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DF Suggestions / Shift+S should always search... everywhere, in every menu, all the time.
« on: December 21, 2022, 03:25:52 am »
controls in DF are to say the least. That is not why we love the game.
some menus has s as search... some q.
Some menus require a press and hold alt maybe?
Stating the obvious is to clean all of that out. Make it completely self-explanatory. All shortcuts should ofcourse be 100% streamlined.
But... imagine a sort of finder/searcher. A module that would pop up on screen (in the middle) you start typing, it has severe wildcarding feature. Down up will scroll through suggested actions. Enter will execute.
Type:
"bu c"
It yields:
build chair/throne [b -> c]
build cabinet [b -> f]
build container, chest [b -> h]
build etc etc etc
Type:
"inv s pi"
It yields:
Show Inventory of Stockpile#1
Show Inventory of Stockpile#2
Show Inventory of Stockpile#3
Show Inventory of Stockpile#4 (name: Main)
Show Inventory of Stockpile#5
Of course keyboard shortcuts are faster, but this will not only make everything easier for the player to find, it will also slowly teach the player about the faster shortcuts - and as long as shortcuts are not 100% consistent between menus it'll also make it easier for the player to find things in menus that is not immediately within the player's cognitive reach.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
some menus has s as search... some q.
Some menus require a press and hold alt maybe?
Stating the obvious is to clean all of that out. Make it completely self-explanatory. All shortcuts should ofcourse be 100% streamlined.
But... imagine a sort of finder/searcher. A module that would pop up on screen (in the middle) you start typing, it has severe wildcarding feature. Down up will scroll through suggested actions. Enter will execute.
Type:
"bu c"
It yields:
build chair/throne [b -> c]
build cabinet [b -> f]
build container, chest [b -> h]
build etc etc etc
Type:
"inv s pi"
It yields:
Show Inventory of Stockpile#1
Show Inventory of Stockpile#2
Show Inventory of Stockpile#3
Show Inventory of Stockpile#4 (name: Main)
Show Inventory of Stockpile#5
Of course keyboard shortcuts are faster, but this will not only make everything easier for the player to find, it will also slowly teach the player about the faster shortcuts - and as long as shortcuts are not 100% consistent between menus it'll also make it easier for the player to find things in menus that is not immediately within the player's cognitive reach.
