[interface] Notify or Continue gameplay in background when dialog is in focus

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yereq
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Joined: March 22nd, 2020, 3:01 am

[interface] Notify or Continue gameplay in background when dialog is in focus

Post by yereq »

Frequently, in multiplayer I find myself unaware that it is my turn to take some action while looking at statistics, the help, or planning mode (maybe planning mode deserves its own thread?). I would like the turn indicator or some visual indicator to occur in this condition. I understand that you really want to *see* all of the actions that took place before taking your turn, but having some indicator that other players are waiting on me would be nice.
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Pentarctagon
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Re: [interface] Notify or Continue gameplay in background when dialog is in focus

Post by Pentarctagon »

If you go to Preferences > Multiplayer > Alerts, there should be an alert for when the turn changes.
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yereq
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Joined: March 22nd, 2020, 3:01 am

Re: [interface] Notify or Continue gameplay in background when dialog is in focus

Post by yereq »

Thanks for the reply @Pentarctagon. I checked, and that is set correctly. I think this has something to do with the core UI/main loop function, unfortunately. FTR, I'm using 1.14.11, so if this is changed in a later version, that would be great news...

If I have a dialog, such as the Wesnoth help or the Status dialog, or a menu open, here are the current adverse effects:
  • If I am hosting a game, actions taken by the AI are paused. (I just realized this while testing)
  • I do not see or hear a visual indicator once my turn comes around.
  • I do not see messages posted within Wesnoth
From my perspective, ALL animation and play pauses while a dialog or menu is active. For single player, this isn't terrible. For multiplayer, it causes people to wait on you or the AI indefinitely.

After testing, I found my memory was mostly incorrect regarding planning mode. :oops: I am still testing it... If a unit is planned and is killed, the game does not play the turn bell. I think if that does not happen, there are no issues with planning mode.
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Iris
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Re: [interface] Notify or Continue gameplay in background when dialog is in focus

Post by Iris »

All in-game UIs block the game entirely due to nearly two decades-old architectural shortcomings that are unlikely to be solved any time soon. I don't think anyone has ever disagreed on this being an issue we would like to see addressed.

(There was an effort early during the 1.15.x development cycle that addressed this among other things but also had the unfortunate side-effect of rendering the game completely unplayable to the point of it being unreleasable, so it was reverted.)
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yereq
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Joined: March 22nd, 2020, 3:01 am

Re: [interface] Notify or Continue gameplay in background when dialog is in focus

Post by yereq »

Thanks for the clarification, Iris.
I guess I'll just try to keep remembering to close dialogs for now! :D
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