Much like when TWP launched, people have been asking for right-click to skip dialog in Delores. I’ve really pushed back on doing this for one reason: It’s too damn easy.
During the TWP playtests, I watch players right-click to skip dialog so fast that it didn’t even register something came on the screen. Then a bit later they would be confused. I’d ask some questions and it was clear that the dialog was never even seen.
The problem with right-click is that the right/left-button twitch is so ingrained that the moment text flashed on the screen players would instinctively right-click like they were playing a round of Jeopardy. Most of the time they wouldn’t even notice they were doing it.
This isn’t matter of me being a prima donna about players not reading my glorious dialog, this is about players not reading any dialog, being confused, and inevitably blaming the game (my therapist keep reminding me that there is a line between me and the game).
If you have ever watched someone playtest something you’ve done, you will know the feeling.
While players can skip dialog with the PERIOD key it’s not as automatic as right-click. Just that small separation helps a great deal.
All that said, you can middle-click to skip dialog, but it’s not as instinctually ingrained as right-click. Even skipping dialog on controllers isn’t as pavlovian as right-click.
You can add rightClickSkipsDialog: 1 to your Prefs.json file (finding that is an exercise left up to the reader) and happily skip as much dialog as you want. It is good for speed runners, or the 10th time player, but it’s hell on new players.
Like in TWP right-click only skips dialog in cut-scenes and other situations where input (the cursor) is off.