Gaming with a trackball mouse

[geekx]

Currently i play every PC game with a trackball mouse(the one with the big red ball) and when i meet a fellow gamer they cannot believe i play games with it. I find it perfectly fine the main downfall is i have no scroll wheel but other than that its perfect. I never have to move my mouse so it works with limited space and it has lasted me about 12 years now.

What do you guys think about gaming with a trackball?

[GenesisZero]

In short, hard to do.

How do you go about zooming in and out in WoW and in other games?
I have given this a go myself but it feels too alien to get used to but fair play to you if you can pull it off with no issues.

[captaincoffeecup]

I love my trackball (a logitech model). I use it with my laptop when i'm being lazy in the living room. I've raided with it, quested with it, pvp'd with it. If only it had a couple of easier to reach buttons I would of stuck with it for my dedicated raiding system, but the lack of extra easy to use buttons meant I now use another mouse (a Naga if anyone cares) for raiding. I like to have my modifiers on my mouse and no trackball currently has has decently positioned extra buttons for this.

I will add that I have used a trackball for work for a long time as it allows far great accuracy for audio editing in the studio and when I'm working on live shows you can plonk a trackball down anywhere on your mixing desk and not worry about needing a flat surface and mouse mat (I'm a sound engineer IRL).

[BicycleMafioso]

The one thing that is the hardest argument to debunk, is comfort, experience and habit.
If that works for you, I cannot fathom you having an issue with it. In fact, I miss them, not that I think I'd use one on a daily basis, but I'd definitely like to have one around.

[Marler]

I have been playing games with a Trackball mouse for basically my entire gaming life. Over 12 years now I think.
Just a basic model, with the trackball to the left.

I've been playing shooters, RTS games, MMO's and stuff like that on a competitive level and it works for me. People also give me the look when I tell them I play with a Trackball mouse. But I prefer it over normal mice. You just get used to it I suppose.

[geekx]

I love my trackball its been through 12 years of gaming and it didnt take any time to adapt to(for me). Zooming in and out is easy i just bind my camera zoom to the +/- keys in almost every game, if i cant rebind keys i have a scroll wheel mouse just for this situation. Also my trackball is a middle ball Logitech model with 4 buttons, 2 on each side. I bind one to vent and use the other 3 normally, this is just the most logical key up key for me since it wont effect most games. In FPS games it just feels more fluent and natural to move the camera with a ball idk why it just does. Also my WoW play style is somewhat tailored around my mouse, I click instead of hotkey and still keep up with many of my friends who do use hotkeys. The amount of screen space and accuracy you can get with this mouse is amazing for such underused tech i wish there was a gaming model.

On another note there is another downfall, the mouse is so sensitive that the smallest nudge will move the mouse too far in one direction if your trying doodle in paint.

[Towstie]

Same thing goes for console vs PC for me.

I like the ability to control where my screen is turning by every little angle.

With Xbox, it's using the thumbsticks (which arn't bad at all), but comparing it to being able to move my mouse pixel by pixel, it's much faster.

[Vargur]

In short, hard to do.

How do you go about zooming in and out in WoW and in other games?
I have given this a go myself but it feels too alien to get used to but fair play to you if you can pull it off with no issues.

Why would you keep zoom on the scroll, when you can bind spells on it?

You only ever need to zoom in or out 1 time, and that can be rebound and done with num pad + and - for example.

[ffejster]

I use a Microsoft optic trackball. in my opinion its stupid to use a mouse you have to move. my trackball is on the side for my thumb and I have a scroll and 4 buttons on top. its absolutely perfect for first person shooters. why would one want to actually pick up there mouse to move it just stupid.

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Microsoft optic trackball perfect for first person shooter. thumb ball and 4 buttons on top plus scroll better than any mouse available for gaming

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nothing better than trackball. but you gotta have the kind where the ball is used with thumb

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first of all wow is gay as shit. and its easy to zoom if you got a Microsoft optic trackball


* User was infracted for trolling and necromancy.

[Punisher]

first of all wow is gay as shit

Can't believe you said this on a WoW forum

And no, its not stupid to mouve a mouse. In fact, I argue that its way more accurate, unless you have a lot of experience with trackballs, but at this point you would be better on a mouse.

Else, pro gamers would all be on a trackball

[solvexx]

I have been playing games with a Trackball mouse for basically my entire gaming life. Over 12 years now I think.
Just a basic model, with the trackball to the left.

I've been playing shooters, RTS games, MMO's and stuff like that on a competitive level and it works for me. People also give me the look when I tell them I play with a Trackball mouse. But I prefer it over normal mice. You just get used to it I suppose.

Competitive?
Like LFR/1200 arenas/random public matches on fps games?
Sub par is sub par.