Movement on Laptop

[thelebk]

Guys--

Are there alternate keys for unit movement other than the numeric keypad? My new laptop does not have a numeric keypad... If there is not an alternate set is there a way I can define game controls to create one? I am playing CIV IV with Warlords and BTS. Official patches only, no mods. Thanks!

 

[Evil Beejeebers]

can you not just use the the touch mouse.

 

[UWHabs]

If you turn num lock on, it sometimes converts the 789uiohjknm, keys into a numpad. The problem with that is you have to turn it off if you want to use those as shortcuts.

Often times you can get the pgUp/pgDwn keys to act as movement keys. Usually I just get used to using either g (for goto) and then clicking, or right-clicking.

 

[twansalem]

I know this doesn't really answer your question, but I play CIV exclusively on a laptop, and I don't bother with the touchpad or the number keys, I use a wireless mouse. A wireless mouse isn't that expensive, and it's worth it for all the trouble you'll save.

 

[thelebk]

Thanks guys. I have a wireless mouse, but using the mouse to move hundreds of units in different directions is very cumbersome. I can do the same thing in half the time with the keyboard. I do not think I will have a num lock key on my laptop as it would not serve any purpose without a corresponding numeric keypad. I can use the up down left right arrows on the keypad just fine. The problem is that 75% of movement in Civ is diagonal as that is the fastest route between two points. I have been unable to find surrogate move keys for the diagonal. Does Civ have any way to customize its command keys?

 

[deanej]

Many laptops will merge the numeric keypad with the main keyboard. For example, with numlock on, u, i , and o are 4, 5, and 6 respectively.

 

[-FC-Commando]

Dont you have a spare keyboard lying around? Plug it in and voila youre ready to go. There are also numeric usb pads for sale if you dont want to drag around a keyboard.

 

[Joshua368]

I have a regular desktop but I pretty much use the mouse exclusively...

 

[twansalem]

Sounds like -FC-Commando has the solution you're looking for, get a usb number pad. It seems to be the simplest way around your problem.

 

[thelebk]

Might be. I am in the military and have to travel light, but a number USB may be doable..

 

[TheMeInTeam]

Mouse is vastly superior for moving a lot of units. Group them and move them as a group - that vastly outstrips anything you can do with a keyboard. You'll need the keyboard too, for hotkeys. Using both in tandem is your best bet.

I use a basic wired optical mouse on my laptop. Works great.

 

[Cashew]

If this is a new laptop there is no reason there shouldn't be an alternate num pad on the aforementioned "7" through "m" keys. You should see the numbers on the keys next to the letters... and there should be a key somewhere around ctrl and alt that let's you access them. I use it all the time for fast moving.

 

[thelebk]

I have an alienware 15x. I has no numpad and no numlock. I bought a usb keypad at Frye's today.

 

[Rusty Edge]

A usb keypad is what I used on my old laptop to play Sid's Pirates! . It worked well for me.

 

[jeffreyac]

As a fellow military guy who always took my laptop on deployments, I grabbed an inexpensive USB numberpad and it fit easily into the laptop case. I love it - though I've slowly weaned myself off of it (mostly because I forgot it once, so I had to!) I still prefer to hook it up for long civ sessions. Comes in handy on a few other games, too.

 

[Chibiabos]

I have an Acer Aspire 5532 and have the opposite problem ... this laptop has a keypad, but no dedicated Home/End/PgUp/PgDn keys ... and Civ IV completely ignores the NumLock status, so no matter what I do, the keypad always does movement ... I cannot use PgUp nor PgDn to zoom in/out!

 

[Scoottr]

YOu could use the 'G' key for Go To and the mouse. I use that exclusively now. Makes it more point and click.

 

[jeffreyac]

For a while I played using a USB number pad - these work pretty well for Civ, and are pretty inexpensive. (I bought mine just for Civ, to be honest, as (like you) I really wanted to move via the number pad!) I don't use it anymore, as my new laptop has a numpad, but I'd suggest a cheap USB number pad - if I remember right, you can find them for a few bucks. Heck, I think I saw them at bargain stores like Big Lots last time I was there...

 

[I_M_Weasel]

When I bought my last laptop a main consideration was the numeric keypad so I could play Civ easily, normally I'd be going for best CPU/GPU.