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sacred_k/docs/wasd.md
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khallaandClaude Opus 5.5 432cac2ccf Key bindings: pass keys to text fields that are on screen
Character creation and the save window were not detected (the UI manager's
dialog slot held a hidden busy dialog); bound keys were swallowed or posted
their hotkey into the field. A text field now counts while it is the focused
edit control and was drawn in the last 250 ms.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-10-18 00:57:10 +02:00

4.0 KiB

WASD movement (src/mods/wasd.cpp)

How the game moves the hero

Movement is a creature order: cEvent_creature (vtable 0x88e95c, 0x44 bytes), command 4 = walk, sent with cEngine::SendCreatureOrder (0x6170d0, (creature, event)), which snaps a ground target to a walkable point and passes the order to creature->vf18 (cCreature::ReceiveOrder, 0x52e400).

Offset Field
+4 command (4 walk, 0x105 ...)
+0x10 target object id (attacks)
+0x14 2: x, y are a ground point; 0: no target
+0x18 / +0x1c ground point (world units, same as creature +0x1c / +0x20)
+0x20 1: re-aim while a mouse button is held; 2: skip target snapping

The controlled creature's object id is at cEngine+0x13c; objects come from cObjectManager::GetObject (0x5fe060, manager *0xad3bc0), cast with __RTDynamicCast to cCreature. Hero state: +0xfc action mode (2 while following a held mouse button), +0x150 movement (1 walking, 2 arriving, 0 standing).

Mouse, measured with an order log:

  • click (cEngine::HandleMouseButton 0x617360): one walk order to the ground point, then engine flag +0x54 |= 0x10 (button held);
  • while held: every mouse event re-sends a plain walk order (+0x20 = 0) to the point under the cursor, dozens per tick; the hero stays in mode 2 and walks smoothly. cEngine::Tick (0x60f1d0, 10 Hz) additionally sends a re-aim order (+0x20 = 1) per tick after 0.4 s of walking;
  • release after > 0.5 s: a walk order without target (+0x14 = 0), which stops the hero in place.

What the mod does

Every cEngine::Tick, while W/A/S/D are held (and no text field has the focus, no mouse button is held): a plain walk order to hero position + direction x 300 world units (about a cursor's distance). Screen directions in world axes: up (-1,-1), down (1,1), left (-1,1), right (1,-1); combinations are summed and normalised. All keys released: the target-less stop order.

Dead ends, for the record: re-aim orders (+0x20 = 1) on their own stop the hero after two orders; far targets (2000 units) are rejected or followed badly; targets near the stepwise-updated position make it arrive and stop.

Hotkeys

Keys reach the game as cEvent_key (category 4; key at +6/+8, modifiers at +0xa) through the kernel queue to cEngine::ReceiveEvent (0x618130), which offers them to cUI_Manager::ReceiveEvent (0x757120) first. Both compare toupper(key) (0x84aa86). Presses come from WM_CHAR (the character), releases from WM_KEYUP (the virtual key), so keys without a character (F-keys) never reach the hotkeys. The key bindings (src/mods/input.cpp) handle the raw WM_KEYDOWN/WM_KEYUP instead: W/A/S/D and the digit row are kept from the game, bound keys post the original hotkey's key event (Kernel_Instance 0x808490, cKernel::PostEvent 0x808930); the temporary bindings for the old W/A/S actions are listed in docs/todo.md.

Hotkeys found: engine A (pick up nearby), P (pause), Q/W/E/R/B/Space (cEngine::UseActionSlot), ^ (console), Esc, Ctrl+B/F/X/Z (Z quicksave); UI manager C F H I L M N O S T (S save game window). Arrow keys in cEngine::ScrollInput (0x610650) walk object #2 or scroll the camera; not reachable in normal play.

Text fields (2026-10-18)

Request: in character creation and the save window, bound keys were ignored or typed something else (K -> s: K posts the game's S hotkey).

Measured (key-press log): the UI manager's dialog slot (+0x144) held a hidden cUI_BusyDlg in both cases, so the old "dialog shown + focused edit control" test never found the field. The focused control (+0x148) is the right cUI_EditControl, but neither the focus nor the control's flags (0x8005) change when its window closes, and the control has no parent at +0x50. The save window draws two edit controls per frame.

Now (src/mods/input.cpp, FocusedTextField): keys pass to the game while the focused control is a writable edit control that cUI_EditControl::Render (0x737ae0, thiscall (renderer), ret 4, returns at once while hidden) drew in the last 250 ms. The render hook only notes the focused control.