Generic repeat command semantics

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.development (More info?)

I recently added a "repeat-last-action" command to SimpleGame, and was
curious what people think of the semantics, or what people like/don't
like about different forms of repeated command semantics in other
games...

In SimpleGame, when you eat or zap a particular item, hitting space bar
immediately afterward repeats the action if possible.

If you have 8 mushrooms of cure wounds, you could hit space bar 7
times.

If you have 5 wands of frost bolt with 35 charges among them, you can
zap once, and hit space bar 34 times. Repeats for the zap command will
use the same direction/target; if you kill the target or it becomes
otherwise unavailable, you are prompted for a new one.

I came upon this idea after realizing that using a multi-line message
bar that doesn't require hitting space to clear as in Angband frees up
the eminently slappable space bar for something else.

Any thoughts on this approach? What else are people doing?

-Tom Seufert

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.development (More info?)

Dnia 22 May 2005 10:11:31 -0700,
Tom Seufert napisal(a):

> Any thoughts on this approach? What else are people doing?

Well, the 'classic' roguelikes (including Rogue) usually have a
command counter -- you can type a number before you issue a command, and
then the command will get repeated that many times.

With vi-keys it's done by simply entering the number (also, dot repeats the
last command in vi), when you're using the numbpad for movement, you have
to start the number with '0' to have it interpreted as count.

--
Radomir @**@_ Bee! The quest for the Real World:
`The Sheep' ('') 3 Try #2: goto -1
Dopieralski .vvVvVVVVVvVVVvv.

 

[Antoine]

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.development (More info?)

Tom Seufert wrote:
> I recently added a "repeat-last-action" command to SimpleGame, and
was
> curious what people think of the semantics, or what people like/don't
> like about different forms of repeated command semantics in other
> games...
>
> In SimpleGame, when you eat or zap a particular item, hitting space
bar
> immediately afterward repeats the action if possible.
>
> If you have 8 mushrooms of cure wounds, you could hit space bar 7
> times.
>
> If you have 5 wands of frost bolt with 35 charges among them, you can
> zap once, and hit space bar 34 times. Repeats for the zap command
will
> use the same direction/target; if you kill the target or it becomes
> otherwise unavailable, you are prompted for a new one.
>
> I came upon this idea after realizing that using a multi-line message
> bar that doesn't require hitting space to clear as in Angband frees
up
> the eminently slappable space bar for something else.

I am not sure that it is a good idea to use the 'eminently slappable
space bar' for a 'repeat' command. In a roguelike, I wouldn't use
'repeat' very often, I don't think - better to save the space bar for
something more common perhaps?

Also, I have a reflex of whacking the space bar a few times every few
seconds to clear the message buffer, as no doubt do many roguelike
players, if I switched to a different game where space bar = 'repeat'
then I imagine I would get frustrated from accidentally repeating stuff
that I didn't mean to [which could easily be fatal quite quickly in
some games - death by satiation from eating half a dozen rations,
drinking ALL my heal potions rather than just one, etc].

My 2c,
A.