VOGONS


First post, by Kerr Avon

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Another poster on this forum (Xjas - Lesser known first person shooters) recommend a Windows first person shooter called Tecno - the Base, which you can download from https://medium.com/@dominictarason/tecno-the- … ps-5df9db668864 as apparently it's makers made it freeware. The problem is, there is no 'Invert the Y-axis' option, and I much prefer to invert the Y-axis when playing first person shooters.

I've tried a couple of Windows programs that invert the mouse, but one of them didn't alter the in-game Y-axis, and the other did but when you looked up or down then your viewpoint moves totally up until you were looking totally vertically up (or down, depending on which way I moved the mouse) and then refused to move from it's position of looking straight up to the ceiling (or down to the floor).

So I had a look at the config files, and one of them does have an option for changing the Y-axis speed, so I edited it to make the value a minus, but that didn't work either.

I thought I'd already posted on this forum asking about this game, when I was at work a couple of days ago, but I mustn't have clicked 'Submit', and I don't have my laptop with me, so I can't say what two inverter programs I tried (one of them had a toggle Y-axis function, you pressed [CTRL] + [ALT] + [Y], or similar, to invert/uninvert it), or what the name of the configuration file was that I edited. Basically, I copied all of the possible configuration files (anything *.cfg, *.ini, whatever) into a temporary folder, then ran the game, altered the mouse's Y-axis sensitivity, exited the game, and checked what had changed between the configuration files in the temp folder, and the same files that were still in the game's folder (and so had been potentially altered). Only one line in one file had been altered, and this was the Y-asix value, because if I manually edited the file I could alter the Y-axis sensitivity, and that worked. But when I made the value a minus (by sticking a '-' in front of the value, then it doesn't invert, though the actual value itself (if you don't count the minus sign) does still set the mouse sensitivity.

Can anyone help me to get the mouse inverted for the game, please?

Reply 1 of 6, by spiroyster

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That game does look good... doubt you will be able to achieve what you want because either it is hard coded that way (since no option to change it in game), or you forcefully invert all mouse events with some other 'service/application'... which is fine while you are running around but come a puzzle (like in the video posted in said thread), the mouse would still be inverted... i.e if using an 'external' service to invert this... its all or nothing.

Seems really strange there are no options for this? Not even sensitivity options for mouse movement? Pity.

Reply 2 of 6, by Kerr Avon

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spiroyster wrote:

That game does look good... doubt you will be able to achieve what you want because either it is hard coded that way (since no option to change it in game), or you forcefully invert all mouse events with some other 'service/application'... which is fine while you are running around but come a puzzle (like in the video posted in said thread), the mouse would still be inverted... i.e if using an 'external' service to invert this... its all or nothing.

Seems really strange there are no options for this? Not even sensitivity options for mouse movement? Pity.

Oh, there is a mouse sensitivity setting, as I mentioned above, that's what I edited in the configuration file, but when I put a minus side in front of the value, then it doesn't invert the mouse in-game. I've used this trick before on another game (I can't remember which one, it might have been System Shock under DOSBox), and in that game, adding a minus side to the front of the mouse speed setting had the (desired) effect of inverting the mouse, so if for example in that game, there'd been a file called control.cfg with a line:

mousespeed = 2.5

then I changed it to

mousespeed = -2.5

then when I ran the game, then the mouse was inverted. I managed to find the mouse speed setting in this game (Tecno - the Base), as I described in the first post, but even when I add a minus sign, the value is still treated as a positive number, or at least the mouse still isn't inverted.

Anyway, I've just checked and one of the mouse inverting programs I tried was Polynomial's Mouse Inverter (https://superuser.com/questions/406502/how-ca … 4/406865#406865), that's the one that locks up when used in the game. I can't remember what the other program was.

Anyway, it's not a huge problem for me, as I can usually play either with or without inverting the Y-axis, but I do prefer it inverted, and it takes like fifteen or twenty minutes for me to get used to non-inverted when I have to play that way, so it would be good to find a way to invert it in the game.

Reply 3 of 6, by Rekrul

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Kerr Avon wrote:

Another poster on this forum (Xjas - Lesser known first person shooters) recommend a Windows first person shooter called Tecno - the Base, which you can download from https://medium.com/@dominictarason/tecno-the- … ps-5df9db668864 as apparently it's makers made it freeware. The problem is, there is no 'Invert the Y-axis' option, and I much prefer to invert the Y-axis when playing first person shooters.

Welcome to the wonderful world of freeware, where control configuration is considered optional by the designers.

Kerr Avon wrote:

I've tried a couple of Windows programs that invert the mouse, but one of them didn't alter the in-game Y-axis, and the other did but when you looked up or down then your viewpoint moves totally up until you were looking totally vertically up (or down, depending on which way I moved the mouse) and then refused to move from it's position of looking straight up to the ceiling (or down to the floor).

You got further than I did when I encountered this problem in other freeware games. Personally, I can't play first-person games with a non-inverted mouse and unfortunately, many/most freeware authors have decided that non-inverted is now the universal standard for FPS games, likely due to it being that way on consoles.

It would have been so simple for MS to add an option to invert the mouse system-wide, but they never did. Even fancy, third-party mouse drivers don't include such an option.

Other than the program linked in your other post, what programs did you try?

Reply 4 of 6, by Azarien

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Rekrul wrote:

many/most freeware authors have decided that non-inverted is now the universal standard for FPS games, likely due to it being that way on consoles.

Except that mice are not standard on consoles, and different controller is a different controller...

It wouldn't be very hard to make a hardware adapter (and much easier for PS/2 than USB) with switchable reverse.
Maybe it could even fit inside the mouse.
Any volunteers? 😀

Reply 5 of 6, by spiroyster

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Kerr Avon wrote:

Oh, there is a mouse sensitivity setting, as I mentioned above

Ah yes, unsure how I missed that... o.0

Azarien wrote:

It wouldn't be very hard to make a hardware adapter (and much easier for PS/2 than USB) with switchable reverse.
Maybe it could even fit inside the mouse.

This might be a good idea... because it still needs to be an option to turn it off/on during the game...

A third party app to invert the screen position of the mouse events isn't that difficult or impossible to do. However during the game you are not always running around as FPS... according to OP video about the game there are 'puzzle' sections in the midst of the action and this means you will want the mouse not inverted (I assume) for these areas, yet straight back to 'inverted' to run around and shoot shit.

There is no elegant solution.. this is certainly a option that should be available (and part of the game engine)... bad dev!

Reply 6 of 6, by Rekrul

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Azarien wrote:
Rekrul wrote:

many/most freeware authors have decided that non-inverted is now the universal standard for FPS games, likely due to it being that way on consoles.

Except that mice are not standard on consoles

I know, unfortunately...

Azarien wrote:

and different controller is a different controller...

Yes, but the legions of console FPS players have convinced designers that non-inverted is the way EVERYONE plays first person games.