Aliases FAQ
By Freezer - Last updated 5-15-98

Frequently Asked Questions about Aliases Overview of Aliases What is an alias? Why do I need aliases? How do I get aliases? What do I do with them? Problems with Aliases you have collected Why do I get "unknown command" Why doesn't the rocket jump alias shoot? Why does the alias work only once? How can I change aliases? Making Your Own Aliases What are some basic commands I will need to know? How do I bind something to the keypad keys? Is there a command to make a 180° turn? How do I bind a key to do something only while it's held down? It's not doing what I want it to do! How do I know when my alias is perfected? What is an alias? - An alias is a combination of commands that can be bound to one key, allowing you do to complicated actions with a single keystroke. Why do I need aliases? - To be honest, you don't. You can freestyle, but I don't recommend it. Aliases make it easier on you. They can be as simple as choosing your best weapon, or as complicated as zooming in and railing someone, then zooming back out and switching back to your previous weapon. The sky is the limit. How do I get aliases? - There are different places on the internet that you can find them. One such place is right here at 'The Bind'. Clicking on the Alias link on the side menu of this page will take you to my collection. If you don't find what you need, you can email me or simply poke around until you find what you are looking for. Any good alias page should have descriptions telling what each alias does. What do I do with them? - Once you have picked out some aliases that you like, you should know what to do with them. First of all, you must create a file with notepad called autoexec.cfg. Place all of your aliases in there. If you wish to write any comments, always put // at the beginning of that line. You cannot have any stray writing. Then, if you plan to use these aliases for DM, put this file in the baseq2 folder. For CTF, put them in the CTF folder, and so on. Now you are ready to use these aliases! Why do I get an unknown command, or it makes me say the alias name? - A few things could be wrong. The most common is that you put the alias in your config.cfg Is that where you are supposed to put it? NO. Quake modifies this file and will keep your key bindings but not alias commands. You need to create a file and call it autoexec.cfg Place this file in the baseq2 directory (or, if its for CTF, in the CTF directory, etc.) Another common problem, especially for people with low resolution monitors, is that during the cut&paste, not everything got on the same line that was supposed to be. Here's good rule of thumb. Check all of your aliases, and every time you see the word alias or bind that isn't inside quotes and doesn't have a semicolon(;) after it, start a new line. EVERY line should start with either bind or alias. (NOTE: This does NOT mean that every bind or alias must be at the beginning of a line.) Why doesn't the rocket jump alias shoot? - One word....SPEED. Not just your internet connection, but also your PC speed. All of these affect aliases like the rocket jump alias that have waits in between +attack and -attack. Your computer will read the commands faster than quake can execute them. So, if your computer reads -attack before quake has a chance to shoot, nothing will happen. How can you fix this? Either add more waits, get a new computer, or freestyle that puppy. Why does the alias only work once? - The answer to this is almost identical to why you are getting unknown commands. Many people type aliases in the console during gameplay, or they cut&paste into the console (I guess because they don't know where to put them) The alias will work great during that game, but never again. Why? Yup, you guessed it! It needs to be in a file called autoexec.cfg that you must create and put in the baseq2 directory (or CTF dir for CTF, etc.) How can I change aliases? - You can change just about anything that you want, but if you don't know what your doing, I would suggest that you talk to someone who does. If you decide to modify an alias to suit your needs, I recommend that you keep a copy of the original alias, or at least remember where you got it, just in case you screw it up. Some of the most common things that people want to change are weapons. There are a lot of quickweapon aliases out there, but different people have different favorite weapons. To change these, all you do is change the weapon name in the alias, but you should know this: If there are more than one use weaponname commands in the alias, the one written last will be the one that is used (if it is available). If there are 3, then the last will be used unless you don't have it. In that case, you will get the middle one, then the first one is the LAST RESORT. That is very important. Many people put their favorite weapon first and do not understand why they are switching to a lesser weapon. Another feature that you may want to change is the sensitivity, such as in the popular sniper aliases. Changing the sensitivity is very easy, but it is best to mess around with different numbers close to the ones in the original alias. Why? Most aliases were written by people that know what they are doing, and a drastic change could really mess you up. Also, changing values like FOV(field of vision), i.e. zoom , and any cl_speeds are very dangerous. Always be careful when altering these, and remember the default values . What are some basic commands that I will need to know? - There are so many, I could not list them all here, but I will try to choose the most commonly used commands. First of all, most aliases include choosing weapons. It's done like this: use <weaponname> . Next, you must know how to make them fire, like this: +attack . To make them stop shooting: -attack . Sounds logical, huh? From now on I will give only a brief explanation of each command, and know that anything with a + in front of it is stopped by using the same command with a - (for brevity's sake). To switch to the previous weapon: weaplast . To turn: +left , +right . To move: +forward , +back . To crouch: +movedown . To jump +moveup (this is NOT the command to stop crouching, don't forget you stop by using -commandname) . How do I bind something to the keypad keys? - I get asked this question a lot. The answer is very simple. First of all, you put kp_ in front of them. Also, you use the NAME of the key, not the number (except for number 5). For example, to bind a key to 1 on the keypad, you would use bind <command> kp_end. For the keys with the arrows (4,8,6,2) you would use kp_leftarrow , kp_uparrow , kp_rightarrow , and kp_downarrow . Is there a command to make a 180° turn? - Simply put, NO. the only way to accomplish this in an alias is to do something like: alias +qckturn "cl_yawspeed 7000;+left" alias -qckturn "-left;cl_yawspeed 400" bind x "+qckturn" This would accomplish a quick turn, but it would not be exact. The longer you held down the key, the more it would turn, and cpu speed as well as lag would affect it. My advice: A mouse flick is always the best way to turn quickly. How do I bind a key to do something only while it's held down? - You're talking about action commands. All you have to do is write an alias stating what the key will do when held down. Then, put a + in front its name. Like this: alias +shoot "use rocket launcher;+attack" . Then, write the alias that tells what will happen when the key is released, and place a - in front of its name, like this: alias -shoot "-attack;weaplast". It's not doing what I want it to do! - The first thing you should check for when an alias that your wrote is not functioning like you thought it would is a little error. Typo's in aliases are the number one cause of headaches for quakers. One added " or a missing ; or two words running together will completely send your quake out of whack. If you think there are NO typo's, then rethink your logic. Try different things. Maybe what you thought should happen was wrong. Try different ways of doing things. Just use the 'ol trial and error. How do I know when my alias is perfected? - I get many aliases each day, and I have to choose the ones that are written correctly (and of course actually work). First of all, try to rid your alias of any unnecessary wait commands, because time is everything. Make sure your alias does things the most direct way. It shouldn't execute any unnecessary statements. An example of this might be a grapple alias that ends with a best weapon alias. IMHO, there's really no use for that. You should just use weaplast, since you will probably already have your best weapon, or at least have it at the touch of a key. Again, this is only my opinion. The main thing is, does it work for you? If so, you've got a great alias.

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