Playing with keyboard

[fabi]

Can i play wesnoth with keyboard only ?
I used to play battle isle in this way, which was faster.

If not can this be done please ?
The only feature which is missing is the ability to move the active hex
field instead of the viewpoint.

Greetings, Fabi

[UncleZeiv]

I would lilke to be able to play with keyboard only, too.

_dave_

ps - great game, anyway

[quartex]

Moving the hex with the keyboard seems like it would be a pain, the game is designed for a mouse. But I suppose it shouldn't be hard to assign 4 keys to move the cursor up,down,left, and right and a 5th to select the hex. But the fact is that I doubt many people on the development team want to implement such a feature.

[fabi]

It is just a matter of taste :-)
People used to manage nearly everything with the keyboard,
which is widely supported through linux, will also be faster in wesnoth.
I would enjoy this feature but wesnoth is allready easy to use.
Greetings, Fabi

[Dave]

I do think it'd be kinda nice if we supported a way to play with keyboard or joystick/control pad.

That way I can try to hook my computer up to my TV, put a control pad in my wife's hand, and make it like she's playing a console (she much prefers playing console games than computer games).

David

[quartex]

Here's an idea:

use the QWE and ASD keys for the six directions you can move from a hex.

Or just use the JKIL keys for the 4 cardinal directions for the cursor.

And I suppose the space key might be a convenient 'click' key to select the hex or click a button?

[fabi]

Here's an idea:

use the QWE and ASD keys for the six directions you can move from a hex.

Or just use the JKIL keys for the 4 cardinal directions for the cursor.

And I suppose the space key might be a convenient 'click' key to select the hex or click a button?

I am used the the variant with only the 4 cardinal directions.
This is enough and fits the kiss prinzip.
Space is fine too.
About the keys, why not make them costumizeable like the rest ?
Greetings, Fabi

[Viliam]

I am used the the variant with only the 4 cardinal directions.
This is enough and fits the kiss prinzip.

How exactly should cursor move with 4 keys on hex map? When clicking e.g. right key, should cursor:
* move right (skipping one column of hexes; so they cannot be selected)?
* move always right-down (or always right-up)?
* on odd columns move right-down, on even columns move right-up?

Also, how should the unit move?
* move cursor to unit and select it; move cursor to destination, click... and unit starts moving;
* move cursor to unit and select it; press direction keys and unit moves immediately.

I would prefer customizable keys, IMHO 8 keys would be best; and I personally would use the alphanumeric part of keyboard for this (there are arrows painted there, anyway). The 8 keys would be "up", "down", "left", "right" and 4 diagonal directions, so that both 4key and 6key gameplay is possible. (I assume that the "right" and "left" key move differently on odd and even columns.)

[Dave]

I am used the the variant with only the 4 cardinal directions.
This is enough and fits the kiss prinzip.

How exactly should cursor move with 4 keys on hex map?

It works easily enough....I've played games that do it before.

Generally pressing the right button will move north-east if your current 'x' value is odd, and move south-east if your current 'x' value is even.

David

[Elvish_Pillager]

Strange idea: Let the arrow keys move the mouse around.

Probably not such a good one, though.

[ott]

See feature request #10703 and the items linked to there for more about improving keyboard support, in the game as well as at the main menu.

Now, how to tickle a developer who understands key handling in the game to have a look at this...

[ZombieEater]

The old Blue Byte hex games (Battle Isle series and the spin-off History Line) used a hex map, but allowed keyboard navigation.

It worked kind as described above, if you keep hitting left it goes left-and-up then left-and-down, alternatingly. It seems a little odd at first, but you can get into it pretty fast.