Hold to Sprint

[Nova]

Is there a way to make running work correctly instead of this garbage toggle to sprint crap?

[Dewi Morgan]

I would love this. There was another thread on this a while back, but apparently it's not an option.

And I can't even make an AHK script to make the shift key act the way my muscle-memory tells me it should, since the behavior changes when you're in a ship or exocraft (in vehicles, it IS hold-to-boost, far as I know).

And I'm not sure there's a way that AHK could detect which game state you were in. So it'd either be wrong in vehicles, or when walking.

[Dewi Morgan]

https://steamcommunity.com/app/275850/discussions/0/2149847423927837267/

Here's the other thread. Unfortunately, nothing useful: mostly just people not even understanding what was being asked.

[knighttemplar1960]

Holding "W" makes you jog forward. Holding "W" while holding Left shift makes you sprint until you stop holding left shift or you run out of stamina.

[Dewi Morgan]

Originally posted by knighttemplar1960:

Holding "W" makes you jog forward. Holding "W" while holding Left shift makes you sprint until you stop holding left shift or you run out of stamina.

What you describe is the desired behavior, yes: ideally, holding W while holding left shift would make you sprint until:
* your stamina runs out;
* you release W (sprint resumes if you re-press W with shift still held down); or
* you release shift.

This is how most PC WASD games work by default. But this is not how NMS currently works when walking/running: it only works that way when in a vehicle.

In NMS currently, when walking/running, left shift is a toggle: holding W while holding left shift makes you sprint until:
* your stamina runs out;
* you release W (sprint won't resume if you re-press W with shift still held down); or
* you release shift and press it again.

Both systems behave the same if you always release both keys together, so it's understandable that you wouldn't notice this difference.

But if your muscle memory has you releasing one or the other key on its own (releasing W to stop briefly, or shift to slow down briefly) then you find yourself moving slowly (the "jog" rather than sprint) when you re-press that key; and it takes a second to notice that, and realize you need to release and re-press shift to get sprinting again, and that's always a dis-immersing and grating moment of controller-dysphoria.

[knighttemplar1960]

I've never had it work differently. Is this a new issue from the patch? Even if it is after you play for a week your muscle memory will adapt.

[remid0d0s0]

Why do you want to Vulcan death grip the keyboard? Tapping shift works fine for me.

[Nova]

Originally posted by remid0d0s0:

Why do you want to Vulcan death grip the keyboard? Tapping shift works fine for me.

I gotta know, why do people reply like this? Do you think that basic features shouldn't be added to games that others use? What about things you are unhappy with? Are you willing to accept some random ♥♥♥♥ saying "I dont care about" and never getting the feature?

[Wizard of Woz]

Originally posted by Nova:

Originally posted by remid0d0s0:

Why do you want to Vulcan death grip the keyboard? Tapping shift works fine for me.

I gotta know, why do people reply like this? Do you think that basic features shouldn't be added to games that others use? What about things you are unhappy with? Are you willing to accept some random ♥♥♥♥ saying "I dont care about" and never getting the feature?

Yes exactly. To expect every game to be catered to you is best summarized as entitlement.

[Nova]

Originally posted by wizard_of_woz:

Originally posted by Nova:

I gotta know, why do people reply like this? Do you think that basic features shouldn't be added to games that others use? What about things you are unhappy with? Are you willing to accept some random ♥♥♥♥ saying "I dont care about" and never getting the feature?

Yes exactly. To expect every game to be catered to you is best summarized as entitlement.

Expecting basic features is not the same as expecting to be catered to.

[knighttemplar1960]

I just tested the new settings and I prefer the way it is now. It was always uncomfortable to have to cant my hand around to keep both the left shift and "W" keys pressed to sprint. Once its toggled on you stop sprinting if you let go of the "W" key. That makes more sense to me and I'm certain I'll have adapted to it in less than a week.

[remid0d0s0]

Originally posted by Nova:

Originally posted by remid0d0s0:

Why do you want to Vulcan death grip the keyboard? Tapping shift works fine for me.

I gotta know, why do people reply like this? Do you think that basic features shouldn't be added to games that others use? What about things you are unhappy with? Are you willing to accept some random ♥♥♥♥ saying "I dont care about" and never getting the feature?

I asked you why you wanted to Vulcan death grip the keyboard, not how you wanted to play the game. The more keys you chord for hours on end, the more RSI you are likely to experience. 🤷‍♂️

[Dewi Morgan]

Originally posted by knighttemplar1960:

I just tested the new settings

It's not new: it's always been a toggle. Seems like some people just never noticed.

Originally posted by remid0d0s0:

Why do you want to Vulcan death grip the keyboard? Tapping shift works fine for me.

Why do you want to Vulcan death grip the WASD keys? It's no different: it's what you're used to.

And if it's painful for you, then why aren't you complaining about Vulcan-death-gripping shift when you're in a vehicle in NMS?

To me, WASD and sprint are hold-keys, not toggles.

I accept that for some people, the toggle is a convenient and preferred feature, and that's OK; but it's an abnormal UI choice, and some of us have a good few decades of muscle memory to overcome with it, while also switching to other games on a regular basis, so changing that muscle memory isn't even desirable.

UI consistency is meritorious for UX; it's why the PC gaming industry has by and large settled on WASD, mouselook, leftmouse as fire, escape for menus, E to activate, space to jump, shift to run, and so forth.

Deviation from standard UI behavior does happen in just about every game, espeically those which are cross-platform; it's a thing we get used to as gamers.

But it's reasonable to request that common behaviors be implemented. Usually games which have implemented toggle-run to cater for console users (and those mouse-&-keyb users who prefer it!), there's a gameplay setting to control "toggle sprint".

It's reasonable to ask for that to be considered for addition to NMS.

[dr.b0mb]

Originally posted by remid0d0s0:

Why do you want to Vulcan death grip the keyboard? Tapping shift works fine for me.

if you can hold shift, you can start from a sprint. otherwise, you have to start walking, then toggle sprint. it's an extra motion (shift down+release shift vs shift down), and it increases the distance it takes to execute sprint jumps.

the game will revert you to a walk if you stop running. you have to do the toggle again, and it's not always clear what state the toggle is in. did you stop running long enough to reset the toggle? or did you pause so quickly that the sprint toggle is still on? it's a constant pace-of-play interruption.

toggling is a console holdover due to control ergonomics. at best, you've got six fingers to work with on a controller. your pinky is perfectly viable to hold shift for better control on a PC.

i know this post is old, but I ended up here, and nobody should be defending toggle sprint without the context of a handicap. and i don't mean that in a mean way; it's an accessibility feature due to limitations, whether it's from the system used or someone not having all ten fingers.