Game Button Affect List

[Mister E]

So I figured out how to use gauge buttons synchronized with my FL tick timer to create a fully functioning affects bar at the bottom of my zmud screen. It is so incredibly handy to have a real time gauge of all my spells without having to type "aff". Especially in the heat of battle or in large groups when the text flies so fast you can barely catch how much time is left on key buffs without splitting your screen and scrolling back. Since I am using custom colours and button sizes it is even superior to the in game affect list you can create. Additionally I can then gag my affects from in game so when I do type "aff" it will only show what I don't have buttons for, very nice for tracking debuffs easily!

If anyone wants to know how to do this in zmud, pm me.

[Atticus]

Mush client. Come onnn

[Mmm Coffee]

I haven't gone that far, but it's definitely easier to manage simply adding color triggers to highlight affects that are less than x hours and use a special color for 0 hours.

[The Forsaken]

I use wintin95, but I'd be interested in at least seeing a screen shot of what you've got. Show it off!

[Mister E]

Here is an offline screenshot of my zmud. You can see my gauges at the bottom of the screen. I blocked some information but you get the gist of it.

[Mister E]

Since there was some interest in how I did this I will simply post my methods here rather than have to PM every interested person. I went through quite a bit of trial and error to make it work so I will share how I did it, then maybe people not using zmud can still accomplish something similar on their own.

[Mister E]

The first thing you need is a tick timer which looks like this:

for the pattern to work you need the time in your prompt with a keyword next to it, I use the word time.

pattern: - (%n)time

value:

#IF (%1 <> @time) {#TS 30} {}

#var time %1

This is a simple tick timer for zmud. What it does it everytime you hit return and refresh your prompt it checks the value of the game time and compares it to the current value stored as variable time. If the value has changed it then assigns the new time to the variable and resets the tick timer to 30 seconds, if the value has not changed it does nothing. My gauges will work without the tick timer part of this trigger, but I see no reason to omit it, it is a handy tool for catching ticks in game.

Now that you are keeping track of the time you can start to do more. I will explain how to make a button for sanctuary and bless but first I will explain why I do it the way I will show you. At first I had a trigger that would fire on the phrase "You are surrounded by a white aura" and give the variable sanc a value equal to the average duration of the sanctuary I was using and then I set a trigger to lower that variable by 1 every time my time trigger went off. This proved to be annoying though for two reasons, one being that depending where my sanctuary came from the duration differed greatly and two if I idled at all in game and missed a tick or two (aka my prompt timer jumped from 4 to 7 for example) it would screw with my gauge.

So I reworked by method like this. My trigger now comes from my in game affect list.

pattern: Spell: sanctuary : for (%n) hours

value:

#var sanc %1

#math sanc @sanc+1

#gag

This will now give my gauge the correct value for sanc when I type "a". I added the plus one because in the gauge button 0 will show empty when in FL 0 really means 1. I then gagged the pattern since I have the button so I don't see it in my affects (though zmud still reads what it gags).

Next I need the variable to countdown, so I added another pattern to my previous tick timer. (all my affect variables are in the same trigger for the tick timer)

pattern: - (%n)time

value:

#IF (%1 <> @time) {#math sanc @sanc-1} {}

#IF (%1 <> @time) {#TS 30} {}

#var time %1

This simple code checks the time, if it changed then it will reduce the sanc variable by 1, if the time is the same, nothing happens.

Now create a button. the "kind" needs to be gauge. You can name the button whatever you like, I recommend naming it after the spell it represents. You can choose the background color, the font color, the size of the button, the location etc...

Under the gauge tab you have the following:

value: @sanc (this has to be the same as whatever variable you are using for the affect)

gauge max: set this to whatever you want the gauge to start counting down from.

gauge low: this value is optional, if you use it however you can have the button change color when your spell is about to drop.

I set the gauge maxs for around 5 to 15. I do not need to see long lasting spells drop a sliver from 50 hours to 0, in such a small gauge space it would be unnoticeable. If your value is higher than the max then the bar simply remains full. Usually you only want to know when a spell is getting low anyway.

For Sanctuary I use max 11, low 3. So my button will have 11 increments and when sanc gets to 2 hours (3 ticks) it changes color to alert me it will soon drop. You can configure this however you want.

Some spells are a bit more complex because they have different possible affects. Let's look at bless. Since blessings come from different gods and can do different things I did my trigger this way.

pattern: Spell: bless : modifies * by * for (%n) hours

value:

#var bless %1

#MATH bless @bless+1

my value is the same essentially but in the pattern I used * to cover multiple possibilities. The rest is the same. I do not gag bless because I like to be able to see which type of blessing I have when I type aff. Bless is the only buff I do not gag. I make a button for bless the exact same way and now my tick timer trigger looks like this:

pattern: - (%n)time

value:

#IF (%1 <> @time) {#math bless @bless-1} {}

#IF (%1 <> @time) {#math sanc @sanc-1} {}

#IF (%1 <> @time) {#TS 30} {}

#var time %1

And voila, you can do this for any spell you want.

Here are a couple more things I did. Since sometimes spells drop before they timeout (death and or dispel) I set triggers like this example.

pattern: You slowly float to the ground.

value:

#var fly 0

Now if your spells drop suddenly the gauge reflects it immediately.

There are only two small downsides to using this system.

1) You still have to type "a" after you cast for the gauge to reflect the new spell(s). To me this is still more accurate that having a trigger for every buff that assigns a predetermined number to the corresponding variable.

2) If you detect magic and look at someone else it can sometimes alter your own variables.

To solve annoyance #2 I created a macro. F12 sets all my affect variables to 0. So in the event I no longer trust my gauges I quickly hit F12 then "a". This immediately empties my gauges and re-assigns the correct number to all the variables. And since they are all gagged it doesn't flood my screen at all.

One last thing, if for some reason you want to gag a skill or spell that has multiple lines you can use #gag 2, #gag 3, and so on to gag multiple lines of affects.

I hope this is clear enough for you guys to create your own working affect buttons, if you encounter any trouble (in zmud) I will be happy to try and help you.

[Trick]

I don't use any timers or notifications outside of affect's list. I have time set in prompt and use aff to see the time, I count down every timer based on a simple hour counter on my prompt. I don't use special colors, sounds, or anything to prompt me about anything. I think PK is about skill and less about what your client can do for you, so I keep it as minimal as possible.

My prompt:

[HP:1000/1000 MN:1000/1000 MV:1000/1000]

<1000gold 1000xnt 0hour>

I then have a prompt for lvl 50 characters that changes xnt to cps. That's all I use. I am a minimalist to the extreme. Nothing is done for me and I do it all for myself. I think abusing client features is exaggerating your own abilities to PK. Being in the military I have learned to pay attention to detail and learn to adapt and overcome. If you need a client to do that for you, then you are obviously beneath my capabilities and your own. Anyone can learn it, just be disciplined.

[Mister E]

What I am showing here will NOT make anyone a better pker. It will help you manage your spells better and more efficiently, that's all.

People's prompts are custom for a reason. I like nice colors and lots of info cuz I am into that sort of thing, again it does not improve pk, it is simply aesthetics. I have a very fancy prompt though

edit: btw someone who PM'ed me has a full inbox, so I will just say to anyone that if they need extra help with what I am showing here just PM me and I can try to help if needed.

[Mmm Coffee]

Nothing is done for me and I do it all for myself. I think abusing client features is exaggerating your own abilities to PK. Being in the military I have learned to pay attention to detail and learn to adapt and overcome. If you need a client to do that for you' date=' then you are obviously beneath my capabilities and your own. Anyone can learn it, just be disciplined. [/quote']

...or you're just not technically savvy enough

[f0xx]

You know what would be more useful, having that bar with your enemy's spells

[Mister E]

It could be done just as easily and in the same way you make your own.

[Mister E]

I am a minimalist to the extreme. Nothing is done for me and I do it all for myself. I think abusing client features is exaggerating your own abilities to PK. Being in the military I have learned to pay attention to detail and learn to adapt and overcome. If you need a client to do that for you' date=' then you are obviously beneath my capabilities and your own. Anyone can learn it, just be disciplined.[/quote']

I don't really understand how you think this is abuse or an exaggeration of PK ability.

You said yourself you use the affects list and have the time in your prompt. You are using the EXACT same information as me, you are just choosing a different way to view it.

[P_body]

Don't worry Mister E. He's just jealous.

[egreir]

Anyone who says a tick timer, triggers, colors, etc does not aid in PK is either

1) Not good at PK anyway

2) So used to it that they've forgotten what it feels like to play thru telnet

[Mister E]

Aid, yes.

Make you a better PKer, no.