Set up for stroke victim

I have a friend who has lost the use of one arm due to a stroke. He is interested in joining CoH but is concerned about whether or not he will be able to handle the game with his disability.

Does anyone have any advice for modifications to keymapping or setup that might make play easier for him?

Thanks in advance!

Depending on which arm isn't usable, something like the Logitech G13 Gameboard might fit the bill.

The joystick can be mapped to movement, and the other keys to powers and such.

The right arm, and he was right-handed. He has been in PT for two years now, so he has done pretty well at retraining his left hand - he has sloppy handwriting, but he can use it pretty well.

From what he has told me, the loss of function is around 50%, but includes virtually all feeling, so he can't, for example, feel when he is pushing a button with that hand and when he isn't without actually looking. He can't really use a mouse with that hand, and from what he tells me he would be playing with one hand, moving back and forth between keyboard and mouse as needed..

He's on disability at the moment, having lost pretty much everything to the stroke, so buying specialized hardware is probably not in the picture. He has a computer with a standard keyboard.

I think Razor makes a mouse that has a bunch of mappable buttons on it designed specifically for MMOs. That might help him while he's using the mouse. I'm not exactly sure how cheaply that mouse can be bought for but something like that might be a viable "one hand" solution. Good luck to him regardless.

Someone beat me to the Naga, but as it is his right hand I'd give a ps2 style controller a try (logitech makes some for around $20 though not all of them play nice with CoH). That's what I use when my right arm decides not to work though for me it is motor control problem with only some loss of touch (so far) so ymmv.

You'll need to avoid targeted location powers as you can't macro the left click and combinations that are clicky heavy can be a pain (I use goto_tray macros to change the bottom tray and have the buttons aside from start and select assigned there, warshades are surprisingly friendly to this setup). The four face buttons on the right are big and there's only two shoulder buttons on each side (used by different fingers) and anyone who has skyped me while playing can attest to the rather positive click sound feedback of the pad.

I have a friend with CP, so very similar results. Honestly the standard setup is fine. Keep the primary attack chain on 12345, keep toggles on an upper tray and set them before battle. Tab through enemies and attack at will. Movement is somewhat slowed if you don't mouse look but not that much. Grab recall friend for tunnel maps and have a blast.

My buddy with CP plays all the time. In fact he introduced me to the game back in the day. If he wants to play support, there are key binds to toggle through allies as well. You can find the in th defender forum.

Personally, I'd recommend remapping the QWE/ASD keys on key to the right so as to be the WER/SDF keys instead. That makes it easier to reach the ~123456 keys directly above and the F1 through F5 (or F6, depending on finger reach) with relative ease that can be managed by muscle memory alone (ie. eyes front, full time). You then have the Q and A buttons free for things like Follow and Autorun ... can use ZXCV for various functions as preferred, and can assign the TYU/GHJ keys for even more common/repeat tasks as needed by AT.

I use the TY/G keys on my Warshade for Nova/Human/Dwarf forms, so as to be able to be able to form shift while moving.

I use the TYU keys as my Ammo Types on my Dual Pistols Defender, so that they're "handy" while moving around in combat.

I use the TYU keys for Summoning Ninja Pets on my Mastermind, and the GH keys for the Train powers.

I would recommend against your friend playing a Mastermind since even with the Keypad Bind Files, that's a "handful" to control even for someone with two fully functional hands! There have been many times playing my Mastermind when I wished I had three hands in order to control everything!

Sounds like Melee Monsters and Blasters/Dominators would be the best ATs for your friend to "drive" given his physical limitations on User Inputs.

It's the end. But the moment has been prepared for ...

Pretty much everything in the game can be done one-handed with just the keyboard. Keymappings, binds, and macros are your friend.

There are keymappings in the options menu for turning left/right/up/down, which is a bit clunkier than mouse look, but it will do.

Additionally, moving the left hand slightly to the right, to ESDF as your movement keys instead of WASD opens up a world of possibilities. In addition to binding powers to 123456, you can also set up binds/keymapping for QAZ, TGV, and X and C.

For example, I use QAZ and GV for powers, T for targeting, and X for downward movement when flying. I use W and R for strafing, but he could easily bind those to look up/down instead.

Thanks to everyone who has responded so far!

Wow, there are some very nice people here.

I would *like* to help, but my financial situation is no better than your friend's. I do hope he recovers as much as possible.

Ultramime, if your friend is willing to accept donations, add me to the list of people willing to help out. I'm not certain of the logistics just yet... But I am sure we can set this friend up.

As for "not adding hardware," should the donations not work out: I think focusing on the right side of the keyboard (if there is a numpad) might work better than the standard left side. I haven't actually tried it myself, but the arrow keys can be for movement, and the whole numpad is right there for the binding. Control and Alt are within easy reach, as well as shift and Enter. (As well as the numpad Enter which counts as a different key.)

I'm definitely in for a donation to help out! Hope your friend finds a great setup that will let him play the game easily!

There are keyboards and mice made for people with disabilities. There are even foot pedals that can be programmed so that a step of a foot could move the mouse.

Check out this link as it lists many types of products that could help out: http://www.makoa.org/computers.htm

For donations, someone should ask Real World Hero if they'd be willing to set up something for him.

I had a stroke when I was 14, and had partial paralysis in the right side of my body. I was able to relearn how to use it, thankfully, after months of PT. I can fully imagine what your friend is going through right now. Tell them to stay strong.

Logitech G13 Programable Gameboard is left handed.

Also the Steel Series Merc Stealth keyboard has a gaming pad on the left hand side of the board, and the keys can be bound to any key.

The Nostomo Game Pad is left handed and can be fully customized with what keys are what.

The Ideazon MERC Gaming Keyboard, like the Merc Stealth, has a game pad on the left hand side of the keyboard.

Most of the Zboards have a game pad on the left side of the keyboard.

The Razor Death Adder is a gaming mouse for the left hand.


Add me to the people who have said they will help donation wise.