I didnt buy either of these trackballs, but your video made me aware that you can use a pool ball in a trackball, thank you for that. the L-trac i ordered (what led me here in the first place was looking at reviews of the L-trac and YT recommends) is going to be getting a pool ball now.
@@huge_balls I still use the L-trac i was talking about regularly (with a 2 pool ball in it) and man has it been one of the most reliable mice ive ever owned
"ploppy" : D great vid, ive been using a ploopy classic since the original release. I keep hearing about this scroll problem, but personally i've never experienced the scrolling issue, no matter how fast i scroll, but i also havent flashed my mouse with the updated QMK firmware. that might be the issue ?
Open-source software QMK all the way! This means better for longevity! It's not about programming it yourself, the QMK/VIA software is easy to use. Gameball software can just drop support for Gameball any time. Also consider the fact that their software might not even work on other OS like Linux. I swear by QMK on both my Mech Keeb and Ploopy.
After having bought the ploopy and used it for awhile, I like it but there are some big downsides to me. The scroll wheel is awful, adjusting DPI is easier on a mouse with dedicated software, and the shape isn't bad but if the shape was adjusted slightly it would be easier to use the ball precisely especially when clicking. The Ploopy is good but requires a significant amount of adjustment, tweaking, and modifying to get the best of it. Gameball scroll wheel functionality is great, dpi changing is easy, and pressing buttons while making precise adjustments is easier due to its case design
I know about the slight issue with the gameball's ball hopping out, which can be fixed with a piece of tape but I rather wait until its fixed on a hardware level, aka a version 1.2
I wonder if some wax would help that Ploopy? I use an ELecom and for the most part they are great (though two have developed double click issues). But all of them had less than desiirable smoothness. I tried dry lube, sanding, the edges of the trackball, and the only thing that seems to work is candle wax. and certain types of that work better than others. too soft is gunky and smooth for a short while. too hard and it doesn't really coat the ball. anyhow, I wonder if that'd actually help. Those 3D printing lines are a bit off putting but I'd rather an easily repairable mouse. I don't get how it can be a game ball if you can't scroll and move the cursor? or did i hear you incorrectly? I remember having to switch weapons while aiming. anyhow thanks for your review.
Thank you for this quality review. I have an Ltrac and it makes the same noise. I was curious if this is normal as it is my first metal bearing mouse. In fact, I was thinking of getting and assembling a Ploopy to try it out and see it also makes the same swishing/scratching? noise, but you just confirmed it for me. Cheers! BTW very Happy with the Ltrac - I do miss all the buttons, but I just programmed my navigation and gaming buttons to a layered Keyboard.
that's weird, I looked it up and they picked a track-on-glass sensor. Does it ship with a glass ball? I figured most trackballs would just be some plastic, I guess glass could probably get smoother but it just seems a bit weird to me.
Are you using your keyboard to fire/ads or are you using clicks? I’m having issues clicking while moving the crosshairs on the gameball or keeping the crosshairs still when I do clicktime aiming
LMAO @ going off topic with no script. That's why my videos tended to be 20 minutes long with damn near nothing relating to the topic I was discussing. This was a great review. I personally have an Elecom Huge with steel bearings as my daily, and I use my Naga Trinity for gaming. I remember those older roller bearings in the original Kensington Expert Mouse Pro. That takes me way back to the late Win 98 SE/early XP days. Yanno, back when Microsoft actually made kickass peripherals? Say what you want about Windows, but their Trackball Explorer, and Sidewinder X6 keyboard were second to none at the time. The Sidewinder X6 KB was innovative because it used an ambidextrous, magnetic tenkey that could be left completely off to make an 80% KB, or put on either side of it. I REALLY wish someone would come out with another one like that with hot-swappable Gateron, or MX switches. That would be a market destroyer these days. Imagine an 80% keyboard that had an either-side magnetically dock-able tenkey with per-key addressable rgb mechanical switches, and Synapse 3 level light customization. Holy CRAP I'd buy 2 of them, lol.
So there is a keyboard that isn't quite the same, no magnetic tenkey, however it still pretty cool in how easy it is to swap the tenkey sides. Check out the Tenet 70. I think it was just released for group buy a couple of weeks ago.
How is the sensor in the Ploopy? Can it handle fast spins like 1:31? I am planning on buying either the Ploopy or the Gameball, and I can't seem to settle on a choice. I play a lot of competitive games like Apex, CSGO, etc. Do you feel any substantial differences in sensor performance between the two? I like the ergonomics of the Ploopy, but the Higher DPI Sensor in the Gameball also lures me.
The Ploopy has better movement. It has less wobble when you're moving it around while with the Gameball there is a slight wiggly motion. I think has more to do with the different bearing types and not the sensor itself though. Both handle fast spins very well. Personally for competitive games the Ploopy is better, the Gameball might have a Higher DPI sensor but I find it increases that wiggly motion when you raise it up. If you're willing to mod the Gameball to use a different bearing, I say they're pretty evenly matched.
@@Raire I've decided to roll with the Ploopy! (Pun not intended) Just bought a DIY kit last night, assembled it myself, and it runs like a dream. Definitely quite a learning curve after using mice since day 1, but I think I've picked it up quite well, I'm already top scoring consistently in Titanfall 2 pubs! The big thing that swayed my decision over the Gameball was the Ploopy's Open-Source nature, which directly correlates to it's repairability. Knowing that I could 3D print any parts that break or wear down over the years is quite nice. Thank you for the vid & reply! It provided good insight for me towards my purchase.
I have some questions I would like to ask u, I recently got a idea but as I don't own a trackball I'm not sure if it's possible so I would like your opinion: Do you think a game (3D) where movement and point of view (idk how to call it) are control by 2 separate trackballs would be possible ? 1 trackball would work like a normal trackball or mouse (what I call the point of view) and the other one would allow u to move in the direction u move the ball (and so would replace the keyboard), so if I'm looking at a tree for example I need to move the ball forward to move the character forward I think such way of moving would allow more possibilities for movements as you wouldn't be constrained to only move forward, backwards, left and right like with a keyboard. You would be able to move in all type of angle because you use a trackball What do you think ? (Sorry for my bad english)
I don't think it would work very well. Depending on how it works you would have problems moving in one direction continually, where you have to keep rolling the ball to keep moving. That would get tiring very fast. There are also issues I feel with how would you move up or down. It's a interesting idea but there are definitely some hurdles to deal with.
@@Raire I know how to fix both problem (as long it's possible to do obviously). My idea for the movement was: Imagine there is a point at the top of the ball, when u roll the ball forward, the point move forward, my idea is tracking this point and depending on it's position moving the character, so you wouldn't have to roll the ball continually but just once, and if u want to change direction u just change the position of the point. The ball is 3D so there shouldn't (I hope) be any problem, another idea of mine was depending on how far the "point" is the character speed is adjusted. So if u roll the ball a little bit then the character would walk slowly but if u roll it completely 90° forward then u reach the character max speed.
@@Raire For the up and down problem I was thinking of something else, not a jump button but dash. You know how dash work, u look in a direction and it dash in this direction, the dash would be without any cooldown (I feel I write this word wrong), you can dash again if you touch something (tree, wall, floor...). As for dashing on the floor I'm still thinking how to make it so player don't just dash infinitely because they are always touching the floor. The way you would use the dash is pressing a key, then rolling the ball in the direction you want to dash, and same as movement, the further you roll the ball the longer the dash is. I want to do this so player speed and dash can be almost completely personalized depending on the situation.
Btw if you're wondering why I want to use 2 trackball it'd because I feel it's the only way to allow 3D dynamic movement in all type of angle, as wasd key only allow player to move in a maximum of 8 directions. The game I thought about is a pvp sword 3D game, where player would have very large possibilities of movements. Like dashing from tree to tree, platform to platform... The sword would move at the same time you move your "point of view" (still don't know how to call it :) ). This would (I think, but as I said earlier I'm not a programmer, or someone that use trackball so all of this is pure speculation and dream) be pretty hard to adjust at first as there are no game that use such mechanics for movement.
How are you liking the right mouse button on the Gameball? I'm getting such hard cramps because of the placement that I went back to the Elecom HUGE. Having to make a squeezing motion doesn't work very well for me.
I have gotten used to it but it isn't ideal. I'm hoping on the Pro version that they're working on to be more ergonomic. In the meantime I'm being careful not to strain myself with it and plan on getting a Ploopy Mini for work stuff swapping to the Gameball only for gaming.
I have a 3D printer, is it possible I can 3D print a ploopy for myself at a cheaper price? Like where can I just buy the non-3D printed parts? Preferably as cheap as possible.
Yup you can! If you want to build it yourself, you can check out the Ploopy Trackball Wiki on Github. It has all the instruction for assembling as well as what hardware you need to obtain and the firmware to flash onto it.
You mentioned assigning forward and backward to your trackball buttons alongside your standard right and left click. i am very curious as to your bindings
The Gameball has a much better bearing system IMHO. If you don't like trackball stiction, then there's nothing better than the gameball IMO. Let me know ifanyone thinks there's something that has less stiction.
Pl"oo"py, not Pl"ah"py.
balls
I didnt buy either of these trackballs, but your video made me aware that you can use a pool ball in a trackball, thank you for that. the L-trac i ordered (what led me here in the first place was looking at reviews of the L-trac and YT recommends) is going to be getting a pool ball now.
I have three of the L-Trac trackballs, they are amazing.
@@huge_balls I still use the L-trac i was talking about regularly (with a 2 pool ball in it) and man has it been one of the most reliable mice ive ever owned
I give this a 10/10 balls
"ploppy" : D
great vid, ive been using a ploopy classic since the original release. I keep hearing about this scroll problem, but personally i've never experienced the scrolling issue, no matter how fast i scroll, but i also havent flashed my mouse with the updated QMK firmware. that might be the issue ?
Open-source software QMK all the way! This means better for longevity! It's not about programming it yourself, the QMK/VIA software is easy to use. Gameball software can just drop support for Gameball any time. Also consider the fact that their software might not even work on other OS like Linux. I swear by QMK on both my Mech Keeb and Ploopy.
I love seeing more vids about gaming with trackballz
big trackballs
never enjoyed something, I was never interested in and never knew existed, this much.
Thanks for making this. I asked you this question on a prior video, but this really helps! Cheers.
After having bought the ploopy and used it for awhile, I like it but there are some big downsides to me.
The scroll wheel is awful, adjusting DPI is easier on a mouse with dedicated software, and the shape isn't bad but if the shape was adjusted slightly it would be easier to use the ball precisely especially when clicking. The Ploopy is good but requires a significant amount of adjustment, tweaking, and modifying to get the best of it.
Gameball scroll wheel functionality is great, dpi changing is easy, and pressing buttons while making precise adjustments is easier due to its case design
I know about the slight issue with the gameball's ball hopping out, which can be fixed with a piece of tape but I rather wait until its fixed on a hardware level, aka a version 1.2
My GameBall has never had this popping problem or any hopping.
I had a ploopy as well, and as fantastic as the project is the GameBall fits me better.
ty, very interesting. well..mildly interesting tbh, but still good.
I'm glad it was at least mildly enjoyable! :)
rubberized matte black texture 【disappointment】Solubility sticky
Yeah, we shall see if it turns sticky long term, so cross fingers its okay.
I like your style. Insta sub.
I wonder if some wax would help that Ploopy? I use an ELecom and for the most part they are great (though two have developed double click issues). But all of them had less than desiirable smoothness. I tried dry lube, sanding, the edges of the trackball, and the only thing that seems to work is candle wax. and certain types of that work better than others. too soft is gunky and smooth for a short while. too hard and it doesn't really coat the ball.
anyhow, I wonder if that'd actually help.
Those 3D printing lines are a bit off putting but I'd rather an easily repairable mouse. I don't get how it can be a game ball if you can't scroll and move the cursor? or did i hear you incorrectly? I remember having to switch weapons while aiming.
anyhow thanks for your review.
Thank you for this quality review. I have an Ltrac and it makes the same noise. I was curious if this is normal as it is my first metal bearing mouse. In fact, I was thinking of getting and assembling a Ploopy to try it out and see it also makes the same swishing/scratching? noise, but you just confirmed it for me. Cheers! BTW very Happy with the Ltrac - I do miss all the buttons, but I just programmed my navigation and gaming buttons to a layered Keyboard.
I've read in a forum that the Gameball uses the "PixArt PAW3805EK".
that's weird, I looked it up and they picked a track-on-glass sensor. Does it ship with a glass ball? I figured most trackballs would just be some plastic, I guess glass could probably get smoother but it just seems a bit weird to me.
Are you using your keyboard to fire/ads or are you using clicks? I’m having issues clicking while moving the crosshairs on the gameball or keeping the crosshairs still when I do clicktime aiming
I use clicks.
Would using 3 fingers on the ball be possible on both?
My gosh ur aim is so much better than mine and I'm a trackball veteran too lol
LMAO @ going off topic with no script. That's why my videos tended to be 20 minutes long with damn near nothing relating to the topic I was discussing. This was a great review. I personally have an Elecom Huge with steel bearings as my daily, and I use my Naga Trinity for gaming.
I remember those older roller bearings in the original Kensington Expert Mouse Pro. That takes me way back to the late Win 98 SE/early XP days. Yanno, back when Microsoft actually made kickass peripherals?
Say what you want about Windows, but their Trackball Explorer, and Sidewinder X6 keyboard were second to none at the time. The Sidewinder X6 KB was innovative because it used an ambidextrous, magnetic tenkey that could be left completely off to make an 80% KB, or put on either side of it. I REALLY wish someone would come out with another one like that with hot-swappable Gateron, or MX switches. That would be a market destroyer these days. Imagine an 80% keyboard that had an either-side magnetically dock-able tenkey with per-key addressable rgb mechanical switches, and Synapse 3 level light customization. Holy CRAP I'd buy 2 of them, lol.
So there is a keyboard that isn't quite the same, no magnetic tenkey, however it still pretty cool in how easy it is to swap the tenkey sides. Check out the Tenet 70. I think it was just released for group buy a couple of weeks ago.
I'm serious, you cannot say the word Ploopy. It's offensive to fans of the rock band Löded Diper.
How is the sensor in the Ploopy?
Can it handle fast spins like 1:31?
I am planning on buying either the Ploopy or the Gameball, and I can't seem to settle on a choice.
I play a lot of competitive games like Apex, CSGO, etc.
Do you feel any substantial differences in sensor performance between the two?
I like the ergonomics of the Ploopy, but the Higher DPI Sensor in the Gameball also lures me.
The Ploopy has better movement. It has less wobble when you're moving it around while with the Gameball there is a slight wiggly motion. I think has more to do with the different bearing types and not the sensor itself though.
Both handle fast spins very well. Personally for competitive games the Ploopy is better, the Gameball might have a Higher DPI sensor but I find it increases that wiggly motion when you raise it up. If you're willing to mod the Gameball to use a different bearing, I say they're pretty evenly matched.
@@Raire I've decided to roll with the Ploopy! (Pun not intended)
Just bought a DIY kit last night, assembled it myself, and it runs like a dream.
Definitely quite a learning curve after using mice since day 1, but I think I've picked it up quite well, I'm already top scoring consistently in Titanfall 2 pubs!
The big thing that swayed my decision over the Gameball was the Ploopy's Open-Source nature, which directly correlates to it's repairability. Knowing that I could 3D print any parts that break or wear down over the years is quite nice.
Thank you for the vid & reply! It provided good insight for me towards my purchase.
I have some questions I would like to ask u, I recently got a idea but as I don't own a trackball I'm not sure if it's possible so I would like your opinion:
Do you think a game (3D) where movement and point of view (idk how to call it) are control by 2 separate trackballs would be possible ?
1 trackball would work like a normal trackball or mouse (what I call the point of view) and the other one would allow u to move in the direction u move the ball (and so would replace the keyboard), so if I'm looking at a tree for example I need to move the ball forward to move the character forward
I think such way of moving would allow more possibilities for movements as you wouldn't be constrained to only move forward, backwards, left and right like with a keyboard. You would be able to move in all type of angle because you use a trackball
What do you think ?
(Sorry for my bad english)
I don't think it would work very well.
Depending on how it works you would have problems moving in one direction continually, where you have to keep rolling the ball to keep moving. That would get tiring very fast. There are also issues I feel with how would you move up or down.
It's a interesting idea but there are definitely some hurdles to deal with.
@@Raire I know how to fix both problem (as long it's possible to do obviously). My idea for the movement was:
Imagine there is a point at the top of the ball, when u roll the ball forward, the point move forward, my idea is tracking this point and depending on it's position moving the character, so you wouldn't have to roll the ball continually but just once, and if u want to change direction u just change the position of the point. The ball is 3D so there shouldn't (I hope) be any problem, another idea of mine was depending on how far the "point" is the character speed is adjusted. So if u roll the ball a little bit then the character would walk slowly but if u roll it completely 90° forward then u reach the character max speed.
@@Raire For the up and down problem I was thinking of something else, not a jump button but dash. You know how dash work, u look in a direction and it dash in this direction, the dash would be without any cooldown (I feel I write this word wrong), you can dash again if you touch something (tree, wall, floor...).
As for dashing on the floor I'm still thinking how to make it so player don't just dash infinitely because they are always touching the floor.
The way you would use the dash is pressing a key, then rolling the ball in the direction you want to dash, and same as movement, the further you roll the ball the longer the dash is. I want to do this so player speed and dash can be almost completely personalized depending on the situation.
My only problem with all of this is......
Idk how to code game :'(
Guess it's time to learn
Btw if you're wondering why I want to use 2 trackball it'd because I feel it's the only way to allow 3D dynamic movement in all type of angle, as wasd key only allow player to move in a maximum of 8 directions.
The game I thought about is a pvp sword 3D game, where player would have very large possibilities of movements. Like dashing from tree to tree, platform to platform...
The sword would move at the same time you move your "point of view" (still don't know how to call it :) ).
This would (I think, but as I said earlier I'm not a programmer, or someone that use trackball so all of this is pure speculation and dream) be pretty hard to adjust at first as there are no game that use such mechanics for movement.
How are you liking the right mouse button on the Gameball? I'm getting such hard cramps because of the placement that I went back to the Elecom HUGE. Having to make a squeezing motion doesn't work very well for me.
I have gotten used to it but it isn't ideal. I'm hoping on the Pro version that they're working on to be more ergonomic. In the meantime I'm being careful not to strain myself with it and plan on getting a Ploopy Mini for work stuff swapping to the Gameball only for gaming.
I have a 3D printer, is it possible I can 3D print a ploopy for myself at a cheaper price? Like where can I just buy the non-3D printed parts? Preferably as cheap as possible.
Yup you can! If you want to build it yourself, you can check out the Ploopy Trackball Wiki on Github. It has all the instruction for assembling as well as what hardware you need to obtain and the firmware to flash onto it.
You mentioned assigning forward and backward to your trackball buttons alongside your standard right and left click. i am very curious as to your bindings
using the Expert Mouse Wireless currently, with SteerMouse and it allows you to up the sensitivity more :)
How's finger trackballs compared to thumb trackballs for shooting games?
Too late. This is the first time I hear about the Ploopy, but now I already have the Gameball Trackball and I'm totally happy with it.
The Gameball has a much better bearing system IMHO. If you don't like trackball stiction, then there's nothing better than the gameball IMO. Let me know ifanyone thinks there's something that has less stiction.
Amazing vid
ANOTHER RAIRE VIDEO!?
man I can't even left click on the ploppy without it moving the tra ckball
You might want to try Elecom's Guge :3
I actually have the Huge! Its pretty nifty tbh.
What's that red ball you have in the ploopy?
It is the ball from the Logitech Trackman :)
@@Raire Looks awesome! How does it compare to the stock marble?
Can you select a single letter in a text?
Yes you can.
thanks for the details!
poopy bruh