Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!ames!pasteur!ucbvax!CORY.BERKELEY.EDU!dillon
From: dillon@CORY.BERKELEY.EDU (Matt Dillon)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Hyper mice
Message-ID: <8801300513.AA21426@cory.Berkeley.EDU>
Date: 30 Jan 88 05:13:21 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Lines: 50


The Right way to do it (my opinion, of course):

	The center of the screen is directly forward.  Moving the mouse off
	center causes a rotation left-right or up-down (relative to the
	current direction you are pointing)... the rotation continues at a 
	constant rate until the mouse is moved back near the center (the rate 
	is determined by the distance the mouse is from the center).

	Then, people usually put in hacks for 'slower/reverse' and
	'faster/forward'... usually holding one of the mouse buttons down
	and having the vertical position relative to the center determine 
	the speed.  SOME games make everything relative to the mouse's
	current position (i.e. you are only changing direction while the
	mouse is moving).  This is a *stupid* way of doing things.

	More complex applications (read: games/simulations) might want to
	give the user more control with mouse... for instance, to be able
	to set the wing pitch, or to have two acceleration rates, etc....

2D movement:
	Read "tank game".  In this case the vertical access is free, and
	usually one makes it the forward/reverse control.  Again, the
	velocity (or acceleration) is dependant on how far the mouse is 
	vertically from the center.

MENUS :

	In many applications, there is SO much one can do that both mouse
	buttons need to be used to handle movement.  In this case, the MENU
	button is usually enabled for menu's when it is in the title area
	of the application.

INCORRECT METHODS:

	Most IBM-PC CAD programs do this:  They *change* the mouse position
	from under your nose.  Very few amiga games do this.  In general,
	an application should NEVER move the mouse out from under the user.

	Jerky movement is the bane of all game players.  By making the 
	rate dependant on the horizontal and vertical distances from the
	center of the screen, the player/user has complete control; he can
	do anything from a half-hazzard 180 degree spin to a slow 1degree/sec
	turn with equal effort.

	As noted above, another no-no is to force the user to continuously
	pick up the mouse and put it back in the center of his pad.  This
	is one thing I really hate about Marble Madness.  It's maddenning!


						-Matt