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Add a shortcut or the option for binding a key to deploy drones?
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M'aree Jayne
EVE University
Ivy League
#1 - 2016-12-07 12:57:20 UTC
Hi,

recently I created an alpha clone and in the rookie chat I came across several questions many times repeatedly.
Among them:

"is there a way to launch drones other than from space or the menu"
"Whats the shortcut to deply drones"
etc.

Wouldnt it be nice to add this "Deploy all drones" option to be bindable in the Drone shortcuts menu, like we already have "Engage", "Return and orbit", "Reconnect to lost drones" etc?

You would launch the maximum number of drones you could handle with your skills.

Of course, Gallente droneboats of doom would still have to select the group of drones, like combat, ecm, whatever because they can carry way more than a normal pilot can launch, but I would solve this with adding a dedicated "Autolaunch group".

You could drag and drop any drone type into it, even more than 5, and it would just spit out the max amount from this group whenever you hit that button.

Or maybe you can select the launch key directly from the group you create.
"New Group" "Set launch key" then add drones to it.

That being said, a "Launch all and engange" option would be fun. Lock target, slam the button, share the gallente love. :)
Lugh Crow-Slave
#2 - 2016-12-07 17:08:33 UTC
drones are automated enough as it is

BLOPS Hauler
The 16.8km Bubble
Iain Cariaba
#3 - 2016-12-08 18:04:56 UTC
Why is it so hard to drag the group you want to launch out of the drone window and into space?
Elenahina
Federal Navy Academy
Gallente Federation
#4 - 2016-12-08 22:52:36 UTC
Iain Cariaba wrote:
Why is it so hard to drag the group you want to launch out of the drone window and into space?


And that's the crux of it, really. For small ships, it's relatively easy. But on a ship like a Vexor or a Dominix, which group of drones would you like deployed exactly? Unless you want to be able to assign hot keys to different drone groups, in which case you run into the issue of a lot of them already being taken.

Eve is like an addiction; you can't quit it until it quits you. Also, iderno
Nevyn Auscent
Broke Sauce
#5 - 2016-12-08 23:01:04 UTC
Lugh Crow-Slave wrote:
drones are automated enough as it is

A keypress is not an unreasonable request. You don't have to manually drag guns around to use them once they are fitted to the ship. The Drone UI is badly in need of a serious overhaul to include proper keyboard shortcuts for all major functions, since it's meant to be a primary weapons & mining system now, not just a tiny secondary support system like the UI was originally made for.
PopeUrban
El Expedicion
Flames of Exile
#6 - 2016-12-08 23:51:06 UTC  |  Edited by: PopeUrban
Nevyn Auscent wrote:
Lugh Crow-Slave wrote:
drones are automated enough as it is

A keypress is not an unreasonable request. You don't have to manually drag guns around to use them once they are fitted to the ship. The Drone UI is badly in need of a serious overhaul to include proper keyboard shortcuts for all major functions, since it's meant to be a primary weapons & mining system now, not just a tiny secondary support system like the UI was originally made for.


An "extras" hotbar would be good for utility tasks IMO. Just a hotbar you could drag things to like drone groups, ship commands, etc.

Lets say you want to have orbit hotkeys set up for 2 different distances, or a hotkey for exactly 94% speed as an FC because your fleet is slightly slower than you at top speed, or a hotkey to anchor or scoop an MTU or deployable bubble so you don't have to pick through your inventory for it, etc.

Not only that, a visual hotbar is far easier to grok for new players. Currently if you want to get the most out of EVE's hotkeys you gotta memorize them, which raises the learning curve for newbies. if they had a more standard feeling hotbar they could drag stuff like "assign drones" or "approach" or "lock target" to, it might feel a lot better for them since its a similar UI flow to other games where they could have one standard tray where they keep their most commonly used actions thats always in the same place in the UI in stead of a more confusing system of context sensitive buttons in various rightclick, radial, and selected target windows.

EVE has an amazing array of interaction options that vary from system to system, and a way to standardize it for the user would be a big step up in terms of cutting the learning curve down a bit.
Nevyn Auscent
Broke Sauce
#7 - 2016-12-08 23:57:10 UTC
Your proposal isn't my ideal solution, but almost anything would improve the matter at this point for drones.