Hardware & Technical Keyboard Back lit Idea

[Lestat]

Well I played a few games like battlefield 3. I notice some backlit keyboard that will change color in combat. Like Green safe, yellow would be danger and red would be almost dead. Knowing the Laptop keyboard I have. I can set different sections into different colors.

Would it be neat to have it on elite?

One section Laser Heat.
Cabin Temperature a section
Shield Damage

What this will do for users Give more screen for Other views. like Rear view display. Or if your in a Co-op You can see what the other person fighting. It an also give More Screen for users with smaller screen like laptop users.

Just a idea. Yes it work great on Battlefield 3.

 

[zmurf]

Well I played a few games like battlefield 3. I notice some backlit keyboard that will change color in combat. Like Green safe, yellow would be danger and red would be almost dead. Knowing the Laptop keyboard I have. I can set different sections into different colors.

Would it be neat to have it on elite?

One section Laser Heat.
Cabin Temperature a section
Shield Damage

What this will do for users Give more screen for Other views. like Rear view display. Or if your in a Co-op You can see what the other person fighting. It an also give More Screen for users with smaller screen like laptop users.

Just a idea. Yes it work great on Battlefield 3.

I don't really get it. Even if I don't see any issues with implementation of an API for creating your own modules for this kind of things, I really don't see the meaning of this specific function. Isn't it much better to have this information on the HUD? Which is where you are looking... The keyboard is in the periferi of your sight (where you don't even have colour vision. The brain just remembers what colour things had and keep things in that colour. If something in the periferi changes colour you can't tell what colour it changed to). I for one would never see the keyboard colour change.

Then again... I don't really see the meaning of backlit keyboards at all... more then looking "cool".

 

[jabokai]

Then again... I don't really see the meaning of backlit keyboards at all... more then looking "cool".

I need to look at my keyboard to type! Can't do that fancy touch typing thing... so a backlit keyboard is nice for typing in low level light. :smilie:

 

[Inconsistent]

I love this idea. I don't even mind having to look 'cool'!

 

[Flavio]

I suppose that if you could get a fancy keyboard with keys that are individually lit then you could only have the keys that have a function to be lit, for instance in space your docking key would be dark while hour jump engine key could be lit while near a space port the opposite would be true and for really fancy keyboards that have the ability to show different colours, they could be for different aspects of the game like red for weapons, yellow for scanners , green for engines, blue for viewers etc For certain keys that have multiple purposes like the return key, the colour could either vary or just be white. Keys that are not used remain in the dark (until comms is selected when all keys are white ).
But I do not know of such a keyboard, in fact I thought backlit keyboards only had one colour and eliminated all keys or nothing.

 

[Lestat]

I don't really get it. Even if I don't see any issues with implementation of an API for creating your own modules for this kind of things, I really don't see the meaning of this specific function. Isn't it much better to have this information on the HUD? Which is where you are looking... The keyboard is in the periferi of your sight (where you don't even have colour vision. The brain just remembers what colour things had and keep things in that colour. If something in the periferi changes colour you can't tell what colour it changed to). I for one would never see the keyboard colour change.

Then again... I don't really see the meaning of backlit keyboards at all... more then looking "cool".

Well the keyboard lighting is like while you driving in your car. You look down to see your speed, Car temp, radio. All just by a Glance. It can tell you a lot of info in a short amount of time. Is your car overheating, are you speeding. Are you listing to a Radio, CD or MP3. Just by glance. Like the car it just take a glance to notice Shields are low, Cabin Temp high, Laser are warm.

Remember not everyone has the same computer like we did in the 1984's At that time we only had like 3 or 4 choices for a computer and the Monitor was the same size for everyone.

It not about Looking cool. Not everyone has a desktop computer with a 25 inch screen or larger that can view a lot of info on. I have a 17 inch notebook and some people have 14 inch notebooks. Now the Hub and such would be quite small for some users. I know some people are going to say Buy a bigger Monitor or plug it into your HDMI. Well not all notebooks can support that and not everyone has a lot of room so they have to stick with a small notebook computer.

So if there was a option to move it onto keyboard lighting would help bring more of the combat into our screen like the ships size and bases and space. At least we will be able to see the target we are attacking. It can also bring in other options like rear view or Co op view. If we wanted.

I should also suggest to bring this option onto a G13 Logitech Game Pad. Games Like Lord of the Rings online or World of Warcraft. They tend to show. Mana/Power and HP on the screen. Now Elite they could do somewhat the same thing like Laser temp, Shield Or Missiles. That bring up another Point. Not everyone uses a keyboard in combat.

My setup will be the Logitech G13 game pad and a flight stick. Keyboard would only be use to communicate with other players and hopefully tell me what getting hot or how much damage I am getting.

 

[DigitalDuck]

I suppose that if you could get a fancy keyboard with keys that are individually lit then you could only have the keys that have a function to be lit, for instance in space your docking key would be dark while hour jump engine key could be lit while near a space port the opposite would be true and for really fancy keyboards that have the ability to show different colours, they could be for different aspects of the game like red for weapons, yellow for scanners , green for engines, blue for viewers etc

Now, that sounds like an awesome idea. Combine that with the custom control setup in the other thread (can't see it, too lazy too find it, sorry) and what you have is a joystick with a thruster and buttons with flashing lights and indications of everything right there on the control panel. You could sit in a dark room and feel like you're actually flying a spaceship! Or something like that.

 

[Cmdr Andy B]

Now, that sounds like an awesome idea. Combine that with the custom control setup in the other thread (can't see it, too lazy too find it, sorry) and what you have is a joystick with a thruster and buttons with flashing lights and indications of everything right there on the control panel. You could sit in a dark room and feel like you're actually flying a spaceship! Or something like that.

that does sound very cool it also sounds very expensive

one of the reasons i prefer desktop's to laptop's is it doesn't matter if you drop a cup of tea on the keyboard as you can replace it with a bog standard qwerty for under a tenner - how much would one of those set you back?

 

[Lestat]

I suppose that if you could get a fancy keyboard with keys that are individually lit then you could only have the keys that have a function to be lit, for instance in space your docking key would be dark while hour jump engine key could be lit while near a space port the opposite would be true and for really fancy keyboards that have the ability to show different colours, they could be for different aspects of the game like red for weapons, yellow for scanners , green for engines, blue for viewers etc For certain keys that have multiple purposes like the return key, the colour could either vary or just be white. Keys that are not used remain in the dark (until comms is selected when all keys are white ).
But I do not know of such a keyboard, in fact I thought backlit keyboards only had one colour and eliminated all keys or nothing.

Well do a search on logitech G19 Razer. A lot of newer laptops tend to have keyboard lighting.

It seems Razer Switchblade. beat you to the idea. Look it up on cnet.

My laptop alienware 17x laptop looks really good with winamp.

 

[zmurf]

I need to look at my keyboard to type! Can't do that fancy touch typing thing... so a backlit keyboard is nice for typing in low level light. :smilie:

Mmm.. But how often do you use your computer in total darkness? And in most cases, won't the screen illuminate the keyboard enough to be readably?

Well the keyboard lighting is like while you driving in your car. You look down to see your speed, Car temp, radio. All just by a Glance. It can tell you a lot of info in a short amount of time. Is your car overheating, are you speeding. Are you listing to a Radio, CD or MP3. Just by glance. Like the car it just take a glance to notice Shields are low, Cabin Temp high, Laser are warm.

But I would rather have a HUD in my car then have to glance down on the cars gauges. That way I wouldn't have to stop watching the road at all.

It not about Looking cool. Not everyone has a desktop computer with a 25 inch screen or larger that can view a lot of info on. I have a 17 inch notebook and some people have 14 inch notebooks. Now the Hub and such would be quite small for some users. I know some people are going to say Buy a bigger Monitor or plug it into your HDMI. Well not all notebooks can support that and not everyone has a lot of room so they have to stick with a small notebook computer.

I'm going to be playing on a 11.6" screen at 1920x1080. I'll still believe that you would be able to cram the same info into the screen instead. The same concept with different colours... But show it on the screen rims instead. That wouldn't take up any space from other instruments and still you wouldn't have to stop looking at the ship you're fighting. I also hope that the instruments showing on the screen can be made context sensitive. So that they change depending on if you are landed on a station, flying casually through space, or is in a fight.

Well well.. as I said. I'm not against the functionality. But I much rather see that they make a API and scripting system so users are able to map this kind of functionality them self... rather then that Frontier makes a special function for it in the game.

I also believe that the majority of players won't have that kind of peripherals that can utilise those kind of functions.

 

[jabokai]

Mmm.. But how often do you use your computer in total darkness? And in most cases, won't the screen illuminate the keyboard enough to be readably?

When I'm gaming - all the time, yes! And, because the keyboard is illuminated, more often for other things than I used to. No, my monitor (on a desk shelf) doesn't provide enough light to light up the keyboard.

I don't actually have a fancy one as described in the OP, just a Logitech Illuminated Keyboard (as well as the backlit keys, I also much prefer the notebook style keys to regular keyboards).

Anyway, bit off topic!

 

[Faerie]

Just another request for something totally unnecessary in order to make the dev's life hell & delay the game's release.

 

[Cmdr Andy B]

Just another request for something totally unnecessary in order to make the dev's life hell & delay the game's release.

never heard of a programmable keyboard then? the dev's wouldn't need to be involved to get 90% of the suggested functions as the only thing i can see that would require any tie to the game would be the mood lighting feature.
that could easily be an extension or mirror of what's happening on the scanner, green for all clear, amber for ships in range and red for under attack, given an existing keyboard with that functionality and an api for easy access to control it i can't see it taking one person much more than an hour to add support for it.

it's easy to say something isn't needed and would add delays but the same could be said about almost anything, why take time adding joystick support when you have a keyboard, why add joypad support, isn't a joystick enough?

add it if it's quick, or include it as part of a feature update but don't totally rule it out just because it's not essential to the core game, take that attitude we would still be playing wireframe elite

 

[Lestat]

Just another request for something totally unnecessary in order to make the dev's life hell & delay the game's release.

See it might not be totally unnecessary for you. But that your own view. But it could be necessary for other people.

Let take some one with a hearing impaired might like the feature. Because a flash of red would tell them. "Hay I am being attacked" On most game they would have to scan the hub display and if family member ask them a question they would have to turn away from the computer to communicate. By the time they notice they are being attacked. "It OH NO I am dead"

Or someone with some eye problem might like it. Because the Hub might be to small for the user to see clearly and might want to use the whole screen to see the ships and combat better and If some of features can be move off screen. It could help them.

 

[Faerie]

Sorry, I was in grumpy mode.
All the same, I subscribe to the "Keep it simple, stupid" school, & it kinda depresses me to see all kinds of (IMHO) unnecessary things being suggested, & which won't add anything to the game for a large percentage of players.
I've stated before that some of the things suggested on this forum remind me of an 8 year old's fantasy Christmas letter to Santa, & which seem to forget that someone would have to sit down & code them. Any thread that starts with something like "Wouldn't it be cool if....." makes me very wary.

If you have a backlit KB & want to program it to give you certain features then go ahead, that's your own business, but I don't think it's right to ask for the game to support minority hardware configurations.

 

[Cmdr Andy B]

If you have a backlit KB & want to program it to give you certain features then go ahead, that's your own business, but I don't think it's right to ask for the game to support minority hardware configurations.

taking Lestat's post into consideration it's easy to extrapolate that some 'minority hardware configurations' would be viewed as accessibility features and as such could be considered mandatory in the same way that the position of a lot of website features are, ever wonder why the login/shopping cart is always top right? that's the result of accessibility regulations.

as such there are a lot of things a game company will want to include in the design of a game, not necessarily because it's needed, but because it meets certain requirements.

 

[Flavio]

If Elite is enough of an attention grabber then, I guess a keyboard manufacturer might want to help be doing the programming for them so that a keyboard /game package could be sold to the benefit of both parties. The keyboard manufacturer will get extra sales and elite gets extra exposure meaning more sales. Players benefit in getting a piece of hardware that will assist with the game immersion.
I guess that it would be useful for a small joystick to be incorporated which could double as a mouse pointer when not playing elite.

 

[Junglebiscuit]

A good idea that shouldn't take too much trouble to implement - I think it will add value to the game

 

[Lestat]

If Elite is enough of an attention grabber then, I guess a keyboard manufacturer might want to help be doing the programming for them so that a keyboard /game package could be sold to the benefit of both parties. The keyboard manufacturer will get extra sales and elite gets extra exposure meaning more sales. Players benefit in getting a piece of hardware that will assist with the game immersion.
I guess that it would be useful for a small joystick to be incorporated which could double as a mouse pointer when not playing elite.

You did bring in a good point. Let not forget laptops that have keyboard lighting. Like macs and Dell and such. Dell/Alienware advertised Battlefield 3. Using the laptop Lighting.