Factorio Forums

TL;DR

When game scenes play in the background of the main menu allow the "alt" control key to work like in game.

What ?

In game pressing "alt" will show the contents of chests, trains. The programming of combinators and other more detailed views. Pressing "alt" in the main menu should toggle this the same way for the scenes playing in the background. There may be more features altering how the game draws (e.g. was show tile grid active in the last game played?)

Why ?

It just feels odd that the game play in the main menu looks different from when you actually play with all the settings set to your liking. So if people leave the "alt" view on when exiting the game then the next time they start why not show the "alt" view for the cut scenes? Same for other options like show tile grid, belt gaps, train segments, ... All those settings should be easy to recover from the last played game and then be used in the background scenes.

And why not allow the "alt" key to function as players expect even in main menu. Asking for the "F4" debug window might be to much but the keyboard shortcuts could just work.

Interesting idea. What should then happen, if you turned the background animation off?

+1

Would be amazing for the Hall of Fame.

They don't even draw health bars, so no. It's supposed to look clean and we don't want sprites to be covered by overlays. Like, the trailers are not rendered with alt-mode active either. Intentionally.

ssilk wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 28, 2022 5:10 am

What should then happen, if you turned the background animation off?

What do you mean?

posila wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 28, 2022 7:18 am

ssilk wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 28, 2022 5:10 am

What should then happen, if you turned the background animation off?

What do you mean?

You can turn the whole animation stuff off. When I remember correctly there is a small button in the right corner. Then it displays just a 3d-rendered background image.

ssilk wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 28, 2022 8:20 am

You can turn the whole animation stuff off. When I remember correctly there is a small button in the right corner. Then it displays just a 3d-rendered background image.

Background animation can be turned off (I think in the graphics settings.) What I am confused about is what are the possibilities other than the obvious one - when the background simulations are turned off, then there is no alt-mode to draw, regardless of keyboard shortcut you try to press...

posila wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 28, 2022 7:18 am

They don't even draw health bars, so no. It's supposed to look clean and we don't want sprites to be covered by overlays. Like, the trailers are not rendered with alt-mode active either. Intentionally.

That makes sense. I also prefer the simulations to run without alt-mode.

I think this request is about making the alt-button function though, so that it can be toggled. It's already possible to have alt-mode showing by hardcoding it in the simulation (it's a startup setting in Hall of Fame). It would be nice if it could be togglable in the main menu too.

Yeah, there are times I’d like to just toggle it on for a bit so I can see the interactions, recipes, etc, but wouldn’t want it on all the time.

FuryoftheStars wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 29, 2022 3:40 pm

Yeah, there are times I’d like to just toggle it on for a bit so I can see the interactions, recipes, etc, but wouldn’t want it on all the time.

And nobody is forcing you.

mrvn wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 29, 2022 4:19 pm

FuryoftheStars wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 29, 2022 3:40 pm

Yeah, there are times I’d like to just toggle it on for a bit so I can see the interactions, recipes, etc, but wouldn’t want it on all the time.

And nobody is forcing you.

I didn't say anyone was. And that's not what my post was about, either.