i’ve written about it a few times and continue to love the Space Navigator mouse. i wish i had gotten one years ago when Torley first blogged about it (two great Torley vids below)
the Space Navigator lets you fly a camera very smoothly for machinima and i’d think it’s pretty much a necessity for anyone serious about machinima. however, even if you are not a hardcore machinima person (i certainly am not) it’s a great way to look at things you are building and to get angles not possible without it (like totally upside down, not sure how handy that is though)
apart from using it as a way to view something you’re working on, it’s also convenient if you like taking photos. you can quickly fly your cam to the next sim to get long shots and it also let’s you get perspectives that would be frustrating to do with the viewer camera controls (like the shot below with auto leveling turned off)
the Space Navigator acts as a left hand input device so your normal mouse stays in place and keeps its normal functionality. it only works with applications that are set up for it – such as virtual world viewers, Blender, Google SketchUp, and Google Earth (there are more)
in the US you can get it for about $92 at Amazon and that’s costly in my book but it’s something i use almost every time i log in. there’s also a “notebook” version but i’d recommend the normal one because its heavier weight makes it easier to use (plus the notebook version costs $112)
I’ve been thinking about getting one myself but held off thinking its a mouse replacement. I didn’t know its a ‘lefty’. I already use a 2nd keyboard as a movement controller when inworld. Now that I do know, I’m going to see about squeezing a bit of cash from my budget.
* hauls out the ACME Blood-From-Stone Extraction Device (Mark I) *
Sarge Misfit
25 Apr 12 at 7:23 pm
watch the vids and see what you think – it takes a bit of fussing to set it how you want but that’s pretty easy. it moves up, down, strafes right and left, pitches, rolls, forward, backward, left, right
apart from moving your cam, you can also use it to move your avatar – i don’t use it much like that but i also tend to stand off in one place as i build
since you like battle stuff, the strafing side to side might work out well for you =)
Ener Hax
25 Apr 12 at 9:37 pm
I got to looking at the site and ended up drooling over the Space Pilot Pro :-D
Either way, it looks like a very useful device for both avatar movement and for building.
Sarge Misfit
26 Apr 12 at 8:18 am
geez! that pilot pro thing intimidates me! way too many buttons! =D
Ener Hax
26 Apr 12 at 10:45 am
Pfft. I can’t find one in my price range, either. Sarge, can I borrow your blood extractor? I don’t have one of those either…..
Joey1058
26 Apr 12 at 12:00 pm
Buttons on a shiny gadget that does a gazillion different things at once must be a Guy thing *chuckles*
No worries, Joey, once I get the scripting right, I’ll be putting it out in one of Linda’s freebie shops *laughs*
Sarge Misfit
26 Apr 12 at 1:07 pm