Area2D not properly detecting mouse input.

[granite prairie]

To be honest, the issue I have was already discussed on this reddit post, but he never seemed to have solved his problem. Here's a TL;DR for anyone who doesn't wanna go through:

I have a scene with an Area2D and a CollisionPolygon2D, and I want to detect mouse clicks in that area.
I connected the input event through the editor, and this is the function it's connected to:

func _on_input_event(viewport: Node, event: InputEvent, shape_idx: int):
    if Input.is_action_just_pressed('left_click'):
        print('clicked!')

of course, left_click is a valid action on the input map.
The problem is that it doesn't detect clicking of any kind. I've tried things like if event is InputEventMouseButton and it doesn't pass, except for under one odd condition.
The only time a mouse event (other than motion and scrolling) is detected properly, is the exact same frame that the mouse enters the Area2D.
Finally the real kicker; my code functions properly without any issues on a brand new project. Btw my original project is just a prototype, so it was also freshly created yesterday.

Something that wasn't mentioned on the reddit post but is something I noticed for my case, is that my .tscn file is "corrupting". Well, at least the editor doesn't want to open it because it thinks it's corrupted, but like I said the exact same file (copied over) works just fine on a brand new project.
I didn't mess with any settings on the original project either, so I don't understand why it's acting this way at all.

The prototype was going to be used in a bigger project that's been in development for months already, so I can't really bank on just creating a new project and transfering files; it'd be way too much work if I was required to do so for the big project as well. I need a proper solution, or at least proper understanding of the problem.

[granite prairie]

After trying to copy all files from my prototype instead of just the related scene, I realize it still doesn't work on a new project, so I think the problem might be something else.
Here are all the files I'm using, if anyone can find a hint to the problem I'd be grateful

[umbral juniper]

Input is a helper class that should only be used when there is no input event available in the current context, so if event is InputEventMouseButton is the only correct way to do it here

Otherwise detection will be buggy

You should also add a print statement above the if condition to check when any input event triggers

[granite prairie]

I've done that before, and like I said it only triggers when the mouse enters and exits, or if I scroll my mouse wheel
the event isn't triggered at all when I click, regardless of any if conditions

for example:

func _on_input_event(viewport: Node, event: InputEvent, shape_idx: int):
    print("test") <-- triggers on enter, exit and mouse scroll / but not triggered for left, right or middle mouse click.
    if event is InputEventMouseButton:
        print('clicked mouse') <-- triggers on mouse scroll
    if Input.is_action_just_pressed('left_click'):
        print('clicked!') <-- never triggered

[umbral juniper]

Test isn't printed while your mouse is changing its position inside the area?

[granite prairie]

nope

[umbral juniper]

Try to replace the polygon with a simple collision shape box or circle

See if that changes anything

[granite prairie]

it'd be a bit pointless cus I need it to be a polygon shape
and the polygon collision works on a blank project as well
but I can try just in case it gives a hint to the problem

nope, made no difference at all

[umbral juniper]

And this is an empty project? No other control nodes or areas that could catch that mouse click?

No UI at all?

[granite prairie]

no, like I said it works perfectly fine on a completely empty project
these are the exact files I'm using

[granite prairie]

I'm not using any conventional UI node, but I do have a scene called inventory that is filled with "slot" scenes, the slots having the area2d
that inventory scene is then placed in a level scene
I did try placing a slot scene directly in the level to see if that made a difference, but it did not

[umbral juniper]

Oh sorry I forget the beginning of the post.
While running, click the area and check the Debugger Misc tab in the editor

It should display what control node, if any, catches that click

[granite prairie]

hmm it does say the ColorRect is being clicked rather than the slots
but the ColorRect shouldn't be taking priority, so I'm confused
even if I switch their places around all that does is hide the slots visually and it still says I clicked ColorRect

can I make it so the color rect isn't interactable at all?

for now I don't need it to be

[umbral juniper]

There is a mouse_filter property in the inspector for control nodes

Set it to ignore

That should fix it

[granite prairie]

yup indeed
thanks a lot!

though I am a little uneasy about this fix because I feel like I might need to interact with the background at some point, but ig it's not an issue for now lol

[umbral juniper]

And remember only to use Input if there is no event: InputEvent as parameter in the current function. It will lead to strange bugs

[granite prairie]

good to know
I only used that because one of the replies on the reddit post suggested it

[umbral juniper]

It's a very common mistake

[umbral juniper]

You can also switch the mouse filter via code and only ignore it if the inventory is open or something.
But if that specific colorrect shouldn't detect inputs ever, there's no worries