Feedback for new hotkeys for signals & device groups

The control panel hotkeys are a really nice addition but please make them configurable in the options. There are many free key bindings available for players to use, if they want.
This has the potential to be a fantastic quality of life change, but as long as the hotkeys are hard coded it will see limited use or be frustrating, if not impossible, for some users to use (certain hotkeys may be reserved for Windows or other programs, for example).
I know how I would rebind some of them if I was able.

 

Is that an engine limitation thing? You can't just add more entries to the bottom of the list?

I'm curious.

 

If there is some weird limitation with the options window could we get it changeable manually via config file? Wouldn't be the best option but it's better than nothing.

 

Isn't that the point of user editable key binds though? To allow users to select which key does what? Maybe a user doesn't want all of them together or just wants a single signal on a easily accessible key.

 

I don't have an issue with the default keybinds, they make sense from a discoverability standpoint. But I agree that being able to rebind them would be helpful. For example, I usually bind a powersave / flight mode toggle to signal slot one. I would personally rebind that to shift+Y so I can relate all power modes to the Y key.

 

I always have to reset my keys as I use the directional keys (to the right) as my A,W,S,D and the keys around those as my function keys... I need to rebind virtually everything, without that option I can't play.

 

Well, if it's an option then please, pretty please with a cherry on top, just add the keybind slots and let us set them up.

For defaults, I think better CTRL + 1 - 8 and Shift + 1 - 8
Or just leave it blank. There are already blank keybind options by default.

By all means, not to be ungrateful as this is an excellent addition. But for the purpose of convenience, players definitely want to customize everything as much as possible.

 

How are these key combinations imagined to be used, exactly? Claw our left hands across the entirely of the keyboard, or take our right hands off the mouse? Three button combinations are fine when you're typing with both hands on the keyboard. Using them with the right hand on mouse and left hand on WASD is a literal stretch.

I recall my hotbar setups from my WoW tanking days. Basic rotation was 1-5. Procs were alt + 1-5. Cooldowns were shift + 1-5. Situational stuff went on ctrl + 1-5. Twenty powers on eight total keys, all instantly accessible without even moving my hands. I could do all the tanking things, including movement, with just my left hand, freeing up the mouse hand to look around for trouble that might cause a wipe. Or for another swig from my cup.

Controlling a ship requires no less dexterity. Eight letter keys plus the mouse are needed to have full movement control. Shields, boost, cruise control, hotbar selection, weapon reloading, all these functions are right there next to the movement keys where you need them. Consider how these compare to control panel shortcut hotkeys, and see just how obtuse they are. Same goes for any input that requires taking your hand off mouse. Recall that you can rebind the control panel hotkey, to alt-F, say. Now you can quickly pop up the control panel and flick a switch with your mouse without even moving your hands around.

 

I discovered many years ago the usefulness of programmable gaming keypads (and keyboards). I guess that for serious gamers, investing in such a device is not a bad idea, not just for Empyrion but for a lot of other games and applications that have a zillion keybinds or hardcoded bindings. Players can invest to get more RAM or a new graphics adapter, and be forced to get a new one because games become more and more demanding. But a programmable keypad / keyboard will work for years, and allow lots of customization, at a fraction of the price of a new GPU or more RAM. I even use mine for 3d design and for macros in text editing, for example. I bought that almost 10 years ago and it still works flawlessly. My whole gaming life would have been completely different without it. Coupled with a simple gaming mouse with 4 extra buttons, I have no problem adaptating to any kind of control scheme. I can even have 4 different layouts per profile, with an easily accessible hotkey for each.

This means that I can have a "core" layout with wasd + "use" + whatever keys I need in all profiles, and just change the specific context keys to have a "building" layout, a "foot combat" layout, a "ship combat" layout, etc.

 

Well yeah, even if it gets implemented as-is with no changes ever, I'm going to set up some macros or something to basically hotkey it as I like.

But for the average Joe, it'd be better if they could more easily change it in-game.

 

I would still recommend to average joe to invest in a gaming keyboard + mouse if he's any serious about gaming, just like many players recommend getting better hardware to stop experiencing glitches and low fps.

I know "it would be better (!)" if the devs could do everything we ask them... I'm just not in a mood for begging anymore.

 

if you allow us to bind we can do double bind. first button set, second button set. Control-F1 for example

 

hy taelyn could we get something that if we right click the system in the list the option comes up to set course? I mean its programmed functionaility already, just a matter of adding if mouse is over selection, open button lock target so it can be clicked there.

 

There are several key bindings I could unbind. I don't need a direct hotkey to open many menus since they are all accessible from the inventory screen anyway. I can use hotkeys such as shift-F1. There's the entire numpad I could use even. Not to mention some mice have extra buttons they could be used on.
These, and all hotkets, really should be changeable so players can set them up how they want. The only one that shouldn't be changeable is the ESC key to open the menu since if that is rebound or unbound someone literally can't access the menu to change it back.

I would absolutely figure out some signal and group binds to use. I don't need them to be "all in a row".

Just make them changeable but set to nothing by default, so someone can go in and add the key binds if they want to make everybody happy.

 

i dont get why you would hard code them because you say all the keys are already used and we the users would have to use control or shift or alt. that is fine, we are fine with key-binding that way. To me it seems you just have to get the input from the user on what bind they want (inclusive of if it is a double bind like control-F1, you're just getting the input from user as to what they want, and since its Unity it is built in functionality. Nothing fancy. Something like this

you could also put those buttons from the control panel on the HUD of the flight vehicle. small buttons in a widget out of the way. Compress the rest of the interface stuff reorganise it. the bottom bar is kind of big.

the ability to raise shields, turn on weapons, thrusters etc should be on the main HUD. Could even just make them clickable ICON buttons. Like a shield icon clicked, turns on off shield, a thruster icon clicked, turns on off thrusters etc...

 

Just adding my voice to the crowd: Please make the keys rebindable (and let me use the default assignments you picked for other, potentially less commonly used features).

Having to take my hand off the mouse in mid-combat to do a "three-fingered salute" to switch from anti-shield mode to anti-hull mode would be nearly as disruptive to me as the current process.

 

With most controls being customizable, adding hard-coded ones (having all the imaginable means, methods and tools not to) is.. puzzling, to say the least.

 

Lol you know, I was just about to say we should've moved this discussion to a dedicated thread a while ago.

Just to make sure, are Ctrl + 1-8, Alt +1-8, or Shift + 1-8 currently being used for anything? Nothing is coming to mind.