Zboard - gaming keyboard

[Martrae]

http://www.zboard.com/index2.htm

Looks like it sells for about $50 plus the EQ keyset is an additional $20.

Interesting to say the least.

[Tikker]

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[Martrae]

Thought it was supposed to have a different layout?

[Tikker]

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[Ginzburgh]

Switching keyboards after playing a game for 4 years would prove to be more of a hassle than convenience.

Leave that crap for the 12 year olds who prefer pretty packaing to a function keyboard.

[Langston]

The EQ game board really couldn't be very different - the game is driven by too much "chat" which requires (for most people) a standard QWERTY keyboard layout. That really just leaves an opportunity for maybe some macro keys where the num-pad would normally be...

not worth $20+ for sure.

[Marukka]

eh

[Blisxx]

I picked one of these keyboards up around christmas. I got a deal if you buy the base and Std microsoft keyboard inlay for it, they would give ya any other keyset you like for free.

At that time they had one called a crossfire which was supposed to be a generic FPS gaming board. The Std keyset that came with it works great, the sets come in and out easy. The only odd part was having the spacebar split because of where the keysets fold. At the time i got mine, they only came in PS2 version also, wish it was USB.

I found a few things to be a huge letdown on the gaming keysets.

1) The keyboards arent customizable, their utility that comes with em only allows you to select which keyset you have loaded into the base. Example.. a std keyboard has approx 104 keys the crossfire one i purchased had sligtly less. The FPS Keyboards removed almost all the function keys and doubled up lots of the letter keys on the left side of the keyboard and wrote words like duck etc on them. So now you have to go into your game setting and remap all the game settings to match the Command keys on the keyboard. there is no utility to make the keys on the keyboard whatever you want them to be so u loose lots of keys on the gaming keyboards(like say i wanted to hit the enter key and have it be the spacebar). So now there is 5 Letter D keys and no function keys etc.

2)Imagine a keyboard being split into 3 sections. A Std keyboard uses the left 2 sections for letered keys and the far right section for numberpad and misc functions. The FPS keyboards Shift the Letered keys to the far right 2 sections and then redo all the keys to match a particular game on the left section. Instead of making the keyboards follow the same stagger like they do now, they just stuck the keys wherever the triggers are below. So when your trying to type and chat with people, your left hand is on staggered keys and fall into place and when you use your right hand all the keys are spaced goofy and stright up and down, because the number pad etc isnt staggered below.

Like i said, the STD keyboards arent bad, and the keysets with the std lettered keys on the left half prob wont be bad either, just watch the ones with the round letter keys and the ones with the keyboard shifted to the right.