Gnome Sequencer for Idiots - Ask and you will be answered

So it seems like a lot of people have either had trouble with GS, don’t understand it, or are afraid to use it because code is super scary. I’m writing the guide to fix that. It is very easy to use, and the “code” is as close to writing instructions in english as you can get.

What this guide is.

    Simple explination and useage of GS, things to know, and a everything you need to make a working macro

What this guide is not.

    An advanced programming course, you won't learn LUA, and you won't be writing functions, just simple WoW macros.

Things you need to know, rules if you will.

    If it has a special character, something that isn't a letter, it needs to be "escaped." This simply means that rather than keeping the line in single quotes, ', it needs to be in double quotes, ".

Example.
/cast Tiger’s Fury’,
is wrong, because the apostrophe in Tiger’s will break stuff. Very Simple Fix.
“/cast Tiger’s Fury”,
This is correct and will work just fine. If you are not sure, everything can be in double quotes, it will not break anything.

    The top of your sequences file
local _, Sequences = … — Don’t touch this
    It will always look like this. Don't touch the first line. You're good.

Starting a Macro

Name it.

Sequences['ProtST'] = {

Replace ProtST with whatever you want to name your macro, leave the rest of the line alone.

The pre-macro


PreMacro = [[
THING TO DO
]],

This is the premacro, and will be used everytime you press the button, before anything else in the macro happens. It is good to targeting stuff, is can also be used to always keep a non-GCD cooldown up (though I prefer to put those in the post macro, they will work here) is can be used to /say haha I did something. It doesn’t matter, as long as it does not need the global cooldown timer.

As long as the first and last line look like the above, your premacro is done.

The macro, this is where your actions go

'/cast spell',
'/train',
'/use bubble wand',

You can put your entire GCD rotation here. Put it in the order you want to cast it. The only hard and fast rule here is the line starts with either a ’ or a " and ends with the same symbol, followed by a comma, just like in the example. You can always use a " and never have to think about what you are casting, but it is only required in place of the ’ when there is a special character in the line.

The post macro
The post macro is executed AFTER every GCD action you put in the macro above. This is an excellent place to put CDs that are off the GCD like bubbles and large damage CDs that you want to use anytime they are available.

PostMacro = [[
It will always start with this line, don’t mess with it.

/cast Shield of the Righteous
/startattack
/script UIErrorsFrame:Hide();
/console Sound_EnableSFX 1

These are the things you change to anything you want it to do. It can be anything you want, or nothing at all, it is a completely option section.

]],
This is the last line of the post macro, make sure it is there, leave it alone.

}
This is the end of the macro as a whole, there is one at the beginning where you named it, the left version of course, which start the macro. Make sure it is there, leave it alone.

A Complete, simple, example.

Sequences['MyMacro'] = {
PreMacro = [[
/say I'm going to use a macro.
]],
	'/use bubble wand',
PostMacro = [[
/say I used a macro!
]],
}

Now, everytime you press the ingame macro named ‘MyMacro’ you will do the following three things.

/say I'm going to use a macro.
/use bubble wand
/say I used a macro!

With the information in this post you should be able to look at any GS macro (outside of advanced functions) and be able to tell how it works, what it is doing, and when it is doing it.

Something to note, a limitation of the software.

reset=#/target will not work, ever, at all, period. The way GS works, you cannot set a timed reset, and from what I can tell, target doesn’t work either, though it may in the pre/post, i’ve not tested.

Now, there is a way around that in some instances, if you have a spell that is cast everytime it is off CD, you can use that to roughly time something else.

Example.

Spell A always gets cast and has a 2 second cooldown.
Spell B needs to be cast every 15 seconds, but has no cooldown.

‘/castsequence b,a,a,a,a,a,a,a’,

It will start by casting b, then cast a 7 times, each @ a 2 second CD, then cast b again, starting the rotation over.

Thank you. That answered quite a few of my questions. To confirm, it doesn’t matter whether one uses [[, ', or " so long as the line is closed with a respective ]], ', or ", correct?

Is indention necessary?

Does putting a ! before an action have any effect?

I’ve noticed some people putting the same command in several different places in a macro. For example, there might be a macro such as:
‘/castsequence a, b, c, d’,
‘/cast b’,
‘/cast !e’,

In the example, b is in two places. Possible reason?

Just wanted to say thanks for creating yet another thread. Because what we REALLY need is more threads for people to look through.

[quote quote=20037]Thank you. That answered quite a few of my questions. To confirm, it doesn’t matter whether one uses [[, ‘, or ” so long as the line is closed with a respective ]], ‘, or “, correct?
[/quote]

The only time it matters is if there is a special character in the name of the spell, if there is you need to use ]] or ". As long as they match at front and back, and are correctly used based on special characters it will work.

No, that is for the readability of the code, makes no difference to gnome sequencer.

No.

[quote quote=20037]I’ve noticed some people putting the same command in several different places in a macro. For example, there might be a macro such as:
‘/castsequence a, b, c, d’,
‘/cast b’,
‘/cast !e’,

In the example, b is in two places. Possible reason?
[/quote]

They are trying to emulate a step funcion by casting it more often throughout the macro. Unless you are using a spell to offset time on another spell with a short cooldown but long duration, a step function works better. See my post on the prot tanking macro I have in the paladins forum.

Based on the comment above it was helpful. However what we do need is less toxic people, perhaps that is something you should consider?

Screw Robert… I’m still learning here. A couple more questions:

What is the purpose of putting certain actions in a castsequence by themselves? Is that just a leftover from the old systems and not valid anymore or is there a reason?

Since one would want to blow the cooldowns (like trinkets) before using skills that use the boosted stats that come from blowing the cooldowns, why are things like that in the postmacro section instead of premacro? Doesn’t that waste a rotation?

Thank you for the back up :slight_smile:

I use it primarly for spells that have a longer duration, like sacred shield, but a short cooldown. Let me break this down, I want to make sure you understand.

Sacred Shield
Instant
5 Second cooldown to recast
Effect lasts 30 seconds.

So that is my spell, I want it to last the full 30 seconds, but I don’t want to waste GCDs letting it cast every 5 seconds when it is on CD. Now I have another spell,

Judgment
Instant
3 second cooldown
No duration

Now I can use a cast sequence to “time” the Sacred shield spell. It would look like this.

‘/castsequence Sacredshield, judgement, judgement, judgement’,

Now, assuming this line is given a fairly high priority, it will be cast when Sacre Shield is off CD, then again when Judgment is available. Then again for judgment, etc.

Forcing 9 seconds to go by before allowing Sacred Shield to be available to cast again. Without wasting GCDs on uneeded casts of Sacred Shield, and all in all, keeping the macro neat.

It is part convenience, part preference. In a lot of areas I leave my macro spamming, damn near 100% of the time. Now if my premacro were casting my trinkets while I wasn’t in combat, that would be a bit of a waste.

“But you can add the combat tag”

True, however since combat wouldn’t start until the premacro did the targeting, and one of the spells in the macro started combat, the first place you could cast a trinket, and it be valuable, would be the post macro.

Does that make sense? It help to ensure you are in a situation to validly use it, since if the target dies, it won’t cast it from the post macro.

Healme,
I am having a heck of a time getting GS to work. I have set up the files following the examples on other pages here on the forum, but when I press my key to execute the macro all that happens is I autoattack. I use Auto Hotkey and have for about a year now. Anyway, this is my Ret GS macro, please take a look and see if anything is wrong. Thanks

local _, Sequences = … – Don’t touch this

Sequences[Ret1] = {
PreMacro = [[
/targetenemy [noharm][dead]
]],
“/cast Judgment”,
“/cast Crusader Strike”,
“/cast Exorcism”,
“/cast Avenging Wrath”,
“/cast Execution Sentence”,
“/cast Templar’s Verdict”,
“/cast Hammer of Wrath”,
PostMacro = [[
/use [combat]13
/use [combat]14
]],
}

Also, does the “don’t touch this” line need to precede each macro listed in my Sequences.lua file?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[quote quote=20216]Healme,
I am having a heck of a time getting GS to work. I have set up the files following the examples on other pages here on the forum, but when I press my key to execute the macro all that happens is I autoattack. I use Auto Hotkey and have for about a year now. Anyway, this is my Ret GS macro, please take a look and see if anything is wrong. Thanks
[/quote]

The don’t touch this line should only be in there once. On the first line of the macro, your forgot to wrap the name with ’

Sequences[‘Ret1’] = {

/bang head on wall

The devil IS in the details! I was so focused on the main body of the macro I totally missed that. Thanks for your help.

I like the idea of GS, infact so much that I have it downloaded ( even though it was not through curse ) I know a bit about coding so that’s not the issue I’m having, the main problem I have honestly is that there’s no UI to work on macros while in-game. It’s still new I know but I’m hoping there’s a UI at some point as it would be easier to test and work on said macros with out having to log and relog.

That being said I may give it a shot, but I am lazy so… >_>

[quote quote=20230]I like the idea of GS, infact so much that I have it downloaded ( even though it was not through curse ) I know a bit about coding so that’s not the issue I’m having, the main problem I have honestly is that there’s no UI to work on macros while in-game. It’s still new I know but I’m hoping there’s a UI at some point as it would be easier to test and work on said macros with out having to log and relog.

That being said I may give it a shot, but I am lazy so…. >_>
[/quote]

With the way it works, a UI wouldn’t be very helpful anyway as you have to /rl after every change. I usually just keep my sequences file open, alt+tab and reload between changes.

If you have to /RL anyways, why not have the UI setup with a easy to use save macro & reload Button? It would be easier then alt+tab to work on said macros and returning to game to reload UI. Also with it being how it is, it looks “shady” and with out it being through a legit distributer like curse client I can see why people are afraid of it.

Now if this script is against WoWs ToS that would explain why it’s “underground” but yea. shrugs

[quote quote=20257]If you have to /RL anyways, why not have the UI setup with a easy to use save macro & reload Button? It would be easier then alt+tab to work on said macros and returning to game to reload UI. Also with it being how it is, it looks “shady” and with out it being through a legit distributer like curse client I can see why people are afraid of it.

Now if this script is against WoWs ToS that would explain why it’s “underground” but yea. shrugs
[/quote]

It is well within the EULA, there isn’t an “illegal” addon, if it uses the API, it is legit, which all addons do. As far as a “legit distributor,” wowinterface has been around a lot longer than curse has. Curse just appeals to a less technical crowd with their easy one-click installs, whereas wowinterface hosts a lot more “advanced” addons that won’t work with curse’s simple installer.

I’m sorry I really wasn’t trying to ruffle your feathers or be passive aggressive, that site you get gnome sequencer on I didn’t know it was around before curse. I also didn’t know there where powerful addon’s out there. In all honesty after having my first account hacked I strayed away from addon’s as it was only when I started using addon’s back then that it happened. I’m talking years ago though. My account is protected now and using addon’s hasn’t been a issue, so I’m not worried about that.

I’ve been having issues with my graphics cards that would stop working I’m running duel Radeon hd 3400 or something like that, making it frustrating in pvp or general questing. With having to alt tab out constantly to work on macros in worried my Alienware laptop would implode. Thus my main reason for wishing there was a in game editor.

Anyways happy holidays man, cheers.

hey guys, wondering if anyone can help here, I’ve just switched to GS however I cannot get it to work at all, I have spent the last 2 days reading through forums etc and still cant find a solution. My issue is:-
Load GS into addon folder fine, having renamed sequence file, log character and proceed to make a test macro called GnomeExample1 and when I hit return after naming macro I get nothing within the macro command field. from what ive seen on various videos etc I believe I am suppose to have something along the lines of
#showtooltip
/click *****
my field remains blank, I have tried numerous macro’s from across various sources and not one will work.

I have not edited the initial downloaded sequence lua file other than renamed as required.
I ensure I create the macro in the specific macro tab for my character.
I have taken off all addons, still nothing, I have deleted all GS files from addon folder and reloaded numerous times and still nothing.

I don’t believe it to be a script error as I cant even get the very basic start part to test a sequence. I know it will be something so simple however I cant seem to find the issue.

Any help greatly appreciated.

[quote quote=22094]hey guys, wondering if anyone can help here, I’ve just switched to GS however I cannot get it to work at all, I have spent the last 2 days reading through forums etc and still cant find a solution. My issue is:- Load GS into addon folder fine, having renamed sequence file, log character and proceed to make a test macro called GnomeExample1 and when I hit return after naming macro I get nothing within the macro command field. from what ive seen on various videos etc I believe I am suppose to have something along the lines of #showtooltip /click ***** my field remains blank, I have tried numerous macro’s from across various sources and not one will work.
I have not edited the initial downloaded sequence lua file other than renamed as required. I ensure I create the macro in the specific macro tab for my character. I have taken off all addons, still nothing, I have deleted all GS files from addon folder and reloaded numerous times and still nothing.
I don’t believe it to be a script error as I cant even get the very basic start part to test a sequence. I know it will be something so simple however I cant seem to find the issue.
Any help greatly appreciated.
[/quote]

The only thing I can think of is the naming conventions. They are case sesitive and they must match perfectly. With a fresh copy of the sequences.lua file (make sure it isn’t sequences.lua.lua because you renamed improperly.) Paste this at the bottom.

Sequences['Surv'] = {
StepFunction = [[
	limit = limit or 1
	if step == limit then
		limit = limit % #macros + 1
		step = 1
	else
		step = step % #macros + 1
	end
]],
PreMacro = [[
/console Sound_EnableSFX 0
/targetenemy [noharm][dead]
/cast [mod:shift] !Explosive Trap
]],
	'/cast [nomod] Black Arrow',
	'/cast [nomod] Explosive Shot',
	'/cast [nomod] A Murder of Crows',
	'/cast [nomod] Glaive Toss',
	'/cast [mod:alt] Arcane Shot',
	'/cast [mod:ctrl] Multi-Shot',
	'/cast [nomod:shift]Cobra Shot',
PostMacro = [[
/petattack
/startattack
/script UIErrorsFrame:Hide();
/console Sound_EnableSFX 1
]],
}

Now go into WoW and create a new macro called, Surv, save it and close the window. Close WoW and reopen it. It should be populated.

Gnomesequencer Failed to load … let me help you all. First the vast majority of the people struggling with this are probably using new computers with windows 8.xxx The instructions tell you to rename the Sequence file to Sequence.lua This is bad bad bad. If you open the file with Notepad++ you will notice that the files name shows as Sequence.lua.lua The reason for that is windows 8.xx already knows what the file extension is and adds it. So…rename the file to Sequence and leave the .lua off.

Next, I found that when copying over macros it was easier to copy them to the bottom of the page after the examples but I needed to make sure there wasn’t an empty line on the bottom. I just deleted the extra space so the end of the macro was the last line on the page.

Finally, hunter SV and MM macros seem entirely dependent on modifiers and with an almost 4 button play…that seems almost useless. Really wish there was a good MM macro that did not require modifiers. Good luck.

If I have a macro in my lua  how do i copy & paste it to have a blackbox so i can post on forum ?


Sequences[“2HFST3”] = {
PreMacro = [[
/targetenemy [noharm][dead]
]],
‘/cast !Obliterate’,
‘/cast Howling Blast’,
‘/cast Plague Strike’,
‘/cast Soul Reaper’,
‘/cast Obliterate’,
‘/cast Empower Rune Weapon’,
‘/cast Anti-Magic Shell’,
‘/cast Frost Strike’,
‘/cast Dark Simulacrum’,
PostMacro = [[
/startattack
/use crystal of Insanity
/use [combat]13
/use [combat]14
]],
}

[quote quote=22286]```
If I have a macro in my lua how do i copy & paste it to have a blackbox so i can post on forum ?

[/quote]

You did it at the top of your post. Click the code button in the WYSIWYG editor here, paste, hit code again.