Hello GOG community, I have a small hardware question. Back when I was six I remember playing Lode Runner 2 Player mode with just myself. One hand to control each player, using the same keyboard. I am thinking of speedrunning the two player mode by myself but some keys are unresponsive if there are too many keys down at one time.

Now Ive heard that mechanical keyboards can solve this problem, is that accurate? If I buy a mechanical keyboarrd and plug it in wil the problem be solved just like that?

Yes mechanical keyboards can read multiple key presses simultaneously and are highly recommended for video games that require a lot of button inputs.

Just be sure to check the keyboards as some can read more than others.

thanks. do they require much setting up?

http://lifehacker.com/n-key-rollover-anti-ghosting-and-other-keyboard-featu-1643804346

this link goes into this issue... you may want a 6KRO (6 key roll over) or whats called an NKRO (n-key roll over) which mean infinite.

non of this was ever an issue on the old PS/2 port boards :/

Im assuming that you mean the old PS/2 mechanical boards. Thanks guys for the help

yup yup... i used to keep one around just for mechwarrior ^_^

Keep in mind that if you want a keyboard with NKRO you'll need to have a PS/2 port. The USB ports have a limit (6 IIRC) of simultaneous keys pressed, even if the keyboard is NKRO.

There are keyboards with NKRO over USB (here's one), I'd bet they're not very common though. The linked one is QPAD MK-85, and I have the MK-80 which has NKRO over PS/2 and 6KRO over USB (so, of course I use it over PS/2, the built-in 2-port USB hub is electronically separate from the keyboard, so it still works as it uses a second connector).