solved: mouse not working on menu

Get some cool tips about how to tweak your UT graphic, gameplay, and much more!
Post Reply
User avatar
rizbef
Experienced
Posts: 125
Joined: Sun Dec 16, 2012 8:11 am
Personal rank: castle maps hoarder
Location: Texas
Contact:

solved: mouse not working on menu

Post by rizbef »

I searched this site for a similar thread but found none... google also failed me. However, I am getting a deja vu feeling that I have either dealt with or read about this before...

When I press V to show the voice menu, my mouse will not move to select an option. I can bring up the menu in game, but I cannot choose anything. The mouse just sits in the upper left corner of the small menu, no matter how long I try to move it (so I don't think it is a lagging problem). I really use this during practice CTF to direct the bots what to do.

I finally got UT back after being on a long hiatus due to my old laptop always crashing. I have Windows 8 but am running in XP compatibility mode, and I already downloaded all of the patches and the latest opengl and messed with all of that to fix the speed (took a while but I finally got it running at the right speed and without this awful 'turn-and-the-screen-ripples' effect). Everything is great except for this menu mouse issue. I have mouselook checked so that using my mouse only affects where I look; I removed all other commands relating to using the mouse (it previously had the mouse controlling my walking).

I use the touchpad on my laptop.

Thanks in advance for anyone who knows what I am talking about :oops:
Last edited by rizbef on Sat Jun 14, 2014 8:03 am, edited 3 times in total.
User avatar
papercoffee
Godlike
Posts: 10443
Joined: Wed Jul 15, 2009 11:36 am
Personal rank: coffee addicted !!!
Location: Cologne, the city with the big cathedral.
Contact:

Re: on voice menu the mouse doesnt move

Post by papercoffee »

I know what you are talking about ...and my suggestion would be: maybe it's not UT but your mouse driver.
Does it work in other games with in-game menus?
User avatar
rizbef
Experienced
Posts: 125
Joined: Sun Dec 16, 2012 8:11 am
Personal rank: castle maps hoarder
Location: Texas
Contact:

Re: on voice menu the mouse doesnt move

Post by rizbef »

papercoffee wrote:I know what you are talking about ...and my suggestion would be: maybe it's not UT but your mouse driver.
Does it work in other games with in-game menus?
I wouldn't know because I don't play any other games on my laptop :?
except for solitaire but that isn't the same

It's a Dell Inspiron 13z... touchpad settings have not been changed since I got it,
Pointer Speed is set in the middle
Enhance pointer precision is checked
Hide pointer while typing is checked (I unchecked it with no successful results)
Everything else is unchecked, and I do not have a scrolling wheel

EDIT

I borrowed a usb mouse and it works fine. So it must be my touchpad settings that conflict with UT, but I don't know how to fix that...

DOUBLE EDIT
I have solved the mouse problem!!! After messing around with my mouse settings and searching the web for gamers with similar issues, I found that my laptop was using "TouchGuard" which disables the touchpad while typing. I switched it off and presto! Touchpad mouse works :D

However, my game crashes. Just like it used to. :help: I have switched back to Direct3D9 (version 3.5) as I read opengl may be too much for my graphics card, but now the picture quality is down, mostly on the menu screens.

These are the specs of my laptop:
Dell Inspiron 13z
Windows 8.1
Intel R Core processor
CPU @ 1.90 GHz
64bit operating system
3.85 GB ram
User avatar
Dr.Flay
Godlike
Posts: 3347
Joined: Thu Aug 04, 2011 9:26 pm
Personal rank: Chaos Evangelist
Location: Kernow, UK
Contact:

Re: solved: mouse not working on menu

Post by Dr.Flay »

Is there some reason you avoid stating the most useful info (or am I going blind?)
What is the GFX card ?
All the rest of it does not really matter.
Use GL if you have nVidia and DX9 for almost everything else.

Smirftsch has taken over the development of the UT renderers and you can find newer ones at OldUnreal
http://www.oldunreal.com/utpatches.html
http://www.oldunreal.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?board=2
User avatar
rizbef
Experienced
Posts: 125
Joined: Sun Dec 16, 2012 8:11 am
Personal rank: castle maps hoarder
Location: Texas
Contact:

Re: solved: mouse not working on menu

Post by rizbef »

Dr.Flay wrote:Is there some reason you avoid stating the most useful info (or am I going blind?)
What is the GFX card ?
All the rest of it does not really matter.
Use GL if you have nVidia and DX9 for almost everything else.

Smirftsch has taken over the development of the UT renderers and you can find newer ones at OldUnreal
http://www.oldunreal.com/utpatches.html
http://www.oldunreal.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?board=2
Woops! :oops: Graphics card... err Intel R HD Graphics 4000? I think that's it... everything was easier to find on XP...

Thanks for the links!
User avatar
Dr.Flay
Godlike
Posts: 3347
Joined: Thu Aug 04, 2011 9:26 pm
Personal rank: Chaos Evangelist
Location: Kernow, UK
Contact:

Re: solved: mouse not working on menu

Post by Dr.Flay »

Ah yes intel.
Many years ago, intel disabled several hardware OpenGL functions so they revert to software mode.
For some reason (I suspect because they are a Micro$oft partner), they have never re-enabled them.
DirectX will always have better hardware access for you.
Same for me with an ATI only the issue is with not using the GFX RAM in OpenGL.
User avatar
rizbef
Experienced
Posts: 125
Joined: Sun Dec 16, 2012 8:11 am
Personal rank: castle maps hoarder
Location: Texas
Contact:

Re: solved: mouse not working on menu

Post by rizbef »

Dr.Flay wrote:Ah yes intel.
Many years ago, intel disabled several hardware OpenGL functions so they revert to software mode.
For some reason (I suspect because they are a Micro$oft partner), they have never re-enabled them.
DirectX will always have better hardware access for you.
Same for me with an ATI only the issue is with not using the GFX RAM in OpenGL.
Ah... that explains why opengl was so glitchy. The graphics looked good, but only after major tweaking in the configuration settings with compatibility and fps limit, and even then the game was either too slow or too fast. There was also a constant "ripple" thing when you turn, the graphics would sort of ripple up the screen. A game of LMS lasted about 5 minutes before it crashed.

I'll fully test UT tomorrow now that it's using DirectX. I briefly loaded up a game and aside from the menu screens, the graphics look decent. Hopefully they hold up!
User avatar
Dr.Flay
Godlike
Posts: 3347
Joined: Thu Aug 04, 2011 9:26 pm
Personal rank: Chaos Evangelist
Location: Kernow, UK
Contact:

Re: solved: mouse not working on menu

Post by Dr.Flay »

The ripple (tearing) is caused by your screen not updating fast enough.
Enabling Vertical Sync will make the game wait until the frame has finished rendering before displaying the next.

Commonly LCD screens are limited to 60Hz possibly 75Hz.
Try switching V-Sync on, or set the desired game FPS to half the available Hz (eg. 30FPS)
Triple buffering is also supposed to help if you do enable V-Sync.
For a much smoother game, plug in an old CRT monitor if you have a decent one, and you can run at much faster speeds without tearing.
User avatar
rizbef
Experienced
Posts: 125
Joined: Sun Dec 16, 2012 8:11 am
Personal rank: castle maps hoarder
Location: Texas
Contact:

Re: NOT solved: mouse not working on menu

Post by rizbef »

Sigh, so actually my issue is not resolved :\

I turned off TouchGuard so I can type V and bring up the menu, and move the mouse over an option... but nothing further. I click any of the options and nothing happens, no submenus appear. Unfortunately I believe this is a laptop issue rather than a game issue. I will search online for similar problems since I can't find anything else in my mouse device options that will change this. If any of you have any ideas, they're greatly appreciated!
User avatar
Dr.Flay
Godlike
Posts: 3347
Joined: Thu Aug 04, 2011 9:26 pm
Personal rank: Chaos Evangelist
Location: Kernow, UK
Contact:

Re: NOT solved: mouse not working on menu

Post by Dr.Flay »

My only thoughts for the moment.

Check for a BIOS update.
Check for MoBo and touchpad driver updates.
Plug in a mouse and disable the touchpad in the device manager.
User avatar
rizbef
Experienced
Posts: 125
Joined: Sun Dec 16, 2012 8:11 am
Personal rank: castle maps hoarder
Location: Texas
Contact:

Re: NOT solved: mouse not working on menu

Post by rizbef »

Dr.Flay wrote:My only thoughts for the moment.

Check for a BIOS update.
Check for MoBo and touchpad driver updates.
Plug in a mouse and disable the touchpad in the device manager.
It seems to be a running issue among gamers using Dell Touchpads, so at least I am not the only one. There are a few unverified solutions involving going in to the registry keys and changing things. I will try those possible solutions and hopefully one of them works.

A usb mouse may be my only option, but I'm really BAD using it :lol:

Thanks for all your help!
User avatar
papercoffee
Godlike
Posts: 10443
Joined: Wed Jul 15, 2009 11:36 am
Personal rank: coffee addicted !!!
Location: Cologne, the city with the big cathedral.
Contact:

Re: NOT solved: mouse not working on menu

Post by papercoffee »

rizbef wrote:
Dr.Flay wrote:My only thoughts for the moment.

Check for a BIOS update.
Check for MoBo and touchpad driver updates.
Plug in a mouse and disable the touchpad in the device manager.
It seems to be a running issue among gamers using Dell Touchpads, so at least I am not the only one. There are a few unverified solutions involving going in to the registry keys and changing things. I will try those possible solutions and hopefully one of them works.

A usb mouse may be my only option, but I'm really BAD using it :lol:

Thanks for all your help!
Wait ...you play better with the touchpad ??? odd... :shock:
Ok. but what about a external touchpad then? If you don't like a mouse.
User avatar
rizbef
Experienced
Posts: 125
Joined: Sun Dec 16, 2012 8:11 am
Personal rank: castle maps hoarder
Location: Texas
Contact:

Re: NOT solved: mouse not working on menu

Post by rizbef »

I finally found a way around the awful problem with Alps touchpads. I did try to change several of my registry keys, but those attempts all failed.

I changed my voice menu short key to 'shift' instead of 'v'. The touchpad (after settings edits) will let me hold the 'shift' key and click the mouse at the same time. It will definitely take time getting used to, though! I keep hitting the 'v' key every time before I remember it's been changed :lol:
Post Reply