Keyboard navigation parity: intermediate UI screens require mouse (match-found Enter, post-game Rematch/Back to Yard) #35

New issue

Closed

opened 2026-06-21 14:08:05 +02:00 by bosun · 0 comments

bosun commented

2026-06-21 14:08:05 +02:00

Owner

Symptom (operator playtest, 2026-06-21)

Gameplay accepts keyboard input fine, but several intermediate UI screens require a mouse click — keyboard does not work:

Operator: "When a match is found, for example, the game suggests to hit Enter to get ready for a match. But I have to click on the button - a key press seems not to work. After the game, there is a win/loose script with the options Rematch and Back to Yard. Those two seem also to work only with the use of a mouse."

Known screens with the gap:

Match-found / get-ready prompt — UI explicitly says "Hit Enter", but only the click on the button works.
Post-game (win/lose) screen — Rematch and Back to Yard buttons only respond to mouse.

Likely other screens too. Related to #32 (spectator no-exit) — both are state-machine/UI keyboard-coverage gaps.

Likely root cause

Buttons are click-handler-bound but no corresponding key-handler (Enter/Escape/etc.) is registered for the active screen. The canvas key-handler (used for gameplay) is unscoped to these screens, or they have no key-binding at all.

Fix direction

Audit each non-gameplay screen for keyboard parity:

Match-found screen → Enter triggers ready (matches the UI prompt that already says "Hit Enter")
Post-game win/lose screen → Enter = Rematch, Escape = Back to Yard
Spectator screen → Escape = exit (already filed as #32)
Title screen → already works (S = solo, etc.) — confirm parity for VERSUS too if mouse-only
Pause screen (if any) → keyboard parity

The goal is mouse-optional play across the whole flow.

Acceptance criteria

Match-found prompt: Enter advances to ready
Post-game screen: Enter triggers Rematch, Escape triggers Back to Yard
UI prompt text matches keys that actually work (no "Hit Enter" prompts that require click)
Inventory of any other affected screens — fixed in the same PR or filed as follow-ups
Mouse-click behavior unchanged on all of the above

Lane

Pilot — UI / state-machine / input-handling. Composes naturally with #32 (spectator no-exit) — same keyboard-coverage discipline. PR could bundle both or split — Pilot's call.

Effort

Size/S — per-screen key handlers + a quick audit for any unflagged screens.

## Symptom (operator playtest, 2026-06-21) Gameplay accepts keyboard input fine, but several intermediate UI screens require a mouse click — keyboard does not work: Operator: *"When a match is found, for example, the game suggests to hit Enter to get ready for a match. But I have to click on the button - a key press seems not to work. After the game, there is a win/loose script with the options `Rematch` and `Back to Yard`. Those two seem also to work only with the use of a mouse."* Known screens with the gap: - **Match-found / get-ready prompt** — UI explicitly says "Hit Enter", but only the click on the button works. - **Post-game (win/lose) screen** — `Rematch` and `Back to Yard` buttons only respond to mouse. Likely other screens too. Related to [#32](https://git.frankenbit.de/frankenbit/cellblock/issues/32) (spectator no-exit) — both are state-machine/UI keyboard-coverage gaps. ## Likely root cause Buttons are click-handler-bound but no corresponding key-handler (Enter/Escape/etc.) is registered for the active screen. The canvas key-handler (used for gameplay) is unscoped to these screens, or they have no key-binding at all. ## Fix direction Audit each non-gameplay screen for keyboard parity: - **Match-found screen** → `Enter` triggers ready (matches the UI prompt that already says "Hit Enter") - **Post-game win/lose screen** → `Enter` = Rematch, `Escape` = Back to Yard - **Spectator screen** → `Escape` = exit (already filed as [#32](https://git.frankenbit.de/frankenbit/cellblock/issues/32)) - **Title screen** → already works (S = solo, etc.) — confirm parity for VERSUS too if mouse-only - **Pause screen** (if any) → keyboard parity The goal is mouse-optional play across the whole flow. ## Acceptance criteria 1. Match-found prompt: `Enter` advances to ready 2. Post-game screen: `Enter` triggers Rematch, `Escape` triggers Back to Yard 3. UI prompt text matches keys that actually work (no "Hit Enter" prompts that require click) 4. Inventory of any other affected screens — fixed in the same PR or filed as follow-ups 5. Mouse-click behavior unchanged on all of the above ## Lane Pilot — UI / state-machine / input-handling. Composes naturally with [#32](https://git.frankenbit.de/frankenbit/cellblock/issues/32) (spectator no-exit) — same keyboard-coverage discipline. PR could bundle both or split — Pilot's call. ## Effort Size/S — per-screen key handlers + a quick audit for any unflagged screens.