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Active: 1403 users

Anyone prefer classic hotkeys?

Forum Index > SC2 General
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Belegorm
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
United States330 Posts
May 07 2010 02:07 GMT
#1
I was wondering, anyone else here find it easier to adapt to SC2 using the classic hotkey setup? I was finally getting half-way decent in BW, but felt really sluggish in SC2 until I switched to what I knew. Sure it takes time to move from p to whatever else on the opposite side, but it really does spread out the hotkeys far more.

BTW, is shift+function keys now shift+ f2, f3 or f4 again?
MUM GIVE ME SOME SCISSORS!!!
Chaoz
Profile Joined March 2010
United States507 Posts
May 07 2010 02:10 GMT
#2
On May 07 2010 11:07 Belegorm wrote:
I was wondering, anyone else here find it easier to adapt to SC2 using the classic hotkey setup? I was finally getting half-way decent in BW, but felt really sluggish in SC2 until I switched to what I knew. Sure it takes time to move from p to whatever else on the opposite side, but it really does spread out the hotkeys far more.

BTW, is shift+function keys now shift+ f2, f3 or f4 again?


Nope. It's F5-F8.
andeh
Profile Blog Joined August 2009
United States904 Posts
May 07 2010 02:14 GMT
#3
I use classic <3

It just seems more natural for o for overlord, m for muta, etc
zealing
Profile Blog Joined January 2009
Canada806 Posts
May 07 2010 02:15 GMT
#4
nope i love SC2 hotkeys, then again im zerg so they are pretty much the same...
Think you got lag? It took Jesus 3 days to respawn.
mOnion
Profile Blog Joined August 2009
United States5657 Posts
May 07 2010 02:17 GMT
#5
again kids these are SHORTCUTS not HOTKEYS

but no I think these shortcuts are fine, its just different, I went back to BW yesterday while waiting for the servers to come back on and had no trouble going back.

just mechanics.
☆★☆ 7486!!! Join the Ban mOnion Anti-Trolling Initiative! - Caller | "on a scale of machine to 10, how bad is that Zerg?" - LZgamer | you are the new tl.net bonjwa monion, congrats - Rekrul | "Cheeseburgers dynamite lilacs" - Chill
KiLL_ORdeR
Profile Blog Joined June 2009
United States1518 Posts
May 07 2010 02:17 GMT
#6
I prefer some of the hotkeys, like "E" for Probe, instead of "P," which just distorted your entire hand setup. Some are retarded, like "A" for marines. WTF? what not just be "M?" nothing else uses M in the barracks.

Also, I find that in crisis management mode, I always revert back to BW keys.

also, We can use F keys now?
In order to move forward, we must rid ourselves of that which holds us back. Check out my stream and give me tips! twitch.tv/intotheskyy
SoMuchBetter
Profile Blog Joined April 2003
Australia10606 Posts
May 07 2010 02:18 GMT
#7
i always hated sc1's all over the place hotkeys.
blizzard did a good job with the hotkeys in sc2
AUSSIESCUM
TeamLiquid eSTROgeneral #1 • RIP
denzelz
Profile Blog Joined November 2009
United States604 Posts
May 07 2010 02:27 GMT
#8
I thought the new shortcuts are great for zergs. No more freakin s-m for mutas but not actually being able to reach the m and end up not making anything and getting destroyed by m&m.

s-v for ovies is sexy as well.
charlesatan
Profile Joined April 2010
Philippines75 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-05-07 02:44:13
May 07 2010 02:39 GMT
#9
On May 07 2010 11:17 KiLL_ORdeR wrote:
I prefer some of the hotkeys, like "E" for Probe, instead of "P," which just distorted your entire hand setup. Some are retarded, like "A" for marines. WTF? what not just be "M?" nothing else uses M in the barracks.

Also, I find that in crisis management mode, I always revert back to BW keys.

also, We can use F keys now?


A is in the left side, M is on the right side. Most (but not all) of the keys in SC2 try to have everything in the left side.

You could use F-keys from the previous patch. Not all the F keys though. (F1 - F4 saved for Hero units & idle workers.)
RumZ
Profile Blog Joined March 2010
United States956 Posts
May 07 2010 02:43 GMT
#10
I have a friend that swears by the SC1 hotkeys/shortcuts whatever people want to call them.


Needless to say he's buried in silver league because he refuses to adapt to sc2. Don't let it happen to you.. don't be afraid to adapt. Just look where some of these buttons are, people should know that sc2 default is much quicker than legacy keys.
Dingo_egret
Profile Joined June 2005
Brazil97 Posts
May 07 2010 02:44 GMT
#11
On May 07 2010 11:18 SoMuchBetter wrote:
i always hated sc1's all over the place hotkeys.
blizzard did a good job with the hotkeys in sc2

This. Personally I feel like the new all-on-the-left-side hotkeys helped me and my small hands macro better more than MBS, no kidding.
"I should wake up from nightmares all sweaty and go like 'OH GOD HE'S BUILDING CANNONS UNDER MY BED'" - Day[9]
RumZ
Profile Blog Joined March 2010
United States956 Posts
May 07 2010 02:44 GMT
#12
On May 07 2010 11:18 SoMuchBetter wrote:
i always hated sc1's all over the place hotkeys.
blizzard did a good job with the hotkeys in sc2



Although I would like to see the immoral hotkey changed to something else... after all these amazing key choices for warpgate/gateway units.. immortals are "i." lol.
USn
Profile Joined March 2010
United States376 Posts
May 07 2010 02:47 GMT
#13
On May 07 2010 11:44 Joey.rumz wrote:
Show nested quote +
On May 07 2010 11:18 SoMuchBetter wrote:
i always hated sc1's all over the place hotkeys.
blizzard did a good job with the hotkeys in sc2



Although I would like to see the immoral hotkey changed to something else...


I want to know what happens when you press the immoral hotkey.
Cham
Profile Blog Joined July 2008
797 Posts
May 07 2010 02:48 GMT
#14
I can't say which one I prefer more, but I am so used to classic shortcuts that sometimes I find myself pressing the wrong buttons. I think the new organization for shortcuts will be a lot better once I can get used to it. My biggest problem is my habit of sending off my initial workers and then hotkeying my nexus to 0 and pressing P haha~
charlesatan
Profile Joined April 2010
Philippines75 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-05-07 03:16:45
May 07 2010 03:10 GMT
#15
Here's the thing with hotkeys, and what you need to take into account:

1) Are you a left-hand (mouse on left hand, keyboard on right) user or a right-hand user (keyboard on left hand, mouse on right)?
2) How quickly do you adapt?
3) Are you a touch typist (or at least use the proper hand placement on keyboard) or use hunt-and-peck?

Right now, the default SC2 key setup favors right-handers and favors touch typist, as most of the keys are on the left side. (There are exceptions, of course, like Immortals, which is annoying.)

If you're a touch typist, however, the best setup would be Grid (w/c can be adjusted for left-handers and right-handers). Everything's accessible in your left hand.*

*This is, however, limited by the fact that not all of your hotkeys will be on the one side. #5 - #8 for example will require you to stretch your left hand out of position (assuming you're a right-hander), as well as the F5-F8 keys.

However, because of #2, the touch typist setup (default SC2 keys or Grid) is not necessarily the most optimal. For example, when you think of the word "Marine", the first letter that comes to mind is "M", not "A" (or whatever is used for Grid). How soon you can reconfigure your brain to adapt is also key here.

If you're a hunt-and-peck type, you'll probably do fine with the "Classic" setup. Touch typists however should favor the SC2 and Grid setup as it favors their particular configuration and is, strictly speaking, more optimal.

If you want to maximize keyboard shortcuts, the best recommendation is that you familiarize yourself with the touch typist hand formation, and then switch to Grid. Everything should be on one side (except for some of your hotkeys). If you're not interested in squeezing every advantage out of hand placement, the SC2 default is a good reconciliation between touch typists and semantics (each shortcut, for example, at the very least has one letter in common with a unit/structure's spelling).

If you're used to the classic setup due to holdover practices (and some of them are fine; keys on the right side of the keyboard lets you hotkey 5-9 easier for example, depending on what you need at the time), then that's fine, especially if you're the hunt-and-peck type. All that switching between left and right side might also help with the circulation of blood in your hand.

Edit: If you're a left-hander, the default SC2 setup is probably the worst. Switch to Grid. Classic slightly favors right-handers but is probably a better reconciliation for left-handers.

Also, how fast can you adapt is a good question to bear in mind. If you're a slow adapter, then favoring Classic might be in your best interest if you have a tournament game tomorrow but honestly you want to switch to Grid or SC2 default (for right-handers) 6 months down the line.
Belegorm
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
United States330 Posts
May 07 2010 03:12 GMT
#16
Thing is that, once again, you usually want your army on the left side of the keyboard, and being able to keep the nexuses and buildings on the right side just seems to make more sense than just clumping them all on the left side.
MUM GIVE ME SOME SCISSORS!!!
charlesatan
Profile Joined April 2010
Philippines75 Posts
May 07 2010 03:28 GMT
#17
On May 07 2010 12:12 Belegorm wrote:
Thing is that, once again, you usually want your army on the left side of the keyboard, and being able to keep the nexuses and buildings on the right side just seems to make more sense than just clumping them all on the left side.


Not really. Unless it's for hotkeys (#5-0), it's better to have everything on one side. Makes switching from micro (i.e. units) to macro (buildings, production, etc.) seamless. Why make it inconvenient for you to switch between the two? (Unless it's the argument that you want more "micro" to separate the skilled players from the noobs, in which case, it's the difference between those who can switch from left to right with those who strictly stick with one side.)
KiLL_ORdeR
Profile Blog Joined June 2009
United States1518 Posts
May 07 2010 20:30 GMT
#18
On May 07 2010 11:44 Joey.rumz wrote:
Show nested quote +
On May 07 2010 11:18 SoMuchBetter wrote:
i always hated sc1's all over the place hotkeys.
blizzard did a good job with the hotkeys in sc2



Although I would like to see the immoral hotkey changed to something else... after all these amazing key choices for warpgate/gateway units.. immortals are "i." lol.


Why would immortals be anything other than I? it's Immortal. starts with "I." Anyway BW hotkeys make more sense.

and what is the deal with F keys. I know there are "hero" (whatever the fuck that means) keys. I'm talking about screen saving like in BW, did they implement that?
In order to move forward, we must rid ourselves of that which holds us back. Check out my stream and give me tips! twitch.tv/intotheskyy
PanzerDragoon
Profile Joined March 2010
United States822 Posts
May 07 2010 21:30 GMT
#19
BW hotkeys are terrible compared to SC2
zomgzergrush
Profile Joined August 2008
United States923 Posts
May 07 2010 21:45 GMT
#20
After the initial upset and frustrated outcries upon the unveiling of sc2 hotkeys, they actually are much more tactically sound. Why the hell would you want to reach to the other side of the keyboard?
Bronze skipping straight to Diamond in 40 games retail release. Bnet 2.0 ladder really takes it's sweet time to think about that league placement.
Kashll
Profile Blog Joined May 2008
United States1117 Posts
May 07 2010 21:47 GMT
#21
On May 07 2010 11:17 mOnion wrote:
again kids these are SHORTCUTS not HOTKEYS


What the hell does that even mean?
"After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music." - Aldous Huxley
QueueQueue
Profile Joined July 2009
Canada1000 Posts
May 07 2010 22:07 GMT
#22
I prefer the new set up. While it took half a day or so to get used to, it just seems so much more optimal now for the most part.
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