Before I start off, I want to make sure that people understand the point of this column. This might feel like more of a "tutorial," but I can assure you that that is not what it is meant to be. What I instead am trying to do here is start a discussion about what settings work best for you. I am writing this column in order to hear your replies, so after reading please give me your impression of what I said. In that sense it is not a tutorial and more of an article addressed to the ET community. If you are looking for an in-depth mouse tweaking guide than I can recommend (url) [www.overclock.net] Here I will be talking about two things: DPI and Sensitivity.
I think that we can agree that most people who play games on a competitive level use some form of gaming mouse. Whether it is a G5, mx518, Deathadder, or something of the sort, it is safe to say that most of us don't use a $15 Logitech mouse from Walmart. Of course, when you use such a customizable mouse, you are faced with choices as to what sensitivity and DPI you use. Opinions vary wildly in this field, and every game demands a different kind of play style.
All sensitivities listed during this column will assume that Windows sensitivity is set at the default 6/11 position.
Part 1: DPI
Why am I starting with DPI and not sensitivity? Surely sensitivity is a more basic concept to grasp. The answer to this question lies in the fact that your sensitivity is affected by your DPI. The higher the DPI, the faster your mouse will move at the same sensitivity.
Most gaming mice have somewhere from 400-2000 DPI. I personally use a Deathadder, which offers 3 settings: 450, 900, and 1800 DPI. Before looking at DPI it is important to understand what exactly it is.
For some of you, this description might seem confusing. Allow me to try to simplify it. I personally think that the term "counts per inch" is more fitting than "dots per inch." All that definition means is that whenever you move your mouse, your mouse takes a constant reading of where it is and how far it has been moved. The higher your DPI, the more often your mouse takes one of these readings.
When deciding what DPI to use, you must take the game you are playing into account. Wolfenstein is unique in that it is a tracking game. To achieve success you must be able to track your target as smoothly as possible. The pursuit of "smooth" tracking aim has led many people to decrease their DPI to the lower end of the spectrum (450 on a Deathadder). Because your natural mouse movement is not exact, if the mouse has a lower DPI it can help to smooth out your hand movements and give better tracking. There are also those who use a high DPI and argue that it is more precise while aiming.
I'm sure that most people here know that a higher DPI will increase how sensitive your mouse feels. If you are planning to change your DPI, and don't want to lose your "perfect sensitivity" then there is a formula to find what your sensitivity would be with a different DPI.
Say that you use 450 DPI and 1.0 ingame sensitivity. If you switched to 1800 DPI, you would have to change your ingame sensitivity to 0.25 in order to get the same feel.
The Arguments:
What I want to hear from you:
Part 2: Sensitivity
Sensitivity is a more personal preference than DPI. With DPI you often have only two options: go low or go high. Sensitivity can be adjusted by slight amounts. I believe that the best method for finding sensitivity was suggested in the Aiming by Raziel tutorial from a while back. Find a spot on the wall, and adjust your sensitivity until you can pivot around it and track it perfectly. From that point I add a slight amount to compensate for moving enemies, because most do not stand perfectly still. Most in ET use low sensitivities around 1.0, although many use sensitivities over 2.5 (which in the ET world can start to be considered high). Sensitivity is a personal preference, but I still want to hear from you about which type of sensitivity you prefer.
The Arguments:
What I want to hear from you:
Part 3: Conclusion
Well, I hope this post has been thought-provoking. That was the goal anyway. I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the ET community and see what their ideas where on which sensitivity or DPI is ideal. From this point on I really want to hear your comments on some of the questions that I asked, or even some interesting things about sensitivity/DPI that I forgot to ask about. Like I said before, please don't just list your DPI and sens, take the time to type out why you use those settings and what you like about them (and even what you don't like about other settings). Read some of the responses and see what you think. Who knows, maybe some people will benefit out of this article and discover new settings that work for them. Thanks for the read and I look forward to you guys' viewpoints on this topic.
I think that we can agree that most people who play games on a competitive level use some form of gaming mouse. Whether it is a G5, mx518, Deathadder, or something of the sort, it is safe to say that most of us don't use a $15 Logitech mouse from Walmart. Of course, when you use such a customizable mouse, you are faced with choices as to what sensitivity and DPI you use. Opinions vary wildly in this field, and every game demands a different kind of play style.
All sensitivities listed during this column will assume that Windows sensitivity is set at the default 6/11 position.
Part 1: DPI
Why am I starting with DPI and not sensitivity? Surely sensitivity is a more basic concept to grasp. The answer to this question lies in the fact that your sensitivity is affected by your DPI. The higher the DPI, the faster your mouse will move at the same sensitivity.
Most gaming mice have somewhere from 400-2000 DPI. I personally use a Deathadder, which offers 3 settings: 450, 900, and 1800 DPI. Before looking at DPI it is important to understand what exactly it is.
For some of you, this description might seem confusing. Allow me to try to simplify it. I personally think that the term "counts per inch" is more fitting than "dots per inch." All that definition means is that whenever you move your mouse, your mouse takes a constant reading of where it is and how far it has been moved. The higher your DPI, the more often your mouse takes one of these readings.
When deciding what DPI to use, you must take the game you are playing into account. Wolfenstein is unique in that it is a tracking game. To achieve success you must be able to track your target as smoothly as possible. The pursuit of "smooth" tracking aim has led many people to decrease their DPI to the lower end of the spectrum (450 on a Deathadder). Because your natural mouse movement is not exact, if the mouse has a lower DPI it can help to smooth out your hand movements and give better tracking. There are also those who use a high DPI and argue that it is more precise while aiming.
I'm sure that most people here know that a higher DPI will increase how sensitive your mouse feels. If you are planning to change your DPI, and don't want to lose your "perfect sensitivity" then there is a formula to find what your sensitivity would be with a different DPI.
Say that you use 450 DPI and 1.0 ingame sensitivity. If you switched to 1800 DPI, you would have to change your ingame sensitivity to 0.25 in order to get the same feel.
The Arguments:
- Low DPI results in smoother tracking by eliminating small human errors in hand movement
- High DPI results in more precise aiming by registering slight mouse movements
What I want to hear from you:
- What DPI do you prefer and what mouse do you use? Please don't just say "I use 450 DPI and I like it." Give a thoughtful response and go into depth about why you use your sensitivity.
- Tell us whether you use a high or low DPI and what you like about it.
- If you have used a different DPI and didn't like it then tell us why not.
- If you have never used a different DPI then use the formula above to find the right sensitivity and then go out and test a different DPI. Tell us what you thought about it.
- If your mose can change DPI on the fly do you change it? Do you maybe use a higher DPI while sniping?
Part 2: Sensitivity
Sensitivity is a more personal preference than DPI. With DPI you often have only two options: go low or go high. Sensitivity can be adjusted by slight amounts. I believe that the best method for finding sensitivity was suggested in the Aiming by Raziel tutorial from a while back. Find a spot on the wall, and adjust your sensitivity until you can pivot around it and track it perfectly. From that point I add a slight amount to compensate for moving enemies, because most do not stand perfectly still. Most in ET use low sensitivities around 1.0, although many use sensitivities over 2.5 (which in the ET world can start to be considered high). Sensitivity is a personal preference, but I still want to hear from you about which type of sensitivity you prefer.
The Arguments:
- Low sensitivity allows for better tracking
- High sensitivity allows for faster snaps and quick 180s
What I want to hear from you:
- Tell us what sensitivity you use (remember to list DPI also), and why you prefer it. What mouse do you use? Don't just say "I use 1.5 sens," go into depth and try to answer some of the questions here.
- How did you find your sensitivity? Did you strafe around a mark on the wall like Raziel recommended or did you just find something that felt right?
- How long have you been using this sensitivity? Do you switch often or have you been using the same one for a long while.
- Do you use a sensitivity/fov toggler for long ranges or do you use the same sensitivity for everything?
Part 3: Conclusion
Well, I hope this post has been thought-provoking. That was the goal anyway. I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the ET community and see what their ideas where on which sensitivity or DPI is ideal. From this point on I really want to hear your comments on some of the questions that I asked, or even some interesting things about sensitivity/DPI that I forgot to ask about. Like I said before, please don't just list your DPI and sens, take the time to type out why you use those settings and what you like about them (and even what you don't like about other settings). Read some of the responses and see what you think. Who knows, maybe some people will benefit out of this article and discover new settings that work for them. Thanks for the read and I look forward to you guys' viewpoints on this topic.
