Angband, MacBook and numeric keypad

[relic]

I am not sure if this thread should be in the Development section but I think it fits better here.


I am having slight (but annoying) problems when playing Angband.

The problem is this:
I bought a MacBook (my first ever laptop,) last autumn and one of the first programs I downloaded was Angband 3.1.2v2. I noticed immediately that it was a real pain playing without a numeric keypad. So I bought a Logitech wireless numeric keypad N305, apparently the only one available, and tried it.

The only thing that worked at first was single step in a keypad direction, but not running, nor commands that wants a direction.

After some thinking I came up with a macro

A:.
P:,

that fixed the running problem, making the game almost playable.

But with every command that requires a direction, (Open, Close, Fire, Disarm etc), I have to use the numeric keys on top of the regular keyboard. If there was a way to make those command recognize the numeric keypad it would be perfect (like some other macro or keymap, that would fix it).

Thanks in advance for any tips or suggestions that can help.

[d_m]

Hi relic,

I want to try out a new feature to see if it helps diagnose this problem.

Basically, I'd like you to start a new character (or make a backup of your savefile) then do the following sequence of keys:

CTRL-a L

This should give you a list of keys you pressed. Without using your macro, I'd like you to try running (or whatever) then use that command to see what the game thought you were doing. The reason you should use a new character is that once you use debug commands you are marked as a cheater.

The problem may be happening at a lower level, but it might be possible to diagnose it this way. Let me know how it goes.

[relic]

Hi relic,

I want to try out a new feature to see if it helps diagnose this problem.

Basically, I'd like you to start a new character (or make a backup of your savefile) then do the following sequence of keys:

CTRL-a L

This should give you a list of keys you pressed. Without using your macro, I'd like you to try running (or whatever) then use that command to see what the game thought you were doing. The reason you should use a new character is that once you use debug commands you are marked as a cheater.

The problem may be happening at a lower level, but it might be possible to diagnose it this way. Let me know how it goes.

Well, I created a new character and tried your suggestion. When I try CTRL-a L (uppercase L) the game responds that it is not a valid debug command. I tried with both version 3.1.2v2 and 3.2.0. Maybe I should get an even later version if that debug command is a recent addition. Are there OSX ports of later "nightlies"?

[Derakon]

This isn't a fix for your problem, just a workaround, but have you tried the roguelike keyset? It's designed to keep your hands on the main island at all times.

[relic]

This isn't a fix for your problem, just a workaround, but have you tried the roguelike keyset? It's designed to keep your hands on the main island at all times.

No, actually not. I think that I am a little bit too old to learn a new set keys for commands. I have played with the standard key-set since the late 80:s, (that would be Moria). Also, a number of other games (and even other applications) have used the numeric keypad for directions so it is really ingrained in my brain.

As a last resort I might try it. But what I wonder is how other MacBook users are playing. Are they using the rouge-like key-set, or the standard with the numeric keys on top of the keyboard, or some other solution.

[qwerty]

I use . + arrow keys for the cardinal directions and 1379 for the diagonals, don't find it a problem at all but that's just the way I learnt to run, it may not feel comfortable for you.

[d_m]

Well, I created a new character and tried your suggestion. When I try CTRL-a L (uppercase L) the game responds that it is not a valid debug command. I tried with both version 3.1.2v2 and 3.2.0. Maybe I should get an even later version if that debug command is a recent addition. Are there OSX ports of later "nightlies"?

Sorry, yes you'll need to use the nightlies.

http://rephial.org/nightlies/

EDIT: I also run with the period, but I understand that people who are used to running a different way want it to work

[relic]

Interesting. When trying the latest nightly my numeric keypad works in all ways!! Somewhere along the line some change has made this possible.

Thanks.

If this is because of some change to pref-files, it should be possible to get the same functionality in 3.1.2 and 3.2.0. Otherwise not. Anybody have any guess or knowledge about this?

Why would I care about these "old" versions you may ask? Well, I have started characters for these versions and I would like to continue and see how far I can come with them.

Once again thanks.

[d_m]

There were a lot of changes to key input handling, so sadly I doubt you can fix this issue by backporting the pref files.

Sorry about that, good luck with your older characters, and hopefully you'll enjoy 3.3.0 when it's released!