HotkeyNet and Age of Conan

[Freddie]

I just tested HotkeyNet with Age of Conan. They work fine together except the current version of HKN can't send to AoC while AoC is in the background. If AoC is in the background, HKN will bring it forward before sending. Here are some examples that show how to set up HKN for two copies of AOC.


//----------------------------------------
// SAMPLE LABELS
//----------------------------------------
<Label aoc1 Local SendWin "Age of Conan">
<Label aoc2 192.168.1.102 SendWin "Age of Conan">

//----------------------------------------
// SAMPLE MOVEMENT KEYS
//----------------------------------------
<HoldDownKey up, down, left, right>
<SendLabel aoc1, aoc2>

//----------------------------------------
// SAMPLE BROADCAST KEYS
//----------------------------------------
<BroadcastKey 1, 2, 3>
<SendLabel aoc1, aoc2>

//----------------------------------------
// SAMPLE CHAT COMMAND
//----------------------------------------
<Hotkey F1>
<SendWin "Age of Conan">
<Key Enter><Text /say hi><Key Enter>

[Allokra]

Cool - right now I have to play on two different computers to run two characters but I am trying to set up a second one on my main computer. I am having issues starting two instances of AoC up though. I installed them into different directories (Funcom and Funcom 2) from scratch (no copying of folders etc.) The first one starts fine...if I start the second one..it just keeps rerunning the patcher over and over...I even got the error "you can only run two instances from different installations) even though both came from different installations...any idea what I can do?

[Freddie]

I don't know because when I started to install a second copy I got a warning message, "A previous installation of Age of Conan has been detected. It is strongly recommended that you uninstall the old version before you proceed." This made me think that a second install might screw things up and I would have to uninstall and start from scratch. Since the first install took over three and a half hours, I just couldn't face the thought of having to do it over. :)

[Allokra]

Thanks, I just figured it out. Like I said, I installed the second copy from scratch into another directory. I can run the first one without problems...however, the only way I got the second copy to work was by loading the "Patcher Setup" file in the second AoC directory. I managed to run both instances on one comp in windowed mode. At medium settings it is actually decent FPS (30-45). Thanks for your software - I was hesitant to use it (oh noes - learning something new to use) but it was pretty easy. You had a warning in your sample that stated that it can't send the keystrokes to a background window...the noob that I am...I thought that meant that you can't really utilize the program the way I did with AHK...but it works the same way...just that once I activate the script in AoC1 - it permanently jumps to AoC2 as the active window.

[Freddie]

Great, those instructions will help. I put that warning there because normally (with other games) HKN can send keystrokes to windows while they remain in the background, without activating them, but that doesn't work with AoC. As for bringing the second window to the foreground and leaving it there, HKN has a <Restore> command that automatically puts the first window back. But unfortunately <Restore> can only be used with HKN's "old" method of defining hotkeys, not the new method I used in the sample. (The new method requires a lot less typing.) I haven't finished adding the new method to the program yet, that's why it's limited in that way.

[Allokra]

My next project was trying to run a third instance of the game on my main computer...I can pull all three up in windowed mode and I would like to play my main on my main monitor and then split the other two on my second monitor...I used to do it with WOWmaximizer in WOW but how can I do it with Age of COnan. I was searching for some file in the AoC directory where I could force it to a smaller setting but didnt find anything. Any idea how I can do the same splitting as in WOW?

[Freddie]

I can't find AoC's stored screen resolution info either. Maybe somebody on the AoC forums knows where AoC puts it.

[Freddie]

Turns out you can resize AoC's window with an ordinary resize command. For example, with HotkeyNet, you can do it like this:


<Hotkey F1>
<TargetWindow "Age of Conan">
<SetWinSize 960 800>
That automatically adjusts the resolution of the 3D part of the screen (the landscape and characters). However it doesn't adjust the size or position of the interface doodads (hotbar, map, etc.). I can't find a way to adjust the size and position of the doodads. But the results aren't too bad if you set AoC's default resolution to the smallest possible size with AoC itself before you change anything with a third-party program.

I tried removing the window frame and caption with HotkeyNet's RemoveWinFrame command:


<Hotkey F1>
<TargetWindow "Age of Conan">
<RemoveWinFrame>
This works but unfortunately it causes AoC to position interface doodads incorrectly so some get cut off and others float inside the window. It's sort of workable but imperfect.

[Mosg2]

Any chance of getting a "from-scratch" guide to running multiple instances of AoC? I'm *really* interested in running 6 ToS :)

[Kopitar]

6 ToS? ouch

[Mosg2]

Ok, I spent 3 hours trying to get AHK working with two installs of AoC on the same computer... No dice.

The only keys I want to send to the second window are 3, 4, 5, E, R, F, Q, SPACE, and the LSHIFT plus the previous. Can anyone give me a quick explanation of what my script file should look like?

[Freddie]

Are you asking about AHK (AutoHotkey) or HotkeyNet?

[Mosg2]

Hehe, I fixed ze problem by realizing that I'm an idiot.

[Freddie]

I know the feeling all too well! :)

[Mosg2]

Ugh.

Got it working, which is awesome. The downside is...

Whenever I click a key using HKN to send it to both windows it brings the second window to the foreground. This means when I'm mouse-looking and I click a key it drops mouselook. Is there anyway to set it up so that it doesn't go back and forth between the screens?

[Freddie]

With WoW, the answer would be yes. You would change "SendWin" to "SendWinM". Unfortunately that doesn't work with AoC. :(

Maybe we can figure out a way. Hmm. Here's something you can try. Make a hotkey like this:


<Hotkey F1>
<TargetWindow NAME-OF-MAIN-AOC-WINDOW>
<AlwaysOnTop>
Hit that once to lock the main AoC on top, then try what you've been doing.

[Mosg2]

I don't know if you can figure this out, but... It would only swap windows from aoc1 to aoc2. If I was mouselooking in aoc2 and hit a button it would NOT activate the other window and would let me continue to mouselook.

I added in the AlwaysOnTop lines and it still didn't fix it. Then, I changed

<BroadcastKey 3, 4, 5, e, r, f, q, SPACE, lshift SPACE, lshift 3, lshift 4, lshift 5, lshift e, lshift r, lshift f, lshift q>
<SendLabel aoc1, aoc2>

to

<BroadcastKey 3, 4, 5, e, r, f, q, SPACE, lshift SPACE, lshift 3, lshift 4, lshift 5, lshift e, lshift r, lshift f, lshift q>
<SendLabel aoc2, aoc1>

And it fixed everything. I don't really care HOW it fixed it just that it fixed it :) Now that that's good... I don't have any complaints. I'm getting 45-50fps on my main window and 20-30 on my second window with decent graphics settings.

[Freddie]

Grats on getting it working. Would you mind pasting your labels here? I'm curious.

By the way, I should have warned you that once you loaded that hotkey I suggested and hit F1, the targeted AOC would be locked on top and the other one could never be brought to the foreground until you closed the targted one and reopened it. (Of course if it had worked there would have been other hotkeys that would reverse the situation gracefully.)

[Mosg2]

This is my script for AoC right now. I just started doing HKN yesterday so I'm sure there are ways to play with it and make it more efficient. Basically, I load up both games and get them going and then hit function keys f1 through f8 and I get two fullscreen AoC's with great FPS and all of my keybinds going back and forth... Plus the Pause/Break button pauses the macro so that I can type. It's just like Keyclone except it takes a bit more manual input to get it going.

<hotkey F1>
<sendpc local>
<rename "Age of Conan" aoc1>
<rename "Age of Conan" aoc2>

<Label aoc1 local SendWin aoc1>
<Label aoc2 local SendWin aoc2>

<BroadcastKey 3, 4, 5, e, r, f, q, SPACE, lshift SPACE, lshift 3, lshift 4, lshift 5, lshift e, lshift r, lshift f, lshift q>
<SendLabel aoc2, aoc1>

<hotkey F2>
<sendpc local>
<TargetWindow aoc1>
<RemoveWinFrame>

<hotkey F3>
<sendpc local>
<TargetWindow aoc2>
<RemoveWinFrame>

<Hotkey F4>
<TargetWindow aoc1>
<SetWinSize 1280 1024>

<Hotkey F5>
<TargetWindow aoc2>
<SetWinSize 1280 1024>

<Hotkey F6>
<TargetWindow aoc1>
<SetWinPos 0 0>

<Hotkey F7>
<TargetWindow aoc2>
<SetWinPos 1280 0>

<Hotkey F8>
<SendPC local>
<TargetWindow aoc1>
<AlwaysOnTop on>

<hotkey Pause>
<sendpc local>
<ToggleHotkeys>

[Freddie]

I'm glad to hear you got it set up. If you can think of anything I can do to make this easier for other people, please let me know.

Is "AlwaysOnTop" helping?

You didn't ask for suggestions, so I won't make any. Well maybe just one thing. Some of your hotkeys can be combined so you don't have to push so many keys when you start up.

[Mosg2]

I removed the alwaysontop because it wouldn't let me alt tab to surf the web when i needed to look at stuff.

Of course you can offer suggestions :) Every now and then it will still lose mouselook when I hit a key but it's rare.

[Freddie]

I removed the alwaysontop because it wouldn't let me alt tab to surf the web when i needed to look at stuff.
If AlwaysOnTop is helpful you can make a second hotkey that turns it off. What I wanted to know was whether it made any difference and was it helpful? Because since I put it into the program a month or two ago, I haven't heard from anybody that they found a use for it. Here's a hotkey that turns it off:


<Hotkey shift F8>
<SendPC local>
<TargetWindow aoc1>
<AlwaysOnTop off>


Every now and then it will still lose mouselook when I hit a key but it's rare.
It may be possible to improve this by altering the hotkey definitions. When I get a chance I'll play around with it.


Of course you can offer suggestions
Heh. :) Here's an example of how you can combine things so you don't have to press so many keys. Here's a single key that renames your first AoC, removes the frame, resizes it, and moves it:



<hotkey F2>
<sendpc local>
<rename "Age of Conan" aoc1>
<TargetWindow aoc1>
<RemoveWinFrame>
<SetWinSize 1280 1024>
<SetWinPos 0 0>

By the way HKN can also launch your WoWs, fill in the account name and password, etc.

Edit: Er, launch your AoC's. :)

[Mosg2]

Haha, thanks man, that's so awesome :) I appreciate the help.

I did notice that after removing the AlwaysOnTop it does jump to the second screen more often (Maybe once or twice every 5 minutes) but in this game mouselooking for me isn't nearly as necessary when you're just mowing down groups of mobs.

Edit: Readded AlwaysOnTop and going to play with it and let you know how often it jumps to the second window.

[Lokked]

Sorry if this might ninja this thread, but I am instantly intrigued by HKN, after quitting Multiboxing WoW a while ago, using AHK....

Can HKN be used to multibox all games which only accept keystrokes if they are in the foreground? This could be tested on EQ2, LOTRO and has apparently worked successfully on AoC.

I wish to try Multiboxing LOTRO (because its cheap and I can probably get 4 or 5 copies running on my computer), but failed due to AHK not being able to pass keystrokes to windows that were in the background.

Is HKN the answer to this problem? Multiboxing EQ2 sounds fun as well, but I was also deterred by the key passing delema as well. I don't have enough space to host multiple computers, so I spent a rediculous amount of money on a single PC.

Thank you.

[Freddie]

Ninja away. :)

HotkeyNet can't send to AOC in the background, only the foreground. I don't know about the others.

In the future I may increase HKN's background-sending abilities but I don't have any plans to do it soon.

[Lokked]

But but but.....

Wasn't the above discussion between you and Mosg2 about getting 2 installs of AoC on a single computer to function normally, with keystrokes being passed to both instances of AoC??

It sounded like it was working properly, passing keystrokes.

[Freddie]

HotkeyNet can send keystrokes to two AOC's on the same computer, but only if it keeps changing the focus (bringing the two windows alternately to the foreground). It does that automatically but it's a nuisance because it causes a delay, interrupts movement keys in the foreground window, etc. The reason I suggested locking one of the windows on top was because I thought that might make focus switch faster. Focus switching seems to happen faster on faster video cards so it might be barely noticeable, depending on your system.

[Freddie]

Ok, the most annoying part about this script is that sometimes it names the Age of Conan windows the opposite of what I want.
I agree, it's annoying. If you can figure out a better way for the program to do this, please tell me and I'll implement it. In the meantime you can make a second hotkey that reverses the names. Or you can launch the two AoC's from separate directories and use the RenameFromPath command (which may not work with AOC -- it can be disabled by the publisher, WoW is like that.) Or make a hotkey that launches them one by one and renames them as it does so.

Would you mind if I copy your post to the HotkeyNet forum? It's a really good resource for other people.

[Freddie]

My reply to your last message got inserted above that message so please look up. :)

Edit: bah, same thing happened with this one. :)

[Lokked]

Ok, here is what I've come up with, given these points:

You can't make macros anymore in AoC that work to any degree, and you cannot link them to your Hotkey bar (If I'm wrong about this, please let me know).
/follow is buggy as hell. When you or you Alt die or zone anywhere, it stops functioning until your Alt relogs. Annoying.

**EDIT - You can fix the /follow bug found when dieing or zoning by kicking your alt(s) from your group and then reinviting them. Much easier then relogging.

Here is my code:

<hotkey F1>
<sendpc local>
<rename "Age of Conan" aoc1>
<rename "Age of Conan" aoc2>

<Label aoc1 local SendWin aoc1>
<Label aoc2 local SendWin aoc2>

<BroadcastKey r, t, g, z, x, c, v, 2, 3, 4, 5, SPACE, lshift SPACE, lshift g, lshift r, lshift t, tab>
<SendLabel aoc2, aoc1>

<hotkey q>
<Sendpc local>
<Sendwin aoc2>
<key 1>
<text /follow>
<key Enter>
<Restore>

<hotkey a>
<sendpc local>
<Sendwin aoc2>
<text 1a>
<Restore>

<hotkey F2>
<sendpc local>
<rename "Age of Conan" aoc1>
<TargetWindow aoc1>
<RemoveWinFrame>
<SetWinSize 1680 1050>
<SetWinPos 0 0>

<hotkey F3>
<sendpc local>
<rename "Age of Conan" aoc2>
<TargetWindow aoc2>
<RemoveWinFrame>
<SetWinSize 1280 1024>
<SetWinPos 0 0>

<Hotkey F4>
<SendPC local>
<TargetWindow aoc1>
<AlwaysOnTop on>

<Hotkey shift F4>
<SendPC local>
<TargetWindow aoc1>
<AlwaysOnTop off>

<hotkey Pause>
<sendpc local>
<ToggleHotkeys>



Ok, the most annoying part about this script is that sometimes it names the Age of Conan windows the opposite of what I want. If I have time, i'll figure out a more efficient way of identifying the Main and Alt(s). In the case that it names them incorrectly, I open the hotkey script and switch all the aoc1's and aoc2's around.

I use A to cause the alt to assist my main, a function in AoC that is extremely poorly designed, as you can only assist someone once they are in combat. So with this, you can't exactly unleash a barriage from your alts unless you find another way to target the mobs. Pressing A will cause my alt to first press 1 - bound to Target Party Member 2 (my main), then press A - bound to Assist Target.

I use Q to follow. First it presses 1 - bound to Target Party Member 2 (my main), then type /follow on the Alt's screen, then press Enter, completing the follow function.

I have broadcasted Tab to all alts, as it is the only effective way to target a mob outside of combat.

The Game engine is so stupid that your followers will constantly have your main targetted and will do NOTHING unless you come up with another means of targetting. This is why I went to the lengths listed above for targetting.

Anyone with any other suggestions, please provide. I am in testing mode for about a week before I determine if this is worthwhile or not.

[darkives]

Heres the script I use for 3 boxing on the 1 pc and 2x22in monitors
I like to personally rename the windows so they are in the correct order
- notice i prefer <restore> instead of alwaysontop, seems to work great for me
- also not the strange window sizes..... when filling up the 2nd monitor the fps lags, so I run them in small windows. You can do this by editing the prefs2.xml file I mentioned in my other topic (to keep the ui resize aspect correct)



// Stop/start hotkeynet toggle
//-----------------------------------------------

<hotkey SCROLL>
<sendpc local>
<ToggleHotkeys>


// Window resizing - Main client AoC1
//-----------------------------------------------


<hotkey ctrl NUMPAD7>
<rename "Age of Conan" AoC1>
<hotkey ctrl NUMPAD8>
<rename "Age of Conan" AoC2>
<hotkey ctrl NUMPAD9>
<rename "Age of Conan" AoC3>

<hotkey NUMPAD7>
<TargetWindow AoC1>
<SetWinSize 1680 1020>
<SetWinPos 0 0>
<RemoveWinFrame>

<hotkey NUMPAD8>
<TargetWindow AoC2>
<SetWinSize 840 630>
<SetWinPos 1680 390>
<RemoveWinFrame>

<hotkey NUMPAD9>
<TargetWindow AoC3>
<SetWinSize 840 630>
<SetWinPos 2520 390>
<RemoveWinFrame>



// Space used for jumping
//-----------------------------------------------


<Hotkey space>
<sendwin "AoC1">
<key space>
<sendwin "AoC2">
<key space>
<key enter>
<text /follow>
<key enter>
<sendwin "AoC3">
<key space>
<key enter>
<text /follow>
<key enter>
<Restore>

// Action hotkeys
//-----------------------------------------------



<hotkey f1>
<sendwin "AoC1">
<key f1>
<sendwin "AoC2">
<key f2>
<sendwin "AoC3">
<key f2>
<Restore>


<hotkey tab>
<sendwin "AoC1">
<key tab>
<sendwin "AoC2">
<key tab>
<sendwin "AoC3">
<key tab>
<Restore>

<hotkey 1>
<sendwin "AoC1">
<key 1>
<sendwin "AoC2">
<key 1>
<sendwin "AoC3">
<key 1>
<Restore>

<hotkey 2>
<sendwin "AoC1">
<key 2>
<sendwin "AoC2">
<key 2>
<sendwin "AoC3">
<key 2>
<Restore>

<hotkey 3>
<sendwin "AoC1">
<key 3>
<sendwin "AoC2">
<key 3>
<sendwin "AoC3">
<key 3>
<Restore>

<hotkey 4>
<sendwin "AoC1">
<key 4>
<sendwin "AoC2">
<key 4>
<sendwin "AoC3">
<key 4>
<Restore>

<hotkey 5>
<sendwin "AoC1">
<key 5>
<sendwin "AoC2">
<key 5>
<sendwin "AoC3">
<key 5>
<Restore>

<hotkey 7>
<sendwin "AoC1">
<key 7>
<sendwin "AoC2">
<key 7>
<sendwin "AoC3">
<key 7>
<Restore>

<hotkey 8>
<sendwin "AoC1">
<key 8>
<sendwin "AoC2">
<key 8>
<sendwin "AoC3">
<key 8>
<Restore>

<hotkey 9>
<sendwin "AoC1">
<key 9>
<sendwin "AoC2">
<key 9>
<sendwin "AoC3">
<key 9>
<Restore>

<hotkey 0>
<sendwin "AoC1">
<key 0>
<sendwin "AoC2">
<key 0>
<sendwin "AoC3">
<key 0>
<Restore>

<hotkey f>
<sendwin "AoC1">
<key f>
<sendwin "AoC2">
<key f>
<sendwin "AoC3">
<key f>
<Restore> Also my tip of the day ....
F1 ... set all accounts to target the main character, if this character is the group leader, then they will always be F2 to everyone else.
This helps with many things...
- targeting the one character to follow, so followed by <enter><text /follow><enter>
- assisting the main character, using the default F key
- using tab to target the nearest mob


<hotkey f1>
<sendwin "AoC1">
<key f1>
<sendwin "AoC2">
<key f2>
<sendwin "AoC3">
<key f2>
<Restore>

[Mosg2]

My solution to the assisting problem in AoC is solved by smarter gameplay--All you need to do is cast your 0.3 second cast heal once your main is engaged and then your alt is in combat. Boxing a HoX and ToS means I initiate combat, cast the two HoT's and then I have Lightning Strike bound to my directional attacks.

[darkives]

ahh mines more complicated as I often pull groups of 6-10 mobs, its carnage :p

[a41ramo]

Is there any way you (Dark) could post a guide or something of how to use hotkeynet for AoC for someone who has never multiboxed? Also, do you have to install AoC again to use two copies on the same computer or can you just copy the install directory? I see posts in the general discussion for mainly WoW, but I am interested in using this for AoC but am extremely confused. Thanks.

[Lokked]

Freddie, you can always take whatever you like of my posts. No need to ask or inform me from this point on.

It is all for the good of evolving our AoC multiboxing experience :)

[Freddie]

Thank you kindly. I'll take you up on it.

[darkives]

Is there any way you (Dark) could post a guide or something of how to use hotkeynet for AoC for someone who has never multiboxed? Also, do you have to install AoC again to use two copies on the same computer or can you just copy the install directory? I see posts in the general discussion for mainly WoW, but I am interested in using this for AoC but am extremely confused. Thanks.hey ya mate, AoC is my first multibox so to say, I have played a couple chars on 2 totally separate computers, but this is soooo much better.

I currently have 4 copies of AoC on my system, once the first is installed, just copy that directory to another location, create shortcut and your off. I am not all that good at writing guides, but if you check out the post of my initial problems running aoc, i think alot of your questions will already be answered.

[AoC] Screen res problem [and my AoC experiences] ('http://www.dual-boxing.com/forums/index.php?page=Thread&threadID=7654')

If you are still having problems, or even have any questions, I am happy to answer what I can

[a41ramo]

I am thinking about dual-boxing but setting up different keys for both chars. Do you think that'd be too much of a pain? I am pretty quick and can type 106 WPM so I think it may be possible. I'm in Hawaii for another 2 days or I'd try it out. I just think it'd be more effective to have a different key set for each char to utilize their abilities.

[Freddie]

I'm not sure what you mean but it's very easy to send different keystrokes to different windows with HotkeyNet. In fact, when I wrote the program, this is how I assumed it would be used. I was surprised when it turned out that most people use it a key broadcaster.

Here's an example. The following hotkey sends X to one window and Y to the second window when you press F1. There are three keys involved, and they are all different.


<Hotkey F1>
<SendWin aoc1>
<Key X>
<SendWin aoc2>
<Key Y>

[a41ramo]

What I meant was I notice in a lot of HotkeyNet users for AoC have macro of say F1 that sends key 1 to both AOC1 and AOC2. I was thinking to do it differently of say having the F1 key send key 1 to AoC1 and F2 key send key 1 to AoC 2. This way if you are playing two different classes, you don't send key1 to AoC1 and AoC2. It seems if you did it that way you'd end up with a lot of spells being casted that were useless at the time. It would, however, be a little more difficult to get used to.

[darkives]

As freddie has mention its very easy with hotkeynet


<Hotkey F1>
<SendWin aoc1>
<Key X>

<Hotkey F2>
<SendWin aoc2>
<Key Y>

This will work fine if you want to send 2 different keys to 2 different clients by pressing 2 different keys.

However the example freddie has provided does it all with one key. As you probably know, sometimes you only need 1 person to cast a spell, or cast and attack, so the separate hotkeys is always going to be useful.

[a41ramo]

Is it against Funcom's policies to have multiple accounts like with Blizzard? If so, how do you get around it? I am leaving Hawaii today and am planning on what kind of chars I want to multibox. I am thinking my original ToS with a PoM and maybe a HoX if I do a third.

Edit: I notice buddy keys are not working. Does this mean I have to purchase more copies of the game to be able to multibox? Or is there a way around it?

[darkives]

Is it against Funcom's policies to have multiple accounts like with Blizzard? If so, how do you get around it? I am leaving Hawaii today and am planning on what kind of chars I want to multibox. I am thinking my original ToS with a PoM and maybe a HoX if I do a third.

Edit: I notice buddy keys are not working. Does this mean I have to purchase more copies of the game to be able to multibox? Or is there a way around it?As far as I am aware no online game has restriction on the amount of accounts you can have, and have restrictions on running multiply accounts at the same time (as long as you are activately playing each character). Most mmorpgs do however have restrictions on any sort of automation. IE you cant level your character while you sleep.

Buddy keys are only a trial account, and you would need to buy the game eventually anyway, but they would be good for you to test if ...
1. You can run more than 1 account on your computer/computers
2. You enjoying multiboxing enough to warrant buying a 2n, 3rd, 4th ...... account/s.


Currently I am powerleveling some of my new lowbies to test out other combinations. Although I wish there was a way to powerlevel through tortage. After tortage is a breeze.
1-20 is taking 8-11 hours depending on class
21-40 is taking 4-5hours (8-15 mins a level plus travel time)

If anyone has some tips on tortage I'd love to hear.

[Lokked]

My post was derailing, I PMd it :p

Please ignore me!