[Suggestion] Right-click inventory item for UFOpaedia on mobile

[rkagerer]

Hi there,

I'm loving OpenXcom (been playing the X-Com Files mod).  It's working surprisingly well on mobile, except there's one really important feature which isn't accessible there.  On PC, you can middle-click an inventory item to open UFOpaedia and jump directly to it.  This is really helpful when you want to quickly check the stats for different weapons, or need a reminder for what a piece of equipment does.  But I haven't figured out how to do that on mobile.  The "extra mouse button" overlays aren't available on the inventory screen.

It would be awesome if you could long-tap an item in the inventory screen to bring up the corresponding UFOpaedia article.  Right now it's a real pain as you have to open UFOpaedia and scroll through the giant list of researched items to find the one you're interested in (which is huge for a mod like X-Com Files).

Long tap on mobile translates to right-click.  I realize that's already utilized to 1) cancel moving an item held by the cursor, 2) quickly equip/unequip an item (moving it between the ground and the soldier), and 3) in the pre-battle screen, to prime/unprime items (like grenades).

Could I suggest an option be created to make the right-click behavior in the inventory screen jump to the UFOpaedia article for the item clicked (unless you're in pre-battle and are clicking on a primeable item)?

On mobile #2 is useless (long-tap takes longer than just picking up the item normally), and the way I've laid out the feature request this wouldn't impact #1 or #3.

Open to suggestions if you have a better implementation.

[rkagerer]

No thoughts?

Middle-click and Right-click would be very helpful in a few other geoscape situations, eg. to view an item's research and manufacturing dependencies when selling mission loot.

[Meridian]

Long tap on mobile translates to right-click.

Only pre-battle.
During battle it is not implemented.

I realize that's already utilized to 1) cancel moving an item held by the cursor, 2) quickly equip/unequip an item (moving it between the ground and the soldier), and 3) in the pre-battle screen, to prime/unprime items (like grenades).

1) and 3) yes
2) doesn't exist (unless you are playing some other fork)

Could I suggest an option be created to make the right-click behavior in the inventory screen jump to the UFOpaedia article for the item clicked (unless you're in pre-battle and are clicking on a primeable item)?

People are already used to what R-click does on PC/Mac.
I am not changing that.

And an option would make the code a lot uglier than it already is today. Please note that the code is different on the Desktop branch and on the Mobile branch, and also there are already several hacks in place, which prevent implementing a "nice" option.

If it is changed, then only on Mobile. And the community needs to show at least some interest.

On mobile #2 is useless (long-tap takes longer than just picking up the item normally), and the way I've laid out the feature request this wouldn't impact #1 or #3.

Again, #2 doesn't exist.
Are you confusing it with Ctrl+L-click?

Open to suggestions if you have a better implementation.

I was waiting for feedback first, but obviously nobody from the community plays on mobile, or nobody cares about it, or nobody reads the forum.

Middle-click and Right-click would be very helpful in a few other geoscape situations, eg. to view an item's research and manufacturing dependencies when selling mission loot.

I am not implementing this (separately) on the hundred-ish geoscape/basescape GUIs.
I have a life too.

It can be considered on a few selected places based on community feedback... but there's no community feedback.

[Meridian]

How about something like this (see attached video).

[rkagerer]

How about something like this (see attached video).

YES, that would be so, totally awesome! 

I think I might even have tried doing exactly that once, out of exploration / desperation.  (If you wanted to make it more obvious, you could temporarily change the hamburger to a "?" or "ⓘ" / info icon while the user is holding a piece of equipment, but that could get distracting and I don't see it as necessary myself).

2) doesn't exist (unless you are playing some other fork) ...
Are you confusing it with Ctrl+L-click?

I was, for the case of #2.  Sorry about that.

• It can be considered on a few selected places based on community feedback...
• I was waiting for feedback first, but obviously nobody from the community plays on mobile, or nobody cares about it, or nobody reads the forum.
• I have a life too.

Totally fair.

I'm actually really blown away by how playable it is on Android.  I've spent more than 50% of my The X-Com Files gametime on that platform, out of convenience.  And this is coming from someone who generally shuns doing things on mobile in favor of a "real" platform like desktop.

The change you made a while ago to show filter boxes had a HUGE impact on playability.  It's really nice not having to repeatedly scroll through huge lists like inventory at a hoarder base, the UFOpaedia, etc.

I feel like if it was more accessible to get started (...imagine if a deal could be cut with Take-Two or whoever to bundle the copyright IP so you could install and launch XCF with a single tap), and with a few more quality of life tweaks, that could be avenue to bring in lots of new players.  I can easily state that coupled with that mod, this is the deepest game I've ever played on any mobile platform, and it certainly competes in terms of "fun factor" with other, much more popular titles I've played.  I realize I might be a little biased due to nostalgia.  Maybe one day I'll do a little how-to writeup with screenshots on how to install it, set up the mod, configure savegame syncing with other devices, etc.

In the meantime, the tweaks you've already made have really improved my own experience and I thank you for that sir!

I made a separate thread to list a few screens where a middle-click (and potentially right-click) could be helpful:
 https://openxcom.org/forum/index.php?topic=12574

[Meridian]

YES, that would be so, totally awesome! 

You can test it using this build: https://openxcom.org/oxce/misc/oxce815.apk

[rkagerer]

You can test it using this build: https://openxcom.org/oxce/misc/oxce815.apk

I gave it a quick test and it works great!  I'll keep it installed, play with it some more, and if you don't hear from me it means I didn't find any issues.  Thanks!