Maybe you missed the thread Brad posted on the things he wants as we get closer to the end of the Beta. "Lots of accelerater keys". GC/OS2 had lots of them (so it is not an anit-windows thing). In fact, the Beta testers of GC/OS2 insisted on them and my impression is that Brad became sold on their value. Add to that the number of highly successful games that has lots of accelerator keys, such as CIV2, AOE, etc. and you can see a strong argument for having them.
In playing with the SE IV demo I found a page on "hot keys" (this is just another term for the more formal term "accelerator keys") that only listed 4. Is there anyone that has played the real version that can tell us if that is all they have? Also, wasn't MOO 2 rather sparce in the area of accelerator keys?
Scott (BoogieBac),
Please remember back to discussions in the early Alpha on this subject. I made the comment that there are some very basic functions run off of the funtion keys that have such a commonality across applications of any sort that they enjoy a status as an "implicit standard". There was much debate on this subject during the Beta of GC/OS2 and the value of keeping to those implicit standards where they could be applied. I think an attempt to do so with GC/Win will enhance the intuitiveness of the game, making it easier for new players to get to the techniques of gameplay while reducing the distraction of learning the game's mechanics. I think we should discuss each other's impressions of the existing implicit standards before trying to assign function keys, so here is my shot at starting this all off.
--- Implicit standard numer one (I think this one enjoys the MOST common usage across applications of ALL types) - F1 is the "HELP" key. This can be supported and employed in a number of different ways, but my favorite is to have it condition sensitive. That is, if I have clicked on a field that requires something from me and I hit F1 the code displayes a help panel about that field and gives some examples (if appropriate) of what may be entered and what the affect will be. One treatment of this that I thought was especially good was that while viewing the help on the field another depression of F1 brough up a help screen that went up a level to describe the more general aspects of the screen that field was in.
--- Implicit standard number two (this one seems to apply more to games than it does to other types of applications) - When the screen with the focus has a "done" button the enter key acts as if the user had left clicked on the "done" button. The most used alternative to this that I remember has been the use of the "ESC" key, but every place I have seen this has included a built in confusion factor because there are some situations within that application where the ESC key was used for something else, the worst example being to exit the application. Another thing, currently with GC/Win, the enter key has a use from the main screen, that is, "end of turn". Until the option in the options menu to "prevent next turn if any ship has moves left" starts working, there will be a danger if the enter key is used to support implicit standard number 2. That is, if a screen with a done button is showing and the enter key somehow gets directed to the main game, you could go to the next turn before you want to.
--- Implicit standard number three (this one is more commonly recognizable in window applications that have a menu bar, but the underlying function similar) - F10 goes to the options list or options bar.
I will leave others to describe what appears to them as implicit standards based on what they have been using, but let me add one more key that has already been put into GC/Win: The "tab" key serves the same function as the "next" button on the main screen (select the next ship not on autopilot with moves left). This seems intuitive any time the main screen has the focus, and seems to be done well.
All tabs, buttons, or icons that have accelerator keys should show what the key sequence is in the pop-up that shows up when the mouse pointer is poised over it. As an example, when I position the mouse pointer over the planet list icon at the bottom of the main screen, in addition to "planet list" it should say "F2".
One more thing - as Brad can probably relate from his experience with GC/OS2, it is important that ALL accelerator keys be conceptually sensitive, and that any key used in a manner inconsistant with the current circumstances should be ignored. For example if the "enter" key is used as the "done" accelerator key when the "done" button is part of any window on the screen and used as a "I am done with this ship no matter how many moves it has left" function, regardless of what screen may have the function, the ship should NOT lose its moves. Actually, there should be no way to cause the focus to leave the screen with the "done" button and all key depressions that might be out of context for that window should be ignored (I have had ships move on me if I hit the direction keys while the planet view was up, as an example of the problem I would like to avoid). Some overlapping use of keys will be unavoidable, but the fewer of them there are the easier it is going to be on all of us.
With all that, may I propose my list for the funciton keys?
From the main screen (galaxy mode).
F1 - help
F2 - Bring up the planet list. (Not a toggle as BoogieBac implied. I think if the "galaxy mode" is not a toggle and the planet list, ship lst, domestic policy, etc. were, it would lead to confusion. Of course, it would eliminate the need for a "galacy mode" function key and would save it for some other use. Also, it would raise the question of whether you had to press the planet list function key again (toggle back to galaxy mode) before pressing the function key to toggle the ship list.)
F3 - Bring up the ship list.
F4 - Bring up the domestic policy screen.
F5 - Bring up the foreign policy screen.
F6 - Bring up the technology screen.
F7 - Bring up the extended ship data window for the currently selected ship (what happens if a ship is not currently selected?)
F8 - Bring up the influence screen for the current sector.
F9 - Bring up the options menu (I think the function of "cycle to previous/next owned planet belongs on the left and right arrow keys of the number pad).
F10 - Bring up the options window.
F11 - Unused.
F12 - Unused.
Tab - Select the next ship not on autopilot with moves left.
Pad arrow keys - direction keys for moving the currently selected ship (standard usage, as now in GC).
Ctrl-pad keys or Alt-pad keys - Move the main galaxy view - each key (except pad-5) being a direction, just as they are with the ship movement usage. This works as a supplement to the moving of the mouse pointer off the screen to shift the main galaxy view.
Ctrl-S or Alt-S - Save Game menu (keeping in mind that this will eventually have to be a menu with fields for the name of the saved game, directory path, etc. For a good example, see CIV 2). When paired with the "load saved game" key it makes more sense to put these on the Ctrl-xxx combination. It also saves F11 and F12 for functions that may be added later to the game that would be more directly related to the main screen. The save and load games funtion is really more associated (and correctly so) with the options screen.
Ctrl-L Load a previously saved game (same comments as for saving a game).
Space key when a currently selected ship has move points left - I am done with this ship for this turn (as currently in GC).
From the screens that can be reached from the function keys of the main screen,
F1 - help.
F2 - Switch to the planet list.
F3 - Switch to the ship list.
F4 - Switch to the domestic screen.
F5 - Switch to the foriegn policy screen.
F6 - Switch to the technology screen.
F10 - Bring up the option window (exiting the menu window will return to the calling screen, not necesarily the main screen.)
The remaining function keys may have subordinate uses to the current window, but will otherwise be dormant.
Enter key - Do the "DONE" function (only applicable with screens with a "done" button).
Arrow keys or pad-left-arrow, pad-right-arrow keys - any place where a screen has cyclic selection arrows, such as the planet view or the foriegn policy screen, these keys should be accelerator keys for them. NOTE: Having more than one set of cyclic selection arrows on one screen would be confusing if mixed with accelerator keys in this manner. I think it is better to have the accelerator keys, so efforts to avoid more than one set of syclic selection arrows would be a good idea. Fortunately, I am unaware of any such case currently in GC, so this note only serves as a caution to avoid them in the future.
Tab key - on any screen where there are fields to fill in, PARTICULARLY the new game startup screens, - Tab to the next field.
At this point I have run out of ideas. I will undoubtedly think of others later.
So, let the discussion begin.
Cheers,
Stardock Forums
