Freebies popmenu update (post-Issue 27 page 2)

[AboveTheChemist]

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, 2021 by AboveTheChemist

[TheLeprechaun89]

 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]

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, 2021 by AboveTheChemist
added note about menu opening at cursor location

[AboveTheChemist]

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]

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 at the top.

 

Second Edit: Added the ability to open the Mids' Reborn beta export menu as detailed in the post below.

 

Final Edit: This menu is now live as the default freebies menu on the Beta servers, so I have removed the download. Other than the chat button at the end of the chat bar, the menu can now be accessed in the following ways:

 

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

 

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, new Train / Set 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:

 

Screenshot showing Mids' Reborn (MRB) directions menu:

 

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 May 24, 2021 by AboveTheChemist
removed download

[AboveTheChemist]

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.

 

EDIT: I've now added features which provide export directions and a command to open the Mids' Reborn beta build menu. These features should essentially provide the same functionality as the tool linked above. See the post below for more details.

Edited May 19, 2021 by AboveTheChemist
update

[ScarySai]

 

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]

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.

 

Edit: Tested it and it worked great, updated the screenshots to reflect the addition of the Train option.

Edited April 14, 2021 by AboveTheChemist
tested and updated screenshots

[AboveTheChemist]

I made a minor update to the menu to adjust the name of the Time & Space Manipulation set and have uploaded a new version in my April 11 post above.

 

If my count is correct, 17 folks (as of May 19th) have downloaded the menu (including previous iterations). I have not yet received any feedback on the menu. If anyone has any, please let me know. I'll probably hand it off to the devs in the next week or so, should they decide to include it.

Edited May 19, 2021 by AboveTheChemist
update numbers

[AboveTheChemist]

I let this project slide a little, but that allowed me to add two final features that I hope will prove useful.

 

Mids' Reborn, since version 3.0.0.0, allows one to export a popmenu containing two commands that grant all the enhancements contained in the build. The features I added provide instructions for exporting the Mids' Reborn enhancement-granting popmenu, as well as a command that opens that enhancement-granting popmenu once it is exported. Here's a screenshot of the new features (highlighted by red bracket):

 

 

The addition of these features, along with the level-, patron pool-, and accolade-granting features that are already a part of the freebies menu, should provide the equivalent functionality of the Discord-based build export tool described in this post.

 

I tried to make the export directions as clear and concise as possible, while also providing a little background for players who may not be familiar with that particular feature of Mids' Reborn. I am open to feedback if those directions can be made more clear.

 

The updated menu is now live as the default freebies menu on the Beta server.

 

As always, feedback is welcome, and I plan to pass this along to the devs within the next week or so (and I mean it this time!).

 

Edited May 24, 2021 by AboveTheChemist
menu is now live

[AboveTheChemist]

As I was wrapping this up to give to the devs I realized that there were no in-menu instructions for how to use the 'Custom Level' enhancement option, so I added those instructions as a menu item. See the screenshot below. I also tweaked the wording of the Mids' Reborn instructions a bit.

 

 

This is live on the Beta server now so no more need to install any files.

 

I don't have any future plans for this menu at the moment other than maintenance if there are bugs or if commands are added/changed.

[AboveTheChemist]

For folks that use the Mids' Reborn beta build export menu, you may have noticed that Mids' Reborn has added the option to custom name your exported menus. Unfortunately the freebies menu won't be able to open custom-named menus. The exported menu has to be named 'MRBTest' in order for the freebies menu to open it.

 

I have made a minor correction to the export directions noting this, and have submitted the corrected freebies menu to the devs for inclusion in the beta build. I have no idea when that might happen, though, so in the meantime, if you want to be able to open your MRB exported beta build menu from within the freebies menu, be sure to name it 'MRBTest'.

[AboveTheChemist]

Given that there are no commands to directly grant items such as inspirations, boosters, and incarnate salvage, I'm thinking of adding a section (tentatively named 'Consumables') to the freebies menu that lets the player know where to acquire such items. The player will still need to visit the vendor to obtain the desired items, but at least for those folks that are looking in the freebies menu for those items, the info they need to obtain those items will be there.

 

For instance:

• Under 'Inspirations' it might say 'Luna in Ouroboros provides the highest tier single, dual, and team inspirations free of charge. The lowest tier single inspirations are available from nurses, bartenders in Pocket D, and other generic vendors for minimal inf', and below that, perhaps a command to open the Ouroboros portal.
• Under 'Incarnate Salvage' it might say 'Incarnate abilities do not require incarnate salvage and can be crafted free of charge from within the incarnate powers menu', and below that a command to open the incarnate window.

The tentative list of items that might fit in this section includes:

• Inspirations
• Enhancement Boosters
• Enhancement Catalysts
• Enhancement Converters
• Enhancement  Unslotters
• Invention Salvage
• Incarnate Salvage

If anyone can think of any other items appropriate for this list, or if you can think of a more appropriate overall name for the section than 'Consumables', or if you have any other feedback/comments, please let me know. Thanks!

 

 

[SuperPlyx]

Not sure if you are still updating this or not. I know I still use it, altho I don't seem to have the last update.

 

Anyways, If you are would it be possible to grant alignment powers?

Namely Frenzy....this would be wonderful to have when testing a Dominator.

[AboveTheChemist]

18 minutes ago, SuperPlyx said:

Not sure if you are still updating this or not. I know I still use it, altho I don't seem to have the last update.

 

Anyways, If you are would it be possible to grant alignment powers?

Namely Frenzy....this would be wonderful to have when testing a Dominator.

I am definitely still updating it, there just hasn't been much to update in a while. Unfortunately I don't think there is any way to grant specific powers via the freebies menu. The best solution I can think of for what you want is to visit Null the Gull, choose the appropriate alignment for the power you want, and wait a week. If anyone knows of a better way, please feel free to chime in. It also might be worth checking with the devs to see if they can cut that 7 day wait period down. I know they reduced the wait for day job badges on Brainstorm so they might be able to do something similar for alignment powers.

[MulT]

Blown away with how good freebies popmenu is now  - Thank you for all the time & effort - Love it

[DarknessEternal]

I"m freaking blind or something, where do I actually get the script?

[Albion]

1 hour ago, DarknessEternal said:

I"m freaking blind or something, where do I actually get the script?

Do you want the actual thing to get a look at it?, in that case you should contact AboveTheChemist but if you are meaning to use it, it is incorporated in the Beta servers. Click the dialog bubble on the lower right of the chat window, same as you do to get emotes, there you will see it, you can as well go into it on misc options and make a macro button for it pop anywhere there is an open spot on your first three powertrays.

[DarknessEternal]

That's well different then.  I had a freebies.mnu before.  Thanks.

[plainguy]

How do you get this ?
Where is it downloaded. 
 

[Troo]

30 minutes ago, plainguy said:

How do you get this ?
Where is it downloaded. 
 

 

 test server, testing tool. 

[AboveTheChemist]

1 hour ago, plainguy said:

How do you get this ?
Where is it downloaded. 
 

It's available as a built-in menu on the beta servers, in the same menu at the end of the chat bar where the emotes are. This thread was primarily meant as a means of soliciting feedback for changes I was making to the freebies menu almost a year ago.

[plainguy]

2 hours ago, AboveTheChemist said:

It's available as a built-in menu on the beta servers, in the same menu at the end of the chat bar where the emotes are. This thread was primarily meant as a means of soliciting feedback for changes I was making to the freebies menu almost a year ago.

 

test server, testing tool.

 

Thank you 

I will look there..

 

Edited November 27, 2021 by plainguy