Anyone have any ideas? It feels really bad to get something other than the QK75 that I have and love, but I have wrist problems with my left wrist and I’d really like something more ergonomic for gaming and that I don’t have to reposition every time I switch between gaming and general computer use. I’m sure the Tartarus is fine, but I really loathe having to have Synapse running and would like something I can program with QMK. A similar layout (maybe a few more buttons, but I want the tented ergo thing) and price would be ideal, but I could be convinced to spend a little more if I have to. If I could get just the left side of a Dactyl, that would almost be a solution aside from the price (I don’t really want to build from scratch). Ergodox has the Halfmoon, but it is decidedly bad for gaming given the low polling rate. Thoughts?
Although not a QMK-powered keyboard, perhaps an Azeron device could do the trick? I have an Azeron Classic, and it’s fantastic, friend of mine is very happy with her Azeron Cyborg too. They are built for gaming, they’re comfy, and reasonably customisable too. Comes fully assembled, so you don’t have to build it either.
I looked at it before, but dismissed it because of the price and general weirdness. However, the more I look at it, the more it seems like a good fit. I’m not super keen on Omron switches as I’ve had entirely too many start double clicking over the years (the optical switches in the Tartarus Pro are a selling point for me), but I suppose I can always replace them.
Since you said you have the Classic, how do you feel about the thumb button? I suspect I’ll end up using buttons for movement in most games rather than the thumbstick, in which case I’ll still want jump to be tied to my thumb. In that sense, the Tartarus having the button under the thumb makes more sense to me, but maybe I could get used to the Cyborg.
In most games, I move with a mousetrackball, controlling everything with one hand didn’t quite work out for me. I do use the thumbstick to navigate menus or the like, and it works well for that. As for the thumb button: I usually bind that to Jump, or to Esc (or whatever other key gets me to the game menu). It really depends on the game how much I use the thumb button.
If I were building a gamepad, I’d build something very close to the Azeron, but probably replace the thumb stick with a D-Pad, or 4 buttons or something along those lines. I’d put those to better use than the thumbstick. And I’d make the thumb button trigger by pressing downwards, rather than out.