FreeGameDev

Hi again,

I think I've come across a bug, I don't know if anyone else has experienced this. But anyway, I find that when I'm using the nitro boost (ie. holding down the N key), I can turn right but I am unable to turn left. This seems to happen regardless of what kart I use.

I am using STK v0.9.2.

Thanks~

It's not an STK bug, but keyjamming (also known as ghosting or rollover), a natural result of a hardware limitation all keyboards have. The solution is to change your controls to ones that don't jam on your keyboard (the controls that don't jam varies from keyboard to keyboard; it depends on how the key matrix is organized). This little program can help you find a set of controls that are good for your keyboard:

https://onpon4.github.io/apps/keyjam/

Alternatively, you can use a gamepad.

Ooh cool onpon, didn't know you had made a utility for testing that! Haven't tried it myself yet, but because of this (and potential issues with other games) I invested in a gaming keyboard, which typically don't have ghosting issues. I think it's a shame that we're still struggling with this in 2016 for most keyboards... dunno if the manufacturing cost would rise that much by fixing it?

For the record, gaming keyboards do keyjam, usually, because they still have a matrix. They just have workarounds added, like the common keys excluded from the matrix.

I think it's a shame that we're still struggling with this in 2016 for most keyboards... dunno if the manufacturing cost would rise that much by fixing it?

Not so much "struggling" as a design choice, and yes, it cuts costs immensely. I don't remember exactly (it was a long time ago when I researched this), but I think making a keyboard without using a matrix at all (and giving each key its own wire) would cost several hundreds of dollars. Not cost-effective at all. It would also have to be much thicker to give room for the dozens of wires.

So unless someone comes up with a better way, keyjamming is sticking around. But hey, there's always gamepads.