I was playing Path of Exile 2 yesterday when I thought that it would be the perfect game to play with my old Tartarus V2 I got back when I used to play WoW and FFXIV. It was a pretty useful tool back then and I feel like hardly anyone was using them at the time despite how awesome it was. I looked up reviews for it and I was surprised to see that it was a lot more popular than I remember, many people were using it for video editing or art programs as well thanks to its abundance of programmable keys and its high level of comfort when using it.
Anyways, I plugged it in and set it up similar to how I remember for those other MMOs, but it just wasn’t working. My thumb was getting really cramped from how far my fingers were stretching to reach the top buttons while also working the d-pad. Also there’s a dodge button in PoE 2, so I had to put that button among the ones near the top and it was throwing me off. Also the D-pad that I once had no issues with in games using a free moving camera now felt very clunky and wasn’t giving me very good game feel. I fiddled around with a few different layouts and came up with one that works good enough for me. However, doing so gave me some ideas and seeing as how MMOs are on the rise again it could be a good time to freshen up the Tartarus line of products and market it for games like PoE 2 & Diablo 4 and perhaps even a wider audience. With some tweaks I believe the Tartarus could really stand out today, especially in the ergonomics department. It’s a very comfortable device to use and allows for so much customization it’s insane.
Some ideas I had for a possible V3 version:
- Swap out the D-Pad for a good quality Hall-Effect joystick, go with something low-profile that doesn’t stick out very far and add a nice durable rubberized grippy texture. I’m thinking like a PSP or 3DS style joystick. It should be able to do full 360 degree control while also able to emulate WASD or arrow key movement and also maybe mouse movement via additional settings in Synapse. Would also be nice to have advanced options in Synapse like being able to modify the deadzone of the stick or the sensitivity. This change alone would put a V3 version on the map in a big way. Also please let us click the stick in as an additional button, that would be awesome! I realize this may require the sacrifice of button #20 but I think that may be a sacrifice we have to make.
- I love the design of the Tartarus V2, but when I lay my hand on it in a way that feels natural and comfortable then keys 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 are out of reach without stretching or moving my hand from the starter position. I have pretty dang big hands already I can’t imagine what its like for someone with small hands to use this thing. Maybe adding one more smaller stage of adjustability to the wrist rest would help, but there are still just keys that I never use on this thing because it’s too weird for my hand to reach them.
- More padding on the wrist rest would help, but overall it’s still a pretty comfy device to use minus the D-Pad which makes my thumb a bit sore. I really really like that the wrist rest is a separate piece from the main electronic unit, the simple way it attaches to the device could even allow for someone to 3d print a custom rest based on their specific needs if they really wanted to. It’s also not the end of the world if the wrist pad rips or breaks somehow, since it’s just a simple matter of replacing that one plastic part.
- Keep that little button above the D-Pad it’s fantastic, but I never use it to switch profiles like it wants me to. The LED for Keymap 1 is legit almost burnt out since I’ve never switched off of it. Instead I always use that button as a modifier for MMOs, usually they let you hold shift or ctrl when using a skill or spell to open a secondary row of skills to activate using the same buttons you would for your normal skills in order to save space on your keyboard.
- Adding the ability to make macros in Synapse would be next level, like being able to set up one key to play out a sequence of keys with specific timing would be insanely useful and cool in the world of MMOs. Or making the small button above the D-Pad be a combo of like CTRL+ALT together for programs that use advanced shortcuts.
Probably a long shot to post here, but hopefully the right person reads this and we can get some ideas flowing for a possible Tartarus V3. Mainly I think if they swapped the d-pad out for a high quality hall effect joystick with the options I mentioned above then PC gamers would get the best of both worlds, the accuracy of using a mouse with the fluid 360 degree movement capabilities of a joystick.
