aliens

Author Topic: Keyboard shortcut for priming various stuff  (Read 2986 times)

Offline Alpha Centauri Bear

  • Colonel
  • ****
  • Posts: 462
    • View Profile
Keyboard shortcut for priming various stuff
« on: October 20, 2020, 06:43:24 pm »
Some QoL suggestion. It could be already proposed but I didn't find anything like that.

This is a long mouse-click sequence that people has to repeat over and over and over again during missing and then during each and every mission and so on. Shortcutting it would make game faster and much easier.
go into inventory - take grenade to hand - go out of inventory (!) - hand with grenade - select "prime grenade" - select number of turns (🙄) - wait until "grenade is primed" flash disappears to see how many TU left - click hand with grenade (again!) - select "throw" - then actually throw it.

I am thinking keyboard shortcut for each grenade type: take it from inventory into free hand and prime it to 0 turns - voila! No need to enter-exit the inventory, select number of turns which is always zero, no flash message either as primed grenade is clearly indicated in OXCE.
The shortcut works only if there is corresponding item in the inventory and there is a free hand. Otherwise, it may flash message like: "not (item name) in the inventory", "you need a free hand to take it", etc.

There are not much throwable items in the game so I am thinking these at least should be shortcutted in order of importance if not everything can be implemented:

Dye Grenade - most usable item. Implementing this alone would tremendously add to QoL.
Chemical-flare - also quite often usable but on night missions only.
Magna-Blast Grenade
Sonic Pulser
Magna-Pack Explosive - rarely usable, I can live without it being shortcutted
Particle Disturbance Grenade - rarely usable, I can live without it being shortcutted

« Last Edit: October 20, 2020, 07:02:29 pm by Alpha Centauri Bear »

Offline TrickyTriscene

  • Sergeant
  • **
  • Posts: 21
    • View Profile
Re: Keyboard shortcut for priming various stuff
« Reply #1 on: October 20, 2020, 07:18:50 pm »
You know you can pre prime before the mission right, and that you can save these states so that they are again pre primed next mission. There is such an option in the adv options.
I already suggested in my simple ideas thread that pre priming should always be at dur 0, saving a click.
One prob with the shortcut could be the game doesn't know what grenade to take if you have one on belt and on shoulder (on shoulder takes only 3 tu to take)

Offline Alpha Centauri Bear

  • Colonel
  • ****
  • Posts: 462
    • View Profile
Re: Keyboard shortcut for priming various stuff
« Reply #2 on: October 20, 2020, 07:26:37 pm »
I consider pre-priming a cheat since it takes 50% TU. This is by design one soldier cannot prime and throw more than one grenade a turn. We sure can make all grenades automatically pre-primed to 0 *ever* but then we would need to adjust throwing TU so they won't be able
to shoot a rain hell of explosives.

As for from where to pick a grenade - I do not absolutely care! Whatever Meridian find worthy or easy to implement. Could be from anywhere even from the backpack or the ground. This will be an optional shortcut. So those picky ones can still enter inventory and fiddle with it manually.

Offline tarkalak

  • Commander
  • *****
  • Posts: 1460
    • View Profile
Re: Keyboard shortcut for priming various stuff
« Reply #3 on: October 21, 2020, 05:43:56 pm »
Such shortcuts will be hardcoded to the vanilla grenades, so wouldn't be that useful for mods that doesn't use them.

What about adding two more buttons to the grenade?
In addition to the "Prime" and "Throw" buttons.

Proposal 1:
"Prime at 0"
"Prime at 1"
"Prime"
"Throw"

Proposal 2:
"Prime at 0 and throw"
"Prime at 1 and throw"
"Prime"
"Throw"

Now Prime at 0 and prime at 1 are the most useful and you can still use the others if you so much wish to.

Offline Alpha Centauri Bear

  • Colonel
  • ****
  • Posts: 462
    • View Profile
Re: Keyboard shortcut for priming various stuff
« Reply #4 on: October 21, 2020, 05:54:07 pm »
Such shortcuts will be hardcoded to the vanilla grenades, so wouldn't be that useful for mods that doesn't use them.

Probably but why do we care? Mods can use thousands of new equipment. They should deal with them themselves. Luckily, vanilla has only few throwable items those reused over and over again.

Offline Meridian

  • Global Moderator
  • Commander
  • *****
  • Posts: 8597
    • View Profile
Re: Keyboard shortcut for priming various stuff
« Reply #5 on: October 21, 2020, 06:02:00 pm »
Probably but why do we care? Mods can use thousands of new equipment. They should deal with them themselves. Luckily, vanilla has only few throwable items those reused over and over again.

I care.

I have not hardcoded anything to vanilla items in OXCE, and I'm not planing to.
Heck, not even OXC has hardcoded anything just to vanilla items.

Offline Alpha Centauri Bear

  • Colonel
  • ****
  • Posts: 462
    • View Profile
Re: Keyboard shortcut for priming various stuff
« Reply #6 on: October 21, 2020, 06:30:05 pm »
Mmm. I didn't request it to be hardcoded. tarkalak said it would.
Could it be done without hardcoding? Like maybe exposing some ruleset parameter to tie to specific item type? Then mods can use it.

If you don't like multiple shortcuts, it could be just one with a subsequent menu - which item type to pick/prime. Then there could be a configuration option for mods to list all such items. Could be even generalized for all kind of items, not grenades only. Makes it much faster to take items in the hand without entering the inventory.
« Last Edit: October 21, 2020, 06:37:38 pm by Alpha Centauri Bear »

Offline tarkalak

  • Commander
  • *****
  • Posts: 1460
    • View Profile
Re: Keyboard shortcut for priming various stuff
« Reply #7 on: October 22, 2020, 11:09:33 pm »
Mmm. I didn't request it to be hardcoded. tarkalak said it would.
Could it be done without hardcoding? Like maybe exposing some ruleset parameter to tie to specific item type? Then mods can use it.

If you don't like multiple shortcuts, it could be just one with a subsequent menu - which item type to pick/prime. Then there could be a configuration option for mods to list all such items. Could be even generalized for all kind of items, not grenades only. Makes it much faster to take items in the hand without entering the inventory.

Your example had the vanilla grenades and I don't really see how it will work without hardcoding.

What about having Ctrl-Click on a grenade to arm and equip it in hand from the inventory screen.

Offline Alpha Centauri Bear

  • Colonel
  • ****
  • Posts: 462
    • View Profile
Re: Keyboard shortcut for priming various stuff
« Reply #8 on: October 22, 2020, 11:23:16 pm »
Correct. I was too specific but it only because I am playing with vanilla grenades.

What about having Ctrl-Click on a grenade to arm and equip it in hand from the inventory screen.

It still requires entering and exiting inventory. So no much of a save. Although, if this is possible, I'd take this too. At least some click reduction.

However, if Ctrl-click can be programed, so the configurable keyboard shortcut, I guess. And then modders can hook different item types on it as they see fit. I don't think we need more than 3 shortcuts max: smoke/dye, flare, grenade. Configurable for other mods to substitute items there.
The "grenade" shortcut can include the list of items those will be picked in order or existence. If first one is not there, look for next type, etc. I believe it is absolutely enough. No need to complicate things.