# Switch up \[ and \] keys for browsing through vertical terrain layers?

**URL:** <https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/switch-up-and-keys-for-browsing-through-vertical-terrain-layers/11238>\
**Category:** Suggestions\
**Created:** [March 16, 2015, 6:00pm UTC](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/switch-up-and-keys-for-browsing-through-vertical-terrain-layers/11238 "2015-03-16T18:00:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Phagocytosis](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex022/user_avatar/discourse.stonehearth.net/phagocytosis/32/5022_2.png) [@Phagocytosis](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/u/Phagocytosis)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2015, 6:00pm UTC](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/switch-up-and-keys-for-browsing-through-vertical-terrain-layers/11238/1 "2015-03-16T18:00:48Z")

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Being familiar with Dwarf Fortress and some (other?) roguelikes, I keep wanting to go to a lower level using the ] key and a higher level using the [ key, rather than the other way around as it is now implemented. It seems like a good idea to me to stick to this convention (unless this is building on some other convention that I am unaware of) and switch around the keys for it for this game. (Now, in Dwarf Fortress and most (other?) roguelikes I know, it’s actually \< and \>, but that’s close enough I’d say.)

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**Author:** ![SteveAdamo](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex022/user_avatar/discourse.stonehearth.net/steveadamo/32/13955_2.png) [@SteveAdamo](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/u/SteveAdamo)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2015, 6:17pm UTC](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/switch-up-and-keys-for-browsing-through-vertical-terrain-layers/11238/2 "2015-03-16T18:17:48Z")

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i am all for letting the player remap controls, and I _was_ going to merge this with the other “can we remap keys” thread… however, it appears that thread is a figment of my imagination… 😄

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**Author:** ![Phagocytosis](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex022/user_avatar/discourse.stonehearth.net/phagocytosis/32/5022_2.png) [@Phagocytosis](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/u/Phagocytosis)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2015, 6:20pm UTC](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/switch-up-and-keys-for-browsing-through-vertical-terrain-layers/11238/3 "2015-03-16T18:20:52Z")

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Ah! I admit I only looked through the threads for this specific mapping, but I should indeed have checked for more general such threads. Good thing it didn’t exist, or I would have missed something by being so lax. Now if I just keep my mouth shut…

…wait.

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**Author:** ![BrianNZ](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex022/user_avatar/discourse.stonehearth.net/briannz/32/45774_2.png) [@BrianNZ](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/u/BrianNZ)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2015, 8:46pm UTC](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/switch-up-and-keys-for-browsing-through-vertical-terrain-layers/11238/4 "2015-03-16T20:46:35Z")

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The reason it’s \< and \> in DF is that \< means less than and \> means greater than. If you’re using square brackets, I think the current way makes more sense [for down and] for up (both because [is to the left of] and also because if you imaging them as flanking something [X] it makes more sense that [is smaller/lower and] is higher/larger). If anything, I think DF has it the wrong way around 😄

But yes, this could be solved easily enough by allowing key re-mapping, which will presumably eventually be a thing.

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**Author:** ![Phagocytosis](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex022/user_avatar/discourse.stonehearth.net/phagocytosis/32/5022_2.png) [@Phagocytosis](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/u/Phagocytosis)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2015, 10:51pm UTC](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/switch-up-and-keys-for-browsing-through-vertical-terrain-layers/11238/5 "2015-03-16T22:51:01Z")

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Ah, is that the reason? To me it just seemed like, I don’t know, to the right seemed more like “in” as in “into the screen”, although I realize that’s silly because it’s perpendicular either way. But anyway, it’s not just Dwarf Fortress but also roguelikes generally that do it that way, so I figure for convention’s sake at least it might be nice to switch it up. But yes, key remapping I guess would suffice as well 🙂