We spoke to Mad Catz about its new line of gaming mice, and the conversation got incredibly detailed and technical. If you want to see the full interview for the new line of RAT gaming mice, check out the transcript below.
1) What's the biggest improvement these mice have over the previous line of Mad Catz mice?
The overhaul on the products is so extensive that highlighting one sole aspect as bigger than the rest is a tough one. We have maintained the classic shape of the RATs, but there are some major fundamental changes. Customizable lighting has been implemented into all products in the range. This has been key feedback from customers that want an extra level of personalization and intelligent response from their gaming hardware. We are debuting our Kameleon RGB technology on the RAT6 and up. RAT1 and RAT4 also have single colour red lighting.
Every product has a new sensor, and the most popular sensors that gamers demand have been added to the products. These include the reliable Pixart PMW3310 in the RAT4, the evergreen Pixart ADNS 9800 in RAT6, and the ultimate performance sensors on the market the Phillips PLN2038 and the Pixart PMW3360 for RAT PRO X+. RAT8 also utilizes the PMW3360, whilst the RAT PRO S+ uses a brand new Pixart sensor, the PMW3330. This is an updated version of the PMW3310, with a higher DPI and improved tracking on a variety of surface materials. Rest assured though that all products have been tested on a variety of gaming surfaces and we are very happy with the results.
All of the RATs have had a substantial boost in button switch components to improve product reliability. We are using the highest rated OMRON switches (rated to 50 million cycles) on the majority of products in the range. In addition, the other controls like the scroll wheel have been reinforced, and the additional programmable buttons have been modified to increase their cycle life.
Gamers need to take their settings and profile with them. Moving from PC to PC at tournaments can results in a lot of setup time, and in order to make life easier, the more profile information the RAT can store, the better. So on all products from the RAT6 up, on-board memory is now a standard feature. This means that each RAT has multiple profile slots, that users can fill with button macro profiles, sensor settings, and Kameleon lighting effects. RAT1 and RAT4 will also store their lighting and sensor settings on board, so that crucial DPI and Poll rate settings remain persistent from rig to rig.
There has been a major effort to update and improve the programming software for the RATs. We have taken steps to unify all of the 2016 versions under the same software application, and improve the user experience based on customer feedback.
They can all be summarized under the desire to modernize the products with features that gamers are asking for and, wherever possible, boost the overall quality and robustness of the RATs.
2) What are the most requested feature fans have been asking for that you have implemented?
In the years since the first generation of RATs was launched, onboard memory and lighting have been two of the most common requests. The 2015 editions of RAT PRO S and X both had onboard memory, so we had a platform to build on and improve for the 2016 variants. RGB lighting is in such strong demand now and we expect our customers will enjoy the added level of customization that the new Kameleon lighting system offers.
3) I have an older RAT mouse, and had trouble with the included customization software. There's new software with these mice, how has it improved?
The software has seen extensive reworking since that which originally debuted with the first RATs – all of the power for creating your own commands and macros still exist, but with the added convenience of and intuitive drag and drop interface. With the capability for storing settings on the mice themselves, these adjustments are all grouped in a single screen ensuring a clear delineation between programming buttons, configuring the Kameleon lighting, and altering the settings of your sensor. Consequently, everyone should find it far easier and quicker to get involved with setting their RAT up.
One key feature to highlight is the ability to use our FLUX software to store profiles in the cloud. Users now have the capability to link their Drop Box folder (or other similar Cloud storage service) to the software. This allows them to always have access to their profiles when needed.
4) As far as customization, what ways can a gamer tweak these new mice to make it perfect for them?
No two gamers are the same. As an alternative to the one-size-fits-all approach, the freedom to customize the RAT at almost every level is one the main reasons it exists.
Firstly, it is important for our products to alter their shape to suit the gamers preferred grip and play style. Not only does this help with the precision movements required, but also comfort over extended gaming sessions. The RAT PRO X+ represents the pinnacle of this approach. The scroll wheel click force can be adjusted, as can the actual wheel itself. You can have a rubber wheel for extra grip, or even a wheel with an angled profile to make using the analogue strafe feature easier whilst in game. We still supply additional palm rests and pinkie rests, including a new pinkie rest that helps people lift the RAT during gaming. It has an additional curved surface that helps enclose the gamers little finger to make lifting the product easier and more stable. Gamers have the choice of PTFE or Ceramic glide feet depending on their preference for friction and gaming surface. Finally, the sensors are themselves modular. So, there is clear upgrade path for the future. When a newer sensor comes out, you won’t need to get a new RAT, simply get the new module and swap it out. The other RATs in the range all retain some level of physical adjustment, such as the palm rest on the RAT8, RAT6, RAT PRO S+, RAT4, and RAT1. This single bit of adjustment is crucial for supporting different grip styles and hand sizes. The weight of the RAT8 and RAT6 can also be tuned to feel just right. RAT8 also has the ability to alter additional surfaces and shape. This is all aimed at enhancing the gamers grip and comfort to help improve their performance.
Under the hood, we have tried to make as much of the product customizable as possible. All of the features that gamers expect, such as DPI, Report Rate, and Lift-off height, are all there and easily adjustable. We also have additional features on some products such as Rotax. This is a really handy feature that helps to counteract some of the cursor displacement that comes about when the product is held at a particular angle. Simply adjust the angle to how you hold the RAT, and your movements will be straighter and therefore more consistent in game. Our Precision Aim feature is also present. For the products with profile memory, the feature has also been upgraded so that the effect when the Precision Aim button is pressed can be set to any DPI value, and to any button on the product. Additionally, if you don’t really need DPI up or down, and just want the extra buttons for in-game commands, these can be turned off entirely, or assigned to any other programmable button on the device. So in addition to the convenience of being able to take your profiles with you, the onboard memory based products really have a lot more freedom in terms customization and getting the RAT to do exactly what you need it to.
Finally, our Kameleon RGB lighting has been implemented into all products in the range from the RAT6 and up. This feature allows users to further customize the look of their product and apply their own colours to the RGB LEDs and select from a range of effects. This feature is also per profile, which means you can have distinct colour configurations for a particular game or application so you can get a visual confirmation that your RAT is primed and ready. This is really handy when running in conjunction with our automatic profiling feature in our software. Customers can link a profile to a game or application, so that when that particular window is in focus, the profile is automatically active on the RAT.
5) Do you work with any pro teams or pro gamers on feedback?
Yes. The product development team relies on regular pro team contact, across all genres (and with some very individual requirements) for our qualitative and quantitative data. There is only so much you can learn from a structured question and answer session – we observe, and then analyse, pro athletes at the top of their game, in the heat of competition, and how they interact with their devices (and each other) – in order to design the best products. This gives a baseline of research to then build on and to see where our development team can innovate and improve the gaming experience. Later in the process, we get beta units out for testing and feedback and we of course continue to monitor feedback through forum threads and interaction with teams and gamers at LAN events.
6) What's the biggest difference between the new mice? For example, what is different between the 1 versus the 4 versus the 6?
There is a steady increment of features and performance throughout the range, from the RAT1 all the way up to the RAT PRO X+. We wanted to provide a quality product regardless of the price point that our customers were aiming at. So, whilst there is a clear increase in features and spec along with price, we think people will be just as happy with a RAT PRO X+ as they would be with a RAT4. The key differences between the range are button switch life, sensor capability, programming features, on board memory and whether the RAT has Kameleon RGB lighting or single-colour lighting.
There has been a concerted effort to improve the robustness of the controls, including the primary buttons, scroll wheels and secondary buttons. Given the sheer amount of clicks gamers are doing now in competitive FPS and MOBA games, you need to be able to trust that the controls are going to withstand that kind of use. In most cases, the life cycle of these key components have been increased by 500%.
As mentioned previously, the ability for gamers to customize their product further with our Kameleon RGB LEDs is a big change for the RATs. Kameleon is present on all RATs from the RAT6 and up. RAT1 and RAT4 users will still get single-colour red lighting to make their RAT stand out even more.
7) Do you know pricing information on the mice yet?
Final pricing will be announced when the RATs ship.
8) What about non-gaming uses? For example, I have a profile set up for editing articles. Is this possible with the new mice?
Absolutely. The RATs are designed and built with precision engineering and innovation at their heart, but are supremely comfortable and powerful objects to complement any consumer needs. The unusual appearance of the RATs have already seen them used for tasks other than gaming – we once outfitted an architect’s offices with RATs because they were so enamoured by the design! We fully believe that the benefits of having better sensors, physical adjustability for comfort and more buttons to customize with crucial commands completely apply to non-gaming scenarios. Our software has a plethora of pre-made shortcut commands for assisting you as you go about your non-gaming activities. Along with Windows 10-specific shortcuts, we have obvious commands like Cut, Copy, Paste and other handy shortcuts. We also supply profiles for popular productivity software on our website, that can be imported into the new RAT software. If the commands you’re after are not there, then they can be easily created in our custom command editor.
9) Is only the lighting customizable, or are gamers able to tweak other things about the appearance of the new mice?
The RAT range retains the core feature of being able to alter the physical appearance of the product to suit the gamers grip and play style. There are additional shaped parts supplied with RAT8 and RAT PRO X+, so gamers can customize the appearance of both the lighting and the shape to suit their requirements.
10) What's your favorite new feature or upgrade for the new mice?
Choosing one favourite point is almost impossible – each of us at Mad Catz have a different choice, so here’s a selection:
DAN:
As mentioned at the start, there have been so many updates and improvements to the products that is really difficult to single one out. Regardless of whether I’m testing a RAT PRO X+ or a RAT1, there is something to enjoy in each of the RATs. One consistent feature that runs through them all is the FLUX software. We have spent a lot of time as a team incrementally improving it, and adding in new features and usability improvements that people have been asking for. We hope these improvements pay off, and that as a result, more of our customers use it to get the most out of their RAT.
RICH:
We all play a number of different games and genres at Mad Catz and the key upgrade that has helped each player out has been the adoption of different sensors. We were already capable of accommodating different grip types and hand sizes thanks to the ergonomic adjustments afforded by the RAT design, but with the far wider choice of sensor types, we can now honestly say that the RAT range encompasses just about all the needs of a gamer. Whether you’re a dyed-in-the-wool advocate of optical or need a laser that will track better on harder, lighter surfaces, we have something for everyone.
ROB:
The simplicity and elegance of the RAT 1 is still my favourite. There is a delicacy and poise to its design that masks the design and manufacturing challenge we had, in order to meet strength and performance criteria, with minimal material, being super lightweight and ergonomically sound.
