We’ve got a few exciting things to announce today. First, the name of the mouse will be the WarMouse Meta. Second, it is no longer an optical mouse, but now features a new high-resolution laser with adjustable cpi/dpi that ranges from 100 to 5600. Third, we have added two new joystick modes and added significant software features in what we’re now calling Meta Modeware, including a mouse mode ID that shows up on the Windows taskbar to help you keep track of which mode is presently active. The autoswitching works so smoothly that it helps to have an easy reference telling you which mode the mouse is in. Fourth, we’re interested in knowing what color you think the L1/R1 buttons should be; so feel free to make your opinion known. Right now, the prototypes are dark blue and red, as shown below. Fifth, we’re going to start taking preorders on January 15th when we open the store. There is more information in the press release, but name-sensor-software-color-date covers the most important points.
sg1efc said on December 14th, 2009 , 4:26 pm
First = cool. Second = very cool.
Third = I threw away Windows for Ubuntu……. Ok, just read the press release: “The Meta is compatible with Windows, Linux, and Macintosh operating systems”….. does that mean the “mouse mode ID” will also show up in Ubuntu, like it will in Windows? And is this a natural installation of the Warmouse Meta’s Modeware/software? With a nice .DEB file to make installation very easy? No insane compiling I hope…. Or is this being run under Wine?
Fourth = any colors afaiac. Fifth = awesome, just wish I could pre-order now, LoL.
nobody said on December 14th, 2009 , 7:11 pm
maybe dark dark red ( like in the creative fatility 1010 scheme)
the blue used on the pictures looks like a bit cheap to me , a more darker one would be better i think(if you choose blue of course)
pic : http://www.opticalgamingmouse.com/images/creative-fatal1ty-1010.jpg
Teni said on December 14th, 2009 , 10:25 pm
Is it just me who wants it in transparent plastic so I can see all the insides working? lol
I’d say any darker color would be good… maybe a dark dark purple. It would be great if eventually you sold extra button covers so people could customize them, anyway.
Vincent Lynch said on December 15th, 2009 , 2:02 am
I really like the blue, both the dark blue now and the light blue in the original. I think the red gives it a juvenile, mid-90’s look
Blackstone said on December 15th, 2009 , 2:24 am
Congrats on your updated design, it looks great so far. PLEASE keep the same commitment to OpenSource and Linux support that brought me to this mouse initially. That said, could you consider some new materials for the release chassis? The slick, shiny black plastic could mean fingerprints and smudges, as well as sweaty hands. Perhaps a slightly textured black would do better. In addition, some more coarse textures on the buttons/joystick might me nice as well. As far as the wheel is concerned, perhaps you could cut some longer, deeper longitudinal cuts in the mousewheel so that users of the “click” function on the wheel can do so without putting enough lateral pressure to roll it? This is a chief complaint I hear of most mouse wheels thesedays, is that in trying to press down to click the wheel, someone rolls it up or down. A change in design could help that perhaps and be another thing to help the WarMouse Meta stand out. Also, to help finish off the new look, how about a braided cable?
Cambia l’hardware (e non solo) del WarMouse - bruno trani dot info said on December 15th, 2009 , 8:23 am
[...] e il WarMouse – come si chiama adesso – ha cambiato colore, aggiunto nuovi pulsanti e da ottico è diventato un mouse a laser configurabile da 100 a 5600 CPI/DPI. Ormai anche a livello di supporto software è [...]
Gary Bonney said on December 15th, 2009 , 8:30 am
Make the red a shade or two darker and your there IMO.
The rest sounds great!
admin said on December 15th, 2009 , 9:31 am
The red is actually quite a bit darker than it looks there; it’s more of a blood red than the bright red it appears to be. We’re still releasing the software open source, we’re still planning to port Meta Modeware to Linux and we’re testing to see if it works under WINE in the meantime.
The plastic of the prototypes is not the final plastic and we’re planning on going with a matte finish, not a shiny one. The joystick and T2 button on the side will both be rubberized, the scroll wheel may be as well. Transparent shells and removable buttons are simply not going to happen in the initial release. We’ve talked about custom buttons with icons, but the problem with doing that is twofold. First, you never look at the buttons anyhow, that’s the central point of the layout design. Second, what each button does can radically change from application to application, that’s the very meaning of the Meta name.
Jon said on December 15th, 2009 , 2:33 pm
I think a purple theme would awesome. Is there any possibility of different textures? I like the rubberised texture on the top of Razer mice because it offers a little more grip and is also non-stick. Shiny plastic tends to get a little uncomfortable during long mousing sessions. Not to mention a (purple!) soft rubber pad on top of the colored buttons and joystick would be unique and useful.
Also were you guys planning on making the shape of the mouse a little more ergonomic? I’d hate to nitpick but i think the shape of the mouse is a little early nineties for today’s competitive specialist mouse market.
sg1efc said on December 15th, 2009 , 3:27 pm
admin said on December 15th, 2009 , 9:31 am
“We’re still releasing the software open source, we’re still planning to port Meta Modeware to Linux and we’re testing to see if it works under WINE in the meantime.”
This is great news, Thank you. I do not want to ever have to go back to using any microsoft products, LoL. A direct port to Linux would be great and for updates to be available in Synaptic Package Manager would be awesome. Thank you.
Blackstone said on December 15th, 2009 , 8:11 pm
Thanks for your reply! I’m emphatic that the core of WarMouse development will be open source. I thank you and the community thanks you. I’m also pleased to hear about the materials available in the final. I WILL be preordering the Meta when it is available. Do you have any plans for LED indicators in the updated Meta design? I know they were not part of the workup for the OOM, but I was wondering if this had changed. Since it seems you’re going for a more generalized use and aggressive styling, LED indicators might help go up against competitors. I suppose they could be programmed to indicate just about anything from a change of mapping/mode, to other things in the future.
Another way for this to go could be clear buttons with variable color LEDs under them, but I expect that’s too much of a change between now and release.
A Japanese said on December 15th, 2009 , 8:49 pm
I wrote this in the diary
Reputation of black&blue Meta is good
admin said on December 15th, 2009 , 9:15 pm
Right now, we’re trying to keep things a) simple, and b) inexpensive. This thing is a serious monster under the hood, and the vast majority of our effort is going into the brains and the horsepower. We’re not Logitech, we don’t need to sell a billion of them for it to be worthwhile, and this isn’t the last mouse we’re going to do.
So, things like LEDs and swooshy shapes are fine, but they just aren’t on the radar at the moment. This is definitely a substance over style product and we know many – perhaps most – people won’t give it a chance because of that. That’s okay. Once we prove that it’s a great mouse and all the early adopters recognize the concept really works, then we can take the next step and make sure the superficials are superior too in order to appeal to the larger groups. But first things first.
Damon said on December 15th, 2009 , 11:39 pm
I wan’t this mouse so much it has become a need.
I will be buying at least 2 of these mice, possibly 3.
The looks are fantastic and its features are to die for.
Thank you Warmouse, for making my computer geeky again.
Co0L said on December 16th, 2009 , 7:10 am
IMHO, this mouse very ugly to be popular. It may be super comfortable and super useful, but customers prefer more handsome mouse.
sg1efc said on December 16th, 2009 , 2:29 pm
“Co0L said on December 16th, 2009 , 7:10 am
I could have bought a Dodge Ram pickup because it was pretty, but I bought a Toyota Tundra because it always gets me where I need to go & has never let me down. 
IMHO, this mouse very ugly to be popular. It may be super comfortable and super useful, but customers prefer more handsome mouse.” Not me. Super comfortable and super useful is why I will spend my money on this. My hand is big enough that I will never even see the mouse beneath it. LoL
Vincent Lynch said on December 16th, 2009 , 5:03 pm
LED’s and flashy designs are pointless. Ive been reading the development blog and the technology under this mouse is the most impresssive ive ever seen. Stick with features and tech instead of fancy plastic and glowing lights.
Blackstone said on December 16th, 2009 , 9:49 pm
As much as I hate to admit it, design and looks are important. Flashy designs are what sell “gaming products”. I’m sure WarMouse changed the looks of the open office mouse for this reason. To best your competitors, you need to be better at 99% of what they do. The Meta has to not only have better functionality than competing mice, but also at least look and feel good enough that people will take it seriously as a peripheral. I’d love to say that looks weren’t worth a damn, but if this was true Apple wouldn’t even exist. Features and feel are MOST important, but looks are important too for mass-market appeal, and I want to see the greatness that is the WarMouse open-source design philosophy make it to the mass market.
admin said on December 16th, 2009 , 11:18 pm
It’s not that the superficialities are unimportant, it’s merely that they’re less important than making the product work properly. The WoWmouse is a good example of a mouse with the ultimate in marketing, too much design input, and expensive trappings, but it simply doesn’t work. Now, we could easily spend the next six months playing around with different shell shapes and various ways to pretty up the buttons, but we’d rather get the core product out there so that we can learn from the users what needs to go into an even better mouse while we work on that stuff. We’d rather hit a series of solid hits and continue to improve in an interative fashion than simply swing madly for the fences.
nobody said on December 19th, 2009 , 11:19 am
just a small suggestion:
When you release this kind of picture, you should write something like “warmouse prototype n°xxx” on the bottom right .
Because it is not the final design, and some people think it is.
A small feature i would like to have, is to easily open my mouse. Which means an easy access to screws(usually they are hidden under teflon sliders and i have to unstick them each time i want to open my mouse).
Carl said on December 20th, 2009 , 12:59 pm
Looks mean absolutely nothing compared with good feeling on clicking and using the thumb stick. If it won’t last, you will only sell one batch, then the problems will start rearing its ugly face and by then – it won’t matter how you update it as people will still distrust your product. Thus, for the first version – make it WORK, and FEEL great. For the second version, add fancy stuff like ergonomics, led, cloth cord, etc. As I haven’t tried your mouse yet, if you feel comfortable with succeeding with the first of what I say already, I’d easily suggest colors that make the mouse look as non-plastic as possible. Soft finish, rather than polished, and colors that don’t contrast that much. For light colors, consider two shade of the same color, for darker colors – anything dark goes well with black as long as the complementing color is dark enough.
As a potential third step, why not offer what gaming keyboards are starting to offer: exchangeable keys? If there is a way to pop off the keys and add whatever you want instead in terms of color – great. If you go this route, you could also do the “Xbox controller stunt” and offer for instance rubberized covers for the palm part, as well as possibly offer different materials for the exchangeable buttons. Now that would indeed be a mouse supporting open source, as it would be open both in hardware and software…
johnnyfoofee said on January 8th, 2010 , 1:59 am
when can this be purchased
would love to try it for call of duty4
admin said on January 8th, 2010 , 1:18 pm
We plan to start accepting preorders on January 15th. It is excellent for CoD4; we have tested it extensively in that and CoD:MW2. This doesn’t mean it doesn’t work in CoD;WaW, it’s just that we tend to prefer Infinity Ward to Treyarch.