Keys to multiple machines but not broadcast?

I'm a dinosaur living in the Everquest 1 world. There, you pretty much have to run a mixed-class group - healer, tank, puller, etc. This is quite unlike the WoW method of using 1 healer and 4 nukers. I've been boxing in EQ for years using separate monitors, keyboards, and mice for each machine, but I'm hoping to upgrade this setup to something nicer.

What I'd like to do is use an X-Keys device to set up macros for the different things I need to do, but I want them sent to different machines, depending. For example, button row 1 might be puller commands, button row 2 tanking commands, button row 3 healing and slowing, etc. From what I've read about Synergy and the like, they support broadcasting or not, but this isn't what I want to do - I just want to consolidate remote control of several machines to one input device. Everything I want to do can be done textually using /target, /assist, /cast and the like, but I don't see how I can get the macros sent to the right boxes.

Any suggestions?

Either the hardware solution using one of the hardware devices listed on the hardware forum, or the software route such as Keyclone, get a copy per machine and via IPs it can control all of the machines from just 1 of them :)

I think maybe I didn't ask my question clearly. Here's what I want to do (very simplified example):

Key 1:
Machine 1: Attack target

Key 2:
Machine 2: Assist tank, attack target
Machine 3: Assist tank, attack target

Key 3:
Machine 4: Assist tank, debuff target

Key 4:
Machine 5: Target tank, cast heal

Key 5:
Machine 1: Attack off
Machine 2: Attack off
Machine 3: Attack off
Machine 4: Attack off
(delay a second)
Machine 2: Mez target
Machine 1: Taunt target

The idea is that I want keys to be able to send commands to different machines independently. I don't want to broadcast one key to all machines because the actions are asynchronous and event-dependent. I want to be able to have subsets of characters do different things based on one input key, if possible. I envision having about 20-25 keys set up for common sequences of stuff.

Look at it this way - the timings for taunts, debuffs, heals, nukes, and dots are very different, and I don't want to tie them together artificially.

In reading the forums it really sounds like the hardware and software solutions that are generally discussed either broadcast everything or have a choice between sending to the master machine or broadcasting. I did read quite a lot over the course of a couple of weeks before asking my question - hopefully I didn't miss something obvious. :)

I did something similar to what you are talking about in DAoC using a macro program on each machine. Pressing key X would broadcast X to all the machines, but X did something different on each machine and had it's own delays and process it ran through.

Does that sound like what you are shooting for?

Perhaps also using software that you can exclude key broadcasts for? I know Keyclone can do this using hotstrings, not sure about the other software as I havn't used em personaly

Well, you can simply only bind the key on the machines you want it to actually do something.


Key 1
Machine 1: attack
Machine 2-5: does nothing

Key 2
Machine 2 & 3: assist and attack
Machine 1, 4, 5: does nothing

etc.

No offense but I think this is rather a clunky way to play WoW and is a waste of buttons... with the variety of things you want to do it won't be possible to fit it within 20-25 keys, with a mixed group of 5 you are looking at more like 75-100+ I think. I use more than 25 keybinds just on the characters I play solo much less multibox!

I recommend getting 1 WoW account and learning how the game plays to start with, especially with the level of customization you can do with the game UI through add-ons.


Also, delaying keypresses or setting up delays between commands cannot be done though the game and is considered against the game EULA.

Not WoW, Everquest. EQ1. I played WoW for a year and went back to EQ1. I do know how to play EQ1, quite well, after 8 years - I just want to automate the stuff I currently do as a painful manual process. Thanks for the WoW advice, but it isn't applicable. :wink:

I am considering the map-to-dead-keys strategy you suggest. The problem is that there aren't a lot of keys that aren't mapped to something by default. I'd really like to send the actual commands instead of shortcuts but that would only work if I can do the selective-machine thing.

Thanks for the feedback, guys, this helps, though I'm not sure I see the ultimate solution yet.

It depends entirely on how wether you wish to use software which is bannable or not. What you want to do is currently doable using MacroQuest2 or Innerspace, but as I say, these are considered illegal.

Don't forget key modifiers (ctrl, alt, shift)
There're tons of free key combinations.

And if you use x-keys you can map something to ctrl-alt-shift-D and use it with only one button press.

Something like this?
http://www.msen.com/~crandall/nm1.jpg
http://www.msen.com/~crandall/nm2.jpg
http://www.msen.com/~crandall/nm3.jpg
http://www.msen.com/~crandall/nm4.jpg

What's netmac? I see some linux links on google but the screenie looks XP?
info appreciated

8) It's the program I wrote couple of years ago. Actually it's the third incarnation. My first was written for Diablo 2, but I've used it in a half dozen MMORPGs.

I've only given it to a few friends. I've been afraid to release into to wild because of several reasons, but mostly because with VBScript, it can be abused, and the more people that have it, the more Blizzard (or whatever company) will look for it.

If I was to remove the VBScript abilities, along with the <REPEAT> and <DELAY> tags for simple macros, would it be street-legal? What about the <LEFT_CLICK> and <MOUSEMOVE> tags? Are those illegal too?

nice ^_^

Once Vetra gets the USB multiplexer released .. I plan on doing this use a Nostromo N52 with the Multiplexer.

The problem with software is it can lag out. I am hoping that Vetra can pull off the USB multiplexer without causing much lag between machines.

Aside from software .. I have yet to find a good way to so this. Being that I play EQ2 (CPU HOG) software options tend to be laggy on slower machines.