alternatives to arrow key movement?

[perkeyone]

some ideas i just came up with that i would like some feedback on because im not sure if they would work (since i dont know exactly why detecting when a player hits an arrow key is delayed in multiplayer)

so far ive only come up with 3... and they have some huge holes in them
if anyone could use these ideas and adapt them
or come up with a different idea
or notice a problem with the ideas i had so far
or knows of a way to fix a problem i noticed
please comment

ok here goes

idea 1

use 4 or more abilities
with hot keys in this shape
   _
 _|_|_
|_|_|_|
such as ijkl
(ensure that the hotkeys for these spells do not coincide with existing hotkeys)

possible cons:
uses many abilities
moving would require the player to tap the hot key several times as opposed to simply holding it down.
may not even accomplish the task of avoiding the delay i hope it does.

idea 2

make a trigger to constantly issue a move order to a unit to the center of the players view.

possible cons:
the camera can be scrolled much faster than the unit can move
if a player clicks their mini map it could order the unit to move to a far off point.
the unit wont react to attack while moving untill it reaches the center of the view. (unless you make some alterations.. such as ordering it to attack-move)

idea 3

make 4 or more undroppable items triggered to move a unit

possible cons:
uses items slots
the arrangement of item hot keys is not similar to arrow keys

 

[vypur85]

Arrow keys are still the best to use despite the delay. Mainly is because of the ability to detect pressed/released.

> may not even accomplish the task of avoiding the delay i hope it does.

Abilities event detection is almost immediate, unlike Keyboard events. But as you say, not nice to use because the need to tap it continuously.

The other ideas seem not too good to me. It's either Arrow keys or Abilities. I'd very much prefer the former.

 

[Waaaaagh]

Has anyone ever thought of detecting arrow key presses through movement of the camera? I'm pretty sure camera movement is local = no delay. It'd take some sync work, and you'd have to find a way to keep the camera from shaking, but you might be able to make it work.

 

[perkeyone]

Arrow keys are still the best to use despite the delay. Mainly is because of the ability to detect pressed/released.

> may not even accomplish the task of avoiding the delay i hope it does.

Abilities event detection is almost immediate, unlike Keyboard events. But as you say, not nice to use because the need to tap it continuously.

The other ideas seem not too good to me. It's either Arrow keys or Abilities. I'd very much prefer the former.

thanks for the feedback
i wish there was a way around that
what if using the ability makes the unit move continuously in a given direction?
like that game with the snake(or a worm) that eats apples and then it gets longer and you dies if you run into yourself
but.. make it so if you tap the ability again youd stop?
or if you tap the opposite direction you stop or something.

Has anyone ever thought of detecting arrow key presses through movement of the camera? I'm pretty sure camera movement is local = no delay. It'd take some sync work, and you'd have to find a way to keep the camera from shaking, but you might be able to make it work.

hmm detect when the camera moves...
i guess the scroll speed of the camera would need to be adjusted too