Please Help (Mouse input and graphics for small game)

Question

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum, but it looked like a good place to get some help with a simple-ish game I've been working on. I sorta posted the beginnings of it on a forum dedicated to another cool game called Soldat.
So that I don't have to retype much about the game itself, the link to the discussion is here (please mind the non-dev talk in there):
http://www.soldatforums.com/topic.asp?topic_id=20916
and the start of the 'game' is here:
http://llsc.us/members/Solidarnosc/uploads/SolidarnoscNew.jar
Anyhow, I need some advice on fast graphics. My game is sorta 3D (sorta-3D = that enigmatic 3D look in a 3D environment with sprites and no perspective), but I managed to use some simple mathematics and the basic AWT drawing methods to replicate 3D. The problem is that this is rather slow.
I have started to have a look at different methods of drawing such as OpenGL using JOGL etc, but this is all rather daunting at the moment for someone somewhat self taught (OK, I have done a bit of Java at high school, but it didn't get as far as using such big words as Classpath, Package, let alone Buffer) and I seem to have a curse like Tubbers when it comes to semi-complicated tutorials. Ideally, it would be handy if there was a very simple example or a class that extended a Frame or something similar that had a modified graphics/drawing system with a 'perfect' buffering system (OK, maybe I'm dreaming).
The other thing that I need help with is mouse movement detection. Currently, I am using a simple system of reading the mouse position on the frame to determine movement, but ideally I need a system that allows the mouse to keep moving without the constraints of the cursor needing to be in the form and not moving at edges of screen, etc.
Help would be appreciated, but thanks for reading this anyway.

Answer 1

Maybe I'm not making myself clear here (or maybe I
missed a sign that that said "open source only"). I
don't need a part of my program fixed by someone else
as such, but rather I was just wondering what the
easiest way to speed up AWT graphics is and how can I
read mouse motion (specific to neither the cursor nor
the application's frame) or even just set the
cursor's position relative to frame. Failing that,
can someone tell me how I should read mouse input in
a way similar to a standard First Person Shooter?Unless I am missunderstanding what you want again, then take a look at AWT's Toolkit, it has
public void addAWTEventListener(AWTEventListener listener,
                                long eventMask)and it should do what you want.