Read Me First
Playing
Spring is an engine! It can play many different games and maps. To play, you need at least one Game and Map!
Getting Started
To get started with Spring, download SpringLobby, which you can use to play, chat and download games and maps.
Downloading Games/Maps
To download Games (or Maps), use your lobby to join an online battle hosting the game/map that you want. It should offer to download for you.
If the download fails, or if no games/maps show up, you should check that your lobby has found your Spring install. With SpringLobby, click edit -> preferences -> Spring, and make sure that it has the correct paths.
You can also download games and maps manually, see the FAQ. There is also the option to install different Lobbies.
Single-Player
To start a single-player game, use your lobby. Go to the Single-Player tab. Select a game, map and AI and click "Start".
Some AIs don't work with all games. If the one you pick builds nothing, try another!
Playing Online
To play online, you need the latest version of the Spring Engine. To join matches, look for the "battles" or "multiplayer" tab in your lobby client.
Wondering where some former popular games are?
Some larger games run their own lobby servers!
- Zero-k (which grew out of CA) can be found at https://zero-k.info/
- Beyond All Reason (which grew out of BAR) can be found at https://www.beyondallreason.info/
- Balanced Annihilation and some other legacy *A games can be found at at https://balancedannihilation.com/
Lan Party
See the dedicated page Playing on a lan.
Useful Hotkeys, Etc.
For the default keyboard layout please look at the Keyboard page.
The Spring Forum
Guidelines For Forum Etiquette
Development
To get started with development check the Development page.
Your question not answered here? Got problems?
Read the Frequently Asked Questions or ask in the Forum. You can also report Bugs to the developers so they can be fixed.
Game Specific Questions
If you have a question or problem with a certain gameplay mechanic in a game, you can talk about it at the game's subforum
If Spring crashes/hangs, please look at the FAQ.