EQ2:Quick Start Guide
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ISBoxer is the most feature-packed multiboxing software available, and over the last few years has also become the easiest to use. As such, there are a lot of guides and videos available, some of which go into great detail on various features, many of which have been superseded by newer and easier to use features.
This guide will help you find the quickest and easiest way to get started multiboxing EverQuest II with ISBoxer, and how to get the most out of ISBoxer without confusing yourself. We will try to cover all of the topics a brand new multiboxer might need to know.
If at any point you don't understand something in this guide, please feel free to stop by the ISBoxer Chat Room for help.
Contents
Before configuring ISBoxer
Before you can configure ISBoxer, you will need to make sure that Inner Space (installed by ISBoxer) is running in the system tray (usually next to the clock, where all the icons are). ISBoxer is going to generate configuration for Inner Space, based on what you set up in the ISBoxer software.
Using Streaming EverQuest 2 client or Free-to-Play
If EverQuest 2 was auto-detected by Inner Space, it will already be listed in the Inner Space menu, and may have a No Patch (Streaming) profile for you to use with ISBoxer. If not, you will need to select "Add Game" from the Inner Space menu, and point it to the EverQuest 2 client, EverQuest2.exe. In the Parameters box, paste the following:
cl_prefetch_wait 120; cl_resource_address http://eq2.patch.station.sony.com/patch/eq2/assets/live/
When EverQuest 2 needs to be patched, you will need to run the launcher separately for it to patch.
Using Full EverQuest 2 client
If EverQuest 2 was auto-detected by Inner Space, it will already be listed in the Inner Space menu, and may have a No Patch (without the word "(Streaming)") profile for you to use with ISBoxer. If not, you will need to select "Add Game" from the Inner Space menu, and point it to the EverQuest 2 client, EverQuest2.exe. Leave the Parameters box empty
When EverQuest 2 needs to be patched, you will need to run the launcher separately for it to patch.
Getting started
Start by using the Quick Setup Wizard, easily found in the Wizards menu. The Quick Setup Wizard is pretty much self-explanatory, and has as few options in it as possible until the last page.
After setting up your configuration in ISBoxer, Export the settings to Inner Space to activate the configuration. This can be done from the File menu. ISBoxer does not need to be running during play, but it is common to leave it open in case you want to make changes during gameplay. We do recommend trying out your configuration before making many changes, so will you know later whether you broke something or it was already broke.
After Exporting, you can launch your team through the Inner Space menu under "ISBoxer Character Sets", or right click on your Character Set in ISBoxer (in the top pane) and select Launch.
Logging into the game
After using the Quick Setup Wizard and then Exporting the configuration (File, Export), you will need to launch your Character Set. There are 3 ways of doing so:
- Right click the Inner Space icon in the system tray, and find the Character Set listed under the ISBoxer Character Sets menu
- Right click the Character Set in the top pane in ISBoxer, and select Launch
- or, Create a desktop Launch shortcut. To do so, right click the Character Set in the top pane in ISBoxer, and select Create desktop Launch shortcut
Note that later on if you need to re-launch a specific window (say it crashes for some reason or you closed out one of the windows), all you need to do is launch your Character Set again and it will simply fill in the missing windows.
When the Character Set is launched, each EverQuest 2 window will come up, one at a time. Once the game window is up with ISBoxer activated, ISBoxer will continue launching the remaining instances in the same fashion.
Let's get to entering your password. Key Maps default to being enabled. If you set up any Hotkeys that are also in your password, you may need to temporarily disable Key Maps to enter it. That's because your Hotkeys alter the behavior of those keys (that's the whole point of your Hotkeys, after all).
- There are two ways of toggling Key Maps
- Hit the hotkey Shift+Alt+M
- or, if the icons as shown to the right are visible, click the "A,Z" button on the left to give it gray arrows. The icon is showing that, when enabled, this feature may translate a key into a different key than you pressed in different windows (which, as we are discussing, may make it difficult to enter your password or type in a chat window, etc)
Tip: While we have you looking at the icons, you might be wondering how to move them. The Quick Setup Wizard told you on the last page, but here it is again. Hit Ctrl+Shift+Alt+G to bring up the in-game ISBoxer Control Panel, and then the Click Bar can be dragged to wherever you like. After moving it, click Sync to put it in the same position on all windows, and click Save to save the position for the next time you launch the game.
If your password is the same across all of your accounts, you probably want to enter your password in all windows at the same time. You will want to temporarily turn on 1-to-1 broadcasting, aka Repeater, to accomplish that.
- There are two ways of toggling Repeater
- Hit the hotkey Shift+Alt+R
- or, if the icons as shown above are visible, click the "A,A" button on the right to give it green arrows. The icon is showing that, when enabled, this feature will broadcast the key you press to all of the other windows.
Note that if both Key Maps and Repeater are on, they are both active, and Key Maps always trump Repeater.
- The typical login sequence goes something like this
- Turn Key Maps off
- Turn Repeater on
- Type password and press Enter
- Wait for Character Selection screen
- Press Enter
- Turn Key Maps on
- Turn Repeater off
Understanding Key Maps vs Repeater
First, Key Maps are intended to generally be on, and Repeater (Broadcasting Mode) is intended to generally be off.
Key Maps are powered by various Hotkeys, which when activated do something that you specifically want, like cast a spell. The only time Key Maps need to be off is if you intend to use those Hotkeys for other things instead, like to type in your password, or chat in the game.
Repeater is a simple broadcast of exactly the buttons you push, and the way you move your mouse. The only time Repeater needs to be on is if you intend for every button you push and every movement of your mouse to be broadcast to the other windows, like to type in your password on all windows at once, or accept or complete a quest, and so on. It is possible to use Repeater more generally by assigning a white or black list, but this is not recommended –- a Key Map can instead be created with all of the keys and key combinations needed, using the Many new Mapped Keys window (see "Quickly add many broadcasting hotkeys" section below).
If you begin to move, and your characters run off in different directions, it is because you are broadcasting your movement keys!
Quickly add many broadcasting hotkeys
ISBoxer's Mapped Key Wizard will help you quickly and easily create many hotkeys of different types, like these:
- Hotkeys that just broadcast
- Hotkeys that Round-robin
- Hotkeys that broadcast and temporarily enable Mouse Repeat until you click
- ... and more, but these are most common
Here's how to use the Mapped Key Wizard:
- In the top left pane, under Key Maps, select "ISB42 - Custom Hotkeys".
- In the bottom left pane, right click on the word Mapped Keys and select "Mapped Key Wizard".
- The wizard will ask you to pick a type of Mapped Key to create, and provides descriptions of each kind. Pick the one that sounds the most like you would like to configure now, and click Next
- The next and final page of the wizard will have options specific to the kind of key you're setting up, usually including:
- The Key Combination(s) to set up for broadcasting
- The Target window(s) to send the key to
- Whether to Hold the broadcasted key while you hold the Hotkey, or to instant-fire it when you Press, or Release the Hotkey. Note that if you'll be broadcasting a movement key, you will probably need to use the Hold mode.
- Click Finish
- Export to Inner Space!
Performance considerations
One of the things the Quick Setup Wizard sets up is Instant Swap. What this feature does is sync the actual resolution of all of the game windows, such that even when shrunk, the windows are still rendering at the full resolution. This will somewhat reduce your framerate (FPS), but is required to enable Instant Swap and provide perfect mouse broadcasting. If you don't need Instant Swap or perfect mouse broadcasting, a performance increase can be achieved by simply disabling this option in your Window Layout.
To disable Instant Swap:
- In the top pane, click on your Window Layout under Window Layouts. It will usually have the same name as your Character Set
- In the bottom right pane near the top under Main region switcher, uncheck Instant swap
