Modifying mouse clicks on the server thread

[SnowyEgret]

My mouse input is all nicely picked up on the server thread. Now I would like a way to modify the clicks with a set of defined modifier keys. I need a way to replace Keyboard.isPressed(). Something like Player.isSneaking(). So far I have a class Modifier with enums for the keys I am using for modifiers - shift, click, alt, x, y, z, and spacebar, and a class Modifiers, instantiated on the server side, with a map of Modifier to Boolean and with methods setPressed(), isPressed(). I need an event preferably with a WorldServer property, which allows me to distinguish key presses from releases, so that I can set the modifier state in class Modifiers.

 

First of all, am I completely out to lunch?

Have I missed something that forge gives me for managing this?

Is my strategy a good one?

What is the best event for the job?

[Ernio]

For server to know about key inputs you need to still setup packets.

Keyboard is CLIENT side.

 

You will need to implement IExtendedEntityProperties which will hold key-presses per-player as booleans.

On client you will need to setup InputEvent.KeyInputEvent which will check for given button and send packet - true when pressed and false when unpressed.

 

Then you can use those boolean server-side to manipulate server-side mouse clicks.

Again - mouse clicks (and any other input) is client-sided, you should make all that on CLIENT thread and send to server only info about actual, alredy modified click.

[SnowyEgret]

Something like PlayerInteractEvent.Action.MODIFIER_CTRL would have been helpful. I will use KeyInputEvent and message the server as you suggest.

 

And yes, modifiers must be on a per player basis. Since I'm already tracking other stuff for each player which cannot be put on extended properties, I think I will stick with my class Modifiers and look it up from a Player to Modifiers map.

[Ernio]

other stuff for each player which cannot be put on extended properties

 

I am sorry to inform you that that is 100% not true. IEEP can hold ANY data for ANY player on ANY side (server or client).

If you don't use IEEP to store per-player data I am 99% sure that you are doing it wrong.

[SnowyEgret]

Thanks Ernio for pointing this out to me.

 

I am talking about the selectionManager, pickManager, and undoManager discussed a couple of days ago in this topic:

 

http://www.minecraftforge.net/forum/index.php/topic,30991.msg161418.html#msg161418

 

There is one for each player. Up until now I have just been throwing them out when the player quits the game - there is no real incentive to keep their data.  I suppose I can just leave IIEP's saveNBTData(), loadNBTData(), and init() unimplemented?

[Ernio]

IEEP is literally an object assigned to EntityPlayer. Inside object you can hold any data - more object, tons of fields and references.

 

Yes - you choose which data you want to save. Save/load data can be even empty if there is no need to save stuff.

 

And why SHOULD you use EntityPlayer over ANY other self-designed system - it's just much easier to maintain and does everything for you, also - much cleaner code.

 

Offtopic: "couple of days ago in this topic" - I didn't even looked at your nick to be honest.

 

And indeed - you can hold your undo memory inside IEEP. (as long as it's not too big obviously).

[SnowyEgret]

I like it. Thanks Ernio.

 

Just one other thing. KeyInputEvent that you suggested ealier in the thread does not have a keystate property like MouseEvent has a buttonstate property. It is difficult to tell if the event is a press or a release, especially in the case of  combinations of 3 modifier keys which be pressed or released an in any order. Is there another event, possibly on the forge side, that has key and keystate properties?

[Ernio]

If you want to use static keys (hardcoded keys) - you simply ask Keyboard directly.

@SideOnly(Side.CLIENT)
@SubscribeEvent
public void onInputEvent(InputEvent.KeyInputEvent event)
{
System.out.println(Keyboard.getEventKey() + " " + Keyboard.getEventKeyState());
}

This will give you e.g "17 true" for holding "W" and "17 false" when you stop holding it.

You can check directly for true/false and sent that in packet to server:

e.g:

Dispatcher.sendToServer(new PacketKey(Keyboard.getEventKey(), Keyboard.getEventKeyState()));

 

If you want to let users define keys - you can make KeyBinding:

public KeyBinding keyOne = new KeyBinding("keyOne", Keyboard.KEY_X, "key.categories.something");
and then in event - you simply do:
keyOne.isPressed()

 

KeyBindings can be changed in game option (are auto-added there).

 

[coolAlias]

One other thing to point out: I'm not sure how you are storing your 'key map', but you cannot reference KeyBindings on the server - the code will compile, sure, and may even work fine in single player, but it will most assuredly crash in multiplayer.

 

This is part of the reason that vanilla does not try to reference keys, but rather state, e.g. isSneaking, isJumping, etc. all are actual fields that get toggled on or off based (mostly) on packets sent from the client.

 

Depending on what you are trying to accomplish, you may want to follow a similar line of thought rather than trying to track the keys themselves, at least on the server.

[SnowyEgret]

This is what I am putting in my map:

 

public enum Modifier {

// Use ints to avoid Keyboard class on server side
// http://www.minecraftforge.net/forum/index.php/topic,31059.msg161734.html#msg161734

// http://www.cambiaresearch.com/articles/15/javascript-char-codes-key-codes
// SHIFT(16),
// CTRL(17),
// ALT(18),
// X(88),
// Y(89),
// Z(90),

// This is what I was getting from printlns
SHIFT(42),
CTRL(29),
ALT(56),
X(45),
Y(21),
Z(44),
SPACE(57);

public int key;

private Modifier(int key) {
	this.key = key;
}

// For ModifierMessage.fromBytes()
public static Modifier fromKey(int key) {
	for (Modifier m : values()) {
		if (m.key == key) {
			return m;
		}
	}
	return null;
}

// Convenience method for client side only
@SideOnly(Side.CLIENT)
public boolean isPressed() {
	return Keyboard.isKeyDown(this.key);
}
}

 

Can I hard code the ints instead of e.g. Keyboard.KEY_SPACE or will I run into trouble? Already I was not getting what I expected from Keyboard.getEventKey() in my KeyInputEvent handler.

 

Also, is this the proper usage of @SidefOnly to avoid problems with isPressed() on the server side?. Method isPressed() is intended to used client side only like this:

if (Modifier.CTRL.isPressed()) {

 

If this is not recommended I will just dump it and test like this:

 

 
        if (Keyboard.isKeyDown(Modifier.CTRL.key))

[Ernio]

Dude, what's the point of all that stuff?

 

private static Set<Integer> KEYS_TO_TRACK = new HashSet<Integer>();

static
{
KEYS_TO_TRACK.add(Keyboard.KEY_SPACE);
}

@SideOnly(Side.CLIENT)
@SubscribeEvent
public void onInputEvent(InputEvent.KeyInputEvent event)
{
if (KEYS_TO_TRACK.contains(Keyboard.getEventKey()))
{
	PacketDispatcher.sendToServer(new PacketKey(Keyboard.getEventKey(), Keyboard.getEventKeyState()));
}
}

 

Then on receiver (Handler#onMessage): (server side)

IEEP.get(player).setKeyState(message.getKey(), message.getReceivedState()) // where #getKey() is received key integer and #getReceivedState() is state boolean from client.

 

In IEEP: (server-side)

private Map<Integer, Boolean> keyMap = new HashMap<Integer, Boolean>();

public void setKeyState(int keyId, boolean state)
{
this.keyMap.put(keyId, state);
}

public Boolean getKeyState(int keyId)
{
return this.keyMap.get(keyId); // can be null
}

 

BAM - done and ready!

Now you just ask (server-side) player - IEEP#getKeyState(KEY_SPACE) - and you know if the player is RIGHT NOW pressing space-key (on server! yay!).

 

Keyboard.class MIGHT not be available on dedicated.jar so you might have to actually make copy of keys in there - literally copy them to some util class.

 

Done and working.

[SnowyEgret]

Much better. Only one message to server. Testing for modifier presses on the server side only. Thanks.

 

I still want something higher lever like this on the server side (I am wrapping player to encapsulate the mess of getting extended properties):

 

        UndoManager um = player.getUndoManager();
                Modifiers modifiers = player.getModifiers();
	boolean isHollow = modifiers.isPressed(Modifier.SHIFT);
	boolean isOnSurface = modifiers.isPressed(Modifier.ALT);

 

and this when I add to overlay info to explain what the modifiers do (looks up strings from lang files):

 

                 info.addModifiers(Modifier.SHIFT, Modifier.ALT);

 

Also useful here:

 

static {
	for (Modifier m : Modifier.values()) {
		KEYS_TO_TRACK.add(m.key);
	}
	// Other keys to track which are not modifiers
	KEYS_TO_TRACK.add(Keyboard.KEY_DELETE);
}