Kenja's G15 Master Guide

CuppaKenja · 08-24-2007 01:51 PM

[color= orange]IMPORTANT: The use of this guide infers that the reader has at least intermediate knowledge of binding scripts and functionality. If you are a novice or if this keyboard is new for you, try simple bind/macro scripting first in game to get a feel of the process, then try sample keystroke mapping to a few G keys before diving into this.[/color]

Welcome to the latest G15 Guide for all you cool gamers with this great keyboard. First and foremost, for all of you that do not already know, the G15 is all about binds. In fact you have 18 Programmable keys which can hold up to 54 possible macros. That is a lot binds to work with. However, unlike a regular in game bind such as /bind numpad0 you cant simply use /bind g1. Why? Because the game does not recognize the G keys as keyboard buttons. Therefore, you have to take a creative approach to the macros.

To properly bind the G keys is a 2 step process (easier said than done).

Step 1: Create an unlikely bind. A keystroke pattern that you wouldnt normally use, for example: lctrl+F1. Then assign a command to that keystroke, example powexec_toggleon Fly so the resulting bind script is:

/bind lctrl+f1 powexec_toggleon Fly

Step 2: Create the macro on the g key of choice (i.e. g1). The macro would simply be lctrl+f1.

In lay terms, thats it. Want to know more? Then read onfor the small fee of $19.95 you too can have the knowledge

<-<

>->

^-^

Ha ha just kidding.

You see, the G15 uses the g keys to execute a string of keystrokes at once to execute a command. That is why the game has a preset amount of toggles preprogrammed into it.

Lets get familiar with that. If you open the G15 profiler and click on the City of Heroes game, you will note that you have several options you can apply to the g keys. The command that may be assigned to a key may say Navigation but what the system understands is the command nav to open the navigation window. You may see Sprint or Rest (a universal power). The command that the system reads when you hit that g key set to those actions is powexec_toggleon Sprint These are all just preset binds.

With that knowledge you can see that all you would be doing, in this case, are custom binds. Here is the kicker. Your binds should not be complicated or you may risk the game not understanding what you are doing. So I am going to provide you with a very simple list of preset uncommon bind keys. Remember you have 54 possible combinations, so after the first 18, you can replace the last key with a new one to continue on your binding glory. (Remember you have to use the M1, M2, or M3 keys to toggle between g keys 1-18, 19-36, and 37-54 respectively)

TEXT FILE SETUP

Cut and Paste the following into a text file (notepad is the easiest Click Start>Run> type notepad >hit enter)

[ QUOTE ]

rctrl+q
rctrl+w
rctrl+e
rctrl+r
rctrl+t
rctrl+y
rctrl+u
rctrl+i
rctrl+o
rctrl+p
rctrl+[
rctrl+]
rctrl+\
rctrl+a
rctrl+s
rctrl+d
rctrl+f
rctrl+g

[/ QUOTE ]

IMPORTANT NOTE: The game mechanics only read a macro keybind of 2 strings. In other words, if you try to make a macro/bind using rctrl+lshift+numpad0, the game will only recognize the bind as lshift+numpad0. Therefore, if you wish to customize the above set of key strings, remember to only use 2 keys.

The above list is for the first 18 macros (M1). If you require further binds, just change the last character accordingly and then add the next 18 to your profile under M2.

On the text file, you then add the appropriate bind string after the key string. If you need a list of commands and emotes, I created a Commands and Emotes Guide (I10) just for you.and everyone else who happens to look for it . If you need additional key strings above the first 18, you need only continue the list in the specific text file.

For Example:

Using this process you create 4 text files (2 heroes and 2 villains). You noticed that on one of the villains, since it is a mastermind (lets call it MM1.txt), you are using almost 30 binds. You set up your initial 18 strings. On the same text file, MM1.txt, you add the additional 18 strings for M2 (which would be strings 19-36). You would not create a second text file for the second set of binds (M2) for the same toon.

IMPORTANT: IF there are any strings left unused, meaning not tied to any action, you MUST type 2 quotes ( ) after each string so that you dont accidentally set a power off or toggle a window and not know what happened (the ctrl+ string, depending on the key, do have preset actions.) Using the ( ) disables them so nothing quirky happens.

SAVING INSTRUCTIONS

If you want to make several of these files for your various toons, the quickest way to do this is by following these steps:

1) Create a folder in a directory that is easy for you to remember. (Simple Example would be c:\g15binds )
2) Create a default text file using a cut and paste of the above commands.
3) Save your default text file (a clean cut and paste of the above commands without any bind scripts) to this folder. Name it Hero (w/out quotes)
4) Close the text file.
5) Navigate to this folder in Windows Explorer and select/click on the txt file (but do not open it)
6) Use ctrl+c to copy and then hit ctrl+v to paste. Repeat the paste command as many times as desired for your various toons.
7) Right click any txt file to rename it. Repeat as necessary.
8) Open the renamed txt file and set up your bind scripts.
9) Save the updated file.

PROGRAMMING THE KEYBOARD

By setting up the profile on the G15 for CoX you will have a universal system that will work with all your toons. Using the same key strings as noted above will set up the profile permenantly. Now whenever you load the game, the G15 loads this preset profile. Each g key has to be programmed individually. The first string is bound to G1 and working its way down.

How do you know if you have a profile? First clear indication is when you start the game. If you look at your keyboard when the game loads, you should see your LCD screen flash and the following appear:

[ QUOTE ]

Profile Activated

City of Heroes

[/ QUOTE ]

Or, you can open the G Keyboard icon in the task bar list (beside your clock). If it is part of your profiles, skip this next sub-step. If it is not part of your drop-down menu then do the following:

1) Under File, Scan for new games.
2) Once that is done, and you ok the list that appears, check the drop down menu again.

Once the City of Heroes game is detected, using the drop-down menu, select City of Heroes and begin to assign the macros to each G Key. It is a bit tedious since you have to click on each key and select Assign Macro > create custom . It is important that you DO NOT select Record Macro since that is something totally different and will complicate matters. After you have set, at least, the first 18 keys you are all set to test. The profiler auto saves your G key changes as you input them. No need to go crazy finding a save button.

TESTING YOUR BINDS

Here is where all this work comes together. The first run through it may take you longer than you expect as you tweak out the keyboards with your binds.
Once logged on, use the following bind (you may want to make a macro for it as you may need to redo this part a few times)

Creating the macro:

/macro G15 bindloadfile c:\g15binds\hero1.txt

Obviously you type in the appropriate directory and title of the text file, but you get the idea.

If you do not wish to create the macro, use the same string above just remove the macro part and start it as /bindloadfile (w/out the quotes).

Lastly, test your g keys. If, for example, your first bind was:

Rctrl+q powexec_name Super Speed

Then your SS power should activate.

If your G2 bind is:

Rctrl+w emote bow$$local, Hello $target, I am $name. A Level $level $origin $archetype ready for battle

Then when you hit the G2 key, you should see your toon bow and the local chat bubble appear saying that sentence.

At this point you should be all ready to go and start becoming more creative with your binds.

For a Master Mind this is a remarkable tool in commanding your minions. But I left that for an entire sub-guide using this system (coming soon )

Bind Logistics: The game engine reads binds from right to left. So if you create a long bind string to do multiple tasks or for setting up your insp keys, the game will read the last string (the string after the $$) first, then work its way left. This is especially true for the inspirations. If you list them in order of power, i.e. weakest to strongest / left to right, the game will look for the last inspiration in your list (the one furthest on the right) then go left until it finds one and executes it. Thus, youd have to list it strongest to weakest.

Last but not least, no G15 Keyboard would be complete without Duck L'Orange's awesome CoH LCD Applet

Feel free to ask questions or pm me if you need help.

Kenja's Logitec G15 Masters Guide
Kenja's Concise Commands and Emotes Guide (I10)
Kenja's Links Guide for Badge Collectors
Visit SalsaVille!

Local_Man · 09-03-2007 12:15 PM

A nice guide overall. I need to take the time to set this up. I am presently underutilizing my G15 badly. I have just a few keys set up, and I use Citybinder to set up my standard binds using Shift and Ctrl. I bind a few of my combat binds to my 8-button mouse. There are a lot of binds I should move to the G keys, just to keep from hitting them by mistake.

One real strength of the G15 you don't go into is that it can execute several commands with one keypress. Just playing around with the timed recording function, I was able to set up a key that let me turn on all three of my Invuln Tank's armors with one keypress. As long as I used the same locations on Bar 2 for my armors for other tanks or scrappers, it worked for the others, too. I suppose you could even use the G15 to set up an entire attack chain. Of course, you would be stuck in the animation for awhile, but it would be interesting to try something like (fulcrum shift)(defender nuke)(pop a blue)(find the nearest enemy)(Transference)

I was thinking about using M1 for standard actions, and maybe M3 for emotes. I may use M2 for doing things like loading Citybinder or Herostats or Ventrilo, that don't need to be accessed very often.

Do you have any suggestions on how to effectively set up useful key binds? I know you said that you are working on a Mastermind set. I don't play villains much, but use Alt+Keypad for my various MM conmmands, set up through Citybinder.

LOCAL MAN! The most famous hero of all. There are more newspaper stories about me than anyone else. "Local Man wins Medal of Honor." "Local Man opens Animal Shelter." "Local Man Charged with..." (Um, forget about that one.)
Guide Links: Earth/Rad Guide, Illusion/Rad Guide, Electric Control

CuppaKenja · 09-04-2007 06:37 AM

Useful keybinds depend on the player. The key issue with this guide is setting up the Gkeys with the list of keystrokes noted (or any other odd 2 string keystroke) as that will be the constant keystroke for your game profile. You can use the M1 for your everyday uses, i.e. chat channel commands, toggling through enemies, or even some text binds.

MM really are the ones to benefit mostly from the G15. Otherwise, you can use them to set powers on or off and make room in your tray for more active buttons (for example, if you are a tank, use the G15 keys to turn on your toggles and leave your tray open for the melee powers)

Also remember that you need to create a different text file per toon. If you want the same setup for every toon, you need to load the text file with every toon. Also be sure that the profile is activated when you turn on the game, otherwise you might get some weird results.

Kenja's Logitec G15 Masters Guide
Kenja's Concise Commands and Emotes Guide (I10)
Kenja's Links Guide for Badge Collectors
Visit SalsaVille!

Markus · 09-05-2007 04:20 PM

bump

CuppaKenja · 09-06-2007 07:20 AM

Thank You

Kenja's Logitec G15 Masters Guide
Kenja's Concise Commands and Emotes Guide (I10)
Kenja's Links Guide for Badge Collectors
Visit SalsaVille!

Commander · 09-24-2007 05:30 PM

bump

pohsyb: so of all people you must be most excited about the veats
Arachnos Commander: actually, I am

pohsyb: I mean you kinda were one already anyways ^_^
Arachnos Commander:

Shadow Ravenwolf · 10-01-2007 01:52 AM

Excellent Job!

Between this and the Consice Command and Emotes List thread, maybe I can get this oversized paperweight to do more than glow that pretty blue color.

Bumpity Bumpity Bump

Comic and Hero/Villain Culture

Saturday January 29th, 2005 (12:37 PM) ~ Monday August 9th, 2010

Those Who Lived It Will Remember Long after your Ban Hammer Crumbles and the servers flicker dead.

We Will Remember This One Moment In Time! ~ Shadow Ravenwolf

mezmer2001 · 10-09-2007 06:15 AM

need some help"

i cant get this to work.here is what i did:

1.copied that notepad thing. saved it to a folder (G:\g15binds\villian.txt)

2. saved it.

3. went to my COH profiler on the g15

4. clicked G1 assign macro/create new macro (i named it hello).

5. hit ok.

6. went to the saved notepad thing (refer to the thing in the post) .
7.typed Rctrl+w emote bow$$local, Hello $target, I am $name. A Level $level $origin $archetype ready for battle

8. please n ote i tried to remove the quotes and add the quotes on the above.

9. saved the file

10. logged into game

11. pressed G2, G1

nothing!!!!!

what am i doing wrong?

mezmer2001 · 10-09-2007 07:05 AM

***update*** i got it now so the text from the above appears in my power thing in bottom right corner. it is in a bubble called g15.lol

however hitting g15 or any gkeys do nothing.

this is for city of villians btw.

i had it set to record so that is why. i have since removed the record ctrl +w and back to nothing working

if anyone has msn or xfire id love to get some help on this please.

mezmer2001 · 10-10-2007 03:51 AM

can anyone help?

ClancyClown · 10-10-2007 11:52 AM

A lot depends upon exactly what you typed in. Bind is pretty complicated and this guide doesn't really address /bind. You should check out some of the great /bind guides listed here: Guide to Guides. My personal favorite bind reference is still The Incomplete and Unofficial Guide to Bind.

I recommend that you first read through the guides to get a basic understanding then build some simple binds and macros using the standard keyboard commands. Once those work, you can set up the G15 to prevent you from having to remember weird keyboard combinations.

mezmer2001 · 10-10-2007 05:21 PM

well i followed the steps listed in these forums for setting up a g15 bind and it did not work. closest i came was trying to assign the bind to my g1 key it somehow placed it in my powers (bottom left in game) and called its self g15, so to use it i clicked it like you would click a power. but it did not work in the gkeys as i wanted. not to mention the 1st part was he was suppose to jump:

Rctrl+w emote bow$$local, Hello $target, I am $name. A Level $level $origin $archetype ready for battle

is the one i used.

i put that in the notepad thing and saved it to the spot c:gbinds
i went to add macro called it hello.

logged into game typed in that macro thing listed above. but it does not work.

am i missing a step?

CuppaKenja · 10-10-2007 05:22 PM

I just got back from some medical time off...running through my threads...let me work on it an I'll get back to you

Kenja's Logitec G15 Masters Guide
Kenja's Concise Commands and Emotes Guide (I10)
Kenja's Links Guide for Badge Collectors
Visit SalsaVille!

CuppaKenja · 10-10-2007 05:53 PM

Ok...I read over the posts and the guide and I see where there is a bit of confusion.

on the G15 profiler, where you assign the g keys, on each G button you have to choose "Assign Keystroke" not "Assign Macro". When you you use "assign Keystroke" a window pops up. in that window just hold the rctrl and the corresponding key (i.e. rctrl+f) . The window should show "Right Ctrl + F" . Click OK and then the keystroke on G1 should be listed.

Remove the named "hello" macro and use the "assign keystroke" option. Try that and let me know.

Kenja's Logitec G15 Masters Guide
Kenja's Concise Commands and Emotes Guide (I10)
Kenja's Links Guide for Badge Collectors
Visit SalsaVille!

mezmer2001 · 10-11-2007 04:13 AM

ok heres what i did from scracth:

1. created file and placed in the c:gbinds.

2. under rtcrl w i put ; Rctrl+w emote bow$$local, Hello $target, I am $name. A Level $level $origin $archetype ready for battle

3. i put "" on all rest and then saved file.

4. went to assign key stroke pressed the right ctrl and the w then ok.

the g2 key now says right ctrl +w

5. logged into game.

6. typed /macro G15 bindloadfile c:\g15binds\hero1.txt

now when i press g15 it says jump. it is not saying the text it is suppose to.

--------------------------

also i tried the super speed one changed to super jump for the ctrl q

i got the same thing.. it says "jump" in game

so we know the keys work but they are saying jump which is real weird. do i need to set up a setting in game or something?

anyways heres what ya asked for.lol i did like ya asked it seems to be going in right direction but still not right.

i would be happy if i could just figure out how to get the name thing listed in the 1st post to work when i pressed g2 in game.lol

mezmer2001 · 10-12-2007 04:20 AM

??

CuppaKenja · 10-12-2007 07:27 AM

All right let me run through the process as it is supposed to be done and you then tell me if you did everything exactly the same (only exception would be to sub the file location. I am using default C drive).

1. Create a folder on your C drive named g15binds . Example C:\g15binds

2. Open notepad and cut and paste the command list:
[ QUOTE ]
rctrl+q
rctrl+w
rctrl+e
rctrl+r
rctrl+t
rctrl+y
rctrl+u
rctrl+i
rctrl+o
rctrl+p
rctrl+[
rctrl+]
rctrl+\
rctrl+a
rctrl+s
rctrl+d
rctrl+f
rctrl+g

[/ QUOTE ]

3. On the first line (rctrl+q) type emote yoga

4. On the second line (rctrl+w) type emote bow$$local, Hello $target, I am $name. A Level $level $origin $archetype ready for battle!

5. Put on all the other unused strings.

6. Save the file as Hero1 (or name of your choosing)
IMPORTANT: Do not save the file as Hero1.txt as this will cause the full extension to be Hero1.txt.txt. In other words, if you look for this saved file in windows explorer, it should have the notepad icon and the name Hero1. If it shows Hero1.txt as the label, remove the .txt so only the label Hero1 shows.

7. Open your G15 Keyboard profiler.

8. Make sure that the City of Heroes Profile is selected before you assign keystrokes.<ul type="square">a. Make sure M1 is selected
b. Right click on the G1 button
c. Select assign keystroke
d. In the pop up just press the right ctrl button and q. The window should display: Right CTRL + Q (may be small caps)
e. Select OK or assign (dont remember which but you get the point )
f. Your G1 key under the CoH profile should now read Right CTRL + Q
g. Repeat for G2 (assigning rctrl+w)[/list]9. Exit the profiler

10. Load CoH<ul type="square"> a. The G15 LCD should blink and read:
Profile Activated
City of Heroes[/list]11. Once in game, if you have not already done so, create the G15 Macro:
/macro G15 bindloadfile c:\g15binds\hero1.txt

12. The grey generic G15 macro button should appear on your tray.
<ul type="square"> a. Click it[/list]13. Press the G1 key and you should sit yoga style

14. Press G2 and you should bow.

That is step by step on how it works. Remember, you only need to set up the G15 CoH profile once. You then alter the text file and save it for each toon (loading each one individually when logged on as that particular toon).

Try it again and let me know. I reiterate, follow each step. Dont assume you already did one of the steps and then find you were simply overlooking one. Any questions feel free to PM me. I am willing to log on to your server and help you out.

Kenja's Logitec G15 Masters Guide
Kenja's Concise Commands and Emotes Guide (I10)
Kenja's Links Guide for Badge Collectors
Visit SalsaVille!

mezmer2001 · 10-12-2007 08:24 AM

grr ok this is what i got:

rctrl+q emote yoga
rctrl+w emote bow$$local, Hello $target, I am $name. A Level $level $origin $archetype ready for battle!
rctrl+e ""
rctrl+r ""
rctrl+t ""
rctrl+y ""
rctrl+u ""
rctrl+i ""
rctrl+o ""
rctrl+p ""
rctrl+[ ""
rctrl+] ""
rctrl+\ ""
rctrl+a ""
rctrl+s ""
rctrl+d ""
rctrl+f ""
rctrl+g ""

then i went to profiler:

http://img117.imageshack.us/my.php?i...6102755cl3.jpg

then logged in did the macro thing.

i get this:

http://img117.imageshack.us/my.php?i...8840002xd7.jpg

the toon does nothing when i press the g15 then the g1 or g2 all it does is say "jump" in a bubble.

remember this is for city of villians.

this is what happens in game after i redid this a second time:

http://img117.imageshack.us/my.php?i...0759369eb7.jpg

when i press the g1 or g2 nothing or it says "jump"

ShadowKarasu · 10-12-2007 11:42 PM

Love the guide really helped a lot.

mezmer2001 · 10-14-2007 05:18 AM

so cuppa what am i doing wrong.lol

CuppaKenja · 10-15-2007 06:18 AM

Sorry Mez...haven't had a chance to look over it (on my side here it looks like it should work) but there must be something I am overlooking as well. I was in recovery this weekend form a minor surgery I had done this past week. I should be online tonight (albeit late) through wednesday (for the Wed. Hami Raid ....shameless plug, I know...). I will have an answer for that soon.

As for the other request about auto targeting, it can't be done without possible EULA violations, plus the macro would be very very long....sorry

Kenja's Logitec G15 Masters Guide
Kenja's Concise Commands and Emotes Guide (I10)
Kenja's Links Guide for Badge Collectors
Visit SalsaVille!

mezmer2001 · 10-15-2007 10:49 AM

thanks cuppa ill be waiting to here from ya. btw i am using the G15 V1. (i see there are 2 versions of the g15 out obth called g15.lol

i changed no settings in game under options either.

CuppaKenja · 10-15-2007 09:15 PM

ok...I got the answer and you are going to laugh.

The string works fine as written, however you can't cut and paste from the board to the text file. It seems the font it pastes onto notepad is not liked by the system. (it should be Lucinda Console [by default] not times).

Reopen the text file, do ctrl+a (to highlight the entire text) click on format>font. Change it to Lucinda Console and save it. Reload it in-game using the /bindloadfile. It should work then.

Kenja's Logitec G15 Masters Guide
Kenja's Concise Commands and Emotes Guide (I10)
Kenja's Links Guide for Badge Collectors
Visit SalsaVille!

mezmer2001 · 10-16-2007 05:28 AM

Post deleted by mezmer2001

mezmer2001 · 10-16-2007 05:56 AM

lol ok i manually retyped it all in that font you said:

Rctrl+q powexec_name Sprint
Rctrl+w emote bow$$local, Hello $target, I am $name. A Level $level $origin $archetype ready for battle
rctrl+e "emote yoga"
rctrl+r "emote bow"
rctrl+t ""
rctrl+y ""
rctrl+u ""
rctrl+i ""
rctrl+o ""
rctrl+p ""
rctrl+[ ""
rctrl+] ""
rctrl+\ ""
rctrl+a ""
rctrl+s ""
rctrl+d ""
rctrl+f ""
rctrl+g ""

now the bow works as assigned and so does the yoga.

bad news:

the sprint does not work (Which is ok).

the send one does n0t work either (the bow + text).
the text can be achieved by pressign the G15 bubble that appears in the power bar.

so that said:

1. do i got to retype the /macro everytime i log on?
2. how do i get the text and action combo to work like you got listed in ctrl + W ?
3. how can i add a coment to a g key? (press g5 gets you " hello villians").....you get the idea.lol

btw thansk for the great help cuppa