My easy-walling hotkey

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United States of America Metis
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My easy-walling hotkey

Post by Metis »

Here's a simple hotkey code that deletes pillars in all your walls without your having to select them first. Make sure to delete the pillars before they are built in order to recover the wood cost.


Code: Select all

<'keymapdata>'

         <'name>'DlPost<'/name>'
         <'displayname>'Select all posts and delete them<'/displayname>'
         <'event>'control-<'/event>'
         <'context>'game<'/context>'
         <'command>'uiFindAllOfType("WallConnector")
         uiDeleteAllSelectedUnits<'/command>'

<'/keymapdata>'




You modify the hotkey file at your own risk. Do it wrong and your game will get stuck while loading. I crashed my game a dozen times while learning how to code hotkeys. Always make backups.
United States of America evilcheadar
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My easy-walling hotkey

Post by evilcheadar »

We should play some treaty.
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My easy-walling hotkey

Post by thebritish »

metis wrote:Here''s a simple hotkey code that deletes pillars in all your walls without your having to select them first. Make sure to delete the pillars before they are built in order to recover the wood cost.


Code: Select all

<'keymapdata>'

         <'name>'DlPost<'/name>'
         <'displayname>'Select all posts and delete them<'/displayname>'
         <'event>'control-<'/event>'
         <'context>'game<'/context>'
         <'command>'uiFindAllOfType("WallConnector")
         uiDeleteAllSelectedUnits<'/command>'

<'/keymapdata>'




You modify the hotkey file at your own risk. Do it wrong and your game will get stuck while loading. I crashed my game a dozen times while learning how to code hotkeys. Always make backups.
where should i put this?
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United States of America Metis
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My easy-walling hotkey

Post by Metis »

If you don't know how to modify the hotkey file then you should just leave it alone. If you want to learn, then search the modification sections of Agecomm or the fansites. It's not hard but I'd rather not teach a game mod mini-class here.
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My easy-walling hotkey

Post by thebritish »

metis wrote:If you don''t know how to modify the hotkey file then you should just leave it alone. If you want to learn, then search the modification sections of Agecomm or the fansites. It''s not hard but I''d rather not teach a game mod mini-class here.
before i think i added something you wrote here, but i dont know about this one :D
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United States of America Cometk
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My easy-walling hotkey

Post by Cometk »

to my understanding to edit the hotkey file you need to have a newprofile2.xml in users2. i don't seem to have it and don't know how to make a new one. is there any other file destination for this hotkey?

i'm currently fudging with the user.con in the steam destination of aoe3, with this line:
map ("control-/", "game", "uiFindAllOfType("WallConnector") uiDeleteAllSelectedUnits")

edit: it works holy fuck this hotkey is nuts

thanks metis!
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Palestine Mimsy for President
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My easy-walling hotkey

Post by Mimsy for President »

Is there a code to set a building as a homecity gatherpoint ?
Netherlands momuuu
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My easy-walling hotkey

Post by momuuu »

This kind of modding is borderline cheating imo.
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United States of America Cometk
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My easy-walling hotkey

Post by Cometk »

jerom wrote:This kind of modding is borderline cheating imo.

it changes an action that takes 0.8 seconds to about 0.4 seconds

like 4 clicks becomes 2 clicks

"click -> q -> delete -> enter" VS "control -> /"

not that big a deal imo. it''s about as negligible an effect as gate hotkey or agra fort hotkeys. these aren''t quite analogous though as this key is to some degree an automation, since it is binding two actions into one (select all units and deletion). idk
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United States of America Metis
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My easy-walling hotkey

Post by Metis »

@ Jerom -- I don't think so. There are already several methods of deleting all or groups of pillars using the game's standard UI and hotkeys. This just makes proper walling slightly easier and prevents the mistake of selecting the wrong type of wall section and inadvertently deleting an entire wall. Assigning standard hotkeys to the buttons on a gaming mouse has much more effect on the game.

@ Cometk -- Nice use if the user.con file. I just added the code to the DefaultKeyMapY.xml file (since I only play TAD) but putting it into user.con is both safer and more elegant programming.
United States of America sc
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My easy-walling hotkey

Post by sc »

this is a huge advantage during a TR fight btw.

condemned!1!


E: To elaborate: we are playing an RTS. A RTS game is supposed to be action intensive. this custom hotkey eliminates a lot of actions you need to make MID FIGHT. the strategical advantage this would be during a fight is unquestioned.

before someone brings up the rotator mod, I would say while yes, the rotator DOES give an slight advantage (fbing in narrow cliffs/tight spots etc) it doesnt eliminate actions you need to make.

this is a pubic hair away from condoning a custom hotkey that queues all your livestock each time you select a barracks etc.
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United States of America Metis
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My easy-walling hotkey

Post by Metis »

There is already a standard hotkey for "select all units of a type," which can be assigned to a single key. Therefore, Click, <'key>', Del just becomes Ctrl-<'key>' -- saving you one action.
United States of America sc
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My easy-walling hotkey

Post by sc »

metis wrote:There is already a standard hotkey for "select all units of a type," which can be assigned to a single key. Therefore, Click, , Del just becomes Ctrl- -- saving you one action.



saving actions is bad from a fairness perspective as well as not being in the "spirit of RTS" games. Also its a slippery slope that gives prescedent to other little customizations.

walls are used continuously in TR games and once the tr ends its often difficult to delete pillars even when it would be strategically helpful (basically anytime im walling near the front lines i dont want pillars).

having this custom hotkey is a clear advantage over a player who is spending time to hunt and peck specific wall segments to delete in the thick of a fight.

using the "select all units of one type" cant be used mid fight because you need pillars on most of your map control walls due to the massive gaps that would be left in a hastily laid wall.
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United States of America Cometk
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My easy-walling hotkey

Post by Cometk »

sc wrote:
metis wrote:There is already a standard hotkey for "select all units of a type," which can be assigned to a single key. Therefore, Click, <'key>', Del just becomes Ctrl-<'key>' -- saving you one action.
using the "select all units of one type" cant be used mid fight because you need pillars on most of your map control walls due to the massive gaps that would be left in a hastily laid wall.

well i think you answered yourself here' select all units hotkey cant be used post-40 for this very reason. this hotkey is a double-edged sword either way -- you need to take the time to make peerless walls in order to avoid gaps or live with the consequences of what could happen if enemy units get past your hastily-made gap-laden walls.

the hotkey itself is a half second difference and is generally only used sporadically throughout the course of the game.

i agree with most of what you have to say though' its a hotkey that performs two actions for the price of one, in essence an automation. still, i believe the knowledge of this hotkey is generally a good thing, at least for the sake of further understanding the game.
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United States of America Metis
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My easy-walling hotkey

Post by Metis »

sc wrote:saving actions is bad from a fairness perspective as well as not being in the "spirit of RTS" games.


If this were true then the game''s developers would not have include hotkeys at all, because saving actions is the main purpose of a hotkey.

And, while the slippery slope argument is not valid, I do see your point. Someone in the modding section of Agecomm once made a cowing hotkey that definitely could significantly change the game.
Netherlands momuuu
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My easy-walling hotkey

Post by momuuu »

Saving one action is cheating if it's not in the game. Or maybe cheating is a heavy condemnation, but it is certainly unfair.

The arguments for building rotator is that it takes away the unfairness of map spawns. In some positions, you can get buildings to block off units effectively while in some it's useless. Otherwise, it's almost the same imo.
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United States of America Cometk
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My easy-walling hotkey

Post by Cometk »

i'd like to stream some usage of the hotkey to show in effect what it really does, i'll post a vod sometime
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United States of America sc
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My easy-walling hotkey

Post by sc »

metis wrote:
sc wrote:saving actions is bad from a fairness perspective as well as not being in the "spirit of RTS" games.
If this were true then the games developers would not have include hotkeys at all, because saving actions is the main purpose of a hotkey.
My above quote is referencing what you said, i.e. that customization of the game files saves 1 action. I was NOT making a general statement, and of course I wasnt talking about the pre made hotkeys.

If this was implemented in a fan patch of sorts, great. Everyone has it and everythings fair.
But outside of a fan patch I think this is just way too advantageous to use.
VIRTZN and CM1993 are my friends and they never cheat. everyone should add them. kappa
United States of America Metis
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My easy-walling hotkey

Post by Metis »

I think that the inclusion of the rotator in AOEO showed conclusively that MS does not consider it cheating. I recommend it to everyone.

Remember too that it was an ES moderator (MrMilo) who started all of this hotkey manipulation, though he did it mainly to correct errors.

There are still errors in the standard hotkey files. For instance, you can't make multiple goats from a Chinese village using the standard hotkey, even though the key group is there. This is because the game binds the key using the word "pig" instead of "goat." Therefore to fix this, clearly intended, hotkey you have modify its code.


Code: Select all

<'Group Name="Village Hotkeys">'
<'KeyMap>'
<'Name>'Multiple Pig<'/Name>'
<'Event>'u<'/Event>'
<'Action>'bind<'/Action>'
<'/KeyMap>'
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My easy-walling hotkey

Post by Mr_Bramboy »

I'm the kind of person to accidently delete a building by hitting this key so I probably shouldn't install this.
United States of America sc
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My easy-walling hotkey

Post by sc »

well fuck my legendary ability to misread shit strikes again.

I thought what metis was presenting was a hotkey for making wall segmemts ONLY, with pillars not even appearing as you're laying the wall.

regarding what metis is ACTUALLY talking about... neat i guess.

sturm out
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United States of America Metis
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My easy-walling hotkey

Post by Metis »

bramboy wrote:I''m the kind of person to accidently delete a building by hitting this key so I probably shouldn''t install this.
More times than I''d like to admit, I''ve messed up by hitting the wrong keys.

One thing I''m constantly doing is turning on friend or foe colors, I really really need to either de-map this hotkey or learn what it is. Another thing I''m always doing, to the annoyance of my team, is inadvertently pressing F3 and pausing the game when trying to press F4 to check player scores. A few times I''ve even closed the game, I still don''t know how because I would swear I never hit Alt-F4, Enter.

And don''t get me started about cows. I still sometimes mis-task cows to the fight because for years I had my TCs control grouped to 8 but now I use that control group for cow pens. Muscle memory still gets the better of me sometimes though and I wind up tasking 8 to the fight, thinking that my explorer will show up there but getting cows instead.

Habits can get you into some funny situations. I once went into someone else''s apartment because I used to live there. Of course, part of the blame lies with the landlord, who apparently used the same keyed locks for both apartments. Fortunately, I knew the guy and he was pretty laid back.
United States of America Metis
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My easy-walling hotkey

Post by Metis »

Here is TheCometK's excellent tutorial on walling.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AX81PeqmIlY
Netherlands momuuu
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My easy-walling hotkey

Post by momuuu »

I still think it's unfair. Cheating is a big word, but it's still getting an unfair advantage to me. No matter how many (terrible) arguments you present (Im pointing at the aoeo one lol, thats maybe the shittiest argument I have read in a while lol).

It's about where you draw the line, and maybe we should draw the line exactly at what is in the game, so no modding at all.
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Italy Garja
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My easy-walling hotkey

Post by Garja »

Sounds like a in game macro command, aka a cheat.
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