Hard Light Productions Forums

General FreeSpace => FreeSpace Discussion => Topic started by: Akalabeth Angel on April 13, 2005, 01:35:16 am

Title: Hotkeys . . . that important?
Post by: Akalabeth Angel on April 13, 2005, 01:35:16 am
As someone creating missions, I have to wonder are hot keys something that people look for? Personally, I've never used them myself. The one time I did I think it highlighted the wing in question but didn't target any of 'em which seemed kind of useless. Good ole "H" works for me, or "B" for bomba!

      Anyway, basically I'm just wondering because should I bother? Or are people like me, and don't really give a damn. I know some people demand them, but to me it's really not all that important.
Title: Hotkeys . . . that important?
Post by: StratComm on April 13, 2005, 01:37:58 am
Yes for allies, no for any hostiles not mission-critical.  Anywhere in between and it's a designer's call.  If you need to stop one wing of bombers among many, giving them a hotkey so that you can identify them easily might be a good idea.  Or hotkeying allied wings, since that seems to be convention.  But it only adds polish to a mission, and shouldn't be considered critical IMHO.
Title: Hotkeys . . . that important?
Post by: Primus on April 13, 2005, 01:38:59 am
I don't use 'em.
Title: Hotkeys . . . that important?
Post by: WMCoolmon on April 13, 2005, 01:55:32 am
They're extremely handy for stealth missions.
Title: Hotkeys . . . that important?
Post by: Nuke on April 13, 2005, 02:46:49 am
i have more than enough buttons on my stick to cover all the usefull functions. in the 5 years ive had this game i dont hink ive ever used them. all in all i use about 1/4 of the commands. its kinda hard to hit hotkeys with both your hands on your stick.
Title: Hotkeys . . . that important?
Post by: karajorma on April 13, 2005, 03:28:34 am
Quote
Originally posted by WMCoolmon
They're extremely handy for stealth missions.


:yes: Exactly what I was about to say. Hotkeys are a must in any stealth mission.
Title: Hotkeys . . . that important?
Post by: Galemp on April 13, 2005, 01:52:26 pm
Also useful in certain situations where you have wings of ships, like transports or freighters. It's easier to use F7, F8, and F9 to cycle through them and check up on their position and status than trying to fit twelve ships on your escort list.
Title: Hotkeys . . . that important?
Post by: Slanker_MT on April 13, 2005, 02:00:07 pm
Also if you have to scan/destroy some containers, for example, it´s easier to do that using hotkeys.
Title: Hotkeys . . . that important?
Post by: TopAce on April 13, 2005, 02:15:56 pm
I always use hotkeys. I have a personal hotkey system that I use in almost every mission I make. They make targeting ships easier if you know what group your target belongs to.
Title: Hotkeys . . . that important?
Post by: Slanker_MT on April 13, 2005, 02:16:50 pm
Oh, btw. Telling the player about the hotkeys is useful, too.
For example via directives:
Destroy Cargo [F9] [12]
Title: Hotkeys . . . that important?
Post by: Mongoose on April 13, 2005, 02:32:58 pm
I'd say definitely yes for stealth missions, or for missions where you have to destroy a certain wing out of many. I'll also use them once in a while to find out where my wingmates are.  I usually don't bother to assign my own, though.
Title: Hotkeys . . . that important?
Post by: TopAce on April 13, 2005, 03:28:56 pm
Quote
Originally posted by Slanker_MT
Oh, btw. Telling the player about the hotkeys is useful, too.
For example via directives:
Destroy Cargo [F9] [12]


I had this in my mind, but never did it. I don't exactly remember the reason. :sigh:
Title: Hotkeys . . . that important?
Post by: Hippo on April 13, 2005, 03:42:42 pm
I only use them for escort missions, to evenly split up the fighter cover (the Rosetta mission for FS1 for example), without having to do it individually... That way, every freighter/transport will get cover, and if one goes down, i can immediately re-direct its fighter cover to another one...
Title: Hotkeys . . . that important?
Post by: Night Hammer on April 14, 2005, 05:01:33 pm
Never really used em