If we can program keys for certain functions, what are your preferences
 

Necessity is the mother of invention. I am convinced either me or someone else will generate a program that allows hotkeys to combine functions not presently in SH4. Keymapper, according to jimimadrid, will not create a program for functions not existing in the game. Setkeys will. However, Setkeys is set up for SH3 and not SH4. Irish as indicated he will take a shot at converting it. Unfortunately, it does not come with any sort of tutorial that I can find. I have downloaded AutoHotkey to see if that might work. I joined a forum for AutoHotkey, as my first attempt at a simple script screwed up my "spacebar," so I deactivated the program so I could use my keyboard. Every time I hit the space bar, I would go directly to the Google home page. (ha, ha, ha!) With such an illustrious beginning the future looks dim re my success. However, I know more know than yesterday, and you never can tell.... (Maybe I am a repressed Bill Gates/Steve Jobs combo? Okay IGD, get real.)

So, I invite everyone to list the functions they would like to add to the keyboard they would like to add to SH4. If someone figures out how to program it, they will have a list. My main ones are:

1. Open all six four or six forward torpedoe tubes in one keystroke.
2. Open all aft torpedoes tubes in one keystroke.
3. Close all torpedoe tubes in one keystroke.
4. Crash dive to Periscope Depth;
5. Level the submarine off after submerging;
6. TC to search speed (say 1500 TC)
7. TC to maximum.
8. Set both the deck gun team and anti aircraft team to Battle Stations and to fire at will in one keystroke.
9. Fire a salvo of two torpedoes with predesignated spread.
10. Fire a salvo of three torpedpes with a predesignated spread.
11. Some new search patterns.
12. Open the Ship I.D. booklet when you have identified the target.

Any others? Fire away...

I've read about how the watch, if left in their crew slots and not placed in the aft battery or DC stations, are actually more vulnerable to attack than the rest of the crew when submerged (though I haven't experienced this anomaly yet). If so, a keystroke to send them to safer slots? Other than that, I can't think of anything at this moment that you haven't covered.

I don't use any of the SetKeys mods, preferring to edit Commands.cfg myself.

SH3 let you open them all with the switches on the console. SH4 doesn't even let you do that. It would be nice.

Maybe, but probably just as easy to make them all close automatically at a certain depth.

Oh, and the linguist in me is forcing me to tell you that there is only one 'e' in 'torpedo'. 'Torpedoes' is the proper plural (for all those who like to misuse apostrophes).

They couldn't do that in real life. If you insist you can edit the CrashDepth file in each .cfg file in the Submarine folder.

Doesn't the 'A' key already do that?

Don't know if that one could be done, but maybe.

Somebody did it for SH3. SH4 should be just as easy.

Interesting. I don't want my deck gun crew to fire right away, but I would think it's doable.

American boats couldn't fire salvoes. The Germans could, but the way it's done in-game is totally wrong. But that's nothing to do with the setkeys thing, so I'll drop it now.

That would be interesting. I don't use the game's search patterns anyway, but for those who do it would be nice to have more options.

That's one I can definitely get behind. SH3 did it. SH4 should.

I recently purchased a Logitech G110 keyboard that allows one to do exactly what you propose with the use of macro keys on the left side of the keyboard, easy-peasy. For instance, I press one key to go to periscope depth\hydrophone screen\all stop\8 TC\clock\spin the hydrophone compass then press another key to surface\all ahead 2/3rds\nav map\clock\512 TC. I have another key I press that enables crash dive\battle stations\2TC. Another key is just for going from 1TC to 512TC\clock. Works great! I can set it up exactly to my preferences. I can even time when I want a particular key to be pressed in the macro sequence. There is supposed to be a way to program a macro in game, but I haven't tried it yet. I'm wondering if it will respond to a mouse click and set a particular depth or heading. I can see where that would be useful to avoid an approaching aircraft in somewhat shallow water. Guess I'll have to find out.

greybeard
 

I have a laptop....

sailor steve
 

torpedo is the correct spelling per your post.:wah:

Add an 's' and it'll be fine. (ok, ok ' torpedoes tubes' is just as bad.) =0)

(I have to double-check this stuff all the time. Doesn't help when some online sources misspell it ... though it is a telling sign, usually, whether I can trust the source, later, when I find out they can't spell.) :D

where do I go to learn to understand the cfg file?
 

see the title above.

I got your PM and replied. I'll help any way I can. :sunny:

[edit] Now that I think of it, once you look over Commands.cfg why don't you ask questions here. If we do it publically others can see how it's done too.

It's usb. I'm sure it could be made to function with your laptop, unless you have no usb ports.

You can use just about any macro program (grab it at your local google) to do most of these things that you want to do.

Heres one: http://www.autohotkey.com/

Its free and open source, you might have to toy with it a little, but Im sure it can fill most if not all of your requests.

I have made some progress. I was able to open the file in SetKeys, that enables one to program keys. I tried and failed. I sent a PM to jimimadrid asking him to take a look at the program and see if he could help me out. I am going to try to figure out how to post a download link, which I have never done before. Then some computer literate captains can wrap their heads around it. This is long overdue in SH4 in my opinion.

I gave up on AutoHotKey. I had trouble working my around its tutorials.

SetKey may be the solution.
 

Here are the two SetKey files. I need some help here, as my first attemt to reprogram the torpedo tubes so they are open and set for "fast" speed was a failure. One of the files, the second program, has an index for SH3. I assume that some of the commands can be used for SH4.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/rqqsqe...SetKeys1_3.exe

http://www.mediafire.com/file/xbfux0...gp/SetKeys.exe

The ideal set up would be a mod that incorporate as many of the keyboard modifications as it can based upon suggestions in another thread in this forum. If you are following this, you probably know what I am referring to. If you can fix the keyboard with this, remember some of use do not have a number pad as part of the keyboard, but the numbrer pad is part of the laptop keyboard configuration. If someone figures this thing out, I would be happy to discuss key combinations for opening all the torpedo tubes, etc.

Hee is the jzip file. I just added this one.

http://www.mediafire.com/?4uzrxp6n27264pn

Can you use SetKey to reprogram the following
 

I tried to set the torpedoes to High speed using the SetKey program. It did not work. If someone can get this to work and explain what I did wrong, let me know. Maybe the program does not work with SH4? It is more likely I did not do it correctly.

Here is what I did.

I activated SetKey.exe in the mods forum. That brought up the programming screen. I went to torpedo speed first and then to torpedo tubes, as follows.

1. Set the torpedo speed to Shift + F keys
2. Set torpedo tubes 1-6 to Shift + F keys

I saved the set up.

I cannot find the back up bmp file or know how to create it. I do not know what function it serves.

I began TMO and went to the periscope station. There I set the dial for torpedo speed to High and then I tapped the Shift + F keys.

Nothing happened.

If we can get this operating, then I can experiment with other combinations.

if you could program a hotkey to substitute "send bearing to tdc", THAT would be great =) I think. think of it like saying "Mark!" and then "Fire!" would be much quicker as well and enable a rapid manual spread w/o using the position keeper

... I tried myself once but it didn't work, even though there is such a command in the commands.cfg, it is not "hotkeyable"...