Combat unit selection priority

Caydr · Post by **Caydr** » 07 Nov 2005, 23:25

This feature can be seen in such games as Rise of Nations. Basically what it means is that when you do a drag-select of a bunch of units, it filters out anything non-mobile and unarmed. For instance, in a situation where you're being raided but your combat units ars spread out in different parts of your base, you could select them all and order an attack without interrupting all your queues.

ezeepeezee · Post by **ezeepeezee** » 07 Nov 2005, 23:52

Pressing ctrl+w selects all ground combat units, which unfortunately includes your commander.

edit: this is from the hotkey text file-

Control_A AllMap++_ClearSelection_SelectAll+
Control_B AllMap+_Builder_Idle+_ClearSelection_SelectOne+
Control_C AllMap+_Commander+_ClearSelection_SelectOne+
Control_R AllMap+_Radar+_ClearSelection_SelectAll+
Control_W AllMap+_Not_Aircraft_Weapons+_ClearSelection_SelectAll+
Control_X Visible+_Weapons+_SelectNum_5+
Control_Z AllMap+_InPrevSel+_ClearSelection_SelectAll+

You'd want to use ctrl+x

DavetheBrave · Post by **DavetheBrave** » 08 Nov 2005, 00:56

Add something to the Selection Editor - http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2190.

[K.B.] Napalm Cobra · Post by **[K.B.] Napalm Cobra** » 08 Nov 2005, 04:43

Squad/group keys shouldn't select the buildings.

Min3mat · Post by **Min3mat** » 08 Nov 2005, 11:14

set up a hotkey for it then. they are 100% customisable, use the selection editor. u'd want select_all units_mobile_not builder_with weapons or something

Caydr · Post by **Caydr** » 08 Nov 2005, 19:59

No, no.. I mean, suppose I didn't want my entire army to attack one objective. Say I'm building a forward base and I suddenly come under attack on two fronts (a common thing if you're playing against anyone with a brain). I don't have time to pick out half of my 50 units and send them at one target, then send the rest at another, all the while being careful to avoid accidentally messing up the 5 construction kbots' build queues of HLTs that I've carefully placed.

And at the same time, I have an artillery group rally point at a place other than this forward base, to top it off. I do NOT want them to come in and artillery-ify what little defense I've got built already. Using a hotkey is NOT an option.

I need to be able to drag a box around half of my forward base, send all the military units in that area to attack enemy group 1. Then select the others and attack enemy group 2. And quickly, because I'm already beign shelled and losing what precious few defenders I have.

This is a standard feature in every RTS game released since about 2000-2002.

Min3mat · Post by **Min3mat** » 08 Nov 2005, 20:16

who cares...
just use the damn selection hotkeys
mouse select half press a hotkey send the move order
mouse select the other half press a hotkey and send the move order.
might take a extra say .5 secs if u set a easy hotkey?

AF · Post by AF » 08 Nov 2005, 21:13

You mean like in HW2, if I was attacked by a vaygr fleet of battleships and fighters, I could set it up so i could drag voer my military and attack and I didnt have to worry about the many resource colectors inbetween them that would ahev been selected because of this feature....

A must ahve, I can see that a groupAI doing it could be done but it wouldnt be a very nice thign to code, or use either.

SinbadEV · Post by **SinbadEV** » 08 Nov 2005, 21:38

seriousely, set up teh freaking hot keys, I want to be able to group select units and con buildings and move them and anything the building build in the future, I want to be able to group select Metal Makers to turn them off, I want to be able to select a group of builders and attack units and send them to patrol together and let the cons heal the units while in battle, I would rather even CTRL click all the buildings if it comes to that then not be able to group select them in the first place... but the selection keys are there and do all the stuff you could ever want so just learn to use them (and back up your file before re-installing so you don't have to do it every time)

zwzsg · Post by **zwzsg** » 09 Nov 2005, 01:43

Maybe Spring could be shipped with a good set of group keys, and a tips dispenser talking about them?

AF · Post by AF » 09 Nov 2005, 21:12

Or maybe you could just double click on th metal makers and ahve all on screen selected?

SinbadEV · Post by **SinbadEV** » 09 Nov 2005, 21:37

because sometimes I want to slect 5 of them instead of all of them on the screen... you don't think like a moron, most people here don't...

AF · Post by AF » 10 Nov 2005, 20:22

Well eitherway it's a feature I think should be set as an option, thats hwo it's set up in other games.

Lets say if you do a selection box and 75%+ of the utnis are military untis then ignore the non-military units unlss they're jammers/ mobile radar, would eb a simple enough heuristic.

mongus · Post by **mongus** » 10 Nov 2005, 20:39

well if spring didnt OVERWRITE my custom keys every time i would have avery nice ones to post here..

But what you want caydr can be done...

drag your box then...

press a key that:

Uses Previous selection.
Selects all but builders and commie.. and radar?
And then, selects the half of it (select percentage 50).

you can add that half to a custom selection group (like group 1)..

select them all once more and filter only the military ones, order all to move stress point 1, then quickly, select group 1, and order it to stress point 2.

that is a way to do it.

as the arty prioity.... you can use a name does not contain... this name comes from the unit name= field, not the short name.

Using that and long long strings.. i did a hotkey with alt+1 that selected all my artyllery in screen, and nothin else.. all units with greater than x range and filter out some others (like the hedgehog).

alt+2 was infantry.. didnt use it much though...

BINGO! found a pre-update spring copy and there where the selection keys.. the problem is they are too long to post.. will post the shorter one.

Alt_1 Visible+_Not_Builder_Not_Building_Not_Commander_Not_Aircraft_Weapons_WeaponRange_874_Not_NameContain_Hedge_Not_NameContain_carab+_ClearSelection_SelectAll+

altougth.. i think you want something more advanced like..
something that splits your army in balanced halfs and manage this as subgroups..
selection editor a a good (great!) starting point..
scripting could get more of this tool?..

SinbadEV wrote:I want to be able to group select Metal Makers to turn them off

seriously SinbadEV.. dont you know of Metal maker AI?????
just put all your metal makers there and.. its automatic.

AF · Post by AF » 10 Nov 2005, 20:44

I believe that you cna also set it for mouse buttons and if not it wouldnt be that much harder to add mouse keys to the keybindings.

Caydr · Post by **Caydr** » 10 Nov 2005, 20:50

Hmm... maybe someone could make it so that Spring comes with a bunch of these sorts of things pre-set? A key to pick onscreen artillery, a key to pick everything besides onscreen artillery and builders and special purpose, etc.

mongus · Post by **mongus** » 10 Nov 2005, 20:56

you are very welcome to contribute to that thread with your own favorite ones Caydr :)

we can then make a poll or something wiht the most used and ask for inclusion

e: you mean options "profiles", i like them :)

the key biddings must still be recolected and subselected.. (er..)

AF · Post by AF » 10 Nov 2005, 21:08

nope, I think that I shall setup keybindings so that they'r a part of option profiles when I set it up so you can swap between them for different mdos ro donlaoded versions, perhaps see a full list of commonly used oens and cherry pick from them.

Spring RTS Engine

Combat unit selection priority

Combat unit selection priority