HUD and UI options | Hotkeys

Age of Empires III: DE III - Discussion
1

Hello!

I like the new system behind the hotkeys for the 18 slots in the grid from the UI. It makes it much easier for me to learn how to play with hotkeys since i can look at the grid and know instantly which keyboard key i have to use. (for example when i have to use the slot in row 2 in column 3, i know its hotkey is “D” regardless if i have selected a villager, building or other unit).

However, it would be even better if i were able to move icons around in the grid to “change” their respective hotkey. For example, the current system has houses for all (afaik) european civs on “Q” since the house is in row 1 of column 1. Asian civs, however, have their houses in another position because “Q” is occupied by wonders making the hotkey different for functionally the same building.

It would be so cool if i could swap the positions of certain buildings in the grid that are functionally the same for different civs to still have them on the same hotkey despite the different tech trees.

I get that technically i could use the legacy system for hotkeys and assign a hotkey to every single individual thing but that would negate the “easy to understand” grid system. Besides, even the legacy system has some weird overlaps and looks insanely cluttered to a new player like myself.

3 Likes
3

A simple drag and drop system for the grid would already be enough. I don’t know how difficult or complicated it would be to implement though.

4

Alternatively, the devs could rearrange the grid themselves to match all buildings that are functionally the same for different civs as a compromise. But i think giving the option of customization to the player is almost always the better way still.

5

I have brought this up in a number of streams and many people agreed that it would be really helpful - especially newer players. Making Hotkeys more accessible to newer players will also raise the overall skill level and make for qualitatively better games.