MSI to crowdfund its Liberator gaming footswitch

[HEXUS]

Pedal can take the strain away from your fingers, includes RGB lighting.

Read more.

[Scryder]

Question: Why does MSI want to crowdfund something like this? If they wanted to check people's interest, you know, ask? I hate it when corporations thinks they need to "crowdfund". Think Razer did the same a while back.

On topic, this is good for a drummer I guess. I can't use it as my foot doesn't even reach the floor... hmm... maybe I can use it as an expensive footrest!
I struggle as it is to remember which mouse keys I've assigned on different apps. Don't need a third set of controls. Also what happens if you accidently kick it? As I tend to do with my feet...

Also, seriously... RGB for a footswitch? How often will you look down at that RGB?

[Friesiansam]

I really cannot think of a reason why I might want this, partly because I too would struggle to remember what does what in what game. I also wonder if there is room for someone with big wide feet, like me, to press the centre and not press the side switches, without twisting my ankle uncomfortably.

[kalniel]

We musicians use foot switches in combination with tablets for digital music page turning, but a simple bluetooth pedal is all that's required. The ability to do more gestures is neat, but it needs to be bluetooth not wired.

[Gentle Viking]

I converted a old joystick to a foot switch,,,,, well 5 switches, as a old drummer it felt better than keybinds.

But that was 2 decades ago.

[ik9000]

I know someone who operates his whole machine via his feet due to dodgy wrists and the pain he gets using conventional mouse. This is only a good thing, but I don't get why crowdfund? They are a big enough company to afford R&D

[ik9000]

We musicians use foot switches in combination with tablets for digital music page turning, but a simple bluetooth pedal is all that's required. The ability to do more gestures is neat, but it needs to be bluetooth not wired.

or tap dance the pedal board to get the right setting!

[Kanoe]

I was thinking about something much simplier being useful for push to talk when gaming online.

I got some many items bound to keys and mouse buttons its often difficult to push to talk so having something like pedal for voice would be good but not at £100.

[Ttaskmaster]

Question: Why does MSI want to crowdfund something like this? If they wanted to check people's interest, you know, ask? I hate it when corporations thinks they need to "crowdfund". Think Razer did the same a while back.

Have you never organised anything involving a group of people and payment?
You ask if anyone wants to go to, say, LaserQuest or paintballing... 100 people will say yes and put their names down. 40 will likely stump up the deposit, and maybe 25 will actually turn up on the day, leaving you hoping to find 15 random people from the waiting room who want to join your game and likely still costing you the shortfall out of your own pocket.

This will likely be partially crowdfunded, with investors only investing once they see customers putting their money where their mouth is.
But even if it's wholly crowdfunded, it still needs that initial investment/pledge of cash donations to become a concrete 'yes people want it'.

In an ever-evolving world, full of great kit that never see the light of day... and absolute tat that costs a bomb to bring to market and ultimately fails, this is actually a fairly safe way to get solid proof of interest. Coupled with feedback from testers, it should turn out to be reasonably successful.

On topic, this is good for a drummer I guess. I can't use it as my foot doesn't even reach the floor... hmm... maybe I can use it as an expensive footrest!
I struggle as it is to remember which mouse keys I've assigned on different apps. Don't need a third set of controls. Also what happens if you accidently kick it? As I tend to do with my feet...

Actually, it's useless for a drummer, as it's simply on or off and has no analogue variation for different volume strokes.
But regarding the rest - You're probably not the target market anyway.

Also, seriously... RGB for a footswitch? How often will you look down at that RGB?

About as often as I look at the back of my monitor, but I still put RGB on that as it makes great background lighting (with all the colour options) and doesn't take up extra mains sockets with hideous lamps... Seriously, try finding a lamp these days that isn't utterly contemptible!

I really cannot think of a reason why I might want this, partly because I too would struggle to remember what does what in what game. I also wonder if there is room for someone with big wide feet, like me, to press the centre and not press the side switches, without twisting my ankle uncomfortably.

Supposedly it will have different width inserts.
Basically it's the pedal off a sewing machine, which is used by plenty of large-footed male tailors, so as long as they don't design it for the market of... er... 'persons of origin typically associated with diminutive stature', we should be good.

We musicians use foot switches in combination with tablets for digital music page turning, but a simple bluetooth pedal is all that's required. The ability to do more gestures is neat, but it needs to be bluetooth not wired.

I find bluetooth to be quite problematic at times, but it also means the pedal is yet another thing in my life needing to be charged up... I'd have to leave it plugged in, at which point you might as well just go wired. I also have no idea how you'd go about daisy-chaining bluetooth devices, but it's probably more expensive than wires...?


Saying all that, I think MSI really missed the mark on this thing. It should be a set of pedals - for flight sims, racing games, farm sim, tank driving, music and many other general functions - with the mechanism to swap from analogue variable input pivot pedals, ideally with yawing as well, to outright digital switch mode. It'd only take a single sliding catch/bolt to make that happen. Include the option of disabling/removing any features you didn't want and you'll reach a far wider range of use cases.

[kalniel]

I find bluetooth to be quite problematic at times, but it also means the pedal is yet another thing in my life needing to be charged up... I'd have to leave it plugged in, at which point you might as well just go wired. I also have no idea how you'd go about daisy-chaining bluetooth devices, but it's probably more expensive than wires...?

You're often having to charge up stand lights anyway so it's just part of the protocol. No need to daisy-chain devices, you can have multiple connections to a computer no problem.

[Ttaskmaster]

You're often having to charge up stand lights anyway so it's just part of the protocol. No need to daisy-chain devices, you can have multiple connections to a computer no problem.

I didn't even know wireless stand lights had become the default option in life... heck, I didn't know they were commonly for sale until I just Googled it, so that's well outside my protocol and already too much faffing for my lifestyle.

But even if all life were totally wireless (as is my current mouse), I'd still not ever need to bother unplugging it from the power (like with said mouse), so might as well keep it wired. As a musician, if a wire goes wrong you can just replace it and you'll generally start to notice the problem developing before it drops you in the poo, whereas sudden loss of the already-unreliable bluetooth connection mid-performance can be catastrophic.

[ik9000]

As a musician, if a wire goes wrong you can just replace it and you'll generally start to notice the problem developing before it drops you in the poo, whereas sudden loss of the already-unreliable bluetooth connection mid-performance can be catastrophic.

This^ but equally going wireless can help you not pull the mic stand over when you move around stage and snag the cable on it.

[big_hairy_rob]

get the public involved, that way it'll be their fault when it bombs...

[maxopus]

That is one seriously overpriced piece of ugly plastic.

[Scryder]

Have you never organised anything involving a group of people and payment?

Not that I recall, nope.

I WAS saying they're a big enough corporation to do a survey to see the interest from potential audience. And funding prototypes. Dumb excuse imo.
---

The drummer thing... let me explain! Drummers can coordinate with both hands and feet independently! I've tried when I was younger... can't do it for the life of me! I can play a guitar though!
That's all I meant, thanks for making an argument out of nothing!

---
RGB = I have a Logitech mouse that lights up. No other RGB on site! Still dumb. BUT guess it's the "trendy" thing that all the "kids" like.


---------
Also, I remember the Razer crowd-funder now, it was the left-handed mouse if I remember correctly.


*********
Also also, MSI ain't the best company around right now (at least according to Gamers Nexus):
- Killshot: MSI’s Shady Review Practices & Ethics
- MSI Bought Its Awards: Hotbox Sekira 500X Case Review

JayzTwoCents:
- How can you trust a brand when they do this to you?

[Rubarb]

.... or you could save your money and buy : https://www.amazon.co.uk/USB-Foot-Switch-Keyboard-Pedal/dp/B008MU0TBU