Please improve interaction menu

[radcapricorn]

Please, for the love of all that's sacred, make it so that:

- the key that's bound to open the menu (i.e. F) also closes it
- the mouse steering is suspended while that menu is open

Also, pretty please, remove the "Scan" option from that menu and put it on the scanning key (i.e. R) for the Short-Range Scan mode. If I'm scanning, I'm not launching missiles.
Current behavior, when playing using mouse, is just atrocious. To scan a ship:
- switch to short range mode
- disable steering
- open menu
- choose "Scan" option
- enable steering

...All the while the target is maneuvering in front of you, or might've already gone behind you. If you don't disable steering before going to menu, you will steer off target yourself if picking the option using mouse.

Compare to:
- switch to short range mode (while still being able to steer towards target)
- hold a key (while still being able to steer towards target)

That'd make both scanning modes more consistent as well.

[GCU Grey Area]

- the key that's bound to open the menu (i.e. F) also closes it

Agree with that. Have a button on my joystick set for interaction menu, would be convenient to use that instead of keyboard to close it.

- the mouse steering is suspended while that menu is open

In favour of the change if it would be good for mouse users, as long as such a change would do absolutely nothing to affect joystick flight control. It is VERY handy to be able to follow the movements of the target ship while interaction menu is open. Would be awful to lose all control over my ship in such circumstances.

Also, pretty please, remove the "Scan" option from that menu and put it on the scanning key (i.e. R) for the Short-Range Scan mode. If I'm scanning, I'm not launching missiles.

Please DON'T remove the existing scan method (works fine for joystick users), however happy for mouse users to have an additional option in this regard if it's proving troublesome for them.

If you don't disable steering before going to menu, you will steer off target yourself if picking the option using mouse.

Don't need to use mouse at all for selecting options from the interaction menu. Can all be done with the keyboard - i.e. up/down cursor keys, then Enter to select.

[radcapricorn]

- the mouse steering is suspended while that menu is open

In favour of the change if it would be good for mouse users, as long as such a change would do absolutely nothing to affect joystick flight control. It is VERY handy to be able to follow the movements of the target ship while interaction menu is open. Would be awful to lose all control over my ship in such circumstances.

Mouse steering. MOUSE STEERING. MOUSE STEERING!!!

Also, pretty please, remove the "Scan" option from that menu and put it on the scanning key (i.e. R) for the Short-Range Scan mode. If I'm scanning, I'm not launching missiles.

Please DON'T remove the existing scan method (works fine for joystick users), however happy for mouse users to have an additional option in this regard if it's proving troublesome for them.

So for a joystick user it's easier to go through a menu than to just hold a button? Weird, but whatever.

Don't need to use mouse at all for selecting options from the interaction menu. Can all be done with the keyboard - i.e. up/down cursor keys, then Enter to select.

No. Your left hand is on WASD. Your right hand is on mouse. Arrows are in-between. Any half-decent control scheme does not require you to move your hands off of default position. UX 101.

[GCU Grey Area]

So for a joystick user it's easier to go through a menu than to just hold a button? Weird, but whatever.

Yes, though not so much a matter of anything being easier than interaction menu making efficient use of a single joystick button. I use it quite a lot & for many other functions as well as scan (comms, ship/station info, guidance, etc). Rarely used controls (e.g. missiles) get consigned to the keyboard, whereas stuff I use a lot (e.g. interaction menu) is on the joystick. If scan was moved out of the interaction menu I'd have to assign 2 separate buttons on the joystick (i.e. different controls for interaction menu & ship scan) rather than just 1 which effectively does both. It would mean losing easy access to something else & would be a very hard choice deciding what to lose (e.g. weapon select, boosters, targeting, etc).

[radcapricorn]

Ah, ok, makes sense. Come to think more about it though, the interaction button could be overloaded. E.g. a tap opens the menu, but a hold performs a "default" interaction, which could be mode-dependent. E.g. in scanning modes it'd initiate a scan. IIRC for joysticks a similar approach was used in X3 by default, where same button cycled missiles and launched them.

[Chris0132]

Ah, ok, makes sense. Come to think more about it though, the interaction button could be overloaded. E.g. a tap opens the menu, but a hold performs a "default" interaction, which could be mode-dependent. E.g. in scanning modes it'd initiate a scan. IIRC for joysticks a similar approach was used in X3 by default, where same button cycled missiles and launched them.

Dear god it would be wonderful if this worked for the lift.

Yes, game, I would like to get out of my ship and go to the only other available destination, which is the pad I just landed on. Or my spacesuit.

[hxsgame]

I hope Menus need to be window-shaped to facilitate the opening and viewing of information at the same time.

[RainerPrem]

To scan a ship:
- switch to short range mode
- disable steering
- open menu
- choose "Scan" option
- enable steering

Try this:

To scan a ship:
- switch to short range mode
- hit pause
- choose "Scan" option

[consiefe]

Scanning a ship is like a level end boss in DS for me with keyboard and mouse. It shouldn't be this hard. Just give us the ability to set a hotkey for it.

[radcapricorn]

Try this: ...

Yeah, thanks, I'm not looking for workarounds, I want the game to not require any.

[radcapricorn]

Scanning a ship is like a level end boss in DS for me with keyboard and mouse. It shouldn't be this hard. Just give us the ability to set a hotkey for it.

Eggz-actly. Hell, I just tried it with a gamepad, there's nothing to it. But with mouse steering?.. Defeated by a menu, what a shame.

[Brianetta]

I've taken to hitting pause to work around the UI in this game so frequently, that I'm wishing I had a fancy mouse with extra buttons so that I could pause with that.