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[Q]Many Pro/Top players don't use camera hotkeys?

Forum Index > StarCraft 2 Strategy
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1 2 3 Next All
HellionDrop
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
281 Posts
July 12 2011 07:45 GMT
#1
I've been watching lots of streams lately, and one thing that i've noticed is that most players either have their bases in different control groups or just scroll/click with their mouses to control camera movement. I may be wrong but please name a player you follow on stream who actually uses camera hotkeys, because i can find none.

Wouldn't it be much faster to use camera hotkeys? or are they just hard to reach? you can re-map hotkeys anyways so i don't see it to be an issue. i'm trying to find a reason for it but i see few discussions on this topic and i wonder why.
The.Doctor
Profile Joined February 2010
Canada333 Posts
July 12 2011 07:49 GMT
#2
IDK. I use them and everytime I watch a Korean rep of say Nada or MVP, they use them. Major also uses them. If it's Z players you're watching, they probably don't need them as much as you can just hit your queen hotkey.
The Boss.
coZen
Profile Joined August 2010
United States192 Posts
July 12 2011 07:51 GMT
#3
Camera hotkeys are one of those things that you really have to train yourself to use. Some people just havent found them to be all that necessary. I can say that many Koreans use them, especially the BW veterans. Huk uses them as well. Camera hotkeys are much faster than manually clicking on the minimap, but some people revert back to clicking on the map to possibly prevent a mis-hit or something of the sort.
Dariusz
Profile Joined May 2011
Poland657 Posts
July 12 2011 07:52 GMT
#4
I believe this belongs to simple questions thread.

But on topic: everyone is using whatever setup is comfortable for him, and it's players responsibility to find fastest and most efficient ways to do things. There are still pro players that play with default hotkeys. IdrA and Minigun are sometimes using camera hotkeys.
Silentness
Profile Blog Joined August 2009
United States2821 Posts
July 12 2011 08:05 GMT
#5
I'm nowhere near top player, but camera hotkeys are a must for me. That's all I ever used in BW, so when they came to SC2 I immediately started using them. One on my rally point, one on my production buildings, others on my expansions, and etc.
GL HF... YOLO..lololollol.
Kaitlin
Profile Joined December 2010
United States2958 Posts
July 12 2011 08:28 GMT
#6
Well, if you get a replay of MC, he uses them, as well.
Eleaven
Profile Joined September 2010
772 Posts
July 12 2011 08:53 GMT
#7
sixjax Major uses camera keys all the time.

pretty much any player known for top level mechanics uses them religiously.
Not many of these guys stream though, streamers tend to be the NA/EU "creative" players (creative is a fancy word for less effort on mechanics)
Moshikaro
Profile Blog Joined April 2011
135 Posts
July 12 2011 09:00 GMT
#8
Yeah, I noticed that StarTale Rainbow uses them to quickly make bases, he hotkeys hit natural and his third. I guess this is a really good way to use them, you can make a new base in like 1 second with that.
Eleaven
Profile Joined September 2010
772 Posts
July 12 2011 09:03 GMT
#9
On July 12 2011 18:00 Moshikaro wrote:
Yeah, I noticed that StarTale Rainbow uses them to quickly make bases, he hotkeys hit natural and his third. I guess this is a really good way to use them, you can make a new base in like 1 second with that.


It's really good for worker transfers too(or just doing a quick drone count- it's also very slightly quicker than double tapping a queen hotkey).

also for P players it's so good for chronoboosting upgrades.
When i played toss for about 500 games, i'd have my forges in standardised locations every game, usually in range of my 1st cam location. Easiest chronoboosting around.. so quick too. Frustrating to know how easy and powerful it is, and see so many toss completely ignore one of their biggest advantages: Upgrades
NeonFox
Profile Joined January 2011
2373 Posts
July 12 2011 09:12 GMT
#10
It's most important for P and T I think, less for Z because you already jump around the map when you inject, and you don't have to move to build supply. I could see it being useful to jump to tech buildings to start upgrades, or to jump at chokes or common army paths if you see movement on the minimap.
Surili
Profile Blog Joined March 2011
United Kingdom1141 Posts
July 12 2011 09:12 GMT
#11
On July 12 2011 18:03 Eleaven wrote:
Show nested quote +
On July 12 2011 18:00 Moshikaro wrote:
Yeah, I noticed that StarTale Rainbow uses them to quickly make bases, he hotkeys hit natural and his third. I guess this is a really good way to use them, you can make a new base in like 1 second with that.


It's really good for worker transfers too(or just doing a quick drone count- it's also very slightly quicker than double tapping a queen hotkey).

also for P players it's so good for chronoboosting upgrades.
When i played toss for about 500 games, i'd have my forges in standardised locations every game, usually in range of my 1st cam location. Easiest chronoboosting around.. so quick too. Frustrating to know how easy and powerful it is, and see so many toss completely ignore one of their biggest advantages: Upgrades


I just hotkey my forges to the same hotkey as my nexuses and then if you double tap the nexus hotkey it will centre the screen on the forges, plus you have the nexuses selected for chonoing.
The world is ending what should we do about it?
Poopi
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
France12883 Posts
July 12 2011 09:15 GMT
#12
How do you use camera hotkeys? I mean what are the keys that you press?
WriterMaru
Surili
Profile Blog Joined March 2011
United Kingdom1141 Posts
July 12 2011 09:28 GMT
#13
On July 12 2011 18:15 Poopi wrote:
How do you use camera hotkeys? I mean what are the keys that you press?

First you will want to rebind them to something closer to the left side, as they start off bound to f5,f6,f7,f8, for instance f2,f3,f4 and then you press control f2 to bind it, and then f2 to select it, like a normal hotkey.
The world is ending what should we do about it?
tuestresfat
Profile Joined December 2010
2555 Posts
July 12 2011 09:36 GMT
#14
not terribly important for zerg

very important for protoss/terran
Eleaven
Profile Joined September 2010
772 Posts
July 12 2011 09:54 GMT
#15
On July 12 2011 18:36 tuestresfat wrote:
not terribly important for zerg

very important for protoss/terran


Z could very easily use it for things like the watchtowers, and the space just outside your opponents natural.
These are common places i'd leave a couple of lings without their own hotkey, and use cam keys to bounce around as soon as i see a red dot.

DaemonX
Profile Joined September 2010
545 Posts
July 12 2011 09:55 GMT
#16
On July 12 2011 17:53 Eleaven wrote:
sixjax Major uses camera keys all the time.

pretty much any player known for top level mechanics uses them religiously.
Not many of these guys stream though, streamers tend to be the NA/EU "creative" players (creative is a fancy word for less effort on mechanics)

Koreans and good mechanical players (ie BW players) tend to use them. A lot of other foreigner pros don't, and there's no reason for it except they want to be slightly worse It would definitely improve their games if they did.

However I really take umbrage at your slight against 'creative' players. Foreigners generally have weaker mechanics than the SKs, who just spend far more time on playing. 'Creative' players like Catz or TLO sometimes have weaker mechanics because they are practicing more build orders or more experimental styles rather than honing one style 24/7 for 2 months before an event. When they aren't being 'creative' their mechanics are often just fine. It's an unfair generalisation and characterisation to say they put in less effort - they're exploring the game.
Scip
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
Czech Republic11293 Posts
July 12 2011 10:02 GMT
#17
I dont know if pros use them or not, but there is no disadvantage in using them, so you should do it As zerg I use all 8 of them, 5 for my bases, 1 for my rally point and 2 for where Im spreading creep. I find them pretty critical for playing fast, though I myself am pretty slow player I imagine I would be even slower without them.
"It may be pleasurable for some of us to imagine being ravished" - Christopher Hitchens in a debate with feminists RIP 2011 Psalm 2:9 You shall break them with a rod of iron
Eleaven
Profile Joined September 2010
772 Posts
July 12 2011 10:07 GMT
#18
On July 12 2011 18:55 DaemonX wrote:
Show nested quote +
On July 12 2011 17:53 Eleaven wrote:
sixjax Major uses camera keys all the time.

pretty much any player known for top level mechanics uses them religiously.
Not many of these guys stream though, streamers tend to be the NA/EU "creative" players (creative is a fancy word for less effort on mechanics)

Koreans and good mechanical players (ie BW players) tend to use them. A lot of other foreigner pros don't, and there's no reason for it except they want to be slightly worse It would definitely improve their games if they did.

However I really take umbrage at your slight against 'creative' players. Foreigners generally have weaker mechanics than the SKs, who just spend far more time on playing. 'Creative' players like Catz or TLO sometimes have weaker mechanics because they are practicing more build orders or more experimental styles rather than honing one style 24/7 for 2 months before an event. When they aren't being 'creative' their mechanics are often just fine. It's an unfair generalisation and characterisation to say they put in less effort - they're exploring the game.


It's easier to win against someone with something weird than it is to win with something documented and solid. Creative plays usually net you wins without much effort until they get figured out. at which point they get abandoned. My point was put slightly "snarky" but i think it's a pretty true thing.

If EU/NA pro's want to compete they get solid first, and then explore the game. and a lot of EU/NA pro's are doing that. I was targeting the streamer crowd in my comments (as i think i said?) because it's usually correct that these players do weird unusual things, rather than playing "straight up" and getting Korean level good. It's the same in BW, and my thoughts echo those of Ver's excellent "how to improve" .pdf

The romantic idea of inner ability, and "outsmarting" your opponent, vs actually putting in 100% effort to be better than them.

It's been shown over and over again that to be a top player you need top mechanics. Once you've refined one playstyle and "perfected" (used loosely) your mechanics it's much easier to switch around into new styles.
It's much easier to switch around styles and hope you build order your way to a win, and that's what we see from a lot of streamers (not all of them, and not all of the time) but It's easier to make a roughly accurate statement, than to acknowledge every single person that doesn't fit into my assessment.

The only people who'd take offence to my comment, are those that it fits 100%. The other type of players would have nothing to be upset about, because they know it doesnt apply to them.

Longpost

Correct me if i'm wrong on that
Toxi78
Profile Joined May 2010
966 Posts
July 12 2011 10:08 GMT
#19
it wasn't included in WC3, WC3 pros dont use them.
IIIOmegaIII
Profile Joined May 2011
Sweden319 Posts
July 12 2011 10:27 GMT
#20
hmm its hard to generalize.. whatever floats your boat. if ur a pro and arent using any cam hotkeys then u prob dont need it. its not like its the missing puzzle for glory
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