fix(input): Keep modifier combos from sticking when keys are released out of order

[CryoTheRenegade]

In collaboration with DrGoldFish - thank you for reporting the issue and testing my fixes

• CTRL+F and other modifier combos could leave force-attack, waypoint, or shift-select mode on, or fire a plain command-bar hotkey, depending on which key was released first.
• Modifier-only holds (CTRL, SHIFT, ALT) are now recorded so their UP mappings still fire, and a key pressed with a modifier is not treated as a GUI hotkey on release.
• Focus loss now synthesizes key-ups for CTRL, SHIFT, and ALT, not only ALT.

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PR Summary by Qodo

Prevent stuck modifier combos on out-of-order key releases

🐞 Bug fix 🕐 20-40 Minutes

AI Description

• Tracks modified presses so combo UP mappings fire regardless of release order.
• Suppresses plain GUI hotkeys when releasing keys previously used in modifier combos.
• Synthesizes all modifier releases after focus loss and clears stale combo tracking.

Diagram

sequenceDiagram
    actor User
    participant Keyboard
    participant Stream as Message Stream
    participant Meta as Meta Events
    participant Hotkey as Hotkey Translator
    participant Manager as Hotkey Manager
    User->>Keyboard: Press modified key
    Keyboard->>Stream: Raw key down
    Stream->>Meta: Track combo state
    Meta->>Manager: Suppress key up
    User->>Keyboard: Release keys
    Keyboard->>Stream: Raw key up
    Stream->>Hotkey: Check GUI hotkey
    Hotkey->>Manager: Consume suppression
    Stream->>Meta: Resolve combo up
    Keyboard->>Stream: Synthetic modifier ups
    Stream->>Meta: Flush reset state

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High-Level Assessment

The following are alternative approaches to this PR:

1. Unified chord state machine

• ➕ Centralizes modifier tracking, UP mapping, and GUI suppression ownership.
• ➕ Reduces coordination through global translator state.
• ➖ Requires a broad input-pipeline refactor with substantially higher regression risk.
• ➖ Touches mature event ordering and message-disposition behavior beyond this bug.

Recommendation: Keep the PR's targeted coordination between existing translators because it preserves raw key-up propagation and limits risk. A unified chord state machine would be cleaner long term, but its larger scope is not justified for this compatibility-sensitive fix; add focused regression coverage if the input harness supports synthetic event sequences.

Files changed (6) +115 / -31

Bug fix (6) +115 / -31

HotKey.hAdd one-shot key-up suppression state +5/-0

Add one-shot key-up suppression state

• Extends HotKeyManager with per-key suppression storage and APIs to set, consume, and clear suppression. This lets modified releases bypass GUI hotkey execution exactly once.

Core/GameEngine/Include/GameClient/HotKey.h

Keyboard.hExpose keyboard reset generations +3/-1

Expose keyboard reset generations

• Adds a reset generation counter and generalizes the focus-recovery helper from ALT-only handling to all modifier keys. Translators can now detect that keyboard state was reset.

Core/GameEngine/Include/GameClient/Keyboard.h

MetaEvent.hTrack reset synchronization in meta events +2/-0

Track reset synchronization in meta events

• Adds the last observed keyboard reset generation and a helper for clearing tracked key-down combinations. These declarations support safe recovery after focus loss.

Core/GameEngine/Include/GameClient/MetaEvent.h

Keyboard.cppSynthesize releases for every held modifier +19/-12

Synthesize releases for every held modifier

• Initializes and increments the keyboard reset generation whenever key state is cleared. Focus recovery now emits raw key-up messages for held CTRL and SHIFT keys as well as ALT.

Core/GameEngine/Source/GameClient/Input/Keyboard.cpp

HotKey.cppSkip GUI hotkeys for modified releases +34/-5

Skip GUI hotkeys for modified releases

• Consumes one-shot suppression before translating a raw key-up into a plain GUI hotkey, while leaving the message available to later translators. Initializes and manages the per-key suppression array.

Core/GameEngine/Source/GameClient/MessageStream/HotKey.cpp

MetaEvent.cppPreserve combo state across release ordering +52/-13

Preserve combo state across release ordering

• Records modifier-only holds, suppresses GUI handling for modified key releases, and retains combo state through same-frame release ordering. It also detects keyboard resets, emits pending UP mappings, and clears stale tracking.

Core/GameEngine/Source/GameClient/MessageStream/MetaEvent.cpp

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Code Review by Qodo

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[greptile-apps]

Greptile Summary

This PR changes keyboard event tracking so modifier provenance follows each press through release, preventing modifier combinations from sticking or triggering plain GUI hotkeys.

• Records whether each key was pressed while CTRL, SHIFT, or ALT was active.
• Preserves that information across focus changes and applies it to releases and autorepeat events.
• Synthesizes releases for held CTRL, SHIFT, and ALT keys when keyboard state resets.
• Filters modifier-associated releases from plain GUI hotkey handling.
• Adds the modifier-on-down state flag to both game variants.

Confidence Score: 5/5

The PR appears safe to merge because no blocking failure remains in the eligible follow-up review scope.

No blocking failure remains.

Important Files Changed

Filename	Overview
Core/GameEngine/Source/GameClient/Input/Keyboard.cpp	Tracks modifier provenance per key and synthesizes modifier releases during keyboard resets.
Core/GameEngine/Source/GameClient/MessageStream/HotKey.cpp	Prevents key releases associated with modifier combinations from executing plain GUI hotkeys.
Core/GameEngine/Include/GameClient/Keyboard.h	Adds per-key modifier provenance storage and declares generalized modifier-release handling.
Generals/Code/GameEngine/Include/GameClient/KeyDefs.h	Adds the modifier-on-down event-state flag for the Generals variant.
GeneralsMD/Code/GameEngine/Include/GameClient/KeyDefs.h	Adds the matching modifier-on-down event-state flag for the Zero Hour variant.

Flowchart

%%{init: {'theme': 'neutral'}}%%
flowchart LR
  Down[Key-down event] --> Capture[Capture current modifier state]
  Capture --> Store[Store modifier-on-down by key]
  Store --> Repeat[Apply provenance to autorepeat]
  Store --> Up[Matching key-up event]
  Up --> Carry[Attach stored modifier provenance]
  Carry --> Hotkey{Modifier-associated release?}
  Hotkey -- Yes --> Ignore[Skip plain GUI hotkey]
  Hotkey -- No --> Execute[Evaluate plain GUI hotkey]
  Focus[Focus loss or device reset] --> Synthetic[Synthesize held modifier key-ups]
  Synthetic --> Modes[End modifier-controlled modes]

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_{Reviews (4): Last reviewed commit: "Fix modifier state tracking for hotkey r..." | Re-trigger Greptile}

[xezon]

I assume this was entirely generated by LLM? It looks like slop the way the new logic is laid out. It is incomprehensible and unmaintainable. It needs to be unsloppified.

[xezon]

How do we know the new generated revision is no slop?

[CryoTheRenegade]

Fair criticism. I used LLM assistance on the first pass, and I should have reviewed and simplified the result before asking you to review it. I own that.

I’ve since rewritten the fix. The hotkey translator is stateless now. Modifier press state lives in Keyboard, where buffered events are processed in order, and each release records whether its matching press used Ctrl, Shift, or Alt.