vfig on 10/6/2020 at 16:34
The meta usage is interesting! If an fm doesn't give you a compass, I suppose binding a key to loot_select would have a similar use—but I suppose only once you'd found some loot.
Personally I use the compass fairly often, most usually if I find myself feeling lost in a mission, just to re-establish a sense of direction. And in this case, I wasn't thinking of removing the compass at all.
Psych0sis on 10/6/2020 at 16:56
I rarely use it, only when I read something (objective/readable) that says something of interest may be in a certain direction (puzzles like the one in Sepulchre of the Sinestral come to mind!). To me, having to hit clear inventory (after say, lockpicking something) twice is a non issue, as it takes maybe a tenth of a second to do so, so I don't feel a need to keybind it.
If you're going to make it an important thing in your mission, you should either deliberately say it in the mission readme/thread OP or put a readable (make sure the player can carry it with them!) somewhere in the mission that the player would stumble upon easily explaining it.
McTaffer on 10/6/2020 at 17:54
I use it quite a lot, but as others have mentioned above, I use it less often as a compass and more as a quick way to get keys/lockpicks/random junk I've picked up out of the way. I do actually use it for orienting myself relatively often, but generally I don't tend to get too lost. That said, it can be an invaluable resource in large scale missions or in ones that have either no map or no automap. Having no compass feels off to me, because it's so ingrained in my muscle memory for inventory clearing that I find myself constantly pressing the key whether it's actually there or not. Incidentally, I've found that most custom compasses don't work the same way because the game doesn't detect them as being a real compass for whatever reason. You can always see them in the inventory, but you can't bring them up with the keybinding.
vfig on 10/6/2020 at 18:10
Quote Posted by McTaffer
Incidentally, I've found that most custom compasses don't work the same way because the game doesn't detect them as being a real compass for whatever reason. You can always see them in the inventory, but you can't bring them up with the keybinding.
The inventory and weapon hotkeys work on the object's name, so that happens when the fm author has created a new object or archetype for the compass with a new name instead of replacing
Compass2.
FenPhoenix on 10/6/2020 at 18:43
Quote Posted by vfig
The meta usage is interesting! If an fm doesn't give you a compass, I suppose binding a key to
loot_select would have a similar use—but I suppose only once you'd found some loot.
You can bind a key to the loot item?!?! :o
vfig on 10/6/2020 at 23:18
Quote Posted by FenPhoenix
You can bind a key to the loot item?!?! :o
Yup. Just edit user.bnd and put it in. :D
Lord Taffer on 11/6/2020 at 10:09
I use compass quite a lot in big missions (big city missions). For example, in Feast of Pilgrims, I found compass useful when trying get to a certain area or building.
LostCitizen on 11/6/2020 at 10:38
I started to use it quite often, and Feast of Pilgrims was probably the mission in which I used it for the longest time in any (fan) mission. And for the first time I invented a keyboard shortcut for it! That is why I am prepared to play FMs which would use compass to even greater extent.
Blue Jay on 13/6/2020 at 08:55
I use the compass all the time, and I'm always surprised, when I watch live streams of first time Thief players, to see it so neglected, and they talk about how confusing Thieves Guild is. I think it's especially useful for that mission, such as the number 66 sewer passage.
I personally have it bound to x. The meta usage of clearing item from the lockpicks which FenPhoenix mentioned is really interesting, I should do that from now on.
klatremus on 13/6/2020 at 20:27
Quote Posted by vfig
Yup. Just edit user.bnd and put it in. :D
Wow, after 20 years of Thief, my world just turned upside down!!