Of course there need to be default controls, but IMO this is only of low importance; please don't let us waste too much time here, shall we?
It is more important to have sane controls to which keys can be mapped to to begin with. If the controls as such are messed up, then any discussion about which keys to used for those messed up controls is missing the core of the issue.
My key point of this thread: I am not at all arguing that <function X> needs to be mapped to <key Y>. I am arguing that the features as such should available as independent units. My problem with the controls was that it currently is a large mess, conflating many things into a single function, etc.
How about supporting 3 button mouses?
Yes, but only if this is also configurable. What is more important IMO is to allow to change all bindings which are gameplay-related. This includes mouse buttons. Debug keys would be nice, but are not as much important. (And they already can be configured in minetest.conf).
IDK what the "use" key means, but whatever.
It means that it is useless. LOL.
OK now for real:
When you are in fast mode, but not in fly mode, the use key makes you run fast.
You can also configure in the keybindings menu that this key is used to climb/swim down, as an alternative to the sneak key.
The use key (like a few other keys) can also be recognized by mods. For instance, the Sprint mod uses this key by default to sprint.
Too bad if there's two mods using the use key, then you have a problem.
Things become interesting if you have both configured the use key as “climb down” key and are in fast mode but not in fly mode. Then pressing the use key makes you go fast, except when you are in a liquid or on a ladder. Then it makes you go down.
Same when you are in fly mode. In fly mode, you are automatically fast, so the use key makes you go down again then.
The funniest thing about the use key that it does not really have something to do with using.
IMO the “use” key is the weirdest control in Minetest. It is the perfect example of how messed up the entire controls system in Minetest really is.
As for the other controls: I still hold (mostly) the same opinion as of the first post, since not much changed (at least the F4 problem is not finally solved!).
Some recent useful keys have been added since then:
- F7: Change camera
- F8: Toggle cinematic mode (“lazy” camera)
Edit:
I have tried to improve the controls menu in Minetest a bit by adding some controls (change volume, cycle through hotbar), but it never got merged.
https://github.com/minetest/minetest/pull/1439