Start Run = [Key...|v] [Control-R]

Clicking on the selected box would capture a keystroke or combo.

The pull-down would include: None, Key..., Double-key..., Key release, Click..., Click-and-hold..., and so on.

Not a big gamer so I don't have much hanging around to look at, but would be worth a review of how other products provide this interface to see what works best.

To offer an override will (1) make this section of the code more complex (2) cause people to not learn keyboard toggles for camera (3) increase support load (4) confuse new players you are training / add in extra steps

This issue has implications way beyond the reasons Argent originally proposed it. It is about adding choice where needed and would be a big step forward for accessibility. Anecdotally SL has a high proportion of disabled users who benefit from it greatly, and that is something to be celebrated and expanded if possible by making it adaptable to their individual needs. Not everyone is physically able to press a key along with three modifier keys simultaneously for example.

1) A layer of abstraction to assign key mappings from one place might actually make the code more manageable, and possibly provide useful hooks for controlling the client with alternate interface devices. In tandem with the new analog joystick support, this could be expanded allow them to assign spare joystick buttons to whatever controls they prefer, voice PTT, build controls or whatever suits their personal use of SL.

2) What leads you to think they would choose to reinvent the wheel without good reason, rather than learn the existing controls? By that logic we should remove the camera and movement control floaters too because they encourage people to not use the keyboard controls.

3 & 4) That is certainly important, but there is no reason a new user need ever see this, unless they have a problem using the standard control setup for reason of disability, non-standard key layout or whatever, in which case they are likely to go looking for it in the preferences. If absolutely necessary it can be accessed through the Advanced menu to prevent confusion. It would also provide a single place of reference to go and see what key does what, which would never be out of date unlike static documentation on the Wiki etc which relies on people going and updating it manually whenever something is changed or introduced. On the rare occasions I play games the first thing I usually do is to open the keymapping options if possible to just see what they are.

With the long over due addition of joystick input, this should be addressed intelligently...once and for all...IMO.

I'm also going to try linking this in with joystick issues, and the "Usability" Meta Issue.

User definable key input has been a common game feature at least since early '90s DOS games. With 5fps sim times commonplace, the extra nano-second client resource this feature will eat up is so negligible.

Scancodes are difficult to "explain" in a GUI, so yes most use a "push this button" and then capture the next incoming scancode. This simplifies modifier keys (Shift/Ctrl/Alt), instantly solves localization, instantly solves accessibility, but makes combos such as double-tap impossible. :-/

Personally, with a full keyboard available, I think double-tap is an acceptable casualty.

I've never used voice chat, but the prefs page has an ability to set a user defined key for Push-to-Talk. It's the push-a-button and capture the next keycode type. So this already exists.