Freebies popmenu update (post-Issue 27 page 2)

[AboveTheChemist 594]

I thought it best to start a new thread for post-i27p2 updates to the freebies menu. I've carried over some recent suggestions from the previous thread, as well as one from Discord:

 

From Aberrant:  Add /completetask command (under 'Misc Commands') with full options to allow user to complete any mission in the mission tab.

 

From Hekatos: Add options to directly grant the superior versions of the archetype and event enhancements.

 

From Sai (on Discord): Noted that the commands to award level 53 Hami-Os didn't work. After testing on Brainstorm, the highest level Hami-O I was able to award was level 50, and Faultline noted that this was likely due to safeguards in the code that would be difficult to alter/remove. The best option at this point appears to be removing the option to award Hami-Os at level 53 to avoid confusion. Combining Hami-Os up to level 53 is still viable. Note that I saw the same issue with Hydra-Os and Titan-Os so I'll remove the option to award level 53 versions of those enhancements as well.

 

All of the above should be fairly easy to implement and, barring any unforeseen issues, should be available in the next update.

 

I've also been considering broader changes that I think will make the menu more user-friendly. Here's a summary of my ideas:

 

• Grant enhancements in increments of 10 levels across the enhancement's available range
• Replace enhancement letters with enhancement names
• Make the menu tree more vertical and adjust quantities to better suit the enhancement types
• Re-allocate breaks in uncommon/rare menu

 

Each of these points is detailed in the spoilered section below (to avoid a wall of text/images), including screenshots. And just to be clear, these are just ideas at this point. Whether or not they are actually implemented will depend on the feedback I receive.

 

Spoiler

Grant enhancements in increments of 10 levels across the enhancement's available range

Currently, granting options for most enhancements do not span the entire available range (many aren't available below level 25). I propose granting enhancements at increments of 10 within their available range, as well as the min/max level of set enhancements if the min/max is not an increment of 10. For example, Jaunt is a level 15-50 set and would be granted at levels 50, 40, 30, 20, and 15.

Replace enhancement letters with enhancement names

Using Jaunt as the example again, instead of the menu choices of "Enhance_A", "Enhance_B", and "Enhance_C", choices would be "Range", "Endurance", and "Endurance/Range".

 

Make the menu tree more vertical and adjust quantities to better suit the enhancement types

Currently the options for granting different quantities of enhancements (1, 3, 5, or 10) cascade across the screen as much as 5 sub-menus wide in order to reach the desired option. I've seen a few complaints about that on the forums, which partly motivated this particular adjustment. I propose replacing the cascading quantities with a more vertical menu that contains the quantities (detailed below) and level options in one menu. This would allow the user to access all options in a total of two sub-menus.

 

• For most set enhancements, I propose quantities of 1, 3, and 5 (since these enhancements are subject to the Law of Fives)
• For the remainder of the set enhancements (Archetype, Event, and Very Rare), I propose a quantity of 1 (since these enhancements are all unique)
• For all other enhancements (Basic IOs, Hami/Hydra/Titan) I propose quantities of 2, 5, and 10 

Re-allocate breaks in uncommon/rare menu

Finally, I'd like to adjust the breaks in the uncommon/rare IO menus to redistribute the amount of sets in each closer to twenty. Based on work I've done on other popmenus, I think twenty is an optimal target for the amount of options in a sub-menu.

I made a mockup of how the menu might look. I've attached two examples for the Jaunt set. The top screenshot shows the current options, and the bottom screenshot shows my proposed setup with all the above changes represented as noted.

 

 

 

Here are some questions to consider, the answers to which will help determine if the changes I proposed would actually be useful or not:

• Does anyone use the option to grant 10 set enhancements (for sets that are subject to the Law of Fives)?
• Is there a need for lower level enhancements from sets that are available below level 25?
• Are the cascading menus preferred to the vertical menu proposed?
• Are there any tweaks to the above suggestions that might better serve the testing community?

Edited March 23 by AboveTheChemist

[TheLeprechaun89 14]

 It'd be very helpful if the freebies menu was a window that would stay open.  when you want to get multiple enhancements or unlocks it gets s bit annoying and slow having to open up the pop-up menu in chat over and over.  My main issue with the beta server is a lack of opportunities to actually test your build. Nobody teams and there aren't many options to easily test your build and the effectiveness of new powers in that setting.  

[AboveTheChemist 594]

On 3/23/2021 at 10:25 PM, TheLeprechaun89 said:

It'd be very helpful if the freebies menu was a window that would stay open.

The quick answer to this is to bind the popmenu to a key to make opening it a bit easier, and to have more control over where it is opened (to give space for the sub-menus to expand, which is an issue I hope to address with my proposed changes). Opening it via a keybind will cause it to appear at your cursor location. Here's the command to bind it to a key:

 

/bind <your_key> "popmenu freebiesmenu"

 

It also might be possible to create a custom window with a button that opens the popmenu, but I know almost nothing about custom windows so I can't be 100% sure it would even be possible. Still, if it works the way I think it does, all that would really do is move the button you click to open the window to a different part of the screen. Making the menu its own dedicated window is well beyond the realm of what I can offer.

Edited March 27 by AboveTheChemist
added note about menu opening at cursor location

[AboveTheChemist 594]

Aside from the feedback I carried over from the previous thread (which I detailed in the top post) and the one comment I addressed above, I have not received any other feedback regarding the changes I mentioned. If anyone has any thoughts about the potential changes I mentioned, please let me know. Thanks!

[AboveTheChemist 594]

I have completed a beta version of the freebies menu that includes all the updates detailed in the top post.

 

I also added a 'Custom Level' granting option that utilizes the /beginchat command to allow the player to grant a single enhancement or set of enhancements (where applicable) at a level of the player's choosing. Here's how it works:

 

Spoiler

1. Under the 'Custom Level' menu/section, click the option for full set or individual enhancement
2. The popmenu will populate the chat bar with the beginning of the appropriate command string
3. Enter the level number in integer form in the chat bar at the end of the pre-populated command string 
4. Press enter to grant the desired option

Limitations on command syntax mean that only one enhancement or enhancement set can be granted at a time, but players can cycle through previously sent chat commands (Press Enter to start chat, then use up and down arrows to cycle) to quickly resend previous commands if needed.

 

Edit: Per Faultline's request, I added a /train 0 command which opens the training interface as if one were speaking to a trainer. I changed the 'Set Level' menu option to 'Train / Set Level' and added the new command as the 'Train' option. I have not tested this command, nor have I had the chance to make a screenshot of it.

 

The menu file, named 'freebies_new.mnu', is available in the zip file below.

 

freebies_new.zip

 

 

Unzip it and place it in <CoH Root Folder>\data\texts\English\menus and open it one of the following ways:

 

from chat: /popmenu freebiesnew
via keybind: /bind <your_key> "popmenu freebiesnew"
via macro: /macro <macro_name> "popmenu freebiesnew"

 

Here are some screenshots of sections of the updated menu, spoilered to avoid a wall of images:

 

Spoiler

Screenshot showing typical uncommon/rare set IO enhancement menu, and Complete Task menu:

 

Screenshot showing typical very rare set IO enhancement menu:

 

Screenshot showing typical PvP set IO enhancement menu:

 

Screenshot showing typical basic IO enhancement menu:

 

Screenshot showing typical archetype origin enhancement menu:

 

Screenshot showing typical event origin enhancement menu:

 

Screenshot showing typical hami/hydra/titan origin enhancement menu. Hydra origin is depicted, but hami and titan origin have similar look and function:

 

I conducted two rounds of spot tests of all of the commands for each enhancement type, so I am reasonably confident that all the commands should work as intended. If anyone finds commands that don't work as intended, please let me know. Unless otherwise noted in the top post, I tried to retain all options from the previous version, even if they seemed redundant. For instance, I retained the ability to grant attuned versions of Very Rare and PvP enhancements, even though the un-attuned versions of both those enhancement types function as if they were attuned. I can remove these (and any other) redundancies if there is sufficient feedback to support doing so.

 

Otherwise, feel free to provide positive or negative feedback. If there is enough support for these changes, then I will submit it for inclusion as the next built-in freebies menu, either in current form or modified to accommodate constructive feedback.

Edited yesterday at 04:36 AM by AboveTheChemist
added /train 0 command

[AboveTheChemist 594]

I would also like to remind everyone of the excellent tool for easily importing Mid's builds onto the Beta servers, as detailed in this post by America's Angel.

 

I was asked to look into incorporating that tool into the freebies menu. After considering how that tool works, and given that the tool utilizes data that is dynamically generated by the player, I didn't see a good way of incorporating the tool beyond the aspects of that tool (namely auto-leveling to 50 and granting patron pool access and accolade powers) that already exist as options in the freebies menu.

[ScarySai 1197]

 

6 hours ago, AboveTheChemist said:

I would also like to remind everyone of the excellent tool for easily importing Mid's builds onto the Beta servers, as detailed in this post by America's Angel.

It's worth noting that mids has an export to beta option that essentially does what the pvp bot does.

[AboveTheChemist 594]

Per Faultline's request, I modified the 'Set Level' menu to 'Train / Set Level' and added a 'Train' option to it, which issues the /train 0 command to open a training interface as if one were speaking to a trainer. I have not had a chance to test it, or to take a screenshot of the modified menu.