W,A,S,D ?

Dcully

Its probably not the way the top rts players play but is there any way i can pan my camera with W A S D keys?
While i try to practice hoytkeys im never going to be fast enough at it so id like to free up w a s d tohave the option.
I tried via options but dont seem to have the ability to remap keys?

Stingerbar

I wouldn't do that, it'll cause 'rts' problems later on..



Use the minimap at bottom left to flick to where you want to see

Use the mouse to the edges of the screen to adjust that view (or holding mouse3)

Use your control group, so if you bind your command centre to 1, then hit 1 1, to go straight there, then 2 2 to, say, go to your barracks, then 3 3 to go to your army

A combination of above is what most rts players use, putting in scroll keys is death

Please watch this video, it'll learn you how to play real good
http://day9tv.blip.tv/file/3732340/

Gummy Panda

Don't do that.

Use the minimap. If you need to centre on a unit hotkey it (CTRL+(1-0)) then press the number twice

Example: I hockey my command centre.to 1. I press 11 to centre on it.

WSAD is needed for unit production.

Dcully

Yeah i realise its best to use keys as you guys describe, i just think an option for w a s d would be nice
Having said that ive been using mouse 3 so far so its probably best to stick with it, thanks guys.

gearoidof

use your right hand to move screen :-)

TheDoc

I've been unable to actually re-bind any hotkeys in the game.

I prefer using wsad as camera up,down,left,right.

It will literally, save your life, and enhance your success in battle.


When it comes to microing units, having to move the mouse around to move the camera, instead of on your units, is a bad idea, trust me.

The mouse is a very important item in your arsenal in any RTS game, and with the little health in SC2, especially here. moving your mouse away from units, to the edge of the screen or minimap can be disastrous.

I'd highly recommend binding camera movement to a keyboard key, it allows you to pan camera whilst still clicking units, there will be hundreds of times where units will roll off field and you need to move the camera whilst controlling units. It will also get you in the habbit of rolling the camera behind the enemy lines to see if there is oncoming re-inforcements.

Then its a matter of time before you start being able to control units while panning the camera and building units.

I typicaly bind my army to shift1-5 divided by unit type etc.

I then use shift 7-0 to bind key buildings. I couple the same things together, so for example i usually have 2 barracks on 9, two starports on 8, my hub on 0 and my expos on 7-6.

I know you will hear most people say they use the mouse to pan camera, but from my experience the best RTs players in the world use keybindings to control the camera in battle.

And from experience, anything you can pickup and do from them, makes you a better player.

But its also horses for courses, and what you feel comfortable with, personally I couldnt deal with using my mouse to pan camera in a battle.

Dcully

tbh i find it a chore to use the mouse for panning the camera.
It just doesnt feel right to me , im more comfy using keys for it.
Why they dont allow us bind rebind keys for it is beyond me.

Gummy Panda

Dcully wrote: »

tbh i find it a chore to use the mouse for panning the camera.
It just doesnt feel right to me , im more comfy using keys for it.
Why they dont allow us bind rebind keys for it is beyond me.

Because of unit production. You'd have to rebind each race as they use different keys for similar units e.g. D for drone but S for SCV.

Also if the camera is an issue why not using the double pressing of key groups e.g. Main army set to 1 then press 1 1 to centre on them.

Dcully

Also if the camera is an issue why not using the double pressing of key groups e.g. Main army set to 1 then press 1 1 to centre on them.

Yep im doing that, its for small camera movements keys just feel better to me.
Ill stick to with mouse 3 to pan for now, its not a real problem, my main problem is unit countering, i guess that will come in time.
Im getting totally owned in the practice league games.

gearoidof

I was under the impression that most pros had a gridkey mod installed?
(i.e. qwer equiv press the 4 top buttons in the bottom right corner box. asdf 2nd level, zxcv 3rd, much more intuitive).

Gummy Panda

There is a grid function in the options iirc. Im not near a pc so can't check

Jonny7

Are you sure about top players using the pan keys? I've never heard that one before, I didn't think anyone used them because they get in the way of your hotkeys to build etc, I've certainly never seen an FPSvod where any korean dude uses. Personally, my advice is to stay from away from camera panning keys..


You can have area bindings, some of the F keys to go to preset places in the maps
You should use the minimap to quickly flick view to where you want
Use the control group numbers to centre on a building, unit or units
And finally in Starcraft 2 some use mouse3 to pan the screen a bit (handy if you are new)

Last but not least, you can micro adjust with mouse to the edge of the screen.

For me its 90% minimap clicks and double pressing control groups to see where I wanna see

gearoidof

The pros don't use a wasd panning mod, but they may use a gridkey mod. Certainly so in the last RTS I played

TheDoc

gearoidof wrote: »

The pros don't use a wasd panning mod, but they may use a gridkey mod. Certainly so in the last RTS I played

From watching WC3 players in the flesh id say most of them did. The very top didnt, but those guys had an unatural exactness for mouse clicking, and played with unbelieveable sensitivity.

Your run of the mill competition player seemed to use wasd to pan the camera, thats what I picked up on and learned , but just cant rebind in this game, so im being forced to use the mouse and to me the difference is staggering, in a very negative way.

I'm cool with learning new methods and generally fast on picking up on things, remember as a younger fella moving from the arrow keys to wasd in fps games and it was a quick and easy transition.

For me personally this change is massive and awkward

Gummy Panda

TheDoc wrote: »

I'm cool with learning new methods and generally fast on picking up on things, remember as a younger fella moving from the arrow keys to wasd in fps games and it was a quick and easy transition.

haha I did too. I blame doom. I think it was arrow keys to move and ctrl to shoot.

In regards to WSAD, if you were a WC3 playing i could see an issue. I wasn't. From watching Vods and replays, I could see why camera control was important. It seemed much reduced unit numbers and move emphasis on hero micro. Well thats the impression I got.

I only played single player as I had no broadband at its release. Forgot to go back to it to try multiplayer until most games were DOTA which i didn't understand :pac:

TheDoc

Gummy Panda wrote: »

haha I did too. I blame doom. I think it was arrow keys to move and ctrl to shoot.

In regards to WSAD, if you were a WC3 playing i could see an issue. I wasn't. From watching Vods and replays, I could see why camera control was important. It seemed much reduced unit numbers and move emphasis on hero micro. Well thats the impression I got.

I only played single player as I had no broadband at its release. Forgot to go back to it to try multiplayer until most games were DOTA which i didn't understand :pac:

Yup your spot on, WC3 had less units with more health, and loosing a unit was a disaster, losing a hero was pretty much GG.

I'm kinda dealing with the lack of wasd so far, units die so fast in SC its worrying to get my head around :O

Gybe

Warcraft 3 players used gridkey to rebind the hero item slots, never really for panning. Of the SC1 pros Boxer was the only one I can recall using the arrow keys to pan, mostly people just double tap the unit control group to focus on 'em. I tend to set my camera pan speed pretty high for when I do need to nudge the camera around.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmYhX8fjmo8