Wooting Two is a Keyboard with "Analog" Switches

[btarunr]

Wooting Two is one of the rare few analog keyboards shown off at Computex. Every keyboard, membrane or mechanical, is a "digital" keyboard, in that no matter how hard you mash a key, each keystroke registers as 1 input of the character or function the key is intended to serve. Holding down keys only repeats the action at a software-determined rate. An analog keyboard is like a grand piano, in that not only is the keystroke recorded, but also its intensity. While we can think of very few practical applications of the intensity dimension in productivity software, it has many in gaming. Console gaming already leverages analog control in the rudders and thumb-sticks.

The Wooting Two features a clean 107-key layout, all of the magic happens in the software side, where the included software registers intensity by emulating analog game controllers on the keyboard. Games that support analog input devices (such as Xbox controllers), should be able to take advantage of it. Genres such as flight simulators particularly benefit from intensity, as the intensity with which you hold down your WASD keys will decide how hard you're turning your plane's stick, for more accurate flying. Something like this required you to buy a proper joystick, or Xbox controller. Serious flight-sim users have specialized hardware.



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[natr0n]

Wooting keys aint nothin to fck with.

 

[dj-electric]

Wooting keys aint nothin to fck with.

What you did there. I see it

 

[AltCapwn]

That's my next keyboard!

I'm eager to play Darksouls with that, gonna be 1337.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Going to have to check that out tomorrow. Saw the Kickstarter, but I want to try it before committing to that kind of cash on a keyboard.

 

[AltCapwn]

Going to have to check that out tomorrow. Saw the Kickstarter, but I want to try it before committing to that kind of cash on a keyboard.

Give some update after your test please

 

[TheLostSwede]

Well, it was good enough that i backed them. Met Calder and Jeroen and they come across as really genuine guys that are putting a lot of effort into not only their products, but the entire concept of analogue control.

The keyboard looks clean, feel like they're made from high quality materials, but might be a bit too "plain"for some.

Comparing the switches, (as luck had it, Cherry was right next to them) they feel a lot nicer to type on, add they don't feel like they bottom out as harshly as the Cherry switches.

The only game that you could test with was some odd bird simulator that apparently has native support for the keyboard, didn't really give me a good idea of how well the analogue switches will work in the kind of games I play, but demonstrated the sensitivity well. It was very responsive to the slightest key presses and the further you depressed a key, the faster the bird moved. I think this will be really interesting for games like Battlefield, where you control various vehicles and often need different controllers to handle they flying kind well.

Obviously a lot will depend on game support, but the potential is there.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

The problem is software. Operating systems like Windows only have a Boolean value for key states (pressed or not pressed). All this keyboard can do is change how depressed the key is to trigger the event. To go beyond that, you'd have to use proprietary drivers as well as software that hooks the drivers. Not gonna happen.


Judging by the picture, their switches are a byte (0-255). For reference, Xbox 360 controllers are a short (-32768 to 32767)

 

[TheLostSwede]

The problem is software. Operating systems like Windows only have a Boolean value for key states (pressed or not pressed). All this keyboard can do is change how depressed the key is to trigger the event. To go beyond that, you'd have to use proprietary drivers as well as software that hooks the drivers. Not gonna happen.


Judging by the picture, their switches are a byte (0-255). For reference, Xbox 360 controllers are a short (-32768 to 32767)

And this is most likely why they're working with game companies to try and get some native support in the games, where the keyboard acts as a controller instead of a keyboard.
The game I played at their booth responded to how much the key was depressed and it will admittedly take some training to get used to it, it was an interesting sensation compared to a normal keyboard where pressing a key would only have allowed me to change direction at a fixed speed, whereas in this case, I could do it slowly or a whole lot faster.

I also don't really understand what this has to do with the operating system. If they've written a driver that makes the keyboard appear as a multiple HID devices, why would this even be an issue?
From the sound of my discussion with the guys at Wooting, there are other companies working on analogue keyboard switches and analogue keyboards. Some might only have a few keys that are analogue, such as WASD and the arrow keys for example, but it seems like a lot of work is needed on the software side to make it work as well as the Wooting keyboards work.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Because all keyboards need to support the generic HID driver. In other words, the keyboard has to have a processor that interprets the keystrokes as Boolean if HID driver and analog if Wooting driver. I'll never buy one because I'll never install the Wooting driver (would cause problems with KVM).

If this analog keyboards are going to take off, they're going to need operating system support.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Because all keyboards need to support the generic HID driver. In other words, the keyboard has to have a processor that interprets the keystrokes as Boolean if HID driver and analog if Wooting driver. I'll never buy one because I'll never install the Wooting driver (would cause problems with KVM).

If this analog keyboards are going to take off, they're going to need operating system support.

And you know this for a fact, or you're just making assumptions? I mean, you have the right to dislike their product, but you seem to have some kind of agenda here that I don't get. They've obviously shipped product and if it was as terrible as you're making out to be, shouldn't there be more complaints online? Even TPU didn't seem to complain about the keyboard aspect of it https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Wooting/One/
I have admittedly only spent five minutes with their keyboards, but it seems to be working as advertised.

 

[R-T-B]

Because all keyboards need to support the generic HID driver. In other words, the keyboard has to have a processor that interprets the keystrokes as Boolean if HID driver and analog if Wooting driver. I'll never buy one because I'll never install the Wooting driver (would cause problems with KVM).

No offense, but I am pretty sure they can lose every KVM user on earth with little to no loss or concern.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

And you know this for a fact, or you're just making assumptions? I mean, you have the right to dislike their product, but you seem to have some kind of agenda here that I don't get. They've obviously shipped product and if it was as terrible as you're making out to be, shouldn't there be more complaints online? Even TPU didn't seem to complain about the keyboard aspect of it https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Wooting/One/
I have admittedly only spent five minutes with their keyboards, but it seems to be working as advertised.

I linked the user32 call. It really comes down to two choices:
1) No driver installed: all keystrokes are interpreted as Boolean (keyboard itself converts byte -> Boolean).
2) Driver installed: all keystrokes are interpretted as Boolean because of operating system limitation. Applications can request keystroke information directly from the driver to get status (as byte).

#1 is the status quo. #2 only applies to a very specific set of circumstances.

 

[Tom_]

I hope all Keyboards will be analog soon and the Operating-Systems will support them.

 

[Prima.Vera]

Two words: Car Simulators.
Finally we would have proper accell/break keys, but also for left/right turn.
Actually if I didn't have the wheel/pedals I would love to buy me one of those keyboards JUST for those kind of games.

Btw, what is the difference between this and Wooting One keyboard??

 

[TheLostSwede]

Two words: Car Simulators.
Finally we would have proper accell/break keys, but also for left/right turn.
Actually if I didn't have the wheel/pedals I would love to buy me one of those keyboards JUST for those kind of games.

Btw, what is the difference between this and Wooting One keyboard??

The numpad and some profile keys above the numpad. It also supports a third type of switches.