The Inspiration: KMoriaAs I wrote already, the LambdaRogue mouse interface is inspired by KMoria which is a version of UMoria for PalmOS devices. KMoria is the roguelike which I play most of the time (when playing roguelikes). It's simple and without lots of features, but it's very playable, perhaps better than some roguelikes on real computers. For a portable device, this is of course very important and perhaps a little bit difficult to achieve, as most roguelikes rely on a heavy keyboard usage.KMoria projects a grid on the screen which determines how the current stylus position (the stylus works basically like a mouse) has to be evaluated. This grid is somehow like a compass rose:
So when the player taps within a slice, the @ moves into the corresponding direction. I usually have switched off the option to actually display the slices; once one has adapted to this way, it's not longer necessary to see the grid.Mouse Movement in LambdaRogueLambdaRogue does the same as KMoria, although I don't plan to have an option to make the slices visible. I think it's not difficult to figure out how it works.If one clicks left to the @, the @ moves west. If one clicks right, the @ moves east. Top is north, below is south. The diagonal axes are northwest, northeast, southeast and southwest.Accessing CommandsAs LambdaRogue emphasizes to offer a very reduced set of keys and tries to accomplish as much as possible with the same key (Enter in most cases), there was already a base for a simple mouse usage:To do the same things Enter would do, a click with the right mouse button is needed. It's not necessary to point on anything, just right-click anywhere.With this combination of left-click moves and right-click actions, most common actions (using staircases, opening doors, looting treasure chest, examing crypts, drinking from wells, picking up items) can be done very quickly.However, some actions can't be done using enter, but have their own keys. To avoid using a strange combination of mouse and keyboard, these actions are accessible via a toolbar in the lower left corner of the map (see the screenshot above). From left to right, these icons show the status screen, the inventory and the songbook. If the player is in front of a trader or a NPC, an icon for talking is shown. If the player has equipped a long-range weapon, an icon for shooting is shown.Consequences for Default KeysetThe often criticed default keyset of LambdaRogue will now change to a more common one. As the mouse provides a interface that is also usable for laptops, my laptop optimized keyset is no longer necessary, at least in SDL mode. For console mode, everybody is free to redefine movement to own needs.Note on the used graphics in toolbar: These are from the Absurd Nethack tileset. I'll try to get permission to use them in LambdaRogue; if not, they're likely to be replaced.
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