AS3.0 KeyboardEvent WooDoo
Friday, October 10th, 2008
WTF? I don’t know what’s wrong, and if this is a bug or anything, but I came across interesting issue. Let me first tell, that it seems it’s bug on Windows, or maybe just my Windows 
really do not know, I need you to help me. I need your test to let me find out what is the problem, because it seems that it works on my friend’ Mac. I’ve tried Flash Player 9.0.115 and 9.0.124.
Problems is in getting KeyboardEvent.KEY_DOWN for multiple keys. I’m working on some sport game in AS3 and I need to check for key kombination like Right Arrow + Down Arrow + Space, but it’s never fired up on my Windows. I thought it’s some logic what’s wrong in my game, so I’ve created simple pure AS3 example and there is problem as well. There is strange Woodoo, some combinations work, some do not I really do not see the logic. Here is example, just press and multiple Arrows and Space in same time. You can try simple key strokes, you will see red keys when key is pressed (KeyboardEvent.KEY_DOWN was received). When you release key, it just come back to its grey state. So please play and let me know your results. I need to know OS, Player version (included in example) and if you have same problems as me, or what does not work for you. (Click to movie, to gain focus)
And here is my Woodoo, I simply can not do this combinations
- SPACE + LEFT ARROW + UP ARROW
- SPACE + LEFT ARROW + DOWN ARROW
- SPACE + RIGHT ARROW + DOWN ARROW
- SPACE + RIGHT ARROW + UP ARROW – ATTENTION!!! I can do this combination
Next example, press and hold SPACE + LEFT ARROW, now press DOWN ARROW, KEY_DOWN event is not fired, just release SPACE while DONW ARROW is still pressed, and now KEY_DOWN event for DOWN ARROW is fired up. WTF ?
Please can you confirm my Woodoo. I need to find out, if this is Flash Player Bug, or maybe something else? Please post your result to comments. Thank you.
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27 Comments
sakri
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October 10th, 2008
on windows xp WIN 9,0,115,0
All the combos work… except for SPACE + LEFT ARROW + UP ARROW… wtf indeed?!
lharp
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October 10th, 2008
So this seems to be a bug only on Windows.
Everything works fine on my Mac in both FP 9.0.124 Standalone and Plugin.
So you found some bug?
What about FP 10?
daniel.sedlacek
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October 10th, 2008
Hi Franto, that’s a real woodoo, it fails for me too but in a different combination.
SPACE + LEFT ARROW + UP ARROW – OK
SPACE + LEFT ARROW + DOWN ARROW – NOT OK
SPACE + RIGHT ARROW + DOWN ARROW – OK
SPACE + RIGHT ARROW + UP ARROW – NOT OK
Player 9,0,124,0
System WinXP Pro SP2
Piergiorgio Niero
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October 10th, 2008
fp 10.0.12 osx 10.5
yes to all BUT no way on opposite keys
Jacob Buck
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October 10th, 2008
I can do these:
SPACE + LEFT ARROW + DOWN ARROW
SPACE + RIGHT ARROW + UP ARROW
All other work as they should.
mond
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October 10th, 2008
vista, fp 9,0,124,0
for me these do NOT work:
SPACE + LEFT ARROW + UP ARROW
SPACE + RIGHT ARROW + DOWN ARROW
others work fine
Roman
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October 10th, 2008
All combinations work fine (Win Vista Business, flash player 9,0,124,0 installed, notebook Lenovo ThinkPad R61)
Dirss
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October 10th, 2008
hi!
This a problem that I had too in AS2 and that I have always in AS3 too.
Some combinations doesn’t want to work.. I never knew why..
In my case SPACE+LEFT+UP doesn’t works.
Regulary in my projects I have some key shorcuts to debug or help XML updates and thoses shortcuts work fine on my computer but sometimes they don’t. Even on mac (of what i could see it’s even worst on mac >_<.. but I just might had no luck)..
I think the origin of this problem has no report to flash but more to the OS…
I’ve never found any solution :/
I think the best solution is to let the ability the the player to configure the keys
Good Luck!
_nec
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October 10th, 2008
all combinations are OK at here, even 4keys as
SPACE + LEFT + DOWN + RIGHT
but for examlpe
SPACE + LEFT + UP + RIGHT does not
xp sp2
firefox / chrome / ie6 9,0,124,0
Franto
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October 10th, 2008
Guys thank you for your fast feedback, at least I know, I’m not alone with that problems, and it really seems, it’s OS specific. Still, if there are others with Mac and Linux, can you post your results as well? to be sure, it’s just Windows problems. As Dirss mentioned, it seems it could be Mac problem as well, till now I just have 1 Mac results, and it works
mattjpoole
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October 10th, 2008
all combinations work fine for me (including opposite directions, with and without space).
Win XP SP3, Firefox 3.0.3, FP 9.0.115.0
Mario
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October 10th, 2008
Only this combination is NOT working for me:
SPACE + LEFT ARROW + UP ARROW
Windows Vista
FireFox 3.0.3
FP 9.0.124
Cheers.
Franto
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October 10th, 2008
Hmmm, so there are even correct ones
Shimray
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October 11th, 2008
Everything works fine. OSX 10.5.5 / Safari 3.1.2 / Flash 9.0.124.0 debug
Flo
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October 11th, 2008
# SPACE + LEFT ARROW + UP ARROW => Doesn’t work
# SPACE + LEFT ARROW + DOWN ARROW => Work fine
# SPACE + RIGHT ARROW + DOWN ARROW => Work fine
# SPACE + RIGHT ARROW + UP ARROW => Work fine
(WinXP SP2, flash player 9,0,124,0 installed, notebook Lenovo ThinkPad R61)
sHTiF
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October 12th, 2008
Yep this seems to be Win only problem, had the same problem when i was creating a simple game in VC++, seems to me like it has something to do with win keyboard buffer so this is not Flash related. In VC++ i solved it by handling keyboard through DirectInput library but i don’t see a simple solution in Flash. :/
sHTiF
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October 12th, 2008
Oh i forgot, in Flash Player 10 i can do all the combinations without a problem, but still dont think its Flash related.
Iain
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October 13th, 2008
All combinations work for me, but you will find that different combinations work for different people. This is most likely because of the HARDWARE of the keyboard you are using, not the OS. Try swapping out your keyboard for another one.
Franto
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October 13th, 2008
Hmm Iain, i thought about Keyboard hardware as well, it can be issue
I don’t have 2 keyboards here, but if anyone have, can you test it please?
Thank you
And thanks Iain for hint
judah
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November 30th, 2008
All combinations work on MacOSX, Flash Player 10 and Firefox 3.0.4.
I would say give your users the option to use a joystick or gamepad but oops Flash Player doesn’t have it yet. Flash Player is only version 10.
Ben
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December 10th, 2008
if i hold up, i cant press left.
if i hold left, i cant press up.
all other combinations work fine – never had these problems with as2.
Firefox 3.0.4
Flash Player WIN 10,0,12,36
Windows XP SP.3
Dell Latitude E6500
Propecia
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January 29th, 2009
Rocking all the latest updates here between MacOSX, FF, and Flash, and I’ve no problems at all
Paul
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February 4th, 2009
Perhaps this is why some game developers stick with the WASD keys and space as these seem to work fine. I have just tried it in my code in place of the arrow keys.
corfix
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February 5th, 2009
This is a hardware problem. Maybe not a real problem, but architecture solution which occured long, long time ago. Engineers with limited resources of memory had to allocate all 1 key and 2 keys events. With resources left they tried to map as much 3 keys combinations as possible (thus some scenarious works, some not).
Nowadays when you buy a keyboard you have something like 50% chance to get a piece with new, redesigned architecture which can interprete all 3 keys combinations (and even 4 keys!).
Third Cousin
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February 5th, 2009
I ran across the same problem in a game I’m building in AS2 on a PC. corfix explanation seems legit. I tested the same game on the same computer and the only thing I did was change keyboards. It worked on the third keyboard I tried. It was a Logitech. The funny thing is the first keyboard I tested was also a Logitech but obviously it was a different model. I also found that different keyboards gave different results on detecting certain 3 key combinations. So it seems the solution would be avoiding 3 key combinations all together, sadly.
Yummi
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March 1st, 2009
that’s a hardware problem known as keyboard blocking, hence it’s different for every user. there’s not much you can do on the software side other than using different key combinations. modern keyboards don’t have that problem anymore.
Jet
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May 13th, 2009
WIN 10,0,22,87
Work any combinations, even with 4 keys. But SPACE+UP+LEFT _sometimes_(???) doesn’t. Couldn’t figure out the reason and the way to reproduce, but it seems not to be only the hardware woodoo. IMHO if I can fire 4-keys combinations on my keyboard – it’s not an old one… not sure.
Good luck in your quest )
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