Large inventories

[infectedm]

With a full Hcp. Storage Unit you cannot see your complete inventory, even if there is plenty free space in the equipped parts window directly above the inventory.
Would it be possible to dynamically adjust the inventory window so scrolling isn't necessary? As for the numbering, you could continue with the F keys (F1, F2, ...)

This would allow to show up to 22 inventory items, provided there is enough free space in the equipped parts window.

[Kyzrati]

Yeah, that's a bit of an issue, one that I've considered before... A related situation is anyone with a taller monitor and/or large map setting ends up with empty space below the inventory window which could theoretically be used for the same purpose.

The main obstacle that prevented me from expanding the window is the control scheme. It really should stay consistent, and there is no ideal solution for keyboard users. Mouse users wouldn't have any trouble, but I don't want to make changes that only work well with one input method...

[infectedm]

What's the problem about using the F keys? They should be available on every keyboard.
I personally wouldn't mind using numbers and F keys combined if that is your point. That's a very small price to pay for being able to more easily manage large inventories.
In case someone doesn't want this behavior, you could add a switch to the options to limit the inventory display to 10 items.

[Kyzrati]

That kind of inconsistency in the control scheme isn't acceptable from a design standpoint, and the F-keys already have their own uses. Technically not every keyboard is guaranteed to have F-keys, or they're not always easily accessible, thus when designing controls they're intended for secondary functions only.

If I were to add this feature the only partial solution I see is to make an extended inventory only available to mouse users, though that "solution" then goes against the principle of making sure every feature is accessible regardless whether using keyboard or mouse.

As an alternative approach, remember that you can use t/m/i to forward-sort and reverse-sort your inventory based on different characteristics, making it possible to manage even large inventories fairly easily with the 10 slots that are available.

[ironpotato]

What's the problem about using the F keys? They should be available on every keyboard.
I personally wouldn't mind using numbers and F keys combined if that is your point. That's a very small price to pay for being able to more easily manage large inventories.
In case someone doesn't want this behavior, you could add a switch to the options to limit the inventory display to 10 items.

I have to hit Fn + [Function key] to use function keys I hate it.

[infectedm]

That kind of inconsistency in the control scheme isn't acceptable from a design standpoint, and the F-keys already have their own uses.

As do the number keys (show enemies, items, etc). Only with shift/ctrl/alt they are used to manage the inventory. The F keys could be handled in the same way.

Technically not every keyboard is guaranteed to have F-keys, or they're not always easily accessible

Granted - but with that argument, no roguelike would support numpads.

If I were to add this feature the only partial solution I see is to make an extended inventory only available to mouse users, though that "solution" then goes against the principle of making sure every feature is accessible regardless whether using keyboard or mouse.

Agreed, any feature should be available to both mouse and keyboard users.

As an alternative approach, remember that you can use t/m/i to forward-sort and reverse-sort your inventory based on different characteristics, making it possible to manage even large inventories fairly easily with the 10 slots that are available.

I know the sorting features, but they do not solve the problem that you cannot see all your inventory items at once.

The main reason why I love Cogmind's interface so much is because you can see *everything* on the screen - equipment, inventory, etc (not like in other roguelikes like nethack where you have to scroll through multiple screens of items to get your stuff managed).
The only limitation to this is the inventory when carrying more than 10 items :/

If you don't like the suggestion with the F keys, maybe there is another solution?

[Arseface]

1234567890!@#$%^&*()

There, 20 inventory slots.

[nsg21]

Or keep the 0-9 shortcuts and [ ] to slide the assignment along the items (with possible scrolling).

What I mean is , say you have 20 items, 15 are visible. Top 10 are assigned shortcuts, hit "]" -> now second through eleventh have shortcuts. Keep hitting "]", 6th through 15-th have shortcuts. Hit "]" again, now it displays items 2-16 and 7th through 16 have shortcuts.

[Kyzrati]

That kind of inconsistency in the control scheme isn't acceptable from a design standpoint, and the F-keys already have their own uses.

As do the number keys (show enemies, items, etc). Only with shift/ctrl/alt they are used to manage the inventory. The F keys could be handled in the same way.

The F-keys already have modifier functions, too. Like Ctrl-F5 toggle FPS, Ctrl-Shift-F5 toggles FPS capping, Ctrl-F7 toggles tactical HUD mode. There are more forgot (and some that I use to access debugging features in my builds), but these are all secondary features.

Technically not every keyboard is guaranteed to have F-keys, or they're not always easily accessible

Granted - but with that argument, no roguelike would support numpads.

This is why numpad support is only one of multiple movement options (vi, arrows, mouse, numpad). And games that only support numpad movement are doing it wrong--players are very quick to point that out when new games come out with that limitation).

The main reason why I love Cogmind's interface so much is because you can see *everything* on the screen - equipment, inventory, etc (not like in other roguelikes like nethack where you have to scroll through multiple screens of items to get your stuff managed).
The only limitation to this is the inventory when carrying more than 10 items :/

That was the goal with Cogmind, to make sure you could have as much information visible at once without window toggling.

Just how many items do you carry around??? I've never bothered with more than one Hcp. Storage Unit, and that only puts you up to 12 items at full capacity, or only 2 more than you can view at once (0~1 more if you count the fact that you can see the previous/next items in your inventory).

What inventory sizes are you guys working with here?

1234567890!@#$%^&*()

There, 20 inventory slots.

Except that '!' = Shift-1, which pulls up the information window for item #1, and so on.

Or keep the 0-9 shortcuts and [ ] to slide the assignment along the items (with possible scrolling).

What I mean is , say you have 20 items, 15 are visible. Top 10 are assigned shortcuts, hit "]" -> now second through eleventh have shortcuts. Keep hitting "]", 6th through 15-th have shortcuts. Hit "]" again, now it displays items 2-16 and 7th through 16 have shortcuts.

That's a very interesting approach... very slow, though. And weren't you complaining earlier about having reference letters/numbers changing

[infectedm]

The F-keys already have modifier functions, too. Like Ctrl-F5 toggle FPS, Ctrl-Shift-F5 toggles FPS capping, Ctrl-F7 toggles tactical HUD mode. There are more forgot (and some that I use to access debugging features in my builds), but these are all secondary features.

Ok, didn't know that 

Just how many items do you carry around??? I've never bothered with more than one Hcp. Storage Unit, and that only puts you up to 12 items at full capacity, or only 2 more than you can view at once (0~1 more if you count the fact that you can see the previous/next items in your inventory).

Actually, 12 items was my max. inventory size. The thing that bugged me most was not being able to instantly see if I needed to pick up another wheel or if I already had a spare one. I had to press scroll or reorder the inventory to get that information, hiding some other items in the process.

Or keep the 0-9 shortcuts and [ ] to slide the assignment along the items (with possible scrolling).

I also like this idea. It is a very good compromise in my opinion.
In fact, I also thought about a variation of this: all inventory items get numbered 0 to 9, then beginning again with 0 to 9 and so on. Only one block of digits is "active", the other numbers are greyed out. The user can then use tab (or some other key) to switch the active number block.

[Kyzrati]

This thread has gotten pretty old, but management of large inventories just got a heck of a lot easier with Alpha 11, so it should probably be mentioned here for future reference

"Item swap assist" is a new feature that enables both mouse and keyboard players to attach/replace parts from a multipage inventory without any scrolling!

More info in the Alpha 11 release notes.

(This combined with Alpha 5c's automated inventory management means there's a lot less need to actually look through the inventory, and when that is desirable there's the sorting methods to help speed it up.)