Creating a keymap

To play Galactic Empire effectively, particularly when it comes to combat, it is essential to create keyboard macros. A player that can execute common commands at the press of a button will have a distinct advantage over someone who is fumbling with the keyboard, trying to type commands as quickly as possible without making mistakes. Which keys to map to which commands, and how simple or complex a keymap should be, is up to the user. Below are some examples of keymaps, and also a brief explanation of how to program them in dtelnet, a Telnet program for Microsoft Windows.

A simple F-key keymap

This keymap uses the F1-F12 keys for commonly used, mostly combat-related functions.

F1 SCA SE    F2 SCA RA 9    F3 TOR @ (x3)   F4 MIS @ 50000 (x3)   F5 MIN 50 (x3)    F6 ZIP

F7 SCA PL 1   F8 PHA 0      F9 PHA 180       F10 SCA SH @      F11 SHI UP      F12 WAR 0

The two mostly commonly used SCANS are the first two keys on the left. The next two keys fire weapons at the locked on vessel. The next two keys lay mines with the longest detonation delay possible, and trigger them. F7 scans the first planet in the sector, helpful for those pit stops at Zygor. The next two keys fire phasers both straight ahead and directly behind, useful for firing at ships in pursuit. Finally, there is a command to raise the shields and a command for all stop.

Some reasons why this keymap is effective: the keys to scan the area around you and the command to scan the locked on ships are on different hands, enabling the user to execute both quickly without moving their hands. Projectile weapons are grouped together. The shield up command is right next to the all stop command, so after dropping out of warp the user only needs to move over one key to quickly raise shields.

Configuring in dtelnet

To set up keymapping in dtelnet, first find the location of your .INI configuration file by selecting "About Dave's Telnet..." from the Help menu. If your Windows login name is "gefan," the filename is probably C:\Users\gefan\Dtelnet\dtelnet.ini. Once you've found the file, open it Notepad or the text editor of your choice, add a section called [Keymap]. Then, using the key codes found here and "/r" to press ENTER, program the keys. Using our example above:

[Keymap]

0x070 = "SCA SE\r"

0x071 = "SCA RA 9\r"

0x072 = "TOR @\rTOR @\rTOR @\r"

0x073 = "MIS @ 50000\rMIS @ 50000\rMIS @ 50000\r"

0x074 = "MIN 50\rMIN 50\rMIN 50\"

0x075 = "ZIP\r"

0x076 = "SCA PL 1\r"

0x077 = "PHA 0\r"

0x078 = "PHA 180\r"

0x079 = "SCA SH @\r"

0x07A = "SHI UP\r"

0x07B = "WAR 0\r"

Save the .INI file and restart dtelnet, and the F1-F12 keys should now execute those commands.

A more complex F-key keymap

Obviously, there are many more commonly used commands that would be nice to have at the push of a button.