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Software
On the G610, you cannot assign on-the-fly macros. This works only on Logitech keyboards that have extra G keys or an MR button. You can, however, program macros, as well as a variety of other functions, using the software. When you click the + to add a Command, notice that you can select from a variety of options:
- Keystroke: one or more key presses
- Multi Key: more complex combinations - a true macro recording tool
- Text Block
- Mouse Function
- Media
- Hotkeys
- Shortcut
- Function: email, web browser, media players, calculator, etc.
- Ventrilo
Most of the above are fairly self-explanatory. (The Ventrilo feature enables you to assign several commands, mute/unmute your mic, mute/unmute the sound, or enable push to talk..)
It is a little odd that LGS spreads them all out like this; usually in keyboard software, there’s a lone macro tool from which you can create any of these. In any case, creating or selecting these features is simple enough, once you know what you’re looking for.
Lighting Settings
There are three sub-menus in the Lighting Settings of the software: Freestyle, Zones, and Effects. All three modes allow you to pick the "color" using either an analog slider (from white to black) or five stock "colors" (white, black, and three shades of grey). There are a further five custom slots for saving specific "color" values you set. An overview of the keyboard shows the lighting on the keyboard in real-time. Changes made to the keyboard lighting modes take effect immediately, without the need for actively applying settings, which is quite convenient.
With Freestyle mode, you can pick the color of every key individually. First, set or pick a color, and then click on the keys on the overview that you want to change. You can even change the lighting settings for the individual lock lights, indicator buttons, and the logo using this method.
A faster but less precise way to set lighting settings for buttons is the Zones mode. In this, you can set the lighting values of the modifier keys, the indicator lights, WASD cluster, logo, function keys, numbers, and arrow keys as whole groups rather than having to select each key individually. Finally, the Effects mode lets you use animated patterns. The following patterns are available:
- Fixed Brightness: sets the whole keyboard at a specified color
- Breathing: repeatedly dims and brightens the keys to your chosen brightness and at a customizable speed
- Star Effect: lights up random keys to a specified brightness
- Light Wave: lights up keys horizontally, vertically, or from the center out, at a fixed brightness level and speed
- Key Press: makes keys you press go a certain color, while you can also set the background color (so you can have a dark board with pressed keys lighting up or a lit board with pressed keys fading out)
Game Mode Settings
In the Game Mode Settings area, you simply click the GUI to select a key you want to disable when you’re in game mode.
Input Analysis
This is the area where you can view a heat map of your clicking activities. There are two main features: Key Press Heat Map and Key Duration Heat Map. The former shows you which keys you press most often, and the latter shows how long you pressed each key.
You can use the Commands editor to set up a key that will record/stop when you want to run a test, or you can simply run a test from the software itself. Click the triangular play button, type away, and click the button again to stop. You’ll instantly see a heat map with a bit of data.
However, as there were only a few patterns and one color of backlight available from the heat map (on the G810), I wasn’t able to deduce much more than that I walked left slightly more than I walked right in a game. The colors of the G810 offered a little more insight, but this is a feature that will likely appeal to a relatively small set of users.
Overwolf
Logitech includes an application called Overwolf when you download the LGS software. When you first launch it, you’ll be prompted to create an account, or you can skip that bit for the time being. You can use Overwolf to take screenshots and record gaming footage, as well as show an FPS counter. The program’s features and even the UI are obviously strongly inspired by FRAPS, but it’s compatible with only a few games. Out of several hundred games installed on my computer, for example, it detected compatibility with only two: Overwatch and Killing Floor 2.
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