inpHidePointer

Hides mouse cursor in game window. Takes no parameters. Returns nothing. Makes cursor invisible within window client area, commonly used for first-person camera controls and immersive gameplay.

Cursor visibility: cursor becomes invisible in window (hidden but still functional), mouse input still works (inpGetMouseX/Y and inpGetMouseXSpeed/YSpeed still function), cursor reappears when leaving window (system default cursor outside window), visibility persists until inpShowPointer called (or window loses focus).

Use cases: (1) First-person camera controls (hide cursor for FPS mouse look, immersive experience), (2) 3D camera rotation (hide cursor during mouse drag rotation, show when released), (3) Full-screen games (hide cursor during gameplay, show for menus/UI), (4) Custom cursor rendering (hide system cursor, draw custom cursor with graphics), (5) Center-lock mouse look (hide cursor, re-center with inpMoveMouse for infinite rotation).

Common patterns: FPS mode = inpHidePointer(): center cursor each frame; custom cursor = inpHidePointer(): b2dDrawImage(customCursor, inpGetMouseX(), inpGetMouseY()); toggle = If gameplayMode Then inpHidePointer() Else inpShowPointer(); temporary hide = inpHidePointer(): do rotation: inpShowPointer().

FPS mouse look setup: hide cursor with inpHidePointer (remove visual distraction), calculate screen center (centerX=windowWidth/2, centerY=windowHeight/2), read mouse delta (deltaX=inpGetMouseXSpeed(), deltaY=inpGetMouseYSpeed()), re-center cursor (inpMoveMouse(centerX, centerY) prevents hitting screen edges), repeat every frame (continuous infinite rotation).

Center-locking: common technique for FPS games (infinite mouse movement), pattern: inpHidePointer() once at start, then each frame: read inpGetMouseXSpeed()/inpGetMouseYSpeed(), use deltas for camera rotation, call inpMoveMouse(centerX, centerY) to reset cursor, prevents cursor hitting window edges (enables infinite rotation without edge stops).

UI mode switching: show cursor for menus (inpShowPointer when opening menu), hide for gameplay (inpHidePointer when closing menu), toggle based on game state (gameplay=hidden, UI=visible), pattern: If menuOpen Then inpShowPointer() Else inpHidePointer().

Window focus: cursor automatically reappears when window loses focus (system behavior, user can access other windows), cursor re-hides when window regains focus if previously hidden (state persists), may need to re-hide on focus gain (handle window focus events if needed).

Performance: instant operation (~0.001ms, system call), safe to call per-frame (though typically called once or during state changes), no ongoing overhead (one-time visibility change).

Custom cursors: hide system cursor with inpHidePointer (make default cursor invisible), draw custom cursor sprite at inpGetMouseX/Y (render custom graphics), ensures only custom cursor visible (no double-cursor artifact).

Limitations: cursor still functional (input works normally, just invisible), cursor still constrained to window (unless using raw input or cursor locking), cursor may flicker on some systems (OS-dependent behavior), use inpShowPointer to restore visibility.

Related: inpShowPointer makes cursor visible again, inpMoveMouse repositions cursor programmatically, inpGetMouseXSpeed/YSpeed read mouse movement for camera control, inpGetMouseX/Y read cursor position.