dreemernj
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Common Issues with Keyboards and Fighting Games
A lot of people here have played fighting games on keyboards before. We all know the problems. Pressing too many buttons at once can cause buttons to "lock" meaning after you let go of the button, the computer thinks you are still holding it. Or, sometimes you try to press a few buttons at once and can't, and the move simply doesn't happen.
For the past 4 years I have used basically the same keyboard (had to replace it with an identical keyboard after a breakdown) and I have both issues. If I try to do Reptile's force ball in UMK3 (F, F, HP+LP) I have to be certain I release Forward before I press the punch buttons. If I don't, one of the 3 buttons will lock. If I try to do the ninjas' slide, I simply can't. It won't work on this keyboard.
The Cause
Keyboards work off of a matrix or grid system. This is very different compared to something like a game pad or joystick. In a gamepad, each button is a switch. Each switch is wired into a simple chip that interprets the state of all the switches and sends that information to the console.
A keyboard has too many buttons to allow each to be its own switch. So, the buttons are wired together to form a grid, like so:
In the example above, 9 buttons are controlled by 6 switches. If the computer detects that switches a1 are triggered, it knows you are pressing the Q button. If it detects c2, it knows you are pressing the D button.
But what happens if you are hold W and A and try to press S? The b switch and the 2 switch are both already being used by the W and A buttons. The computer will not be able to recognize that S is being pressed.
Similarly, you can hold S and W. Then begin holding A. Now, if you try to release S, the keyboard won't know it because the b and 2 triggers are still active from holding W and A. It won't recognize the button has been released, and that button is now locked being held until you press and release it again.
How to deal with this problem.
Keyboard manufacturers attempt to limit the problems of the grid or matrix style layout by really mixing up what buttons are attached to what switches. It will almost never be layed out the way I have demonstrated above. They will spread out what switches go with what buttons to limit the problems. But, this is done primarily to make typing at high speeds work better on the keyboard. For fighting games, it still does little to help. It actually, often, does little to help with FPS games as well, especially if you ever plan on using the arrow keys for movement.
Also, there is a different type of keyboard, Capacitive switch keyboards, which I have never had the luxury of trying. In most keyboards, when you press a button it completes a circuit. This involves physical contact. Capacitive Switches have current flowing throughout the keyboard at all times. When you press the button, a metal plate is lowered towards the grid, and the computer detects the difference in current. Theoretically this could improve fighting games since a button pressed, that would not be registered or a button released that would remain locked, would still be detected because the voltage would change in the system. These are also considered longer lasting keyboards because there need be no physical contact between the metal in the button and the electrified grid. If anyone has access to a keyboard of this type and would like to test it out, I would greatly appreciate it.
There is hope for people that do not have access to these more expensive keyboards. Old keyboards. Back in the day, keyboards in general had much higher production value. An old keyboard might have a circuit board that the buttons press down onto. Newer keyboards often use sheets of plastic with metal strips in them. The advantage to having the circuit board is that if designed correctly, it could have diodes (I think) wired in series with each keyboard key. This greatly reduces the amount of button blocking and locking to the point where I cannot cause button locking or blocking by doing any moves in a fighting game. I can slide with ninjas, do Reptile's forceballs no problem, and get those pesky HCB+3P in COTA to call out dancing swords (without using a 3P button!).
These ancient, overbuilt keyboards are out there. Battousai provided me with one that used a connector I'd never seen before. I've been working on rewiring it to use an iPac keyboard controller since I had no way of making it work on a modern computer. Recently, I also found a Dell with a standard PS/2 connector. It was very old, weighed a ton, and I opened it up to find the giant circuit board under all the keys, diodes in series with every button, and no locking or blocking of any kind (aside from trying to hold down 3/4 of the keys at once for instance).
Conclusion
If you are someone like me, you have relied on a keyboard for fighting games for a long time. It is the weapon of choice, the Bat'Leth passed down through the generations. If this is the case for you, find one of these ancient keyboards. You won't be upset. It might look ugly as hell on your desktop, people might laugh when they see you mashing away at it. But once you've owned them, they'll be asking where to get their own behemoth keyboard.
Next Steps
I want to be able to go to NEC this year with these behemoth keyboards and allow 2 people to use them at the same time. So, how do I plug in multiple keyboards and shift the keys on one so that they aren't the same keys that Player 2 is using? If you know of any way to reassign keys on a keyboard please let me know.
Also, I still have to test out the behemoth keyboard on a PS/2 to USB adapter since a lot of times its unreasonable to use a PS/2 keyboard. I will update once I've tried that out. I have a USB mini docking station designed for laptops that allows for Keyboard, Mouse, Printer, Serial Port, and Ethernet to be plugged into a laptop using just 1 USB port. Let's hope this does the trick.
Note about expensive "Gaming" keyboards
I don't know how many of you have used any of these very expensive ($80-$150) "gaming" keyboards that companies like Logitech put out. I've tried every one that is sold at Best Buy and Circuit City (usually by begging a salesperson to plug it into one of the display comps) and frankly they all Blow. They have the same button locking and blocking issues that my $15 M$ Ergo keyboard has. I guess they must be good for FPS or something, or maybe they last longer, or maybe its just cause they look cool and have digital readouts on them. But, the cost is not from higher quality button handling, that's for sure.
A lot of people here have played fighting games on keyboards before. We all know the problems. Pressing too many buttons at once can cause buttons to "lock" meaning after you let go of the button, the computer thinks you are still holding it. Or, sometimes you try to press a few buttons at once and can't, and the move simply doesn't happen.
For the past 4 years I have used basically the same keyboard (had to replace it with an identical keyboard after a breakdown) and I have both issues. If I try to do Reptile's force ball in UMK3 (F, F, HP+LP) I have to be certain I release Forward before I press the punch buttons. If I don't, one of the 3 buttons will lock. If I try to do the ninjas' slide, I simply can't. It won't work on this keyboard.
The Cause
Keyboards work off of a matrix or grid system. This is very different compared to something like a game pad or joystick. In a gamepad, each button is a switch. Each switch is wired into a simple chip that interprets the state of all the switches and sends that information to the console.
A keyboard has too many buttons to allow each to be its own switch. So, the buttons are wired together to form a grid, like so:
In the example above, 9 buttons are controlled by 6 switches. If the computer detects that switches a1 are triggered, it knows you are pressing the Q button. If it detects c2, it knows you are pressing the D button.
But what happens if you are hold W and A and try to press S? The b switch and the 2 switch are both already being used by the W and A buttons. The computer will not be able to recognize that S is being pressed.
Similarly, you can hold S and W. Then begin holding A. Now, if you try to release S, the keyboard won't know it because the b and 2 triggers are still active from holding W and A. It won't recognize the button has been released, and that button is now locked being held until you press and release it again.
How to deal with this problem.
Keyboard manufacturers attempt to limit the problems of the grid or matrix style layout by really mixing up what buttons are attached to what switches. It will almost never be layed out the way I have demonstrated above. They will spread out what switches go with what buttons to limit the problems. But, this is done primarily to make typing at high speeds work better on the keyboard. For fighting games, it still does little to help. It actually, often, does little to help with FPS games as well, especially if you ever plan on using the arrow keys for movement.
Also, there is a different type of keyboard, Capacitive switch keyboards, which I have never had the luxury of trying. In most keyboards, when you press a button it completes a circuit. This involves physical contact. Capacitive Switches have current flowing throughout the keyboard at all times. When you press the button, a metal plate is lowered towards the grid, and the computer detects the difference in current. Theoretically this could improve fighting games since a button pressed, that would not be registered or a button released that would remain locked, would still be detected because the voltage would change in the system. These are also considered longer lasting keyboards because there need be no physical contact between the metal in the button and the electrified grid. If anyone has access to a keyboard of this type and would like to test it out, I would greatly appreciate it.
There is hope for people that do not have access to these more expensive keyboards. Old keyboards. Back in the day, keyboards in general had much higher production value. An old keyboard might have a circuit board that the buttons press down onto. Newer keyboards often use sheets of plastic with metal strips in them. The advantage to having the circuit board is that if designed correctly, it could have diodes (I think) wired in series with each keyboard key. This greatly reduces the amount of button blocking and locking to the point where I cannot cause button locking or blocking by doing any moves in a fighting game. I can slide with ninjas, do Reptile's forceballs no problem, and get those pesky HCB+3P in COTA to call out dancing swords (without using a 3P button!).
These ancient, overbuilt keyboards are out there. Battousai provided me with one that used a connector I'd never seen before. I've been working on rewiring it to use an iPac keyboard controller since I had no way of making it work on a modern computer. Recently, I also found a Dell with a standard PS/2 connector. It was very old, weighed a ton, and I opened it up to find the giant circuit board under all the keys, diodes in series with every button, and no locking or blocking of any kind (aside from trying to hold down 3/4 of the keys at once for instance).
Conclusion
If you are someone like me, you have relied on a keyboard for fighting games for a long time. It is the weapon of choice, the Bat'Leth passed down through the generations. If this is the case for you, find one of these ancient keyboards. You won't be upset. It might look ugly as hell on your desktop, people might laugh when they see you mashing away at it. But once you've owned them, they'll be asking where to get their own behemoth keyboard.
Next Steps
I want to be able to go to NEC this year with these behemoth keyboards and allow 2 people to use them at the same time. So, how do I plug in multiple keyboards and shift the keys on one so that they aren't the same keys that Player 2 is using? If you know of any way to reassign keys on a keyboard please let me know.
Also, I still have to test out the behemoth keyboard on a PS/2 to USB adapter since a lot of times its unreasonable to use a PS/2 keyboard. I will update once I've tried that out. I have a USB mini docking station designed for laptops that allows for Keyboard, Mouse, Printer, Serial Port, and Ethernet to be plugged into a laptop using just 1 USB port. Let's hope this does the trick.
Note about expensive "Gaming" keyboards
I don't know how many of you have used any of these very expensive ($80-$150) "gaming" keyboards that companies like Logitech put out. I've tried every one that is sold at Best Buy and Circuit City (usually by begging a salesperson to plug it into one of the display comps) and frankly they all Blow. They have the same button locking and blocking issues that my $15 M$ Ergo keyboard has. I guess they must be good for FPS or something, or maybe they last longer, or maybe its just cause they look cool and have digital readouts on them. But, the cost is not from higher quality button handling, that's for sure.
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