Mouse Buttons

[Vox Nihili]

Just one quick suggestion, since a lot of games don't support it: button4 and button5 support for the mouse.

TQ didn't have it. It'd be nice to be able to put additional skills there.

[Alek]

This isn't game related. With the right software, you can bind buttons4 and 5 to a keyboard (for example, bind 4 to R and 5 to E, for energy and hp pots in TQ).

Game's can't fix this due to huge variety of hardware and according software (drivers).

[Renevent]

That's a truly great idea...if not by default maybe what would work great is the ability in the options menu to bind skillbar slots (1-10) to any buttons including extra mouse buttons.

[ASYLUM101]

It would be nice to have the feature ingame, but like Alek said, there are programs like XMOUSE to do this.

[Alek]

Actually, the CD you get with your mouse is suppose to have all the software needed. :)

My Saitek Cyborg mouse is complicated, yes, but it owns with handsome additional buttons and adjustable mouse size [length] (yes, I can change the size of my mouse :P )

[Vox Nihili]

...or, you know, it could just be built into the game, like virtually every other.

The reason I point it out is that TQ is the only game I've played in the past 4 or 5 years that comes to mind when I think about games that don't natively support buttons 4 and 5. Windows supports them natively (back and forward in the browser). Virtually all modern games do. Just, apparently, not TQ.

If it's a big deal to support, than I'm totally in agreement with you, but given how widespread it is, I don't get the impression it's a particularly big deal.

[Alek]

Which other game's that you've played supported it? Which mouse do you have?


As I'm saying, it really depends on the mouse and game developers [not just Crate] can't be bothered by the huge amount of different drivers (mouses). It would be awesome, but a time waste as you don't need to program the game differently for it.

[Renevent]

Are you sure it's not something interpreted by Windows now?

[Alek]

....

Every piece of hardware (well, most of it, the quality pieces anyway) needs a driver to be used. Driver is software that "teaches" your OS (Windows, your PC) how to control the hardware (in our case, a mouse). There are different routines for different hardware (i sure hope i sound like i know what im talking about at this point) and while some H/W will work fine, some might not.

[Vox Nihili]

I've been using them for years, with a Microsoft Habu, Logitech G5, Razer Deathadder, and Logitech MX518.

You see, I don't install the software that comes with the mouse. Ever. It's junk. If you don't do that, the thumb keys have a default behavior in Windows: back and forward. Supporting them is no different than supporting mouse1, 2, and 3.

You don't need to deal with drivers and any of that junk. In fact, the mouse "drivers" are the problem. The keys are already standardized. It's the drivers assigning oddball, non-default functions to them that cause the problems. Just don't install your drivers, and you'll find you can bind them like any other key.

Just flipping through my own games, here are some games that support them natively:

WoW, EQ2, LotRO, Global Agenda, Half Life 2 (and all Source-based games, like L4D and Portal), WAR, NWN2, Far Cry 2, Mirror's Edge, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Borderlands, Prey, Assassin's Creed, Saints Row 2, Red Faction: Guerilla.

I can keep going, but I think you get the idea: virtually everything supports them. Get rid of your mouse drivers (or use them to assign default behaviors to those keys), and you'll find most of the games you own support them, too.

EDIT: To be clear, Windows has a generic mouse driver that supports buttons 4 and 5. It will work with virtually any mouse under the sun. The problematic "drivers" are actually the software packages the manufacturers include for re-assigning mouse buttons.

[Alek]

Quiet funny. My mouse is giving me trouble with most of the games you've mentioned. Variations. Let's wait and hear from the devs (is devs abbreviation for developers?)

[Renevent]

....

Every piece of hardware (well, most of it, the quality pieces anyway) needs a driver to be used. Driver is software that "teaches" your OS (Windows, your PC) how to control the hardware (in our case, a mouse). There are different routines for different hardware (i sure hope i sound like i know what im talking about at this point) and while some H/W will work fine, some might not.

I know that, but Windows interprets those events. Now, I don't claim to be a game programmer and know very little about C/C++ but I do a lot of VB6, VBscript, C#, VB.Net and know that I can grab mouse button events (including the extra buttons) regardless of what kind of mouse it is. I get the feeling it's something that has been standardized over the years...

Also, I have installed a few mouse's before that windows didn't recognize and installed generic PS/2 mouse drivers for it, yet all the buttons still work.

Again though, I am not an expert on game programming or anything (I'm primarily Senior SQL DBA)...

[Vox Nihili]

Actually, the CD you get with your mouse is suppose to have all the software needed. :)

My Saitek Cyborg mouse is complicated, yes, but it owns with handsome additional buttons and adjustable mouse size [length] (yes, I can change the size of my mouse :P )

Quiet funny. My mouse is giving me trouble with most of the games you've mentioned. Variations. Let's wait and hear from the devs (is devs abbreviation for developers?)

I think we've established the reason, haven't we?

Get rid of the Saitek software. That is the problem. Mouse4 and mouse5 are long-since standardized.

[ASYLUM101]

....

Every piece of hardware (well, most of it, the quality pieces anyway) needs a driver to be used. Driver is software that "teaches" your OS (Windows, your PC) how to control the hardware (in our case, a mouse). There are different routines for different hardware (i sure hope i sound like i know what im talking about at this point) and while some H/W will work fine, some might not.

Seriously, did you have to attempt to explain what a driver is?

And no, mouse drivers don't all support that. I have a Logitech G5 and it doesn't work in TQ. I have to use xmouse.

[Rhis]

Just one quick suggestion, since a lot of games don't support it: button4 and button5 support for the mouse.

TQ didn't have it. It'd be nice to be able to put additional skills there.

I'll do you one better. Grim Dawn supports 8 mouse buttons.

[Alek]

I'll do you one better. Grim Dawn supports 8 mouse buttons.
<3 ... just <3 ...

[Renevent]

I'll do you one better. Grim Dawn supports 8 mouse buttons.

Awesome :D

Just out of morbid curiosity...were my "assumptions" anywhere even close to making sense or being accurate?

[Rhis]

Awesome :D

Just out of morbid curiosity...were my "assumptions" anywhere even close to making sense or being accurate?

The thing to remember is that the windows message pump is sent the mouse events by the drivers you have installed. It may be the case that the generic mouse driver shipping with the newer versions of windows now supports up to 8 buttons.