[FEATURE] Enable D-Pad Navigation for Menu Items

[ikostan]

Feature Request: Enable D-Pad Navigation for Menu Items

Description

Add support for gamepad D-Pad (directional pad) input to navigate through UI menu items in the main menu, pause menu, and options menu. This includes ensuring that buttons, sliders, and other interactive elements can be selected and adjusted using up/down for vertical navigation and left/right for horizontal adjustments (e.g., on sliders or option selectors). The feature should integrate seamlessly with Godot's built-in focus system, grabbing initial focus on the first interactive element when a menu becomes visible to allow immediate navigation without requiring mouse or keyboard input.

Why is this useful?

In game development with Godot 4.5, especially for projects targeting consoles or controller-based play (like on Windows 10 64-bit with Xbox/PlayStation controllers), full gamepad support enhances accessibility and user experience. For learning purposes, this teaches key concepts like UI focus management, input handling via InputMap or direct event processing, and menu state transitions. It also prepares the project for web exports, where controller support can be tested in browsers, helping understand Godot's cross-platform input abstractions. Without this, menus feel incomplete for controller users, limiting playtesting and polish.

Proposed Implementation (optional)

1. Main Menu (scripts/main_menu.gd):

   • In the _ready() function, add start_button.grab_focus() to set initial focus on the "Start" button (assuming it's the first item).
   • Ensure all buttons are in a focus group or use focus neighbors for proper D-Pad flow (e.g., via focus_next and focus_previous properties in the editor).

2. Pause Menu (scripts/pause_menu.gd):

   • In the toggle_pause() function, after setting visible = not visible, add a check: if visible: resume_button.grab_focus() to focus the "Resume" button when the menu appears.
   • Handle pause/resume logic to release/restore input focus appropriately, using get_tree().paused = visible if not already implemented.

3. Options Menu (scripts/options_menu.gd):

   • In the _ready() function, add log_lvl_option.grab_focus() (or the first slider/button, e.g., a volume slider or dropdown).
   • For sliders, ensure focus_mode = FOCUS_ALL in the inspector, allowing left/right D-Pad to adjust values.

4. Advanced Settings

5. Gameplay Settings

General Steps:

• In the Godot editor, select each UI node (Button, Slider, etc.) and set focus_mode to FOCUS_ALL under the Control category.
• Test input mappings: Ensure "ui_up", "ui_down", "ui_left", "ui_right" are bound to D-Pad in Project Settings > Input Map.
• Use signals like focus_entered for visual feedback (e.g., highlight the focused button).

This is a lightweight addition using Godot's native UI system, no external plugins needed.

Additional Context

This feature builds on Godot's Control nodes and InputEvent system. For reference, see Godot docs on GUI Input and Focus. In a project like SkyLockAssault (assuming it's a 2D/3D action game), this ensures menus are controller-friendly from the start. Test on Windows 10 with a connected gamepad: Run the scene, use D-Pad to navigate, and check the output console for any focus-related errors. If exporting to web, verify in a browser with controller emulation tools like Gamepad Tester.