Official forums for BZFlag.org

It's recently come to my attention that some players may actually use the "toggle slow keyboard" key. That is, the 'a' key. When you press that during game play, it will slow everything down.

This has the mild advantage of allowing you finer-grained control when aiming/shooting and jumping. Reportedly, this can be useful for players that drive with the keyboard keys instead of with a mouse or joystick.. Mind you, I've always used keyboard myself with a passion, yet never used the key outside of development, hence the questions.

Frankly, I'd never heard of anyone actually using the key during "normal" gameplay and was considering removing the default key binding (or perhaps changing the binding to a different key). It more frequently causes problems that helps, where a player accidentally hits 'a' while playing, and then is confused as to why everything has suddenly slowed down. This usually causes them to restart their client if they don't know that they hit the 'a' key.

The default binding will likely at least be changed to a different key given the problems, so expect a change of some sort .. but ..

How many people actually use this key *regularly*? Why do you use it?

Cheers!
Sean

I use it, and i think that all who play on keyboard must use it, especially at gu servers
There is some combos with it.
Not everyone can do at full speed do a rotation in air like on mouse i mean in slowmotion. I think that only i can do slow air rotation at gu on keyboard without using "a" key. There are some players like Silent Assassin who is always asking me how you do that and i answer to him that press in one time some keys but he still doesn't know this. I mean he can't do that trick. I hope he will read that topic and will use from now "a" key. Forgot to say don't remove please "a" key because it help in dodge....
.... some keyboard players uses full screen radar and "a" key helps you much
When you try to dodge on keyboard and you see that it will be hard, you ussually press "a" key to be not hit. I can say why i think so....
....it is not a cheat but at full speed when you try to dodge some bullets you will get hit 60% at low speed dodging like using "a" key you will get hit 39% for me it works don't know if it will do for you. I just use that key for 8 years almost, since playing BZFlag.

Oh yeah please learner don't remove the "a" key you can just another key if you want to change something.

I have an idea don't you wan't to re-edit Bzflag ?! I think it is not hard to make to put in Resources some folders and put there skins, then while making with compiler c++ bzflag you will just add some lines with contains something like bind y change skin, all other will be same. And if it will be hard to make then maybe again somebody tries to put into the Resources skin packs and add new command /change skin "folder name with contains skin"
Example you are in the game and type /change skin BZWoody

and all will change into the wood i have some skins and mods. You can ask me if it will be accepted

All people who will wan't to play with some new skins like Marble or wood or with own skins, if they have or will make they will just add there in to the Resources own folder with own skins.

I post here after some hours so how it would like see in folders. If people won' wan't to play with new skins and they will wan't to play with normal skins they can use them.

Maybe it can be accepted

Yeah learner if that would accepted and maked please name that version BZFlag 2.0.9beta or BZFlag 2.0.9bv
BZFlag 2.0.0bv means BZFlag 2.0.9 beta version
I know that maybe 10 players uses skins but when in official

I use it all the time. It makes for great precision jumping. I've never tried it for dodging, though.

I would hate to see this feature removed...

A Meteorite wrote:I use it all the time. It makes for great precision jumping. I've never tried it for dodging, though.

I would hate to see this feature removed...

Thanks Meteorite i think that won't removed and Meteor try to use that in dodging with full screen radar.

Never suggested that the feature would be removed, at least that wasn't what was meant. The current default binding, though, will likely change (and hence the current *binding* for 'a' would be removed), but not the feature itself. Players can always bind whatever they want to whichever keys they want. More to the point, since some players are attached to the feature, it'd likely just move to a different default binding.

The current binding is too close to the tab key and causes too many other problems. There are several decent alternatives that are being looked at. I'm just more curious why people use the key at all. If the main purpose is for precise jumping, so be it. Still curious.

I use it all the time - If anything, i'd like to see defineable limits that you can bind to multiple keys. (like you can currently do with radar presets)

I primarily use it when I need to quickly jump on top of a building that's right in front of me, or for very fine jumping+turning control. However, I do understand that it can be confusing to beginners. Sure was confusing to me when I started out.

I rely on it often, for long-range sniping, jumping up onto platforms, and falling off platforms onto the right place. I use the q key for it and it works wonderfully.

The problem is when I accidently press it and not realize it. I'd say if you wanted to make a change, make it show on my screen when I am in slow-motion mode.

my $.02

As already said, the key is very useful when it comes to multi-level jumping servers.

A lot of maps expect you to jump up and down from narrow platforms, and sometimes the only way to avoid overshooting them is to use the "a" key.

Also if you spawn in a very high place (the older version of the MoFo map's MOFO letters come to mind), you can hit the key to avoid drifting as you fall to the ground.

That being said, I don't use the default bindings anyway, so setting one more key isn't a problem.

The "a" key is incredibly useful for precise jump, dodge, or on lasersniping servers with a lot of range or pyramid cover, as it allows you to make a much more precise attack.

Fetterkey wrote:The "a" key is incredibly useful for precise jump, dodge, or on lasersniping servers with a lot of range or pyramid cover, as it allows you to make a much more precise attack.

One thing i enjoy about it, exactly what he said

I use it for jumping onto thin platforms.

Hey shawn
I have pressed the "a" key everynow and then when going for "Tab" to jump, and thought that it only slowed me down, and made me an easier target. I havent used it to my advantage yet, but thanks for the tip
-Albino Blacksheep

shawn?! *gasp* .. the horrors! there's can be only one...



Cheers!
Sean

Allthough i use the keyboard i dont use the 'a' key.
If i want to jump up steps i use the mouse which has 100s of different speeds but the keyboard has only 2

noway hosay! if i ever do use the keyboard, i never use the toggle slow key. this is one of the problems with using a keyboard.
some keyboard users people might use it on bz olymipics however