BF2S Forums Belkin Nostromo Speedpad n52

Thanks for your input Ronball9!

I've been reading alot of reviews on the n52 and seems to get a good rating from gamers overall.

Interested to hear if anybody else out there uses it.

Lemon

GeoEnvi wrote:

I tried using it (n50) a few years ago for MOHAA (a game with far fewer keys used than BF2).  I found it terribly annoying to use due to the lack of available keys.  I think it less suited for action packed multi-player FPS than it is for real-time strategy games.

GeoEni,

From what I'm reading is that that was one of the gripes about the n50...not enough keys.  It had 10.  The n52 has 14 keys.  Just off the top of my head, that would take care of most of the keys that you would need to access easily on BF2.  The keys does not include the other options available like the directional button etc.

Lemon

I couldnt play without it. I have been using mine for a good year or so, everytime i try to play without it, i cant. With a keyboard i feel like my hands are incredibly huge. My fingers are so cramped and close together, I actually feel my hand making a position that just feels wrong.

As soon as i lay my hand on the N52 its spead out and relaxed. All 14 keys are easily accessable, with the exception of keys 12 and 13. Maybe its just me, but its difficult to press those keys in a clutch moment.

14 keys x 3 = 42 Keys total.
1 for Ground defense
1 for air defense
1 for vehicle defense

The ability to switch between key sets is another plus. Everything about this controller is too eazy. Especially the programming. Click the button you want to program, than press a keyboard button to correspond with the N52 key. Thats it. Or create your own macro. 2EZ!

I love my N52 and couldnt play without it. Aside from the Arrows and N52 logo, ive worn off all the lettering and numbers.

Last edited by DMFDxUconn (2006-01-19 14:58:28)

The arrows are WSAD by default, and where your pinky rests, same as on the N52. I actually find using those 4 keys you mentioned easier. But hey, to each his own.

JimCognito wrote:

My N50 is still collecting dust in the drawer here...who wants it!?!?!

Dude I know exactly what you mean but
DO NOT GET RID OF IT.
I picked it up when CoD was new and needed a better way to lean. Nostromo was great for this but when I went back to BF1942 I just didn't like it. Like you said, I was just too used to the keyboard.
After I got tired of CoD I packed up my Nostromo.
Untill BF:SF came out.
Wuh?
Well I was really having a bitch of a time with trying to figure out where to map my NVG and gas masks.
What does that have to do with the Nostromo?
I threw it on the floor and mapped NVG & gas mask to it and use my feet to switch to them

Hehe, foot pedal Nostromo.

NVG = X for me and gas mask=Mouse wheel click (mouse button 3 I think)

The Nostromo will still be collecting dust in the drawer.

I'm another of those players who's lost without their Nostromo. 

I bought the original N50 when they were first released and played with it a bit before deciding that I really didn't like it.   Threw it in a drawer until I read some comments from a guy who'd said that he got used to it by starting with an entirely new game and only using the Nostromo while playing it.  Jedi Knight II (I think) had just been released, so I decided to use solely the N50 for that.  Within a week of gameplay I was completely comfortable with the N50 and absolutely hooked.  And as others have said, it's useful for much more than just games.  I've got profiles set up for Photoshop, Illustrator and other applications.


My only real complaints with the N50 were the paucity of keys, the useless scroll wheel, and the inability to consistantly hit the diagonal when using the thumbpad as keypresses.  I felt that the "Shift" keys which changed the states needed to be seperate than the 10 main keys.  Was sorta hard to put 1 - 10 to select weapons or whatever on a shift state when you had to use one of those keys to get the shift state.     And the scroll wheel that didn't actually work like one was a complete waste.

The N52 cleared up 2 of those 3 complaints.  The addition of 4 more actual keys is perfect.  The two added thumb buttons are an unexpected bonus.  And the fact that the mouse wheel now works as it should (just wish that Win XP could easily see 2 seperate mice) is great.  Now, if they could find a way to reliably activate the diagonals without hitting one of the 4 main axis' first, it'd be absolutely perfect.

Using the shift states, you can program up to 104 different commands including complex macros.  Far more than enough for any game I've played so far.  One button to completely outfit yourself at the start of a Counter-Strike round?  Awesome.  The real bonus is though, I don't have to move any finger more than one keys width in order to access any of those 104 commands.  My thumb can now easily send 30 different commands. Same can't be said about a keyboard.  Does anyone actually use their thumb for more than just the space bar?  Plus, the Nostromo is much more comfortable for long gaming sessions than using any keyboard I've ever come across.  The N52 even more so than the N50.  Additionally, I've got essentially every game I play mapped the same way.  (ie. forward on the thumb pad is always jump, back is always sprint, down is crouch, key 5 is always reload, etc.)  I don't have to think "Is it 'C' or 'X' that crouches?" and so on.  Of course I could remap my keys in-game, but I find it MUCH easier to just whip up a new Nostromo command file.  Besides that, some games make more sense to have specific keys do certain things on a regular keyboard, so re-mapping them may be problematic.  I've got no such problem with my Nostromo.

So, obviously, I LOVE it.  My Nostromo doesn't make me a better gamer, but it certainly makes gaming easier & more enjoyable for me.   (FWIW, I've tried the coupla other similar products which have been released, and all of them have some glaring probelms which keep them from being any competition for the Nostromo.)

Looks like I'm gettng myself a N52.  Thanks for everyone's input.  I will prepare myself for a slight learning curve but I think it will be a lot better than using my PS2-like gamecontroller and since I've never really used my regular keyboard to play BF2, it shouldn't be too hard to get used to the n52!

Graacias All!!!!!

lol, look at the damn dust on that thing.

I could never use something like that. Since no one seems to use custom keybinds the deviate from the standard WASD format anymore companies like Belkan make game peripherals like the nostromo that tailor only to WASD players. For instance, my strafe keys are bound to Z and B and are used by my pinky and thumb respectively. This is impossible on the nostromo since there are only four keys on the bottom row. I'm not complaining though, I have a very nice keyboard and don't see the point in purchasing another peripheral specific to gaming when my keyboard works just fine and has all the keys I could ever need for binds.

JimCognito wrote:

Yes, I know the arrows are WASD by default...but left control is further down.  I've used the N52.  What I should have said is the Full Keyboard format, not the WASD format.  The clunky tab key, the clunky shift key, the number keys up top, G....I need 'em all.  Too used to them.  Played with the keyboard too long to feel comfortable with the Nostromo.  My N50 is still collecting dust in the drawer here...who wants it!?!?!

I have to agree with you man. I tried the N50 and it was no good. I'm sure the N52 is better and all, but I have been using a keyboard all my life, nothing is more natural at this point than my keyboard and mouse. Also, why take up extra desk space with an N52 when a keyboard does basically the same exact thing?

DobermanDog wrote:

Atlas wrote:

I have to agree with you man. I tried the N50 and it was no good. I'm sure the N52 is better and all, but I have been using a keyboard all my life, nothing is more natural at this point than my keyboard and mouse. Also, why take up extra desk space with an N52 when a keyboard does basically the same exact thing?

Because as has been pointed out, for people able to adapt, the Nostromo does it better?  And with less risk of RSI.

Prove it... I'm sure you get owned every day by keyboard users. That's what people said about the N50, I bought it, and it was crap. Not enough buttons, and if I needed to type something I had to take my hand completely away from the controls to do so. Just another annoyance. I doubt buying an N52 is going to make anyone better at BF2.