Can Do Nothing Useful

[Grymm]

Hello.

I may have been remiss, but I downloaded the game tonight because of the Steam sale (I didn't want to miss it) when I didn't have much time, because of a work schedule, but figured I'd have 20 satisfying minutes to familiarize myself with the general game.

Instead, I've spent the last several hours frustrated. I can do nothing of use in the game. Hovering over a loose object (not a container) allows me only to pick it up with a left-click, after which I have the option to Place the object or Cancel the action. If I attempt to place the object anywhere when it's red, or Cancel, the object goes back to its last position in the world. Otherwise, I can place it somewhere where it is green. So far, so good.

But I can do nothing else. There seems to be no way to put an object into my inventory. I can't collect sticks, for example; I can only hold one individual stick out at arm's length and run about with it like a spazz. I can't stack them (they vanish back to their origins), and I can't put them in my backpack. The same goes for all other found objects (like newsprint and accelerant). Worse still, if I do manage to equip something from my backpack, I'm as likely to drop it on the ground as not, compounding my problem, because I'm never able to recollect it.

If I click both buttons at once, my vision gets blurry, and, sometimes, the object will appear right in my face, even "placing" in mid-air. This may be a bug, which is fine in Alpha.

My problem is that I can do none of the wicked-cool stuff you all are discussing. I can only slowly freeze to death while attempting the world's worst game of reverse-Jenga. Worse still…I seem to be the only one having this problem. I've looked through the FAQ, the forums, other sites. I've watched the videos (like Raphael's v.256 video, where he clicks "up" a piece of wood at 0:19…and it just magically disappears into his inventory by some method that is not clear). I've found no one with this issue that I can tell.

What the heck am I missing? There has to be more than just running around with an individual stick at arm's length, no? So far, it feels like a "ragdoll game," which it clearly is not intended to be.

There are clearly some fundamental tricks that the rest of you know so intuitively that it is laughable for me to be struggling. But I just can't seem to sacrifice the chickens in the right order to stumble upon them.

With out those tricks, I can't meaningfully collect inventory.

Please help!! :oops:

-Grymm

[druffzilla]

This might sound stupid, but are you sure you are using the right button/key?

On PC you have to use LMB to inspect an object and click LMB again and to pick it up.

Moving objects works with RMB and you can only equip very few objects like lanterns, flares and the rifle for example.

[Scyzara]

This might sound stupid, but are you sure you are using the right button/key?

On PC you have to use LMB to inspect an object and click LMB again and to pick it up.

Moving objects works with RMB and you can only equip very few objects like lanterns, flares and the rifle for example.

I have no idea why, but since V.282 it's the other way around for me. I have to inspect things with RMB now and can move them with LMB. x-x''

(RMB->LMB to pick up items and LMB->RMB to move and place them).

Moreover I have to hand-fight wolves with RMB now. Isn't it like this for everyone? :?

@Grymm

Have you tried to inspect an item with the right mouse button and click the left button afterwards? This should place the item in your inventory.

[druffzilla]

I have no idea why, but since V.282 it's the other way around for me. I have to inspect things with RMB now and can move them with LMB. x-x''

(RMB->LMB to pick up items and LMB->RMB to move and place them).

Moreover I have to hand-fight wolves with RMB now. Isn't it like this for everyone? :?

@Grymm

Have you tried to inspect an item with the right mouse button and click the left button afterwards? This should place the item in your inventory.

Hmm.. very strange, for me it didn't change.

Did you try to rebind the keys? That might be useful for you too, Grymm, simply go to Options and Key-Bindings.

[Scyzara]

Hmm.. very strange, for me it didn't change.

Did you try to rebind the keys? That might be useful for you too, Grymm, simply go to Options and Key-Bindings.

Odd.. I'm pretty sure I never exchanged RMB and LMB myself. But your advice works, I could theoretically change my key bindings back if I wanted to. (Won't do it for now as I've had enough confusion to get used to the new bindings. ^^)

[Grymm]

Thank you all for your quick replies!

No, I don't think this is the issue. The buttons do exactly what the "ghost keys" at the bottom of the screen illustrate them to do: LMB is "Place," and RMB is "Cancel." There are no prompts just hovering over an object…other than the name of the object, if the reticle is correctly placed.

I'm on OS X 10.7.5. An Apple iMac. So it may be a platform issue. But I get no other options. Not to take a held object as I see on some sample screens. Not to double-click LMB (that just puts the object right back down). Not to interact with an object in my inventory. It's quite baffling, really.

Thanks again for any help you can give!

-D

[Patrick Carlson]

Hi Grymm, and welcome to the forums. Just so it's clear: Do you feel the controls are working as intended or not?

You can use the LMB to pick up items you see in the world. They are then added to your inventory where you can perform an action with them (perhaps harvest or repair, depending on the item) or drop them to the ground. Is this not functioning for you at all?

Just trying to get a handle on what you are seeing. Thanks for your feedback.

[Grymm]

Hello, Patrick!

I do not feel the controls are working as intended. I can pick items up and set them back down. That's all. I cannot put them into inventory by any means that I have discovered (save direct searching of a container). Anything on the ground stays on the ground, or at arm's length. There is no estimable means by which to act upon them in any meaningful way. They will not stack (the teleport back to their origin). They cannot be used (a floating knife in front of me is just an object, not a weapon). And they cannot be added to inventory.

I hope that is clear.

Thanks for your patient consideration!

-Grymm

[nicko]

Mac users we have got to love them, no disrespect intended.

is it a standard mouse or a controller game pad of some sort your using? if mouse surely you have tried both right click left click - click twice to pick stuff up. one or either should really work.

[Grymm]

is it a standard mouse or a controller game pad of some sort your using? if mouse surely you have tried both right click left click - click twice to pick stuff up. one or either should really work.

It is a standard, old-school, corded USB mouse for PC, with both right and left mouse buttons.

I have no idea why, but since V.282 it's the other way around for me. I have to inspect things with RMB now and can move them with LMB. x-x''

After careful study, it appears that "Scyzara's Symptom" is at least partly mine as well. In fact, the LMB is functioning as "Cancel" and the RMB as "Place." I will also note that I'm an inveterate "Invert Y Axis" user, though undoing this setting does not change the performance of the mouse buttons or pick-up behavior for me.

It appears that there is no "Inspect" step in my process. Double-clicking with the LMB simply picks the object up and sets it down over and over. Double-clicking with the RMB does nothing but make a picking up sound and refresh the mouse-over item name.

Clicking with both simultaneously makes my vision blurry, and if I click with the LMB again sticks the item close to my face and "Places" it in mid-air.

There is never any point where Inventory is open, or I get any information or options on the object.

None of this means that I still may not be missing something simple. But I worked in Technical Support and Quality Assurance for a retail game company for a decade in the 90s, and expect that my associated skills have not yet eroded so utterly that I'm too far off on what I believe to be observing as software behavior at the moment.

Thanks again for your continued energy and ideas!

[druffzilla]

I've been just playing a bit and noticed something which you might be experiencing too, I picked up a couple of items, a rifle, a toque, a box of ammunition and a flare. Only the flare and the box of ammunition gave me the inspection screen. All the other items went straight into my inventory, I'm gonna write a bug ticket about that in a moment too.

Anyway, did you try to rebind the keys, Grymm?

While moving an object you can't pick it up, its only place and cancel with the mouse buttons.

With "I" you can open you inventory and check if you picked something up, if I got you right you said you have trouble with picking stuff up?

I also made a screenshot of the Key-bindings, other then G=Inventory everything is left on default.

I have the feeling you might be able to solve some issues by rebinding your keys.

[elloco999]

It sounds to me that your mouse buttons are somehow switched Grymm. It seems when you LMB click an item you go into placing mode instead of inspecting mode. Try picking something up using the RMB instead.

Scyzara, are you a mac user too? I'm a PC user and have issues with the mouse buttons, so it might be OS related.

[Scyzara]

Nope, I'm a PC user as well (Win 8.1). ^^

But as I've said my switched mouse keys aren't a real problem for me as I can still play normally (and I could theoretically switch them back as well). It's just a bit odd that LMB and RMB were exchanged in the first place because I certainly didn't do that myself on purpose. So I though I'd better mention it just in case that it might be a bug that affects more people.

Attached please find a screenshot. (Keypad 1-6 are my Naga Hex mouse side buttons, they're all working properly and none of them changed^^).

[bethany]

If you're attempting to use both LMB and RMB to pick up an object without success, you may have a bit of a bug. Try verifying your game cache via the Steam library to make sure all of the files made it where they need to be during download, and then reset your key bindings to default (even if you didn't change anything), just to be sure. Let us know if you're continuing to have trouble and I'll get someone from our tech team to double-check this thread and see if there's something we might be missing.

[Grymm]

Hey, everyone! I finally got some free time to try your suggestions!

Verifying the cache changed nothing, Bethany (thank you for the suggestion!). But swapping the LMB and RMB (mapping them to the opposite of what they're supposed to be and listed as) did the trick! Inventory and collection now work fine…though the controls are clearly backwards, relative to what the "ghost tips" at the bottom of the screen suggest.

Finally playing and having fun!

Thanks for the help…and hope I've given you useful info for tracking down the problem!

-Grymm

[elloco999]

Glad to hear it's working for you now