Playmate Keyboard Control Cover

Playmate Keyboard Control Cover

Manufacturer: Control Zone Interactive

Price: $14.95 (US)

Review Date: 03-04-01

System Requirements:

Standard "QWERTY" keyboard, works under all operating systems

Box Contents:

• Playmate Keyboard Control Cover
• Instruction sheet

Years ago people often covered their keyboards with protective films of plastic specially molded to fit the different styles of keyboards produced. Keyboard layouts have become relatively standard and the price of keyboards dropped well below the cost of the covers. In those days controllers were pretty limited and gamers relied on the keyboard for most gaming ventures. These days the controllers are advanced with many extra features but the growth of game complexity has outpaced the controllers and the keyboard is still needed.

Just take a look at any game manual and you will see you will need to commit dozens of keyboard commands to memory to play effectively. Some offer intuitive associations such as "G" for gear but others have no rational association ("Y" for slew?). This is where the Playmate Keyboard Control Covers come into play. Playmate Keyboard Control Covers are made for a variety of sim, action, strategy, sports and adventure games. Future plans include covers for educational programs, office type applications and custom covers can also be designed.

Installation:

"Lay and Play" is what you essentially need to do. The cover comes folded up in the shipping box and may have some creases that need to be worked out of the material. You can accomplish this two ways- either unfold the cover and let it set over night. For the less patient you can hit it with a blow dryer on low heat to bring it back to life. Then line up the lower left "CTRL" key with the corresponding part of the cover and work your way out as you lay it over the keyboard. That's it- now that the cover is properly laid its time to play.

Some non-standard keyboards will have a slightly different layouts. You can use Velcro strips to better secure the cover or may need to cut small windows to accommodate high keys.

Documentation:

The idea of the Control Cover is easy enough to understand and the manual does not insult you by giving you more than you need to get started. The instruction sheet describes many of the product benefits, provides directions for use and provides advice for special circumstances and tells you some of the text and graphics meanings used on all Keyboard Covers. The only thing missing from the documentation is care of the cover. When not in use you do not want to place it on top of your heat generating monitor for example. Another advisement I'd like to see placed in the instructions is to reset the game settings to the default settings in case you customized and of the actions on the keyboard.

The Control Zone Interactive web site offers much of the same information as the instruction sheet. At the site you can learn what covers are available and purchase them online.

Performance:

I received a Playmate Keyboard Control Cover for Microsoft FlightSim 2000. I was not patient and wanted to try it out right away so I broke out a blow dryer and smoothed out the cover in a matter of minutes. It sat well on my Fellows standard Windows keyboard. In addition to the Playmate Keyboard Control Cover I used a Logitech WingMan Strike Force 3D joystick.

I fired up Microsoft FlightSim 2000 and went to the settings to assure I was using the default keyboard commands. Once I was settled on that and had the stick placed on the desktop I chose a flight with the Boeing 737-400. I typically stray away from this more complex craft since it requires more effort to get it airborne. Using the stick for basic flight control only the Keyboard Cover and the underlying keyboard provided the primary control for getting the big bird to fly. Each of the necessary functions was found on the keyboard without having to refer to the manual of the FlightSim and then follow-up by finding the key.

The cover is designed to look more like an aircraft control panel than a keyboard but the obvious limitation is the defined layout of the keyboard. Still it looks pretty cool on the desktop when used with a realistic flight controller. The unused areas of the keyboard are utilized with additional information and special command listings. For example all of the on-line multiplayer commands are listed on the bottom left flap of the cover. If I misplace my FlightSim manual I will no longer go into panic mode.

The cover stayed well placed but long term users may want to use the Velcro securing suggestion just to add the extra "stick" to the placement. The molding of most keys keeps it in place well enough for most though.

Overall:

The Playmate Keyboard Control Cover is a very nice addition to supported game setups. Its a simple device that requires no drivers, special connections or hassle. It provides easy to understand control without having to commit hours learning which key does what. The covers also add visual elements to your gaming environment with many visual indicators as to what the key does.

The Playmate Keyboard Covers are highly recommended by The Control Center. Their an affordable gaming tool that will improve your gaming experience.