Right-click scrolling

Cutter · Post by **Cutter** » December 11th, 2007, 11:36 pm

Hello!

Wouldn't it be nice to have an alternate way to scroll the map? Moving the cursor to the edges of the screen is tiring. In most strategy games you can scroll by holding the right mouse button. In Battle for Wesnoth, the right click activates a context-menu. This is not a problem. If you right-click without moving the mouse, the context menu will appear. If you right-click and move the mouse before releasing the button, the menu won't show up but the map will scroll according to your mouse movement.

What about this?

Post by **Erk** » December 11th, 2007, 11:42 pm

sounds like a good way to make it hard to open the context window...

I've never seen this mechanic in another strategy game. Doesn't mean it isn't a good one, but why the right click? Why not make it the middle click? Nearly every mouse has a middle click on the scrollwheel these days, and in most browsers in windows and linux, middle-click activates the multidirection scrollything.

middle click scrolling would be OK, I think, although I've never had any problem scrolling around in Wesnoth myself.

deonjo · Post by **deonjo** » December 12th, 2007, 12:17 am

i think for those of us who play wesnoth (windowed) this would also be very beneficial.

deoxy · Post by **deoxy** » December 12th, 2007, 12:33 am

Arrow keys are still the way to go, IMO. Windowed or fullscreen.

DDR · Post by **DDR** » December 12th, 2007, 12:33 am

For windowed mode, I bash the mouse to the sides to scroll horizontally, and use the mouse wheel for vertical. It works perfectly!

Cutter · Post by **Cutter** » December 12th, 2007, 1:30 am

The right-click may not be the ideal button for scrolling, indeed, as it would interfere with the context menu. However, I never found scrolling wheels click-friendly as they are small and hard to press. Shift may be a good key for scrolling. It would act as a toggle: scroll while you hold it.

As far as I know there are two methods for scrolling:
One where a dot appears in the middle of the screen and the map scrolls according to the relative position of the cursor to this dot.
A second method is to "drag" the map with the mouse.

I prefer the second method by far as it is much more accurate.
What do you think?

Post by **Erk** » December 12th, 2007, 4:27 am

O.o clicking the middle mouse wheel is hard, using the arrow keys is hard, and moving the cursor to the edge of the screen is tiring?

Great Scott, man, how do you function?

I hate "hold and scroll" systems myself. They require, on a large screen, click-hold-releasing over and over to pan the page across, and it's just a nuisance.

Post by **thespaceinvader** » December 12th, 2007, 5:16 am

Scrollwheel scrolls vertically. I THINK Ctrl+Scrollwheel scrolls horizontally. If not, i'm pretty sure you could set it to do so in the preferences menu. I've never seen right-click scrolling before, it sounds like an odd idea to me. And right click is definitely needed in wesnoth for other things. MIddleclick scrolling as in GIMP would be good though (i.e. the middle click 'grabs' the canvas, whereupon you can drag it and release the button to drop it).

The Doctor · Post by **The Doctor** » December 12th, 2007, 6:24 am

I've seen right-mouse scrolling in only one other game: The Settlers IV, which I own. (Good game, by the way). I, too, agree that right-mouse scrolling would get annoying and make it difficult to get the menu, but maybe click middle mouse, then a little scrolling thing appears in the middle of the screen. Move the mouse and it will scroll. Then middle mouse button click to deactivate it. This could get annoying and tedious though, too.

Blueblaze · Post by **Blueblaze** » December 12th, 2007, 7:15 am

Erk wrote:I hate "hold and scroll" systems myself. They require, on a large screen, click-hold-releasing over and over to pan the page across, and it's just a nuisance.

That is an example of a poor click and hold scrolling system. Good ones don't scroll while you move the mouse, but rather scroll once the mouse is outside of the original click point, so you don't have to re-click, but rather one click can move you anywhere along the map. The right click shouldn't drag you across the screen as far as you move the mouse. The correct way to do it would be by making a system where if the mouse is 1-10 pixels below the original click, then move slowly, 11-50 medium, 51-150 fast, 151+ very fast. Anyway, not actual values of course, but just an example how a correct right click scroll would work.

deonjo · Post by **deonjo** » December 12th, 2007, 2:27 pm

yea i use the arrow keys. but I think the shift/ctrl as a toggle idea is pretty good.

Post by **Erk** » December 12th, 2007, 9:49 pm

Blueblaze wrote:
Erk wrote:I hate "hold and scroll" systems myself. They require, on a large screen, click-hold-releasing over and over to pan the page across, and it's just a nuisance.
That is an example of a poor click and hold scrolling system. Good ones don't scroll while you move the mouse, but rather scroll once the mouse is outside of the original click point, so you don't have to re-click, but rather one click can move you anywhere along the map. The right click shouldn't drag you across the screen as far as you move the mouse. The correct way to do it would be by making a system where if the mouse is 1-10 pixels below the original click, then move slowly, 11-50 medium, 51-150 fast, 151+ very fast. Anyway, not actual values of course, but just an example how a correct right click scroll would work.

Yus, that is the method I had assumed. It is not normally click-and-hold, in my experience. Hence my stated dislike of hold-and-scroll systems. I'd rather click, do my scrolling, and click again when I've arrived where I want to be.

Website · Post by **Sapient** » December 13th, 2007, 1:00 am

The middle click centers you on the hex you are currently hovering over; this is faster than scrolling. You can do it multiple times in rapid succession to get around very quickly and with a large degree of control (speed of movement deremined by distance from center). It's the only method I use, really.

Another thing nobody seems to have mentioned is the minimap. Try clicking on that. If you think that hitting the middle mouse button or arrow keys or scroll wheel are a hassle then you do have that option as well. There are enough scrolling options as it is. As far as I'm concerned this is not an area that needs improvement. You just need to familiarize yourself with the existing options better.

Cutter · Post by **Cutter** » December 13th, 2007, 3:02 am

Blueblaze wrote:
Erk wrote:I hate "hold and scroll" systems myself. They require, on a large screen, click-hold-releasing over and over to pan the page across, and it's just a nuisance.
That is an example of a poor click and hold scrolling system. Good ones don't scroll while you move the mouse, but rather scroll once the mouse is outside of the original click point, so you don't have to re-click, but rather one click can move you anywhere along the map. The right click shouldn't drag you across the screen as far as you move the mouse. The correct way to do it would be by making a system where if the mouse is 1-10 pixels below the original click, then move slowly, 11-50 medium, 51-150 fast, 151+ very fast. Anyway, not actual values of course, but just an example how a correct right click scroll would work.

It's a matter of taste. I prefer by far the "hold and scroll method".

Samantha · Post by **Samantha** » December 13th, 2007, 3:55 am

How about using two button scrolling: you could press both the right and the left mouse buttons at about the same time and you can scroll around the map.