The Incomplete and Unofficial Guide to /bind (1.1)

I have been studying this text (which is outstanding by th by) for two days trying to figure out how to link fly and hover to one command. Would prefer in on a /macro but will settle for /bind if need be. Please can someone answer this question? How do I link fly and hover together so that fly is only activated while I'm moving?

I have been studying this text (which is outstanding by the by) for two days trying to figure out how to link fly and hover to one command. Would prefer in on a /macro but will settle for /bind if need be. Please can someone answer this question? How do I link fly and hover together so that fly is only activated while I'm moving?

P.S. Nicely done, I have a hard copy of this guide next to my computer.

Some folks have already put a lot of work into doing just that for a flight bind. Check this thread to see what they came up with.

Last time I checked, the end product was very reliable if you were neat with your keys. What I mean is: I tried it and it didn't work well for me because I hold down many keys at once. The hover/fly bind didnt' react well to this style of keyboard use. It seemed like it would be great for players who're very careful about what keys they press and when...that's just not my style.

[ QUOTE ]
Curveball this guide ROCKS!!!

Where where you, when I needed help with my macros last night?

Good job, I'll keep a hardcopy of your guide with my other game notes for future reference.

[/ QUOTE ]


ditto. VERY VERY GOOD JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't tink I 've thanked you enough. I was searching for a specific /bind command and found so much more. I can't wait to get home and try it. THX again for all your effort, all of you.
Will probably be back with more questions later.
Phaedrus

Seth Polatkin---25 dark/invlun Scrapper---Incandessence---14 eng/eng Blaster--- Burning Sin--- 3 fire/emp Controller----Liberty.

[ QUOTE ]
What I mean is: I tried it and it didn't work well for me because I hold down many keys at once.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hey cuz ,
I don't know if you've tried them out, but the set that Gnarly put together should solve the problem you've described. It creates a HUGE number of files, but should be almost bullet-proof, shourt of holding keys down when you zone. Even then, it is self correcting.

If you haven't, I'd suggest giving his latest set a try.

[ QUOTE ]
SAVING AND LOADING YOUR KEYBINDS

If you want to save your keybindings to your hard drive, use the slash command /bind_save. This saves your keybinds in a file called keybinds.txt, located in the root directory of your c: drive.

If you want to load the keybinds.txt file, use the slash command /bind_load. As long as the keybinds.txt file is still in the root directory of your c: drive, it will load automatically.

It is possible to load other text files with keybinding commands in it simply by specifing the file name and location. The full command is

/bind_load_file [path]

So, for example,

/bind_load_file c:\coh\textfiles\judge.txt

would load the judge.txt file from the c:\coh\textfiles directory.

When a bind file is loaded using either /bind_load or /bind_load_file, the new file does not REPLACE the old file, it is MERGED with it. If a keybinding conflicts between the current file and the file being loaded, the binding in the file being loaded is used... but any key binding mentioned in the current file that is not present in the file being loaded is left alone.

Thus you can use /bind_load_file to load a keybinds file that has only two entries in it, and only those two entries will be changed. This is useful in the toggle keybindings section of the "Neat things you can do with /bind" chapter.

Understanding Keybinds.txt

The keybinds.txt file is the file that is created when you use the /bind_save slash command. It contains a list of all the triggers and commands you have defined for the character you saved it from.

This is a sample of what keybinds.txt looks like:

[ QUOTE ]

Q "powexec_name Hurricane"
R "powexec_name Sprint"
RALT "alttraysticky"
RBUTTON "+forward$$+mouse_look"
SHIFT+RBUTTON "+backward$$+mouse_look"
ALT+RBUTTON "nop"
RIGHT "+turnright"


[/ QUOTE ]

Notice the /bind command is not used at all. All you see is the trigger and the command. If you want to make custom keybind files (that can be loaded with the slash command /bind_load_file) then you need to follow this format. Use the /bind command in the chat window, not in the keybinds.txt file.

[/ QUOTE ]

You will have to pardon my ignorance, but I am having a difficult time saving Taunt1.txt or anything to it. I am trying to create a series of taunts connected to one key command and am having a difficult time by it. Crawling but wanting to fly,
Phaedrus

You will have to pardon my ignorance, but I am having a difficult time saving Taunt1.txt or anything to it. I am trying to create a series of taunts connected to one key command and am having a difficult time by it. Crawling but wanting to fly,
Phaedrus Please help.

Are you creating your bind files in Notepad?

Over the last few weeks I've been experimenting with Binds. I have to give great thanks to all the folks who have posted their solutions here and elsewhere. Specifically I want to thank Curveball and Super_Volt, but I've learned from nearly all of you.

Now I'd like to give back what I've learned. These are just a few hard-learned lessons.

NOTE: I use Windows XP Pro and my file editor is the plain old Notepad that comes with XP from Microsoft.

Most of these have been mentioned or hinted at elsewhere and may even appear in Curveball's excellent guide, but I didn't see them there so I thought I'd share.

Tip #1: Follow the 8.3 naming rule for you bind files: that's eight characters followed by a 3 character extension. For example: mybind.txt is fine but mycoolbind.txt is too long. I can't swear this one is required, but I've seen others mention it and I follow it myself.

Tip #2: !!!DO NOT USE UNICODE!!! Save your bind files as ANSI text. I can't tell you how much trouble this one caused me.

Tip #3: When using multiple commands in a single bind, be sure to put the power command (e.g. powexec_name lift) first. I don't know if this always makes a difference, but doing this in one set of binds fixed a mis-fire problem I was seeing.

Tip #4: When using bind_load_file with other commands, be sure to place the bind_load_file command last in the bind. Again, this may not always be necessary, but it fixed another problem I was having in one of my bind sets.

Tip #5: Use smaller text size and dimmer colors to reduce the screen clutter of your speech bubbles.

Tip #6: This is more of a courtesy thing. I actually interleave non-speech versions of my binds with the speech versions. Only 1 out of 3 uses of a power will trigger a chat message. In my case, for powers with 5 alternate sayings, I have a total of 15 files that I loop through. Kind of a pain, but not too bad and other players appreciate the effort.

For those who are curious, here are my binds:
{Note: wherever you see a bind with a bind_load_file command, there is a corresponding set of other binds that I swap out to avoid tedium.}


ENTER "show chat$$startchat"
C "chat"
\ "menu"
L "beginchat /l "
; "beginchat /b "
' "beginchat /req "
P "beginchat /team "
[ "beginchat /supergroup "
] "beginchat /friends "
BACKSPACE "autoreply"
COMMA "show chat$$beginchat /tell $target, "
/ "afk Gotta take a bio-break! BRB..."
F6 "emote hi$$local Greetings! I am $name. I'm a $origin $archetype with good holding and debuff skills. I can also heal if you are close to me."
F7 "supergroup Hi all."
F8 "local OVER HERE!$$e wave$$e whistle"
F9 "local RUNNING AWAY NOW ... NEED TO HEAL!!!$$team RUNNING AWAY NOW ... NEED TO HEAL!!!$$supergroup RUNNING AWAY NOW ... NEED TO HEAL!!!"
F10 "e boombox"
F11 "e dance"
F12 "e rock$$bind_load_file C:\Games\cohbinds\rps_papr.txt"


W "+forward"
S "+backward"
A "+left"
D "+right"
SPACE "+up"
X "+down"
R "++autorun"
T "powexec_name sprint"
H "powexec_name Hover$$local <bgcolor none><border blue><color blue><scale .6> Just think happy thoughts...$$bind_load_file C:\Games\cohbinds\hover4.txt"
B "powexec_name hover"
G "powexec_name fly"

ESC "unselect$$powexec_abort"
Z "powexec_abort"

TAB "toggle_enemy"
` "target_enemy_near"
SHIFT+TAB "target_enemy_prev"
0 "powexec_slot 10"
1 "powexec_name Radiant Aura$$local <bgcolor none><border blue><color blue><scale .6> Ohhh! I just pooped my pants!$$bind_load_file C:\Games\cohbinds\heal3a.txt"
2 "powexec_name lift$$copychat_t 50$$bind_load_file C:\Games\cohbinds\g_l4b.txt"
3 "powexec_name Gravity Distortion$$copychat_t 50$$bind_load_file C:\Games\cohbinds\g_h_s3b.txt"
4 "powexec_name Crushing Field$$copychat_t 50$$bind_load_file C:\Games\cohbinds\g_h_m1b.txt"
5 "powexec_name Radiation Infection$$copychat_t 50$$team <bgcolor none><border red><color red><scale .8> NOTICE: $target and glowing friends are now ACCURACY-impaired."
6 "powexec_name Enervating Field$$copychat_t 50$$team <bgcolor none><border red><color red><scale .8> NOTICE: $target and glowing friends are now DAMAGE-impaired."
7 "powexec_name Dimension Shift$$team <bgcolor none><border red><color red><scale .8> Now phase-shifting $target and his friends -- Focus your attacks on NON-phased targets!"
8 "powexec_slot 8"
9 "powexec_name Sprint"

M "map"
N "nav"

ALT+EQUALS "next_tray_alt"
EQUALS "next_tray"
- "prev_tray"
LALT "+alttray"
RALT "alttraysticky"
ALT+- "prev_tray_alt"

ALT+0 "powexec_altslot 10"
ALT+1 "powexec_altslot 1"
ALT+2 "powexec_altslot 2"
ALT+3 "powexec_altslot 3"
ALT+4 "powexec_altslot 4"
ALT+5 "powexec_altslot 5"
ALT+6 "powexec_altslot 6"
ALT+7 "powexec_altslot 7"
ALT+8 "powexec_altslot 8"
ALT+9 "powexec_altslot 9"

CTRL+0 "goto_tray 10"
CTRL+1 "goto_tray 1"
CTRL+2 "goto_tray 2"
CTRL+3 "goto_tray 3"
CTRL+4 "goto_tray 4"
CTRL+5 "goto_tray 5"
CTRL+6 "goto_tray 6"
CTRL+7 "goto_tray 7"
CTRL+8 "goto_tray 8"
CTRL+9 "goto_tray 9"


END "+zoomout"
HOME "+zoomin"
INSERT "+lookup"
DELETE "+lookdown"
MBUTTON "+camrotate"
MOUSEWHEEL "+camdistadjust"
PAGEDOWN "camreset"
PAGEUP "+camrotate"
PAUSE "++disable2D"
RBUTTON "+mouse_look"
SCROLL "++mouse_look"
SYSRQ "screenshot"

F1 "inspexec_slot 1"
F2 "inspexec_slot 2"
F3 "inspexec_slot 3"
F4 "inspexec_slot 4"
F5 "inspexec_slot 5"

SHIFT+1 "team_select 1"
SHIFT+2 "team_select 2"
SHIFT+3 "team_select 3"
SHIFT+4 "team_select 4"
SHIFT+5 "team_select 5"
SHIFT+6 "team_select 6"
SHIFT+7 "team_select 7"
SHIFT+8 "team_select 8"

CTRL+TAB "nop"
E "nop"
F "nop"
Q "nop"

Over the last few weeks I've been experimenting with Binds. I have to give great thanks to all the folks who have posted their solutions here and elsewhere. Specifically I want to thank Curveball and Super_Volt, but I've learned from nearly all of you.

Now I'd like to give back what I've learned. These are just a few hard-learned lessons.

NOTE: I use Windows XP Pro and my file editor is the plain old Notepad that comes with XP from Microsoft.

Most of these have been mentioned or hinted at elsewhere and may even appear in Curveball's excellent guide, but I didn't see them there so I thought I'd share.

Tip #1: Follow the 8.3 naming rule for you bind files: that's eight characters followed by a 3 character extension. For example: mybind.txt is fine but mycoolbind.txt is too long. I can't swear this one is required, but I've seen others mention it and I follow it myself.

Tip #2: !!!DO NOT USE UNICODE!!! Save your bind files as ANSI text. I can't tell you how much trouble this one caused me.

Tip #3: When using multiple commands in a single bind, be sure to put the power command (e.g. powexec_name lift) first. I don't know if this always makes a difference, but doing this in one set of binds fixed a mis-fire problem I was seeing.

Tip #4: When using bind_load_file with other commands, be sure to place the bind_load_file command last in the bind. Again, this may not always be necessary, but it fixed another problem I was having in one of my bind sets.

Tip #5: Use smaller text size and dimmer colors to reduce the screen clutter of your speech bubbles.

Tip #6: This is more of a courtesy thing. I actually interleave non-speech versions of my binds with the speech versions. Only 1 out of 3 uses of a power will trigger a chat message. In my case, for powers with 5 alternate sayings, I have a total of 15 files that I loop through. Kind of a pain, but not too bad and other players appreciate the effort.

For those who are curious, here are my binds:
{Note: wherever you see a bind with a bind_load_file command, there is a corresponding set of other binds that I swap out to avoid tedium.}


ENTER "show chat$$startchat"
C "chat"
\ "menu"
L "beginchat /l "
; "beginchat /b "
' "beginchat /req "
P "beginchat /team "
[ "beginchat /supergroup "
] "beginchat /friends "
BACKSPACE "autoreply"
COMMA "show chat$$beginchat /tell $target, "
/ "afk Gotta take a bio-break! BRB..."
F6 "emote hi$$local Greetings! I am $name. I'm a $origin $archetype with good holding and debuff skills. I can also heal if you are close to me."
F7 "supergroup Hi all."
F8 "local OVER HERE!$$e wave$$e whistle"
F9 "local RUNNING AWAY NOW ... NEED TO HEAL!!!$$team RUNNING AWAY NOW ... NEED TO HEAL!!!$$supergroup RUNNING AWAY NOW ... NEED TO HEAL!!!"
F10 "e boombox"
F11 "e dance"
F12 "e rock$$bind_load_file C:\Games\cohbinds\rps_papr.txt"


W "+forward"
S "+backward"
A "+left"
D "+right"
SPACE "+up"
X "+down"
R "++autorun"
T "powexec_name sprint"
H "powexec_name Hover$$local <bgcolor none><border blue><color blue><scale .6> Just think happy thoughts...$$bind_load_file C:\Games\cohbinds\hover4.txt"
B "powexec_name hover"
G "powexec_name fly"

ESC "unselect$$powexec_abort"
Z "powexec_abort"

TAB "toggle_enemy"
` "target_enemy_near"
SHIFT+TAB "target_enemy_prev"
0 "powexec_slot 10"
1 "powexec_name Radiant Aura$$local <bgcolor none><border blue><color blue><scale .6> Ohhh! I just pooped my pants!$$bind_load_file C:\Games\cohbinds\heal3a.txt"
2 "powexec_name lift$$copychat_t 50$$bind_load_file C:\Games\cohbinds\g_l4b.txt"
3 "powexec_name Gravity Distortion$$copychat_t 50$$bind_load_file C:\Games\cohbinds\g_h_s3b.txt"
4 "powexec_name Crushing Field$$copychat_t 50$$bind_load_file C:\Games\cohbinds\g_h_m1b.txt"
5 "powexec_name Radiation Infection$$copychat_t 50$$team <bgcolor none><border red><color red><scale .8> NOTICE: $target and glowing friends are now ACCURACY-impaired."
6 "powexec_name Enervating Field$$copychat_t 50$$team <bgcolor none><border red><color red><scale .8> NOTICE: $target and glowing friends are now DAMAGE-impaired."
7 "powexec_name Dimension Shift$$team <bgcolor none><border red><color red><scale .8> Now phase-shifting $target and his friends -- Focus your attacks on NON-phased targets!"
8 "powexec_slot 8"
9 "powexec_name Sprint"

M "map"
N "nav"

ALT+EQUALS "next_tray_alt"
EQUALS "next_tray"
- "prev_tray"
LALT "+alttray"
RALT "alttraysticky"
ALT+- "prev_tray_alt"

ALT+0 "powexec_altslot 10"
ALT+1 "powexec_altslot 1"
ALT+2 "powexec_altslot 2"
ALT+3 "powexec_altslot 3"
ALT+4 "powexec_altslot 4"
ALT+5 "powexec_altslot 5"
ALT+6 "powexec_altslot 6"
ALT+7 "powexec_altslot 7"
ALT+8 "powexec_altslot 8"
ALT+9 "powexec_altslot 9"

CTRL+0 "goto_tray 10"
CTRL+1 "goto_tray 1"
CTRL+2 "goto_tray 2"
CTRL+3 "goto_tray 3"
CTRL+4 "goto_tray 4"
CTRL+5 "goto_tray 5"
CTRL+6 "goto_tray 6"
CTRL+7 "goto_tray 7"
CTRL+8 "goto_tray 8"
CTRL+9 "goto_tray 9"


END "+zoomout"
HOME "+zoomin"
INSERT "+lookup"
DELETE "+lookdown"
MBUTTON "+camrotate"
MOUSEWHEEL "+camdistadjust"
PAGEDOWN "camreset"
PAGEUP "+camrotate"
PAUSE "++disable2D"
RBUTTON "+mouse_look"
SCROLL "++mouse_look"
SYSRQ "screenshot"

F1 "inspexec_slot 1"
F2 "inspexec_slot 2"
F3 "inspexec_slot 3"
F4 "inspexec_slot 4"
F5 "inspexec_slot 5"

SHIFT+1 "team_select 1"
SHIFT+2 "team_select 2"
SHIFT+3 "team_select 3"
SHIFT+4 "team_select 4"
SHIFT+5 "team_select 5"
SHIFT+6 "team_select 6"
SHIFT+7 "team_select 7"
SHIFT+8 "team_select 8"

CTRL+TAB "nop"
E "nop"
F "nop"
Q "nop"

[ QUOTE ]
I don't know if anyone posted this, but this guide is a direct plagerism from the Prima guide to CoH.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's interesting, since I've never read the Prima guide and the first version of this post existed in the beta forums before the guide was even published.

Damn you Curveball, giving us something for free!!!!

absolutely outstanding effort!
This is an extremely comprehensive guide to make me spend more time tweaking CoH
thank you CurveBall!

[ QUOTE ]
Damn you Curveball, giving us something for free!!!!

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm a very bad man.

Always glad to help a hero in need, chum! Thanks for adding your tips on binds. Honestly, though, all props should go to the great Curved one. Maybe if we flatter Curveball enough he'll get the next revision of his bind guide together...

/em praise$$local All Hail Curveball, The Bind King!!

[ QUOTE ]

Tip #6: This is more of a courtesy thing. I actually interleave non-speech versions of my binds with the speech versions. Only 1 out of 3 uses of a power will trigger a chat message. In my case, for powers with 5 alternate sayings, I have a total of 15 files that I loop through. Kind of a pain, but not too bad and other players appreciate the effort.


[/ QUOTE ]

I think it is absolutely awesome that this is possible, and if I were to do that sort of thing, I would definately use this method, kuz cycling through 5 different sayings on an ability that you will use 3 times a fight, would get real annoying, not only to your team, but more over to you (or me, as the case may be). So kudo's to you for the idea, and more kudos to Cryptic for making it even possible.. I'm impressed.

I cheat. Regiment has 75 spoken taunts that he can cycle through with the "T" key, but I have another key for taunt that just fires it off. That way I can choose when I want Regiment to speak and when I want him to just do the taunt.

I have my Taunt bound to t, then I have the verbal taunt files bound to lshift+t. So all I have to remember is to hit the shift key. Of course, I don't have anywhere near 75 verbal taunts to use.

Heh. Some of them are pretty lame, but it's nice to have that kind of variety.

[ QUOTE ]
I have my Taunt bound to t, then I have the verbal taunt files bound to lshift+t. So all I have to remember is to hit the shift key. Of course, I don't have anywhere near 75 verbal taunts to use.

[/ QUOTE ]

I follow this type of binding philosophy a lot to create variations on common attacks such as attack+target nearest+follow for melee characters, putting preferred attacks on auto, and, of course, adding commentary to my power activations. I think anyone who's enjoyed the ability to add a clever quips to their power keybinds has probably also grown weary of those quips (though 75 is a new high-water mark...wow Curveball!). As said above, I think it's courtesy to your group members not to be in perma-spam mode all the time.

You know there is one very important thing missing from this guide's appendix's,

A listing of the powexec_name powers. I know some of the powers are self explanatory, but if you are not using a single named power & want to bind it, you'll end up debugging you bind/macro until you stumble upon the correct name for the power you are trying to invoke.

[rant] if your bind/macro is a very long commandline, you run the risk of hitting the buffer limit. Do you know how annoying it is to come up with a nice cheeky comment/emote/powexec only to find out that you are a few characters over the buffer limit? If I knew the powexec_names before hand, I could plan my snappy blurbs better. [/rant]

Joe,
The easiest thing to do is mouse-over the icon for the power in question (in your power tray). The power name that appears after a couple seconds is the name you need to use in your bind command.

As for reaching the buffer limit, I don't know what to say. Are you typing them directly in on the command line? That's the impression I got. If so, try creating a bind-file that you will load, instead of entering it directly. It makes is much easier to go backa dn see what you've done, as well as to edit it if you want to make some changes.

Hope this helps!

I remember seeing a bind sequence for Inspirations, that uses the inspexec_name to attempt all 3 levels of, for instance, Catch a Breath so that it executes the least powerful of that line that you currently have. I can't find it now, does anyone know how to do this? I believe it relies on only one of them triggering.
Thanks in advance!