My control scheme idea. All modes done! Everything finalised!

Yeah, that was basically my idea, thanks YB.
Combining the keyboard and mouse controls is a good idea. Using them both would allow players to navigate and use click-action options at the same time.
Here's a few things for clarification

The blue/yellow line ids the horizon, the center of the screen is straight forward.
The purple/red is up and down, without right or left. Now those are the axis, there are now four quadrants.

Anywhere in QI is turning your creature up and to the right, QIIis up and to the left, QIII is down and to the left, QIV is down and to the right. If you click and hold anywhere, you will begin to accelerate forward. You can drag while clicking to change direction while accelerating. If you release the mouse button, you will continue to cruise at the same speed you left off at. To slow down gradually, you can click once and your creature will be carried forward only by momentum. To stop abruptly, right click.

Now with keyboard as well:

Instead of clicking to accelerate, use w and you will accelerate in the direction of your mouse. You will cruise when you let go of w, stop abruptly when you hit s, let momentum take hold when you press w again.

You can use A&D for right and left as well, plus E&C for up and down, so you are free to click, maintain one speed, and just cruise around while click-examining things around you.

*Note: Clicking on a clickable object will not affect movement.

I see this is a red light for my idea.

...I want a lot of attention, don't I?

Anyway, if you want my personal opinion I don't think I'm going to enjoy flying as much as ground navigation anymore.

Noitulove wrote:

I see this is a red light for my idea.

...I want a lot of attention, don't I?

Anyway, if you want my personal opinion I don't think I'm going to enjoy flying as much as ground navigation anymore.

Let's talk about it, go on chat.

Pretty sure we settled the idea for both flying and swimming in the chatbox, it's built for 3rd person but it might work for 1st. I did change it a bit, though.

Flying:

JUMP to take flight

Once in flight:
W to accelerate

Let go of W to slow down (<- part I changed.)

Click and drag right mouse button to steer

If you can hover (stop abruptly), tap S once to hover, and S again to drop. If not, just tap S once to drop.

Scio also suggested C for a controlled downward descent, meaning you can go down while hovering, like a helicopter. I personally think that it should only be available if you can hover, and are close enough to the ground.

Same for swimming minus the C-descent, just press and hold W to start swimming, let go to stop, mouse to steer, and S to stop abruptly. No need for hovering here, I think. If you start sinking just swim back up.

This is, of couse using the WASD controls. Directional keys can also be used; UP is W, DOWN is S, LEFT is A, and RIGHT is D.

Sorry if this has already been said or ruled out, but we could just use flight-simulation-type controls:

• W - Adjust Pitch Down
  
• S - Adjust Pitch Up
  
• A - Adjust Roll Left
  
• D - Adjust Roll Right
  
• Q - Adjust Yaw Left
  
• E - Adjust Yaw Right
  
  
• Space - Jump
  
• Space While in Midair - Spread or Tuck in Wings (activate or deactivate flight-control-scheme)

This could also work in high density environments such as water.

maybe there could be both ways ingame (though i'd probably use scio's.

yes, that should be good. and a hull pressure variable:
imagine that hull could take untill lets say: 300psi
if it enters a gas giant and keeps going down,the pressure goes up and near the 300psi threshold ship'd start getting problems and'd eventually blow up (maybe 350psi)

GamerXA wrote:

Sorry if this has already been said or ruled out, but we could just use flight-simulation-type controls:

• W - Adjust Pitch Down
  
• S - Adjust Pitch Up
  
• A - Adjust Roll Left
  
• D - Adjust Roll Right
  
• Q - Adjust Yaw Left
  
• E - Adjust Yaw Right
  
  
• Space - Jump
  
• Space While in Midair - Spread or Tuck in Wings (activate or deactivate flight-control-scheme)

This could also work in high density environments such as water.

I've looked at those, and the thing is that players will probably find them very difficult to understand. However, with the method me and Noit worked out, pitch yaw and roll will be automatically adjusted to work for the flight path you are choosing.

Wait, difficult to understand, it's just like most games are.

GamerXA wrote:

Wait, difficult to understand, it's just like most games are.

yeah, most flight simulators. However, our players are not going to all be people who have played flight simulators, or people who like flight simulators. Noit and I have broken down flight/swimming/3d motion into a simple system, that shouldn't take too long to pick up.

~sciocont wrote:

GamerXA wrote:

Wait, difficult to understand, it's just like most games are.

yeah, most flight simulators. However, our players are not going to all be people who have played flight simulators, or people who like flight simulators. Noit and I have broken down flight/swimming/3d motion into a simple system, that shouldn't take too long to pick up.

I don't think you've posted it yet..... Could you? Just to finalize if you and Noit of added anything different to it.

YourBreakfast wrote:

~sciocont wrote:

GamerXA wrote:

Wait, difficult to understand, it's just like most games are.

yeah, most flight simulators. However, our players are not going to all be people who have played flight simulators, or people who like flight simulators. Noit and I have broken down flight/swimming/3d motion into a simple system, that shouldn't take too long to pick up.

I don't think you've posted it yet..... Could you? Just to finalize if you and Noit of added anything different to it.

Pretty sure it was on page 2.

Noitulove wrote:

YourBreakfast wrote:

~sciocont wrote:

GamerXA wrote:

Wait, difficult to understand, it's just like most games are.

yeah, most flight simulators. However, our players are not going to all be people who have played flight simulators, or people who like flight simulators. Noit and I have broken down flight/swimming/3d motion into a simple system, that shouldn't take too long to pick up.

I don't think you've posted it yet..... Could you? Just to finalize if you and Noit of added anything different to it.

Pretty sure it was on page 2.

So that's the final version then yeah? I'll edit the OP then.

Suggestion

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Here's how most games I've played do it, and it seems to work quite well as is:

Mouse rotates the camera. Note that this DOES NOT mean the creature, although I'm under the impression that we will attempt to have it move the sensory hub if posssible, but revert to looking forward if the camera is facing beyond the point the hub can turn.

W moves you forward, in whichever direction the camera is facing. A, S, and D follow suit in the typical WASD configuration.

SHIFT is held down to sprint, usually this is limited. Perhaps we can use a similar proccess to that of procedural walking to find a faster, if more energy-inefficient gait.

CTRL is held or toggled for crouching. Once we figure out how to handle stealth, than we could use a similar proccess to that of procedural walking to find a gait that minimizes visibility to predators.

SPACE is pressed to jump. I was actually quite fond of Spore's way of using the space bar to flap wings. Perhaps holding it down could make you continue to flap.

LEFT CLICK is pressed to perform the most common action in the game. Usually this means to attack or to shoot. In our case, I suggest one of two things: Either the player defines combat animations and binds them to keys, or default melee will use a hub system similar to the sensory hub. Define the end of an apendage as the melee hub, and hold LEFTCLICK to move it with the mouse. This would allow players to make on-their-feet decisions in combat. This has been done before and has a downside though.

Yahtzee Croshaw wrote:

It's alright but it always feels weirdly like you're controlling someone with two dislocated elbows.

Perhaps we could include both systems.

RIGHT CLICK is used for any number of things, including most commonly a fine aim/ironsights type thing. I'm not sure what we could do, but I think this would make a good grab button, seeing as how easily reached it is. Should we make it closest object though, or what the reticle is pointing at?

E is usually a "interact" key, and I think it easiest to use this to bring up the communication menu.

All other keys can be bound as we go along. Anyone have any thoughts?

Rex, we need the mouse free for interaction. We've had the concept of click-interaction since forever. It's the only way to accommodate for all the things the player can get the organism to do.

Tenebrarum wrote:

Suggestion

I'm liking this method. But the whole sensory-hub movement and the mouse stopping at a certain point, that's for land only, right?

Also the player should be able to customize these keys to their liking. Say, for example, a player wanted to use the Z key to jump instead of the SPACE key then pressing Z would function about the same as the SPACE key would. They might access this via Options menu.

US_of_Alaska wrote:

Rex, we need the mouse free for interaction. We've had the concept of click-interaction since forever. It's the only way to accommodate for all the things the player can get the organism to do.

As you wish. This was a very rough system, and two buttons out of all of them is hardly painful. I merely wanted to point out that this basic system has been used over and over, and I see no reason to change it. Change must only ever come from nessecity, and from the sounds of it, that's why mouse interaction are to be here. Still, mouse = camera? Is that fine?

Noitulove wrote:

I'm liking this method. But the whole sensory-hub movement and the mouse stopping at a certain point, that's for land only, right?

Why would it be for only land? It'd be more awkward in water, but hardly problematic. Thats likely a reason so many aquatic organisms evolve to have a wide feild of vision.

Noitulove wrote:

Also the player should be able to customize these keys to their liking. Say, for example, a player wanted to use the Z key to jump instead of the SPACE key then pressing Z would function about the same as the SPACE key would. They might access this via Options menu.

Of course! Goes without saying!

Tenebrarum wrote:

US_of_Alaska wrote:

Rex, we need the mouse free for interaction. We've had the concept of click-interaction since forever. It's the only way to accommodate for all the things the player can get the organism to do.

As you wish. This was a very rough system, and two buttons out of all of them is hardly painful. I merely wanted to point out that this basic system has been used over and over, and I see no reason to change it. Change must only ever come from nessecity, and from the sounds of it, that's why mouse interaction are to be here. Still, mouse = camera? Is that fine?

Yup. The view following mouse movement would definitely help.

US_of_Alaska wrote:

Yup. The view following mouse movement would definitely help.

Yay! ^^

Question: Does my click-drag combat idea sound any good, or am I over complicating things?

Tenebrarum wrote:

US_of_Alaska wrote:

Yup. The view following mouse movement would definitely help.

Yay! ^^

Question: Does my click-drag combat idea sound any good, or am I over complicating things?

I think it may prove difficult with the variety of anatomies that we will be dealing with.

US_of_Alaska wrote:

I think it may prove difficult with the variety of anatomies that we will be dealing with.

Exactly why I suggested the "Melee hubs," which need be player defined.

Well I think everything's in order.

YourBreakfast wrote:

Well I think everything's in order.

i think you should get it all onto the wiki, then. It is originally and foremost your brainchild.

Suggestions:

Vehicle Controls (When on a 2d plain, like land or on top of water):

W moves the vehicle foreward, and S backwards, regardless of the direction the mouse is facing. A and D are used to turn. Holding down W will cause the vehicle to gradually increase in speed until it hits maximum.

Riding Animal Controls (When on a 2d plain, like land or on top of water):

Same as the above, except you will always move at the same speed, and do not gradually get faster. Instead, pressing SHIFT will make you kick the animal (Or something similer) and the animal will go into a sprint.

Any thoughts?

Tenebrarum wrote:

Suggestions:

Vehicle Controls (When on a 2d plain, like land or on top of water):

W moves the vehicle foreward, and S backwards, regardless of the direction the mouse is facing. A and D are used to turn. Holding down W will cause the vehicle to gradually increase in speed until it hits maximum.

Riding Animal Controls (When on a 2d plain, like land or on top of water):

Same as the above, except you will always move at the same speed, and do not gradually get faster. Instead, pressing SHIFT will make you kick the animal (Or something similer) and the animal will go into a sprint.

Any thoughts?

Well, i believe animals still have to accelerate and decelerate, Rex. So there would be a speed up to the maximum like vehicles have.

May have missed it, forgive me if thats the case, but what about when you are a early multicellular organism? (Say, 20-100 cells[ish])

Will it just be the same as cellular in two dimensions, or will you be able to move certain cells in certain directions...?

If it hasn't been covered, here is a neat cellular game I found with a very cool, unique control scheme which could be conceptualized into something cooler:
Gen