Mouse UI: Applying a skill at a position should only offer eligible skills
issueid=4819 07-07-2017 02:34 PM
The Creator
Number of reported issues by adom-admin: 499
Mouse UI: Applying a skill at a position should only offer eligible skills

Currently all skills are listed. This does not make sense.
Issue Details
Issue Number 4819
Issue Type Feature
Project ADOM (Ancient Domains Of Mystery)
Category All with NotEye
Status Implemented
Priority 3
Suggested Version ADOM 2.3.0 (r73)
Implemented Version ADOM 2.3.0 (r73)
Milestone "Ease of Use" UI
Votes for this feature 1
Votes against this feature 0
Assigned Users adom-admin
Tags (none)




07-08-2017 02:03 PM
The Creator
Directional skill use now only offers skills that might have an actual use (they others are visible but grayed out).

I'm still wondering whether to use the same behaviour for skills that - when used at your position - do not have an actual use (e.g. athletics, literacy, ...). I'm torn on this as on one hand players might start to wonder why some skills never can be used, OTOH they are not really actively usable. Opinions?

07-08-2017 05:13 PM
ixi ixi is offline
Junior Member
In the most games I saw list of skills the one can apply usually differs from the complete list of skills. Say, in Fallout you don't have even a way to apply gambling or small guns. In Dwarf Fortress you don't have a way to apply, say, swimming. In Cataclysm DDA there is separate last of possible actions which has actions grayed out as long as you can't apply them due to any reason. Skills are separate lists everywhere there... Can throw more samples if needed.
Hence I would filter out all the skills that cannot be applied at all from apply skill menu. But would retain a way to see them in tab near character info and obviously during level up. I'm not 100% sure why but don't think many existing players would like the idea. Probably because of changing the habit.

Secondly, if you integrate manual into the game and make I go about skills appear as tooltips and add viable alternative for keyboard / ASCII (e.g. '?' followed by a latter) many questions about why some skills are inapplicable in some contexts or inapplicable at all would be sorted.

The last thing, but probably not an excuse, some players do like messages game gives when trying to apply skill while impossible

07-08-2017 05:36 PM
Ancient Member
Quote Originally Posted by ixi
Hence I would filter out all the skills that cannot be applied at all from apply skill menu. But would retain a way to see them in tab near character info and obviously during level up.
This would be great. Having a bunch of unusable skills clogging up the list makes applying skills more difficult. Due to the alphabetization, many skills you use (first aid, herbalism, pick pockets) end up being bound to a key that's far away from a. The letter you press to use a skill will change over the course of most games due to gaining unusable skills (backstabbing, healing). Quickmarking addresses this somewhat, but it really shouldn't be necessary when most characters only have 2-4 usable skills.

07-09-2017 07:50 AM
The Creator
Quote Originally Posted by Grond
This would be great. Having a bunch of unusable skills clogging up the list makes applying skills more difficult. Due to the alphabetization, many skills you use (first aid, herbalism, pick pockets) end up being bound to a key that's far away from a. The letter you press to use a skill will change over the course of most games due to gaining unusable skills (backstabbing, healing). Quickmarking addresses this somewhat, but it really shouldn't be necessary when most characters only have 2-4 usable skills.
Looked into that yesterday but currently filtering out does not work. I'd need to rewrite the complete code for skills. But maybe I'll do...

07-09-2017 12:10 PM
The Creator
Ok, completely rewritten once more. Now it went from good to "beyond awesome". Only the applicable skills now are displayed.

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