OS X Mouse lag and acceleration solution

Sondrix · Jan 9, 2013

hey gamers, if you're like me then you know of the sluggish feeling of mouse on the mac. it especially hurts when playing games like counter strike: source and team fortress 2 (and i've heard that a lot of people complain playing starcraft 2). Well this man not only deduced the problem (lag, not just acceleration) but he has created a fix for it, namely 'smoothmouse'.

here is the link to download, however you do need to join the forum:

http://smoothmouse.net/forum/topic/40-latest-version-download

and here is his article about the mouse lag

http://d43.me/blog/1205/the-cause-for-all-your-mac-os-x-mouse-annoyances

i haven't tried it yet on games, only general use.

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p.s i can feel the difference with general use, it feels alot snappier. Also you have to uninstall any other mouse fixes you've installed as well as your mouse drivers.

labars · Jan 9, 2013

This little piece of software is a revolution for the Mac. The mouse finally(!!) feels as good and responsive as in Windows. This is the program that will eliminate the need for Bootcamp (along more Mac games of course).

81Steven · Jan 13, 2013

I feel better with smoothmouse than all the others tools like usb overdrive, mousefixer, cursorsense, steermouse...

Sondrix · Jan 13, 2013

81Steven said:
I feel better with smoothmouse than all the others tools like usb overdrive, mousefixer, cursorsense, steermouse...

yeah it feels pretty amazing. I played counter-strike: source with it set to 'linear' and it was buttery smooth.

Finally had a standing chance against those slick windows players.

Idgit · Jan 13, 2013

I've never noticed mouse lag and have always hated the feel of mouse movement on Windows (too fast, no mouse "feel"). But then, I've been a Mac user all my life.

I'm definitely going to try this to see if it improves my gaming. If this many people say there is a problem with mouse lag on OS X, then there must be some truth to it.

Will this benefit all game styles or only certain types? I play mostly FPS.

Mackilroy · Jan 13, 2013

Idgit said:
I've never noticed mouse lag and have always hated the feel of mouse movement on Windows (too fast, no mouse "feel"). But then, I've been a Mac user all my life.

I'm definitely going to try this to see if it improves my gaming. If this many people say there is a problem with mouse lag on OS X, then there must be some truth to it.

Will this benefit all game styles or only certain types? I play mostly FPS.

I'm the same way, switch between OS X and Windows frequently, and I've never had cause to complain about mouse lag in OS X.

doh123 · Jan 13, 2013

Idgit said:
I've never noticed mouse lag and have always hated the feel of mouse movement on Windows (too fast, no mouse "feel"). But then, I've been a Mac user all my life.

I'm definitely going to try this to see if it improves my gaming. If this many people say there is a problem with mouse lag on OS X, then there must be some truth to it.

Will this benefit all game styles or only certain types? I play mostly FPS.

its all subjective. I prefer playing how OS X handles mouse movements much over how Windows does... but some people are the exact opposite.

labars · Jan 13, 2013

doh123 said:
its all subjective. I prefer playing how OS X handles mouse movements much over how Windows does... but some people are the exact opposite.

Well, it's subjective whether you like the OSX mouse movement or not. But it's a fact that the Windows mouse tracking is more precise, until you install Smoothmouse that is

doh123 · Jan 13, 2013

labars said:
Well, it's subjective whether you like the OSX mouse movement or not. But it's a fact that the Windows mouse tracking is more precise, until you install Smoothmouse that is

No, that is not a fact. The precision comes down to the arm, hand, eyes, and brain controlling it. Just because you are more precise using it, doesn't mean that is the same for everyone else.

pukingpixels · Jan 15, 2013

Finally! I've been trying to get rid of that lag for years without results but this actually works.

50548 · Jan 15, 2013

pukingpixels said:
Finally! I've been trying to get rid of that lag for years without results but this actually works.

It seems promising, but there is a SERIOUS bug with it: it does NOT disable the hot corners which are active in Finder (even when the full-screen game is the foremost application).

In other words, whenever I move the mouse to control my character in games like L4D2 or CS, the mouse ALSO moves "underneath" and sleeps the screen or activates the screen saver when it supposedly reaches the relevant corner of the screen...extremely annoying, to say the least.

81Steven · Jan 17, 2013

they are working to fix issues, but it's still the best solution available just now

Ddyracer · Jan 17, 2013

i can't download it because i don't have an account to the site

pukingpixels · Jan 17, 2013

BRLawyer said:
It seems promising, but there is a SERIOUS bug with it: it does NOT disable the hot corners which are active in Finder (even when the full-screen game is the foremost application).

In other words, whenever I move the mouse to control my character in games like L4D2 or CS, the mouse ALSO moves "underneath" and sleeps the screen or activates the screen saver when it supposedly reaches the relevant corner of the screen...extremely annoying, to say the least.

I didn't have the time to test it out in game but if that's the case then I'll wait for an update. It's pretty much useless to me unless they fix it.

Dae · Jan 17, 2013

Thanks for feedback everyone!

BRLawyer said:
It seems promising, but there is a SERIOUS bug with it: it does NOT disable the hot corners which are active in Finder (even when the full-screen game is the foremost application).

We are aware of this annoying problem and we're doing our best to find a solution. I have to admit though, that it is not very easy to fix because Apple does not provide any official means to detect when an application wants to capture the mouse pointer. Other mouse drivers do not have this problem because they work differently and do not target lag.

81Steven · Jan 17, 2013

and putting something in the menu bar to disable/enable hot corner before gaming wouldn't be an acceptable workaround?

Dae · Jan 17, 2013

81Steven said:
and putting something in the menu bar to disable/enable hot corner before gaming wouldn't be an acceptable workaround?

The problem is much bigger than hot corners. Games can't capture the mouse pointer properlywhich means that if you run a game in a windowed mode, the mouse pointer may escape the game window and click on the desktop or other windows near the game window. Or, if you use two or more monitors, the mouse pointer may escape the primary monitor with a game, when it hits one of the sides of the screen.

Of course we'll find a solution soon. I just want to say: yes we know about these problems, we hear you, we're annoyed about them and we'll fix them as soon as possible

50548 · Jan 17, 2013

Dae said:
The problem is much bigger than hot corners. Games can't capture the mouse pointer properlywhich means that if you run a game in a windowed mode, the mouse pointer may escape the game window and click on the desktop or other windows near the game window. Or, if you use two or more monitors, the mouse pointer may escape the primary monitor with a game, when it hits one of the sides of the screen.

Of course we'll find a solution soon. I just want to say: yes we know about these problems, we hear you, we're annoyed about them and we'll fix them as soon as possible

The workaround for now is, indeed, to turn off hot corners under the "Screen Saver" preferences...I would assume that 99% of players use only one monitor, so if you focus your efforts on disabling hot corners for a session or disabling them for any active full screen app (at least as optional settings) you should be pretty much OK.

Ddyracer · Jan 17, 2013

Please can someone put the zip file here so i can download it without making an account?

81Steven · Jan 17, 2013

the project is in a beta stage, I think would be better you make an account so you can leave feedback and post bug and issue to the developers

Dae · Feb 1, 2013

Dae said:
The problem is much bigger than hot corners. Games can't capture the mouse pointer properlywhich means that if you run a game in a windowed mode, the mouse pointer may escape the game window and click on the desktop or other windows near the game window. Or, if you use two or more monitors, the mouse pointer may escape the primary monitor with a game, when it hits one of the sides of the screen.

Of course we'll find a solution soon. I just want to say: yes we know about these problems, we hear you, we're annoyed about them and we'll fix them as soon as possible

Problem fixed in SmoothMouse 1.0.5 (download / website / discussion).

Ddyracer · Feb 2, 2013

81Steven said:
the project is in a beta stage, I think would be better you make an account so you can leave feedback and post bug and issue to the developers

Not so into that, i just want to try it. Nevemind, Dev put the link in thanks dev!

50548 · Feb 4, 2013

Dae said:
Problem fixed in SmoothMouse 1.0.5 (download / website / discussion).

You've fixed one problem and created another now: whenever I click the left button it gets stuck/selected in whatever OS/app button I am clicking (for example, if I click on iTunes to go to the next song, it activates fast forward instead).

Another example: you click on Sync to sync your iPad on iTunes, and the button just gets selected as if you were pressing the mouse button all the time without releasing.

This is always happening with the Magic Mouse, at least.

edddeduck · Feb 7, 2013

FYI On some of our newer games we grab RAW mouse data as well as the driver mouse data, the raw data has absolutely no manipulation so should feel more PC like.

Check the advanced tab for the option.

Ddyracer · Feb 7, 2013

I have been getting (since using it from the start) quite a bit of cursor lag every 20 to 30 mins. Is this a known issue?

OS X Mouse lag and acceleration solution

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