360 Macro = Death of Me

[Pocketrockets]

If macros re making you not enjoy the game because you only have 6 lines to work with I can't help but wonder how much you really enjoy FFXI?

Anyone that needs windower to play ffxi normally probably isn't a very good player. (Not trying to be insulting but... you do realize hundreds of thousands of people did just fine with 6 line macros way before windower or the 360 even existed right?)

It's not that you need windower to play ffxi "normally", but you do need it to play ffxi "optimally".

[Demosthenes]

I don't use the windower. I am a bad player.

[Purrloin]

As well as swapping macro sets, you can swap macro books. It's handy if you want to switch between more than one "idle" gearset. The most common example I can think of is switching from accuracy to attack depending on party buffs. Since you don't have complete control of your buffs, it's nice to be able to "flip a switch" and have all the same macros with different gear.

There's no limit to what you can code with 6 lines now.

[Hanyoko]

I use what i call "triple tap" macros

Book x Set 1 slot y:
/equip head
/equip neck
/equip ear1
/equip ear2
/macro set 2

Book x Set 2 slot y:
/equip body
/equip hands
/equip ring1
/equip ring2
/macro set 3

Book x Set 3 slot y:
/equip back
/equip waist
/equip legs
/equip feet
/macro set 1

So I would spam that key (3-6 times) as a precast, then do my actual action; WS would set gorget, spells would set staff, etc. then spam the key for my idle or tp set after it went off. And if you follow a strong pattern, then all swaps of that type are on the same set; so if you need to modify a particular slot its easy to edit on the fly.

The only downside is that 'basic' actions need to be cloned across all 3 sets (ws, spells, ja, /ra, etc etc)

I then use set 4 and 5 for special situational gear/cmds that are largely event driven and dont fit well in the general use. This allows me to break a book into 2 jobs.

[Ultimagi]

Sure, using windower and spellcast can make you a better player, but doing all the same things without cheating, takes skill, and makes you a great player.

[Cream Soda]

You say it takes skill, as if it were difficult to do. We don't use windower macros and spellcast because we think regular macros are hard. It's just annoying and tedious

[bungiefan]

If your computer is unable to play a game that's 7 years old, I think answering with "buy a new computer" is justified.

My issue with that is that FFXI is the only computer game I really play that isn't from the 80s or 90s. Spending an amount of money for a new machine or a significant upgrade just to play one game isn't something I'd want to do, when I don't even buy a console till there's 15 games I want to play and own released on it. Also, you don't have to upgrade consoles much. My computer mostly does work and video files, which don't need the power of a gaming rig. I work just fine on computers from the late 90s still with that concept, but my main machine is one I built about 3.5 years ago.

Also, upgrading to a newer graphics card broke my FFXI on PC, and spending money on yet another card, when I can only have one AGP card in the machine at a time, isn't appealing when I'm not sure if it will actually fix the issue.

PS2 is the less expensive option when I already have it from when the game was PS2-only, and I only had a G3 Mac then. The only reason I have a Windows machine at all is that school gave me one for a course I took, and I had to build that one myself for the IT course.

[Wrathbone]

Pricewatch.com is a lovely site for those looking for cheap upgrade's for an older PC, assuming you motherboard can accept a newer-ish CPU-etc.

[hotpiercedguy]

It's not that you need windower to play ffxi "normally", but you do need it to play ffxi "optimally".

No. You do not. And it's that kind of thinking that has turned people into gimps.

If you can't press a series of buttons quickly and in the right order while playing; quit the game.

Now.

[Cream Soda]

No. You do not. And it's that kind of thinking that has turned people into gimps.

If you can't press a series of buttons quickly and in the right order while playing; quit the game.

Now.

Because you can press a button 3-4 times in the same amount of time you can once? Even if its .5 secs slower or even less than that, it is still less optimal than simply pressing it once.

[Mifaco]

My issue with that is that FFXI is the only computer game I really play that isn't from the 80s or 90s. Spending an amount of money for a new machine or a significant upgrade just to play one game isn't something I'd want to do, when I don't even buy a console till there's 15 games I want to play and own released on it. Also, you don't have to upgrade consoles much. My computer mostly does work and video files, which don't need the power of a gaming rig. I work just fine on computers from the late 90s still with that concept, but my main machine is one I built about 3.5 years ago.

Also, upgrading to a newer graphics card broke my FFXI on PC, and spending money on yet another card, when I can only have one AGP card in the machine at a time, isn't appealing when I'm not sure if it will actually fix the issue.

PS2 is the less expensive option when I already have it from when the game was PS2-only, and I only had a G3 Mac then. The only reason I have a Windows machine at all is that school gave me one for a course I took, and I had to build that one myself for the IT course.

I don't understand. Even my MSI Wind netbook with shitty Intel graphics can run FFXI 640x480 with everything on low. How could you possibly have a computer - even one built 3.5 years ago - that can't play FFXI?

[hotpiercedguy]

Because you can press a button 3-4 times in the same amount of time you can once? Even if its .5 secs slower or even less than that, it is still less optimal than simply pressing it once.

Getting to the other side of a zone on a chocobo: fast
Using POS to get to the other side: Faster

Clearly we are also not moving optimally either.

Obviously it's not the same, but I hope the point gets through.

I don't care if people use windower macros. At all. But stop touting it like "if you dont use them you suck!"

[Cream Soda]

Getting to the other side of a zone on a chocobo: fast
Using POS to get to the other side: Faster

Clearly we are also not moving optimally either.

Obviously it's not the same, but I hope the point gets through.

I don't care if people use windower macros. At all. But stop touting it like "if you dont use them you suck!"

I never said you suck if you don't use windower. I'm saying however good you are w/o windower you'll be just that much better w/ windower.

[mallister]

yeah sorry i'll use windower and spellcast and keep my carpel tunnel to a minimum, thanks. ff's macro system is borderline retarded, spellcast takes a lot of the stupid out.

[hotpiercedguy]

I never said you suck if you don't use windower. I'm saying however good you are w/o windower you'll be just that much better w/ windower.

I don't buy that for a minute.

If someone needs windower to make them better... well... then they weren't that good to start with.


I think any really good player can and will do things with basically just as much efficiency. You can have your own opinion of course, but I think it's a crutch.

I remember asking someone once if they wanted to xp and they said "I can't. that last update erased all my windower macros."

[Cream Soda]

I don't buy that for a minute.

If someone needs windower to make them better... well... then they weren't that good to start with.


I think any really good player can and will do things with basically just as much efficiency. You can have your own opinion of course, but I think it's a crutch.

I remember asking someone once if they wanted to xp and they said "I can't. that last update erased all my windower macros."

Pressing a button 1 time will ALWAYS be faster than pressing it 4 times. Every time. Not sometimes, not situationally.

[Falisa]

I'm sorry but being able to hit 3-4 more macros does not make you in any way a better skilled player than someone who uses windower macros. It actually doesn't help you, except make you less useful and slower than the player using them.

[Cream Soda]

haha flaming falisa

[Yvonne]

I'm sorry but being able to hit 3-4 more macros does not make you in any way a better skilled player than someone who uses windower macros. It actually doesn't help you, except make you less useful and slower than the player using them.

It's no different then playing SFII and pulling off a simple 5 hit combo on Ryu. Some people "push" buttons, some people have muscle reflex. Some people use pre-programmed arcade pads, some people kick their ass for using it.

[hotpiercedguy]

Windower macro does not make you better. Period. Think what you want, and you are entitled to your own opinion, but you act as though pressing a button takes 5 seconds or something.

If anything things like that make people worse, because like I said it becomes a crutch (for some not all)

When I ws i hit 2 macros, Then WS macro, then 2 more macros to put tp gear back on. I do all of that before there are even any animation changes or anything. I press them very fast. Would 1 button be faster? Maybe. but the amount is so INSANELY small that I don't think any pc or parser or w/e would pick it up even after xping all day.


There are also a lot of solutions where you need to account for variables.

What happens when you start to WS, then realize for w/e reason you should stop (maybe the mob is at 1% or something and you dont want to waste it) with a 1 shot windower macro, it's a lot harder to stop the ws from going off. With indididuals, it's a bit easier.

tl;dr I respect your opinion but I strongly disagree.