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@ZedraC
Cool, let me know how it goes!
I've been thinking of adding some new bindings to future files, what do you (or anyone else) think about these?:- 1. Alt+Caps : Select Idle Worker. I think it fits perfectly in line with Alt+Q,W,E especially when it comes to T&P games. It's in line with other macro keys and it sets you up for smooth Build and Build Advanced commands. Prompting you to keep your building production going without having to create more and more specific CG's was my goal here. Slamming Alt+Caps,Q,W,E would give you a near-complete picture of the status of your overall production engine. This would likely help Terran the most due to how SCV's are tied up when constructing things. It's almost like having an accessible, dynamic CG for any SCV's/Probes that aren't doing anything.
- 2. Alternative bindings to select CG's ` to 5. These alternative bindings look like: Alt+`,1,2,3,4,5. The purpose behind this suggestion is if there's ever a time when you're slow to lift your thumb off of Alt when going from Macro keys or Camera Locations right into unit CG selections, this has you covered. This is essentially a fine layer of fool-proofing for the whole system to keep things smoother and as consistent as possible (making small miss-strokes forgivable). This is a change that you may not even notice if implemented, but is kind of mind-blowing when brought to light.
Thoughts?
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1. Alt+Caps : Select Idle Worker.
I think it's a good idea. Just did that on mine. After doing that I thought: Resetting my “Select Army Units” to Shift+Ctrl+`. Do you see a problem with that setting?
2. Alternative bindings to select CG's ` to 5. These alternative bindings look like: Alt+`,1,2,3,4,5
I have not noticed that I had problems with that before, but hey, it won't hurt to change now would it? Also a brilliant idea.
Coming back to my progress on the fleet keys on Random Setup:
+ Show Spoiler +Unfortunately I had computer and ISP issues this weekend so I did not get a lot of time to play around with this, but I did run into more problems while practicing which I want to clear up with you. Alt+Tab: Sometimes I press this by accident and this will send me to my desktop - EVEN THOUGH - I have that option disabled in my settings. I asked about this on battle.net, but no one actually gave any useful advice. This is getting super annoying, so just wondering if you have that problem. The thing is, if I try to replicate this Alt+Tab in a custom game, it does not work??? It’s beyond me honestly why this sometimes happens. Also see my comment below, as it may be related. Base Camera vs Tab(CG 5): I am still using base camera on caps. I tried it the other way around like you suggested, but that messed up everything during a game, so I quickly changed back. It feels (to me) more natural to press Tab, qqq for workers, than Caps, qqq, and for injectecting: Hold Shift, Caps+s, than tab+s. Do you think I must change it and just bite the bullet now until my muscle memory does it correctly after a few games? Adding my injection Queens to my Hatches by accident. This happened in almost every game. Some how I add them together when going through the motions. (So maybe it is related to the caps/tab thing again??) What I think happens, is that i select my Queens (`). Then to inject I press and hold Shift and instead of pressing Base camera (Caps) press my CG6 (Tab) accidentally, thus adding them to CG 6. I thought of preventing this I would re-map adding-to-CG6 to Shift+Ctrl+Tab instead (I do not think it's difficult press, do you? What do you think?) To keep consistency (at least in the CGs that are at risk when injecting) and to avoid further possible errors I made adding-to-CG7,8,9,10 also to Shift+Ctrl+q,w,e,r. I tried it in only two practice games now quickly before posting and I am comfortable with it. Can you think of any other fixes?
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@ZedraC (or anyone following these recent change ideas)
Responding to ZedraC's last post:
+ Show Spoiler +Unfortunately I had computer and ISP issues this weekend so I did not get a lot of time to play around with this, but I did run into more problems while practicing which I want to clear up with you.
Alt+Tab: Sometimes I press this by accident and this will send me to my desktop - EVEN THOUGH - I have that option disabled in my settings. I asked about this on battle.net, but no one actually gave any useful advice. This is getting super annoying, so just wondering if you have that problem. The thing is, if I try to replicate this Alt+Tab in a custom game, it does not work??? It’s beyond me honestly why this sometimes happens.
Also see my comment below, as it may be related.
Base Camera vs Tab(CG 5): I am still using base camera on caps. I tried it the other way around like you suggested, but that messed up everything during a game, so I quickly changed back. It feels (to me) more natural to press Tab, qqq for workers, than Caps, qqq, and for injectecting: Hold Shift, Caps+s, than tab+s.
Do you think I must change it and just bite the bullet now until my muscle memory does it correctly after a few games?
Adding my injection Queens to my Hatches by accident. This happened in almost every game. Some how I add them together when going through the motions. (So maybe it is related to the caps/tab thing again??) What I think happens, is that i select my Queens (`). Then to inject I press and hold Shift and instead of pressing Base camera (Caps) press my CG6 (Tab) accidentally, thus adding them to CG 6.
I thought of preventing this I would re-map adding-to-CG6 to Shift+Ctrl+Tab instead (I do not think it's difficult press, do you? What do you think?)
To keep consistency (at least in the CGs that are at risk when injecting) and to avoid further possible errors I made adding-to-CG7,8,9,10 also to Shift+Ctrl+q,w,e,r. I tried it in only two practice games now quickly before posting and I am comfortable with it. Can you think of any other fixes?
Alt+Tab: I can honestly say I haven't had that issue. I do know that (I'm using Windows 8) I can press Alt+Tab multiple times really quick and the game will eventually minimize. The amount of times seems to be 4+, and it doesn't seem consistent, but it can happen if I want to force it. I have the Alt+Tab option turned off in-game, and I also do not bind any hotkey to Alt+Tab, so it really isn't an issue for me personally. I don't Alt+Tab more than once even by accident, let alone Alt+Tab multiple times quickly (I use Ctrl+Esc to minimize). One question regarding this though--- did you turn your sticky keys off? That could have something to do with it perhaps?
Base Cam/CC's,Hatches,Nexuses on Caps: If you really don't feel comfortable with it after playing a few games (preferably versus a laid-back, stress-free ai) then decide what's most comfortable for you. I won't tell you to bite the bullet, but I will tell you that it helps you get used to using your pinky more which is great because you'll probably be using it for Shift and Ctrl which are pressed a lot. Also, having the "economy" buildings on Caps Locks makes it so you don't have to shift your hand around at all when using those buildings (a huge deal for Zergs especially). If you're using Tab for these buildings however, you have to pivot your hand over and hang even farther to the left side of the keyboard, and then pivot back over Q,W,E. This pivoting and jumping off of Q,W,E works against Zerg A LOT because of the sheer amount of hotkeys in a Hatch, and it also works against Protoss and Terran too because you'll want to stay near/on Q,W,E too (SOOOO MANY bindings reside on those keys!). Like I said though, do what feels best after at least trying the Caps Lock thing. I liked Tab for the "economy" buildings until I tried moving them to Caps Lock, so at one point it felt nice for me too.
Something I learned from the `, Tab and Caps change-up was that I could use Hatches a lot quicker and more "fluidly". However, it was at the expense of a slight slow-down to the adding to inject Queens CG, as well as a small adjustment in inject key locations (basically just a matter of muscle memory). The pivoting/shifting stuff I mentioned above was a huge deal. Overall, this change appears to have a small trade-off that opens the doors for more critical improvements overall. Freeing up Spacebar for Smart Key usage across all races is pretty damn cool as well.
Accidental Adding: So it sounds like you're still holding Shift when you press your Hatch hotkey. You can opt to not hold Shift at all and press Tab+S, Click on each Hatch, attempt to use Rapidfire Inject by pressing and holding the two keys simultaneously, or use Camera Locations to Inject.
The way I do it with Shift looks like: ` with ring finger, and then Shift, S, Tab with pinky, index, ring, respectively. I pretty much slide my ring finger on to Tab, and with that my pinky lands on Shift, it does not touch Caps at all.
As for changing up the methods for adding, it forces you to completely jump off of Q-E which could prove to be a bad thing. It seems like it adds more difficulty and complexity that might not be necessary. But as I say with most things, I can't TELL you to do something, but I can give you why's and why nots. I hope this helped. 
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Will there be a version for random on Element?
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@exfriend
I dunno. Haven't really thought about Element in a while. I keep it up there because that's what I and many early adopters started with and as a result it's not as optimized as Alloy, but since it's always been around, people use it to some extent. I think about getting rid of it every time I see that 6 to 1 vote ratio to Alloy vs Element  . I do 99% of the work you see in this thread myself so full updates to both Alloy and Element take a long time (new cheat sheets have to be made, hotkey files manually updated and checked for screw-ups, possibly new graphics for thread, etc). It could be something to look forward to in the future, but idk for sure. Maybe if I have more time, or assistance.
Tl;dr:
I don't know what to do with Element atm, let alone a Random version, but I sure would like to see one.
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I tried my hands at Jakataks "The Core " but I couldn't get the hang of that. This one is just awesome. Love in first sight.
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@leviaias
Thanks, glad to help! If you're new to the thread then you may or may not know that there's going to be an update coming along (hopefully) soon where there will be some significant changes made to the layouts. The last few posts above discuss what's going to be happening. Changes being introduced are currently: Smart Key available for all races (essentially creating an "all-race" Alloy layout), Base Camera key binding, Hatch/CC/Nexus suggested CG move, Select Idle Worker key binding, alternative bindings for unit CG selection, Move and Patrol command locations swapped.
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SWEEPING THREAD CHANGES COMING THIS MONTH!
So it's been well over a year since this thread went live. After a year plus, I'm seeing 109 poll ticks from users across all leagues and that's awesome (I'd love to know who those Masters, GM's and Pro's are). Considering that I haven't really pushed this onto the community aside from the announcement post and this thread has only been mentioned a few times here and there (that I could find), I think it's doing pretty good-- much better than I thought it would without any real recurring exposure outside of TL Strategy.
I'm having an incredibly difficult time maintaining all keyboard types/game expansions and game mode types for the Alloy and Element layouts. With every change, the cheat sheets for each version and as well as the file must also be updated by hand and re-tested (a very slow process). So, until I find a way to really streamline this process, there's going to be some big changes being made to the thread and the content within it. I'll be listing some action items below.
Recorded Alloy VS Element usage ratio: 26:4 (87%/13%)
Alloy has clearly been the go-to layout so far. Aside from being the favored one, there's a lot more flexibility to it compared to Element, and that's why the new soon-to-be featured layout is being centered around it. As a result, Alloy and Element will be put on the backburner. That's ok though, because we'll instead have----
A Fully-Featured Unified Layout (Random Race Layout)
This is perhaps the most exciting and significant change that is slated to happen. I'll be introducing a Random layout which is a fusion of the T&P and Z layouts; it's going to feature various other refinements/improvements as well. This will initially be released as a HotS Multiplayer file, supporting QWERTY, AZERTY, and Dvorak keyboards. There will some changes that people may or may not like, but I think this is the best route and most all-around efficient approach. Separate layouts are nice to have, yes, but it makes playing more than one race harder than it needs to be. This new layout fuses all races into one layout with full functionality.
New Sections, New Format
All of the current thread files will remain 100% accessible to the public, in the folders in which they currently reside, but they will be tucked away under the new thread section labeled "Previous Versions". Support for them will be halted for an indefinite amount of time until someone feels the need to update them. Also on the list of things to roll out are new headers to replace the pre-existing ones, a new cheat sheet for the unified layout, and hopefully some amount of overdue video content. As of now, I'd like to have an intro video talking about the layout, a video navigating the thread, a video on where/how to download it and set it up, and a walkthrough of the features/commands in-game. They probably won't be separate, maybe they will, idk. Producing video content is a completely new thing for me.
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Long time TL lurker here.
I'm coming back to sc2 after a long break, and since I have almost forgotten how to play (was masters before I stopped) I want to relearn how to play with a more efficient hotkey layout.
I have always been a fan of grid-like settup, actually I used a custom hotkey settup very similar to Element. I love the idea of a random race layout (I used to play random quite a lot).
So I was wondering, when will you release the new layout's hotkey file? Because I do not want to come back to sc2 until the new layout is released, since I would have to relearn to play with one hotkey settup only to change it afterwards, and I know how painful it is.
PS: If you need help testing if everything works as intended in the new layout send me a PM.
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@DogOnFlames/any one else patiently waiting.
Here's what it looks like as of now.
It has quite a few differences from Alloy. Most things are able to be done faster so it's a huge jump imo. Rapfire Injects and worker splits are now optimized and not just simply "possible". In fact, they are both adjacent to each other and don't extend past G and B so that's awwwwwesome. RF Injects can be done with only your thumb, and RF Worker Splits with only your index; as a result, Stop has been added to the layout, on the G key (you won't need it in any other situation though). The unified approach is feeling great so far.
There's more to it, I'll list everything else when the OP is updated.
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I tried the new layout and so far it looks great.
I remapped the return cargo key, which is set as F6 to something more accessible, like Z, since I use it quite often when sending workers with minerals to an extractor or to build something.
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Feels like a real improvement, I like how much less you have to move your hand about the keyboard.
I'm just struggling a little with the injects. Where do you hotkey your queens now?
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Awesome!
Gonna try your new layout tonight.
Sorry, I know I have been quiet. I just don't play SC enough ATM to really contribute, but i am still following your work on this.
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@DogOnFlames
I'll take another look at it. Return Cargo didn't seem like a very useful hotkey because if you had workers with only minerals, you could click back on the patches and they will automatically return them. If you had a mix of workers with/without minerals, you can Shift+Right-Click the CC/Nexus/Hatch and send them back to the patches. I guess Return Cargo can direct only the workers with minerals back to the base, potentially cutting out one action. Thanks for bringing that up.
@Zanni/anyone else wondering about the state of Injects
Ok, this is where creating a unified layout changes things the most. With the addition of the Smart Key for Zerg, Zerg lost its Base Camera binding on Spacbar, resulting in the relocation of Base Camera to Tab. The Queen's Spawn Larva ability now has a default alternative binding on Spacebar to make Rapidfire Injects as easy as possible. With that, the suggested Queen CG was also relocated from Tab to ` (or 4 if you prefer). Here are the main methods to Inject now. Take your pick.- `, Tab+S, Click, repeat. Tab+S can be pressed simultaneously, or in an alternating fashion. Both are nice.
- `, Shift(hold), Tab+S, Click, repeat (far more inferior than simply Tab+S, Click, but remains an option)
- `, Tab+S (simultaneously), Hold for Rapidfire Inject (timing must be spot-on, C+Space method is 1000% more reliable).
- `, C+Spacebar (simultaneously with thumb), Hold for Rapidfire Inject. This is an extremely easy method, and with Queens on 4, can be performed easier than Queens on `, but is easy both ways.
- ` or 4, C+Spacebar(with only thumb), Click, repeat. An alternative (and possibly easier) method to the Tab+S methods. Queens on 4 with this method is a bit easier, but Queens on ` works fine as well.
- ` or 4, S, Shift(hold), Alt+A,S,D,F,etc. for Camera Location (layered) Injects. This method is pretty much archaic at this point, but it's still an option. It was ok for when you had a lot of bases, but Rapidfire Inject and Tab+S ("the backspace") methods are easier, faster, and don't require any setup.
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I have created my own layout quite some time back (Protoss only), also based on the idea of having a layout similar to grid (and to Alloy). I'm really looking forward to the new version of FK and seeing if I can't start using that and play the other races.
From what I have done, I would like to offer a couple of suggestions which you could possibly incorporate into your (and hopefully my) new layout if you want:
1) Having both the main and alternate ability of certain skills (Force Field, EMP, etc.) might be a problem. A fast repeat rate on the keyboard might accidentally trigger multiple instances of this skill. Other scenarios you might want to be more precise (like only 2 force fields on a large ramp), where holding down the FF button and clicking twice will work better. I would suggest at least having one non-rapidfire button for each skill so that a person can choose which route they would like to go.
2) I love the rapid-fire warp-in, but setting all the buttons doesn't work out very well for other skills (you have rapid fire on building gateways for example which can be a pain depending on how someone does it late game). What I did was to set my "choose ability/target" to "Alt" as one of the options. Now, if I want to warp in a unit, I press the button for the unit and then press Shift + Alt while waving my mouse around. That way I can almost instantly warp in any gateway unit instead of having it limited to only one unit.
Anyway, I hope this helps in making FleetKeys better. I'm happy to help with the testing of the layout and should at least be able to provide some constructive feedback when it comes to the Protoss layout.
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@MilExo
Hey there, it's been a while! I'll try to comment on the points you raised here.
1).
+ Show Spoiler + I know what you mean about the Rapidfire settings. It's been a debated topic since its inception. At first, I felt that it was such a niche, yet extremely potent feature so I settled on the "Rapidfire Trigger" implementation of it. For the situations where you really needed to employ it (mostly Creep Spreading, Warp-ins and Injects) it was sufficient and safe. But then Rapidfire BLEW up, and now it's a given and people want it.
Before I uploaded the new hotkey file, I experimented with putting TargetChoose on: Spacebar, Q,W,E,R,T,A,S,D,F,G,Z,X,C,V,B. Insane? Well, yes and no. On one hand, you could almost do anything with only two keystrokes, but getting used to it was NOT easy. This opened up a plethora of new potential screw-ups. It felt quite reckless because all of a sudden every two keystrokes was doing SOMETHING, and when playing fast, one slight miss-type had me sprawling for Escape to constantly cancel things. It made Warp-ins "scary-easy" though, that's about it.
I took a step back from it, and thought: "How can I push it to the limit without breaking the layout like I just did?" So I broke it down to what needs it the most, and assigned only those keys to it. In this current file, TargetChoose is on Q,A,S,Spacebar. So basically, Zealots can be RF-warped in instantly, Injects are the same, Creep Tumors can be cast and propagated instantly, and RF Injects are super-convenient and neigh-foolproof. Spacebar having RF capabilities also means that if you are building something or need to cast something multiple times you don't need to dance back-and-forth from non-RF keys to RF keys. Simply press the command, and finish it with a Click or with Spacebar if you want, or Shift+Spacebar if you want to RF it.
Q,A,S and Spacebar doesn't seem very intuitive at first, unless you play Zerg (you'll love it), or you try to use RF to Warp-in Zealots or HT's. Rolling your fingers from Left to Right, or Right to Left allows you to perform actions (finishing with Spacebar or Q,A or even S), without using your mouse. Your pinky remains on the Left side, so you can always carry out actions with Shift+ to invoke RF.
There's a lot to explain and various other subtle things that work out well but I can't make this too much longer than it already is/will be, haha.
2).
+ Show Spoiler +I can say that before Element or Alloy were even named layouts, I tried adding the "Warp-in" key to Alt, which was very effective when you were going from a Camera Location to do Warp-ins, but it interfered with unit selections and building selections.
I also tried having Drag Scroll on Alt, which was actually quite fun at first. The fact that your mouse cursor was locked in place AND hidden while holding Alt was a huge downside though. I wish Blizzard would fix that hidden cursor thing for first-person play. It's fine for spectators but damn, I don't like losing my cursor. That experiment was interesting, but was promptly scrapped.
As for TargetChoose on Alt, I can't really apply that to Alloy or the new layout. Shift+Alt+Q/W/E is how you add to those CG's. Another thing is if you have a target called up (Scan, Attack, Drop) and jump to a Camera Location to issue it, pressing Alt would execute it before calling up the Camera. How would Alt be a better choice than Left-Clicking in situations like that?
New layout link for anyone who missed it.
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TargetChoose is on Q,A,S,Spacebar.
That was the 1st awesome thing I noticed.
How in the world did you do that? I thought you could only add one alternative. That is god damn brilliant. Well done, I like the new format so far.
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@ZedraC, this isn't the original link, but this thread by Existor explains how to setup multiple alternatives: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/starcraft-2/449934-rapid-fire-mining
@eneyeseekay, it has been quite a while! While I don't always have something to contribute, I'm always around and following a couple of topics with great interest (does sound a bit like a stalker though :s). I can't seem to get a hang of using two keys for a control group, so rather have my other control groups going down the side (R,F,V in my case since Protoss only needs a 3x3 grid for production (and probably Terran too)). I have also never used the "Add to control group" commands. I normally just select my control group, shift+select my new units and then recreate the control group. Probably not the most efficient use.
I really love the ideas you have here and have incorporated quite a few into my own hotkey setup and play. The only two things preventing me from complete switching over is that I like being able to warp in any unit quickly (it really makes a big difference late game Protoss if you can warp in all your units a second or two faster) and also helps if you need to warp in reinforcements while in a battle since you don't need to look away too long. The last thing is the two button control group that my mind just can't seem to get around.
Anyway, looking forward to the new layout, the BETA already looks like a big improvement over the original.
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@ZedraC
Thanks Zedra, and thanks MilExo for the linkage. Yeah, basically you just open up your hotkey and put a comma, a space, and then your next command you'd like to attach to that key. Example: TargetChoose=LeftMouseButton, Space, Q, A, S, etc. I always just experimented with this, but now I actually have the time to make full use of it!
@MilExo / anyone wondering about Q/W/E CG's
I do understand the Q/W/E CG thing. Some people love it and some hate it. A lot of the time, players who come from BW, Standard or Grid can have trouble getting used to Q/W/E CG's because they are accustomed to spamming 4/5/6 throughout games. I would say it's the one thing that can turn people off from using the layouts, but for not using side mouse buttons, it works. 3x3 sounds nice with R,F,V. Have you taken out certain commands to clear out the 3x3/RFV setup? I've been actively trying to avoid putting commonly used keys on Z,X,C. The way this new layout works is more like 4x2, and when Z,X,C is in use, there is likely an alternate bind for that command on R, D or F. For Starport/SGates and Robo's/Factories, units that would land on R and T usually have an alternate bind along A-F. I try making use of any free keyboard space I have. MilExo, Send me a link to your hotkey file and I'll check it out?
When it came to you trying out the Q/W/E CG's, did you try out a custom game, set up your production and just practice unit production for a while? I found that to be the best way to get a feel for it; lots of raw macro in a vacuum to drill the Alt+combo in to make it automatic (worst case, you get used to it, you still don't like it, and you move your cameras up to Q/W/E/R for even quicker Camera Location access!). It's not so much about checking the same structures over and over and over again, it's about getting the info you need from all of your structures very, very quickly without moving your hand out of place, and then filling the queues up and leaving them for a short time until the next quick sweep.
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EPT
