 10 for Windows (64-bit) "). You can (and should) use the 64 bit version of the driver (and KSP), if applicable. You may select a custom installation and untick all the optional components if only interested in KSP.

With the old driver, you may have to launch the "Start driver" start menu entry.

In KSP settings menu, the options under 6dof controller are greyed out (but can be configured in the file) and the input axis mappings don't show anything meaningful. However when launching a save, the first thing to notice is that one can roam freely (not just zoom back and forth) in KSC.

If that doesn't work, check if all axes enabled in the 3dconnexion properties tool.

I had the "only zooming" experience with the out-of-the-box installation of the most recent driver (3DxWare) in the default config (seems to be some sort of mouse wheel emulation also used in browsers etc). After enablilng all axes with 3DxWare, it would stop working altogether.

One but I noticed however is that in IVA, the camera is flipped over

Edited August 1, 2016 by Hupf