Click bars and virtual mapped key loop

[Finney]

Hey,

This question concerns virtual mapped keys and click bars. I'm playing Lotro but don't think it would be restricted to that game so I'm placing the question here.

What I'm trying to do is set up healing click bars that use the native UI unit frames as their "base." This gets a bit tricky because in this game, the order of the group changes in the frames depending on which slot is in focus.

For example, on the group leader's box (slot 1):

Target Slot 1 -> F1, Target Slot 2 -> F2, Target Slot 3 -> F3, Target Slot 4 -> F4, Target Slot 5 -> F5, Target Slot 6 -> F6;

but in the slot 2 box:

Target Slot 1 -> F2, Target Slot 2 -> F1, Target Slot 3 -> F3, Target Slot 4 -> F4, Target Slot 5 -> F5, Target Slot 6 -> F6;

and in the slot 3 box:

Target Slot 1 -> F2, Target Slot 2 -> F3, Target Slot 3 -> F1, Target Slot 4 -> F4, Target Slot 5 -> F5, Target Slot 6 -> F6,

and so on...

And the frames used for the group reflect this. The setup wizard for the game is smart enough to put in the proper variable keystrokes for targeting/following.

Now I'm trying to do a similar thing with click bars and mapped keys. I've set up a click bar which sits over the frames, 1 column wide by 6 rows high. For slot 1, the Alt-Left Click for button 1 (top button, sitting over the leader) is mapped with this action:

Do Click Heal Row1 Left Alt in LOTRO Healing Keys Key Map -> self

(Anything coming into LOTRO Healing Keys Key Map is sent to the LOTRO Virtual Healing Keys Key Map, and the LOTRO Virtual Healing Keys keymap dispatches the stroke to the proper character.)

All well and good. Standard virtual click healing key map stuff. Do the same thing for the Alt Left key all the way down the click bar.

Button 2: Do Click Heal Row2 Left Alt in LOTRO Healing Keys Key Map -> self
Button 3: Do Click Heal Row3 Left Alt in LOTRO Healing Keys Key Map -> self
Button 4: Do Click Heal Row4 Left Alt in LOTRO Healing Keys Key Map -> self
Button 5: Do Click Heal Row5 Left Alt in LOTRO Healing Keys Key Map -> self
Button 6: Do Click Heal Row6 Left Alt in LOTRO Healing Keys Key Map -> self

That works great on the lead toon. But in every other toon, the frames are jumbled so I need to point the Click Heal RowX Left Alt to a different Click Heal RowX Left Alt as needed. Virtual Key maps seem the normal way to address this.

So, in slot 2, for example, I need to do this in the Virtual Key Maps:

Click Heal Row1 Left Alt in LOTRO Healing Keys Key Map is now Click Heal Row2 Left Alt in LOTRO Healing Keys Key Map
Click Heal Row2 Left Alt in LOTRO Healing Keys Key Map is now Click Heal Row1 Left Alt in LOTRO Healing Keys Key Map

You can guess what happens: nuclear meltdown, infinite loop, crashes and much gnashing of teeth. As soon as I hit left alt mouse on button 1, it fires off Click Heal Row1 Left Alt, which is now really Click Heal Row2 Left Alt. But Click Heal Row2 Left Alt is really Click Heal Row1 Left Alt...and round and round we go. Suffice it to say, Lotro crashes, as well it should.

So, how do I get around this? Do I need to set up 6 individual click bars--one for each slot? Is there any more elegant way to do it? Maybe somehow taking advantage of the Variable Keystrokes?

[Ualaa]

You could set up a master mapped key, which calls each of the others.
Then you push the main, and it results in each of the others being called once.
Depending on the abilities, you might want it to have all of the others called in one step, in which case they are essentially all mashed together and one of them will fire off (this is good, when you have different abilities, each with a variable cooldown/reuse time).
You could also have more than one step, where some abilities are called on a given step, and the next time you push the button a different step (with its corresponding actions) is called; after the last step it resets to the first step.

You can add a timer to your steps.
As in, it cannot advance to the next step for a predetermined amount of time.
You'll still need to push the button yourself, for it to advance.
But if you wanted four abilities to be evenly spaced, you could divide the cool down four ways, and have each character fire it off at a given interval by preventing the next character from firing that ability for whatever duration.
You could have this mapped key, called by a key you're spamming for other things.
As long as you spam it often enough, and it attempts to call your round-robin key frequently, you'll be close to having your ability on round-robin.

Your healing mapped key, which is called by the clickbar icon when you click it, can have the healer toon cast whatever the mapped key tells it to.
That's assuming your group has one healer.
If your group had multiple healers, you could create an action target group for the healers and then send the click to that entire ATG.

[Skarling]

I also play Lotro, but so far I have been happy with just one clickbar - on my main. If for whatever reason I wanted to have clickbars available on all slots, I'd just copy existing clickbar five more times and change targeting instructions for each additional one.

Alternatively, you can have one clickbar applied to all slots, and create mapped keys that change targeting instructions for buttons to be executed with "when I switch to this character" option. My clickbar for example has mapped keys attached to it that have 2 steps - step 1 calls a Variable Target Party X, and step 2 initiates a heal action, with said mapped key set to execute both on press and release (in my case mouse click). I imagine you could instruct Isboxer to substitute "target Party 2" to "target Party 3" whhen you switch to a different slot. Or some such.

[Finney]

...change targeting instructions for buttons to be executed with "when I switch to this character" option.

That's the ticket right there. There are so many things you can do with this software, I just can't keep them all in mind. Thanks!

[firescue17]

...change targeting instructions for buttons to be executed with "when I switch to this character" option.

That's the ticket right there. There are so many things you can do with this software, I just can't keep them all in mind. Thanks!

I use a method of pulling menu buttons into a master menu. Essentially I have a master menu called HUD which contains a subset of commands and mapped keys for each Slot.

HUD MENU:

Code:

      Slot 1             Slot 2             Slot 3                Slot 4             Slot 5              Slot 6
[Buttons 1 - 10]   [Buttons 11 - 20]   [Buttons 21 - 30]   [Buttons 31 - 40]   [Buttons 41 - 50]   [Buttons 51 - 60]

1) I have a generic Key Map "Character Template" virtualized per Character:
"Character Template" is now "Arora Key Map" -> Arora
"Character Template" is now "Ariah Key Map" -> Ariah

and so on and so forth for every Character.

2) Each Character's Virtual Template Key Map has a Mapped Key called "Load Me to Slot X" (1 - 6)
This Mapped Key pulls the 10 buttons into Menu: HUD starting at the appropriately corresponding button number. For example, "Load Me to Slot 1" pulls the Character's ten buttons in starting at button 1. "Load Me to Slot 5" pulls the Character's ten buttons in starting at Button 41.

3) On the Character Set Tab: "Perform this Mapped Key when Character Set is loaded or reloaded" I have set to do a Mapped Key called "Startup."

Start up contains 6 Actions:
Do "Load Me to Slot 1" in "Character Template" -> Slot 1
Do "Load Me to Slot 2" in "Character Template" -> Slot 2
Do "Load Me to Slot 3" in "Character Template" -> Slot 3
Do "Load Me to Slot 4" in "Character Template" -> Slot 4
Do "Load Me to Slot 5" in "Character Template" -> Slot 5
Do "Load Me to Slot 6" in "Character Template" -> Slot 6

With this method, I can run any Character in any Slot in any Character Set, and the associated Actions to target and do something to that Character are sorted out during the launch process.

4) Now, one other key factor is instead of using Fkey targeting which is different in every window, I use a simulated text string to type out "Target So and So." I don't know if this is applicable to LotRO, but it works great for EQ not having to set all the variable keystrokes for each slot for each window. I still use "On press and release" to activate the two step target and heal cast with a single click.

Instead of:
Keypress Down: Variable Keystroke F#
Keypress Up: /cast heal

I use:

Keypress Down: /target so and so
Keypress Up: /cast heal

"/Target So and So" is the same in every window regardless of the group order.

[Skarling]

Now, one other key factor is instead of using Fkey targeting which is different in every window, I use a simulated text string to type out "Target So and So." I don't know if this is applicable to LotRO

Yes, this is another way of setting targeting up, unfortunately I could not make keystroke-based strings like
/
B
O
W
Enter

to work in Lotro (however they do in Vanguard). Vanilla text strings do work - "/bow", but I found them unreliable and use them for party invites only.

Other reasons I stick to Varaible F-based targeting is that my set-up is cross-games, so I use same healing clickbar in different games I dabble in, by generalizng Healing spells as Short Heal, Long Heal, Cure etc. and setting up appropriate Virtual links for them. From time to time I also form "mixed dungeon parties" where I'll box 3 or 4 toons out of 6 and the remainder will be "real players" to satisfy my social needs , and F-based targeting allows for such extravagancy.

[Finney]

...and use them for party invites only.

Ok, now it is getting Lotro-specific, but elaborate please?

[Skarling]

Ok, now it is getting Lotro-specific, but elaborate please?

I meant I use "New Keystring" /invite Jane Doe commands in Isboxer to facilitate group invites for my team. It is a multistep mapped key that sends a text string with a specific invite to my main character followed by ENTER (accept invite) to the window of the invitee, and so on for each party member.

[Ualaa]

The Keystring invite method is detailed in the Everquest forum for that game.
I'd imagine the process would be very similar for any other game, which allows that type of invite process.
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