Press-Release Binds

[Shenanigunner]

Here's something completely new and different that may well have been around since the rollout of Live. Did YOU know you can write binds that will fire on both the press and release of a key? 'Cuz I sure didn't until @Linea shared the idea and some examples this week. Linea's assumptions are that lots of players know/once knew this and it's just part of the game that's been lost over time and the hiatus, but honest... if I never heard of it, it must not have been that well known. It's a hard string to search for, but I've also found no trace of it in the wikis and other resources. 

 

The simple version is this: put +$$ at the beginning of a bind string, the whole string will fire once when you press the key, and once when you release. Doesn't sound too thrilling? Well, consider this: it can let you fire the two-stage powers of the new power pool sets with one keypress. Have Sorcery and lust for Combat Teleport? Sure:

 

/bind EQUALS “+$$powexecname Mystic Flight$$powexeclocation target Translocation”

 

That sweetie-pie (courtesy of Linea) will activate Mystic Flight, then TP you right to your target, and incidentally kill flight, all in one tap.

 

I adapted it for my "get the hell out of here" bind, usually TP up:max on my TP alts but problematic on my Sorcery alts:

/bind Y “+$$powexectoggleon Mystic Flight$$powexeclocation up:max Translocation”

 

...which instantly fires TP up to maximum height even if I don't have Mystic Flight on. (And, subtle change, leaves flight on so I don't fall right back into doom.)

 

The really cool trick? You can use rolling bindfiles to execute multiple powers in this one-two style. The press executes whatever active command you define, and loads the rollover bind... which is fired on the release. Good for buff (Charge Up) plus attack (Zapp) in one keypress, or even something very close to the mythical "my whole attack chain on one key" goal.

 

Full writeup in the updated Guide, looking for feedback on the limits and nuances, and we all owe Linea a huge thanks for remembering and passing along this "forgotten" technique!

[Psyonico]

I knew you could do it, but I've never understood exactly how it works.  Thanks to you and Linea for this.

[JasperStone]

*gasp*

....

'nuff said

[Luminara]

Knew I wasn't crazy.

 

Well, yes, I am, but what I meant was, I knew I remembered this being possible, I just couldn't recall the format.  Might put this to use with Infiltration.  Maybe.  Blue caves might make me regret it.

[Bill Z Bubba]

It'd be so nice if we could set macros to auto...

[TheZag]

This was in a guide.  I think more of a side note to whatever bind stuff they were using.  Pretty sure it was on the homecoming forum.  If i come across it again i'll link it.

[Aracknight]

So you could use this with Fly and sort of mimic jump pack?  Set it to your jump button and when you hold it down you go up, and when you let it go you drop.  Or a bunch of other things.  Nice.  Or your forward button turns on a movement power, and when you let it go to stop moving it turns off.  Dope.

 

Dope as in "That is" not as in "You are a"

Edited December 8, 2021 by Aracknight

[Shenanigunner]

1 hour ago, TheZag said:

This was in a guide.  I think more of a side note to whatever bind stuff they were using.  Pretty sure it was on the homecoming forum.  If i come across it again i'll link it.

 

I'd love to know where this might have been discussed before. I've searched out and gleaned nuggets of info from many, many sources over, what, 16-17 years now, and I can't bring to mind even a faint ring of familiarity with this. It's a bit of a thrill to (re)discover a completely new technique.

[Greycat]

*Presses button*

*Reporters get formatted information on their desk about my latest exploits.*

[TheZag]

I found a very obscure reference to it here.  On page 5 Starhammer showed how to press and release a button to load and then unload a bind file.  Its not the exact same usage but it might be what i was remembering.  

 

[AboveTheChemist]

10 hours ago, TheZag said:

This was in a guide.  I think more of a side note to whatever bind stuff they were using.  Pretty sure it was on the homecoming forum.  If i come across it again i'll link it.

It might have been in one of Avernal's excellent bind guides that were published early this year. I think this guide is where it is discussed the most. It's not the exact same implementation, but pretty close.

[TheZag]

16 minutes ago, AboveTheChemist said:

It might have been in one of Avernal's excellent bind guides that were published early this year. I think this guide is where it is discussed the most. It's not the exact same implementation, but pretty close.

 

Thats the one.  I knew i read someone actually mentioning the functionality.

 

Still all props to those that found it on their own.  Binds and macros would be better served if there was an ingame list of all the valid commands.  Then useful commands like this wouldnt go relatively unknown for such a long period of time.

[arcane]

Oh great the bind guy is doing press releases now

[Troo]

11 hours ago, Bill Z Bubba said:

It'd be so nice if we could set macros to auto...

 

I can't wait until one button targets and destroys all enemies on the map. 

[TheZag]

31 minutes ago, Troo said:

 

I can't wait until one button targets and destroys all enemies on the map. 

 

[The I Win Button] 

 

Your wait is over

[Bill Z Bubba]

51 minutes ago, Troo said:

I can't wait until one button targets and destroys all enemies on the map. 

 

Just sucks that having an attack on auto doesn't grab next target like clicking the attack does. It would at least make the swipe/inv ride to 50 somewhat less painful/annoying/boring. I don't need an I Win button. I AM an I Win button.

[Shred Monkey]

13 hours ago, Bill Z Bubba said:

It'd be so nice if we could set macros to auto...

I have a bunch of stuff bound to my movement and targeting keys so I do a bunch of inspiration conversions and firing of click buffs whenever I move, follow, or change targets.

[Andreah]

Some of the examples in the PDF doc reference either "+$$" or "++$" to lead off the bind string. Is there a nuanced difference, or is one a typo?

[Greycat]

4 minutes ago, Andreah said:

Some of the examples in the PDF doc reference either "+$$" or "++$" to lead off the bind string. Is there a nuanced difference, or is one a typo?

$$ tends to be used (as I'm recalling) to separate parts of a bind or macro. Not sure about +$$...

[Shenanigunner]

2 hours ago, arcane said:

Oh great the bind guy is doing press releases now

 

For some reason, what came to mind when I read this was the old Maude catch phrase: "God'll getcha for that!"

 

1 hour ago, Shred Monkey said:

I have a bunch of stuff bound to my movement and targeting keys so I do a bunch of inspiration conversions and firing of click buffs whenever I move, follow, or change targets.

 

I rewrote all of my alts with movement (pseudo-autofire) binds a while back. Anyone who doesn't use them to keep def and buff toggles up all the time is leaving money on the table. (I just added a new wrinkle to that: use E for forward movement without triggering any powers. Found that necessary to avoid going invisible and losing hostages, and there are other times you don't necessarily want to fire your fancy stuff just because you're moving around a zone.)

 

24 minutes ago, Andreah said:

Some of the examples in the PDF doc reference either "+$$" or "++$" to lead off the bind string. Is there a nuanced difference, or is one a typo?

 

Ah... oops. Fixed. It's mos' def' +$$. Thanks for the sharp eye.

 

19 minutes ago, Greycat said:

$$ tends to be used (as I'm recalling) to separate parts of a bind or macro. Not sure about +$$...

 

Yep, $$ is the command separator. But leading a bind string with a +, and a separator, sets up this press-release action that is just so nicely exploitable.

[Shenanigunner]

15 hours ago, Aracknight said:

So you could use this with Fly and sort of mimic jump pack?

 

A bit tricky (had to find the right "forward" command), but:

 

U "+$$powexecname Mystic Flight$$++autorun"

 

Fly/forward on demand, sort of a combo of fly, jump pack, combat teleport and general superhero ability. Cool.

 

(Call me a dope, willya.... :D)

 

 

ETA: Works for jump, too, but with one glitch:

U "+$$powexecname Mighty Leap$$++up$$++autorun"

 

The glitch is that since SJ/ML is off when you land, you take a damage hit unless you're careful and/or trigger it again just at landing. Maybe the better method here is to leave the jump power on:

U "+$$powexectoggleon Mighty Leap$$++up$$++autorun"

 

 

Edited December 8, 2021 by Shenanigunner

[arcane]

12 minutes ago, Shenanigunner said:

For some reason, what came to mind when I read this was the old Maude catch phrase: "God'll getcha for that!"

Sounds like old people tv. Was that between Matlock and Touched by an Angel?

[Shenanigunner]

8 minutes ago, arcane said:

Sounds like old people tv. Was that between Matlock and Touched by an Angel?

 

"Pow,.. to the Moon, Arcane!"

[TNT]

I never watched the show but Maude left the airwaves long before Matlock showed up, if memory serves.  

9 minutes ago, arcane said:

Sounds like old people tv. Was that between Matlock and Touched by an Angel?

 

[Dungeoness Eloora]

37 minutes ago, Shenanigunner said:

I rewrote all of my alts with movement (pseudo-autofire) binds a while back. Anyone who doesn't use them to keep def and buff toggles up all the time is leaving money on the table. (I just added a new wrinkle to that: use E for forward movement without triggering any powers. Found that necessary to avoid going invisible and losing hostages, and there are other times you don't necessarily want to fire your fancy stuff just because you're moving around a zone.)

The OP is great info that is not easy to find anymore, so thanks for digging it up!

 

I have been using movement key + autofire macros since the game relaunched, but they always have this annoying quirk, and I'm wondering if you notice it too, or if you format your macros differently to avoid it. Typically mine look like this :

 

D "+backward$$powexecauto hasten" (I use FEDS for movement over WADS)

 

What I know/have experienced is that movement commands want to be "first" as the string is written, and doesn't work properly when placed anywhere else in the string. Perhaps because it already includes a "+" for proper press and release execution? Regardless, what happens with this macro is that the autofire command, seen in the UI as the green ring around the called skill, only executes while I'm holding down the key, and then it de-selects the skill from autofiring as soon as I release the key. Sometimes, if I hit the key really fast, it never fires, the game never registers the command. Sometimes I have to hold the key down way longer than I'd like for it to autofire the skill, and as always, autofire is removed from that skill upon key release.

 

So, is there a way to fix that? Is my macro syntax wrong? How do I get the movement autofire combo macros to work the same way as if I bound the autofire command to a key with no other commands in the string?