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The scripting language in FFXI is probably the most widely used tool in the game, yet seems to receive very little attention. Here are some very useful changes that I would like to see added to it:
/alias (/al)/sea parameters
Case-insensitivity: no more capitalization, allowing one to type:
<pn> becomes <n> where n is the party position ordinal.
<stnpc> becomes <n> or even <npc>, <sn>, etc.
<stpc> becomes <p> or <pc>, <sp>, etc.
[EDIT: Add new ideas]
In my opinion, Scripting engines should be as loose and fluid as possible in their reading without compromising the integrity of the script. This is especially beneficial in an Online Gaming environment where entering commands quickly can be the difference between a success or failure. Any error which could be considered inconsequential should be ignored (e.g. the missing end-bracket) and the player should be allowed maximum flexibility to coincide with his gaming style. I am a typer. I use a game controller to move around with (because of the analong sticks and easy menu stuff), but, in battle, especially in parties, I type because it allows me to maximize my range of abilities. There are only 20 macro buttons. For a melee character, this may be enough, but for a Red Mage with Nukes, Enfeebles, Enhancements, Curing, attacking, weapon skills (rarely), and all the other stuff an RDM has available, it's nice to have the flexibility of the scripting engine at one's disposal. I'm sure it's like that for the other casting classes as well--Bard songs, White Magic, Black Magic, Blue Magic, and Blood Pacts.
Thank you,
Sabaron of Asura
Command Modifications
/alias (/al)
reassign a single line command to a short literal for instance:
/alias sa ja "Sneak Attack"
then you could type:/sa <t> # translates to: /ja "Sneak Attack" <t>
party <Playername>
alliance <Playername>
Search for all members of a party/alliance containing <Playername>. Useful for determining if you should accept an invite or decline. I know I get blind invites a lot even when I'm replacing and it's useful to see if the invite is coming from (a) a party with a bad setup (b) a party not affiliated with the person you're replacing.
noparty
Filter the search to contain only people not currently in a party. The usefulness of this is quite obvious.
plrange
Abbreviation for Party Level Range. A short-cut that automatically generates a min/max level clause encompassing the level range of the searcher's current party.
Display TNL In Results
Not a command line option, but simply (or maybe not-so-simply) adding a column to the resulting data containing the player's Experience Points To Next Level since especially at mid to higher levels it is almost necessary to know it and it is both a pain to calculate and a pain to click through Search Comments to find out what it is (if the player has actually put it in and it is current).
/macro (/m) <Macroname>alliance <Playername>
Search for all members of a party/alliance containing <Playername>. Useful for determining if you should accept an invite or decline. I know I get blind invites a lot even when I'm replacing and it's useful to see if the invite is coming from (a) a party with a bad setup (b) a party not affiliated with the person you're replacing.
noparty
Filter the search to contain only people not currently in a party. The usefulness of this is quite obvious.
plrange
Abbreviation for Party Level Range. A short-cut that automatically generates a min/max level clause encompassing the level range of the searcher's current party.
Display TNL In Results
Not a command line option, but simply (or maybe not-so-simply) adding a column to the resulting data containing the player's Experience Points To Next Level since especially at mid to higher levels it is almost necessary to know it and it is both a pain to calculate and a pain to click through Search Comments to find out what it is (if the player has actually put it in and it is current).
Performs the macro named Macroname. This one is a bit tricky since it could easily be abused for botting, and would therefore require a bit of special case coding:
- /m only works in command line, it cannot be macroed.
- Macros must have unique names either with respect to all 10 pages of macros or to the current page of macros (I would prefer the latter).
Non-command Modifications
Case-insensitivity: no more capitalization, allowing one to type:
/ma "cure ii" <t>
Non-quoting/alternate "space"/single tick quotes/brackets: Upgrade the scripting engine to support a non-whitespace space such as a period, allow the use of the single tick quote ' in addition to the double tick quote ", and allow the bracket characters [ and ] instead of < and > to remove more Shift key usage allowing the following possibilities:/ma cure.ii <t>
/ma 'cure ii' <t>
/ma 'cure ii' [t]
It could be taken a step further as there is really no need for [ ] or < > around Targetting Operands. Since [ cannot occur in a target's name (e.g. Sabaron), a one-character indicator is all that is needed--one could simply make the closing bracket "]" or ">" optional and have the scripting engine ignore it entirely. /ma 'cure ii' <t>
/ma 'cure ii' [t]
/ma cure.ii [t
/ma 'cure ii' [stnpc
Auto-target self: On Self-Only spells, there should be no need to type <me> or <p0> to get the spell to activate. The spell should target it's only possible target by default, so that when a player is engaged, he needn't use these 4-character, 2-shift commands to do something that should be done by default./ma 'cure ii' [stnpc
/ma Enthunder
Shortened Targetting operands: Reduce the keystroke cost of targetting operands as follows:<pn> becomes <n> where n is the party position ordinal.
<stnpc> becomes <n> or even <npc>, <sn>, etc.
<stpc> becomes <p> or <pc>, <sp>, etc.
[EDIT: Add new ideas]
In my opinion, Scripting engines should be as loose and fluid as possible in their reading without compromising the integrity of the script. This is especially beneficial in an Online Gaming environment where entering commands quickly can be the difference between a success or failure. Any error which could be considered inconsequential should be ignored (e.g. the missing end-bracket) and the player should be allowed maximum flexibility to coincide with his gaming style. I am a typer. I use a game controller to move around with (because of the analong sticks and easy menu stuff), but, in battle, especially in parties, I type because it allows me to maximize my range of abilities. There are only 20 macro buttons. For a melee character, this may be enough, but for a Red Mage with Nukes, Enfeebles, Enhancements, Curing, attacking, weapon skills (rarely), and all the other stuff an RDM has available, it's nice to have the flexibility of the scripting engine at one's disposal. I'm sure it's like that for the other casting classes as well--Bard songs, White Magic, Black Magic, Blue Magic, and Blood Pacts.
Thank you,
Sabaron of Asura
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