Well, there are lots of ways that this could be arranged. The reason that I suggested that it all be placed into a file that you ran with the exec command, is that would make for easy packaging. If you took my approach, then it wouldn't be necessary for a new user, or someone that doesn't want to edit command files, to get started with a mod server. You could give them a single file with aliases, binds, and the connect command. They'd just drop it in the folder, start Quake, and enter the appropriate exec command. With your approach, there would be a little less typing, but they'd need to edit their autoexec.cfg.
Bryan -----Original Message----- From: Ken the Crazy [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, June 01, 2007 10:42 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; AGRIP User and Developer discussion list Subject: Re: [AGRIP-discuss] Macros Explained Why bother typing exec jq.cfg then connect to tbrn? Just make an alias in the autoexec.cfg file that connects to the server and runs the config file for you. Ken Downey President DreamTechInteractive! And, Coming soon, Blind Comfort! The pleasant way to get a massage--no staring, just caring. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bryan Smart" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "'AGRIP User and Developer discussion list'" <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, June 01, 2007 8:44 PM Subject: [AGRIP-discuss] Macros Explained > Here is a lightly discussed, but important factor that is involved in > becoming good at Audio Quake. Many of the better players use macro keys. > These allow you to have one key do many things at once. Macro keys can > perform any number of commands with a single key press. However, they can > not make decisions for you. For example, it is possible to make a key that > fires several weapons, one after another. A macro key can not, though, aim > for you. > > If you don't use macros, you'll be slaughtered. I think that a lot of the > people on the list that have been feeling left behind are not using > macros. > Its an arms race, I'm afraid. Other people used macros, so I had to build > my > own. They improve their macros, I have to improve mine. So, in this long > message, I'm going to show everyone all the tricks of my macros. Once I do > this, most of my skills will be common knowledge (well, at least those > that > depend on macros). It is likely that many of you will build on my macros > and > not tell everyone about it, but at least, with this message, we'll bring > up > the lowest common denominator. > > First, where do you find and create macros? Macros are written up in > standard text files. You can store them anywhere, but it is easiest for > you > to store them in the ID1 folder inside your Audio Quake directory. There > are > two files of macros that come standard: config.cfg and autoexec.cfg. These > contain the built in macros for Audio Quake. They do things like make your > character walk forward when you press up arrow, or shoot when you hold > down > control. You can modify these files, but it isn't necessary, as I'll > explain > below. > > You can also create your own files of macros. For example, you could > create > a text file called jq.cfg that contained Jedi Quake macros, and put it in > the ID1 folder. Then, when you want to use those, start Audio Quake, and, > from the console type: > > exec jq.cfg > > So, what can you put in your macros file? In Audio Quake, every action > that > you normally get to from the keyboard is actually a console command that > has > been hooked up to a key. This includes anything that you can type from the > console. You can, therefore, make keys that fire weapons, move your > player, > send text taunts to the server, etc. > > If you're interested in seeing a full list of Quake console commands, look > here: > > http://www.neophi.com/home/danielr/quake/console-all.txt > > In your macro files, you can write comments. Comments are just reminder > text > for you to read. They will be ignored by Quake. > > Any line that begins with two slashes "//" will be ignored. > > // This is a comment line > // This is another > > You can also use the // to put comments after a command > > bind ctrl "+attack" // This is a comment to remind you that this is the > shoot command > > Now, to the commands themselves. You can, for example, type "+shoot" in > the > console to start shooting, just like you can with holding down the control > key. In the macro file, the line to set this up looks like the following: > > bind ctrl "+attack" > > Bind is a command that is used to attach keys to Quake commands. In this > instance, you are binding the control key to run the command "+attack". > The > plus sign in front means that the command will repeat as long as you hold > down the key. > > Lots of Audio Quake commands have textual names, like left, right, > forward, > back, shoot, etc. However, many actions are triggered by what are called > impulses. Impulses are a custom signal that you can send to the server > that > performs a special action. In Jedi Quake, all of the force powers and > special weapons are activated by sending impulses. > > Here is an example with an impulse: > > bind space "impulse 71" > > This command causes the space bar to send impulse 71 to the server, which > will cause your character to force jump. If you'd like a full list of the > impulses that are supported in Jedi Quake, have a look at the docs, which > you can get from the following address: > > http://www.tbrn.net/modgirl/Jedi%20Quake%204%20Documentation.rtf > > So far, I've shown you how to bind simple actions to keys. Now, I'll show > you how to accomplish compound actions. > > Here is an example to illustrate what is possible. > > bind CTRL "+attack;wait;impulse 68;impulse 69;impulse 69;wait;impulse 67" > > This is a substitute for the standard shoot key. If you use this line, > then, > instead of just shooting, pressing control key once does all of the > following: > > Shoots the current weapon > Tries to take the light saber of the person in front of you > Shocks them twice with the force lightning > Pushes them with the force > > Now, keep in mind that you can press this key over and over, and will be > doing all of this stuff at the same time. This is just the tip of what is > possible. > > A word about waiting. You may notice that this command contains "wait" > many > times. The wait command causes Audio Quake to pause for a fraction of a > second. The entire game doesn't pause, but your macro will briefly pause > before continuing to the next command. You need this because the server > doesn't react very well if you send too many commands to it at once. If > you > send commands too quickly, the server might ignore them. When it comes to > some commands, you need to pace them slowly. > > Also, you might wonder, why isn't every force power on this line? Well, a > bind will let you connect many commands to a single key, so that you won't > have to individually type each one, but all of those commands must still > be > sent to the server. The more commands that you bind to a key, the longer > it > will take for that key to work. When you press a key, you don't get > control > back until all of the commands on that key have been sent. > > It is possible, though, to make different keys for use in different > situations. For example, you might use the control key for firing most > weapons, and bind certain powers to it, but, the shift key would be used > for > attacking with the light saber. You could bind the disarm impulse and > other > force powers to the saber key that weren't bound to the general firing > key. > > Movement > > This is what basic movement macros look like in the default Audio Quake > setup... > > bind LEFTARROW "+left" > bind RIGHTARROW "+right" > bind UPARROW "+forward" > bind DOWNARROW "+back" > > Now, here are what my movement keys look like. > > bind j "+left;wait;wait;impulse 68;wait;impulse 67" > bind l "+right;wait;wait;impulse 68;wait;impulse 67" > bind i "+forward;wait;wait;impulse 68;wait;impulse 67" > bind k "+back;wait;wait;impulse 68;wait;impulse 67" > > As you can see, extra commands can be added to keys besides the fire > button. > In this case, as I turn, and if I happen to face someone, with a light > saber > out, the macro will automatically take it. Also, immediately following > that, > they'll be pushed away with the force. Just turning and looking at someone > can mess them up. I might snatch someone's light saber and throw them > across > the map, and I didn't even know where they were going to be. I just turn, > see them, and they're automatically dealt with. > > Next, I'll talk about advanced turning. Normally, the arrows will turn you > just a few degrees in a given direction. That's too slow. I have keys that > turn at right angles, do 180s, etc. I'll share some of them below. > > First, I must tell you about the "alias" command. Alias is like bind, > except, instead of assigning a group of commands to a key, alias allows > you > to make up a shorthand name for a group of commands. So, the following > examples: > > alias shoot "+attack" > > Now, you could say... > > bind ctrl shoot > > Here is another use of alias: > > alias tbrn "connect tbrn.net" > > Now, you can type "tbrn" in the console, and that will be understood as > "connect tbrn.net". > > Here is one more: > > alias forceattack "impulse 68;impulse 69;impulse 67" > > This makes a new command called "forceattack" that, when it is entered, > will > run all three of those impulses to trigger three force powers at the same > time. So, you can: > > bind / forceattack > > Now, pressing the slash key will run the forceattack command, and the > forceattack command, of course, sends those three impulses. > > I explained that so that you'll understand how the following works. In > order > to setup your turns, you need to define some aliases. > > The first two alias commands are the same as pressing left or right arrow > key once, except they also trigger force powers. > > alias TurnLeft "+left;wait;-left;wait;wait;impulse 68;wait;impulse 67" > alias TurnRight "+right;wait;-right;wait;wait;impulse 68;wait;impulse 67" > > You could, of course, hook these up to arrows now, like: > > bind leftarrow "TurnLeft" > bind rightarrow "TurnRight" > > However, you can make complex commands that will turn you at right angles. > With the default turn rate in Audio Quake, you need to press left or right > arrow four times in order to make a 90 degree turn. So, we can make the a > and s keys perform 90 degree turns to the left and right, respectively. > > // turn left 90 > bind a "turnleft;turnleft;turnleft;turnleft" > // Turn right 90 > bind s "turnright;turnright;turnright;turnright" > > If 4 turns can make a 90 degree turn, then it follows that 8 turns will > make > a 180 degree turn, so, this bind will cause the z key to spin you around, > 180 degrees. > > // Turn 180 > bind z > "turnleft;turnleft;turnleft;turnleft;turnleft;turnleft;turnleft;turnleft" > > Remember that, each of these TurnLeft commands not only moves you, but > triggers force powers in each step of the turn. So, you could be in the > middle of a room with many people in it, keep hitting z to spin around in > circles, and would automatically throw everyone against walls as you spin > around. It will suck down your force power, but will devastate everyone in > the room. > > Making the most of weapons is another important subject. None of the > weapons > are the ultimate weapon. They all have a situation where they're useful. > For > example, the sniper rifle can kill with a single shot, but reloads slowly > and is not accurate at close range. The grenades are powerful, but > difficult > to aim. The nail guns aren't very powerful, but have extremely long range, > and you can strafe with them. The point is, you need to learn the > strengths > and weaknesses of each weapon, and know when to use each. The situation > changes rapidly. You may be observing a fight across the map, where no one > is aware of you, and strafe them at long range with the nail gun. As one > of > them spots you and runs straight into you blasting, you need to pull out > the > light saber, since it blocks blasters, and let the person run into it. > > Now, this weapon strategy is all good, but one thing that will hold > newbies > back is that they take too long to switch weapons. If you're reaching for > the number row, you're taking too long. If you're reaching for the number > row, what happens is that you'll pick a weapon and stick with it, while > others around you are switching back and forth between weapons. > > First, bind your weapons to keys that you can easily reach and remember. > Here are a few examples: > > bind r "impulse 61" // sniper rifle > bind b "impulse 60" // blaster > > Next, for some weapons, you can actually make the selection key fire the > weapon. So, if someone drops in front of you and your sniper sight pings > to > let you know that they're directly in front of you, then you'll be well > off > if you can press a single key to simultaneously select and fire your > sniper > rifle. They'll be standing their like a dummy, trying to select the sniper > rifle, then firing. This is also true for the stun gun. If someone drops > directly in front of you, you want to stun them immediately, before they > move. > > Here is an example of selecting and firing with the stun gun. > > First, though, you need that shoot alias from earlier, since this bind > depends on it. > > bind n "impulse 75;shoot" // Stun > > So, you can see that this key will send impulse 75, which selects the stun > gun, then immediately shoots. Just pressing n will stun someone. You can > then get them with one of the hooks, or shoot them while they're frozen. > > Here are some other general pointers that a lot of new users miss out on. > > By default, your character will walk around the map when you use the > arrows. > Walking is too slow. You need to use the "+speed" command to make them > run. > Normally, +speed is bound to a shift key so that you can hold it down, in > combination with the arrows, to make the character run. In my file, > though, > I just use +speed by itself so that I'm always running. > > There are some preferences that are available from the server. For > example, > in Jedi Quake, you must send impulse 26 in order to turn on the targeting > scope for the sniper rifle, or impulse 58 to turn on the silencers for the > sniper rifle and pistil. These settings must be made each time that you > connect to the server. To make this easier, I have a key that sets them > up. > My key looks like this: > > bind x "impulse 82;wait;wait;wait;impulse 26;wait;wait;wait;impulse > 58;wait;wait;impulse 57" > > I press this once when I connect to the Jedi Quake server. This sets the > following prefs. > > Incendiary grenades are selected instead of standard grenades. > The targeting scope is turned on. > The silencer is turned on. > Blaster bolt bouncing is set. > > You may wish to set others... > > So, once you have all of your macros setup, how do you bring it all > together? I suggest that you put all of the related macros into a > particular > file. For the Jedi Quake aliases and key binds, you might make a file > called > jq.cfg. Here is a skeleton of how the basic file might look. > > // Jedi Quake macros > > echo "Starting Jedi Quake." // This is displayed in the console > > // Setup basic attributes > name Evil Master // Set your name > +speed // Run instead of walk > > // Next, setup macros > > // Shooting macros > bind ctrl "+attack" > > // Turning macros > > alias TurnLeft "+left;wait;-left;wait;wait;impulse 68;wait;impulse 67" > alias TurnRight "+right;wait;-right;wait;wait;impulse 68;wait;impulse 67" > > // Basic turning > bind leftarrow "TurnLeft" > bind rightarrow "TurnRight" > > // turn left 90 degrees > bind a "turnleft;turnleft;turnleft;turnleft" > // Turn right 90 degrees > bind s "turnright;turnright;turnright;turnright" > > // Turn 180 degrees > bind z > "turnleft;turnleft;turnleft;turnleft;turnleft;turnleft;turnleft;turnleft" > > // Finally, connect to the server > connect tbrn.net > > Now, once you start Audio Quake, all you have to do is to type the > following: > > exec jq.cfg > > When you do that, you'll see the message "Starting Jedi Quake", your key > binds will all be setup for Jedi Quake, and Audio Quake will automatically > connect to the server. > > This approach is good, since it lets you use different binds for different > servers. When you first start Audio Quake, you'll be using the basic > keyboard setup. If you want to play on a server with special commands, > just > make a .cfg file for that server with the binds that you like to use > there, > and run it to setup and connect. > > Well, that's all for now. I could write more on this subject, but I'll do > that when I have another burst of energy. Please respond on this thread > with > any questions, and I'll try to help. > > I know that some people will complain that this is too programmerish, and > isn't fun. Unfortunately, this can't be helped. You can't keep people from > running macros. If you run with the basic Audio Quake commands, you will > be > slaughtered on servers by people that are using macros. My personal macros > for Jedi Quake are fairly messy, but, perhaps at some point, I'll put > together a nicely modularized version. Those of you that aren't > programmers > could share it around. There is already a basic one that is being passed > around, but it doesn't have any compound commands with force powers. > > Bryan > > > _______________________________________________ > AGRIP-discuss mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.agrip.org.uk/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/agrip-discuss _______________________________________________ AGRIP-discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.agrip.org.uk/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/agrip-discuss
