Time to update controls?

[Asmageddon]

You can't disagree, that current controls are a bit unflexible. Here is a system I would suggest:
Numpad for moving(eventually with diagonal movement as well)
Arrow keys for attacking with current weapon
RCtrl for opening up action menu, then chose option with arrows
RShift to change current weapon - [Sword/Held weapon]/Throwing knifes/Other

Also some things would be possible while moving:
Throwing knives, altough this would slow down character a bit for a moment.
Attacking in direction of movement(charging)
Dropping an item trough RCtrl+Drop command

Summary:
Pros:
-This would be much more newbie friendly.
-It would allow more lively combat(dodging and then attacking, etc.)
-It would fix the problem "stand still to open menu"
Cons:
-Old players could find it 'odd'
-More keys required to play & numpad required.

[Allotriophagy]

I think the controls are only inflexible when you are not familiar with them. There is a case to be made for simplifying the controls for newcomers.

Diagonal movement is a bit unnecessary in my opinion. Moreover, compulsory use of the the number pad would annoy many laptop users.

A while ago I suggested a key for throwing a knife or firing the crossbow. I still think this is a good idea, especially now with the change to knifes and not being able to throw them until you drop your weapon. Knives could be further toned down a bit - slower moving, less damage, greater limit on how many you can carry.

Assigning to specific function keys is a bad idea, especially considering not all laptops have two Ctrl/etc keys.

I'd like to see the use of Tab to access the chat input box. Then, the use of spacebar for various actions and also some keybinds - I'm thinking especially of the E key, used as an action button in many games as well as Q and F.

[lukky513]

Only thing that is annoying is that you can't move on left or right side while pressing against table/barrel/chest in front. That's kinda annoying when I'm connecting with high ping (which is the case mostly).

[Stephen]

In general I agree with the suggestions about updated controls. So far I have just been using the controls from the original game, which obviously were designed for the one button joystick era, but these days there is definitely potential for more elaborate control systems. I also think you could do interesting things with joypads / console controllers. I just haven't considered it a high priority up until now.

I am against diagonal movement, partly because I don't think it really adds anything to the game, but mostly because it would be quite difficult to implement (as there are several places in the code where it is assumed that movement is 4-way only).

Attacking while moving is already possible. Just press ctrl while you are holding down the movement key (and are half way between two squares) and watch what happens.

A separate key to throw daggers is a good idea. If we did this, we would also have to reduce the strength of daggers a bit, I think, for balance reasons (at the moment, the power of daggers is balanced by the fact that they are quite fiddly to use since you have to stand still and open the menu to use them).

I don't really understand why you want a separate key for firing the crossbow. It is already very easy to fire a crossbow, you just press ctrl + direction, the same as for any other weapon...

Tab to access chat box: it was originally like this, but I changed it to the current system following discussions on this forum. (The advantage of the current system is you don't have to press a separate key to chat, and you can still move your knight even if you are halfway through typing a message.) I suppose I could make it an option though.

High ping connections: In general I haven't paid much attention to reducing the effects of high ping times. Most networked games pay a lot of attention to lag, with various ways of compensating for it, but I haven't done anything like that for Knights.

[Moo]

I would definitely like to see the return of a "chat" key, as an option, and the ability it gives to use other keys for movement etc.
I think a throw dagger key would be too powerful.. No one would bother using anything else if they could do ranged attacks that easily, even if they were made less effective than they are now.
I do however think that an option to separate the attack and menu buttons could be good.. It would attack like it does now, so if you press/hold it and a direction you hit that way, but if you just press/hold it on its own, it attacks the direction you are currently facing. It could also maybe let you attack whilst you are "approaching".. The menu button wouldn't attack, and so it could open the menu straight away instead of needing to hold it down. Could perhaps even make it toggle the menu, so you press the menu key and then a direction to do whatever, without needing to hold it down. Perhaps that would be better for new players? Pressing the menu key again without selecting anything would close it, as would pressing the attack button.

[lukky513]

Most urgent change is - allow action key and direction keys to be remapped. Right CTRL is kinda annoying for me and I'd prefer rather left CTRL if only could. Completely new system could be implemented, but not until we'd talk about it.

[Moo]

Most urgent change is - allow action key and direction keys to be remapped. Right CTRL is kinda annoying for me and I'd prefer rather left CTRL if only could. Completely new system could be implemented, but not until we'd talk about it.

Umm.. You can already change these.. I have it set to left CTRL..  ???