Add usability/accessibility settings to the main menu

[Daft Mugi]

(I apologize for the odd poll question layout. I wasn't able to add five yes-no questions, because polls are limited to three questions.)

Hi everyone,

I've recently been working on some patches for issues that I've read about from players on the TDM and TTLG forums — and Discord. My goal is to make it as easy as possible for players, especially new players and those who need usability/accessibility options, to find what they need in order to have a better TDM experience. I've already written the GUI and game engine code for these settings, which I've been using in my personal build.

The reason for this poll and discussion is to both guide the finalization of my work and collect data to help inform the dev team. Which patches I submit depend on the outcome of this poll, discussion, and what the dev team agrees to accept. Once decided, I can coordinate with the dev team.

I've attached screenshots of what the new settings menu would look like if all of the settings are accepted.

Below, I have detailed each menu setting, so you can have an easier time understanding each one.

Very important to keep in mind: None of these settings change TDM default behavior. They are all opt-in. If you are already happy with the behavior of 2.10, 2.11, etc. and these menu settings are accepted, nothing will change for you.

Rename "Always Run" to "Run Mode" with options "None, Always, Toggle"

After 2.11 was released, @i30817 requested that "toggle run" be added to the settings menu.
Its cvar is already in TDM as "in_toggleRun" (same as Doom 3).

I propose renaming the "Always Run" setting to "Run Mode" with options: "None", "Always", and "Toggle".

None   = in_alwaysRun 0; in_toggleRun 0
Always = in_alwaysRun 1; in_toggleRun 0
Toggle = in_alwaysRun 0; in_toggleRun 1

Show Blackjack Helper

@Wellingtoncrab suggested that the new blackjack helper be added to the settings menu.
Its cvar was added to 2.11 as "tdm_blackjack_indicate".

More info: It's the new blackjack helper added to 2.11. When the game detects that the blackjack can be used for a successful hit or KO, the blackjack will rise slightly.

I propose a "Yes/No" setting for this.

Slider for "View: Head Bob"

@ChronA requested a way to disable head bobbing, because a viewer watching him play was having severe motion sickness. Also, there was a bug in TDM that made setting the head bob in the console not stick after loading a saved game. (Even with 2.11, if a mission overrides the "tdm_player_thief.def" file and sets "pm_bobroll", "pm_bobpitch", "pm_bobup", and other cvars, it will override player preferences.)

As far back as 2008, players have had trouble setting head bob.

Another one from 2018.

At the end of 2022, @Shadowex3 registered just to voice the need for a way to control head bob.

I propose that a slider be added to adjust the amount of head bob. This would use a new "pm_headbob_mod" cvar with a value between 0.0 and 1.0 (default 1.0, no change). The "pm_headbob_mod" would be a multiplier for "pm_bobroll", "pm_bobpitch", and "pm_bobup". The advantage to this approach is that missions like Volta 2 and Hazard Pay would not need to adjust their "tdm_player_thief.def" files for head bob to work properly. And, the player can still adjust "pm_bobroll", "pm_bobpitch", and "pm_bobup" as they like.

Slider for "View: Mantle Roll"

This is similar to head bob for those who are sensitive to motion.
Its cvar was added to 2.11 as "pm_mantle_roll_mod".

A Thief player on Discord said, "2.11 will have a cvar to tune down the mantling animation at last."

I propose that a slider be added for "pm_mantle_roll_mod".

Auto-Search Bodies

@Zaratul requested the "auto-search bodies" feature from Thief 1 & 2.
Its cvar was added to 2.12 dev16783-10307 as "tdm_autosearch_bodies". 

I did a poll on the a Thief Discord server and roughly 20% of players there use the Thief auto-search bodies feature.

I propose a menu setting for this, so that players coming from Thief 1 & 2 can easily find it.

Edited March 23, 2023 by Daft Mugi

[thebigh]

IMO the three settings for running are a good idea.

I don't care about mantling roll and head-bob either way.

I dislike auto-search so, if there's going to be an option for it, my preference would be for it to default to "off".

[wesp5]

I'm all for giving the players more options, but you wrote that you edited most of these into the GUI already. So could you please fix the stupid GUI bug that has been annoying me for years too? It's the one when after downloading all available missions, the names of the very same missions are still visible in the download window overlayed with the text "No new missions to download" afterwards.

[Amadeus]

I'm pretty indifferent to most of these settings, but I would actually really like to see the blackjack helper as a setting so that players can choose to turn it on/off

[Wellingtoncrab]

I think more accessibility and customization options should be exposed in the main menu. Even as a new player when you’ve gotten to the point you understand what a cvar even is, looking them up often when you aren’t sure what you are looking for is even available is not a good experience. Given just how much discussion and disagreement there has been about the blackjack over the years, offering the new feature (which again I like btw) but making it something you can easily disable if you prefer in the game menu is a no brainer imo. 

I also don’t like the idea that things which can give players motion sickness, such as camera animations, are not directly adjustable and accessible in the game menu.

So I don’t really see a reason why any of these should not be included, given there is real estate available in menu.

[Frost_Salamander]

4 minutes ago, Wellingtoncrab said:

I think more accessibility and customization options should be exposed in the main menu. Even as a new player when you’ve gotten to the point you understand what a cvar even is, looking them up often when you aren’t sure what you are looking for is even available is not a good experience. Given just how much discussion and disagreement there has been about the blackjack over the years, offering the new feature (which again I like btw) but making it something you can easily disable if you prefer in the game menu is a no brainer imo. 

I also don’t like the idea that things which can give players motion sickness, such as camera animations, are not directly adjustable and accessible in the game menu.

So I don’t really see a reason why any of these should not be included, given there is real estate available in menu.

Agreed, except to say that a new player shouldn't have to even know or care what the hell a cvar is.

Time for things to move on a bit...

[Amadeus]

I don't think it is a good idea to bombard new players with advanced settings "Mantle Roll" etc., but it does look like the Gameplay settings could be divided up into "General" and "Advanced" and "Difficulty" categories. You could have all the normal core gameplay settings in the General tab, then all of the more nuanced stuff like "Head bob" "Mantle Roll" in the Advanced tab

[ChronA]

All those options look good to me. I suppose with these things there is always a worry about making the menu overcrowded, but this still seems pretty reasonable. Compare with the number of graphics, gameplay, and accessibility options that have become industry standard on high profile PC releases and this actually seems restrained to me. Plus, this is the kind of community that will appreciate having options more than they will be put off by needing to hunt through a long menu. So my vote is full steam ahead on all items.

The one piece of useful critique I can give is that "none" is a bit hard to interpret as an option for run mode without more of a tooltip. I'm having a hard time thinking of a better alternative though (other than "default", which still has the same problem).

Anyway, thanks for including my head bob request. It would be nice not to fiddle with cvars to get that adjusted should I find myself playing with an audience again, or just want a little extra comfort when taking on one of the big FMs.

[datiswous]

I don't understand the term mantle roll.

[stgatilov]

I prefer to have one setting like "Motion Sickness" (some better name should be chosen), which simply disables both mantle roll and headbob (and does any future adjustments for the same reason).

Most people play OK with default settings, changing these only matters for the minority which feels uneasy with them. At which point it is easier to just disable all the stuff: it does not have any gameplay significance anyway.

[Oktokolo]

21 hours ago, stgatilov said:

I prefer to have one setting like "Motion Sickness" (some better name should be chosen), which simply disables both mantle roll and headbob (and does any future adjustments for the same reason).

Currently the absurd animation first does sortof a drop before actually mantling up. Just removing the drop part would make it much better already.

[Daft Mugi]

On 3/23/2023 at 7:39 PM, ChronA said:

The one piece of useful critique I can give is that "none" is a bit hard to interpret as an option for run mode without more of a tooltip. I'm having a hard time thinking of a better alternative though (other than "default", which still has the same problem).

Yeah, I agree with you. I couldn't come up with a better term than "none" at the time for
"Run Mode" with options: "None", "Always", and "Toggle".

Perhaps the following instead?
"Default Speed" with options: "Walk", "Run", and "Toggle".

[Daft Mugi]

On 3/24/2023 at 5:00 AM, datiswous said:

I don't understand the term mantle roll.

"Mantle roll" refers to the player's view rolling or tilting during a mantle. The "mantle roll" option sets the amount of roll/tilt applied to the player's view.

You can try it out yourself in 2.11 (or later) using the "pm_mantle_roll_mod" cvar. Set it to "0" for no roll, "1" for 100% (or regular) roll. Personally, I set it to "0.1" for 10% of the regular roll animation.

I chose "mantle roll" to match the term for the head bob setting "bob roll" (pm_bob_roll).

Any suggestion for a better term than "mantle roll"?

[datiswous]

"Mantle tilt" is probably already better.

Edited June 16, 2023 by datiswous

[Daft Mugi]

These usability/accessibility changes have been committed as code rev 10446.

As a bonus, the "Show Frob Helper" setting now has presets -- committed as code rev 10447.

The presets are:

Always  = show crosshair dot at all times
Hover   = instantly show dot on highlight
Fade In = gradually show dot on highlight
No      = never show dot