Oolite Bulletins

Looking ahead to my next core code change, I'm trying to narrow down any joystick mapping functions that are currently missing. My list currently has these items in no particular order (and with no though to the actual description to go with said items):

• Reverse prime equipment
• Compass mode previous
• Comms log
• Rotate cargo
• MFD select next
• MFD select previous
• MFD cycle next
• MFD cycle previous
• Cycle external views

Are there any that I've missed?

Don't know if this is possible, but... cycle external views?

Cody wrote: ↑Wed Sep 15, 2021 12:16 am

cycle external views

It should be possible. Thanks, I'll add it to the list.

phkb wrote: ↑Wed Sep 15, 2021 12:23 am

Not directly joystick-related:
While you are looking into keyboard handing and joysticks, which essentially means the input devices. Would it be possible to send such input events via the debug console? Would it be possible to receive input events on the debug console?

This would enable a lot of things currently not possible:
- For multiplayer games we could control some ships via network
- For demo purposes we could record events and replay them
- Demo purposes automatically triggered and evaluated could end up in automatic test cases

I can't imagine that you won't have thought of this, but on the very very mild off-chance that you have not, your spanking-new fast-activation buttons!

And, just musing, we have "viewscreen-views" for each of the four compass points but not up and down.

I could never understand why in the older versions (pre-yaw) we can only pitch up and down, but then can only see left and right!

Cholmondely wrote: ↑Sun Sep 19, 2021 7:58 am

I can't imagine that you won't have thought of this, but on the very very mild off-chance that you have not, your spanking-new fast-activation buttons!

First things first. Once I’ve finished the keyboard config changes, then brought the joystick functions into parity, then we can look at adding the ability to control OXP equipment.

Cholmondely wrote: ↑Sun Sep 19, 2021 7:58 am

And, just musing, we have "viewscreen-views" for each of the four compass points but not up and down.

That one falls outside the scope of the keyboard and joystick changes. You can certainly add custom views that would approximate those directions, they would only be accessible by cycling the external views, not with a direct access button. Adding core views is a different change.

hiran wrote: ↑Wed Sep 15, 2021 6:21 am

Would it be possible to receive input events on the debug console?

Likewise this request. I’ll add it to the list to investigate, but I don’t want to stack too many changes into one code drop.

I've just pushed a new update to trunk, which does the following:
- Adds the following missing functions: Reverse prime equipment, compass mode previous, comms log, rotate cargo, MFD select next/previous, MFD cycle next/previous, Cycle external views, galactic jump, pause game, toggle docking music, toggle hud.
- Groups logical sets of functions, and adds headings to the sections (same as for the key config update)
- Unifies the descriptions between joystick and keyboard.

Next trunk release due out shortly.

Well done, Sir! Your elevation to the Admiralty was indeed well-deserved!

Might it be an idea, together with adding the missing complexity to the selectable joystick/controller options, to produce one or two .oxp's which present ready-made selections for newcomers to the game who might not understand it all? Say for controllers (are they all the same? - and I suspect identical to the simpler Thrustmaster models too!). I have a suspicion that people who prefer HOTAS's prefer complexity.

The controls on this one seem identical to those on a controller - the same number of controls - and just look at the labelling

phkb wrote: ↑Mon Jul 04, 2022 5:26 am

I've just pushed a new update to trunk, which does the following...

Cool!

Cholmondely wrote: ↑Mon Jul 04, 2022 8:31 am

Might it be an idea, together with adding the missing complexity to the selectable joystick/controller options, to produce one or two .oxp's which present ready-made selections for newcomers to the game who might not understand it all?

At the moment, I don't think any of the joystick settings are OXP-able. The details are stored in the .GNUstepDefaults file, not in any of the AddOn locations, so we'd need to look at other options for this (either changing the core game to make joystick config OXP-able, or having some default settings whenever a joystick is detected - or even both).

phkb wrote: ↑Mon Jul 04, 2022 10:50 pm

Cholmondely wrote: ↑Mon Jul 04, 2022 8:31 am

Might it be an idea, together with adding the missing complexity to the selectable joystick/controller options, to produce one or two .oxp's which present ready-made selections for newcomers to the game who might not understand it all?

At the moment, I don't think any of the joystick settings are OXP-able. The details are stored in the .GNUstepDefaults file, not in any of the AddOn locations, so we'd need to look at other options for this (either changing the core game to make joystick config OXP-able, or having some default settings whenever a joystick is detected - or even both).

If it's not oxp'able its probably not worth bothering with. OXP allows easy choice. Other choices tend to be more tendentious.