[crossfire] gcfclient and sign display

[Mark Wedel]

tchize wrote:
>
     
      Le Mardi 16 Août 2005 09:30, Mark Wedel a écrit :
     
     >
     
     
     >>
     
       I should probably preface that I'm responsible for the 'nopopup' mode in the 
     
     >>
     
     gtk client (v1).
     
     >
     
     
     >
     
     
     >
     
      What is?
     
     
  run with -nopopups command line option.

  Without it, gtk client pops up window for player name, password, and some 
other things.

  With that option, player name and like is entered in the text dialogue box.

>
     
     
     >
     
     
     >>
     
       But does anyone else find the sign display code in the client really annoying? 
     
     >>
     
       To me, these are the major issues:
     
     >>
     
     
     >>
     
     1) No way to turn it off, save for code modification.
     
     >
     
     
     >
     
     
     >
     
      First comments on it i receive since implemented. Disabling for those requesting it should be easy to code.
     
     >
     
     
     
  Please do so, ideally adding a config option that shows up in the config menus 
and is saved in the config file (eg, like all the other config options).

  This is a relative new feature, so not positive how many people are really 
using it, which could be one reason relative to comments.

>
     
     
     >>
     
     2) It centers it on the screen, not the client.  This is bad behaviour, 
     
     >>
     
     especially for those of us with dual monitor setups (I really don't need it 
     
     >>
     
     straddling the monitors)
     
     >
     
     
     >
     
     
     >
     
      GTK centering behaviour, do not know much of gtk to know how to correct this.
     
     
  I recall there is an option to center it on the application and not the 
screen.  I don't know it off the top of my head, but I think the magicmap code 
(which creates a popup) uses that.

>
     
     
     >
     
     
     >>
     
     3) It shifts input focus to the sign area itself, thus the client stops 
     
     >>
     
     receiving useful input (like movement commands)
     
     >
     
     
     >
     
     
     >
     
      Quite obviously, you are *reading* the sign, not doing much more else. This seems to me
     
     >
     
      a normal roleplay behaviour. If you have any better idea...
     
     
  There shouldn't be any reason it needs to shift input focus.  I can move the 
mouse to get focus on the main screen again with the sign still up.

  Alternatively, any input it receives should just get passed along to the 
client where applicable (mouse presses aren't, keystrokes are)

  My concern here is as more objects get this support, it can mess up players. 
Imagine what happens if the wrong scroll gets applied while in the middle of 
combat (a scroll containing info vs that scroll of restoration) - not only did 
you get the wrong scroll, but until you move the mouse around, the client stops 
getting any input, likely resulting in a dead character.

>
     
     
     >
     
     
     >>
     
     4) No button or the like to dismiss it - have to use whatever functionality your 
     
     >>
     
     window manager provides to dismiss it.
     
     >
     
     
     >
     
     
     >
     
      Could be added i suppose, though i don't see why the window manager way of closing
     
     >
     
      windows is an issue.
     
     
  Requires moving the mouse and clicking.  Normally, once I start playing, I 
tend not to need to move the mouse for large stretches, and when I do use so, it 
is then continuously for a little while (selling those items).

  But this also goes up a bit to the one above - the comment about a key press 
(or specifically, 'a',) dismissing it seems quite reasonable.

  The first time this happened to me, it took several seconds to figure out it 
was this pop up sign.  IMO, this is not a good/intuitive design then.


>>
     
       But when I first saw this proposal, I had envisioned that it'd do something 
     
     >>
     
     clever with the text window (draw graphics, whatever), not put in pop up windows.
     
     >
     
     
     >
     
     
     >
     
     
     >
     
      GTK too limited to do 'something clever' like draw graphics in the text window. 
     
     >
     
      Moreover, if my memory don't fail, concerning signs, i never suggested doing anything
     
     >
     
      else than show sign content inside a sign graphic.
     
     >
     
      And unless i miss something, having a popup show up when you apply a sign 
     
     >
     
      and not be able to fight is not really a problem, unless you start applying signs
     
     >
     
      while fighting??
     
     
  See comment above, or do you not plan to extend it to things likes books and 
scrolls (I seem to recall that was on the list of things to do).

  I can understand that there is limitation with the text window.  But I thought 
it was possible to draw graphics in the text window (was marginally more 
complicated, but still possible)