I'm not gonna sit here and debate the merits of a keyboard mouse versus a controller for gaming today
Because the PC setup is obviously superior for the majority of genres whether you need accurate
pointing in an FPS or a ton of key real estate in a MOBA
but that doesn't mean that the keyboard and mouse is a
Natural interface. There are a ton of movements here that take time and
muscle memory to develop if you want to get good at them or at least there were
what if I told you that you could offload some of those trickier moves to a
Third appendage allowing you to do more things with little effort
I'm talking of course about the beacon
Get your mind out of the gutter man. It's a Bluetooth controller design for your
Foot I said get your mind out of the gutter. Come on
But is this just what you need to gain an edge and kick ass or is it a waste of your hard-earned money?
Well, it's a Kickstarter so it could very well be both
Let's check it out
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They're kind of
Big cut now our early test unit still has some rough edges from their small-scale 3d printer
But it's got it where it counts the plastic construction is
very solid despite being lightweight the strap appears to be
Durable enough and it's long enough to wrap around
Even your steel toed boots with foam cushioning on the bottom to contribute to a comfortable feel
Even after multiple hours of use which it's USB rechargeable battery affords so so far so good
The unit is detachable. Thanks to a satisfyingly strong magnet though other than charging
there's not really much reason to pick it up because aside from the on/off switch everything is communicated by differently colored LEDs and
vibrating haptic feedback
So then once you strap it on to your foot
What exactly can you do with this thing?
Well, theoretically
Lots, you can use it for nearly anything that your keyboard can do using the included software to map key presses
To one of four actions roll left roll right pitch up and pitch down
Sorry aviation nerds. There is no
Yah
Now the device calibrates itself
Every time it's activated and all of the movements are relative to your starting position
So you can even use it with your legs crossed like if you wanted to stretch a glute while you game
But it's more than just four extra keys each gesture can accommodate up to six
keystrokes map sequentially across the gestures range of movement
So the idea is that the farther you tilt the device the more
Commands you can execute in this way
You can create pseudo macros
But without actually using any automation like if you have to press down forward punch to throw a Hadouken
Then you can map that sequence
so all you have to do is rock your foot to throw fireballs all day long as
For the shooter and MOBA fans out there. The beacon can be useful for you too in FPS
I found the most useful commands to offload are the ones that would otherwise make you have to hold a key down like
crouching sprinting or push-to-talk with the beacon
You can do these things without
inhibiting the movement of your fingers in any way and you can even do otherwise impossible things like strafing right and
reloading at the same time
and with MOBAs a mouse or RTS games, it's really nice to be able to easily deploy spells or
seldom-used abilities without fumbling to reach for keys that you aren't fairly familiar with
notice that I said nice to be able to now there are
Lots actually lots of gamers out there with physical disabilities for whom this could be a total lifesaver
Since you can use it instead of a hand or PEC even wear it on your head
But others might only get marginal utility from it, which means that the price needs to be right?
So it's gonna be retailing for a hundred and thirty-eight euros or about a hundred and sixty US dollars
It's a little bit out sheet and that's with them trying to keep the price down
Doesn't even come with a micro USB cable in the box
Compare that with other stomp based foot controllers that while may be bulkier and less versatile come in at under
$100
Although it should be noted that the stinky foot board, which I'm referring to specifically
Did go out of business despite being widely adored. So maybe that one should have cost more
or less I don't know and
unlike some pedals
You can't expect the beacon to be able to simulate a gas pedal with varying amounts of force
The input is either on or off just like a regular keyboard
So should you invest in a beacon wearable controller
Well while it is pretty darn decent at doing what it says
It's going to do offering you a tweak task amount of control over how the keys are pressed
The reality is that most of us won't need something like this that badly
so the main people we'd recommend it for are those with physical impairments or
gamers finding themselves in desperate need of a few more buttons
But who aren't concerned about complying with tournament play rules, which generally don't allow macros
Which this could kind of be considered to be?
otherwise this
kick starter might be a
Supposed to be shaking my my foot a non-starter
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