BlackSpectre

Huh. I guess not. I had read that the Macroslot and Macro_image commands could be used together, but I never tested it. Both commands appear to be used to create macros rather than be used as arguments, and I guess are not meant to be used together. I did test out many different ways of ordering the two commands and their arguments, but wasn't able to figure out how to use them together for the same macro. Bummer. I had in my mind some cool text macros that would have been neat if the icons could have changed. 😞 I'll edit my post above and delete the Macro_image info.

Hi, hopefully this will not be too difficult to do in the game... but I was wondering if it would be possible to increase the zoom-out range for resolutions that cut off the top and bottom of the graphics images in order to fit the screen size. I just got a 49" ultra-wide monitor and am amazed with how immersive it is, and amazed that you devs already setup an easy way to play with such a wide monitor without stretching the images. It looks beautiful, BTW. I imagine that the zoom out distance is tied to the width of the screen... which might be why it doesn't zoom out very much on these wide monitors. If instead, the zoom distance limit could be set for the vertical height instead, players would be able to zoom out the same distance as with normal monitors. In any case, all I'd like to do is zoom out the same distance (as if playing on a 4:3 monitor. I don't normally play this way, but I use the birds-eye view to see the entire battlefield when necessary and also to quickly check around a room. Playing on this wide monitor, I am not able to zoom out enough to get a birds-eye view. Thanks a bunch! FYI, the cutscenes are also cut off and I only see the middle of the cutscenes. I don’t think cutscenes need to be in the wide format though. They could be in 4:3 aspect ratio and they’d be fine IMHO.

A while back I ran across a post were someone mentioned that the slash command MACROSLOT allowed them to create macros that created other macros. I haven't had a use for that personally, but it stuck in my head anyway. I wondered, if a macro could create another macro, then maybe there is a way for a macro to replace itself?! Guess what? I did it. Introducing... Text Macros! Text Macros are macros that replace themselves with a different macro when you click them. These macros can toggle back and forth between 2 macros or cycle through many different macros using the same button in the same power tray slot. This technique utilizes a previous discovery of mine that laid out how to store and load multiple macros from a text file. Similar to text binds, Text Macros use text files to load different commands onto a button in the same power tray slot. This allows us to click on a single button multiple times and have it do a different thing on each click. You can even change the name of the macro button when clicked. Simply put, it brings the versatility of text binds to macro buttons. There are many, many uses for Text Macros. In the example below, I use a Text Macro to make a single button change my costume and activate Fly on the first click, and then on the second click change my costume back and turn off Fly. The basic syntax and commands used to accomplish this are: $$MACROSLOT <macro-slot#> "<macro name>" "<command(s)>$$BINDLOADFILE <file path><text file name>" If you haven't used the MACROSLOT command before, the macro-slot # is determined by counting in sequence from 0 starting on slot 1 of power tray 1, to 89 for slot 10 of power tray 9. For example, slot 10 of tray 1 is macro-slot # 9, slot 1 of tray 2 is macro-slot # 10, and slot 1 of tray 3 is macro-slot # 20. STEP #1 - CREATE YOUR TEXT FILES STEP #2 - CREATE THE MACRO USING THE COMMANDS FOUND IN THE FIRST TEXT FILE STEP #1 The following example lists the file name and then the commands found within that text file. mFlyCC0.txt $$macroslot 20 "FlyON" "cc 1$$Powexec_Toggle_On Fly$$Bind_Load_File /binds/mFlyCC1.txt" mFlyCC1.txt $$macroslot 20 "FlyOFF" "cc 0$$Powexec_Toggle_Off Fly$$Bind_Load_File /binds/mFlyCC0.txt" STEP #2 In game, type the commands inside the first text file into the chat box with a slash "/" at the beginning. Then press the Enter key to create the macro button. /$$macroslot 20 "FlyON" "cc 1$$Powexec_Toggle_On Fly$$Bind_Load_File /binds/mFlyCC1.txt" Done! You should now have a macro button named FlyON in slot 1 of power tray 3. Click it to change to costume 1 and turn on Fly. Click it again to change to costume 0 and turn off Fly. CAUTION: The MACROSLOT command will replace any power icon that is already in the designated macro-slot #. Make sure the power tray slot is empty before you create your Text Macro. This command will destroy any macro that you have in that macro-slot #. However, for powers it only deletes the power icon... not the actual power. You can always drag another power icon from the powers window and place it in a different power tray slot.

You're the best, @TheZag! Thanks, man. Much appreciated.

Thanks a bunch, @TheZag! Flyboost doesn't work, but fly_boost does. Out of curiosity, what are the internal names for the other popup travel tray powers?

Thanks a bunch, @TheZag! Flyboost doesn't work, but fly_boost does.

Here's another base building tip... If you're having trouble selecting a wall or floor because a plate, floor, or other items is in the way, try holding CTRL down and clicking on the wall/floor with the mouse.

Hello everyone! Here is my ultimate Fly bind. It retains my favorite feature, jumping into the air to fly (like Superman) but is designed to be more or less universal. The bind will work for Fly, Hover, Mystic Flight, Afterburner, and Evasive Maneuvers. It uses 4 keys on the keyboard (technically but really only 2) and 10 text files! You may, of course, change the keys, but here are the keys I use: G - Fly SHIFT+G - Hover CTRL+G - Reset Fly Bind SHIFT+E - Evasive Maneuvers & Afterburner The bind in total does several things... Jumps into the air to fly (press and hold G and you'll shoot straight up into the air. Useful as an escape tactic) Turns off most sprinting powers to save on end drain (sprint, ninja run, beast run, athletic run) Turns on/off Hover Turns on Sprint when you land Turns on/off both Evasive Maneuvers and Afterburner at the same time while striking a power flight pose The beauty of this bind is that it makes everything so easy, and you never have to think about turning your sprinting powers off when flying or hovering. Press G once to turn Fly on. Press it again to turn Fly off. Press SHIFT+G once to turn Hover on. Press it again to turn it off. You can Hover while already flying, and you can go back to flying (without falling) just by pressing G. I chose SHIFT+E to turn Evasive Maneuvers and Afterburner on because it allows me to do so with one hand while I am flying and pressing the W key. I debated with myself on whether or not to automatically turn off Evasive Maneuvers when I land, but (at least right now) we still get its defense bonus while on the ground. So I kept it on. Of course, you can still press SHIFT+E to turn it off... and we can always add it later if needed. Also, once in a while the bind sequence gets mixed up in the game. All you need to do to fix this is to press CTRL+G to reset the binds. If you like the keyboard keys I chose for the flight binds, then you won't have to change a thing. Otherwise, you can change the keys by editing the text files below. You may need to change the path (where you store your bind text files), but if the path is too long the binds might go over the 255 character limit and refuse to work (or mess up). All of my binds are in a folder named "binds" within the game's default or home folder. If you need help finding your default folder, you can type into chat /bindloadfile / in game and it will show you your file path in the global chat window. My default folder is z:/Applications/coh/settings/live/ and then I added the "binds" folder, so now my file path for binds is z:/Applications/coh/settings/live/binds/. The default folder allows you to cut out the middle man and use a shortcut to get directly to the default folder. So for all of my binds I just use "/binds/" as my file path. It saves a lot of space in the binds. Step 1 is to create all the text files... BUT I've actually included all the text files in the zipped file below so you don't have to do a thing! Just place those files in your binds folder. If you'd like to edit the text files, make sure you're using a plain text file app like Notepad (on Windows) or BBEdit (on Mac)**. If your binds folder is in the same place as mine, everything should work out fine. Make sure you keep the file names the same too. Step 2 is to load in the FlyG1.txt bind into the game. Type into chat: /BindLoadFile /binds/FlyG1.txt and you're done! The flight bind will automatically assign all the other binds to your keyboard's keys after you've used the fly bind once (turn fly on, then turn fly off). Let me know if you like the bind. Personally, it's one of my favorites! Here are the text file names and what's in them: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vmY7TwGX4C6EESHwimv9l-QvOzzpM6xD/view?usp=sharing FlyG1.txt G "+$$up 1$$powexectoggleoff Hover$$powexectoggleoff ninja run$$powexectoggleon mystic flight$$powexectoggleon fly$$bindloadfilesilent /binds/flyg2.txt" FlyG2.txt G "+$$up 0$$powexectoggleoff beast run$$powexectoggleoff athletic run$$powexectoggleoff hover$$bindloadfilesilent /binds/flyg3.txt$$bindloadfileSilent /binds/FlySpeed1.txt" FlyG3.txt G "+$$autorun 0$$powexectoggleoff fly$$powexectoggleoff mystic flight$$powexectoggleoff hover$$powexectoggleon sprint$$bindloadfilesilent /binds/flyg4.txt" CTRL+G "tell $name, Flight binds reset.$$bindloadfile /binds/flyg1.txt" FlyG4.txt G "+$$bindloadfilesilent /binds/flyg1.txt$$bindloadfilesilent /binds/hover1.txt" FlySpeed1.txt SHIFT+E "+$$e flypose2$$powexectoggleon fly_boost$$bindloadfileSilent /binds/FlySpeed2.txt" FlySpeed2.txt SHIFT+E "+$$powexecunqueue$$powexectoggleon evasive maneuvers$$bindloadfileSilent /binds/FlySpeed3.txt" FlySpeed3.txt SHIFT+E "+$$powexectoggleoff fly_boost$$powexectoggleoff evasive maneuvers$$bindloadfileSilent /binds/FlySpeed4.txt" FlySpeed4.txt SHIFT+E "+$$bindloadfileSilent /binds/FlySpeed1.txt" Hover1.txt SHIFT+G "powexectoggleoff fly$$powexectoggleoff sprint$$powexectoggleoff ninja run$$powexectoggleoff beast run$$powexectoggleoff athletic run$$Powexectoggleon hover$$bindloadfilesilent /binds/hover2.txt$$bindloadfilesilent /binds/flyg1.txt" Hover2.txt SHIFT+G "powexectoggleoff hover$$powexectoggleon sprint$$bindloadfilesilent /binds/hover1.txt" ** The stock TextEdit app on Macs natively save in the RTF document format, not the TXT format. However, if you open an already made TXT file with TextEdit, TextEdit will save it in the TXT format. When making new text binds, a tip is to click on File--> Duplicate to get a new text file, edit it, and then save it as a different file name. Alternately, you can change the preferences in TextEdit and select Plain Text. UPDATE 2/19 - Oops. Fixed a small omission in FlyG2.txt that prevented the Evasive Maneuvers/Afterburner bind from activating a power pose on first use. Also updated the Evasive Maneuvers/Afterburner bind to use Afterburner's internal name "fly_boost" rather than its display name "Afterburner" in order to prevent problems when the popup travel tray is enabled or disabled. Lastly, I've posted a new link to the updated text files. FlyBind.zip

Here's an oddity... Any command to activate or deactivate Afterburner while the travel popup tray is closed (Fly is off) inexplicably deactivates Evasive Maneuvers. Tested with both powexecname and Powexectoggle_on/off Correct behavior should be... nothing. Aside from wreaking havoc on various binds (e.g. /powexectoggleoff Afterburner$$powexectoggleon Evasive Maneuvers), it also affects players while using Hover. HOWEVER, the correct behavior does occur if the travel popup tray has been previously disabled by a visit to Null the Gull.

The main issue is timing. Powers have an activation time and a recharge time. Binds are more or less instant, and take almost no time to activate. Activation sequence of click powers is also an issue. Powers in a bind activate from right to left, so if you have a bind that attempts to activate 2 click powers, only the "first" power on the right will be activated. This is why using a text bind is useful, because it places one power at the "beginning" of the bind in one text file, and the other power at the "beginning" of the bind in another text file. Only 1 click power can be queued at a time. If a click power is already activated and recharging, the second click power will be queued to activate. A command to activate a third click power will simply override the previously queued click power and queue the new power. This means only 2 click powers can be in a bind and function properly. One that is activated, and the other that is queued. Some players use the PowExec_Auto command to work around this limitation, but its use is very situational (I don't find it very useful). In order for a second click power to be queued, the first click power has to be either activating or recharging. Otherwise the first click power will be activated again. So you have to wait for the first click power to recharge fully and the second click power to be activated before you try to activate a third click power. If you have more than 2 click powers to activate and only want to use one key, it's easiest just to create a text bind file for each click power and just rotate through them one at a time using the same key and pressing it multiple times. It's also more reliable if you don't use the toggle character "+" on the far left of the bind for this. The toggle character makes the bind execute on key PRESSS and again on key RELEASE, and sometimes it can get messed up. You still have to wait until no power is queued and only 1 power is recharging to activate it though, and I have always found this to be a bit of a hassle, especially in the heat of combat. Personally, when I have more than 2 click powers to activate on one target, I just use SHIFT+Numpad1-8 to select the team member and then assign one of the numpad keys to each power. Not the greatest, but its the best we got.

You don't even need the space anymore. Homecoming has made a few improvements to the bind system. So... this will work fine: G "+$$powexecname speed boost$$bindloadfilesilent /binds/SBID2.txt" You can also do this without creating the text files. The following bind works great: G "+$$TargetCustomNext Friend Alive$$powexecname speed boost" Lastly, TargetCustomNext, or any Target* command, will work only if the target is in front of you within your field of vision. I usually prefer TeamSelect # because if a teammate is behind me or to the side, I'll turn around and zap them automatically. It all depends on what you're trying to do, however.

I've visited a couple SG bases that did this, but they might have been doing some sneaky slight of hand thingy...

Wow! You ain't kidding! I finally discovered that HC Wiki page you mentioned, and you are absolutely right! It's awesome! If I had known there was something like this wiki page, I probably wouldn't have made my enhancement set bonus spreadsheets. I love how it's sortable by any column, and almost any piece of information you might need to make a good decision is right there! Great page! Set Bonus Comparison Tables Thanks for calling it to my attention. 🙂

Oh, hey Shenanigunner! I just realized it was you! As long as I have you here, I just wanted to say you did an amazing job on your Technical Guide! Your guide is thorough, well organized, and clearly written. Obviously, you put a lot of time into writing it... and it shows. I read your guide a while back... not sure if it was before Homecoming went public or after. But I do remember thinking "Whew! That was a lot of work!" It is awesome when I run across someone, like you, who has poured their heart and soul into something, and into helping others. Your love for COH shines through every word you write. Keep up the good work!

Sure, it totally works. Toggle text binds can sometimes get messed up and out of order due to pressing the key to fast or lag. To combat this, i have another bind that reloads the first text file… essentially resetting the whole bind back to the beginning of its sequence. You don’t have to reset it often, but the reset bind is a godsend when the toggle key bind messes up… and it will, eventually, mess up. The way I do it is… I have my travel bind on the G key, and the reset bind on the CTRL+G key.

Yes, you create a "toggle text bind." It will turn on 2 toggle powers with one key by turning on the first power on key PRESS and the second power on key RELEASE. First, create 2 text files. You can name them anything, so how about TwoPowers1.txt and TwoPowers2.txt Next, put the bind command for one power in one text file, and the other power command in the other text file. Add a toggle key "+" to the front (left) of the bind. Add a BindLoadFile command to the end (right) of the bind string that refers to the other text file and visa versa in a loop. Done. Example: TwoPowers1.txt G "+$$PowexecToggleOn Tough$$BindLoadFIle /binds/TwoPowers2.txt" TwoPowers2.txt G "+$$PowexecToggleOn Weave$$BindLoadFIle /binds/TwoPowers1.txt" To toggle the powers off with the same key, create 2 more text files as above with the PowexecToggleOff command and put them in the loop too for a total of 4 text files. For more information you can read my Advanced Bind Guide that I wrote many years ago... and also look over my example binds page for some ideas if interested. P.S. If you don't care about turning them off with the same key, you might be able to do the whole thing with just a single toggle bind... /Bind G "+$$PowexecToggleOn Tough$$PowexecToggleOn Weave"

Thanks guys. I appreciate the ideas. Another non-standard key on my number pad is the Clear key. I discovered that Joy25 works for that, but alas none of the joystick controller names work for the number pad equals key.

None of them work. Also tried “numequals”, keypadequals, keyequals, and all the variations with “=“ and “equal”. 😞

Hi, I'm using a Matias Mac keyboard and on the number pad there is an equals sign. The Keymapping tab in Options registers the key as "Numpad Equals" and I can map the key in options just fine. However, I can not use the key in any bind that I create with the /bind or /macro command because I need the key name to bind it. I've tried a myriad of different names and none of them worked. I also mapped the Numpad Equals key in options, used /bindsavefile to save the keybindings, but the key mapping for the Numpad Equals doesn't show up in the file. That tells me that the key has only been partially implemented in COH. Is there an existing key name for the Numpad Equals key? If not, would it be possible to add it to the game? Thanks!

Here’s a link to the enhancement spreadsheets I use. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1z-pO_LhFmrjeUI9ryTPaU7it0E-lbtuo/view?usp=sharing

There are instructions on how to use Wine to run Mids on a Mac. It works, but is memory intensive and sluggish… at least on my Mac.

Thanks everyone! It is really interesting hearing what everyone is doing to build their toons. Mids is great. I can’t help thinking that there could be a tool that took a toon from Mids and, according to a stated goal such as slash/lethal defense soft cap, and automatically populated the slots and specific enhancements to achieve the goal. Seems like something a computer is uniquely suited for. Unfortunately, my programming skills are almost nil, otherwise I’d take a wack at it. Anyway, some cool ideas here. 😀

Hi, When building a character, I rely on a bunch of spreadsheets that I’ve sorted by enhancement aspect (damage resistance, defense, regen, etc). I noticed tools like City of Data popping up and wondered what everyone else is using or if there’s a tool out there that will determine specific enhancements to use i. Order to build toward a specific purpose? thanks!

Hello, I know it's pretty easy to do, but here is the Mids Reborn icon in the appropriate format for the Mac. Download it here https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nNNjm2X-1z7yJCVm-_wLDp6zD9pn3TxV/view?usp=sharing Find your Mids Reborn Wineskin Winery app that you made, and right click on it. Then select Get Info, then click on the small icon in the upper left corner, lastly drag and drop this new icon onto the small icon in the corner. Done. It's a great idea to make an alias for your desktop. Right click on the Mids Reborn Wineskin app and select Make Alias. A new alias file will appear. Drag and drop the alias onto your desktop. Done.

So this is something odd... Try converting any of the defense debuff or Accurate Defense Debuff IOs, and you'll see some weird stuff. So far, I have only found this weirdness to apply to the defense Debuff IOs. DEFENSE DEBUFFS: will only convert between IOs with like level ranges. For example, Exploited Vulnerability can NOT be converted to Touch of Lady Gray... but Touch of Lady Gray and Undermined Defenses convert to each other fine. IOs are supposed to convert to any out of set IO in the same set category (Defense Debuff to defense debuff, accuracy to accuracy, etc) or the set rarity (rare to rare, uncommon to uncommon, etc) no matter what level range the IO set has. Touch of Lady Gray 21-53 Undermined Defenses 21-53 Exploited Vulnerability 10-20 Achilles' Heel 10-20 ACCURATE DEFENSE DEBUFFS: will NOT convert to a different Accurate Defense Debuff IO of the same category. The game simply clears the window, and it also does not take any Enhancement Converters for the attempt. Shield Breaker does not have an enhancement category attached to it, which is probably why the conversion doesn't work.