Expanded Hotkeys for Fallout 3
by LangyMD
Version 0.6 Alpha

Note: This mod requires FOSE. Download it here: http://nvse.silverlock.org/

Note: This mod is primarily made for Fallout: New Vegas and may be more commonly updated for New Vegas. This is the New Vegas version's Nexus URL: http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=37043


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Table of Contents
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1. Overview
2. Known Issues
3. Installation
4. Uninstallation
5. Revision History
6. Statement of use in Other Works


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Overview
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Primary Features:
-Increased Number of Hotkeys (a maximum of 54 total hotkeys)
-Hotkeys Have Memory (If you have an item hotkeyed and then drop it, when you pick it back up it will retain its original hotkey)
-Assign Multiple Items to the Same Hotkey
-Scroll Through Hotkeyed Weapons
-All Keys Used are User-Definable

You can access the expanded hotkey slots by using any combination of the three modifier buttons (Shift and Alt by default, the third modifier being disabled) along with the normal hotkey keys (1-8 by default). For example, if you push Shift-Alt-1 and click on a hotkeyable item, it will be assigned to your new Hotkey Slot (Shift+Alt+1), allowing you to press Shift-Alt-1 while playing the game to call up that hotkeyed item.

You can scroll between weapons in your hotkeys, by default using the numpad plus and minus (+ and -).

You can assign multiple items to the same hotkey (Item Sets). When assigning items to hotkeys, press your Item Set Modifier key (by default Left or Right Ctrl) in order to toggle that item as one of the items in your item set.

Press two of the same modifier buttons at once in order to access the configuration menu. For example, press both Left Shift and Right Shift at once. You can remap any of the hotkeys used, from 1-8 to the modifier keys to which keys the default hotkeys are reset to during GameMode.

You can activate debug messages in the in-game menu. These messages appear in the console (use the tilde key, '`', to open it by default). If you encounter any issues with this mod, please try activating the debug messages and letting me know what messages you see when you notice any errors.



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Known Issues
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This mod is currently in Alpha. The mod is relatively hacked together, as NVSE currently lacks the script functions required to make it truly seamless. There are several known issues with this mod at this time:

-You *must not* have any controls assigned to either the hotkeys you are using or the hotkey re-directs. If you do, during gameplay those hotkeys will be reassigned to the normal 1,3-8 keys (or the numpad keys, if they're the 1,3-8 keys) and interfere with the script's hotkey functionality.
-If you exit the game via a crash, your hotkey controls may continue to be set to the numkey buttons if you then deactivate this mod without reloading the game and quitting properly first.
-There is no way to show which hotkey is assigned to which item aside from simply testing them out.

These three problems can be fixed via access to a SetHotkeyItem script function, though it would still be impossible to show all the items assigned to an Item Set.

-There is a potential crash bug that can rarely occur while setting hotkeys. This bug has not been reported in the New Vegas version of this mod, but I have no reason to believe it is not still there. Please let me know if you experience any crashes while setting hotkeys.
-Scrolling weapons with the mouse wheel does not currently work due to the mouse wheel being evil and not allowing you to disable or re-direct its default functionality. Instead, the default keys for scrolling through weapons are the left and right brackets. You can change them to any other key you wish using the in-game menu, activated by hitting two of the same modifier at once (both Ctrls, both Shifts, or both Alts by default).
-Items with a script that activates when equipped (ones with an OnEquip block) are not activated when equipped with the hotkeys with this mod active.


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Installation
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Extract the archive to your Fallout 3\Data folder.

Make sure Fallout Script Extender (FOSE) is installed. Activate the LMDExpandedHotkeysFO3.esp file in either your mod manager of choice or the game's launcher, then start the game. Your new hotkeys will be functional several seconds after game start after you recieve a message that a 'Hotkey Token' item was added to your character's inventory.


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Uninstallation
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Make sure you close the game via the menu rather than via crashing or the 'qqq' console command. If you do not, your hotkey controls may be set to the numpad with no way to change them back aside from editing the .ini or reloading the game with this mod active and quitting properly. Afterwards, deactivate the LMDExpandedHotkeysFO3.esp file. If you wish to remove the files completely, remove these files:

Data\LMDExpandedHotkeysFO3.esp
Data\Docs\LMDExpandedHotkeysFO3 Readme.txt


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Revision History
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v0.6 Alpha: Added menu and hotkey re-mapping functionality. Added scroll-through-weapons hotkeys. Added item sets. Completely redid hotkey storage algorithm.
v0.3 Alpha: Fixed hotkeys disappearing on game restart
v0.2 Alpha: Potential crash bug potentially fixed.
v0.1 Alpha: Initial release


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Statement of use in Other Works
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Anyone who wishes to can use this mod however they like, include using them to form the base of another mod. Credit would be nice, but isn't necessary.

I will be trying this out very soon.

I used Talkies Hotkeys for a long time until all of a sudden they just stopped working. This then is a welcome sight.

thanks

This would be a great mod except for the fact that it has a tendency to crash my game if I try and open up my Pipboy. It seems to happen if I do alot of switching between items. I tried to see if there was some sort of pattern/cause to the crashes but I couldn't come up with anything, other than it occurring after alot of switching. I hope you can work out the bugs in it as it would be a great replacement for Talkie Toaster's mod. Not only does it offer more keys but it's far more flexible. It's great being able to bind through my Pipboy and also be able to use it for items like meds, instead of just weapons and armour. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on this one.

Huh. I'm curious what might be causing the crash - I haven't experienced any. Then again, I ported this from the NV version in thirty minutes and did the absolute bare minimum amount of testing to make sure it actually works as expected - I didn't notice any crashing when testing it in NV, but perhaps it's more likely to crash in F3. I'll test it a bit more, see if I can duplicate that and track down the crash.

Does it crash the moment you hit the PipBoy key, a bit after the PipBoy pops up, after you scroll to the Inventory menu of the PipBoy, or what? If it happens no matter what menu you're opening, it's probably one thing (setting the controls back to 1-8, which could be problematic), but if it only happens in the inventory menu it's probably something else (the code for detecting when a hotkey changes).

It happens as soon as I hit the Pipboy key, it never even gets a chance to open up. It's pretty sporadic too, it might be fine for awhile and then suddenly it will crash when I try to access my Pipboy. Which is probably why you never noticed it. I was putting the mod through it's paces and switching between items alot trying to check it out. that's why I came to the conclusion that it had something to do with rapid switching. Which could be totally wrong of course, and no doubt is, but it was the only commonality that I could find when I started testing for the cause. I was thinking that maybe it didn't like a certain item, but that wasn't the case.

Did you always have the PipBoy pointed towards the Inventory, or were there instances where it was pointed at something else (such as the Quest page or the Status page) as well?

I really don't know to tell you the truth but I suspect it was pointing towards Inventory. I was binding items to the key at the time and using TAB, so it was no doubt trying to access that page all the time. So I don't know if it only happens with that section or not. That's a good point actually, maybe I can avoid the crashes if I don't open up with that page. I'll give it a try later. I really would like to get this mod working, it's very convenient.

To be honest, I'm half-hoping that it occurs whenever the menu opens at all no matter what page, as once I get the SetHotkeyItem function I'll be able to disable the code that runs in any menu at all and the other MenuMode code is much longer so there are a lot more potential failure points (though it might be possible to fix without a new version of NVSE).

So I just gave it another test and it worked fine when I kept opening up my world map but as soon as I tried to go into my Inventory screen the game crashed. So it looks like it's only that menu it doesn't like. It's going to be pretty hard to do anything if that keeps happening so I guess I'll have to wait until you can get that bug worked out before I can use this mod. Too bad.

Damn. Alright, I'll see if I can track the error down. Thanks for the bug-testing!

EDIT: There's only one section of the code that should run every frame that you're in Inventory Mode - the rest waits until you press your hotkey buttons. Unfortunately, it also does only one thing at the moment - run a few GetHotkeyItem commands from FOSE. No idea why it should crash the game. I just added in a check to make sure it only runs when needed, but if it crashes on the first frame that you are in the inventory menu it won't matter. I honestly can't think of a single thing that should cause this.

Luckily, that code isn't actually used for anything in this version of the script (I added it in for a potential feature later on, not for anything that's currently used). I'll have a version up without it in just a moment, see if it still causes those crashes.

BTW, one of the problems that More Hotkeys ran into is that items like mines and grenades wouldn't reload into your hand the way that the default keys would after you use one. Talkie Toaster mentioned in the readme that he was never able to figure out how that worked with the vanilla keys. I noticed with this mod using those items is a one time thing as well. It would be great if you could figure out how the default keys manage it and make that work in your keys as well. Or at least come up with some work around.

I've uploaded a new version that might fix that crash bug, or at least make it so it doesn't occur the moment you open the inventory menu. Try it, see if it crashes again for me. Also test to see if it crashes when you try setting new hotkeys, please.

http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=15301

OK, I'll let you know how it goes.

PS: Well so far so good, it looks like you may have fixed the problem. I bound all my items and went through them all in the game screen, and it didn't crash when I opened my Inventory screen. It would have before after trying out all the keys. I'll play keep playing my game with the mod and let you know how things work out. You might want to remove the first version from the Nexus in case someone decides to try it out.

PS: Am I correct in thinking that this mod now gives me a total of 56 keys to work with, including the default 8? That would be 3 banks with the modifiers, then 3 more with the combinations, plus the default bank.

There's a total of 64 keys in this. There are a total of eight normal hotkeys and eight possible combinations, like so:

No Modifiers
Ctrl
Ctrl-Shift
Ctrl-Alt
Ctrl-Shift-Alt
Shift
Shift-Alt
Alt

Eight hotkeys times eight combinations equals sixty-four total hotkeys.

Oops, double post.

So this is proving to be a major problem:



I'm saving through the menu just like it says to do, but when I reload the game my hotkey controls are being set to the numpad keys, and the normal 1-8 keys don't work at all anymore. Nor does this mod.



Right, I forgot about that one. I'm not sure how practical that would be though, you'd have to go through some contortions in order to set it up.

I dunno - Ctrl-Shift-Alt just means you need to push on Ctrl with the pinky, Alt with the thumb, shift with the ring finger, and then the hotkey of your choice with one of the other keys. Doesn't seem any more difficult than Ctrl-Alt to me *shrug*.

As for the mod not working (nor the hotkey keys)... crap. I was under the impression MenuMode blocks were active in the main menu, but if I was mistaken then this would occur. I'll need to try that out, see what the problem is. No idea why the mod isn't working, though, since it forces the hotkeys into the correct place.

As a quick-fix, you can go into FalloutPrefs.ini and manually fix the hotkeys. These are the default values:

Hotkey1=0002FFFF
Hotkey2=0003FFFF
Hotkey3=0004FFFF
Hotkey4=0005FFFF
Hotkey5=0006FFFF
Hotkey6=0007FFFF
Hotkey7=0008FFFF
Hotkey8=0009FFFF

Would you mind telling me what they are currently? If the problem is as I suspect, Hotkey1 should be 004FFFFF, for example, and I want to make sure that that's actually the problem. Still no idea why the mod wouldn't work, though. EDIT: This is if you disable the mod entirely and want to play without it - the saving-through-the-menu bit is only needed if you are going to then disable the mod.

Are you saying the new hotkeys are completely unresponsive after you save+load the mod? I never tested that for the F3 version, though I did a quick test with the NV one and it worked fine. Does this happen on every single save+load?

I made a back up of my ini file before trying out this mod so it's not a problem to fix it. But I don't want to have to do that everytime I save my game.



Then it seems you know what the problem is then since that's what they are when it screws up. I did a comparison earlier of the original ini and the one after the save and that's exactly what they were.



Yes and yes. The one to eight keys are completely unresponsive, including your additions. I tried to see if I could get the modifiers to work using the numpad keys but that didn't work either. And it occurs with every save I do, whether it's through the menu or not.



I tried after your last post and I just couldn't reach the last key, and the 7 key was a real pain to get. The rest were OK though. But with that many keys, I don't think I'll have to worry about it.

Damn. I'll need to find some way to fix that - probably a way to reset the hotkeys prior to saving the game and disabling the mod.



Not sure why this happens, though I've got at least one theory. I'll do some testing and see if I can replicate the problem and come up with a solution, or at the very least a reason why it happens.



While I can reach the '7' key easily enough, the '8' key is a bit hard if I'm using my left hand (and I've got big hands). Still, I might not have specified this but you can use the right-ctrl/alt/shift instead of the left-ctrl/alt/shift, which makes the 7 and 8 keys easily reachable.

Wouldn't that mean though that you'd have to reset all your keys everytime you load a save game?



No you didn't specify it. That's certainly doable.

Naw - just when you save a game prior to disabling the mod. NVSE has functions for detecting when a game is loaded, so if I need to get something done at that time I can do it.

Well, I figured out what the problem was. I did everything with the assumption that FormLists are saved between game saves/loads, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Instead, they reset to default condition when the game is restarted and persist elsewhere, even between game loads.

However, I did get together an actual fix for this problem. It's ugly and I don't like it (it'd be a lot better if FormLists were persistent through save files), but it works, which is the important thing. The fix might have some bugs (the one for New Vegas does), depending on if GetGameLoaded works properly or not (the NVSE version does not), but as far as I know it's just a small bug. However, due to this bug I'm not going to be doing item sets, as they pretty much require save-persistent form lists (the other possibility is to multiply the number of reference variables I'm using by ten or so, and that's ridiculous).

EDIT: Did some testing. Turns out GetGameLoaded doesn't work right in FOSE, either, so this new version will have a slight bug, but it's really pretty minor.

The Nexus file has been updated to v0.3 Alpha. Let me know if you experience any other bugs, though note that your hotkeys may persist between different save files if you do not quit the game and restart it fully prior to loading a new saved game.

What do you mean by item sets exactly? I'm glad that you found the problem so quickly, I'll be sure to try the new version.



And what does this mean exactly? Are you saying that reloading some sort of auto-save might cause problems? And what sort of problems?

By 'item sets' I mean being able to put multiple items in the same hotkey slot and equip them all with one press of a button (it was a requested feature in a thread in the NV forum).





It means that if you load a game, set an item to a hotkey, and then load that same game again (without saving in between) the hotkey will still be set to that same item. If you restart the game in-between setting the hotkey and loading the game the second time it'll work as normally expected, though, and the hotkey won't be set yet.