Basic Combat Module, first version
Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2019 8:42 am
First of all let me apologize for my limited time at the moment, there's more to do and I am busy today with other things. I will continue tomorrow
This is still an early version of the Module but I wanted to at least get it in front of some testers and see what feedback or ideas people might have.
But, let's have a quick peek at what this new Module does.
The Basic Combat Module provides an ISBoxer 2-style implementation of ISBoxer 1 "Mapped Keys" which it calls "Combat Maps". So for this Module, if you were to have a Mapped Key in ISBoxer 1, you would have a Combat Map in ISBoxer 2.
It also provides a system similar to ISBoxer 2 "Menus" which it calls "Hotbars". A Hotbar is essentially just a list of Combat Maps, which will be turned into a set of buttons on a bar.
I am not sure "Basic Combat" is the best name for this Module, so we'll consider it a "working title" for now. Its uses are not limited to combat.
This gif was previously shared, and will give you the basic idea:
Don't mind the title bar, that both a) looks different now and b) goes away like with ISBoxer 1.
So in this gif, we have a Hotbar with 1 through =. Combat Maps "Combat 1" through "Combat =" are automatically generated by the Module, and I've assigned the Hotkeys as shown below. In this gif I have the option enabled to show the Hotkeys on the Hotbar buttons, so the actual Hotkey I've assigned is shown on the buttons. Additionally, you can see real-time details from the Combat Maps in the "COMBAT MAP DEBUGGING" tooltips; currently those tooltips are always enabled, but will be an option. It can also be noted that "cooldownTime" is shown in the tooltip, this is something NOT built into ISBoxer 1 Mapped Keys, that people went through a lot of trouble to set up with the available features (often by disabling steps of a Mapped Key and then setting a timer to re-enable it).
Now let's talk configuration. I have to tell you: the in-game configuration for this Module will make it easier to configure, but is not yet implemented.
In the meantime, other than how you fill in the settings and what each setting is called (note: lower-case names are internal code names and will likely be replaced with official terms), it is basically the same as setting up equivalent ISBoxer 1 Mapped Keys.
Here's the Combat Map settings:
The display_name is what gets shown as the name, e.g. in the Hotkeys list and the "Display Name" in the tooltip. codeName defines the internal code name used for the Combat Map (such as display_name being the code name for "Display Name"), shown as "Code Name" in the tooltip. Category (e.g. "Combat") is an organization tool much like ISBoxer 1 "Key Maps". And resetMode/resetTime provide methods for resetting to the first Step, much the same as ISBoxer 1 behavior.
Step settings:
Step settings are pretty much straight out of ISBoxer 1, but including cooldownTime. There's also a Task option, which allows you to tie other ISBoxer 2 features into your Combat Maps. This is in contrast to ISBoxer 1, which provides different "Actions" for specific features, and all of those Actions go right in with any keystrokes/etc. This Module instead lets you begin a Task (which generally replace Actions in ISBoxer 2), and the Actions that can be part of the Step are limited to keystrokes.
Action settings:
This part is somewhat different from ISBoxer 1; it is essentially an upgraded Keystroke Action. The Auto-Assist and Auto-Interact tick boxes will have the target(s) assist and/or interact, using a method determined by (or configured in) the Module. The "Game Key Binding" field is the keystroke(s) to send to the game. "target" would indicate a single window to send to, and "targets" would indicate one or more windows to send to (and may use the Round-robin option).
Hotbar settings:
The Hotbar settings are mostly self-explanatory. Again it is just a list of Combat Maps that will be arranged into a bar. Currently, the appearance of the bar and buttons cannot be configured. There will be settings built into Combat Maps and Hotbars for that, and in the future there will be other Modules that do similar things with different visual options. So there's no reason to assume that your bar has to look like this or the buttons have to be this size, etc; first things first.
Adding a button to a Hotbar is as simple as specifying the codeName for the button.
So with that all explained, I am out of time for the moment and can't go into further details or examples (such as a quick walkthrough of actually setting up a Combat Map and a Hotbar) until tonight or tomorrow. You CAN try it out already, but I won't promise the Auto-Assist/Auto-Interact boxes will work for you yet.
This is still an early version of the Module but I wanted to at least get it in front of some testers and see what feedback or ideas people might have.
But, let's have a quick peek at what this new Module does.
The Basic Combat Module provides an ISBoxer 2-style implementation of ISBoxer 1 "Mapped Keys" which it calls "Combat Maps". So for this Module, if you were to have a Mapped Key in ISBoxer 1, you would have a Combat Map in ISBoxer 2.
It also provides a system similar to ISBoxer 2 "Menus" which it calls "Hotbars". A Hotbar is essentially just a list of Combat Maps, which will be turned into a set of buttons on a bar.
I am not sure "Basic Combat" is the best name for this Module, so we'll consider it a "working title" for now. Its uses are not limited to combat.
This gif was previously shared, and will give you the basic idea:
Don't mind the title bar, that both a) looks different now and b) goes away like with ISBoxer 1.
So in this gif, we have a Hotbar with 1 through =. Combat Maps "Combat 1" through "Combat =" are automatically generated by the Module, and I've assigned the Hotkeys as shown below. In this gif I have the option enabled to show the Hotkeys on the Hotbar buttons, so the actual Hotkey I've assigned is shown on the buttons. Additionally, you can see real-time details from the Combat Maps in the "COMBAT MAP DEBUGGING" tooltips; currently those tooltips are always enabled, but will be an option. It can also be noted that "cooldownTime" is shown in the tooltip, this is something NOT built into ISBoxer 1 Mapped Keys, that people went through a lot of trouble to set up with the available features (often by disabling steps of a Mapped Key and then setting a timer to re-enable it).
Now let's talk configuration. I have to tell you: the in-game configuration for this Module will make it easier to configure, but is not yet implemented.
In the meantime, other than how you fill in the settings and what each setting is called (note: lower-case names are internal code names and will likely be replaced with official terms), it is basically the same as setting up equivalent ISBoxer 1 Mapped Keys.
Here's the Combat Map settings:
The display_name is what gets shown as the name, e.g. in the Hotkeys list and the "Display Name" in the tooltip. codeName defines the internal code name used for the Combat Map (such as display_name being the code name for "Display Name"), shown as "Code Name" in the tooltip. Category (e.g. "Combat") is an organization tool much like ISBoxer 1 "Key Maps". And resetMode/resetTime provide methods for resetting to the first Step, much the same as ISBoxer 1 behavior.
Step settings:
Step settings are pretty much straight out of ISBoxer 1, but including cooldownTime. There's also a Task option, which allows you to tie other ISBoxer 2 features into your Combat Maps. This is in contrast to ISBoxer 1, which provides different "Actions" for specific features, and all of those Actions go right in with any keystrokes/etc. This Module instead lets you begin a Task (which generally replace Actions in ISBoxer 2), and the Actions that can be part of the Step are limited to keystrokes.
Action settings:
This part is somewhat different from ISBoxer 1; it is essentially an upgraded Keystroke Action. The Auto-Assist and Auto-Interact tick boxes will have the target(s) assist and/or interact, using a method determined by (or configured in) the Module. The "Game Key Binding" field is the keystroke(s) to send to the game. "target" would indicate a single window to send to, and "targets" would indicate one or more windows to send to (and may use the Round-robin option).
Hotbar settings:
The Hotbar settings are mostly self-explanatory. Again it is just a list of Combat Maps that will be arranged into a bar. Currently, the appearance of the bar and buttons cannot be configured. There will be settings built into Combat Maps and Hotbars for that, and in the future there will be other Modules that do similar things with different visual options. So there's no reason to assume that your bar has to look like this or the buttons have to be this size, etc; first things first.
Adding a button to a Hotbar is as simple as specifying the codeName for the button.
So with that all explained, I am out of time for the moment and can't go into further details or examples (such as a quick walkthrough of actually setting up a Combat Map and a Hotbar) until tonight or tomorrow. You CAN try it out already, but I won't promise the Auto-Assist/Auto-Interact boxes will work for you yet.