Most common keys for weapon shooting?

How do I...?
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What are the most common keys for weapon shooting?

Should I go with mouse/touch events connected with button objects instead of key presses?

Any other suggestions?

I don’t own any modern console systems that have gamepads/controllers. I have the original and ancient Nintendo - still works too, but no idea how to connect it to my laptop. That means I can’t even try it myself before shipping prototypes or any releases, which also means that I don’t get to fully experience that aspect of it from a user’s perspective.

I want to improve the experience, not make it worse by including something that I can’t test personally. But on the other hand, I’m probably not going to buy any special programs or anything else that might be needed just to make a free game better.

I could use the “A” button, but this will probably conflict with the WASD movement option. :thinking:

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On azerty i use

E for interact if i use zqsd (your wasd)
A for inventory (your Q) because I is too far
Tabs for score or map

If you use only keyboard, spacebar is good for shooting, because your finger never leave zqsd (or wasd), you can also use Enter key if you use two hands.

If you use gamepad extension you can set A button this will not be in conflict with A on keyboard.

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Thank you :slight_smile:

Some problems with using spacebar to shoot:

  • Seems more common for jumping; expected by many [1] if jumping is necessary in the game. If not, then yes, it is sometimes expected to be the “attack” button.

  • Doesn’t allow for shooting in more than one direction, at least not without having to press or click something else first. One direction is perfectly fine if the game is designed so that the player must move through a level in a mostly linear fashion (I find that too easy and predictable = boring), but it becomes a dilemma in nonlinear designs.

Good to know that about the gamepad extension. :+1:

Wish I could test playing that way myself.

[1] A thread about keyboard/mouse inputs for PC games on the Unity forum.

Just Googled to see what the most conventional approaches are according to various sources and it seems to vary based on user preferences. I never really factored in how many people play PC games with an external controller; I’m just not that hard-core of a gamer I guess lol.

Edit 1
Also want to point out, I’m trying out “Enter” to shoot, which seems to be working nicely toward making instructions easier to follow, but it’s called “Return” in GDevelop. “Enter” isn’t an option in the dropdown in case anyone else tries to look for it.

Edit 2
Hmm, I guess it’s mostly a matter of user preference and I’m going to have to settle on something one way or another. The guy in this article started gaming on the PC, was used to keyboard/mouse inputs, switched to controllers and later - for reasons he explains - ended up switching back to the keyboard/mouse. I don’t think he means to knock controllers, it’s just a different feel and game experience.