Accessibility for the Hampered Gamer

More attention than ever is being paid to the gamer with a temporary or permanent disability.    With eSports on the rise, an ergonomic setup is crucial for extended gaming sessions.    Here is help to know what to do — and what NOT to do.
http://www.1-hp.org/2016/10/28/esports-health-it-starts-with-ergonomics-and-posture/

Split keyboards are popular.  One maker of such devices explains the ergonomics of their layout.
https://gaming.kinesis-ergo.com/ergonomics/

Logitech's G13 programmable keypad is worth every penny.  Razer and other manufacturers also make keypads for gaming.  Check the "Customers Who Viewed This Viewed These Products" section on this page to find more.
https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-G13-Programmable-Gameboard-Display/dp/B001NEK2GE

Here is how to set up and program the G13.

https://robots.net/tech/how-to-use-logitech-g13/

Here is how to open up the G13.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usnNdFSef7o

I don't advocate washing the inside but here's how.

https://jonamiki.com/2016/10/22/logitech-logicool-g13-cleaning-washing/

By the way, here's a tear-down for the Logitech G13.

https://www.fictiv.com/teardowns/logitech-g13-advanced-gameboard-teardown

Some gaming mice could be useful as well as they are programmable.  The products are legion.  Do your research to find one that will work for what you need.  Speaking of mice, there are some geared toward those who are left-handed now.  Again, do your research.  If possible, handle before buying.  These come in all sizes and some will fit in your hand better than others.
https://lefthandedgamingmice.xyz

Although the company is no longer in business and I cannot find any of their stock left online, the XtendPlay Ergonomic Adapter sounds like a great idea.  It might be possible to rig up something similar if you are handy.
http://www.coolthings.com/xtendplay-looks-comfy/

https://kotaku.com/5716759/review-xtendplay-works-for-extended-gaming-sessions

SquidGrip for the xBox One and PS4 are meant to increase grip over long play sessions but they might be of help.
https://www.amazon.com/Wicked-Grips-High-Performance-Controller-Grips-Xbox/dp/B076GZMTDH/ref=dp_ob_title_vg

https://www.amazon.com/PS4-Squid-Grip-Playstation-NEW/dp/B01H66EQT6/ref=sr_1_4?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1519248214&sr=1-4&keywords=squid+grip+ps4

These PS4 and xBox One controllers are made for the one-handed gamer.
https://www.evilcontrollers.com/store/accessible-controllers.html

One Switch in the UK had a ton of online information, from news and articles to a shop selling disability standard switches and controllers (second link below).  They also list switch games.  Check the Menu to explore.
http://www.oneswitch.org.uk

http://www.oneswitch.org.uk/shop.php

Broadened Horizons sells (among other things) game controllers and parts.
http://www.broadenedhorizons.com/products/accessible-game-controls/game-converters?p=2

Quad Stick sells custom stick controllers for quadriplegics.
http://www.quadstick.com/shop/

Naughty Dog's video talks about how the company tackled accessibility issues in Uncharted 4.
http://game-accessibility.com/2016/06/06/uncharted-4-thiefs-end-new-adventure-video-game-accessibility/

There are organizations dedicated to helping more severely disabled gamers.  If you can contribute, please do.
http://www.ablegamers.org

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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com

The Best (Worst?) Excuses for ESO -- And Life

The Solo MMO Player has decided--as a public service--to present some of excuses he's heard as to why a player can't put out DPS, tank, or do anything else in an instance.  Since as a society no one takes responsibility for much of anything, you may find these useful in life, not just in the game.

The FedX man just came

I had to change the baby's diaper

I was eating a tuna fish sandwich

My son was hitting my daughter over the head with a stick

The pizza delivery arrived

I had to look at the map/watch the instance on YouTube

The puppy started screaming

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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com

Elder Scrolls Online: Tips for Tanks

Feel free to ignore all these tips from the Solo MMO Player, but be warned--if you do, you are going to fail as a tank and you are going to be much mocked to boot.

Slow Down - Instances are not a race.  If a tank outruns everyone else, the ads will be drawn to the tank and the group will fail because all the ads will be concentrated around the Boss, protecting and healing the Boss, and it will be impossible to take the Boss down.  Don't rush and allow many ads to be killed as the group goes through the instance.

Don't Panic - Just concentrate on what your job regardless of all going on around you.

Don't Stop to Look at the Map - The in-game map isn't that helpful.  It pays to view videos of the instance ahead of time so you have a general idea of where to go and what the NPC mechanics are.  Making everyone stand around while you try to figure out where you are and where you should be is going to annoy the other players without buying you anything.  Prepare ahead of time.

Kill the Ads - You don't have to kill each and every ad but you have to get as many as possible so they aren't all bunched up around the Boss at the end, protecting and healing the Boss.  See Slow Down and the link at the end for help in tanking to prioritize the NPCs that must be killed.

Running in Circles Is a Bad Idea - Characters in ESO must target ads and bosses before they can get off a shot.  If the tank is running all over, targeting is impossible and shots will be wasted.  Then the group has to wait for the cool down period to be over while the ads are attacking them.  Everyone dies.  (That's not the point of the instance, in case you didn't know.)  Zigzaging from side to side is also a bad idea for the same reason.  The Solo MMO Player has no idea why so many tanks run in circles these days but it does nothing whatsoever to get through the instance. See Slow Down.

Whining Gets You Nowhere - Complaining that you've run an instance four times and not gotten the drop you wanted will get you No Sympathy Whatsoever from experienced players who've run WOW instances forty or fifty times before a rare item dropped, especially if you failed to trigger the quest at the beginning of the instance that would guarantee the drop once you finish the instance. Don't bother asking if someone has the rare item they'll give you.  It's not your birthday, bro, and the other group members don't care about your little problems.  Spend all your energy learning to tank. This website looks helpful.  Note the links at the end.

https://alcasthq.com/eso-tanking-beginner-guide/

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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com

Are There Mud Crabs in Elder Scrolls Online?

Watching the Solo MMO Player farm in Elder Scrolls Online, I started to wonder if mud crabs were still in the game.  They were quite annoying in Oblivion but apparently they've been dialed back.  However, this brings forth another question:  Why don't you get crab meat from mud crabs?

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/130614/mud-crab-meat-mystery

One clever boy points out you don't get crab in grocery store crab meat.  

Now the real question becomes, why do you find pickles in wardrobe closets?

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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com

The Best Builds for Elder Scrolls Online

ESO fans are always looking for advice on the best builds.  The Solo MMO Player prefers Deltais Gaming as he likes the detail and the feel that Deltais understands the details.  If you are an old WOW player looking for expert advice, Deltais harks back to the thorough advice that old WOW players used to share.

https://deltiasgaming.com/

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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com

"Unable to Retrieve Character"--Elder Scrolls Blades

There's a new error message that popped up when I attempted to open Elder Scrolls Blades this morning--"We are currently unable to retrieve your character.  Pease try again later.   0-10001-1"

Shutting down my iPad and then restarting it resolved the issue.  Judging from postings to Reddit, this happens quite often (just never to me before) but the restart fixes whatever has gone wrong.

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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com

New Elder Scrolls Blades Error Messages

The last two weeks have been "interesting" when it comes to Elder Scrolls Blades.  I've gotten two error messages I've not seen before.

The top communication error seems to be due to my wonky Internet connection.  Sometimes it's there, sometimes it isn't.  I waited and tried again later and things were fine again.

The bottom message was a puzzle.  I got it when I tried to click on the store for my daily gift.   I decided once again to ignore the Store Unavailable and didn't touch my Apple account and it also went away.  This appears to be a common problem.  I haven't found any solution besides trying again later to date.

Sometimes doing nothing except trying again later is a good idea.

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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com

Minion in Elder Scrolls Online

Minion is a tool to manage add ons in various PC games, especially Elder Scrolls Online.  ESO University has information on how to install it and fix issues.

https://eso-u.com/articles/eso_addon_guide_installing_addons_and_minion_troubleshooting

Be warned.  If you downloaded ESO from Steam, that will add more issues to any add on or add on manager like Minion.  

Here is the Minion website to download.  It doesn't work on anything but PCs, however.

https://minion.mmoui.com

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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com

Elden Ring Wiki and More

See the commands across the top of the page.  The interactive map is under "World."

https://eldenring.wiki.fextralife.com/General+Information

Want a bit of guidance to understand the challenges of playing this game?

https://www.polygon.com/elden-ring-guide-walkthrough/22948876/beginners-tips-tricks-class-leveling-stats-open-world-grace-light-wolves

More starter tips.

https://en.bandainamcoent.eu/elden-ring/news/elden-ring-starter-guide-tips-know-playing-the-game

In a hurry?  Eurogamer has a walkthrough to get you to the ending fast.

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/elden-ring-walkthrough-8042

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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com

Elder Scrolls Blades "Store Unavailable" Issue UPDATED

I've started getting a new error message when I try to access the Elder Scrolls Blades store from the main menu to pick up the daily free gift.  The message reads:

Store Unavailable

Please verify that you are connected with an Apple account.

This just started right after Christmas 2021.  Sometimes clicking the OK button under the message and then trying to access the store again works.  Sometimes it doesn't.  When it doesn't, try clicking on Town and then access the Store from your character menu.  So far that works every time for me but I've also had it appear when I'm in the game, but trying again usually works.

I suspect this is connected to Apple's Game Center in some way but I don't want to try and access my Apple account just because a game tells me to.  I also don't want Apple's Game Center to bug me to log in constantly either.  Took me eons to get that notice turned off.

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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com