right-click behaviour

[lordnikon]

As i've said elsewhere i'm really loving this game, and despite the difficulty of some of the later levels, i'm truly relishing the challenge this provides and wouldn't change a thing

With one exception: over the past few days of trying to tackle f3a-2 and f3c-3 i've had several occasions where i've progressed quite well into the level and made myself a reasonable size, only to die in the most horrid fashion; i'm more than aware of the right click option that can be used to help get out of those tight situations, and use it heavily, however, from time to time I slap right-click without thinking to check if i'm already in slow mode, and the next thing I know i've gone from slow mode (which I thought was normal mode) back to normal mode, and my mote plows into whatever challenge I was trying to avoid and it's game over - very unforgiving! Strictly speaking this is my own fault, and I should learn to look before I click/leap, but what are the chances of getting an option to disable this, so that the only way i can get out of slow mode is to ctrl-right click/middle click? It's not so bad when it's early on in the level, but i'm finding my best strategy for the later levels is to take my time, and when you've spent half an hour (or more!) getting big only to throw it all away like this it's really annoying!...

...I still keep going back though

[jeffplum]

This sounds like a bad habit to me rather than a design flaw. If you are truly taking your time, take time to check the slow-mo indicator on the HUD! I know, I know, it's easy to lecture you, I do understand how frustrating it is, so I apologize for that. I believe there is a way of remapping your keys, however. You should create a file called "UserBindings.cfg" and put it in your [My Documents\Osmos] folder. You can look at the "bindings.cfg" file in the Osmos program directory to see what bindings are possible. For your reference, the bindings are here (you can copy and paste all the green into a new text file and save it as "UserBindings.cfg" if you like) :

// base bindings

bind +ESCAPE togglePause
bind +PAUSE togglePause
bind +a alt=1 setMenuMode achievements
bind +c alt=1 setMenuMode controls
bind +d alt=1 cycleLOD
bind +e alt=1 setMenuMode credits
bind +f alt=1 toggle fullscreen
bind +h alt=1 toggle drawHUD
bind +o alt=1 toggle drawOrbit
bind +q alt=1 gotoMainMenu 0
bind +r alt=1 restartLevel
bind +s alt=1 setMenuMode sounds
bind +v alt=1 toggle vsync
bind +x alt=1 setMenuMode exit
bind +z alt=1 randomizeLevel
bind +F1 alt=1 cycleStatMode
bind +F10 screenshot
bind +F10 ctrl=1 screenshot 1

/////////////////////////
// in-game bindings

bind +w set=game zoomRamp 1
bind -w set=game zoomRamp 0
bind +s set=game zoomRamp -1
bind -s set=game zoomRamp 0
bind +a set=game timeRamp -1
bind -a set=game timeRamp 0
bind +d set=game timeRamp 1
bind -d set=game timeRamp 0
bind +p set=game togglePause
bind +SPACE set=game advanceScriptText
bind +MOUSE1 set=game fireMass 1
bind -MOUSE1 set=game fireMass 0
bind +MOUSE2 set=game timeWarp 0
bind +MOUSE3 set=game timeWarp 1
bind +MOUSE1 set=game ctrl=1 fireMass 1
bind -MOUSE1 set=game ctrl=1 fireMass 0
bind +MOUSE2 set=game ctrl=1 timeWarp 0
bind +MOUSE3 set=game ctrl=1 timeWarp 0
bind +MWHEELUP set=game zoom 1
bind +MWHEELDOWN set=game zoom -1
bind +MWHEELUP set=game ctrl=1 timeDilation 1
bind +MWHEELDOWN set=game ctrl=1 timeDilation -1
bind +DOWNARROW set=game zoomRamp -1
bind -DOWNARROW set=game zoomRamp 0
bind +UPARROW set=game zoomRamp 1
bind -UPARROW set=game zoomRamp 0
bind +LEFTARROW set=game timeRamp -1
bind -LEFTARROW set=game timeRamp 0
bind +RIGHTARROW set=game timeRamp 1
bind -RIGHTARROW set=game timeRamp 0

/////////////////////////
// pause-menu bindings

bind +s set=main setMenuMode sounds
bind +v set=main setMenuMode visuals
bind +c set=main setMenuMode controls
bind +a set=main setMenuMode achievements
bind +e set=main setMenuMode credits
bind +x set=main exitApp

bind +s set=pause setMenuMode sounds
bind +v set=pause setMenuMode visuals
bind +c set=pause setMenuMode controls
bind +r set=pause restartLevel
bind +z set=pause randomizeLevel
bind +q set=pause gotoMainMenu 0
bind +x set=pause setMenuMode exit

bind +p set=sounds gotoPauseMenu

bind +f set=visuals toggle fullscreen
bind +v set=visuals toggle vsync
bind +d set=visuals cycleLOD
bind +h set=visuals toggle drawHUD
bind +o set=visuals toggle drawOrbit
bind +p set=visuals gotoPauseMenu

bind +p set=controls gotoPauseMenu

bind +SPACE set=achievements togglePause
bind +SPACE set=credits togglePause
bind +SPACE set=purchase togglePause

bind +x set=exit exitApp
bind +ESCAPE set=exit gotoPauseMenu

/////////////////////////
// update-menu bindings

bind +y set=update updateOsmos
bind +ENTER set=update updateOsmos

bind +n set=update updateOsmos 0
bind +ESCAPE set=update updateOsmos 0

...and change the part

bind +MOUSE2 set=game timeWarp 0

to:

bind +g set=game timeWarp 0

or something, so the "G" key will toggle slow motion. This should work. Well, the principle is there anyway!Play about and see what you can do! Good luck.

[mjomble]

Hmm, might try that. I keep mixing up the middle button and the right button a lot more often than I should.

[jeffplum]

Yeah, now that I've played it a lot more I find I'm doing that too!! Should have probably not been so hasty being all superior to the original poster!

Still, the user bindings work well. I'm trying to get into the habit of holding [ctrl] and using the mouse wheel to change time instead.

[lordnikon]

Sorry to bump this up again but just wanted to update on my progress

I'm not sure these bindings would help - you hit the nail on the head when you used the word I couldn't think of - toggle! At present, right-click toggles between slow mode and normal mode, but what I was hoping for was simply a "turn on" command, not a toggle - make sense?

Regardless, i'm pleased to report that i've retaught myself how to use the speed-up/slow down function so I don't need this toggle anymore It occured to me that if i'm IN slow mode, and feel i need to be going slower, then clearly i'm moving way too fast in the first place As much as I knew I needed to take my time, I clearly wasn't doing such Anyway, I finally managed to complete Osmos last night so it's all good - looking forward to taking my new found knowledge into the forever levels!

Still completely engrossed by this game, been a very long time since i've played anything like this...

[jeffplum]

I agree totally with the above. I've found that often when going slow I will hold [ctrl] and roll the mouse wheel down a bit. Realising I am already as slow as I can go, I stop trying. It would be a nice additional feature to be able to turn on "expanded" time modes - extremely slow and extremely fast. Perhaps having the option to bind the speed settings to individual number keys (1 for slow, 2 for slightly faster, etc.) would be a good additional feature.

Oh, but there I go over-complicating things again. Hemisphere give us one of the simplest, yet engrossing games of the year so far, and we imagine all the ways we can ruin it! Maybe the simplicity is the beauty of the thing. But then, the experimentalist in me wishes there was endless scope for tweaking and adding options! What about a mote generator, for example? Or invisible motes? Or a level editor?

Ok, I'll stop now.