DarkPlaces now supports "bestweapon"

[Baker]

Canadian Sniper noticed something that snuck past me The 7/25/2006 build of DarkPlaces now supports bestweapon! :d

The implementation is slightly different, do not put spaces between the impulses.

ProQuake/JoeQuake/Qrack style: bind alt "bestweapon 8 5 3 4 2 1" // <- spaces between
DarkPlaces implementation: bind alt "bestweapon 853421" //<- no spaces

One typical multiplayer setup is to have 2 keys bound for weapon selection:

Bind <your key> "impulse 7" // Select rocket launcher
Bind <your key> "bestweapon 853421" // Select best "safe" weapon

(It selects 8 - lightning gun, 5 - supernail gun, 3 - supershotgun, etc. -- in that priority. So the key bound would always select LG if you have the LG and cells, otherwise it would select the SNG or whatever depending on the sequence).

The above setup allows very rapid weapon switching, very valuable in any multiplayer deathmatch mod and exceptionally valuable in Rocket Arena and Clan Arena.

A solid key setup with bestweapon support allows for amazing versatility in deathmatch:

1. Switch to "safe weapon" while in hallways or near combat situations, where you don't want to kill yourself with the rocket launcher

2. Mix up your attacks against your opponent

3. Knock in air with rocket launcher and switch to LG to airshaft.

Additionally, bestweapon support allows for better "all servers supported" style quick grenade aliases. The following is the ideal "quick grenade" alias for DarkPlaces.

alias +sattack6 "-attack;wait;impulse 6;wait;+attack"
alias -sattack6 "-attack;wait;bestweapon 7853421"
bind <your key> +sattack6

DarkPlaces can be setup to be a very effective deathmatch client when properly setup (see below thread for info) and, when doing so, actually is smoother on Quake servers and Quakeworld servers than any other client I've used (comparable to Win ProQuake smoothness, maybe even smoother).

See: DarkPlaces Ideal Deathmatch Settings

[Canadian*Sniper]

bestweapon 78653241 > safe weapon

[Monster]

i dont need that shit. Its all in the reflexes. Impulses are the way to go.
and yes darkplaces is the best multiplayer client. qrack, joequake bah. they cant compare. Aiming is so much easier in darkplaces than in proquake..

[Baker]

i dont need that shit. Its all in the reflexes. Impulses are the way to go.

For (nearly) unlimited ammo mods with no self-damage (CA+, CAx, RA), the difference between binding impulses and the above can be trivial.

But for playing deathmatch, FFA, RQ or CTF you can focus on your opponent instead of reaching for a million keys and it beats impulse 10/12 because you always know what weapon it will select.

The advantage of the above is that a single setup works for every type of mod, which, by the way, reduces the role of reflexes.

Based on what Rook said, it is my impression that "bestweapon" originated from a ProQuake variant written by Avalanche of Clan HDZ back around 2000 and was popular enough among serious DM'ers/CRMOD'ers that it was added to ProQuake itself.

The Quakeworld equivalent, "impulse 8 5 3 4 2", can be found in some shape or form in countless configs at quakeworld.nu.

[Monster]

i have no problems switching weapons, i do it instinctively. I can concentrate fully on my opponent and switch weapons at the same time. I only have gl, rl, and shaft bound anyways.

[scar3crow]

Ive never seen much use of bestweapon only because, yeah, all the guns are right there... Q for rl, e for shaft, r for gl. However I also use mouse2 for +shaft, so e is a bit unnecessary... and 5 is just above r, so all the weapons are right above my movement and thus can be accessed without a thought by a spare finger.

[Canadian*Sniper]

Bestweapon is useful when playing mods that don't start you out with every weapon.