Read Me First - Spring

The following will answer the most commonly-asked questions about Spring from newcomers.

1 About Spring
2 Installation (on Windows)
3 Playing
4 Using Mods/Games
5 Using Maps
6 Client
7 Bots
8 The Spring Forum

About Spring

Spring is an open source project. This means everyone with programming knowledge is invited to contribute to the project. It also means Spring is made by regular people in their free time.

Installation (on Windows)

For installation on Linux, go here

Get the installer here: Download
Spring is not Total Annihilation, they are two completely different programs, and their files are not in any way interchangeable.
As such, they should be installed to different directories. Spring is usually installed at C:\Program Files\Spring
Make sure you have the latest version of Spring. See Downloadlink above
Spring it self is an engine, the program that runs the content. The content itself (the buildings, units, sounds, images) are packed in mod files. There are several mods and games you can play with Spring. They all have different play styles. Mods and games can be found at the games page.

Playing

To play a game of Spring, you must run the Springlobby.exe program. Spring itself, at this time, cannot be run directly very well.
You can start Springlobby through the start menu link it creates or by running Springlobby.exe in the directory you installed Spring in.
It is possible to play a single player game. Of course, this requires an AI to fight against. Take a look at the Bots section of this article.

To chat with allies, press Alt+Enter, or type "a:" (without quotation marks) before your message.
Press Shift+Enter or type "s:" before your message to chat with spectators only.

Press F1 for seeing the heightmap (because some buildings cannot be built anywhere).
Press F2 when you want to see where the builder can build the selected unit.
Press F3 for seeing last action in the game.
Press F4 for seeing metal map (where to build metal extractors).
Press F6 to enable/disable sounds.
Press F9 to enable/disable the health bars above units.
Press F12 to take a screenshot with average JPG quality.

For more information Check Keyboard Key Layout: Spring Keyboard Layout Image

Press the left mouse button to select a unit.
Press the left mouse button and drag a rectangle to select multiple units.
Press the right mouse button on the terrain to move all selected units to that location.
Press the left mouse button on the terrain to deselect any selected units you have selected.

Using Mods/Games

A list of the most commonly played and recently updated games and mods can be found in the games page, and you can then download them from the links on that page.
To install a game to Spring, you can double-click on the mod file (.sd7 or .sdz) and a program called "archive mover" that comes with spring will automatically install it for you. If you cannot do this, you can instead directly drop the file into your "Spring\Mods\" directory.
Some mods have multiple .sd7 or .sdz files for single player games modes or mutators. All of the need to be in the "Spring\Mods\" directory in order to be functional.
Once a mod has been installed, you can use the "refresh maps/mods" option from the "tools" list in SpringLobby.

Using Maps

Maps can be found at SpringFiles and at Spring-Portal.
This files are also ".sd7" or ".sdz" files. They may be zipped with WinZip or WinRar, to further reduce their size. In that case, unzip them before placing them in the "Maps" directory in the Spring folder.
As is the case with mods, use the "refresh maps/mods" option from the "tools" list in SpringLobby.

Client

The main purpose of SpringLobby is to set up and start games on the Spring engine, either as online multiplayer games or single player games. Additionally, it is also an IRC-like chat client, has a BitTorrent-based maps and mods downloader, and can be used to watch demos of previously played games.
Private messaging is also supported through SpringLobby by double-clicking a person's name, either in a chat channel or in a battle room. To exit a private messaging window, click on the "X" button on the tab with that player's name on it in the "chat" tab.
To host a game, go to the "Multiplayer" tab and click the "Host new" buton on the bottom right of the screen. Another tab in the "multiplayer" section will show up, allowing you to chose the mod and other settings.