Shenanigunner

I'm cleaning up all my bind files (implementing the NEW GABS SYSTEM, thank you for asking 🙂 ) I encountered a former bind that won't work now, to call up a P2W pet. In the original, "powexecname Power Pet Drone" worked. Now it doesnt; nor does any variation of what seems to be a changed power name, 'Pet: Power Drone'. Anyone know the specific bind/macro call name for pets like this?

Spandex has always been a minor genre. The last ten-odd years were simply an anomaly as one overlord found a way to cash in on a monumental scale. But I started to groan at the list of additions to MCU as they tried to mine lesser and lesser assets for questionable reasons... and the box office concurs. There's probably not many here old enough to remember when every other movie was a western, as well as some huge percentage of TV shows. Don't see many of either now, or much since about 1968. Time for supes-ys to go back in the box with their core fan base. CoH isn't going to recharge the spandex genre any more than, say, Echo is.

Those of you who have looked at my prior (now of age for high school) replacement keybind map Gunner's Advanced Basic Bindfile (GABB) know what it's all about — a streamlined, modernized (for ca. 2010) keybind map that makes much more sense and implements control better than the, er, really old OEM layout. An update has been sorta-kinda in development for a while, but the licensing of HC and the huge influx of new players put my feet to the fire, so to speak. So here it is — Gunner's Advanced Bindfile System! This wholesale revision preserves most of the original, sensible, efficient and largely mnemonic GABB layout, but takes one huge step forward and a few tap-dance steps beyond that. Mainly: The system is split between two primary bindfiles, one to be shared with all alts to give you a consistent interface for most game, environment and system functions, and one that can be edited for each alt to adapt to build, powersets, preferences and individual 'toon tweaks. I dunno about anyone else, but having to patch every alt's bindfile when I found some better method for a global, system bind was a real PITA. Now all those fixes can be instantly shared, while each alt's binds can be twiddled on a minute-by-minute gameplay basis, if you want. And, of course, a refined bindfile for a Blaster is a good starting point for your next Blaster... I've learned a lot in the decade-plus since the last GABB update, and HC has added cool stuff left and right, so besides just this split for easy management, the very latest tricks are all implemented: Rolling Binds Dual-Action Binds Walking Binds Mousebutton Binds ...and power refinements like those for powexec_location And, special bonus if you grab this in the next ten minutes (okay, or whenever you get to it), short-form docs for all those advancements, as well as all the basics of editing and managing bindfiles. You'll want to grab the Tech Guide as a backup, if you don't already have it, but most experienced players will find all they need to know right in the GABS manual. Also includes two printable pages with the basic GABS map (and room for your notes) and a blank chart you can use to keep track of each alt's binds. (I apologize that most of the pages are on a legal layout, which not everyone can print easily, but I needed the elbow room. The two charts are on regular letter pages.) Once again... it's a whole new game. Hope you enjoy it. Mostly, hope it's a real asset to your City time!

Figured it out: If your bindfile has no empty lines, you get no error or system messages at all. If you have empty lines, you get the repeat of the bind in pink. If you don't use the ...silent option, you also get the yellow 'bind' responses for each empty line. So don't use blank lines if you want to avoid the (to me) annoying splashback. I know some use them to break up the files, but you can use the semicolon-comment trick instead, like so: B Bind something to B C Bind something to C ; ----------- D Bind something to D E Bind something to E ; nop Just don't forget that last nop or assignment.

For what it's worth, the problem has gone away with what are now completely clean bindfiles. I can clear binds, load the base file, load the alt file and then load a special overlay file... no streams of pink or yellow dump. But for whatever reason, once in a while, while reloading this or that, I'll get the streams. I'll experiment with blank lines, but I am pretty sure I loaded files with separating lines without all the noise. There are no formal comment markers, but what I've come to use is the semicolon. It limits you to one line, it does clog up one bind slot with each re/load, and you HAVE to end with either a ; "nop" or a valid bind to the semicolon. Best I have found. Thanks for all the testing and feedback. The GABB update (now GABS) is almost done and it's... a huge improvement on the old version.

It sounds simple, but I can see huge implementation issues when any kind of obstacle is involved. If a foe goes around a door and turns, follow logic would probably drag you along the wall. Ditto for outdoor obstacles ("Curse you, bus stop shelter!") I amuse myself by /follow-ing a random citz from time to time, though.

I just loaded another completely cold alt and loaded first her old bindfile - no "dump" - then my new common file - dump! - and then the original bindfile again - no dump. So something is going on with my new files, but g'damn if I can figure out what. Arrrrrgh.

Shenanigunner.txt COMMON.txt

I'm happy to share the files, but there's nothing faulty about them (I know sometimes a misplaced quote or other character can cause all kindza fun), and older, well-vetted files are doing it, too. This is new configuration I'm working out, putting the bulk of standardized binds in one file so that updates can be readily shared among all alts — it's been a PITA to remember to load a patch file for every alt, a pointlessly complicated method — while the alt's binds are in a secondary file. These don't include a number of secondary and rolling-bind files. (Caveat: I will probably delete these in a day or so just to keep some work in progress from cluttering the bitstream. A full release of prototype files and the guide is RSN.) COMMON.txt Shenanigunner.txt

Well, that's weird. I loaded an alt so old I had to go find his bindfile, and a silent load produced no visible response, while a non-silent load showed only a message like that green one. Saved chat and options, loaded my main, loaded chat and options, and it worked... once. Then every bindfile load produced either the result shown, with the alternating yellow and pink responses, or just the pink ones. I am utterly baffled. I mean, it's trivial — everything is working perfectly — but it's annoying, it's not been a usual thing and I'd like it to go away.

Just to clarify — I've (obviously) been loading bindfiles by the gross and almost every playing session for a long, long time. I have always seen the green-text "bindfile blah blah blah" has been loaded. Sometimes I ...silent that, and sometimes I combine silent load with an SG channel message "Special bindfile blah blah loaded." I don't recall ever seeing a full run-past dump of a bindfile in any window. I now see that full display/dump every time, even using silent, in pink, in the System tab, which has only four defined channels (all the system-y garbage and notices) but nothing actually named System, which I assume is inherent. The only change, over many years, as I said, is that I am doing a wholesale cleanup of my UIs and bindfile system and might have copied chat or options from one alt that had an anomalous setting. (Hmm. Need to load a dead alt to see if that one is also affected.) So I'm baffled. Either I've been the outlier, never seeing this pink dumpage, or something has changed in the last release or two.

NMdupe.

Not quite sure why this is posted in this thread... 🙂 No toggle, but you can use a rolling bind to 0 and 1 it. /bind SHIFT+F12 "noparticles 1$$bindloadfilesilent yesparticles.txt" noparticles.txt: SHIFT+F12 "noparticles 1$$bindloadfilesilent yesparticles.txt" yesparticles.txt SHIFT+F12 "noparticles 0$$bindloadfilesilent nosparticles.txt" Put both files in [GAME]\settings\live (Sheesh, had to edit that four times. Not enough coffee.)

Hmm. I've loading bindfiles for lo these many years, and I don't recall ever seeing a pink-text dump spin by. Maybe it's one of the system channels I have never had activated before... I'll look when I log in. I am rebuilding my bindfile setup for all alts and I may have copied a variant options or chat file across them.

If you use a consistent, mnemonic system for your binds across alts, it gets a lot easier and you don't have to go to the rather awkward level of using only the F keys. Start with a look at the GABB bindfile, which uses a far more organized, self-referencing layout than the bizarrely awkward original binds. I'm actually in the middle of a long-postponed project to separate my alts' bind files between a single common one for about 90% of the commands, and individual ones for the specific powers and needs of each. The individual files are surprisingly short across the full range of alts and powersets. Even without that refinement, I've been able to haul an alt out of cold storage and be up to speed by the first few battles, because of the consistent mapping.

The key mapping in CoX is 100% flexible. There is nothing 'bound' to the powers tray unless you write a specific bind that says "fire the power in Tray 1, Slot 4" — which is all the default 1-0 keys do. There is no way to renumber the slots in any tray of the game, but you can remap them without limitation. It might seem a little overwhelming at first, but I point you to the Tech Guide, which covers keybinds (and macros, and many other QoL/UI issues) in great depth... but starts with basic tutorials and explanations. It's in the sig.

I completely agree. It's got odd nooks and crannies unlike any other zone, and a different vibe from the other low-level zones. Plus trolls and that long, mournful horn sound. I'd really like to see some Dev love there just in assigning more routine low mission arcs in/through it.

Something has to make you visit poor old forgotten Skyway. 😞

Because it's fun and generally well-crafted. And, there's now enough of it that no five alts have to hit the same ones. I will 2XP some alts to the 20s if I don't feel like grinding through the low stuff, but I don't automatically bypass it.

I (obviously) load bindfiles frequently, especially right now as I'm going through and doing a wholesale update of my bind, file and tweaks setup. Every time I load a bindfile, the entire contents read out in the System window. I don't recall that ever happening before. Is this a dev/update change, can it be changed back, and is there an option I am overlooking to suppress it? (No, it's not a bindloadfilesilent thing. Using ...silent just doesn't give any file-loaded response, but the stream of content still goes pasts. Annoying.)

Ran it for a long time. It's nice general change-up, I think. Not perfect, but interesting.

Isn't there one of the space-ganking games where it's possible to get light-years away from nearly everyone else, if you invest enough travel time? I recall a post/article something like this one, about a guy who spent a year (?) getting some insane distance out. But in CoX, I've always been happy just to outline the zones. 🙂

This. I respect and appreciate that they saw the value of granting permission to this rogue colony. Seriously. But the reported corporate reasons for killing the game abruptly are not that easily forgotten.

Looks as if you're right. There are some odd gaps in the commands and I wonder if the option names/hooks are actually in there. Some of the info in the Guide (and the commands entries for the wiki) were found by code trawlers,

These are open forums. Anyone can make any (reasonably polite) response to anyone about anything. My only comment is that I don't really see an argument for a "team of soloers" except that you want the company while you, er, solo. And if the content is a boring slog... why bother with it at all? I'm not out to knock any one else's play style. But in many of these discussions over a dozen years, mostly in recent ones, I haven't been given a convincing answer to my basic question: if it's not fun, why do you bother? There seem to be a lot of players who seem to like the grim-jawed slog through muddy jungles part... but then do everything they can to minimize/shortcut/exploit those parts. But I'm happy to leave off with "Gunner just don't get it."