inpShowPointer

Shows mouse cursor in game window. Takes no parameters. Returns nothing. Makes cursor visible within window client area, restores cursor visibility after inpHidePointer call.

Cursor visibility: cursor becomes visible in window (standard system cursor displayed), cursor remains functional while hidden (inpHidePointer doesn't disable input, just hides visual), visibility persists until inpHidePointer called (or window loses focus in some cases).

Use cases: (1) Menu/UI mode (show cursor when opening menus, inventories, pause screens), (2) Restore after FPS mode (show cursor when exiting first-person camera controls), (3) Gameplay toggle (switch between cursor-based and cursor-free modes), (4) Editor mode (show cursor for level editing, hide for gameplay testing), (5) Window focus events (show cursor when window loses focus, hide on regain).

Common patterns: menu toggle = If menuOpen Then inpShowPointer() Else inpHidePointer(); state switch = If gameplayMode Then inpHidePointer() Else inpShowPointer(); temporary show = inpShowPointer(): do UI interaction: inpHidePointer(); pause = If paused Then inpShowPointer() Else inpHidePointer().

UI/gameplay mode switching: common pattern in games (hide cursor during gameplay, show for menus), pattern: on menu open: pause gameplay, call inpShowPointer(), enable UI input; on menu close: resume gameplay, call inpHidePointer(), disable UI input, typical for pause menus, inventories, options screens.

Game state management: track game state for cursor visibility (gameState$="gameplay" or "menu"), update cursor on state change (If gameState$="gameplay" Then inpHidePointer() Else inpShowPointer()), ensures cursor visibility matches game mode (gameplay=hidden, UI=visible).

Window focus: cursor automatically reappears when window loses focus (system behavior, user can access other applications), may need to call inpShowPointer explicitly on focus regain (depending on desired behavior), pattern: on focus lost: inpShowPointer(), on focus gain: If gameplayMode Then inpHidePointer().

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

Cursor state: inpShowPointer reverses inpHidePointer effect (restores default visibility), multiple calls have no additional effect (calling twice doesn't "double-show" cursor), cursor visibility is binary state (visible or hidden, no intermediate states).

Default visibility: cursor visible by default (no need to call inpShowPointer at startup), only call after inpHidePointer to restore visibility (or during state transitions), game starts with visible cursor (call inpHidePointer for FPS mode).

Related: inpHidePointer hides cursor (for FPS controls, immersive gameplay), inpMoveMouse repositions cursor programmatically, inpGetMouseX/Y read cursor position (work regardless of visibility).