Play possible without diagonal keys?

[grrraaaa]

I spend about 1/3 of my computer time on a small Acer netbook. The bloody thing doesn't have any of the diagonal keys, so rogue-like games are kind of tough to play. Are there alternate movement keys for Portralis?

[adelie]

Most roguelikes have a "roguelike" keybinding ("=", user interface, "roguelike commands" in band derivatives), which use hjklyubn keys for movement. Can't guarantee that they're kept up to date with various command set changes, though...

Alternatively, there should be a "Fn" key that lets you emulate a number pad by holding down the key and pressing the letter keys that have a superscripted number printed on them. Might be reasonable, or extremely awkward depending on the keyboard layout Acer chose to use.

[kipar]

You can use '@' menu to assign any keys you want to diagonal movement.

[Variaz]

The numeric keypad should also do the trick. On my own laptop, I use 1, 3, 7 and 9 for diagonal movement.

[grindorin]

The numbered keys above the letters also work just like the numbered keys in the numberpad. Ye will prolly need a picture of a numberpad on-hand to see which number is which direction though.

[sekira]

My laptop didn't have a 10 key pad on it, which is the case for all mini-notebooks like yours. I used a usb 10 key pad to play rogue-likes, and that worked just fine. They are like $10 and no bigger than a keyboard 10 key pad, and mine is about 1/2 inch thick, including the keys.

[challtdow]

I've owned several laptops over the years and none have had a keypad. I bought a usb one several years ago just to play roguelikes. Like sekira said, they're only $10 or so and not very bulky. Before that I played with the arrows mainly and used the numbers on the keyboard if I had to go diagonally. It works, but slows the game down alot. At least it did for me.

Chall T. Dow

[random]

Jan 11, 2010 9:27:41 GMT -5 challtdow said:

I've owned several laptops over the years and none have had a keypad. I bought a usb one several years ago just to play roguelikes. Like sekira said, they're only $10 or so and not very bulky. Before that I played with the arrows mainly and used the numbers on the keyboard if I had to go diagonally. It works, but slows the game down alot. At least it did for me.

Chall T. Dow

I've use a laptop almost exclusively for the last 12 years or so. It was a bit slow at first, but once I got used to it, diagonals using the numbers at the top became almost second nature, especially since the fingers are already all over the keypad due to the use of so many letters when playing rogue-likes.