Games + XP = MouseKeys knackered

[Guest]

Ok, here's my unique situation... I'm disabled, I have a form of cerebral
palsy, and because of it, I can't use my hands very well - like the mouse.
Therefore, I use an option that's built into Windows call MouseKeys. What
this does is that it allows me to operate the mouse via the numberpad on the
keyboard (i.e. 8=up, 4=left, 5=click, 0=drag, .=undrag, etc...). The problem
is that recently with a lot of newer PC games, once I get into the game, some
of the MouseKeys don't work, meaning, I can't use the 5 or 0 or + keys cto
click the lefrt mouse button - the other keys work fine moving the cursor.
This is a big, big problem, seeing as how the majority of PC games are mouse
driven. My best guess as to why this occurs is that DirectX 9 (/DirectInput)
might get input directly from the pointing device (mouse) instead of getting
the input via the OS input event queue. This could be a problem since I'm
guessing that MouseKeys functions by generating mouse input events and
placing them in the event queue. But like I said, that's only my best guess
at why this problem occurs.
And just as a reference, you can find the MouseKeys option in Windows by
opening Control Panel, then opening Accessibility Options and then clicking
the "Mouse" tab. Also, FYI, I'm running XP & an USB Keyboard - I used to have
Windows 2000Pro which didn't have this problem.

So, why does XP have this glitch? and is there anything I can do or try?
_________________
Regards, Peter

 

[Malke]

Ok, here's my unique situation... I'm disabled, I have a form of
cerebral palsy, and because of it, I can't use my hands very well -
like the mouse. Therefore, I use an option that's built into Windows
call MouseKeys. What this does is that it allows me to operate the
mouse via the numberpad on the keyboard (i.e. 8=up, 4=left, 5=click,
0=drag, .=undrag, etc...). The problem is that recently with a lot of
newer PC games, once I get into the game, some of the MouseKeys don't
work, meaning, I can't use the 5 or 0 or + keys cto click the lefrt
mouse button - the other keys work fine moving the cursor. This is a
big, big problem, seeing as how the majority of PC games are mouse
driven. My best guess as to why this occurs is that DirectX 9
(/DirectInput) might get input directly from the pointing device
(mouse) instead of getting the input via the OS input event queue.
This could be a problem since I'm guessing that MouseKeys functions by
generating mouse input events and placing them in the event queue. But
like I said, that's only my best guess at why this problem occurs. And
just as a reference, you can find the MouseKeys option in Windows by
opening Control Panel, then opening Accessibility Options and then
clicking the "Mouse" tab. Also, FYI, I'm running XP & an USB Keyboard
- I used to have Windows 2000Pro which didn't have this problem.

I actually don't think this is an XP issue. It is probably a game issue.
DirectX 9 came with XP and apparently your older games worked just
fine. Since you do have such a special situation, I very much doubt
that the games are coded with using MouseKeys in mind. I suppose it
also depends on what genre of games you are playing. Most games do have
setup options to use either keyboard or mouse and most first-person
shooters use keyboard commands.

I'm sorry I don't have the answer to your problem but here are some
places where you might post instead:

1. In the games' user forums.

2. In the MS newsgroups for games and accessibility. Here is a list of
all the MS newsgroups so you can find the right groups:
http://aumha.org/nntp.htm

3. You might also look for online forums for people with cerebral palsy.
I don't know if you're already involved in that. I did a Google for
"computer gamers with cerebral palsy" and got this interesting site
which has links to online resources:
http://ericec.org/faq/cerebpal.html

You might find some useful things from this search, too.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=cerebral+palsy+newsgroups&btnG=Search

4. Possibly a gaming keyboard with its own software might enable you to
not have to use MouseKeys at all.

Good luck,

Malke