I was just curious how many of you play with grid hotkeys, so here's a poll.
Poll: Are you using grid hotkeys?
Yes, they're great (197)
40%
Why the hell is "T" attack move!? (158)
32%
No, I have no desire to use them (88)
18%
I've tried them, but I prefer the standard hotkeys (23)
5%
I'll consider using them when I need to learn a new race (22)
5%
488 total votes
Your vote: Are you using grid hotkeys?
(Vote): Yes, they're great (Vote): No, I have no desire to use them (Vote): I've tried them, but I prefer the standard hotkeys (Vote): I'll consider using them when I need to learn a new race (Vote): Why the hell is "T" attack move!?
Honestly, the only reason I don't use grid hotkeys is because "t" is attack if they would just make it "a" I would switch over instantly. It's so much easier to play a race you don't know as well when all the stuff is in the same spots.
I'm ambivalent because, frankly, you should really just pick one and learn it, and its not worth the time to customize it since you probably arent going to gain much in terms of real apm (unless you do some serious statistical analysis on what hotkeys are pressed the most). The only thing that is really useful is binding capslock to control so you dont have to stretch your hand so damned much.
Right now I am just getting used to the hotkeys as they are now. If I changed races and didn't know the locations of any of the hotkeys I would consider using it. However I am fine with how they are setup now. I am glad though that there are some differences from broodwar, because some were a little strange.
"T" attack move made me want to use custom keys instead. That's so stupid. Blizzard HAVE TO include the possibility to set up your own hotkeys. We're in 2010 guyz, every game has that.
I initially wanted to try them, but then it occured to me that it probably doesn't work well for zerg because select larvae and create drone are the same key. Therefore you're going to be spamming larvae trying to get an overlord out and it'll make a drone instead. That's pretty serious. If that doesn't actually happen, I might give them a try sometime.
On May 03 2010 09:41 onmach wrote: I initially wanted to try them, but then it occured to me that it probably doesn't work well for zerg because select larvae and create drone are the same key. Therefore you're going to be spamming larvae trying to get an overlord out and it'll make a drone instead. That's pretty serious. If that doesn't actually happen, I might give them a try sometime.
I had this problem in starcraft where I would hit double s and make scourge all the time when I didn't need them. I'm sure it wouldn't be a huge deal but I'm dumbfounded at having t as attack move. That's the most ingrained hotkey in all of starcraft for me; changing that would be ridiculous.
I accidentally voted for the wrong thing, but I'm using them and I really like it. I decided to switch because it feels more versatile. I'm actually using the left-handed grid, because I'm a lefty who's been playing right-handed all my life, and I wanted to try mousing with my dominant hand, since they've provided options now. The grid works out much better for lefties anyways, because most of the things you want to actually do are on the left of the grid (besides attack), so I use my index/middle finger instead of pinky. It's really nice to basically have a little reference sheet for all of your hotkeys in the bottom corner, especially for trying new races and weird custom maps.
There's a pretty glaring issue right now though, the "open bracket" key isn't detected by the game, even though it's assigned to "attack" with the left-hand grid settings. So, right now the closest thing I have to A-move is patrol. :/
I played as T for a long time using the normal layout, tried to switch to grid but gave up because i didn't feel like learning new hotkeys. Now i play Random and I haven't yet decided what to do about it... Do other random players generally use the grid or do you learn all three sets of hotkeys?
On May 03 2010 10:27 Repok wrote: Can someone explaint Grid hotkeys?
Basically, the little bottom right corner that has all your actions in a grid are bound to a specific key. The actions and spells inside might be different per the unit/structure you have selected, but the key you hit to activate that specific location in the grid will remain the same.
Love not having to move my hand over to i or what have you. And t for attack is awesome. I use it a lot, so having it on the index finger makes more sense than the pinky.
Just to post some images for those that don't know what grid is\does.
Basically if you know how to use a keyboard, you know all the hotkeys for SC2, and best of all. You don't have to jump around the keyboard manically.
The thing I like best is that I am a very visual person and can connect the icon location with the hotkeys placement on the keyboard "grid." This makes using hotkeys much faster even if it a command\button that I don't use frequently.
I could swear I just read an interview that said sc2 release will have an editable text file for all binds. Maybe it was a dream, but if anyone could find that interview please post a link.
If they switched patrol and attack, that would be pretty potent. I would have to relearn everything though. And a lot of spells tend to be on the bottom of the square, like the queen inject for example. But still not bad at all.
I find the grid keys unusable (because of attack on T), but then again the same is true about terrans standard keys (because of bunker, turret and lift/land keys) so I find myself swapping between them.
I have been using a customized grid in wc3 for years and in other video games (all have custom keys ofc) I always make damn sure I dont have to use any keys beyond the fifth column so reaching for something like L and U just isn't in my skill set.
On May 03 2010 10:09 roark wrote: I am new to RTS and SC2 and I thinking switching to grid was the best thing I have done so far to get better.
With grid you completely negate not knowing where hot keys are. All your hot keys correspond to the button layout.
I don't have to guess where a hot key is and am much quicker with hot keys now as a new player.
You do have to learn where each picture is though.
I've played BW on-and-off for 8 years or so now and I don't know which icon is where on the grid (and this is a 3x3 grid); I don't know where most stuff is in the SC2 grid either.
I admit it's a little bit less work to find what each hotkey is in the grid layout, but if you're looking for hotkeys in the middle of a match then you're missing the advantage of using hotkeys in the first place in that match.
I'm not trying to say that the default hotkeys are better. I think both systems are fine and if you prefer one go for it (and hotkeys really should be completely customizable anyway), but I don't personally see that grid hotkeys are definitively easier to learn. I certainly see how they would be for some players though.
On May 03 2010 10:09 roark wrote: I am new to RTS and SC2 and I thinking switching to grid was the best thing I have done so far to get better.
With grid you completely negate not knowing where hot keys are. All your hot keys correspond to the button layout.
I don't have to guess where a hot key is and am much quicker with hot keys now as a new player.
You do have to learn where each picture is though.
I've played BW on-and-off for 8 years or so now and I don't know which icon is where on the grid (and this is a 3x3 grid); I don't know where most stuff is in the SC2 grid either.
I admit it's a little bit less work to find what each hotkey is in the grid layout, but if you're looking for hotkeys in the middle of a match then you're missing the advantage of using hotkeys in the first place in that match.
I'm not trying to say that the default hotkeys are better. I think both systems are fine and if you prefer one go for it (and hotkeys really should be completely customizable anyway), but I don't personally see that grid hotkeys are definitively easier to learn. I certainly see how they would be for some players though.
The benefit isn't really that one is "better" or "faster" than the other. And I can see how many people who played SC1 for many years wouldn't want to switch.
I however am a blank slate. The beauty of the grid, is that, I don't know where anything is anyway.
If I use the typical hotkeys, I can't just look at the building\unit icon and instantly be able to press a button. So if I am in a battle, or macroing with grid: even if I don't know the hotkey -- I don't have to search for it. Once I see the location of the icon on the unit\building grid pane I instantly know the proper button to press without having to look or move my hand on the keyboard. That is the power of grid for me.
With the standard layout like if I wanted to lift a building and didn't know the hotkey I would have to: click the button, or hover over the icon - find the hotkey - then look on the keyboard allll the way over to L. Super unproductive especially for noobs with 0 APM.
I also am not stuck on old conventions like a-move, etc. Also being a former heavy FPS gamer having my hand near the grid layout keys is much more natural.
EDIT:
I admit it's a little bit less work to find what each hotkey is in the grid layout, but if you're looking for hotkeys in the middle of a match then you're missing the advantage of using hotkeys in the first place in that match.
This is also not as relevant because I am talking about being new anyway. I don't know where anything is in the first place. So often as I get accustomed to the game I have to search for a button here or there.
The longer you have played SC the less benefit you get from GRID layout.
I voted "why is T attack-move", but other than that, I do actually like the grid keys. Everything is so close, it's easily to learn quickly (visual), and if you forget a key you just glance over and know what to hit.
I never really tried them because I never felt inclined to. I might someday though, just to see what it would be like. I still really enjoy knowing the real hotkeys for units and techs though, so I'm not too sure how well I will receive this method haha.
On May 03 2010 11:33 Nutshell wrote: I could swear I just read an interview that said sc2 release will have an editable text file for all binds. Maybe it was a dream, but if anyone could find that interview please post a link.
Don't have the link but it's real, Sc2 will have that functionality at release. Wc3 did as well.
Where is the "I use custom hotkeys" option on that poll?
I am very unhappy with all the standard hotkey setups, especially since the removal of cast-on-wireframe. The left-handed versions actually are the best for zerg imo (better placement of the town cam button aka backspace) but they still aren't so great.
I've always used grid hotkeys. They make things so much easier. T for attack move really isn't that big of a deal, but yes I wish it was 3x3 like SC1 instead of 5x3. Oh well.
On May 03 2010 11:33 Nutshell wrote: I could swear I just read an interview that said sc2 release will have an editable text file for all binds. Maybe it was a dream, but if anyone could find that interview please post a link.
I played 300 (about 200 as random) games of SC2 learning all standard hotkeys before the patch that put in grid keys. I switched and haven't looked back. Took a good 20 games before I become proficient enough to not be hurt badly by the change. Still don't know them all, but hey, I didn't know all the standard ones anyway (damn upgrades).
Everyone complaining about T being attack-move... It's no harder then A. Just takes a bit to get used to. Gotta switch finger and all that jazz.
Does anyone know why my hotkeys don't change after selecting grid? The string in Variables.txt changes correctly, but the hotkeys ingame stay like they were.
On May 03 2010 18:05 unfo wrote: Does anyone know why my hotkeys don't change after selecting grid? The string in Variables.txt changes correctly, but the hotkeys ingame stay like they were.
The only thing I can think of is making sure you select grid, then [accept] to close the window. Haven't heard of this issue otherwise.
On May 03 2010 17:48 inTheMood wrote: Sorry if this is a stupid question, but are you allowed to play with grid keys (or custom bind keys) in the Ladder?
Anyways, I like the standard keys both in sc:bw and sc2 so I'm not gonna switch
On May 03 2010 17:40 Shenron wrote: Got used to the regular ones already. Also, Zerg spawn larva and Drone spawn being the same key would be devastating for me.
I prefer it because of the change to select larvae anyway.
On May 03 2010 18:05 unfo wrote: Does anyone know why my hotkeys don't change after selecting grid? The string in Variables.txt changes correctly, but the hotkeys ingame stay like they were.
The only thing I can think of is making sure you select grid, then [accept] to close the window. Haven't heard of this issue otherwise.
Yea I do that of course. As I stated, the value "hotkeyprofile" in Variables.txt changes accordingly (from 0_Standard to 2_GridLeftSide). But the ingame hotkeys stay the same, S for scv instead of Q etc.
Iam using the Gridkeys and i really like them. It is so easy to learn and master the keys for every race. Just the attackmove on T is ridiculus, but i think that i got used to it that i woukd be hard to switvh back to A again.
for me t as attack hotkey is very comfortable. i have my units on 1-4, so i can actually use 2 fingers to attack, makes it so much easier and faster to use. i like my grid, took some time to get used to it though. also i dont "mispress" as much as i used to do when i was still using standard layout, and obviously, i was using the standard far longer than grid. at first i was a little bit uhh when i saw that attack is t, but now i cant even understand all you guys anymore. maybe 1a2a3a addiction yes? i do agree that pressing 1a2a3a really fast, makes one feel like pro.
Shift right click would add a move to the units queue of actions.
I remapped one of my side mouse buttons to send Y + <click> (I use dvorak so Y is attack on the grid) but it stops working when I am protoss and have warp gates. Drives me crazy.
On May 03 2010 17:40 Shenron wrote: Got used to the regular ones already. Also, Zerg spawn larva and Drone spawn being the same key would be devastating for me.
this is the only thing that makes me not wanna use grid hotkeys too. but even with regular keys, drone rally and roach both being R pisses me off to no end. trying to build roach with no larva and then tryign to select a unit makes all the drones rally to that unit, extremely annoying.
EPT![[image loading]](http://img190.imageshack.us/i/gridf.jpg/)
![[image loading]](http://img169.imageshack.us/i/grid2z.jpg/)
