The default layout of keys for movement has several problems:

Since you are at the far left of the keyboard, you limit how many keys you can easily reach to those on the right.
Your thumb can only be used for the space bar and alt. Alt might behave a little funny in combination with other keys. For mac users, it's Cmd instead of alt, but same problem. So this means you can only press space with the thumb.
The rows of keys are offset. You can agle your keyboard to make it more comfortable, but it still isn't really right.

I was looking at a gaming keypad, then I realized it was basically a numeric keypad plus a few more keys. So before paying out the $30, I tried binding the numeric keypad for movement, etc. Here is what I am using:

8 is forward, 4, 5 & 6 are left, back and right of course
7 is a toggle for explosive weapons, 9 is rocket
enter is jump, . is crouch, 0 is show scores
+ is hook, - is third person view
1, 2 & 3 are available for whatever you like

I've got other essentials bound to my mouse buttons. I haven't gotten into team messages yet, but I think I will work some menu/toggles out with 1,2,3 for that.

Anyone else want to share alternate keyboard layouts?

AceOfThumbs wrote:Anyone else want to share alternate keyboard layouts?

I play on an MS Natural, and I'm a typer, so I use ESDF instead of WASD if that makes any sense. SHIFT for laser. Z for zoom. Space for crouch. Mouse 1: Fire. Mouse 2: Jump. Scroll-button: Alt-fire. That's about it. I use scroll wheel for weapons usually, cuz in CTF I have everything else my left hand can reach bound to a CTF-specific say_team and/or sprite. I know I could bind another key to exec a separate config for DM play, but I'm lazy. I suppose for the tourney I'll do it, lest I get my ass handed to me speedily, but otherwise I'm fine with it. Hell I don't even remember where my talk bind is, I just hit tilde and type "say..." everytime. Heh, the only things I have bound on the numpad are my silly comments.

I think my keyboard layout is alternative enough to count..
ujhk for forward back left right
rightalt for jump, space for crouch
(in games that support it v for sneak, b for sprint, x for leanleft, c lean right)
y rockets, i nexgun, g electro, l crylink, f hagar, o mortar, t machinegun, m laser, d shotgun, comma for melee
semicolon drop gun
mouse1,2 attack, altattack
mouse3 scores
mouse4 hook
mouse5 zoom
...

^^ Now that's freaky.

Turd Flop'n Down M'leg plays with mouse Y axis inverted like a flight-sim. And he's a natural sniper!

You really think so? basicly its just wasd moved more to the right.. i just want to have more keys to the left.. with wasd there are none

For full disclosure, here is my mouse set up:

Mouse 1: attack
Mouse 2: attack2 (alt fire)
Scroll button: toggle for machine gun/nex
Scroll Wheel: 5 level field of view adjustment (just added a fisheye level)
Left side button: quick zoom
Right side button: laser

mouse1: fire
mouse2: secondary fire
mouse4: zoom (custom w/ FOV tweaking)
mouse5 (press): switch to laser
mouse5 (release): switch back to previous weapon

I'm a religious WASDian:

WASD-move
Shift-Crouch
Space-Jump
Option-Zoom (non-nex)
Mouse3-Hook (who put it on E, that was annoying)
H-Aimbot
(jk, had you going didn't I)
Q-laser
E-Rocket Launcher (E is THE KEY to rule the all, as is Q)
R-Electro
F-Nex
G-Mortar (I wanted this in a better place, but it's not bad)
V-Shotgun
X-Hagar (I thought "it's beyond backwards, it's my retreat wep")
Z-Machine Gun
C-Crylink (I just moved it while typing, it was on 6 before )

I don't understand why you move it from WASD, I guess you could get more keys on your pinky, but still...

The reason I shifted was to reach more keys with my thumb. I have a Mac and the key next to the space bar is the Command key. pressing that in combinations with other keys didn't always work right, so the only key I could reach with my thumb was space.

The only bad thing about moving to the numeric keypad was having to shift my keyboard way over to the left, but I recently picked up a USB numeric keypad for a 4 dollars. You can find them wherever you can buy in notebook accessories. I put it on the left of my regular keyboard and now I don't have to rearrange my desk to play Nexuiz.

I'm a left-mouser and here is my set:

IJKL - movement
mouse1 - attack , mouse2 - jump (hihi) , mouse3 - bring up laser , spacebar - secondary fire
mousewheel - swap between weapons
U - rocket launcher , O - nexgun , P - mortar , : - electro , " - uzi , { - hagar , } - shotgun

If anyone in interested in it, my CFG is downloadable at http://bundy.planetnexuiz.de .
I use W A S D MOUSE2 for movement and many keys around for other stuff.

Im just plain odd. I use a Xbox 360 controler, with the following layout:
Left A Stick - Movement
Up D Pad - Rockets
Left D Pad - Electro
Right D Pad - Hagar
Down D Pad - Mortar
Left A Stick - Aiming
A - Jump
X - Crouch
B - Hook
Right Trigger - Primary
Left Trigger - Secondary
RB - Next Weapon
LB - Previous Weapon

Thats how my boat floats, and it seems to work for me. I have a pretty low sensitivity, and about 95 FOV.

i am the only one who use arrow keys?

arrow keys : walking
shift : jump
# : crouch
ctrl : zoom
backspace : drop weapon
mouse 1 , mouse 2 : fire
wheel : switch weapon
this mouse got a stupid mouse 3 function so can not use it lol and cus of the "new" ( ~3 months) keyboard i had to change controls

old:
arrow keys : walk
shift : crouch
enter : jump
backspace : drop weapon
mouse 1, 2 : fire
mouse 3 : zoom
ctrl : hook

i don't have a key for hook now because a) don't have a good key , i like to use few keys which a "together" b) hook ?! wtf i don't play on hook serverz

Bundy wrote:If anyone in interested in it, my CFG is downloadable at http://bundy.planetnexuiz.de.

Hey, I'm interested, but: the config you uploaded there doesn't contain one single entry concerning the keyboard, right? Or just call me blind.

I don't use the KB for movement I use the mouse mostly..but i do use "left shift strafe left", "s strafe right" "A jump Z duck" and X move backwords and ALT for the alt weapon, right mouse move forward and left fire..
Have had this setup on every game since Duke Nukem and I'm used to it.

mirio, u are not alone

i also use the arrows keys for movement, control for jump/shift crouch
mouse wheel up-> laser, delete-> nex mouse wheel 3 mortar, enter=RL , numpad 1 electro. my little finger is always strained every day from the @!#$ nex button.
stuck in doom and duke nukem ...

AceOfThumbs wrote:
Your thumb can only be used for the space bar and alt.

heh, perhaps for most, but i use W,A,S,D for movement and i use L for my nex gun, thats the other side of the board for the letter keys

AceOfThumbs wrote:The default layout of keys for movement has several problems:

Since you are at the far left of the keyboard, you limit how many keys you can easily reach to those on the right.
Your thumb can only be used for the space bar and alt. Alt might behave a little funny in combination with other keys. For mac users, it's Cmd instead of alt, but same problem. So this means you can only press space with the thumb.
The rows of keys are offset. You can agle your keyboard to make it more comfortable, but it still isn't really right.

I was looking at a gaming keypad, then I realized it was basically a numeric keypad plus a few more keys. So before paying out the $30, I tried binding the numeric keypad for movement, etc. Here is what I am using:

8 is forward, 4, 5 & 6 are left, back and right of course
7 is a toggle for explosive weapons, 9 is rocket
enter is jump, . is crouch, 0 is show scores
+ is hook, - is third person view
1, 2 & 3 are available for whatever you like

I've got other essentials bound to my mouse buttons. I haven't gotten into team messages yet, but I think I will work some menu/toggles out with 1,2,3 for that.

Anyone else want to share alternate keyboard layouts?

Im too used to WASD now I tried ESDF for a few days but my fingers naturally went back to WASD all the time, I kep pressing W to move forwards and wondered why I was going no where LOL.
My desk layout does not allow me to try your config and just moving my hand over makes it uncomfy

keefy wrote:My desk layout does not allow me to try your config and just moving my hand over makes it uncomfy

I use an external numeric keypad now and put it on the left side.

With an AZERTY keyboard I use QSDZ keys to move.
space : jump
maj : crounch
ctrl : hm, a say bind, arf i think
alt : hook ?!
A : hagar
E : nex
R : mortar
F : rl
V : crilink
C : electro
X : mg
mouse 1 : shoot
mouse 2 : sec shoot
mouse 3 : zoom ?!
mouse 4 : laser
mouse 5 : shootgun
all my numbers are say and sayteam binds.

My config Cuizi.cfg ^^ : http://membres.lycos.fr/tiwouz/Cuizi.cfg

keefy wrote:My desk layout does not allow me to try your config and just moving my hand over makes it uncomfy

Hungarian keyboard is QWERTZ
I've learned to meove with WASD when I was paying Quake2, but I couldn't do double jumps effectively (I have a small hand, with short fingers),so I had to have a better tap on the SPACE key, so I've switched to ESDF. It makes more sence too, to remember keys:

ESDF for movement
A: crouch
Shift: walk
Space: jump

R - Rocket
T - hitscane sniper (*Tiuff!!* sound for quake2 railgun )
Z (y) for - hYperblaster - in Nexuiz, it's electro
U - Crylink (Uhh, wtf this is crap )
G - Greande launcher aka mortar
H - cHaingun - aka MG
B - BFG or any other super weapon
Q - laser (it's close to S , so I can switch to it very fast)
C - shotgun (that's the only key left )

Teamsay bind on 1-9, and I had teamdrop aliases on Insert-page down in Quake2.