Middle Mouse Click for secondary block placement

    jayman38

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    There are frequently times when I want to build something where two different block types alternate.

    I would like to recommend a change to build mode where Alt-<number> puts a secondary selection on a block in the hotbar. Then, when the middle-mouse-button is clicked, this alternate block is placed instead of the primary block.

    I think this would add a good deal of "flow" to the building process, and encourage better building. Since having to select a different primary selection would break the flow, alternating blocks in designs will tend to be avoided unless this secondary placement block idea is implemented.

    I think this secondary block placement should be available in advanced mode, so that whole groups of alternating block types can be put into a build.

    Secondary related idea: allow an alternate hotbar selection in flight mode, and be able to activate it with the middle-mouse button.
     

    Crimson-Artist

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    actually i think the middle mouse button should be used to place selected blocks in its "Off/Alternate" State.

    for instance you could place a light block in its off state rather than placing it then turning it off
     
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    jayman38

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    Maybe the alternate placement could be the default if there is no block selected as the secondary selection. Is there a way to un-select in build mode? If not, maybe use Alt-~ (tilde or some other character near the numbers) to reset the secondary selection to nothing-selected.
     
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    Maybe the alternate placement could be the default if there is no block selected as the secondary selection. Is there a way to un-select in build mode? If not, maybe use Alt-~ (tilde or some other character near the numbers) to reset the secondary selection to nothing-selected.
    Not all keyboards have '~' as a key.
    Mine e.g:
     
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    I honestly can not even find the alphabet on that thing.
    It's the german qwertz, and all unassigned combos are filled in with unicode characters by the unix overlay.
    Without the overlay:
     

    jayman38

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    Not all keyboards have '~' as a key.
    Mine e.g:
    The up-carat, which is shift-6 on English keyboards. I wish there was a way to tell a program to look for a signal from "the button on the left of the numbers, no matter what character it returns."

    You should get a tilde key. They are awesome. I feel better just having one in the room with me. :p

    On the other hand, is the "BackSpace" button used for anything? That might be a handy un-select button that is relatively universal.

    I'm away from the game, so I don't know what buttons map to what. I wish the wiki would get a reference sheet, similar to flight simulators, that show what buttons do what, at a glance.
     
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    The up-carat, which is shift-6 on English keyboards. I wish there was a way to tell a program to look for a signal from "the button on the left of the numbers, no matter what character it returns."
    That is impossible, unless you change the virtual keyboard layout, which completely remaps the keys to their key-IDs(which is what programs are given)