New players, please join #newbies
Posted: 29 Dec 2007, 20:16
If you are a new player, join #newbies for help and matchmaking.
To do this, type /join #newbies into any channel in your lobby of choice (TASClient.exe for example).
If you have trouble running the lobby or registering an account, please feel free to seek help on IRC (Channel #sy on quakenet) or here on the forums.
Non-English language channels in the Lobby:
French: #french or #fr
German: #de
Polish: #polska
Finnish: #finland
Italian: #italiani
________
Frequently Asked Questions
How should I start playing?
I suggest you play a tutorial game in #newbies first, then practice against other new players until you know your way around the interface. Then it's a good idea to spec (watch without playing) a game or two by good players, and copy their playing style. I know that some people find it a horrible waste of time to watch other people play video games, but in this case it's fun and can be a good idea.
What are mods?
Spring is just a game engine. We call the games that run on it mods, even though strictly speaking not all of them are modifications of anything. By far the most popular mod is Balanced Annihilation. It's based on the 1997 game Total Annihilation from Cavedog, albeit with many added units and somewhat different gameplay. Other frequently played mods include Spring 1944 (World War II themed), Complete Annihilation and XTA (These are also based on Total Annihilation). There are dozens of other cool mods, check out the mods section of the forums. These are the ones most played today:
Where can I download maps and mods?
Go to [http://www.unknown-files.net/spring/home/]spring.unknown-files.net[/url] and use the Quick Search box there to find your map or mod. You'll need to download it, and then put it in the "maps" or "mods" directory in the directory where you installed Spring. You don't need to unpack it, just put the .sd7 or .sdz file in there. After doing that, you will need to tell your lobby client to reload the maps and mods list. In TASClient, there is a button to do that in the battle window, in SpringLobby you can do it in the Tools menu.
How do I play in ally games?
Don't just sit in your base and build stuff! If you are new, don't try advanced strategies at first. It's usually a good idea to just build some tanks and try to control as much territory as possible. And, most importantly, never (ever!) stop expanding your economy. A rule of thumb is to spend half your income on units and defences, and the other half on more economy buildings.
How can I chat only to my allies?
To chat in the game, press Enter. If you type a: in front of your message, only your allies will see it. If you type s: before it, only the specators will see your message.
What is the difference between ally and team?
If you are in the same team as another player, you share units. That is, you only start with one commander, and all players can control him and all the units he builds. If you are in the same team, each of you controls their own units, but you are allied. Typically, everybody is in their own team, and there are ally groups 1 and 2, one for each side of the map.
What is a lobby?
Spring itself offers only the raw game engine, to set up games with other people or bots, you need a lobby program. The one that comes with the Windows version of Spring is called TASClient. Most Linux users use SpringLobby.
How do I draw boxes to define starting positions?
Select the "Choose in game" option in the starting positions field, then draw boxes on the picture of the map. In TASClient, you need to hold shift to do this. To delete a box, hold your mouse over it and press the delete key on your keyboard in TASClient, or press the red X in it on Springlobby.
How can I add map markers and lines during a game?
On US keyboards, its the key to the left of the "1" key on your keyboard. Hold it down and draw with you left mouse button, or double click to add a marker with text. On other keyboards this may vary, on my Swiss one its the key to the left of backspace for example.
How can I rotate buildings?
Use the [ and ] keys.
How can I install Spring on Linux?
For Debian Unstable and Ubuntu Gutsy, we have a maintained and up to date APT repository. Use this to install:
Those lines are long and split to fit on this page, you can copy-paste this to your terminal as is, as long as you copy all lines and not just one. For more information, please see our SetupGuide in the Wiki.
Why is my mouse really slow in fullscreen mode on Linux?
Paste this in a console. After logging out and back in, your cursor will be as fast as in windowed mode.
Is there a singleplayer mode?
Sort of. Spring is completely laid out for multiplayer. You can play with bots, however. If you are using TASClient, I suggest you download SpringSP to do this. In SpringLobby, simply click on the Single Player tab. You can also add bots to multiplayer games with the "Add Bot" button.
Are there any single-player missions?
Currently, Spring does not offer single-player missions. You can play with bots instead, but most people play online against others.
Why am I out of sync? Why do I get the error message about a missing default cursor?
You need the OTA-content files. They are missing if you didn't select to install the mod BA when installing Spring. Download them (all files in this directory) and put them in your "base" folder in your spring install directory (usually c:\program files\spring\base on Windows and ~/.spring/base on Linux).
Can I rename my account without losing my rank?
Type /rename [newnick] in any chat window in your lobby.
How can I join other channels in the lobby?
Type /join #channel in any chat window in your lobby.
Is there a ladder / league system?
Yes! Visit spring-league.com for more information and to sign up. Join #league to chat with other people playing ladder.
What is better, Arm or Core?
This question is only relevant to the mods based on TA, where these are the two sides. It varies from mod to mod, but generally speaking, core is strong and slow, while arm is specialized and fast.
Why can't I host games?
If people can't join your games (they get the "connecting to server" countdown after the game starts), you are probably behind a firewall. The easiest way to fix this problem is by using the NAT traversal methods. In the hosting window, click on the "Hole punching" radiobutton. If that doesn't work, you can also try the "Fixed source ports" option.
If both of those don't seem to work, you can also use port forwarding. It might sound a bit technical, but is actually fairly easy to do:
What if I have more questions?
There is an extensive, but somewhat outdated, FAQ here: http://spring.clan-sy.com/wiki/FAQ.
________
About #newbies
We all know that getting into Spring can be a difficult task. One review even said that to start a game, you'd need the skills of a "crack computer programmer". While it's not quite that bad, it can be a daunting task to figure out playing. And even after you started, Spring has a somewhat difficult-to-learn interface.
Rewriting the Wiki, and making more FAQs, will somewhat alleviate this problem. Still, I think we need a good, newbie-friendly place for all new players to go.
I present to you: #newbies
In #newbies, he help new players get a bearing. We explain to them how to download maps and mods, how the game options work, and how to use the ingame GUI. We also host tutorial games, where experienced players spec new ones and give them tips and tricks. It can also be used as a meeting place for inexperienced players to find opponents of a similar skill level.
I hope we can soon find a crew of regulars to hang out in #newbie and help new players.
#newbies only makes sense if I can get Satirik and the SpringLobby guys to add it to the default auto-join list, like #main. If it isn't, no new players will actually ever be there. If it gets officialized like that, the founder rights of the channel will go to a lobby moderator.
Questions & Answers
How do I host a tutorial game?
Host a game called "[Modname] Tutorial Game". Then go to #newbies and write something like "Tutorial Game for BA coming up in 10 minutes". Help people who are interested in joining get the right map and mod, and help them into the game.
In the game, only newbies play, experienced players spec. If there is only one newbie, just get someone to play really horribly and never attack. While watching, you can give general tips about their playing style and answer any questions. Some new players are quick on the uptake, while others take quite a while. Please be patient and nice.
I think a tutorial game with a friendly host is the best possible way to start playing Spring.
Why should I help?
Spring can only benefit from new players. More players directly means for fun for you, so it's completely in your interest to teach newbies.
What mod do we teach in #newbies?
Any and all of them. Most questions won't be mod-specific anyway. If a player doesn't know what mod he wants to play, we'll play the most-played mod at the time (currently BA). If you suggest or teach a mod that is hosted very seldom, please tell the player this so he knows what he's getting into.
Don't we have this already?
Some people used to be in #new, but its empty now. The problem was that no new players ever went there. The reason that I don't think #main is good enough is because too much stuff is going on.
edit: added FAQs and answers.
To do this, type /join #newbies into any channel in your lobby of choice (TASClient.exe for example).
If you have trouble running the lobby or registering an account, please feel free to seek help on IRC (Channel #sy on quakenet) or here on the forums.
Non-English language channels in the Lobby:
French: #french or #fr
German: #de
Polish: #polska
Finnish: #finland
Italian: #italiani
________
Frequently Asked Questions
How should I start playing?
I suggest you play a tutorial game in #newbies first, then practice against other new players until you know your way around the interface. Then it's a good idea to spec (watch without playing) a game or two by good players, and copy their playing style. I know that some people find it a horrible waste of time to watch other people play video games, but in this case it's fun and can be a good idea.
What are mods?
Spring is just a game engine. We call the games that run on it mods, even though strictly speaking not all of them are modifications of anything. By far the most popular mod is Balanced Annihilation. It's based on the 1997 game Total Annihilation from Cavedog, albeit with many added units and somewhat different gameplay. Other frequently played mods include Spring 1944 (World War II themed), Complete Annihilation and XTA (These are also based on Total Annihilation). There are dozens of other cool mods, check out the mods section of the forums. These are the ones most played today:
Where can I download maps and mods?
Go to [http://www.unknown-files.net/spring/home/]spring.unknown-files.net[/url] and use the Quick Search box there to find your map or mod. You'll need to download it, and then put it in the "maps" or "mods" directory in the directory where you installed Spring. You don't need to unpack it, just put the .sd7 or .sdz file in there. After doing that, you will need to tell your lobby client to reload the maps and mods list. In TASClient, there is a button to do that in the battle window, in SpringLobby you can do it in the Tools menu.
How do I play in ally games?
Don't just sit in your base and build stuff! If you are new, don't try advanced strategies at first. It's usually a good idea to just build some tanks and try to control as much territory as possible. And, most importantly, never (ever!) stop expanding your economy. A rule of thumb is to spend half your income on units and defences, and the other half on more economy buildings.
How can I chat only to my allies?
To chat in the game, press Enter. If you type a: in front of your message, only your allies will see it. If you type s: before it, only the specators will see your message.
What is the difference between ally and team?
If you are in the same team as another player, you share units. That is, you only start with one commander, and all players can control him and all the units he builds. If you are in the same team, each of you controls their own units, but you are allied. Typically, everybody is in their own team, and there are ally groups 1 and 2, one for each side of the map.
What is a lobby?
Spring itself offers only the raw game engine, to set up games with other people or bots, you need a lobby program. The one that comes with the Windows version of Spring is called TASClient. Most Linux users use SpringLobby.
How do I draw boxes to define starting positions?
Select the "Choose in game" option in the starting positions field, then draw boxes on the picture of the map. In TASClient, you need to hold shift to do this. To delete a box, hold your mouse over it and press the delete key on your keyboard in TASClient, or press the red X in it on Springlobby.
How can I add map markers and lines during a game?
On US keyboards, its the key to the left of the "1" key on your keyboard. Hold it down and draw with you left mouse button, or double click to add a marker with text. On other keyboards this may vary, on my Swiss one its the key to the left of backspace for example.
How can I rotate buildings?
Use the [ and ] keys.
How can I install Spring on Linux?
For Debian Unstable and Ubuntu Gutsy, we have a maintained and up to date APT repository. Use this to install:
Code: Select all
wget -q http://buildbot.no-ip.org/~yokozar/apt/387EE263.gpg -O- | \
sudo apt-key add -
sudo wget http://buildbot.no-ip.org/~yokozar/apt/sources.list.d/gutsy.list \
-O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/springproject.list
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install spring -y
sudo apt-get install spring-lobby-springlobby -yWhy is my mouse really slow in fullscreen mode on Linux?
Code: Select all
echo 'export SDL_MOUSE_RELATIVE=0' >> ~/.bash_profileIs there a singleplayer mode?
Sort of. Spring is completely laid out for multiplayer. You can play with bots, however. If you are using TASClient, I suggest you download SpringSP to do this. In SpringLobby, simply click on the Single Player tab. You can also add bots to multiplayer games with the "Add Bot" button.
Are there any single-player missions?
Currently, Spring does not offer single-player missions. You can play with bots instead, but most people play online against others.
Why am I out of sync? Why do I get the error message about a missing default cursor?
You need the OTA-content files. They are missing if you didn't select to install the mod BA when installing Spring. Download them (all files in this directory) and put them in your "base" folder in your spring install directory (usually c:\program files\spring\base on Windows and ~/.spring/base on Linux).
Can I rename my account without losing my rank?
Type /rename [newnick] in any chat window in your lobby.
How can I join other channels in the lobby?
Type /join #channel in any chat window in your lobby.
Is there a ladder / league system?
Yes! Visit spring-league.com for more information and to sign up. Join #league to chat with other people playing ladder.
What is better, Arm or Core?
This question is only relevant to the mods based on TA, where these are the two sides. It varies from mod to mod, but generally speaking, core is strong and slow, while arm is specialized and fast.
Why can't I host games?
If people can't join your games (they get the "connecting to server" countdown after the game starts), you are probably behind a firewall. The easiest way to fix this problem is by using the NAT traversal methods. In the hosting window, click on the "Hole punching" radiobutton. If that doesn't work, you can also try the "Fixed source ports" option.
If both of those don't seem to work, you can also use port forwarding. It might sound a bit technical, but is actually fairly easy to do:
- Go to your routers configuration page. This is usally http://192.168.2.1 or http://192.168.1.1 or even http://192.168.0.1.
- Locate the "port forwarding" setting. It may be hidden in an advanced menu somewhere, maybe under virtual server settings.
- Forward UDP Port 8452 to your computer. Spring can use any UDP port, this is just the default. If you use a different value here, remember to use the same one in the hosting window in your lobby.
- Save settings, maybe you'll need to restart your router.
What if I have more questions?
There is an extensive, but somewhat outdated, FAQ here: http://spring.clan-sy.com/wiki/FAQ.
________
About #newbies
We all know that getting into Spring can be a difficult task. One review even said that to start a game, you'd need the skills of a "crack computer programmer". While it's not quite that bad, it can be a daunting task to figure out playing. And even after you started, Spring has a somewhat difficult-to-learn interface.
Rewriting the Wiki, and making more FAQs, will somewhat alleviate this problem. Still, I think we need a good, newbie-friendly place for all new players to go.
I present to you: #newbies
In #newbies, he help new players get a bearing. We explain to them how to download maps and mods, how the game options work, and how to use the ingame GUI. We also host tutorial games, where experienced players spec new ones and give them tips and tricks. It can also be used as a meeting place for inexperienced players to find opponents of a similar skill level.
I hope we can soon find a crew of regulars to hang out in #newbie and help new players.
#newbies only makes sense if I can get Satirik and the SpringLobby guys to add it to the default auto-join list, like #main. If it isn't, no new players will actually ever be there. If it gets officialized like that, the founder rights of the channel will go to a lobby moderator.
Questions & Answers
How do I host a tutorial game?
Host a game called "[Modname] Tutorial Game". Then go to #newbies and write something like "Tutorial Game for BA coming up in 10 minutes". Help people who are interested in joining get the right map and mod, and help them into the game.
In the game, only newbies play, experienced players spec. If there is only one newbie, just get someone to play really horribly and never attack. While watching, you can give general tips about their playing style and answer any questions. Some new players are quick on the uptake, while others take quite a while. Please be patient and nice.
I think a tutorial game with a friendly host is the best possible way to start playing Spring.
Why should I help?
Spring can only benefit from new players. More players directly means for fun for you, so it's completely in your interest to teach newbies.
What mod do we teach in #newbies?
Any and all of them. Most questions won't be mod-specific anyway. If a player doesn't know what mod he wants to play, we'll play the most-played mod at the time (currently BA). If you suggest or teach a mod that is hosted very seldom, please tell the player this so he knows what he's getting into.
Don't we have this already?
Some people used to be in #new, but its empty now. The problem was that no new players ever went there. The reason that I don't think #main is good enough is because too much stuff is going on.
edit: added FAQs and answers.
