Review: Razer Lycosa kbd (and Belkin N52, AutoHotkey, G15)

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Hyde
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Review: Razer Lycosa kbd (and Belkin N52, AutoHotkey, G15)

Post by Hyde »

Well I ditched my G15 a few months ago. The paint was totally gone on alot of keys (I had an original 1st batch G15 but I didn't request a replacement for the defective paint until the warranty expired). I never used the LCD except once in awhile as a countdown timer. Neat idea but its not practical for me to move my eyes off the screen ... that's what large multiple monitors are for :)

I was trying hard to use software macros (autohotkey) instead but they just don't respond fast enough. Quite programmable ... just don't execute fast enough, which means they queue up if you spam long macros and then you sit there waiting for them to execute (I queued up over a minute once on a long high HP mob ... ).

However one thing that having auto hotkey made me realize was that I could get 90% of my macro needs onto a single macro key for pure DD (I literally used 15 at once on the G15 ... but that was on Doc where I had heal perks broken out on separate keys). The way I did this was to put all of my DD perks on a single hotbar. The macro I made calls the Hot bar via the Alt key, fires all items on that hotbar, and then goes back to the default hot bar with ALT+1. Then I had the autohotkey macro press all of the specials ( l m , b n ) that I use on my toons. Its ugly, its brute force, but it works. It works well. I have 1 macro that does DD on Shade, Doc (as much as doc can), Fixer and Agent.

It sucks for PvP though. I think for PvP I'll need 4-5 macro keys. That way I can keep FA and Aimed shot out of the macro, have a "oh shit" macro for firing defensive perks/nanos, DoT, etc.

I used to have a Belkin N52 Nostromo but I deleted it (as in gave it away). So as a stopgap I bought a Belkin N52te (basically the same but its black with better plastic than the old model). However the Belkin software ... well ... it SUCKs. It can only have 1 profile loaded at one time (it has some hacked ability for the profiling software to autoswitch but I've found it slow). I thought I might use the movement keys on the N52 but I just can not get used to it. I'm a keyboard turner, I admit it. I can't circle strafe, and I'll just live with that. But that means I tend to use my arrow keys, not WASD keys. I'm relatively ambidextrous when doing right-brain stuff but not at all on the computer. In the end I was only using the N52 to ... fire a single macro (the same macro I wrote using autohotkey ... I remade it on the N52). I also didn't like how much the N52 slides around on my desk in relation to my keyboard. It just makes it hard to switch between them.

There is a hidden Pro/Con on the N52 ... the profile is downloaded to the device rather than being kept on your PC. That's what makes the profile switching slow/kludgey but it also means you can swap it between computers and have your profile roam with you easily. Only the 1 profile though, not all of them. The way profile switching works on the N52 is that the PC application rewrites the device memory.

Combine the suckiness of the N52 and the fact that the keyboard I'd been using for backup sucked ... it was a PS2 keyboard that came with my PC ... the paint wore off the A and S keys in under 3 months and it couldn't handle more than 3 keys being pressed at one time (which because I strafe/jump/run/attack alot meant I was having the problem alot).

So last night at Best Buy I finally broke down and bought a Razer Lycosa. I've been looking at this keyboard for awhile but I just wasn't sure. I'm very happy with this keyboard. It is all black with blue backlighting on the keys so it looks good. In fact it looks far better than my old G15 (I hated that silver paint) and the keycaps have the same soft non-slip texture (though I think I'll be coating the tops with clear nailpolish to protect them). The keyboard is the same size (or even slightly smaller) than a normal keyboard (even the new G15 is a bit big). The typing action is a tad shallow but I'm touch typing on it fine (obviously) after only a couple of hours of practice which is a record for me with a new keyboard.

But the real reason I'm so happy with it is that it seems to be the best combination of programmability. I don't use my Windows or context menu keys AT ALL EVER. I disable them where I can. With the Lycosa these formerly useless keys are now programmable. So are my PrintScreen, ScrollLock, PauseBreak and NumLock keys ... all of which I also never use (well, I use PrintScreen some). You can program every normal key on the keyboard -except- the ALT, CONTROL and SHIFT keys. However I find that between the way AO uses Fkeys and needing to chat I don't want to mess with anything other than the keys mentioned earlier.

The programmability of the application is a bit hard to learn compared to the G15 but its not bad. Its far easier than the N52 application. And while it lacks some functionality it makes up for it by being intuitive. It can also auto-switch between profiles for up to 10 applications.

Pros:
* good feel to the keys
* black :)
* backlighting
* programmable yet same size as a normal keyboard
* can program keys that you DON'T like to have active
* decent but not great software
* cheaper than the G15

Cons:
* macros can only be 16 keys long (I never hit a limit on the G15 and autohotkey is essentially unlimited) ... which is not long enough for my "uber macro" but is close and I wanted to split it out a bit anyway.
* from what I see so far you can NOT program modified keys (as in ALT+1, CONTROL+1, SHIFT+1) ... you only program single keys. This is a shame as I would have liked to have my LeftWindows key with 1 macro and ALT+LeftWindows key with a 2nd macro.
* No mute button (WTH?) on the media control panel
* I haven't been able to find a site with profiles for download (though I am picky enough I probably would write my own anyway)
* It uses 2 USB connectors ... 1 for the keyboard and the other seems to be a passthrough to the single USB port. I don't mind this much, it keeps the keyboard data stream clean ... but they could have put another USB port on the keyboard in this case.


Not pro/con:
* It has analog microphone and headphone outputs that can connect to your PC and allow you to plug 1/8th inch headphone/microphone in to the keyboard. This is just a cable management feature. I don't use it since I use a USB microphone (though I could plug that into the USB port on the KBD).


In the end its all about the device that fits your style best. The G15 is a great keyboard if you don't mind the extra size and cost ... and is from a large company so it will probably have better support in the end (and is easier to program). The N52 is good if you like using a different movement controller (but chatting is harder since you have to move your hands). Autohotkey is a great option for FREE scripting if you don't need extremely fast response (in fact I will probably make Autohotkey versions of all my macros so that I can have my macros on my laptop). But the Lycosa is a great "in between" that meets most of the best parts of all the other solutions.
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Hyde
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Re: Review: Razer Lycosa kbd (and Belkin N52, AutoHotkey, G15)

Post by Hyde »

PS. We have alot of posts about the G15 keyboard ... they were all in different forums. I moved those 3 main threads to this forum. If you want details on the G15 then look in this forum.
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noobas
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Re: Review: Razer Lycosa kbd (and Belkin N52, AutoHotkey, G15)

Post by noobas »

lol

I use a laptop and click a lot. I think I have index finger arthritis.
" I Don't Like That Man. I Must Get To Know Him Better." -Abraham Lincoln
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Hyde
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Re: Review: Razer Lycosa kbd (and Belkin N52, AutoHotkey, G15)

Post by Hyde »

For a laptop, if you're mobile alot and want to minimize items carried, look at AutoHotkey. Its free and while not UI-based, is easy to learn as a scripting language. You can do almost ANYTHING you can imagine from an input/automation viewpoint with it. I just wanted more responsiveness.
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