Middle mouse button and Wheel?

Were working of FlowED and are hoping to use the middle mouse button held down to pan the view and the wheel to zoom in and out of the scene with alt to rotate.

We were wondering who doesn't have a 3 button mouse with wheel, or wouldn't want to use them in a game editor?

Depends who you're going to be selling to. In the indie market, using mousewheels and third buttons is a big no-no, nay, frowned upon. Even using TWO mouse buttons is dodgy territory.

For map editors and game dev tools (sorry I have no idea what FlowED even is), I don't think that using 3 mouse buttons and a scroll wheel would be a huge concern.

It might not be the answer your looking for, but I would support it as standard, and supply keyboard short-cuts for peeps that dont have a middle mouse button! ;)

Dabz

heh, yeah. FlowEd is a world editor for developing games in Flow for Bmax or Ogre3D. So its probably most likely to be used by indie developers.

I have two machines. Both have a 3 button mouse, but one of them has a direction sensitive button rather than a mouse wheel, if that makes any sense. I have found from my experience making editors that it's pretty unusable (too sensitive). I don't think it is configurable, though can quite remember if I looked. (I don't have it here).

My solution was to use scroll wheel or arrow buttons

The setup you mention seems favourite assuming it's available and working ok.

I have middle mouse buttons and definitely prefer apps that use it for panning and zoom in/out

(I should mention: I've got a MX510, so I have a 4th to 7th mouse button as well)

I don't think the need for a middle mouse-button is an issue for developers making content. If you were selling it to middle-aged housewives and those other stereotypes that go with indie game players, then it would be of concern. However, I can't really see you marketing Flow/FlowEd/etc. to that group of people.

If you really want to have an alternative, just do what Dabz suggested.

Oh, and I do have a mouse with a wheel. Not an issue here or anywhere else with any family members. We've all at least got 3-button mice. Mac users might be an issue with their little puck thing, but I think even that has a wheel.

mousewheel for a techie editor=fine but make sure there is another way do do it with some kind of mouse button + key press combo or something.

i tend to offer both just incase someone has something against wheels:

-mousewheel click paired with a key on the keyboard to do the same 'click'
-scroll wheel coupled with a key that can be held and the mouse moved up and down.(ie: scroll the wheel or hold Z and move mouse back/fore to zoom)

To be honest though what self respecting PC using graphics person doesn't use a wheel? (except on a laptop in an emergency)
:/

I don't have a scroll wheel or middle button so offering an alternative would be best. Also don't rely on your users having a num pad either.

yeah I think we will offer both, thanks for pointing out the Mac. Since we hope to have FlowED out for Mac and Linux too.

Thanks guys

Actually pressing and holding the middle button is, for me, uncomfortable on every mouse I've used. It's ok for the odd momentary action, but it requires too much force for continuous use.

A lot of Mac Users i know use an alternative mouse on the Mac but of course i would implement both: three mousebutton/scrollwheel-support as well as an alternative with option keys. The FarCry-Editor uses the scrollwheel and three buttons in a very useful way.

I have a 6 or 8 button mouse with a scroll wheel. However for some reason pressing the scroll wheel, although it does "click", it doesn't really do anything.

What's the difference in production costs between a 2-button-nowheel mouse and a 3-button-wheel mouse? Discussions like these continue to exist as long as cheap-end mouses are being made. If the difference is only a few $ why not every mouse a 3b+wheel as standard? That's the great thing about standardization, no more discussions like 'oh, but do they and they have this and this and should we support that and that?', just everything the same except speed/performance/storage-capacity.

I'm no big fan of the mouse wheel. I do a lot of 3D work, and am used to using three button mice, and find it much easier to have a solid middle button, and not a wheel that rolls when you want to click it. Especially if that wheel then has a different function, like zooming. Unfortunately, for me, it seems everyone making mice disagrees with me, as it's almost impossible to find optical mice without a wheel. :(