Customizable WASD keys on my keyboard. What does this mean?

Hello. I recently purchased a Russian (I think it's Russian) keyboard that isn't very well known. It's great so far and has a few interesting features, one of them being "customizable WASD and arrow keys". The keyboard didn't come with a manual and there's nowhere to find information for it online (as far as I know), so I'm wondering what this customization option really means.

On the brochure when purchasing the keyboard, it says (choppy English and all): "FPS game special key. Upgrade WASD and arrow keys, make it more precise for FPS games."

Okay, I just found out what it says in the brochure about this feature but I still don't quite understand. Here's what it says about these keys.

FN + F1 = Repetition rate round = 21 character/s, time delay: 800ms.
FN + F2 = Repetition rate round = 30 character/s, time delay: 600ms.
FN + F3 = Repetition rate round = 62 character/s, time delay: 400ms.

Can anyone make sense of that? Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

Polling rates maybe?

 

No clue! I'm not even sure what a polling rate is, lol.

Wish I could figure this out because I'd love to know what they do.

Has anyone ever heard of customizable WASD keys like this?

 

Polling can be seen as how many times a device "reports" information to a computer. When a device reports information once to the computer in one second, its polling rate is considered to be 1 Hertz. So if a mouse or keyboard says that it has a polling rate of 125 Hertz, this means that the device is reporting information 125 times in one second. The more times a device reports to the computer, the faster the computer will process this information for use in applications or games. So, my guess is that is what the manual means. Any polling rate over 250 or so is imperceptible to use mere mortals, however

 

Ah, okay. That makes sense. Yeah, probably polling rate, then.

 

It says repetion rate, or repeat rate. So if you press the "w" key and hold it down, after the delay then it would be like tapping the "w" 21 times per second. The delay is how long before it starts repeating the key.

 

Interesting. Why would the repeat rate matter for FPS games, or gaming in general?

 

I suppose it depends on the game. Legal: Increasing Key Repeat Rate Past OS Def - Forums - StarCraft II

 

True, but it says, and I quote, " FPS game special key. Upgrade WASD and arrow keys, make it more precise for FPS games."

How would this effect a first-person shooter? Just more accurate controls or something?

 

Might make you move or turn faster or slower. I know you can change this in Windows, but I would think most games bypass it. But maybe in the keyboard they can't bypass it. Try it and let us know.

 

I can think of two scenarios:
1) Starcraft 2 (or other MMOs). You need to queue up several units to build (ex: 20 marines). Having a keyboard that repeats the appropriate build key (A) lets you queue up those build-unit commands faster than an opponent.
2) FPS games with Quicktime events. "Tap the 'E' key repeatedly". Having a keyboard that automatically repeat-presses the 'E' key faster than intended can make those parts of games easier.

In general, I wouldn't worry too much about this one feature. It's a nice-to-have if its there, but it doesn't really matter in the end. Especially since these settings (repeat rate and delay rate) are configurable in the Windows OS itself. The only difference here is that this keyboard manufacturer baked that configuration setting into the keyboard itself.

 

Okay, I just did a quick test, and on the highest setting (80/s), the WASD keys fly when repeating. Very fast repeat rate. At the other settings the repeat rate is slower.

Still not sure how this would apply to a first-person shooter, but I'll have to try it in game and see how it responds differently. I'll post when I've done that.

Edit - I really didn't notice much of a difference in the feel between the 3 settings, but the fastest setting was so fast that Morrowind was basically unplayable. It would jerk whenever I used WASD. I keep it on the lowest setting and it's smooth. I wonder if that's because Morrowind is an older game. Maybe it would be better in a new game.

Anyway, I guess the mystery is solved, but I still wonder what exactly the difference is for a first-person shooter and how this would make the controls more accurate or precise. Weird.

 

If it was a big deal, all or most gaming keyboards would have it. Mine doesn't, but it does have macro keys.

 

I'm not saying it's a big deal. I'm just curious as to what it does. I'm sure it's not that big of a deal but if it somehow makes the keys more accurate, well, that's pretty cool.