Bernythedolt
Clubman
posted 10-17-18 07:59 PM ET (US)
Hi, I wonder if you can help, please, with what you guys would probably consider a very minor issue, but is pretty irritating to me!
After two decades of enjoying the brilliant Rise of Rome, I downloaded AOE DE yesterday and instantly noticed the absence of the Group/Ungroup "red arrowhead" buttons, which are present in the original game, and which I mouse-click extensively throughout my games to marshall units. I've never used the G or U hotkeys.
Without these red arrow buttons, how do I select a group... so they remain selected next time I click back on one of them?
I'm aware of the Ctrl-1, Ctrl-2, etc alternative method of marshalling different groups, but only use that sparingly. I prefer not to use the keyboard, but drive the game by mouse wherever possible. When you mouse-click a Ctrl group, you only get that individual, not the whole group. I like to mouse-click and get the whole group.
So, am I missing something through advancing years, or has the facility to group and ungroup by mouse now been removed in AOE DE?
I did look for a user manual, but it seems there isn't one, so grateful for any advice offered.
chab
Clubman
posted 10-18-18 12:54 PM
ET (US)
1 / 10
why did they remove that feature ??? This AOE DE is definitely a strange build
Bernythedolt
Clubman
posted 10-20-18 05:42 AM
ET (US)
3 / 10
Interesting that some would consider it clunky.
In a mixed group of villagers, cavalry and archers say, how do you select just the villagers? Personally I double-click a villager, then click the red arrow (in AoE/RoR). I then have them permanently grouped. Three mouse clicks...what could be less clunky than that?
I need to learn, how do other players do this then? Surely it must involve reaching across to the keyboard (which straight away sounds more clunky to me!).
Thanks both of you for confirming, by implication at least, that the ability to group by mouse has been removed. It's pretty annoying that AoE DE is advertised as true to the old game, with better graphics and other improvements, only to find an important feature (to me anyway) has been removed.
Basse
Clubman
posted 10-20-18 05:55 AM
ET (US)
4 / 10
Most players use hotkeys when playing, it reduces time for doing a lot of things as you don't have to move the mouse. So control grouping is what most people do, as they already have their second hand on the keaboard near the numbers. It also helps locating your groups, as double-clicking the number focuses the screen on the group.
Bernythedolt
Clubman
posted 10-21-18 07:18 PM
ET (US)
5 / 10
Ok thanks, so most players use hotkeys then. As a single-player, I've only ever used the mouse, and enjoyed some cracking battles of Death Match that way. I don't really want to remember loads of keyboard commands and was perfectly happy with the simple mouse interface.
Another example: I build a line of, say, 15 towers. I then double-click one with the mouse and click the grouping arrow. Later in the game if I want to check on the health of those towers I simply click on one of them and it instantly shows the health bars of every tower. How do you achieve this with hotkeys? Do you group them with ctrl-n then later in the game have to remember what number n you used? Or is there a different way? Forgive me, although I've played for years using the mouse, I am a complete hotkey novice!
If I'm forced to drop the mouse and use hotkey grouping instead, I've probably just wasted my money buying AOE-DE because I'll likely stick to the original game with its simple mouse interface (and hotkeys for the experts who apparently need them).
chab
Clubman
posted 10-22-18 12:00 PM
ET (US)
6 / 10
If you want to know shortcuts, I would suggest to hover the mouse on the corresponding buttons, generally the tooltips give the shortcut keys.
You don't need to be an expert, and even in single player games, a few hotkeys are really useful to know, space to center screen on selection, CTRL-1, etc to assign shortcut number to units, H to select Town center...
Bernythedolt
Clubman
posted 10-22-18 03:04 PM
ET (US)
7 / 10
Thanks chab, I'll try that.
Specifically with my row of towers example, how do other players periodically check their state of health (ie. whether they need some repair work)? What actual mouse or key presses do you make?
If I can no longer group them by mouse (and it sounds like I'm the only one who does!), I may as well learn the way others do things... the 'proper' way if you like ;-)
Bernythedolt
Clubman
posted 10-25-18 04:52 AM
ET (US)
10 / 10
Thanks all for the advice.