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[ UNREAL TOURNAMENT GUIDE / WALKTHROUGH ]
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Guide author: Orgulo
Guide version: 1.9
Game version: Patch 436
System: PC
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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1. INTRODUCTION
|<--------------->|
1.1 INTRODUCTION
1.2 USING THIS GUIDE
1.3 CONTACT ME
2. GAME FEATURES
|<---------------->|
2.1 MENUS
2.2 MOVEMENT AND COMBAT
2.2.1 MOVEMENT
2.2.2 COMBAT
2.3 ITEMS
2.3.1 HEALTH / ARMOUR
2.3.2 POWERUPS
2.4 WEAPONS
2.4.1 IMPACT HAMMER
2.4.2 ENFORCER
2.4.3 GES BIO RIFLE
2.4.4 ASMD SHOCK RIFLE
2.4.5 PULSE RIFLE
2.4.6 RIPPER
2.4.7 MINIGUN
2.4.8 FLAK CANNON
2.4.9 ROCKET-LAUNCHER
2.4.10 SNIPER RIFLE
2.4.11 REDEEMER
2.4.12 TRANSLOCATOR
2.4.13 AMMO
2.5 BOTS
2.5.1 FRIENDLY BOTS
2.5.2 ENEMY BOTS
2.6 SPAWN-POINTS
2.7 MAP FEATURES
2.7.1 DOORS
2.7.2 LIFTS
2.7.3 SLOPES
2.7.4 WATER
2.7.5 HAZARDS
2.7.6 TRAPS
2.7.7 TURRETS
2.7.8 TELEPORTERS
2.7.9 JUMP PADS
2.7.10 OBLIVION
2.7.11 LOW GRAVITY
2.7.12 BUGS
2.8 MISCELLANEOUS
2.8.1 BEFORE / AFTER GAME
2.8.2 DURING GAME
3. ADVANCED
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3.1 USER.INI
3.1.1 ADDING BINDS TO USER.INI
3.1.2 BINDS: MOVEMENT AND COMBAT
3.1.3 MISCELLANEOUS BINDS AND COMMANDS
3.2 UNREALTOURNAMENT.INI
3.3 BOTPACK.INT
4. CHAMPIONSHIP LADDER
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4.1 DEATH MATCH
4.1.1 OBLIVION
4.1.2 STALWART
4.1.3 FRACTAL
4.1.4 TURBINE
4.1.5 CODEX
4.1.6 PRESSURE
4.1.7 GRINDER
4.1.8 GALLEON
4.1.9 TEMPEST
4.1.10 BARRICADE
4.1.11 LIANDRI
4.1.12 CONVEYOR
4.1.13 PEAK
4.2 DOMINATION
4.2.1 CONDEMNED
4.2.2 GHARDHEN
4.2.3 CRYPTIC
4.2.4 CINDER
4.2.5 GEARBOLT
4.2.6 LEADWORKS
4.2.7 OLDEN
4.2.8 SESMAR
4.2.9 METALDREAM
4.3 CAPTURE THE FLAG
4.3.1 NIVEN
4.3.2 FACING WORLDS
4.3.3 ETERNAL CAVE
4.3.4 CORET
4.3.5 THE GAUNTLET
4.3.6 DREARY
4.3.7 LAST COMMAND
4.3.8 THE LAVA GIANT
4.3.9 NOVEMBER SUB PEN
4.4 ASSAULT
4.4.1 FRIGATE
4.4.2 HIGH SPEED
4.4.3 ROOK
4.4.4 MAZON
4.4.5 OCEAN FLOOR
4.4.6 OVERLORD
4.5 CHALLENGE
4.5.1 PHOBOS
4.5.2 MORPHEUS
4.5.3 ZETO
4.5.4 HYPERBLAST
5. CONTRIBUTORS / CONTRIBUTIONS
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6. VERSION HISTORY / UPDATES
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| 1. INTRODUCTION |
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1.1 INTRODUCTION
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Hello and welcome to my guide for Unreal Tournament. I'm an ex-Assault player
who competed for years in league and tournament matches, when not lurking
around public and training servers. I'm not a great UT player but I do have
plenty of experience (particularly in Assault) and I wanted to create a guide
to share what I have learned with other people.
This guide begins by going into detail about the various powerups and weapons
available in the game, plus as many other gameplay features as I could think
of; it next covers ways on how to customise UT to suit your own preferences
and style; and finally it breaks down every map in the single-player
tournament ladder, offering gameplay tips and advice on each. The guide is
mostly aimed at those players who enjoy working their way through the single-
player mode, but there is also plenty of information in here which may be
useful even to online veterans.
At any rate, whether or not you learn anything from this guide, I at least
hope you enjoy reading it.
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1.2 USING THIS GUIDE
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Please view this guide in a text viewer / editor with a set fixed-width
font. Use the Find command (CTRL + F) with the numbered contents menu at the
start of the guide, in order to quickly jump to the section you want.
I have put the main walkthrough section of the guide towards the end, after
all the other game information.
I've had to use some abbreviations and acronyms when writing this guide:
AS = Assault
CP = Control Point
CTF = Capture The Flag
DM = Death Match
DOM = Domination
FC = Flag Carrier
FPS = First Person Shooter
HJ = Hammer-Jump
LMS = Last Man Standing
NZ = Neutral Zone
OBJ = Objective
R/L = Rocket-Launcher
T/L = Translocator
UT = Unreal Tournament
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1.3 CONTACT ME
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As the game is now quite old, and since I now consider this guide complete, I
have no intention of updating it in the future and will therefore no longer
respond to feedback.
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2.1 MENUS
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Before you begin playing you'll want to customise your UT installation. Press
Esc from the UT logo or intro movie to get to the game desktop.
UT has a lot of menus and submenus, but most are self-explanatory. Here are
some of the ones you might want to take notice of.
Options > Preferences > Game
----------------------------
These options have a big effect on your game, and I'd recommend the following
settings:
Weapon Hand - Center
This has a (small) effect on your aim and a greater effect on ripper-shots.
Most right-handed players will prefer right hand to begin with, but centred is
more balanced and is the choice of most online players. You can also hide your
weapon altogether, which is the same as centre-handed.
See section 3.1.2 for a bind which will enable you to change your weapon-
handedness during games.
Gore Level - Ultra-Low
You might think gore is fun, but it isn't when it causes you to suicide.
Splashing lumps of gore can often get in your way while you are firing - no
fun if you manage to kill yourself with rockets or shock-balls just because
someone's ear was bouncing in front of you when you fired. Better to turn it
off.
View Bob - 0%
For optimal results push the slider all the way to the left so that your view
does not bob up and down while you move. This will greatly improve your aim
while moving.
Game Speed - 100%
This is the default - slower is too slow and faster is too fast.
Dodging - On
This must be enabled to allow you to dodge, an essential part of the game in
combat and for general mobility. Dodging also affects your ability to be
hammer-launched. Make sure it is enabled.
Weapon Flash - Off
If this is on your weapons will flash when they fire, especially the minigun.
This can get very annoying and can distract you and obscure your view. Even
when switched off, the minigun is still a little flash-heavy.
Options > Preferences > Input
-----------------------------
Auto Slope - Off
If this is enabled, your view will automatically adjust itself so that your
aim is always parallel to the surface you're standing on. You don't want your
aim to ever move unless it's you that's moving it, so turn this off.
Mouse Smoothing - Off
This seems to introduce a barely perceptible inertia effect to any mouse
movement, so that your aim will not stop immediately as you release the mouse.
Anything which interferes with precise aiming is bad, so disable it.
Mouse Sensitivity
This is up to you, and will depend on your own skill levels and weapon
choices, etc. My setting is 3.70: experiment with this value for yourself
until you find one which suits you.
See section 3.1.2 for a bind which enables you to switch between two different
user-defined mouse speeds.
Invert Mouse - Off
This is the default setting, which will scroll your view upwards when you move
your mouse forwards, and downwards when you move it backwards. The On setting
is the inverse of this.
Instant Rocket Fire - Off
When this is enabled you won't be able to fire grouped rockets. Your
rocket-launcher will only ever fire one rocket or one grenade at a time.
Turning this off will let you choose whether you want one or many when you
fire - since leaving this switch off gives you both options, go with that.
Options > Preferences > Controls
--------------------------------
This is where you set up your key binds. Fill in all the important ones, of
course, but I'd also recommend assigning a key to the console at the bottom of
the list. Pick one you will remember but are unlikely to hit by accident. I
also suggest you choose a best weapon key (some people choose the middle mouse
button).
Options > Preferences > HUD
---------------------------
This is another area you will want to customise to suit yourself, but your
crosshair might be particularly important. Many of the better online players
favour the small dot; I prefer a small red cross. Apparently, the smaller your
reticle is, the better your aim will get with practise, but try to choose a
colour in high contrast to the game environments so the reticle stands out
more.
Options > Weapons
-----------------
This list lets you tell the game which weapons you prefer above others. This
has a bearing on two things.
One is the auto-switch weapons feature, which I suggest you disable. When
enabled, it will refer to your weapons list every time you pick up a weapon
you don't have on you, and if the new weapon is higher on the list than the
weapon you are using, the game will swap automatically to the higher one. You
will quickly find that you don't always want this to happen, especially if you
pick up a weapon by accident - this can happen when you kill an enemy at point
blank range and their weapon pops out and lands in your arms.
The other thing is the best weapon key, which you should have assigned.
Whenever you press the best weapon key, this list will come into effect. See
section 2.4.11 for a reason not to put the redeemer at the top of this list.
Try putting weapons which can cause you to accidentally damage yourself nearer
the bottom of this list.
See section 3.1.2 for a bind which will let you toggle between certain
weapons.
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2.2 MOVEMENT AND COMBAT
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2.2.1 MOVEMENT
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In UT staying alive is nearly always more immediately important than killing
off an opponent. Believe it or not, it's better to be running around with 10
health points and a full complement of weapons and ammo than it is to be one
point down, running around with 100 health points, carrying only a pistol and
a hammer, removed from the action because you respawned at a spawn-point. So
what if you're low on health? That's what health is for - keeping you alive.
So go and find some more when you get a second. Unless you're the last man who
can possibly take down that enemy flag carrier, or you're one point away from
winning a frantic 1v1 DM round, concentrate on preserving your own life first.
The golden rule of UT combat is: keep moving. Both human opponents and bots
will have a much more difficult time hitting you if you keep moving around.
OK, the high-level computer bots know your movements even as you make them,
and will compensate their trajectory of fire on higher difficulty levels. But
this is infinitely better than standing still and shooting wildly. No-one
could expect a new player to become a flitting, ethereal shadow of the night
after only a couple of rounds, but at least start as you mean to go on, and
get moving.
I strongly, strongly recommend practising your dodging (make sure you've
enabled it), especially if you're playing online games. Every decent UT player
dodges almost automatically, as a part of both their A to B movement and their
combat tactics. The worst thing you can do is stand still, and the second
worst thing you can do is just run in straight lines. When you're not running
you should be dodging, and when you're not dodging or running you should be
jumping. Unless you're crouching, another useful component of combat.
If you watch online players move around, you'll notice they spend a lot of
time doing forward flips. This is a forward-dodge, and it is the best way to
move forwards, both for speed and for avoiding fire. When you want to forward-
dodge while running forwards, release your forward key at the exact same time
as you press your left or right key. Straight afterwards, while your strafe
sideways key is held down, double-tap the forward key and hold it down on the
second tap so that you keep moving forwards, at which point you can let go of
your strafe key. Practise repeating this pattern over and over until forward-
dodging comes easily to you.
When shooting at an enemy over a distance, crouching as you fire can be
useful, especially if you're sitting on the edge of a cliff or a ledge. The
crouch means you can't accidentally fall off the edge, and you can't be
headshotted while crouching either. You also present a smaller target for your
enemy's return fire. Unfortunately, on higher difficulty levels the bots
actually find it EASIER to hit you when you crouch.
You are faster than the computer bots when moving, as they run from A to B in
straight lines, whereas you can dodge everywhere. You can also use the
features and terrain of each map to your advantage: jumping high off moving
lifts, dodging along sloped surfaces, hammer-jumping over hazards, using
jumpboots to reach previously inaccessible places, etc.
The thing that puts most new players off excessive movement is, of course,
that it's much harder to hit a moving target if you are also moving around
yourself. This makes it doubly difficult to score a kill, or even a hit,
because you're having to compensate for both their movements and yours. This
brings me onto to the second part of this section.
@------------@
2.2.2 COMBAT
@------------@
Unless you enjoy running through practise session maps on your own (which
might actually come in useful when trying to learn the layout of a new map in
peace), this game is based almost entirely around combat. At some point you
are going to have to learn how to aim and shoot some or all of UT's
substantial array of weapons, while also learning how to avoid return fire
from those same weapons. I've given the weapons their own big section in this
guide.
As I mentioned, it's more difficult to hit a moving target than a motionless
one. Unfortunately, you will hardly ever come up against an opponent when both
you and he / she / it is standing still and just shooting. Even snipers facing
off against each other across long distances will be crawling from side to
side, trying to pre-empt each other's movements.
When it comes to hitting your opponents and avoiding their return fire, you
should know that there are two types of weapon, which splits combat up into
two areas.
Instant-hit Weapons Combat
--------------------------
This type of combat is easier if you're the aggressor, but harder if you're on
the defensive. You cannot dodge instant-hit fire: your opponent either hits
you or misses, dependent on their aim alone. Instant-hit combat relies on
being able to hit an opponent where he is at that moment, which means that,
the better your reflexes are as an aggressor, the greater the likelihood is of
a hit.
The best way to teach yourself this is learning how to snipe. The rifle is the
quickest regular instant-hit weapon for taking down enemies, which means that
the results are easier to see for yourself - whether you're hitting or
missing. It's also very easy (especially against computer bots) to predict the
enemy's line of movement and just place your crosshairs over a point which you
know they'll be moving through. This way you don't even have to move your
crosshairs, never mind your body.
One good map for new players learning how to snipe is CTF-Face. Sitting on top
of your base's roof and sniping endlessly at the respawning enemies will
provide very good practise, especially since your opponents will hardly ever
shoot back. Plus you have plenty of armour, health and ammo nearby.
Once you get confident enough to start moving around while you fire, try a few
rounds of instagib (enable the instagib mutator in the list before you start a
practise session). This quickly teaches you all about your level of accuracy
and whether or not it's improving, while also teaching you how to be quick on
your feet and to use the cover of the map to avoid return fire.
The minigun and secondary pulse beam are sort of halfway between the two
types of combat in UT. To be effective with these weapons you have to have
elements of both combat types in your repertory: hitting the enemy where he
is currently, and also knowing where the enemy is going to be a second later
so you can hit him there, too.
The pulse beam is the easier to counteract - it has a maximum range, so just
back away and you can avoid it completely. The minigun is far more difficult,
especially since you can't see its shots in order to evade them. This works
both ways, however - you can only tell whether you're hitting your opponent if
your crosshairs are currently bang on target. And, since your target is
probably moving around a lot, it's a work in progress to take him down. Don't
be amazed if it takes you a long time to learn the minigun.
Delayed-hit Weapons Combat
--------------------------
This group of weapons is much bigger, and involves visible projectiles moving
at various speeds (slower than instant, anyway). Though they're harder to get
good at, they're also easier to avoid when one is being shot at you. If you're
firing at someone from medium range, and that person is moving across your
view at a steady pace, you are obviously not going to shoot your projectile at
the point at which they start. Because by the time your shot reaches that spot
they will be somewhere else. You have to predict where your opponent will be
so that your projectile meets them there. So, this takes into account your
current position, their speed of movement, the speed of the projectile you're
about to shoot at them, and then other things like angles and elevation. The
basic rule here is: shoot at where the enemy is going to be. Having said all
that, this is the weakest form of offense in the game, other than melee, and
is only ever really effective when spamming a specific place or in aiming to
do splash damage rather than hitting the enemy directly.
Splash damage is a side-effect of some of the weapons' fire: slime, secondary
ripper, flak, rockets / grenades. These do not have to score a direct hit on
an opponent for you to harm him (or kill him altogether), the shots just have
to impact on a surface near enough to him for the splash radius to have an
effect. Splash damage seems to be there in order to help players do damage
when using delayed-hit weapons - the more splash damage a weapon does, the
less accurate your shots have to be. Splash damage is the basis for spam -
firing blindly and repeatedly at a point your opponents must pass through, but
the most effective way to damage your opponents with splash damage projectiles
like rockets and secondary ripper blades is to fire around their feet and let
the splash damage do its work - actually trying to hit an enemy's body with
such projectiles is almost always a waste of time (and ammo).
To train in how to hit a target while moving, first go for immobile targets.
Load a practise session with no bots, pick a particular piece of the map (a
lamp post or a section of wall, whatever) and run, dodge and jump around in
front of it while you fire various weapons at it. Get used to your own mouse
speed and keeping your crosshairs fixed on the one spot while you jink around
and jump up and down.
And finally, the best way to practise hitting moving targets is to face off
against bots. You'll learn about their movement speed and behaviour, which
will make it more and more easy to calculate trajectories, etc. And you'll
learn about keeping yourself moving, specifically to avoid their return fire.
Keep practising all these things, and make sure your mouse speed is set up
perfectly for your own playing style and speed.
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2.3 ITEMS
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These are bonuses scattered around the maps, which can help you against
enemies or objectives. Some increase your armour or health; some boost your
weapons or movement capabilities; some do other things.
All of these pickups respawn at different rates, though the more powerful an
item is, the less frequently it will reappear. They will all be lost if and
when the player dies or disconnects from the server. If you are playing online
and you are about to disconnect during a round, you might first try throwing
any armour or shield-belts you are wearing on the ground, so that your team-
mates can pick them up and make use of them.
Vials, health packs and kegs all stack with each other, up to 199 health
points. Armour and pads stack with each other, but not with themselves - each
will reset its own effect to the default value. For instance, if you pick up a
set of armour for 100 armour points, then lose 25 armour points, then pick up
a second set of armour, your armour will reset to 100, not go up to 175.
Note that weapons and powerups make sounds when picked up, potentially giving
away your position to any opponent close enough to hear. Keep this in mind
when trying to sneak through the enemy flag base or towards a valuable Assault
objective.
@---------------------@
2.3.1 HEALTH / ARMOUR
@---------------------@
Health Pack
-----------
The basic powerup is the health pack, which is a square, white box with a blue
cross on the top. Each health pack will boost your health by 20 points, up to
a threshold of 100. If your health is at or above 100 points health packs will
have no effect and cannot be picked up.
Respawn rate: 0:18
Health Vial
-----------
Health vials boost your health by a mere five points, though they can take
your health all the way up to 199 if you collect enough of them. Try to pick
up any nearby health packs before vials so that the vials can take your health
past the 100 limit.
Respawn rate: 0:27
Keg O' Health
-------------
This is a huge, white and blue box which will add 100 points to your health,
up to a limit of 199.
Respawn rate: 1:40
Thigh Pads
----------
These give you an armour value of 50.
Respawn rate: 0:27
Body Armour
-----------
This gives you an armour value of 100. Wearing thigh pads and armour together
will give you a combined value of 150 maximum.
The higher your armour value from pads and / or armour, the fewer health
points you will lose when sustaining injuries, so a high armour value is very
helpful, while a low value is almost worthless.
Respawn rate: 0:27
Shield-belt
-----------
This is a shining, circular belt which will give you a (false) armour value of
150.
Unlike body armour or pads, the belt does not act in conjunction with your
health points, which makes its effect more like having 150 extra health points
than armour points. Until your belt is completely destroyed, your health will
not be reduced by taking damage. The belt confuses the effects of thigh pads
and armour - picking up either pads or armour while you are wearing a fully
powered belt gives you no armour bonuses, although you may still throw armour
you are carrying so that your team-mates can have it. By all means pick up the
belt as soon as you can, but just know that any pads or armour you are wearing
will be rendered useless.
Do not feign death while wearing a shield-belt.
Respawn rate: 0:54
@--------------@
2.3.2 POWERUPS
@--------------@
UDamage
-------
This is a rare but powerful item in the shape of the UT logo. It glows a
metallic golden colour. Your shots will deal heavy damage to your enemies for
as long as you carry it. Be careful not to harm yourself when carrying the
UDamage: hammer-jumps are a very bad idea, and it's important to avoid splash
damage from your own weapons.
Some weapons benefit more from a UDamage boost than others - there is little
point using bio, sniper, rockets or redeemer with UDamage, since these weapons
can kill very quickly and easily anyway. The other weapons fare much better,
notably the shock rifle which basically becomes an instagib rifle, and the
pulse rifle's secondary fire.
Try to avoid any enemies who are carrying the UDamage - their presence will be
telegraphed by a purple glow and their shots will make a distinctive noise.
The UDamage is another item which makes feigning death a poor tactical choice.
Duration: 0:27
Respawn rate: 1:49
Invisibility
------------
This is even rarer than the UDamage. It doesn't make anyone totally invisible,
as they can still be spotted by a vague glitter as they move. It does last
longer than the UDamage, however.
As far as I know, the Invisibility changes the accuracy rating of each of your
computer-controlled bot opponents, causing them to have more difficulty in
hitting you. This effect is pretty slight, however, and the best reason for
taking the Invisibility in a single-player game is really to keep opposing
bots from getting to it first.
When playing against human opponents online there are other considerations to
be aware of when using the Invisibility. You are more visible when you move
because of the glittering effect, but if you stay still and crouch your
opponents will have a tougher time spotting you. Certain weapons will also
give away your position much more readily - rockets, pulse rifle, and so on -
since they have a very obvious point of origin. The sniper rifle and enforcer
are far less obvious, being instant-hit weapons; and by hugging a nearby wall
you can even hide the shell casings popping out each time you fire. The impact
hammer is an amusing choice while wearing Invisibility - watch your enemies
begin firing frantically at walls while they try to pin down the source of the
approaching noise.
The shield-belt's sheen will be disguised by the Invisibility, but the glow of
the UDamage won't, so try to avoid carrying both at once.
The easiest way to take down an invisible opponent is to rely on splash damage
weapons, particularly the rocket-launcher. Its lock-on feature still works and
multiple exploding rockets do enough damage not to require any accuracy.
Alternatively, just wait for the invisibility to wear off.
Duration: 0:46
Respawn rate: 1:49
Jump-boots
----------
These boots will allow you to perform three very high jumps. You can do even
greater jumps by using your hammer-jump bind off a floor or wall while you
have the boots, although this is only true of grounded hammer-jumps to get you
airborne - hammer-jumping off a wall while airborne and wearing boots will see
no benefit from the boots.
Jumping / hammer-jumping off upward-moving lifts will also take you much
higher. It's also possible to rocket-launch yourself while wearing boots -
jump off the ground just before you release two rockets at the floor, though
make sure you are wearing plenty of armour.
Boots do not stack with each other - each new pair resets your boot-jump limit
to three.
If you have boots on while you are moving through the air, your air control
will be greatly enhanced; this is very useful when falling, but can be more of
a problem if you are wearing boots while being launched, since the air control
effect boots provide can actually kick in too early when travelling
vertically, preventing you from reaching places you might otherwise have
reached. It is almost always best to get rid of any boots you are wearing
before taking a launch from a team-mate. Boots also increase your maximum
dodge distance slightly, and enable you to have greater control over changing
the direction of your dodge while you are off the ground.
Boots also allow you to avoid taking damage when landing after a great fall -
with shorter falls you will take no damage and with longer you will only take
very little.
Boots also disguise the normal footstep sounds, allowing you to sneak around
far more easily - very useful in Assault or CTF. Boots plus Invisibility is a
stealthy player's dream, but unfortunately they are hardly ever found together
in Assault maps.
Speaking of Assault, some maps might present objectives which can be bypassed
by using jump-boots. For example, you can hammer-boot-jump over the 'Attackers
are on the Roof!' message in AS-HiSpeed to prevent human defenders from being
aware of your presence - it also helps if you disable the turret first by
shooting at it (computer bot opponents are not fooled by either trick).
If you are fast enough you can also use boots to get you out of otherwise
inescapable danger. AS-HiSpeed provides another good example: if you are
knocked onto the tracks while wearing boots you can quickly jump back onto the
train before taking any damage.
Boots have no effect on your movement while underwater.
By assigning a walk key you can still retain the ability to jump normally even
while wearing jump-boots - just hold the walk key down while jumping. Your
boot-jumps will not be reduced by one when doing this.
Respawn rate: 0:27
SCUBA Gear
----------
This will enable you to breathe underwater for far longer. It will eventually
run out, at which point you will hear yourself gulp and the underwater counter
will begin its 18 second countdown. If you surface while not wearing SCUBA
gear you will take a loud breath, an audible giveaway to your opponents - the
SCUBA gear will prevent this from happening.
SCUBA Gear will remain on your body for its duration or until you die, whether
you are underwater or not.
Duration: 1:48
Respawn rate: 0:18
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<--[.]-->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.4 WEAPONS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The easiest way to learn how to use each of UT's twelve default weapons before
you try the single-player ladder or an online game is to start a practise DM
session vs. three or four bots. Pick a map with all available weapons, a
mixture of open spaces and enclosed tunnels, as well as some z-axis angles
(Deck16 is perfect for all of the above). Use godmode if you like, set weapons
to stay and set the frag limit to 100 or thereabouts. This will give you
plenty of opportunity to learn how each weapon works; what their strengths and
weaknesses are; their range; their damage; their ammo capacities; as well as
which ones you like and which you don't like.
You can never have too many weapons, and your opponents can never have too
few. Take every weapon you see, whether you need it or not, and steal every
ammo pack (unless playing a team game). This is doubly important in online DM
matches where weapons are set to respawn.
You don't have to be good at every weapon to be good at UT, though it can only
help. Everyone has a favourite weapon and their reasons for choosing it. Most
of the weapons have characteristics which make them the best in certain
situations, so it's a good idea to familiarise yourself with all of them,
whether you like them or not.
Most online players, especially DMers, like to have a bind for each of their
weapons, so they can switch instantly to whichever one they want.
A very useful trick when playing CTF or AS, games where tactical suicides are
an important part of the strategy, is to double your ammo for a currently held
weapon without actually picking up any ammo packs. For example, spawn at the
beginning of an AS map and pick up the nearest weapon (e.g. a rocket-
launcher). Swap to that weapon so you are using it, then hit your suicide key
to kill yourself and drop the weapon you just picked up (which still contains
its default ammo count). Respawn nearby and collect a new rocket-launcher,
then also grab the one you just dropped - you should now have twice as much
ammunition. This can be done repeatedly up to the maximum ammo capacity of the
given weapon, although it can only be done with one particular weapon (since
you only drop the 'in use' weapon when you suicide). This tactic is a great
way for defenders to keep stocked up on ammo while staying around one
particular spot, and is most effective when spawning at a fixed spawnpoint
positioned very close to a weapon cache.
All weapons have respawn rates of 0:27, except the redeemer, which has a
respawn rate of 1:48.
@-------------------@
2.4.1 IMPACT HAMMER
@-------------------@
This is a powerful melee weapon with multiple uses. Its main firing mode
causes the hammer to charge while you hold down the primary fire button. When
your charged hammer touches an opponent it will release, causing massive
damage. Release the hammer while you are touching the floor or a wall and you
will take heavy damage (although there are some surfaces which will cause your
charged hammer to automatically release when they make contact, but which will
not result in damage being inflicted - these tend to be static meshes like
trees or certain AS objectives).
To make most effective use of the hammer as a weapon you will have to rush
your opponent down before they can kill you off or escape. Forward dodging is
generally the best way to do this - impact hammer kills are almost guaranteed
against unarmoured opponents if you manage to touch them while dodging.
Sometimes your opponent may also be trying to hammer kill you back, which
means you have to hit his body while avoiding his hammer. Either get behind
him or side-dodge past him while hitting him with the hammer to stand the best
chance of winning these duels. When defending yourself against a hammer
aggressor it is best to simply crouch and keep your hammer pointed at him
wherever he moves - he will find it nearly impossible to hit you without
taking damage in return.
Countering the impact hammer
----------------------------
This is simple - just stay outside of melee range of your opponent. Stay
mobile (don't crouch or crawl), using side and back dodges to keep away. If
your opponent is trying to pen you into a corner where they can kill you,
remember you always have your own impact hammer which you can use to fend them
off if your ammo is low or your aim weak.
Hammer-jumping
--------------
The primary fire can also be used to perform very high jumps, called
hammer-jumps, which can be done by aiming your charged hammer at the floor and
then releasing it as you press your jump button. Hammer-jumps also work off
walls and lifts, and if you have boots when you perform your floor / wall jump
you can get very interesting results. Try hammer-jumping up a wall then
tapping your hammer-jump bind off the wall a second time at the top of the
jump - you can often reach places using this method which just one hammer-jump
wouldn't allow you to reach.
The angle at which you are facing will change the direction and trajectory of
your hammer-jumps. Releasing your hammer-jump when you are looking straight
down at the floor will cause you to jump directly upwards, whereas facing the
floor at an angle will give you more distance but less height, etc. This is
also true of ripper-jumps. Hammer-jumping off walls might seem pointless, but
in fact it can be very useful in certain situations, where you want horizontal
distance with as little extra height as possible. For example, hammer-jumping
off one of the slime tank walls in AS-HiSpeed while wearing boots can let you
reach the roof of the next car without sending you too high up in the air and
getting dragged back by the map's pull effect. Experiment with hammer-jumps
off walls when you want to cover distance or traverse low obstacles without
going high into the air.
Each hammer-jump will cost you 54 health points, regardless of how long you
charge your hammer for, or what angle you release it at, which means with no
armour and 100 health you can only do one hammer-jump and still be alive
afterwards. Increase your health and / or armour values to do more than one.
Hammer-jumps are often quite effective for covering distance when performed
just after dodging along or up a low slope - the slope can slide you along and
enhance your dodge, and then an additional hammer-jump will benefit from the
momentum.
The secondary firing mode of the hammer is less useful, but will still come in
handy at certain times. It's possible to deflect incoming projectiles by
facing them and alt-firing your hammer just before they hit you. The missile
will change its trajectory slightly and go past you on either side. This works
on any visible projectile - slime, redeemer missiles, rockets, etc. It won't
work on pistol, minigun or sniper shots.
The alt-fire can also be used to slightly boost a normal or hammer-jump - face
the ground and jump straight upwards against a wall, then alt-fire your hammer
against the wall about halfway up the jump. This can be used to, for example,
jump over the foxholes in AS-Overlord instead of having to run up the approach
ramp - the lower the pitch angle of the alt-fire, the greater the boost to
height.
The hammer makes a distinctive noise while being charged and when being
released, meaning that it is difficult or impossible to sneak up on opponents
while it is charged. However, the sound a hammer-jump makes is the same as the
sound made when the hammer is simply released (ie. just tap the primary fire).
This allows you to fake out opponents within hearing distance, leading them to
think you just hammer-jumped when in fact you didn't. They might hear the
hammer release and rush to plug a gap somewhere else, clearing the way for you
and your team-mates. This comes in handy in certain online Assault maps.
See section 3.1.2 for a hammer-jump bind.
Hammer-launching
----------------
The most interesting feature of the impact hammer was never meant to be a
feature - Epic called it a bug and removed it in UT2003 and UT2004. It's
called hammer-launching, and it can be used to propel a team-mate great
distances across a map. This is a huge part of online AS and teams base entire
map strategies around it. If you don't play UT online then you might as well
skip this section.
To perform a hammer-launch, aim your hammer at where you want your team-mate
to fly to and click alt-fire just once (hold the button down while the
hammer clicks). Once you have set your aim in this way, release the alt-fire
button and press and hold primary-fire at the same time. Your hammer should
now be charging, and a team-mate can then walk, jump or dodge into it to be
launched to where you want them to go. The longer you leave your hammer
charging, the higher or farther your team-mate can go (there is an upward
limit on this of a few seconds). There is a myth among online players which
says that the alt-fire must be clicked more than once for the launch to
succeed, or that the number of alt-fires has an effect on distance - this is
not the case, a single alt-fire will suffice, as long as the primary fire is
pressed and charged immediately afterwards. The aim of the alt-fire does
almost completely determine the direction of the successful launch, however.
A player can even move into more than one hammer to be launched even greater
distances - these are called double or triple hammer-launches. The player's
team-mates must arrange themselves in such a way that the launchee will hit
both or all three hammers just after leaving the ground. Hammer-launches
behave differently depending on whether the launchee jumps, dodges or just
walks into the loaded hammer(s) - jumps are generally used for height, dodges
(particularly side-dodges) go for distance, and walking is only ever
situational.
Hammer-launches are unfortunately not much use in the single-player game, as
bots can't be instructed to jump or dodge into your hammer; but occasionally
you get lucky and a team-mate will hit your loaded hammer, sending him soaring
through the air.
Since the hammer obviously has multiple applications you can increase its
efficiency by performing one action to cover three different contingencies.
Before using the hammer for anything, try setting a hammer-launch with a
single alt-fire (preferably in a useful direction for an AS team-mate), then
charging the launch by pressing and holding your hammer-jump bind. Now that
your hammer is charging you can use it to hammer-launch, hammer-jump or attack
an enemy, depending on the situation.
@--------------@
2.4.2 ENFORCER
@--------------@
This is your default weapon, which you will be given when you respawn. On some
online servers you may find that if you pick up another one which an enemy or
team-mate has dropped then you can carry and fire two pistols at once, one in
each hand. If you prefer just using one (which is half as fast but far more
accurate) just throw the pistol and pick it up again - you should now only be
showing as holding one (it should remember your handedness preference).
The gangster-ish alt-fire of the pistol is pretty useless - just stick with
primary.
The pistol is best used like a weaker sniper rifle. Its primary fire is
accurate enough, though it only does 25 damage to unarmoured enemies. It's
less effective if you just hold down the fire button and hope that some of
your rounds hit your opponent - try not to treat it like a minigun, as its
rate of fire just isn't fast enough for this. Go for single shots based on
accuracy. The enforcer is rumoured to be capable of headshots but I have not
been able to confirm this.
Countering the enforcer
-----------------------
Move quickly and unpredictably and your opponent should struggle greatly to
hit you, what with the mediocre firing rate and less-than-pinpoint accuracy of
the enforcer. Your own choice of gun should usually outrange and out-damage
your opponent's pistol, meaning they should die before you do.
@-------------------@
2.4.3 GES BIO RIFLE
@-------------------@
This is actually one of the most destructive weapons you can have. No matter
how well-armoured an opponent is, he will not survive a full load of
secondary-fire slime in the face. The secondary fire is by far the more
effective of the two modes as an offensive weapon, while the primary fire is
more of a battlefield tool.
To fill the goop gun with slime, hold down the secondary-fire button until the
gun stops charging. When you release the button the slime will fly out in one
big ball, which will burst into smaller segments upon impacting on a (non-
static mesh) obstacle. This spray will act like a temporary minefield for both
you and your opponents. If a full load of slime hits an enemy, he will die
without question.
Although the primary fire is virtually useless against moving opponents, it
can be used to coat an area with mini-mines. Pay attention to how you are
laying down green minefields in tight corridors - laying cross-wise lines is
not very effective, since opponents can just jump or dodge over them to pass
unscathed. Try length-wise lines, zigzags or circles to make things much more
difficult for them.
The bio rifle is uniquely suited to spamming water surfaces since the small
balls of slime float - paint the water entrances in AS-Oceanfloor with slime
and your attacking opponents might find some difficulty in getting through
undamaged.
The bio rifle can also be used to (temporarily) lock doors, such as the set of
double doors which the attackers in AS-Rook must pass in order to exit their
spawn-rooms. Defenders can stand outside and shoot primary bio at the door
seam to keep it closed for much longer, while also dealing splash damage to
attackers on the other side trying to push their way through.
The bio rifle is the only chargeable weapon in the game whose charge can be
held while feigning death. Begin charging the gun, then feign death and hold
the charge - you can then pop up and release the full load of slime to catch
an enemy by surprise.
The goop gun is just as lethal to you as it is to anyone else, so use it with</pre><pre id="faqspan-2">
care and never release a full load of secondary slime at point blank range.
Countering the bio rifle
------------------------
As its range is poor and its firing rate slow, its primary projectiles are
very easy to see and their trajectories easy to plot. Your opponent will
either be trying to shoot all around you in a circle to coat the floor, or
ahead of you to cause you to run into the mines. Keep jumping to minimise the
risk of splash damage or moving into one of the blobs, and try to move outside
the max range of the projectiles. Remember you can deflect the blobs with the
alt-fire of the impact hammer, although this is tricky to pull off.
You can also cause the blobs to explode by shooting at them - worthwhile if
they are in a mess on the ground. If your opponent is using them to spam a
passageway you need to pass through, this tactic is often best if you cannot
attack the enemy directly.
Slime-launching
---------------
Since the slime does stationary splash damage, you can use it to launch
yourself to a medium height; though you will take damage, so it's best to have
lots of health or armour when you do it.
Using CTF-LavaGiant as an example: try shooting two columns of primary-fire
slime over the lower half of one of the sloped pillars around the outer walls
of either flag base. Jump at the top of the bunch of slime just before it all
explodes, and the simultaneous burst should propel you up and over the wall.
This might come in handy for getting into your own base quick while carrying
the flag, though probably not as handy as a simple hammer-jump.
@----------------------@
2.4.4 ASMD SHOCK RIFLE
@----------------------@
This is one of the most popular UT weapons, and if you take the time to learn
it then the payoffs can be huge, especially online. It's perfect for mid- and
long-range combat, and it has three modes of fire instead of the usual two.
The primary mode fires an instant blue beam which causes damage to an enemy,
as well as knocking him backwards a few steps. It requires a high level of
accuracy but - unlike the sniper rifle - it has unlimited range, and it can be
used to knock enemies off edges or into hazards.
The secondary fire produces a slow moving, blue ball which will burst on
impact, causing damage to any enemies it hits. It also knocks enemies off
their feet. Your shock-balls can be shot out of the air by your enemies, and
you can do the same to theirs.
But it's the shock-combo feature which really makes this weapon special and
unlike any FPS weapon which ever came before it, as far as I can remember.
Fire a shock-ball using secondary fire, then shoot the ball with the primary
beam. This causes an extremely damaging explosion of blue, which can wipe out
multiple enemies caught in the blast. Shock-combos can also be used to launch
team-mates like a weaker rocket-launcher. You cannot damage yourself with your
own shock-combo (eg. by running or falling into it) but if an opponent shoots
your shock-ball while you are still close enough to it, you will take damage
and probably die.
You can likewise cause shock-combos by shooting out the shock balls of your
opponents, though you have to be accurate enough to hit the very nucleus of
the moving ball. The balls don't need to be shot with shock beams alone - try
using the sniper rifle or minigun.
Countering the shock rifle
--------------------------
This is not easy, as the shock is such a powerful and versatile weapon.
Against an opponent spamming shock balls it is best to counterattack with your
own primary shock, potentially blowing up his shock ball as he releases it,
killing him with the explosion. If your opponent is efficient at hitting
moving shock-combos you will either want to get very far away or very close
in, since combos have a minimum range which begins somewhere a few feet away
from the person performing them. Versus primary shock, don't move in
predictable lines and try not to jump - both of these options allow your
opponent to more easily plot your movements and punish you.
@-----------------@
2.4.5 PULSE RIFLE
@-----------------@
This is a typical utility FPS weapon - it's basically a crapper, slower
minigun. Remember the green weapon from Doom, the one just behind the BFG,
with the slow, green plasma rounds? This is that.
The primary fire churns out green blotches over a distance, but they're easily
dodgeable and are really only useful to chase down an opponent retreating
along a narrow tunnel or for attacking stationary targets, such as AS
objectives. At all other times, if you are using the pulse rifle you should be
using its secondary firing mode, which produces a constant beam of green
plasma which cuts through enemies, causing damage for as long as it's in
contact with them. The beam has a limited range, which means to avoid it you
just have to move backwards and away. At least the pulse beam is very much
more visible and well-defined than the minigun. It inflicts much greater
damage if you imagine it as a saw blade which you have to saw back and forth
into the body of your enemy; whereas standing still and aiming the beam at an
unmoving opponent will do less damage in the same amount of time - keep moving
when you're using the pulse beam.
In spite of its obvious drawbacks, the pulse rifle is probably the best
weapon in the game for combat within its secondary beam radius. It's accurate,
can't cause you splash damage, is very ammo efficient, and becomes an almost
instant-death weapon when you're holding a UDamage. Don't overlook it in the
small, tight maps and areas.
Countering the pulse rifle
--------------------------
Its primary fire is fairly easy to avoid and you won't often see it anyway.
The secondary fire is the problem, but only if you are within range to be hit
by it. If you are within this range, try staying still while returning fire -
this is to eliminate the sawing effect, which should reduce the DPS values
quite significantly, allowing you to live longer.
@------------@
2.4.6 RIPPER
@------------@
This is the requisite gimmick weapon - there's at least one in every FPS game.
Frankly, it's not that much use in combat - there are better weapons for
almost every eventuality.
The primary blades will ricochet off surfaces until they are ruined or until
they hit another player. You can score headshots with the blades, but they're
too slow-moving to be used accurately over distances. They provide a useful
barrier at bottlenecks if you keep bouncing them off opposing walls, but the
ammo goes fast and the blades do no splash damage - there are better spam
weapons. The blades are also prone to bouncing back into your face
unpredictably and causing you considerable facial damage.
The secondary fire is like a weaker rocket, with all the same characteristics,
except it's faster, yet can't home in. It can be fired at the feet of an enemy
to do splash damage (the main reason to use it if you absolutely must) or
bounce him into a hazard, or at the feet of a team-mate to propel him
forwards. Again, though, the damage is low, and even a direct hit plus the
splash damage is still poor at killing enemies or attacking AS objectives.
Countering the ripper
---------------------
Its random ricochets make it hard to plan for, but an always reliable response
is to crouch to avoid an unlucky decapitation. If your opponent is firing
directly at you, rather than trying to tag you with a ricochet, crawl around
in circles while you return fire - this will give you a low profile against
both direct hits and bounces. Remember that the ripper is at its most
effective (at least directly) when the user is on the same level as their
target, so if you are under fire from ripper blades get off your opponent's
level and onto higher or lower ground to minimise risk.
Ripper-shots
------------
One thing the ripper can do that other weapons can't is perform ripper-shots,
which are sometimes very useful in AS maps. The idea is to sit in a certain
spot and fire primary blades at such a place which will allow them to bounce a
few times and eventually hit a destructible objective. This means that you
don't have to get near the objective to take it out - you just have to know a
safe place to sit with your ripper. Ripper-shots often have to be accurate
right down to pixel level, but they're very satisfying when they work and when
they win your team an objective or a map. The accuracy and success of ripper-
shots are also influenced by which hand you're holding your weapon in - some
work only with centre-hand, while others work only with right-hand, etc.
The only maps in the single-player ladder where ripper-shots can be achieved
are AS-Frigate, AS-Rook, AS-Mazon and AS-OceanFloor - experiment to find your
own shots.
See section 3.1.2 for a freeze mouse bind (for accurate ripper-shots).
@-------------@
2.4.7 MINIGUN
@-------------@
Another basic weapon, inspired by the chaingun everyone loved so much from
Doom. The primary mode is more accurate, but the secondary mode is faster and
is the mode you should stick with unless you're firing over a very long
distance.
One method of minigunning is to hold down the secondary fire and try to draw
circles around your target as he moves. It is a very hard weapon to master,
but you will know when you've made it because the results can be spectacular -
the minigun is seriously powerful if you can only harness its potential.
Being shot with a minigun makes it impossible to dodge or jump - this is
called 'lockdown'. This is also true of the secondary beam of the pulse gun.
Miniguns use the same ammo as enforcers, although each weapon has its own ammo
pack design.
Countering the minigun
----------------------
Unless you can run away or quickly kill your antagonist, the only other advice
I have is to try to counteract the minigunner's tendencies by simply crouching
and staying still. It might take them a second or two to realise that they
should stop drawing circles around you because you're no longer moving, which
could buy you time to take them down.
@-----------------@
2.4.8 FLAK CANNON
@-----------------@
This is the one that UT newbies flock to until they learn the other weapons.
Its primary spread is large enough not to require great accuracy, and it does
severe damage to anything in its path, at or near point blank range anyway.
Primary shots can also be bounced off nearby walls so you can shoot around
corners, although the flak fragments lose a lot of their damage potential this
way. There is no better weapon in the game to be holding while running down a
tight corridor with the possibility of enemies appearing suddenly in front of
you - in certain DM maps the flak cannon dominates.
The secondary flak-balls are extremely destructive and they fire in a fast
enough arc to work pretty well at short to medium distances - flak-balls can
actually reach quite far ahead of you if you angle your shot correctly. Both
modes produce some splash damage which may end up injuring you if you're too
close.
Try looking for the smiling faces on the flak-balls just before they smack you
in the head.
It's possible to launch team-mates a short distance or height by firing flak
balls at their feet, though this is generally not very useful.
The flak-ball is great for destroying AS objectives, as a projectile capable
of doing massive damage to very small areas.
Since the flak-ball does splash damage and knockback, it can be used like an
alt-hammer-jump or ripper-jump, but the damage you take is too great to
justify the height or distance it achieves.
Countering the flak cannon
--------------------------
Within its zone of effectiveness the flak cannon is trouble - your opponent
just needs one or two lucky hits to kill you. Unpredictable movement is
everything until you can either escape or remove your opponent. You ideally
want to move outside flak ball range to force the enemy to go to primary fire,
which is much easier to sidestep and which is far less damaging at this range.
Do not move into zones which can be filled with flak flechettes or flak-balls,
causing splash damage - stay out in the open and away from walls. Jumping a
lot will discourage your opponent from going with flak-balls, since those are
most reliable when impacting on the ground around your feet.
@---------------------@
2.4.9 ROCKET-LAUNCHER
@---------------------@
This one is popular for its versatility, despite its slow moving projectiles.
It can fire rockets singly or in groups, depending on how long you hold down
the primary-fire button. The launcher will automatically release its payload
when six rockets have been loaded (although fewer can be released as
required), so don't be facing a wall or the floor when they go off. Six
rockets can kill anyone, no matter how well-armoured.
The primary fire also has a homing missile mode - hold your crosshairs on an
enemy for a couple of seconds and a target reticle will appear, letting you
know that your rockets will lock on. Fire some rockets at the enemy and watch
them follow him until he gets under cover or until they hit him. Enemy bots do
not have to wait for their launchers to lock on at higher difficulty levels.
If a rocket is homing in on you it can be made to lose its lock if you can get
around it at a tight enough angle - its turning circle is not small enough to
keep up with your movements, so move towards it and then sideways just before
it hits. If you are shooting rockets at a submerged opponent (whether or not
you are also underwater), try waiting for the lock, as your target has no way
to dodge the homing missile, other than deflecting it with an alt-hammer.
Rockets can only lock onto opponents - other targets, such as AS objectives or
turrets, cannot be locked onto.
You can alternate between spread fire and cluster fire with primary rockets.
Load multiple rockets into the launcher and hold down the secondary button as
they are released - this will produce a tightly-packed cluster of missiles.
Note that a cluster of rockets can be used as homing missiles. Leaving the
secondary button untouched will result in the rockets flying in a spread (this
mode has no homing capability).
The secondary mode throws up to six grenades, which will bounce along the
floor or off walls until they explode - again, don't get too close. Grenades
are a fantastic way to cover your own back, such as in CTF-Dreary where you
can be running homewards with the enemy flag while bouncing grenades off every
facing wall, so that they will bounce back behind you and hit the chasers.
Grenades can also be bounced around corners or through holes to hit campers or
AS objectives.
The most effective way to kill with the rocket-launcher is simply to fire
pairs of rockets at the feet of your enemies - this will take down any
unaroured opponent and requires very little skill at aiming.
Countering the rocket-launcher
------------------------------
Rockets fired around your feet are most likely the problem, since all other
rocket-launcher projectiles are easy enough to deal with. As with flak-balls,
jumping and staying off the ground as much as possible is important, and if
you can close the distance to your opponent and get in his face you will
discourage him from using the rocket-launcher at all, since at close range he
is as vulnerable to its splash damage as you are. This is your best bet
against an enemy loading up spreads of two or three rockets. Also, keep in
mind that your opponent can't use this tactic if you are on higher ground, so
try to get there if possible.
Rocket-launching
----------------
Along with the impact-hammer, the rocket-launcher is one of the two main
launching weapons in UT. Rocket-launches can send players soaring far across
great distances in certain maps, which comes in very useful in Assault.
Rocket-launches are pretty useless in DM and DOM, and are actually illegal in
CTF leagues; but they're very much legal in Assault and, as with hammer-
launches, clans build tactics around them in many of the league maps.
Rocket-launches can be performed in different ways, but the premise involves
firing multiple rockets at the feet or body of a team-mate so that the
explosion propels them in a certain direction. Rockets can be fired at a
teammate's feet in spread formation; or the launcher can crouch directly
behind the player and fire grouped rockets into their legs / feet / buttocks /
whatever. Each aim and stance and distance leads to different results, and a
few pixels can make a big difference to whether a launch succeeds or fails.
A combination of a launcher with an accurate aim and a launchee with smart air
control can lead to disastrous results for an opposing AS team, and
'launcher' - both with hammers and rockets - is actually a specific team role
for some clan players. I was a launcher and I spent hours and hours with some
of my clan-mates in otherwise empty servers, practising precise aims for
rockets and hammers; where to stand, where to look, where to set up the
launch, what powerups the launchee should be wearing, etc. This might sound
excessive, but good launches can - and do - literally win certain maps in
seconds. The placement of rocket-launchers in AS maps helps dictate the
availability of rocket-launches - before the attackers can rocket-launch they
first have to reach the weapon and then get it to the launch site. For this
reason intelligent AS defenders will (or should) avoid using rocket-launchers
anywhere near known launch sites in case they die and drop the all-important
weapon for their opponents to use.
Unfortunately, and again like hammer-launches, rocket-launches are far less
useful in single-player matches. You can occasionally succeed in rocket-
launching an AS or CTF bot team-mate in a certain direction over a certain
distance, but these opportunities are rare. Try a quick and optimistic rocket-
launch if all else fails, but sometimes UT's path-nodes don't really work well
with launches. For example: successfully rocket-launch a team-mate from the
front of the castle up on to the roof in AS-Mazon, and the bot will just run
all round the upper floor of the castle interior and drop back down onto the
bridge at the front door.
@-------------------@
2.4.10 SNIPER RIFLE
@-------------------@
The most powerful and overpowered weapon in the game, which is why everyone
loves it.
The primary mode is easy - just point the crosshairs exactly where you want
them and the rifle will release an instant-hit bullet when you fire.
The secondary mode allows you to zoom in through a scope, so that you can hit
far off enemies with ease. Release the button when you have your desired
magnification. Pressing the secondary button again will remove the scope view.
I'd strongly recommend practising using the rifle without the scope in every
game type. Believe it or not, it's often easier to hit a moving target without
the scope than with it, especially if you're also moving while you shoot.
Obviously the scope is useful and sometimes necessary, but the accuracy of the
primary mode is phenomenal and no other weapon is better for instantly taking
out any enemy from any distance with just one shot.
Another note about the scope: it might be helpful to employ a bind which
adjusts your mouse sensitivity downwards while in scope mode, since the
increase in magnification has the effect of 'speeding up' your mouse
movements. Use your sensitivity reduction bind each time you zoom in, for
greater control and accuracy through the scope, then disable it once more when
you zoom out or switch weapons. See section 3.1.2 for a freeze mouse bind.
Try to aim for the heads of your enemies when you're shooting at them; and
never hold the fire button down - only fire when your crosshair is over your
target. Headshots can kill even armoured foes with one shot, whereas body
shots require more than one hit on enemies with full health.
Countering the sniper rifle
---------------------------
Crouch and crawl as much as possible while moving - staying still will get you
shot but standing will get your head shot off, so don't give your opponent
opportunities. Stay in cover or else your death is only a matter of time.
@---------------@
2.4.11 REDEEMER
@---------------@
This is the enormous nuke gun which you can find hidden in some levels, though
it never turns up in AS maps. Firing its secondary mode will let you look
through the camera on the end of the missile, and guide it through corridors
and hallways until you decide where you want it to land. Just smash it into a
wall and watch for the kill messages. The primary mode just fires the missile
in a straight line until it impacts.
The primary missile flies a bit faster than the secondary, guided missile -
you can test this if you ever get two redeemer rounds (max) at once.
Firing a redeemer does leave your body standing still and vulnerable to
attack.
The redeemer will kill you just as easily as it will your opponents, though it
won't harm your team-mates (it will knock them sideways, however, or even
launch them). To avoid damaging yourself you either have to be outside the
blast radius when it explodes, or protected by something which comes between
you and the centre of the explosion: even a lamp-post will do.
I recommend NOT putting the redeemer at the top of your best weapons list,
just in case you press your 'best weapon' key and fire off the redeemer before
you realise you didn't bring out the rocket-launcher you were expecting to
see, all because you forgot you picked up the redeemer.
The redeemer is placed in between the rocket-launcher and the sniper rifle
when using the next weapon key to cycle your weapons.
Try secondary-firing your redeemer while you are using behindview.
If you guide the redeemer missile into the back of one of your team-mates you
can launch them some distance, though the direction and height will be
unpredictable. This might be useful for attacking a base in a CTF map such as
CTF-LavaGiant, though probably not.
Redeemer missiles (friendly or otherwise) can be shot in mid-flight to make
them explode harmlessly. You can also self-destruct (not detonate) your own
secondary missiles by hitting the primary fire while they're still in the air.
Team-swapping or suiciding will also cause your redeemer missile to fizzle out
mid-flight, as will simply getting killed.
The computer bots will never use the redeemer's guided missile - they will
always fire the primary.
Countering the redeemer
-----------------------
The best solution is to shoot the slow moving missile before it can impact,
but if this is not possible just make sure you get behind some form of cover -
anything will do so long as it protects you from the centre of the blast.
@-------------------@
2.4.12 TRANSLOCATOR
@-------------------@
On the one hand, the translocator isn't really a weapon: on the other hand, it
is capable of instantly killing any enemy, no matter how heavily-armoured
he is. Rounding down, this technically makes it as destructive as a redeemer
missile, or a full load of slime, or six rockets.
The T/L's primary use is as a means of travel. Aim your crosshairs at where
you want the T/L to go, then primary fire the module in an arc. Once it's in
place you can alt-fire to reappear at its landing spot. Clicking primary fire
again will simply recall the module. A dropped module will disappear if the
player who dropped it dies. Bear in mind that the direction you're facing in
won't change when you activate your module - the direction you throw the
module has no effect on this, which can be disorienting.
The offensive capabilities of your T/L are invoked by firing the module into
an enemy's face or body, then alt-firing as it impacts. You will get a message
telling you you have telefragged your opponent. You can also telefrag people
by laying your module down on the floor like a landmine, then alt-firing when
you see an enemy walk over it; though this method is far more difficult and
almost never works online, since - with a few exceptions - UT players aren't
total idiots.
You can disable the translocators of enemies which you see lying on the ground
- shoot at them until the light on the top goes out. When your enemy tries to
activate his disabled T/L he will die instead. T/L's can also be disabled by
shooting them into oblivion or into hazards such as lava.
The T/L as a weapon is especially useful in DOM - some players use nothing
else for both movement and combat.
I don't know if this is a bug or a feature, but a T/L module can prevent a
lift from falling. Send a lift up and then dump your T/L underneath it. It
should come down, hit the module and then rise again, and it won't stop until
your T/L is removed.
Be aware that activating a translocator does nothing to avoid fall damage: if
you are falling from a height great enough to cause damage when you land,
activating the T/L will just make you reappear and then get hurt. Also, you
cannot reset potential fall damage by continuously throwing and activating a
T/L in mid-air - it still stacks.
Countering the translocator
---------------------------
If your opponent is coming at you with an offensive T/L keep in mind they will
not harm you at all unless they score a hit, at which point you are dead. If
you can avoid getting hit you are in no danger, so keep moving and finish them
off with a gun before they can tag you.
T/L-launching
-------------
The translocator can be launched by dropping the module then shooting at its
centre with certain weapons. T/L-launches come in very useful in big, open
maps such as CTF-Face or CTF-LavaGiant, when you just don't have time to run
or dodge all the way across.
Some weapons can launch the T/L a decent distance, though barely farther than
a simple throw: primary shock-beam; secondary ripper shot; clustered group of
rockets.
Others can launch the module over a huge distance: landing a redeemer missile
just behind the module will launch it very far; as will dumping a full load of
secondary slime onto it, though the slime has to be pretty accurate to hit the
module properly. You could also try dropping a full load of slime into a small
area, then dropping your T/L module into the middle of it - sometimes you can
get very interesting results when the slime bursts, the splash damage of each
exploding blob combining to send your T/L a great distance, though the
direction is unpredictable.
Another great T/L-launcher is the shock-combo - stand at a ninety-degree angle
to the direction in which you want to launch the module, then fire a
shockcombo to explode just behind it. This also needs to be pretty accurate to
get the flight direction right.
But why do any of the above when you can simply use the impact-hammer? You can
be extremely accurate and also achieve enormous distance; plus you always have
a hammer, unlike with other weapons. Drop the module then crawl up behind it
with a fully loaded hammer (you don't need to set a hammer-launch, just be
facing in the direction you want the T/L to go). Once your crosshairs are
pointing at the centre of the module and you are almost touching it on the
ground, release the hammer - the release should send the T/L flying high and
long. This is so effective you have to be careful you don't overshoot.
Dropping your module onto an upward slope then launching it will let it reach
slightly greater distances, though if the slope is too steep the module will
only move about a centimetre.
Another way of increasing the distance of a launched T/L module is to shoot it
onwards while it flies, ideally with the instant-hit, extremely accurate
sniper rifle. Try hammering the T/L from the tip of the red base roof in CTF-
LavaGiant, then quickly switching to the sniper rifle and shooting the module
three times in mid-air - if done properly this allows the T/L to reach the top
of the central cliffs.
If you see the dropped module of an opposition player, try launching it to
somewhere ridiculous rather than disabling it. It's always nice to send your
enemies to some totally useless location without their knowing.
@-----------@
2.4.13 AMMO
@-----------@
Ammo packs all look different depending on the weapon, and they can usually be
found near to their associated weapons in each map. Ammo packs will add a
great many more rounds to each weapon you are holding, and can be picked up
and stored even if you do not have the required weapon (up to a certain limit
for each ammo type). When you die you lose all your currently held ammo and
weapons.
It is important in team games to share ammo with your team-mates - don't just
grab every ammo pack you see, particularly if you are not even carrying the
appropriate gun. Collect what you need and trust your team-mates to do the
same - your team will be stronger as a result. This is especially true of
rockets and sniper rounds in AS maps - both of these ammo types are at a
premium. Rockets are useful for rocket-launches on attack and for spam on
defense; meanwhile sniping is massively important in Assault, for both teams,
as there is such an emphasis on long-range combat while repeatedly moving
through open areas.
Unlike many other pickups in the game, ammo packs make no sound when they are
collected, so you can grab them without giving away your position.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<--[.]-->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.5 BOTS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The bots are your computer-controlled team-mates and opponents, and the more
you play with them the more annoying they get. Their behaviour changes,
depending on the chosen difficulty setting; at low levels they are so pathetic
it's not true, whereas at the highest difficulties their skill level can be
a problem, at least in terms of their ability to aim and to avoid return fire.
Some features about the bots never change, however, such as how they move
around in the maps. This is especially apparent when playing Assault or
Capture The Flag - watch them run in straight lines, only jinking around when
they come under fire. This mindless approach can be exploited if you can
easily predict where they're going.
Bots also occasionally get stuck in some maps: this is because their
path-noding - the routes they are preprogrammed to take - doesn't cover
certain areas. See section 2.7.12 for more information about this bug.
@-------------------@
2.5.1 FRIENDLY BOTS
@-------------------@
Your team-mates in the team games are not so much team-mates as cannon fodder.
They will always be less good at everything than you are (assuming that you've
chosen a difficulty level appropriate to your own skill), except possibly
actual combat. Playing alongside even Godlike bots can prove to you that,
though they may be able to take down each other and you a lot more easily,
they still stink at team-play. You should use your team-mates to draw the
enemy fire while you work on completing the required objectives.
Your team-mates are just as unlikely to succeed as the enemy are, since they
all run in the same lines and react the same way to developments. You are your
team's secret weapon - bots will never send their translocators into
unexpected places, they'll never hammer-jump over large sections of the map to
take shortcuts, etc. The only real difference between your team and the enemy
is you.
See Section 3.1.2 for binds which will enable the use of hotkeys to issue
orders. Your bots can also be given orders through the Orders menu (F12).
@----------------@
2.5.2 ENEMY BOTS
@----------------@
On lower difficulty settings enemy bots shoot at where you are: at higher
levels they shoot at where you're going to be, and these are the shots which
can hurt the most. The closer a high-level enemy is to you the easier it will
be for them to hit you, though they seem to be extremely proficient with any
weapon at any range. A moving target is always harder to hit, though, so bear
this in mind and make the enemy work to kill you.
In team games, the enemy bots' orders will be based on counteracting any
orders you have given your own team, up to a point anyway. If you put all your
bots on Defense, you will see a lot more incursions into your base by the
enemy. If all your bots Attack, the enemy base will have a greater defense,
and so on.
When playing Assault or CTF it is easy to outwit the enemy team by using
tricks and shortcuts. They never learn from experience and they always follow
or defend the same paths, so exploit any holes in their defense for your own
gain.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<--[.]-->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.6 SPAWN-POINTS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When you die in UT the round does not end for you (unless it's LMS and you
just lost your last life). You just respawn somewhere in the map, with a
pistol and a hammer, ready to return to the action.
Spawn-points in DM and DOM are randomised, so that no player gets an advantage
over the others. Each map has several preset spawn-points, and you will never
know which of these the computer will send you to when you die. This is so
that you can't just keep respawning next to the shield-belt or redeemer or
whatever. It also means your enemies can't know where you'll be in order to
get a cheap spawn-kill. Depending on luck and on the number of players in a
map, you can sometimes be unlucky enough to respawn right in front of a
heavily-armed opponent, though this is a double-edged sword.
AS has preset spawn-points, sometimes called spawn-rooms, where you will
always reappear when you die. In AS, which spawn-room you respawn in depends
on which objectives you have completed so far: this is a big part of online
play, particularly in custom maps.
CTF is more randomised than AS, but not quite as much as DM or DOM. You will
generally respawn inside your own base - sometimes in the neutral zone - but
obviously you won't be respawning in the enemy base.
Knowing each map will be greatly to your advantage, so that you always know
where you are when you respawn and which way to go in order to reach the
nearest weapon or powerup.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<--[.]-->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.7 MAP FEATURES
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Every UT map is different, and some are more interesting than others, but they
all share certain essential features which you should familiarise yourself
with to make your transition through each map easier and faster.
@-----------@
2.7.1 DOORS
@-----------@
Most doors will open when you approach or touch them, though some are slower
than others. Most doors can be held open just by standing in the doorway;
while others can be held shut with slime (AS-Rook, for example). The final
door in AS-HiSpeed can be locked by a defender with a shock-ball, though this
is a bug.
Some doors - notably in AS - must be opened by hitting a special button or
completing an objective. The three upper doors in AS-Frigate, for example,
will never open unless the attackers have completed the Hydraulic Compressor
objective.
And there are also secret doors which may be camouflaged or hidden in other
ways. Some may need to be touched; some need to be shot; and others must be
opened using a hidden button or lever. I've noted the locations of these doors
as they occur in the different maps, as well as the method used to open them.
@-----------@
2.7.2 LIFTS
@-----------@
These will take you between levels, and are usually very obvious to see.
Depending on the speed at which a lift moves upwards, you can jump to a
certain height while it is moving, allowing you to reach high platforms and
ledges. If you are wearing boots or performing a hammer-jump off a lift, your
height will be even greater.
Some lifts need to be activated by levers, and I've noted these as they occur.
Lifts will not harm you if you are stuck under them: they will usually move
upwards again until the obstruction underneath them is removed. This failsafe
can be - and often is - exploited by online players. AS-Guardia is much harder
for the attackers if someone just camps under the final lift - particularly if
that person is defnding the map against an all-bot team.
See section 2.7.12 for a bug involving lifts.
@------------@
2.7.3 SLOPES
@------------@
Sloped walls or supports can be dodged along or up to increase your speed or
to reach places you would not be able to jump to. Dodge along a forty-five
degree slope and you will slide along it all in the one movement. Side-dodge
up a sloped pillar or wall to get to the top: the AS-Overlord foxholes and the
pillar by the bio-rifle in DM-Liandri are good examples of this feature.
Sloped surfaces can also help prevent the loss of health when falling from a
height. If you are falling and you think you will lose health when you land,
try using your air control to land on a sloped surface below you. Sometimes it
will break your fall and save you some health, or even all of it.
@-----------@
2.7.4 WATER
@-----------@
This is easily distinguishable from slime or lava, since UT water is always
blue and transparent. Once you submerge yourself in water, you have 18 seconds
to get your head above the surface again before you start losing health in
measures of five points per second (armour will not protect you from drowning,
though a shield-belt will).
While you are drowning in water you will make a gulping sound with each
incremental loss of health. This sound can give away your position to your
enemies, another reason to pick up the SCUBA Gear.
See section 2.3.2 for information about the SCUBA Gear powerup.
Landing in water after a fall will enable you to avoid any health loss. Any
projectiles will be slowed down greatly, which is handy since your sluggish
movement necessitates more time to avoid them. You cannot dodge or crouch
underwater: crouching will instead send you downwards. This can be used to
quickly drop down through any water if you fell into it at speed - try
dropping from the high points in DM-MetalDream into the water while holding
the crouch button to see what I mean. The jump button will lift you up through
water and holding jump will make sure you float with your head above the
surface. Feigning death underwater has no effect.
Weapon fire reacts in different ways when it hits the surface of water from
above: grenades and flak-balls will slowly drift directly downwards before
exploding, slime will float on the surface, etc.
Try firing a slow-moving rocket upwards out of the water and watch as it keeps
moving at the same rate through the air. Likewise, a slow moving redeemer
missile is somehow a bit more intimidating than the normal kind.
Any weapons dropped underwater will slowly fall to the bottom.
There is a bug involved with water: when you are shooting from above the
surface at a submerged opponent, shots which appear to be dead-on will miss.
You have to instead aim somewhere slightly above and ahead of your opponent in
order to hit them. For this reason some players, particularly in AS maps, will
often choose to snipe from underwater, knowing they are harder to hit.
@-------------@
2.7.5 HAZARDS
@-------------@
The best way to escape from a hazard before it finishes you off is to
translocate out of there. You may have time and space to chuck your module to
safety and save yourself, though some hazards are instant death: the lava in
CTF-LavaGiant for example.
Boots can also be useful for quick escapes, as I mentioned earlier. Under
certain circumstances you may be able to hammer-jump off a vertical wall to
escape a pit.
@-----------@
2.7.6 TRAPS
@-----------@
These are very rare, but keep an eye out for them anyway. There's one in
DM-Pressure and another in DM-Fractal.
@-------------@
2.7.7 TURRETS
@-------------@
Also known as auto-cannons, tThese are just mounted guns, which will fire at
the attacking team in (almost always) CTF or AS maps. They use the same ammo
types and rates of fire as the normal weapons (except in AS-Mazon, weirdly),
and you can temporarily disable them by shooting at them until they retract.
They will only retract after taking a certain amount of temporary damage (they
cannot be destroyed) but this damage can be hastened by trying to 'headshot'
them - just aim for the top, as you would against an opponent.
By disabling turrets in this way you can disguise your movements and confuse
defenders. For example, a defender may be relying on the sound of the turrets
firing in AS-Mazon to tell him when attackers are approaching the Front Door.
That defender can be fooled into thinking that area is safe if an attacker
manages to disable the turrets before hammer-jumping.
AS-Overlord has a special mortar turret; though, unlike other turrets, it
doesn't actually target anyone - it just fires at the same patch of ground at
a constant rate.
@-----------------@
2.7.8 TELEPORTERS
@-----------------@
These are shimmering balls of energy which will instantly transport you from
one part of the map to another preset place. Some teleporters are two-way but
most can only be used in one direction.
Teleporters can be used in conjunction with a translocator to control two
areas of a map simultaneously, which can be particularly useful in DOM maps.
Teleporters can also be 'hammer-camped', which is a tactic used a lot online.
Players can sit in front of an outgoing teleporter with a loaded hammer, so
that opposition using the teleporter from the other end will hit the hammer
before they can do anything about it.
Similarly, it is possible to launch through teleporters, making it difficult
for defenders to stop the initial launch. There are very few places in online
AS maps where this is useful, but they do exist. The launch is set up just at
the mouth (the entrance) of the teleporter, and the launchee is propelled
through, so that by the time they are spat out the other side of the
teleporter they are already in the air.
There are certain pairs of teleporters which can catch you in an (almost)
unbreakable loop, because both ends are sitting too close to walls. The two
teleporters in DM-HyperBlast, for example: edge around the sides of one so
you're facing into the back of it, then walk forwards into it. You will
reappear facing away from the other one. Then walk backwards into that and you
emerge where you started.
The only things that can pass through teleporters are players, plus anything
they are carrying. You cannot throw weapons, armour or translocators through
teleporters. CTF flags can be carried but not dropped through teleporters.
As with the translocator, teleporters will do nothing to save you from fall
damage.
@---------------@
2.7.9 JUMP PADS
@---------------@
These are basically immobile jump-boots. You can use a jump pad as many times
as you like and it will always propel you up into the air and in the same
direction. These are very rare in the single-player maps, but they can provide
you with alternate routes when you do find them.
Although it is possible to hammer-jump or alt-hammer-jump off jump pads for a
huge height boost, the timing is so strict it's not really worth bothering
with.
@---------------@
2.7.10 OBLIVION
@---------------@
Oblivion is where you die by falling into some unknowable hazard area. It's
not lava or slime or a trap or whatever, but you die anyway. CTF-Face, DM-
Barricade, DM-Peak, DM-HyperBlast - these are all examples of maps surrounded
by an area of oblivion. It's usually just a case of falling into space.
Oblivion doesn't kill immediately, but it won't take long - escape it and its
'fatboy' effects by translocating away.
@------------------@
2.7.11 LOW GRAVITY
@------------------@
Some maps contain low gravity zones which affect player movements while
airborne (including dodges), increasing the time it takes to reach the floor,
as well as extending the height and distance of all air-based movement.
Ground-based actions, such as walking and crawling, are not affected.
Jumps can go higher (but take much longer to complete) and any assisted jump
(eg. boots, hammer-jumps, etc.) receive an inconveniently huge boost to
horizontal and vertical distance. Jumps boosted in this way should generally
be avoided in low gravity - an alt-hammer-jump is usually enough.
The effects of low gravity disappear as soon as the player leaves the
invisible zone. These zones do not affect projectiles fired from weapons, but
they do affect other items, such as translocators and CTF flags.
Combat in low gravity zones should be avoided, since any players inside are at
a major disadvantage where movement is concerned. Really, the only benefits
come outside of combat, such as the absence of fall damage and the ability to
cross greater distances or reach heights more easily.
@-----------@
2.7.12 BUGS
@-----------@
UT has very few bugs, but here are some of the ones you should be aware of.
Bunny-hopping
-------------
This happens very occasionally when a player presses jump at exactly the same
time as they land after being propelled through the air, such as through
hammer-jumping for distance or being launched. It has a skipping stone effect,
allowing the player to lurch forwards much farther off the ground than a
normal jump or dodge. It is very situational and hard to practise, because the
angles and timing are so strict, but it is great fun when you can get it to
happen.
Hall of Mirrors (HOM)
---------------------
This is a rendering glitch which occurs when textures or seams overlap on the
surfaces of a map, producing an effect like shards of glass lined up side by
side. It's rare in the single-player maps, but much more common online. You'll
know it when you see it.
Hammer-launching
----------------
If this is a bug (and Epic says it is, which is why you don't see it in UT2003
or UT2004) it might be the most useful glitch ever to appear in any online
game. See section 2.4.1 for more information about hammer-launching.
Lift / translocator bug
-----------------------
This must be a bug, because it's too lame to be a feature. If a player drops
his T/L module under a lift platform, the lift will not be able to stop moving
up and down until the module is removed. This comes in handy in certain maps,
especially in DOM and CTF.
Lockdown bug
------------
This is the name given to the effect which rapid-fire weapons have on a player
or bot. While being constantly hit by minigun or secondary pulse fire, it
becomes difficult to move along any surface that isn't level or sloping
downwards. You are also unable to jump or dodge, which makes it extremely
frustrating to get shot while you're trying to run up a slope or a staircase.
Lockdown technically takes effect every time a player gets hit by weapons
fire, even by single hits; but it's only really noticeable with weapons which
hit quickly and repeatedly, which is why it is such a problem when dealing
with minigunners.
Maps
----
Some maps have unique bugs, and this is a list of the ones I know of. I've
mentioned the bugs in each map's respective section, and how to use or avoid
them:
DM: Fractal
DOM: Cinder, Olden, Sesmar
CTF: Eternal Cave, Last Command, November Sub Pen
AS: High Speed, Rook, Mazon, Ocean Floor, Overlord
Map completion / weapons fire bug
---------------------------------
When a round ends in UT everything pauses until you click your primary fire
button to change maps. However, you can continue to fire your weapons during
this stage: when the scoreboard appears on the screen, switch weapons and
press your secondary fire button. You can cycle through all the weapons you
were holding when the round ended, firing your ammo until each weapon runs
out. You can even zoom with the sniper rifle.
Path-noding bug
---------------
This occasionally happens to computer bots who have been propelled to an area
where there are no nodes to tell them how to get out of there. In AS-Guardia,
for example, sometimes the attackers can be accidentally bumped onto one of
the boxes beside the Fuse, usually by secondary flak-balls. They will be
unable to get down off the box until you shoot them off. You don't want your
own team-mates getting stuck, so help them out if you see them trapped in a
place with no path-nodes. If it happens to an opponent, however, leave them to
it.
</pre><pre id="faqspan-3">
Reconnect to ladder round bug
-----------------------------
This happens when you use a bind - [key]=disconnect | onrelease reconnect - to
disconnect from and then reconnect to a round in the single-player ladder, as
opposed to a practise round. The game will not spawn any bots and the round
will be unable to start. To restart a ladder round you have to do it manually,
through the menus.
Strafing bug
------------
This happens when you are strafing while trying to press too many other keys
at once. I'm not sure if it depends on how decent your keyboard is, but it
will cause you to continue moving sideways even when you let go of the
movement keys. To get rid of it, press the strafe key again.
Team change bug
---------------
Once you give your bot team-mates orders, they will never deviate from them
until you tell them to. This means you can switch to the opposition team, tell
them all to hang around in a corner, then swap back to your original team, who
should now have little trouble completing the map.
Team change bug (Assault ladder)
--------------------------------
Start an Assault round in the ladder on the attacking team, but try to change
teams through the Player Setup menu. Nothing will happen until your attacking
team completes the first round, at which point the second round will begin
with you on the other team... who are now attacking. In this way you get to
attack twice, though your second attack has to be faster than your first, so
you might want to make a complete mess of the first attacking round if you're
going to try this bug.
Torture chamber
---------------
Start the game, and press suicide at the UT logo screen. Maybe not a bug, but
fun in a Dungeon Keeper sort of way.
Wall bug
--------
This appears on some vertical walls, and it happens when a player is falling
while touching the face of the wall. The clipping bug can catch the player
while he falls, which comes in very handy in drops which would otherwise cause
the player to lose health. There are examples of the wall bug in many of the
maps, but the most useful ones might be in CTF-November and CTF-LavaGiant.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<--[.]-->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.8 MISCELLANEOUS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This section covers a few other things which don't really fall into any other
category, but which you might want to know about anyway.
@-------------------------@
2.8.1 BEFORE / AFTER GAME
@-------------------------@
UT Patch 436
------------
I suggest you download and install UTPatch436.exe. Make sure you apply this
patch with each installation of UT if you're reinstalling it.
Keys
----
The first thing you'll want to do when you play UT for the first time is get
your keys sorted out. You need to find a combination of keys which you can
memorise and familiarise yourself with quickly, so that playing games is much
easier and more fluid. You should be able to do anything in the game without
even thinking about which key to press, because bots and online opponents will
have a big advantage over any player who can't remember which key does what.
Most players favour the ubiquitous WASD key combination (up, left, down,
right, respectively). This is the standard for any FPS game, and it works
well. Whichever configuration you choose, at least keep your keys close
together and try to be economical.
Xan Skin
--------
You can apply the Xan robot skin and voice to your player sprite without
bothering to beat Xan in the ladder. Go to the bottom of your user.ini and
change:
[Botpack.Ladder]
HasBeatenGame=False
to
[Botpack.Ladder]
HasBeatenGame=True
The skin will now be available through Options > Player Setup.
Open Tournament Ladder
----------------------
If you feel like fighting Xan Kriegor without having to battle your way
through every other map in the tournament ladder, here's how.
Find the section in your user.ini titled:
[UTMenu.SlotWindow]
If you have any saves already in UT then the first line will look something
like this:
Saves[0]=5\1\6\13\6\9\6\9\6\6\6\3\M\1\YourName
If you copy and paste the above line into your user.ini (place it in one of
the empty save lines and change the number in square brackets) this will allow
you to resume a saved tournament in which all the maps are open (change
YourName to whatever name you want to use in the above line).
The numbers all represent different variables (skin, face, etc.), but the only
one I know the function of at this point is the first one after the = symbol.
In my example the first number is a 7, which represents Godlike difficulty.
If you want an Inhuman save then change the 7 to a 6, and so on.
Thanks to Headcase from UTA for help with this.
@-----------------@
2.8.2 DURING GAME
@-----------------@
Console
-------
The console is only useful if you need to type an unbound command directly
into the engine. You won't use it much but you should still have a console key
set up - don't put it too near your regular keys, in case you accidentally hit
it. The console window does not pause the game, it just renders you immobile
and helpless until you close it again.
To input a command, type it accurately into the console and press Return to
execute it. There are large lists of UT commands posted online, and I've
included the ones I habitually use in the ADVANCED section, though most of
them are actually bound to a key, as opposed to being a typed command.
The console can also provide an in-depth record of all in-game events, more so
than the shout box in your HUD.
Shout Box
---------
The shout box keeps you updated on important developments within the game,
such as players killed, objectives taken, etc. It can be very important in
team games if you need to keep an eye on your team-mates. For instance, if you
know that a certain player is your last man flag defender in a CTF game and
you see his death message in the shout box, you know tyour flag is in danger
of being taken.
It can also be used as a crude means of spying on the opposition: it is common
when defending in Assault matches online to watch the shout box for the names
of your opponents as they get killed. The reason is that if one of the
opponents' names has not been seen in the shout box for some time (because
they have not been involved in combat), it might mean that that player is
sneaking or hiding somewhere away from the action, and that the defenders
should look out for this, perhaps even reshuffling the defense accordingly.
Voice communications software replaces a lot of the utility of the shout box
in online play, but it still serves a useful function for in-game updates.
First Blood
-----------
This totally cosmetic feature will give you an audio message whenever you are
the first person in the round to score a kill. This doesn't work if you
suicide.
Headshot
--------
A successful headshot means instant death for your opponent. Even a bot
wearing an undamaged belt can be killed with two headshots from a sniper
rifle. Every time you score a headshot you will be notified of your supreme
accuracy via a HUD message.
As far as I know, the only weapons you can score a headshot with are the
sniper rifle and the ripper (primary).
Multi-kills
-----------
This is another superficial but nice feature of UT, whereby a player gets
congratulatory messages about consecutive kills. These messages will appear
loudly across the player's HUD, as well as in the mini-consoles of all other
players in the server. To get a multi-kill message you have to kill multiple
opponents in quick succession (about two seconds or so maximum between each
kill).
Here are the various messages you will receive:
Two opponents - Double-Kill!
Three opponents - Multi-Kill!
Four opponents - Ultra-Kill!
Five opponents - MONSTER-KILL!
Killing a sixth opponent will just repeat the MONSTER-KILL! message, and so on
until you exceed the time allowance for the next kill.
These messages can be altered in botpack.int - see section 3.3.
CTF-Face is one of the best maps in which to practise your multis, provided
you're a good enough sniper.
Killing Sprees
--------------
These are sort of similar to multi-kills, except that these are dependent on
the number of kills you can get without dying yourself. Sprees, like
multikills, will be shown on your screen and everyone else's, and the best way
to get them is to kill lots of people while making yourself as unkillable as
possible. Sniping and spamming are the obvious approaches, though good DMers
can rack up the sprees with just a minigun and a lot of dodging.
Here are the five levels of killing spree:
Five opponents - Killing Spree!
Ten opponents - Rampage!
Fifteen opponents - Dominating!
Twenty opponents - Unstoppable!
Twenty five opponents - GODLIKE!
Once you get to Godlike there are no further messages, no matter how far
beyond twenty five you get.
These messages are again customisable in botpack.int - see section 3.3.
Headstomp
---------
You can jump onto the heads of bots, friendly or enemy, and bounce around for
as long as you can maintain your balance. An enemy bot will (very) gradually
lose health while you're on his head, and you will likewise should an enemy
land on yours.
You can drop onto someone's head from above, or you can alt-hammer jump off
the floor to stamp on him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<--[.]-->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
@-------------------@
| 3. ADVANCED |
@-------------------@
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
This section describes things not mentioned in the game manual or menus. This
stuff can be useful online or offline, and most of it can make you a much more
versatile player.
If you alter anything within any of the following three system files, make
sure you make copies of them before you uninstall UT. Otherwise you will have
to redo all your settings and binds and so on the next time you install the
game.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.1 USER.INI
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The user.ini file (found in your UT system folder) is a UT system file full of
commands which UT constantly refers to during every game. It's important that
you don't change any bits of this file that you don't know the purpose of. On
the other hand, you can insert special commands which weren't previously there
in order to customise your own game settings. Open the user.ini file using
NotePad or WordPad and you will be able to fiddle with it.
The user.ini file is not ordered very well, so you might want to sort the
[Engine.Input] section into an order which will let you navigate it more
easily (this is the only section you'll really be modifying). I rearranged
mine so that mouse commands came after the Aliases, then the number keys, then
QWERTY, then NumPad keys, etc. This doesn't change the nature of the file, but
it makes it much easier for me to browse through if I want to change things.
The [Engine.Input] section begins with the Aliases, followed by mouse and
keyboard commands. The Aliases section refers commands to sub-commands, and
should not be altered arbitrarily. The key list underneath is simpler - each
key or button is followed by a = sign, and then the assigned command is put
directly after it. If there is no = sign after a key, that key will do nothing
in the game.
The Aliases all begin like this - Aliases[##]=(Command="... (where ##
represents a one or two digit number) - and it's important to notice that each
Alias has its own number. If you have two Aliases with the same number inside
the [] brackets, you may experience problems. If you are copying and pasting
one of my listed Aliases, please remember to put the Alias into a number which
isn't currently being used. Unused Aliases look like this:
Aliases[##]=(Command="",Alias=None)
Paste each new Alias over the first available unused one, taking care to
change the numbers to fit into the list.
@------------------------------@
3.1.1 ADDING BINDS TO USER.INI
@------------------------------@
Binds are keys assigned to perform a specific function, and the easiest way to
assign a bind to a key is by opening the user.ini file and putting the
appropriate command directly after the = sign next to whichever key you want
to perform that function. The Controls and Speech Binder menus accessible from
the UT desktop will let you customise many of your key assignments, but the
really cool ones are done through the user.ini file.
I've listed here the binds and tweaks which have been useful to me both
offline and online. Read my description of each one, then decide whether you
think this bind might be one you'd like to use. There are many more binds,
tweaks and console commands which can be typed into the console during a game
or inserted into your UT system files, but you'll have to find them elsewhere.
To use any of these binds or tweaks, please follow my instructions carefully
on how to enable them. I've used ## in the Alias lines and [key] before the =
sign in the key lines - my ##'s should be replaced with the correct Alias
numbers and my [key]'s replaced with the appropriate key notations in your own
user.ini.
Example:
You want to insert the hammer-jump bind into your user.ini. Your first unused
Alias line is:
Aliases[26]=(Command="",Alias=None)
and the key you want to use for hammer-jumps is currently empty:
B=
My bind's Alias is listed as:
Aliases[##]=(Command="onrelease jump",Alias=hammerjump)
and the key command is:
[key]=getweapon Impacthammer | hammerjump | fire
Note the ## in the Alias and the [key] in the key command.
So to assign my bind to your B key, your Alias line should now be this:
Aliases[26]=(Command="onrelease jump",Alias=hammerjump)
and your key command line should be this:
B=getweapon Impacthammer | hammerjump | fire
I hope the above example is clear enough.
Copy any other text EXACTLY if you're copying and pasting from here into your
own user.ini file. Turn off word wrap in your text viewer to make the lines
clearer.
Do NOT mess about with any of your UT system files if you don't know what
you're doing.
@--------------------------------@
3.1.2 BINDS: MOVEMENT AND COMBAT
@--------------------------------@
These are binds which might come in handy while you're in the middle of a
game.
In some of the binds and aliases I have added 'say #' commands, like this one
for Stop Countdown:
onrelease say #[TIMER STOPPED]
This part of the line will present a big, white message in the middle of your
screen, to let you know what you've just pressed. If you don't want these
messages to appear with your commands, just delete these sections from the
command lines.
Weapon Toggles
--------------
These are probably the ones you'll be using most, as a nice alternative to
having to laboriously scroll through all your currently held weapons using the
next and previous weapon keys. These binds also allow you to cut down on
weapon bind keys by about half, meaning that you don't have to assign pistol
to 1, bio to 2, etc.
My binds are set up to alternate within pairs of weapons. I've paired rockets
with sniper, and pistol with hammer, and so on. These are just my preferences
- feel free to mess around with the pairings depending on what weapons you
want grouped together. The second weapon in each command is always the first
one the bind will select - assuming you have both weapons - so put your
favourite from each pair as the second weapon - I prefer sniper over rockets
so sniper is second in my bind.
If you pair rockets with sniper and then press the bind when you only have the
sniper rifle, the rockets will obviously never be selected. If you are holding
neither sniper nor rockets when you press the bind, nothing will happen. When
you have both rockets and sniper, the bind will allow to you toggle back and
forth between the two.
Hammer and Pistol:
[key]=getweapon enforcer | getweapon impacthammer
Bio Rifle and Shock Rifle:
[key]=getweapon ut_biorifle | getweapon shockrifle
Pulse Gun and Ripper:
[key]=getweapon ripper | getweapon pulsegun
Minigun and Flak Cannon:
[key]=getweapon minigun2 | getweapon ut_flakcannon
Rocket-Launcher and Sniper Rifle:
[key]=getweapon sniperrifle | getweapon ut_eightball
Redeemer:
[key]=getweapon warheadlauncher
Translocator:
[key]=getweapon translocator
Best Weapon
-----------
I think you can configure this in one of the menus, but I'll include it
anyway. This key will automatically switch to whichever of your currently held
weapons is highest in the Options > Weapons list.
[key]=switchtobestweapon
Weapon Hand
-----------
These binds will let you choose mid-game where you want your weapon to appear
in your HUD - left, centre, right or hidden - this is referred to as
'handedness' (no-one calls it chirality). This makes little or no difference
to your aim (unless you're doing ripper-shots), but some right-handed players
would feel uncomfortable with a left-aligned weapon, and so on. Try to utilise
at least two of these binds, since one bind alone will be redundant after just
one use.
Left Hand:
Aliases[##]=(Command="sethand Left",Alias=lefted)
[key]=lefted
Centre Hand:
Aliases[##]=(Command="sethand Center",Alias=centred)
[key]=centred
Right Hand:
Aliases[##]=(Command="sethand Right",Alias=righted)
[key]=righted
Hidden:
Aliases[##]=(Command="sethand Hidden",Alias=hide)
[key]=hide
Hammer-jump
-----------
This automatic bind will let you perform hammer-jumps with 100% success, which
isn't true of the manual jumps. To use it, hold down the assigned key until
your hammer is charged a certain amount, then release the key while facing and
touching a wall or floor. Hammer-jumps will allow you to reach great heights
when you jump straight upwards, or large distances if you run backwards and
release your hammer diagonally off the floor. Experiment off walls and slopes
as well, especially when wearing jump-boots.
Aliases[##]=(Command="onrelease jump",Alias=hammerjump)
[key]=getweapon Impacthammer | hammerjump | fire
Ripper-jump
-----------
This is basically a halfway point between an alt-hammer-jump and a full
hammer-jump. You lose less health than you do with a hammer-jump, but you
don't jump nearly as high or as far. It comes in handy when you can't make a
jump with alt-hammer but you don't want to lose 54 health points with a full
hammer.
Another advantage that a ripper-jump has over an alt-hammer-jump is that the
ripper-jump will cost you fewer health points at the shallowest angle, since
the secondary ripper blade explodes farther away from you, thus causing you
less splash damage. This means that, in order to make a jump requiring
distance rather than height, the ripper-jump is preferable to the alt-hammer-
jump.
Here are my comparisons, denoting number of health points lost:
_______________________________________________
0 deg 40 deg 75 deg
Alt-hammer-jump 16 18 25
Ripper-jump 37 27 9
0 degrees = looking vertically at the floor
40 degrees = halfway between floor and max impact angle
75 degrees = max impact angle (any higher and neither weapon will impact)
_______________________________________________
In other words, use the alt-hammer-jump for all but the angles farthest from
the floor.
Unlike hammer-jumps, ripper-jumps don't receive a boost from jump-boots.
Aliases[##]=(Command="getweapon ripper | OnRelease jump | OnRelease
AltFire",Alias=Ripperjump)
[key]=ripperjump
Behindview
----------
This lets you switch between first- and third-person perspectives. Third-
person is useless for actual combat, but it does let you peek around corners.
Try using it when you're flying a guided redeemer missile or looking through a
sniper scope.
You can set this bind up for two different keys, but here I've made it a
toggle bind, so you can use one key to switch back and forth between views.
Aliases[##]=(Command="behindview 1 | set input [key]=
firstperson",Alias=thirdperson)
Aliases[##]=(Command="behindview 0 | set input [key]=
thirdperson",Alias=firstperson)
[key]=thirdperson | firstperson
Feign Death
-----------
This lets you lie down and play dead. Doesn't work on computer bots and won't
fool any experienced online player either. If you feign death while carrying
the flag in CTF, you will drop the flag. You can be rocket-launched while
feigning death, although you cannot use air control. Again, beware of carrying
UDamage or shield-belt.
You can still take damage while feigning death; and your opponents' shots will
make the same noise as usual when they impact on your body, which will give
away the fact that you are not really dead.
[key]=FeignDeath
Suicide
-------
Essential in online Assault, and often useful in CTF. Use the suicide to move
more quickly around the map, repositioning according to the latest
developments (eg. AS objectives taken, returning quickly to defend your CTF
base, getting a better spawn-point).
[key]=suicide
Walk
----
Lets you walk very slowly instead of running. Hold the button down while you
want to walk. This is useful for traversing narrow ledges or whatever, though
after a while you'll be good enough not to need it.
[key]=walking
Walk-jump
---------
This is how to perform those skippy little half-jumps you sometimes see the
computer bots doing while engaged in a shoot-out. Thanks to Supermic from UTA
for this bind.
[key]=walking | jump
Mouse Speed
-----------
This bind lets you swap between two or more different mouse sensitivity
settings. It helps if you need to move your mouse slow when sniping but fast
when minigunning, or whatever. It might also be useful when swapping between
standard and zoomed sniping.
I could set this bind up to have three or more sensitivities; but no-one will
really be using more than two, so I just made it a toggle bind.
I've used a value of 2.50 for the slow speed and 4.10 for the fast speed. Feel
free to change these values to whatever suits you. The lower the number, the
slower the mouse will move during the game (GUI mouse speed has a separate,
unrelated value).
Please note that the Aliases have [key] variables in them this time - these
should be the same as the key you're assigning the bind to.
Aliases[##]=(Command="set engine.input MouseX axis aMouseX speed=2.50 | set
engine.input MouseY axis aMouseY speed=2.50 | setinput [key] fast",Alias=slow)
Aliases[##]=(Command="set engine.input MouseX axis aMouseX speed=4.10 | set
engine.input MouseY axis aMouseY speed=4.10 | setinput [key] slow",Alias=fast)
[key]=slow
My own user.ini has HUD messages included in the mouse speed aliases, to tell
me when it's been changed and to what speed. If you want to see these messages
when you change your mouse speed, make these your aliases:
Aliases[##]=(Command="say #[MOUSE SLOW] | set engine.input MouseX axis aMouseX
speed=2.50 | set engine.input MouseY axis aMouseY speed=2.50 | set input [key]
fast",Alias=slow)
Aliases[##]=(Command="say #[MOUSE FAST] | set engine.input MouseX axis aMouseX
speed=4.10 | set engine.input MouseY axis aMouseY speed=4.10 | set input [key]
slow",Alias=fast)
Mouse Freeze
------------
This is one of mine, and it's useful for only one thing - ripper-shots. When
you have your aim set up perfectly for a ripper-shot you can use this bind to
make sure that you don't accidentally move your crosshairs even a fraction off
the sweet spot.
It does require that you have a bind set up to unfreeze your aim once you're
done, otherwise you're stuck like that forever. Make sure you have one or more
of the MOUSE SPEED binds listed above. As with those, you can set up another
toggle for freezing versus unfreezing.
If you're not doing ripper-shots in online AS, don't bother with this bind.
[key]=set engine.input MouseX axis aMouseX speed=0.00 | set engine.input
MouseY axis aMouseY speed=0.00
Bot Orders
----------
You can give your team direct orders without having to go through the F12
menu. Bind the following to separate keys to issue group commands instantly.
All attack:
[key]=speech 2 2 -1
All defend:
[key]=speech 2 0 -1
All hold position:
[key]=speech 2 1 -1
All cover you:
[key]=speech 2 3 -1
All freelance:
[key]=speech 2 4 -1
@--------------------------------------@
3.1.3 MISCELLANEOUS BINDS AND COMMANDS
@--------------------------------------@
These are commands which you will find more useful for practise sessions or
just in general, rather than in the UT ladder or online games. Using them in
the ladder would essentially be cheating, and they are all disabled in online
games (except the disconnect / reconnect bind), which is why I've put them in
a different section.
God Mode
--------
This makes you invincible. Pressing the key again will turn godmode off.
[key]=god
Fly / Ghost
-----------
Typing:
fly
into the console will let you fly around during a game, though you will remain
corporeal (you can be shot and bump into things).
Type:
ghost
into the console either before or during a game. It basically disables
clipping, which means you can move through walls and obstacles unhindered.
Type:
walk
into the console to go back to the default movement. This will cause you to
drop to the ground if you're currently flying above it, and it will cause you
to die if you're currently ghosting around outside the confines of the map.
My user.ini examples (toggling between 'fly / walk' and 'ghost / walk'):
Aliases[34]=(Command="fly | set input 2 flightwalk | onrelease say #[WALK
MODE]",Alias=flight)
Aliases[35]=(Command="walk | set input 2 flight | onrelease say #[FLY
MODE]",Alias=flightwalk)
2=flight
Aliases[36]=(Command="ghost | set input 3 ghostlywalk | onrelease say #[WALK
MODE]",Alias=ghostly)
Aliases[37]=(Command="walk | set input 3 ghostly | onrelease say #[GHOST
MODE]",Alias=ghostlywalk)
3=ghostly
Slow Motion
-----------
You can use this command to change the game speed while you're playing. The
default 100% setting is:
slomo 1
Numbers higher than 1 will increase the speed, and lower will decrease it.
My user.ini example:
Aliases[38]=(Command="slomo 2 | set input 4 speednormal | onrelease say #
[SPEED: NORMAL]",Alias=speedfast)
Aliases[39]=(Command="slomo 1 | set input 4 speedfast | onrelease say #[SPEED:
FAST]",Alias=speednormal)
4=speedfast
All Weapons / Ammo
------------------
This will fill each of your currently held weapons with 999 ammo rounds.
[key]=allammo
This will give you all weapons (except redeemer) with default ammo capacity.
[key]=loaded
And this will give you all weapons (except redeemer), filled with 999 ammo
rounds each.
[key]=loaded | onrelease allammo
Stop Countdown
--------------
This will stop the clock. It only works in games where there actually is a
clock - Assault rounds or timed practise sessions. Note that it doesn't pause
the timer, it disables it altogether, setting it to 0:00. Remove everything
after 'stopcountdown' if you don't want the big white confirmation message.
[key]=stopcountdown | onrelease say #[TIMER STOPPED]
Connect / Disconnect
--------------------
This lets you dump a game immediately without using the menus:
[key]=disconnect
This lets you dump a game then immediately reload the same map and settings
without using the menus:
[key]=disconnect | onrelease reconnect
Be aware that there is a bug associated with this second command. See section
2.7.12 for more information.
Summons
-------
There are huge lists available online of things which can be summoned into UT
rounds, including monsters, tables, chairs, weird weapons, turrets, etc. I've
only listed five here, as things which you might find useful to spawn into a
map to practise certain things like boot-jumps or self rocket-launches or
whatever. These summons also work in online maps where you have server admin
privileges, for the purposes of practise sessions.
Rocket-launcher:
summon ut_eightball
Rocket-launcher ammo pack:
summon rocketpack
Shield-belt:
summon unreali.shieldbelt
Jump-boots:
summon ut_jumpboots
Translocator:
summon translocator
As I said, look online for many weird and wonderful UT summons. Try making
your own summon binds using item or weapon names from your user.ini - [key]
=summon minigun2, etc.
Bots
----
Type these commands into the console instead of binding them to a key, as the
first two need variables.
This will let you add a specific number of bots to the game without having to
restart. # = the number you want to input.
addbots #
This will let you boot one particular bot out of the round. x = the exact name
(case sensitive) of the bot you want to remove.
kick x
Both the addbot and kick commands will result in the teams being shuffled
around if 'balance teams' is enabled.
This will let you remove all bots from the current game, leaving you alone.
killall bot
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<--[.]-->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.2 UNREALTOURNAMENT.INI
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This system file can be found in the System folder, and can be opened with
NotePad or WordPad. Don't mess about with this file, though there are a few
small things you might want to change.
Intro Movie
-----------
Firstly, you may not want to watch that intro movie that looks a lot like DOM-
Condemned every time you start UT. You can get rid of it and replace it with a
simple UT logo which looks a lot better and doesn't take so long to load.
Open unrealtournament.ini and look in the very first section - [URL]. Change
the line which says:
LocalMap=CityIntro.unr
to this:
LocalMap=UT-Logo-Map.unr
Or, if you have completed some or all sections of the single-player ladder,
you could show off by changing the line to:
LocalMap=EOL_Challenge.unr
or:
LocalMap=EOL_Statues.unr
Precaching
----------
Most players will be using Direct3D for their video rendering, and UT defaults
to precaching to apparently make the visuals run smoother. This does result in
longer loading times, however, and this feature can't be turned off via any
menus. So look in unrealtournament.ini for the section called
[D3DDrv.D3DRenderDevice].
Change the line that says:
UsePrecache=True
to:
UsePrecache=False
Coronas
-------
You may also want to turn off the light coronas if they are annoying you (this
is the glare from torches and lamps which sometimes blinds you a bit in some
maps).
Try changing:
Coronas=True
to:
Coronas=False
in the same section as the precaching if you don't want the coronas enabled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<--[.]-->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.3 BOTPACK.INT
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This file will not appear in your System folder until you open unrealed.exe
and type 'dump botpack.int' into the console window at the bottom. Press
Return and the file should appear - open it in NotePad or WordPad to play with
it.
Don't change things in here that look important: you can change the text
descriptions and pickup messages and so on to customise your HUD and the
interface messages.
Killing sprees, multi-kills, weapon and ammo descriptions, bot descriptions,
etc. are all easily changeable. I won't give you examples because it's pretty
clear, and you'll want to pick and choose what bits you customise and what
bits you leave alone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<--[.]-->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
<------------------------------>
| 4. CHAMPIONSHIP LADDER |
<------------------------------>
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
This section is meant to guide you through each compulsory map in the ladder,
all the way through to the 1 v 1 match with Xan Kriegor.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.1 DEATH MATCH
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please play the DM Tutorial map to learn about the basics of Death Match.
To win a DM round, you simply have to be the first to score a given number of
kills. Each kill will get you one point, whereas killing yourself will make
you lose a point. Death Match is the worst game type for people who are less
good at the actual combat than they are at other aspects of the game, since
you have no choice in DM but to fight. It's not like LMS where you can just
hide and let everyone else get on with it.
The most frustrating thing about DM is that the weapons disappear when picked
up, only respawning about thirty seconds later. The best way to win DM is
therefore to get and keep your favourite weapon(s), while doing your best to
control the powerups in the map. If there is a belt in the map, make sure you
have it and no-one else does - likewise for every other powerup which can give
one player an advantage over the others. DM maps, in case you haven't noticed,
are often built to accommodate a circuit of powerups, and the good players
know where these are and what areas of the map to hang around in so that they
can pick them up when they appear. Some online players even use item timers
which tell them how long they will have to wait until certain powerups will
reappear. This is how critical the powerups and armour are in DM.
Learn each map intimately if you want to win. You need to know the locations
of every weapon (sometimes your favourites just aren't there when you need
them) and every powerup in the map, otherwise your enemies will end up
controlling you. You should also know of all the hazards, unless you like
dropping off ledges into pools of slime, or accidentally dodging into
oblivion, or running into booby traps.
Choosing the correct weapon for each map and / or area is important too. Don't
just run around with a flak cannon all the time - it won't help you in a wide
open area against an enemy with a sniper rifle in the distance. Don't throw
slime down in front of yourself in tight corridors; don't try shooting
shockcombos in an area that's too small to allow them, etc. Conserving your
ammo is also important - try to vary your chosen weapons if you can so that
you always have alternatives available to you.
Since the aim of DM is to kill, you won't win maps by avoiding combat. Camping
or sniping can sometimes be useful, but not always. Don't just hide in a dark
corner and hope people come to you - you have to go looking for them, because
while you're waiting they're all running around scoring points off each other.
Go and pick some fights - yes, you might die, but you also might score another
precious point.
T/L is disabled in the DM ladder, so you're going to have to use hammer-jumps
to reach certain places instead. This isn't CTF or AS, so take all the ammo
and all the weapons, whether you need them or not. Health packs should be
treated similarly - if you have full health, walk up to a wall and alt-hammer
yourself in the face. You will lose a little health and you can then pick up
the health pack to replenish it; meanwhile your opponents are down one health
pack.
If all else fails for you in DM, pick up an R/L and a lot of ammo and just run
around firing bunches of rockets at anything that moves. It's quite amazing
how often this works - to hell with conserving ammo.
Death Match Guides
------------------
I've arranged each map guide into sub-sections:
---
PRACTISE NAME: This is the name under which the map appears when you load it
into a practise session.
Epic's Description: This is the map blurb which appears in the game's ladder.
My Description: Some quick notes about what the map is like to play.
FRAG LIMIT: The number of kills you must achieve to win.
OPPONENTS: The number of opponent bots you will be playing against.
BEST WEAPON: My opinion of which weapon is best for the map (from among the
weapons found in the map).
POWERUPS / ARMOUR: The locations of all the powerups found in the map.
CONTROLLING THE MAP: The main guide section. Some general hints and tips about
how you might want to approach the map.
MISCELLANEOUS: Some incidental details and silly things about the map, just
for fun.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<--[.]-->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@--------------@
4.1.1 OBLIVION
@--------------@
PRACTISE NAME: DM-OBLIVION
The ITV Oblivion is one of Liandri's armored transport ships. It transports
new contestants via hyperspace jump from the Initiation Chambers to their
first events on Earth. Little do most fighters know, however, that the ship
itself is a battle arena.
---
This is a tiny 1v1 map, based in a ship which looks like it's flying through a
wormhole.
FRAG LIMIT: 10
OPPONENTS: 1
BEST WEAPON: Rocket-launcher
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
N/A
CONTROLLING THE MAP
-------------------
You're given shock, rockets and flak in this map, but in such small corridors
and tight corners you can actually end up doing more damage to yourself than
your opponent if you use the splash damage weapons.
Run around the map picking up the health packs whenever you're injured and try
to grab the weapons and ammo as soon as they spawn to prevent Blake from
getting any of them. It's especially important to control the shock rifle
because, apart from the enforcer, its the only instant-hit weapon available
and if Blake can't get it he'll have a harder time hitting you. In a similar
vein, when you get very low on health make sure you swap to a weapon that
isn't the shock rifle, so that if you do die Blake doesn't get one for free.
The flak cannon is hidden in one of the boxes. The rocket ammo is on the
opposite side of the map to the launcher.
MISCELLANEOUS
-------------
N/A
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ______ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|_
@--------------@
4.1.2 STALWART
@--------------@
PRACTISE NAME: DM-STALWART
Jerl Liandri purchased this old mechanic's garage as a possible tax dump for
his fledgling company, Liandri Mining. Now, Liandri Corp. has converted it
into a battle arena. While not very complex, it still manages to claim more
lives than the slums of the city in which it lies.
---
Schmattle arena. It's a garage.
FRAG LIMIT: 10
OPPONENTS: 2
BEST WEAPON: Shock rifle
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Thigh Pads: In the middle of the main hallway.
Body Armour: On top of a box in one of the box rooms.
CONTROLLING THE MAP
-------------------
All the weapons are close together in this map. The shock rifle and ammo are
found at the end of the middle hall with the pads, and the box rooms on either
side of the shock rifle contain a flak cannon (hidden behind boxes), a pulse
rifle and a rocket-launcher (on top of the boxes beside the pulse gun). The
rocket ammo is hidden in the box turned on its side.
Try to hang around where the weapons are, and pick up the vials when they're
available. You can reach the armour with a hammer-jump to the top of the box,
though you can save yourself some health if you alt-hammer on to the top of
the little red drawers at the wall then just jump over to the armour.
This map would be much more suitable for the run-around-while-loading-rockets
strategy if only there were more opponents. As it is, try to stay in the more
open areas and throw some shock-combos at anything that moves. Since the
weapons are quite close together you know where the bots will be spending most
of their time, so plan accordingly.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ______ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|_
@-------------@
4.1.3 FRACTAL
@-------------@
PRACTISE NAME: DM-FRACTAL
LMC public polls have found that the majority of Tournament viewers enjoy
fights in 'Real Life' locations. This converted plasma reactor is one such
venue. Fighters should take care, as the pulse energy beams will become
accessible through the 'Fractal Portal' if any of the yellow LED triggers on
the floor are shot.
---
Another tight 1v1 map, with a fiendish trap in the floor.
FRAG LIMIT: 15
OPPONENTS: 1
BEST WEAPON: Rocket-launcher
COMPLETION OF THIS MAP WILL OPEN THE DOMINATION LADDER
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Shield-belt: In the middle of the floor trap.
CONTROLLING THE MAP
-------------------
You have to keep moving in this map - there aren't any hiding places. There
are enough rockets available for you to be continually loading and releasing
rocket spreads and firing them vaguely in Luthienne's direction, which is my
suggested approach to this map if you're not yet comfortable with the shock.
This is another map where it's easy to prevent your opponent from picking up a
weapon. Keep an eye on the belt, and be sure to shoot one of the yellow floor
panels whenever you see Luthienne go for it. It's best to use shock or
enforcer for this, as they hit instantly, unlike the rockets.
MISCELLANEOUS
-------------
This level is made to seem like an infinite drop. Ghost up into the ceiling
and through the hatch at the top before the level starts - you should keep
going up and up endlessly, since there's an invisible teleporter just under
the shield-belt.
There is a weird bug with the trap. I caused Luthienne to fall through as she
picked up the belt, and when she reappeared above me she was hanging still,
just above the blue beams. She died eventually, but it was still odd. It is
also possible to get through the trap without dying - you have to fall so you
miss the beams, though you will die anyway from fall damage if you don't have
the belt.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ______ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|_
@-------------@
4.1.4 TURBINE
@-------------@
PRACTISE NAME: DM-TURBINE
A decaying water-treatment facility that has been purchased for use in the
Tourney, the Turbine Facility offers an extremely tight and fast arena for
combatants which ensures that there is no running, and no hiding, from certain
death.
---
This is an annoyingly tight map full of ramps and corners and little alcoves.
Choose your weapons carefully.
FRAG LIMIT: 15
OPPONENTS: 4
BEST WEAPON: Rocket-launcher, pulse rifle
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Thigh Pads: On the bridge in the middle of the map.
Body Armour: In the small tunnel above the chimney in the top of the map.
Shield-belt: Hidden behind a metal panel in the wall around the corner from
the lift with two pairs of vials at the bottom. Shoot the metal panel to open
it.
UDamage: In the low corner area with the flak cannon and the pipes in the
wall. Hammer-jump onto the box to reach it.
Invisibility: In the very top corner of the map, near the armour and minigun.
Jump across the pillars and ceiling beams, or hammer-jump to reach it.
CONTROLLING THE MAP
-------------------
This map can be difficult because it's so tight and there are too many
combatants. You need to know where your favoured weapons are and find a decent
camping spot. This level is also good for just running around constantly
firing groups of rockets around blind corners, as long as you don't kill
yourself.
I prefer to pick up the shock and lots of ammo, then just camp at the top of
the highest ramp, beside the minigun and the armour. Enough opponents come to
the bottom of the ramp or run around in the hallway underneath it to make this
a good place to rack up the kills. If you're a good enough sniper you can
knock off quite a lot of enemies from the same spot. There's also health
nearby and enough bots being attracted by the armour, minigun and Invisibility
to keep up a good supply of cannon fodder for you.
But the run-around-with-bunches-of-rockets approach can serve you really well
here, too, though you can end up damaging yourself since the map is so tight.
Try the secondary pulse beam if you're good enough with it.
MISCELLANEOUS
-------------
N/A
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ______ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|_
@-----------@
4.1.5 CODEX
@-----------@
PRACTISE NAME: DM-CODEX
The Codex of Wisdom was to be a fantastic resource for knowledge seeking
beings all across the galaxy. It was to be the last place in known space where
one could access rare books in their original printed form. However, when the
construction crew accidentally tapped into a magma flow, the project was
aborted and sold to Liandri at a bargain price for combat purposes.
---
This is a bit calmer than Turbine, but with not quite as many powerups to help
you out.
FRAG LIMIT: 20
OPPONENTS: 3
BEST WEAPON: Shock rifle
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Body Armour: At the top of the double ramp near the shock rifle and minigun.
Shield-belt: On the middle bridge.
Invisibility: Hidden behind a secret wall next to the sniper rifle. Shoot the
brown pillar to the right of the rifle to open the wall.
CONTROLLING THE MAP
-------------------
The best way to win this map without putting much work in is to get the shock
rifle, and preferably the belt, then find the armour and camp at the top of
that ramp, firing shock-combos in the faces of anyone who approaches you.
Don't spend too much time faffing about on the lifts or up at the top of the
map - most of the action occurs in the middle levels near the belt bridge.
MISCELLANEOUS
-------------
There's a couple of secret rooms in this map: so secret you can't actually get
into them. Use the ghost command to find them.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ______ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|_
@--------------@
4.1.6 PRESSURE
@--------------@
PRACTISE NAME: DM-PRESSURE
The booby trap is a time honored tradition and a favorite among Tournament
viewers. Many Liandri mining facilities offer such 'interactive' hazards.
---
This map is all gangways, lifts and pillars, and you can easily lose it if you
spend too much time exploring.
FRAG LIMIT: 20
OPPONENTS: 4
BEST WEAPON: Shock rifle
POWERUPS / ARMOUR</pre><pre id="faqspan-4">
-----------------
Keg O' Health: In the water tunnel between the two pools up in the top of the
map.
Thigh Pads: On a single platform in the middle of the ceiling of the long
pillar corridor. Jump across from the platform the lift takes you to.
Body Armour: On top of a box in the box room.
Shield-belt: In the pressure chamber.
UDamage: In the pressure chamber.
CONTROLLING THE MAP
-------------------
The keg just takes too long to get for my liking, so try not to run around the
upper levels too much. The bots are almost always on the floor, scoring points
off each other. The rooms are good for shock and rox, and the long hallways
are conducive to sniping - in fact most bots will spawn in those pillared
halls and so you can get quite a few kills by just spamming projectiles down
them over and over.
Make sure you keep taking the armour, and if you're going for the belt or
UDamage make sure there are no bots nearby who might hit the white buttons on
the outside of the chamber. Camping on top of the trap chamber with a shock
rifle is a good idea, as there's loads of health up there and the area is
popular with the bots.
MISCELLANEOUS
-------------
Catching someone in the pressure chamber does gain you a kill, though you will
not receive any kill message on your HUD.
There is a sniper rifle in this map, but I'll leave you to discover it for
yourself.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ______ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|_
@-------------@
4.1.7 GRINDER
@-------------@
PRACTISE NAME: DM-GRINDER
A former Liandri smelting facility, this complex has proven to be one of the
bloodiest arenas for tournament participants. Lovingly called the Heavy Metal
Grinder, those who enter can expect nothing less than brutal seek and destroy
action.
---
This map is twisty hell and if, like me, you have no sense of direction you
might quickly get lost, despite the fact it's not a big map.
FRAG LIMIT: 20
OPPONENTS: 3
BEST WEAPON: Shock rifle, flak cannon, pulse rifle
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Thigh Pads: On the upper, curving ledge in the room with the boxes and the
ripper.
Body Armour: In the room down the hall from the lift.
UDamage: Round the corner from the pulse rifle.
CONTROLLING THE MAP
-------------------
I'd recommend grabbing the shock or flak and then finding the high area with
the slime gun. This puts you near two health packs, as well as the armour
(sort of) and UDamage, which should not be allowed to fall into enemy hands;
and it puts you above everyone else so you don't get shots rained on your
head. This is a very splash damage sort of arena because of the corners and
ramps and pillars and low ceilings, so stick to the slime ramps and armour
room as the most open, popular areas.
You can either camp up there or wait for the UDamage to appear and go on a
pulse beam rampage. There's plenty of health around, so control of the
precious armour should be a priority.
MISCELLANEOUS
-------------
One of the most annoying things about this map is how often you respawn and
immediately start to get shot. If you do get killed, be prepared to run like
hell when you respawn.
Enemy bots always seem to chase you if you run away from them here, so if you
do get to safety, turn around and wait for the bot who will inevitably be
following you to appear around the corner.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ______ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|_
@-------------@
4.1.8 GALLEON
@-------------@
PRACTISE NAME: DM-GALLEON
The indigenous people of Koos World are waterborne and find there to be no
more fitting an arena than this ancient transport galleon.
---
This level is one big, wooden pain in the backside.
FRAG LIMIT: 25
OPPONENTS: 4
BEST WEAPON: Shock rifle
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Keg O' Health: On top of a platform under the sails.
Body Armour: In the small room in the upper bow of the ship.
Shield-belt: In the small, circular bath in the lower decks.
UDamage: On top of the boxes in the middle of the lower decks.
Invisibility: On the thin beams at the very back of the top deck.
Jump Boots (4): One on the top deck, under the main mast; one on the middle
deck, next to the vials; two on the lower deck, in the middle section.
CONTROLLING THE MAP
-------------------
I know that most new players like the flak cannon, but it's in the bottom of
the boat which can be hell to try to fight in, thanks to all the stuff in the
way. The middle levels of the ship are almost as bad, and they don't have much
in the way of decent weapons or powerups.
I'd recommend concentrating your attention on the upper deck of the ship,
outside. The rockets are up here and it's a great place to pull off some
shock-combos, though you're going to have to constantly collect both these
weapons because they can sometimes be difficult to come by. The keg and armour
are nearby, and if you want to take a shortcut to either of the lower levels
you can just fall, hopefully using the boots to get back up again. You can
keep an eye on the UDamage from up top, too, and shooting from a high vantage
point is always in your favour. Duck through one of the small doors to grab
some health if you need it.
MISCELLANEOUS
-------------
Look for the mast on the top deck, with the boots at the bottom of it. Look up
and shoot at the flaming torch above the boots. The high lift platform will
come down and let you climb on, then it will take you up to the crow's nest
where you can find the redeemer. Hit the lever on the mast to take the lift
back down again.
The boots are incredibly useful in this map as they provide you with escape
options which bootless opponents don't have, as well as making it easier to
reach the keg. Get them and keep them.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ______ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|_
@-------------@
4.1.9 TEMPEST
@-------------@
PRACTISE NAME: DM-TEMPEST
The Tempest Facility was built specifically for the Tournament. It was
designed strictly for arena combat, with multi-layered areas and tiny hiding
spots. It is a personal training arena of Xan Kriegor and sits high above the
sprawling Reconstructed New York City.
---
This map doesn't seem to me to have one main area where the bots can mostly be
found. I usually end up running around the entire map about ten times before
it ends, encountering enemies anywhere and everywhere. The powerups are very
spaced out and so are the weapons.
FRAG LIMIT: 25
OPPONENTS: 5
BEST WEAPON: Shock rifle
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Thigh Pads: In the tight corridor with the slime gun and shock ammo.
Body Armour: In the corner room with the lift and the ripper.
Shield-belt: On a high ledge in the dimly-lit room with the ramps going up the
wall.
UDamage: On a ceiling beam directly above the shock rifle.
Jump Boots: In the alcove under the flak cannon and sniper rifle.
CONTROLLING THE MAP
-------------------
There's not much to say here - you're just going to have run around like
mad for quite a while, looking for your favourite weapon and trying to be
lucky enough to be first to the belt and / or armour. The only half-decent
camping spot is halfway up the ramp with the pulse gun on it. Sit here with
shock-combos ready to be thrown down at the floor, since the bots will be
coming through here a lot, trying to get the belt.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ______ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|_
@----------------@
4.1.10 BARRICADE
@----------------@
PRACTISE NAME: DM-BARRICADE
A mysterious and ancient alien castle that hovers above an electrical storm,
Orion's Barricade makes for a delightfully dangerous arena of battle.
---
Dangerous yes, delightful no.
FRAG LIMIT: 25
OPPONENTS: 5
BEST WEAPON: Ragequit
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Keg O' Health: On a narrow ledge under an open arch in the lower level of the
map.
Body Armour (2): One on top of one of the high lift towers; another in a small
alcove above the lift with two open sides, in the lower level of the map.
Shield-belt: On top of one of the high lift towers.
Invisibility: On a narrow ledge under an open arch in the lower level of the
map.
Jump Boots (3): One on the ramparts, next to the rocket-launcher; another next
to the sniper rifle; another at the bottom of the stairs with the red carpet.
CONTROLLING THE MAP
-------------------
I tend to grab the sniper rifle and a lot of ammo from the lift platform under
the redeemer, then head around the ramparts at the R/L and boots and sit there
sniping and firing rockets the whole time. The floor and lower levels of this
map are horrible, far too twisty and turny and spammy.
The bots often ignore the armour, so go looking for it every once in a while.
Running around outside the castle walls is also good - you will often meet
enemies and some flak-balls or shock-combos can score you a lot of kills. On
the other hand, you may consider this area a poor option since any errant shot
might cause your enemies to fall off the edge - they will lose a point, rather
than you gaining one. The main room with the red carpet is a good place to
dump a redeemer missile.
The easiest weapon to reach is the sniper rifle, since the bots don't often go
for it.
MISCELLANEOUS
-------------
You can get from the top of one tower to the top of the other by backwards
hammer-jumping across the gap.
You can forward-dodge from the rampart boots to the roof above the pulse gun
- stand on the edge and aim to land on one of the light brown sloped bits.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ______ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|_
@--------------@
4.1.11 LIANDRI
@--------------@
PRACTISE NAME: DM-LIANDRI
A textbook Liandri ore processing facility located at Earth's Mohorovicic
discontinuity roughly below Mexico. Phased ion shields hold back the intense
heat and pressure characteristic of deep lithosphere mining.
---
This is a classic DM map, my favourite along with Deck16 (which isn't in the
ladder but is available for practise games).
FRAG LIMIT: 30
OPPONENTS: 5
BEST WEAPON: Sniper rifle
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Body Armour: Next to the teleporter in the back of the flak cannon corridors.
Shield-belt: At the end of the upper bridge above the minigun.
UDamage: At the end of the curving ledge set into the wall of the staircase
which leads up to the sniper nest.
CONTROLLING THE MAP
-------------------
If you're a good sniper you can do a lot of damage in this map. The sniper
nest is not in the best position, to be honest, so try treating the rifle like
an instagib gun and jump around knocking heads off. The map is good for any
and all weapons though, especially the redeemer which is sitting on its own in
one of the upper rooms.
Underneath the bottom platform is a surprisingly prolific place from where to
snipe or shock-combo at people, especially since there's a lot of health
around here, and the reason is because this is one of the few places in this
map where all the combatants are on the same level, making headshots and
combat in general a lot easier.
If you're going up the lift, turn around at the top and throw some grenades or
slime down the shaft behind you to score some cheap kills. Try to use non-
splash damage weapons while you're running up and down the ramps - it's too
easy to kill yourself with badly-timed rockets or slime.
This is one map where belt control makes a huge difference. Each time you pick
up the belt make sure you glance at the clock so you can get back to the same
spot 54 seconds later. You might also consider hammer-camping the teleporter
by the belt, as bots will use it and you will score some cheap kills - just
watch your back, though, as there is a spawn-point underneath the belt
platform.
MISCELLANEOUS
-------------
You can side-dodge up the sloped support under the slime gun.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ______ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|_
@---------------@
4.1.12 CONVEYOR
@---------------@
PRACTISE NAME: DM-CONVEYOR
This refinery makes for a particularly well balanced arena. A multilevel
central chamber keeps fighters on their toes while the nearby smelting tub
keeps them toasty.
---
This is another popular online map, with a very definite main area which sees
most of the action.
FRAG LIMIT: 30
OPPONENTS: 6
BEST WEAPON: Shock rifle, minigun, sniper rifle
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Keg O' Health: At the very far end of the map, between the top of the two sets
of stairs behind the smelting pool.
Thigh Pads: On a low middle platform next to the smelting pool.
Body Armour: At the very top of the main room, on the fourth floor.
Shield-belt: Under the ramp next to the shock rifle.
UDamage: On a thin beam spanning the smelting pool.
Jump Boots: At the bottom of the long ramp tunnel with the vials.
CONTROLLING THE MAP
-------------------
That main area is at the diagonal conveyor belt, near the belt and boots, and
if you're going to drop a redeemer round (the 'deemer is in the ceiling - walk
up the conveyor ramp and follow the passage to the right) here is where to put
it. If you're a sniper you might want to sit on one of the upper levels and
get some z-axis headshots, watching for the armour to respawn.
I'd suggest sticking with the minigun and sniper rifle if you can, and only
try the shock in the tighter areas, or if you're a good insta player. The
shock rifle spot above the belt is a great camping place which will score you
a lot of kills.
The pool end of the map is not a great place to score points - it's not as
popular as the other end and there are not many weapons to be had. Head over
there to look for the keg / pads / UDamage occasionally, but otherwise try to
stay where the action is.
MISCELLANEOUS
-------------
If you stand or feign death on the conveyor you will keep moving, but dropped
weapons will stay still.
You can escape from the bots completely by hammer-jumping up the boxes, onto
the beams and into the glass roof of the room with the slime gun.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ______ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|_
@-----------@
4.1.13 PEAK
@-----------@
PRACTISE NAME: DM-PEAK
Originally built by the Nipi Monks in Nepal to escape moral degradation, this
serene and beautiful place once called for meditation; until Liandri acquired
it for perfect tournament conditions.
---
I love the premise of this map, but it's so tight and condensed, and
visibility is so low, that bots will always have an advantage, not having to
factor in reaction time. A very tough map to win on higher difficulties.
FRAG LIMIT: 30
OPPONENTS: 4
BEST WEAPON: Pulse rifle (seriously), flak cannon
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Thigh Pads: On one of the walkways surrounding the exterior of the map.
Body Armour: In the room at the top of the map, reachable by going up both
lifts.
Shield-belt: On a thin beam spanning the pit in the corner room.
UDamage: On the very top roof of the map.
Invisibility: In one of the three small rooms in the outer courtyard.
Jump Boots: On one of the walkways surrounding the exterior of the map.
CONTROLLING THE MAP
-------------------
This map can be owned by one person with the pulse rifle and the UDamage. Flak
is only slightly less good here, because you're just as likely to kill
yourself as anyone else, although sitting at the top of the flak stairs and
chucking flak-balls down is good, as this is a heavy bottleneck as well as a
spawn-point.
This map inevitably becomes a frantic rush to find opponents and kill them
quickly, more so than most other maps. The weapons and ammo are spread all
over the place, and the belt can be dangerous to go for, as it's in a popular,
spammy area. Try not to dodge around on the precarious walkways, and in fact
avoiding them altogether might be a good plan, owing to the regularity with
which you can get shot into oblivion.
One more camping spot is at the slime gun - it's amazing how long you can hide
in the tiny room and fire goop out into the courtyard. You can also keep an
eye on the keg from here.
MISCELLANEOUS
-------------
N/A
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<--[.]-->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.2 DOMINATION
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please play the DOM Tutorial map to learn about the basics of Domination.
All you have to do to control a CP is touch it: the same goes for the enemy.
Your team gains points while a CP is of your team colour, and so it follows
that the more CP's you control, the more quickly you accrue points. This means
that, in order to win, your team should always be controlling at least two of
the three CP's in any level. This is not as easy as it sounds. If you are
currently controlling no CP's, you are not gaining any points at all.
DOM maps are basically DM maps but with Control Points. It's like playing
Death Match, except now you control the map instead of the enemy. One might
seem to incorporate the other, but you might get nowhere by treating DOM maps
as simple DM. You can kill all the enemies you want and still lose by a huge
margin. It's better to think of Control Points as immobile, vulnerable team-
mates who must be protected from the enemy.
Spawn-points in DOM are as randomised as they are in DM, and so neither you
nor the enemy will ever know which CP you'll respawn nearest to. Because of
this it's impossible to fully plan any sort of strategy for the single-player
campaign, and it's also not necessarily helpful to treat a DOM match like a
DM. True, you could rampage around beheading enemies, thinking that it can
only be doing you good; but in fact your enemies could just respawn next to a
CP on the other side of the map - a CP which they would otherwise not have
reached again for a while. Base any tactics you have on control of the CP's,
rather than control of the enemy.
The only other tactic which seems to have a really bad effect in the DOM
ladder is to get all your team-mates to Cover you. Letting them Freelance
seems to be just as effective as Attacking or Defending the base, though I
personally prefer the Hold Position command for DOM. My approach is to fly
around the map in ghost mode before it starts, giving my team-mates orders to
Hold Position on two or three of the CP's, leaving me free to run around all
three CP's in support of my team.
Whatever you do, your aim should be to have your team performing more
efficiently than the opposition. Giving your team Hold Position commands can
often give you the advantage, since the enemy bots won't Hold Position on any
CP's.
Many CP's are spammable, meaning that just one person can defend a CP alone
for a long time. As your bots can't really be told to spam or camp, it's
probably best if you camp by the most bottlenecked CP in the map, while your
team-mates carry out orders to deal with the other two CP's. The Garage CP in
Condemned, for example, can be defended solely by you for a long time, just by
firing shock-combos up the ramp every time you spot an approaching enemy. This
leaves the rest of your team to outnumber the freelancing opposition, which
should give you an advantage over at least one of the other two CP's -
preferably the Roof. This is true of most of the DOM maps - find an easily
defensible CP and keep it for yourself, letting your team-mates take care of
the others through Hold Position commands.
Another, similar strategy is to put Hold Position bots on the two least
popular CP's in the map and then just freelance on your own. Since the
opposition bots will not employ similar tactics, their forces will always
split up to cover all three CP's, giving them a numerical disadvantage (on
average) against your team on two of the CP's. Upon dying, your team-mates
will get to one of their two given CP's more quickly than the enemy, since
they have been told to ignore the third one. Add in your own contribution
across all three CP's and the other team will often struggle to overcome this
approach.
DOM is the best game type for the translocator. The bots will use their
T/L's occasionally, but yours can be used to provide you with continual
control over the entire map. You can convert two CP's in quick succession, no
matter how far away they are. In Sesmar, for example, go to the bridge on the
roof and dump your T/L by the pulse rifle, making sure that the Ankh CP below
is currently under your control. Run over the bridge to the opposite Ankh CP
and take control of it. Stay there defending it until the first CP gets taken,
at which point you can just activate your T/L and convert it straight back.
It's not infallible, but it's something the enemy bots won't do. This method
will let you control two CP's by yourself, as long as you're a good enough
shooter to keep them safe, and if you are good enough you can allocate the
entire rest of your team to that third CP, which will give them a huge
advantage. Sesmar is a particularly good map for this tactic, especially if
you know how to launch your T/L (see section 2.4.12).
I've given each level my recommended tactics - try them out and see if they
work for you. I also put in the scores I got when I play-tested the maps on
Masterful (and one or two on Inhuman), using my given tactics, just to give
you some idea of their effectiveness.
DOM maps are littered with hidden powerups. Try to collect them without
wasting too much time.
Learn each map and the quickest way to travel between all three CP's. Learn
also the spots where the enemy bots will camp to defend their controlled CP's
- it's much easier to get rid of camping enemies if you know exactly where
they'll be.
There will never be a better opportunity to score T/L kills - practise
throwing your T/L into enemies' faces in tight corridors. If you're good
enough with it, your T/L can become a very useful weapon in DOM. It's also
your quickest mode of travel between CP's - make sure you have a bind for it
while playing DOM.
Domination Guides
-----------------
I've arranged each map guide into sub-sections:
---
PRACTISE NAME: This is the name under which the map appears when you load it
into a practise session.
Epic's Description: This is the map blurb which appears in the game's ladder.
My Description: Some quick notes about what the map is like to play.
TEAMS: The number of players in each team.
SCORE LIMIT: The number of points your team must score in order to win.
POWERUPS / ARMOUR: The locations of all the powerups found in the map.
RECOMMENDED CP / BOT COMMANDS: My suggestions on how to order your bot
teammates around the map; and my best score using these tactics.
CONTROLLING THE MAP: The main guide section. Some general hints and tips about
how you might want to approach the map.
MISCELLANEOUS: Some incidental details and silly things about the map, just
for fun.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<--[.]-->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@---------------@
4.2.1 CONDEMNED
@---------------@
PRACTISE NAME: DOM-CONDEMNED
The many gang-related fights that ravaged this particular area have already
proven this section of the city slums to be a bloody battle ground. The
Liandri organizers are expecting this to be the case once again, only this
time, as a tournament domination arena.
---
This little map is great for long practise sessions. It gets you quickly used
to chucking your T/L around and also figuring out the quickest ways to reach
the CP's from the spawn-points. The combat is constant and hectic, especially
on the ground level.
TEAMS: 3v3
SCORE LIMIT: 100
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Keg O' Health: In a room behind a broken window above the Garage CP.
Shield-belt: On top of the box next to the Arturo's CP.
Jump Boots: At the top of the ramp leading up from the Garage CP.
RECOMMENDED CP / BOT COMMANDS
-----------------------------
You - Garage
All bots - Freelance
Masterful test: 100 / 47
CONTROLLING THE MAP
-------------------
Two of the CP's - Arturo's and Garage - are on opposite sides of the condemned
building: the third CP - Roof - is up on the roof. The Roof CP is the most
open, but it's also possibly the least popular with the enemy. The other good
CP to take is Garage - crouch in the corner behind the CP and fire shock-
combos up the ramp to control this one on your own for ages. Or you can T/L up
to the ledge above the CP and spam it with combos, slime or rockets, though
this will leave you vulnerable to enemy fire coming from the roof.
Arturo's is the hardest CP to def, so I'd suggest that this be the one you
leave to the enemy if you want to take only two of the CP's. Be sure not to
leave them the belt, though.
This map is so small that the best tactic may be putting everyone on Freelance
or Search And Destroy, while you sit at the Garage alone.
MISCELLANEOUS
-------------
Try T/Ling all the way up to the big billboard on top of the skyscraper.
Don't just watch the two normal approaches when deffing the Roof CP - the bots
like to use their T/L's to get up there too.
If you are on the roof and you want to jump over the edge and down to one of
the lower CP's but you are wearing boots and don't want to waste a jump, you
can dodge up the sloped roof of the stairwell to get over the ledge on one
side, and up the small sloped fans on the other side. Or use a walk-jump.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ______ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|_
@--------------@
4.2.2 GHARDHEN
@--------------@
PRACTISE NAME: DOM-GHARDHEN
A newly constructed explosion testing facility, Ghardhen Labs houses two blast
chambers. Unfortunately, one of the silent investors was a Liandri location
scout, and Ghardhen fell to Liandri.
---
This map is usually short bursts of action, followed by long stretches of
nothing, mostly because of the spawn-points and the annoyingly long corridors
you have to run down to get back to the action.
TEAMS: 4v4
SCORE LIMIT: 100
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Keg O' Health: On a beam in the ceiling of the spawn-room with the flak
cannon.
UDamage: On a beam in the ceiling of the spawn-room with the rocket-launcher.
Jump Boots: Next to the Bottom CP.
RECOMMENDED CP / BOT COMMANDS
-----------------------------
You - Top
2 bots - Bottom
1 bot - Center
Masterful test: 100 / 59
CONTROLLING THE MAP
-------------------
If you don't mind camping get up to the Top CP with a shock rifle or an R/L.
It's not popular and it has only two realistic approaches, both of which can
be shock-spammed. By you. Alternatively, dump your T/L up top and drop down to
fight for the other two CP's - the Top CP will not often get converted, so T/L
back up to reclaim it when it does, then just drop down again to help your
team.
Neither of the other two CP's is easy to defend, as the Bottom one has four
approaches and the Center one has five. Rather than camp at either one, try
running up and down the ramps constantly touching each one in turn. If you get
killed just start again.
This is the best DOM map in which to use the translocator lift exploit. Dump
your T/L under the big lift leading up to the Top CP, then get up there and
watch the other lift. The enemy will be unable to get up the big lift, and the
only way they can get to the Top CP is by killing you at the other lift, or by
respawning behind you. Keep an eye on your T/L module in case it gets shot
out.
MISCELLANEOUS
-------------
The boots are nearly useless unless you're willing to boot-hammer-jump to the
Top CP - then again, you always have your translocator, so the boots lose much
of their value.
There's a flak cannon and some ammo on the beams above the Bottom CP, if you
prefer flak to shock.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ______ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|_
@-------------@
4.2.3 CRYPTIC
@-------------@
PRACTISE NAME: DOM-CRYPTIC
One of the few 'manufactured' Tournament arenas, this ancient-seeming ruin was
built by the legendary Tournament Master Kilbragh as a personal training
facility. After his death, the property reverted to Liandri, who now makes
full use of it.
---
You seem to spend a lot of time running around corridors in this level, and
the teleporters and curling hallways are confusing as hell.
COMPLETION OF THIS MAP WILL OPEN THE CAPTURE THE FLAG LADDER
TEAMS: 4v4
SCORE LIMIT: 100
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Thigh Pads: On a platform above the Gargoyle CP.
Body Armour: In the teleporter room next to the DaemonHead CP
Shield-belt: On a platform above the Gargoyle CP.
RECOMMENDED CP / BOT COMMANDS
-----------------------------
You - DaemonHead / Gargoyle
2 bots - Iron Star
1 bot - Gargoyle
Masterful test: 100 / 48
CONTROLLING THE MAP
-------------------
If there is a dead-end CP in this map, it's the Gargoyle. Luckily there is a
teleporter which connects it and the DaemonHead, so I'd recommend you camp
around DaemonHead on your own, using the teleporter whenever Gargoyle gets
taken. Leave your T/L at DaemonHead while you duck through the tele to hit
Gargoyle (pick up the belt and pads if they're there), then just T/L back
again. The tele is one-way so enemies can't follow you, and the armour and
shock are right next to DaemonHead, making this the best place for you.
The Iron Star is the most popular CP (probably) and it's also the most
exposed, so leave two of your bots here to deal with all the bother, while you
hide around the corner.
MISCELLANEOUS
-------------
You can throw your T/L up above the exit teleporter and activate it to land on
an invisible ledge. Of course, you will be telefragged if you sit there for
too long, but it's still worth knowing.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ______ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|_
@------------@
4.2.4 CINDER
@------------@
PRACTISE NAME: DOM-CINDER
After dozens of broken legs and incinerated employees, the Cinder Foundry was
finally shut down and placed upon the auction block, where it was promptly
snatched up by a savvy Liandri location scout.
---
This one is popular online because it's small and fast-paced, with no horribly
out of the way CP's and plenty of powerups.
TEAMS: 4v4
SCORE LIMIT: 125
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Keg O' Health: Tucked into a corner of the ceiling of the room underneath the
Top CP.
Thigh Pads: On a ledge behind the Top CP.
Body Armour (2): One on a box in the ramp room beside the Nook CP; another in
the upper room with the sniper rifle.
Shield-belt: On a beam above the Lava CP.
UDamage: On a beam above the Top CP.
RECOMMENDED CP / BOT COMMANDS
-----------------------------
You - Lava / Nook
2 bots - Top
1 bot - Nook
Masterful test: 125 / 56
CONTROLLING THE MAP
-------------------
This is a good map for freelancers, but my advice would be to camp at the Lava
CP, just next to the shock rifle. This is a popular area because of the
spawn-point down the hall, and the belt is right next to you, in the ceiling.
You will have plenty of shock ammo and you can run round to grab the armour by
the Nook every once in a while, hitting Nook on the way past if you need to.
Stick around the Lava CP and just send shock-combos down the room, towards the
stairs where most of your enemies will be coming from.
MISCELLANEOUS
-------------
There's a small bug in this map, which happens when a bot tries to throw its
translocator up to the Top CP from next to the Nook CP. The T/L will often
fail to make it to the little staircase.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ______ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|_
@--------------@
4.2.5 GEARBOLT
@--------------@
PRACTISE NAME: DOM-GEARBOLT
New peace treaties by the NEG have resulted in many abandoned military
facilities. Gearbolt was once an underground storage base for military weapons
and inventory.
---
All the CP's are up high, so try not to run around on the lower levels too
much. Use your T/L a lot for this one.
TEAMS: 4v4
SCORE LIMIT: 125
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Thigh Pads: In the lower spawn-room.
Body Armour: In the alcove behind the pool of green slime.
Shield-belt: Next to the Lift CP.
RECOMMENDED CP / BOT COMMANDS
-----------------------------
You - Lift / Bridge
2 bots - Ramp
1 bot - Bridge
Masterful test: 125 / 72
CONTROLLING THE MAP
-------------------
Get to the Lift, pick up the belt and stay there with shock and rockets for
the entire round. One person can easily hold this CP for the entire level -
stand next to the corner with the lift in it and keep your eyes open for bots
below you. It's also easy to dump your T/L here and quickly run around to the
Bridge every so often to keep that one on side. There is health in the dark
area underneath the Lift CP.
The Ramp is the most popular CP, so stick two bots there - don't try to def it
yourself, because it's a pain. This is a good area to chuck a redeemer round
into.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ______ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|_
@---------------@
4.2.6 LEADWORKS
@---------------@
PRACTISE NAME: DOM-LEADWORKS
An old leadworks on the wrong side of the tracks is excellent place for a war.
You can expect molten lead still pooled in some areas of this facility. Step
lightly if you plan on being effective.
---
This map has two great CP's for camping at, and many telefragging
opportunities. Oh, and plan on being effective.
TEAMS: 5v5
SCORE LIMIT: 150
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Keg O' Health: Behind the high metal grate in the wall of the spawn-room with
the flak cannon and pulse rifle.
Body Armour: In the back corner of the Storage CP room. Shoot at the metal
panel to open it.
Shield-belt: Behind the high metal grate in the wall of the spawn-room with
the rocket-launcher and minigun.
UDamage: Behind the high metal grate in the main room next to the Storage CP.
Invisibility: On the hanging platform in the main room next to the Storage CP.
RECOMMENDED CP / BOT COMMANDS
-----------------------------
You - Bridge / Tower
2 bots - Storage
1 bot - Tower
1 bot - Bridge
Masterful test: 150 / 79
CONTROLLING THE MAP
-------------------
I recommend you either camp at the Bridge or camp at the Tower. The Storage CP
is not only popular, it has a lava hazard surrounding it and pillars which
make defending it very hard. It's also very difficult to see your enemies
coming from either tunnel, so let your bots handle the dirty work while you
take it easy at one of the other CP's.
The Bridge is good for camping up high with a sniper rifle or shock, though
you can't fully watch both tunnels at the same time. There is lava around here
too, but the area is a bit calmer than the Storage CP.
The Tower is a big dome surrounded by yet another lava moat, and it's my
preferred CP to def on my own. If you stand against one of the stanchions
outside the dome you can just about see both entrances into the area at the
same time, and you will be able to intercept invaders before they reach the CP
in the centre. There is health and a minigun (plus ammo) at the CP, which
makes this the best weapon to def this CP with. If you have a sniper rifle you
can knock the heads off enemies as soon as they appear through either door.
When travelling between CP's, the T/L is the best weapon for taking out
enemies in the narrow corridors. Or try a flak on constant primary fire around
the corners.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ______ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|_
@-----------@
4.2.7 OLDEN
@-----------@
PRACTISE NAME: DOM-OLDEN
This ancient temple was sacred to the race that built it, but not to Liandri.
Upon discovering it nestled in the mountains above the Eternal Cave,
desecrated it for battle.
---
Despite the prettiness of this map, it's not quite as great as I used to
think. It's a T/L junkie's dream, but I'm not one of them, and 5v5 is maybe
too many for a map of this size.
TEAMS: 5v5
SCORE LIMIT: 150
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Keg O' Health: On an upper ledge near the Middle CP.
Body Armour: In a bottom corner of the room underneath the Top CP.
Shield-belt: Hidden beside the two faces on the wall at the end of the long
walkway above the Low CP. Shoot at the other pair of faces (above the Middle
CP) with spread rockets, then shoot the first pair of faces to open the secret
panel to the right.
RECOMMENDED CP / BOT COMMANDS
-----------------------------
You - Middle / Top
2 bots - Low
1 bot - Middle
1 bot - Top
Masterful test: 150 / 96
Inhuman test: 150 / 85
CONTROLLING THE MAP
-------------------
The Middle CP is the best for camping - crouch against the back wall and
shock-combo anything in blue. The other two CP's are a little too open,
especially the Top one which the enemy likes T/Ling up to from below. I'd
recommend hanging around the Middle CP with your favourite weapon, and keeping
an eye on the Top one nearby.
My cycle is: T/L up to the high platform from the Middle CP, turn around and
throw my T/L back down to the Middle CP platform, run along and grab the keg,
hit the Top CP, drop down to the armour in the corner by the water, then
finally reactivate my T/L again to go back to deffing the Middle.
MISCELLANEOUS
-------------
There is an underground tunnel connecting both large pools of water.
There are five vials in a secret pit in the green water under the Middle CP.
The holes in the ceiling can be translocated through to sit on the roof for no
reason. Step back into the hole and hit an invisible teleporter.
The T/L bug in DOM-Cinder appears here, too. The bots often fail to throw
their translocators up to the Middle CP from the green pool underneath.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ______ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|_
@------------@
4.2.8 SESMAR
@------------@
PRACTISE NAME: DOM-SESMAR
Despite worldwide protests, this historical landmark is now owned by Liandri.
Jerl Liandri, President Liandri Mining Corporation: 'We owe it to the people
to ensure quality cultural events. We won't settle for less.'
---
This is a very translocator-ish map, with lots of corners you never even need
to see.
TEAMS: 5v5
SCORE LIMIT: 175
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Keg O' Health: In the middle of the top bridge.
Shield-belt: On a small ledge halfway up the obelisk next to the hole above
the Hall Of Pillars CP.
UDamage: Hidden in a pillar near the Hall Of Pillars CP. Walk from the CP to
the pulse rifle nearby, and from the rifle walk to the back wall. Turn around
and look at the top of the pillar to your left.
RECOMMENDED CP / BOT COMMANDS
-----------------------------
You - Freelance
2 bots - Blue Ankh
2 bots - Red Ankh
Masterful test: 175 / 80
Inhuman test: 175 / 99
CONTROLLING THE MAP
-------------------
This map is easy in single-player, especially if you stay out of the way of
the enemy. Stick 2 bots on each of the Ankh CP's, while you T/L back and
forward across the top bridge, picking up the shock and pulse ammo, and the
keg when it appears. If the Hall Of Pillars CP gets taken, dump your T/L on
the bridge and drop down to grab the CP, then activate the T/L again to get
back to safety. If your Ankh guards are taking their time returning to their
posts, drop your T/L up at the windows and drop onto the Ankhs from above,
then T/L back up again. Look at my test score to see how well this strategy
works.
MISCELLANEOUS
-------------
The huge, coloured obelisks outside, above each Ankh CP, should allow you to
tell the difference between the Red and Blue Ankhs.
There's a rare but annoying bug in this map. It happens when a bot tries to
throw its T/L up through one of the windows above either Ankh CP, and
activates it just as another bot is trying to drop down through the same
window. The bots can get stuck together and they won't move until they are
shot apart. This is fine if it happens to the enemy, because you'll have two
fewer active opponents, but it can happen to your team-mates too.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ______ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|_
@----------------@
4.2.9 METALDREAM
@----------------@
PRACTISE NAME: DOM-METALDREAM
This oil rig has been converted into a Domination Arena. It is located near
strange meteorological phenomenon in the northern reaches of Kryllia. Use the
architecture to dominate your opponents.
---
I always thought this was one of the best and most original maps in the entire
game, and it's surely the most impressive DOM map. CTF-November is the only
other map that comes close to this one.
TEAMS: 5v5
SCORE LIMIT: 200
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Keg O' Health: On top of the huge crane at the Crane CP.
Body Armour: In an alcove around the corner from the Helipad CP.
Shield-belt (2): One next to the ripper in the main spawn-room; another on top
of a box next to the Helipad CP.
UDamage: On the helipad above the Helipad CP.
Invisibility: Through the teleporter.
Jump Boots (2): One in an alcove around the corner from the Helipad CP;
another next to the flak cannon in the main spawn-room.
RECOMMENDED CP / BOT COMMANDS
-----------------------------
You - Boxes
2 bots - Helipad
2 bots - Crane
Masterful test: 200 / 117
Inhuman test: 200 / 100
CONTROLLING THE MAP
-------------------
My favourite camping spot is on the roof of the walls overlooking the Boxes CP
- I just snipe anyone who comes near it and use my T/L to get down and back up
quickly if it gets taken. This might not work for you if you can't snipe, but
I'd still suggest that the Boxes is the best place for you, with your four
team-mates taking the other two, more popular CP's. The Boxes is more of a
camp-and-snipe CP, since the nearest weapon is the not-very-close minigun.
Alternatively, you could try the Helipad CP, just because it's surrounded by
health and powerups. You are more prone to getting shot off the edge though,
and this CP is very popular indeed at times.
It's also simple enough to use the T/L / lift exploit in this map, especially
if you're defending the Boxes CP. Most of the attacks on the Boxes area come
from the nearby lift, so if you've dumped your T/L underneath it the
opposition are going to have problems.
Try to spend as little time as possible indoors - use your T/L to get the hell
out of there quickly and back to the CP's.
MISCELLANEOUS
-------------
If you get shot off the edge, try to land in the water (or oil?) just next to
the metal floor, so that you don't splat and die when you land.
There are two elevators which can take you back up from the bottom of the map
if you fall, and the big brown box will lift you directly up to the Crane CP.
Jump upwards off the moving lift at the Helipad CP to land on the belt box.
Use your T/L to get from the redeemer to the UDamage platform.
Apart from all of that, just dumping your T/L somewhere on the big roof areas
can save you a lot of hassle and act as a safety net against getting shot off
the edge.
Try falling off the high tower without dying. It's possible to do it without
using your T/L, without landing in the water, and with no powerups or health
bonuses (though I lost 89 health when I managed it, so maybe it's not that
worthwhile).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<--[.]-->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.3 CAPTURE THE FLAG
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please play the CTF Tutorial map to learn about the basics of Capture The
Flag.
Whenever you play a team match in the ladder you are automatically put on the
red team, though this only really has an effect on CTF and AS. The red and
blue bases are asymmetrical in many of the CTF maps; and the red team always
attacks first in AS. Each walkthrough is written from a red team point of
view.
Every CTF map has a default score limit of 3.
Attack
------
You can't grab the enemy flag until you know where it is, so, unless you plan
on being a defender who never leaves his or her own base, you'd better know
how you're getting into the enemy base and how you're getting out again.
Luckily, most of the CTF maps are basically symmetrical (eg. Niven, Coret,
Dreary) and so if you know the layout of your own base then you also know that
of the enemy's. If you don't know a map yet, try spectating one of your own
team-mates (F5) while he runs into the enemy base and attacks their flag. This
will let you see the routes and where the enemy might be camping.
Knowing all the ways in and out of the enemy base is obviously advantageous -
it lets you plan your attack and escape routes, taking into account where the
weapons, health and powerups are on the way. You also cannot always assume
that your team-mates will still be alive by the time you reach the flag. You
should be using any team-mates who are covering you as a buffer: send them in
first and let them take the worst of the defensive fire.
If you have grabbed the flag and are running back to your own base, with or
without team-mates around you to help, the enemy bots will almost always
robotically follow your exact route while you run, rather than trying to get
ahead of you to cut off your escape. Any nearby enemies will immediately begin
to head towards you when you touch their flag, excepting only bots who are
actually carrying your own flag at the time. This means that using one route
for attack and then a different one for escape can often lead to having all
your enemies behind you, where you want them. This also means that you should
be as prepared as possible before you grab that flag and trigger the
opposition's attention - grab any nearby armour and get your health up.
Similarly, trying to evade enemies while you grab their flag can often be
better than simply killing them. If you kill four enemy guards and then grab
the flag, the chances are you will have to kill most of those guards again on
your way out, as they will have certainly spawned in front of you and, since
they're computer-controlled, will know where you are and will be heading
straight for you. Leaving them alive and out-distancing them while you escape
(by dodging or hammer-jumping or any other evasive manoeuvre not open to them)
can make life a lot easier for a lone attacker carrying the flag.
You can order some or all of your bots to attack the base, but they don't
exactly put much co-ordination into it. They just run in, get killed
(usually), respawn and blindly run in again. This is not efficient and it's a
waste of your bots. If you want your bots to be effective attackers you're
going to have to help by going with them. Order your team-mates to cover you
and take them to a point just outside the enemy base. Then give the order for
them to attack at once, while you run in just behind them. They may all die,
but they will make it so far into the base, leaving you to be the one who
grabs the flag and bolts back to home.
Bear in mind that your team-mates who died in the assault will have respawned
and be attacking again, which is more good news for you as you're the one
carrying the flag they're attacking - bots don't actually assault an enemy's
base, they just try to pick up the flag, wherever it is. So even if your
escort died during the attack, they'll get your back again as quickly as
possible upon respawning.
If one of your escorts actually managed to get all the way to the enemy flag
and pick it up before you got there, stick with him all the way back to
safety, as he would for you. Lingering outside the enemy base to make sure he
isn't followed is a mistake, for three reasons:
</pre><pre id="faqspan-5">
1. Any enemies who respawned behind the flag carrier and are chasing him have
virtually no hope at all of catching him before he scores, and so it doesn't
matter if you stop them or not. Bots will never suicide for a better spawn.
2. There may well be enemies in your own base trying to get your flag, and
your flag carrier probably doesn't want to run into them without help.
3. Your job as attacker is to get the enemy flag back to your own flag,
whether it's being carried by you or someone else. Stick with the flag carrier
and let your defenders deal with enemy attackers - that's their job.
If one of your bot team-mates has the flag they will simply run back to base,
even if the enemy currently has your flag. Don't do this if you are the flag
carrier. Go to a place in your base where the chasing enemies will have
trouble reaching you, and just wait until your own flag has been returned.
Stay close to friendly defenders if you're hiding with the flag, and close to
health and ammo too. Translocating to some out-of-reach place will, of course,
cause you to drop the flag.
If you are carrying the enemy flag while the enemy has yours, you can ensure
that they don't retrieve their flag before yours is returned: the enemy will
just home in on you and attack you until you die, but if you drop the enemy
flag the enemy will head for it instead, which means you can drop it in a
place inaccessible to them and camp somewhere nearby. The flag will be
returned automatically after about twenty seconds, so keep picking it up and
dropping it again every fifteen seconds or so to reset the counter. Drop it on
some high beam in the ceiling of your base or something - a place the
opposition can't get to. This will let you keep their flag without putting
yourself in danger by actually carrying it.
If you are heading back to base with the enemy flag and low health / ammo, and
you meet a team-mate along the way who has a belt or a keg or basically a lot
more health than you, try dropping the flag (T/L or feign death) and letting
him pick it up. He may stand more chance of getting back to base without
dying than you do, even though he'll be running in straight lines.
Defense
-------
This is a bit easier than attacking. All you and your defending team-mates
have to do is block up the holes in your base, or just camp by the flag and
wait for enemies to approach.
CTF is a lot like football, except here you have to return to your own goal
when you hit the opposition's. The fact is that if the enemy can't breach your
defense they can't possibly win. Very few of the CTF maps have no bottlenecks,
and so it's a good idea to concentrate at least some of your defense at these
areas. If the enemy must come through a specific door to reach your flag, that
door would be a very good place to put a guard (though Hold Position bots in
CTF have big faults).
Defending forward is generally better than sitting by your flag and waiting.
Hanging around the middle / neutral area of any map gives you a much better
overview of what's going on; it also allows you more time to respawn and catch
invaders if you get killed than you would have if you were flag-camping; you
can also act as an escort for any of your own attackers who successfully
grabbed the enemy flag and are now looking for support on their way home. Plus
it's just a lot less boring. As in chess, don't sit as far back as possible -
take as much ground as you can, control the centre of the board.
Try not to put your team-mates on Hold Position, because they won't chase
enemies even if those enemies are taking the flag out of the base. Defend is a
much better command, though less specific.
Sniping is only applicable in certain levels, but it's often the best way to
defend and it can also help your attackers at the same time. You can own some
levels if you're a good enough sniper, and it's a skill well worth practising.
Facing Worlds can be won by one sniper and one attacker - all the sniper has
to do is sit up top and kill the enemies as soon as they spawn at either side
of their base. Lava Giant is another easily defensible level if you're a good
sniper.
You can easily outpace all the computer bots just by dodging everywhere. The
bots will only dodge in combat, not when they're simply moving. Dodging can
get you way ahead of chasers in no time; likewise it can let you catch up with
enemy FC's who are dumb enough to just run along straight, preset path-nodes.
The FC's position will be given away by the glow of the coloured flag they are
carrying (the same will apply to you when you are carrying the enemy flag,
though this will have no effect on how easily the computer finds you). All you
have to do to make him drop the flag is kill him; to return the flag just
touch it. If you fail to kill an enemy by shooting him, but at the same time
you manage to put him into a hazard, he may die anyway. Depending on the
hazard in question, the flag will either be returned right away (eg. if the FC
falls into oblivion) or will stay in the spot where the FC dropped it (eg. if
the FC drowned in slime or water). If the flag is not retrieved by either you
or the enemy, it will be returned to its home after about twenty seconds.
If you're an attacker, and especially if you are carrying the enemy flag, try
to let your defenders deal with the enemy FC. You can't do everything, and
going looking for an enemy FC whose flag you are currently carrying is asking
for trouble. If you are defending and the enemy FC has gotten past you, try
getting ahead of him to cut him off at a bottleneck. A dumped T/L can do you a
favour with getting in front of an FC, but this only works if you haven't been
killed since you laid it.
Misc
----
CTF maps often have plenty of powerups and armour. Know where these are to
give yourself the edge. If you're an attacker, plan your routes around health
and armour (or shortcuts); and if you're defending take any and all powerups
either in your base or in the neutral zone before the enemies can.
Another similarity with AS is in sharing ammo. Your team-mates will be
respawning in your base all the time - it would be nice if they had enough
ammo to be effective. Don't run around taking it all, especially if you're a
defender.
Use your T/L intelligently when attacking. Run into the enemy flag area, with
or without team-mates, and throw down your translocator in some obscure corner
as you pick up the flag. If you start taking heavy damage you have given
yourself the option of translocating out of danger but towards the enemy flag
- OK, you drop the flag when you use the translocator, but you were probably
going to die anyway, which is the whole point. Now your team-mates might be
able to pick up the flag you dropped: if they do they might score a point, if
they don't it will be returned and you are right there to pick it up again.
Speed-wise, you're always better taking it upon yourself to go for the enemy
flag - your team-mates are pretty inept in terms of supporting one another and
acting as a team, and they are also programmed to follow certain predictable
paths. Bots defending can also have problems, such as all automatically
following the enemy flag carrier until he's dead or he scores. This is not
exactly brilliant defense, and it leaves big holes in your base for the next
wave of attackers. You're going to have to carry your team quite a lot on your
way up the CTF ladder.
Your orders will affect how the computer bots are arranged - if you put all
your team-mates on defense then the computer will send more attackers, and
vice versa. This is good if you're a sole attacker, since the computer will
keep emptying its own base, though it will never leave it totally undefended.
I strongly recommend putting the majority of your bots on attack, even if you
yourself are also attacking. This cuts down the enemy incursions into your own
base and provides you with maximum support while you carry the enemy flag back
home.
A dropped flag can only be moved by picking it up, either to return it or to
resume carrying it, depending on which team it belongs to. It cannot be moved
by shooting at it or by things exploding around it. It will move up and down
with a lift if it is dropped there, and it can of course be dropped from a
high point to a lower one. It can only be launched while in a state of being
carried (eg. by the launchee, or by being flung from the body of a flag
carrier who died from an explosion). If dropped in water it will sink to the
bottom, but if dropped in a hazard (eg. instantly fatal lava, oblivion) it
will be immediately returned.
On the subject of launches, while hammer- and rocket-launching are both
considered illegal in online CTF, there's nothing stopping you from abusing
them in single-player games. Take every opportunity to launch your team-mates
in order to gain an advantage, particularly if you are backing up a flag
carrying team-mate on his way back to your base. A well-placed rocket-launch
in Facing Worlds or Lava Giant, for example, can be the difference between a
capture and just another failed incursion into enemy territory.
Capture The Flag Guides
-----------------------
I've arranged each map guide into sub-sections:
---
PRACTISE NAME: This is the name under which the map appears when you load it
into a practise session.
Epic's Description: This is the map blurb which appears in the game's ladder.
My Description: Some quick notes about what the map is like to play.
TEAMS: The number of players in each team.
POWERUPS / ARMOUR: The locations of all the powerups found in the map.
ATTACK: My suggestions on the best ways to attack the enemy base.
DEFENSE: My suggestions on the best ways to defend your own base.
MISCELLANEOUS: Some incidental details and silly things about the map, just
for fun.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<--[.]-->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@-----------@
4.3.1 NIVEN
@-----------@
PRACTISE NAME: CTF-NIVEN
An experimental orbital nuclear reactor, abandoned after funding for the
project dried up. High radiation levels and waste leakage offer an
environmental challenge for Tournament combatants.
---
This is the first map after the tutorial. It's small and symmetrical, and
designed to get you used to identical bases and controlling the neutral zone.
TEAMS: 2v2
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Thigh Pads: Under the ramp outside the blue base.
Body Armour: Under the ramp outside the red base.
ATTACK
------
You're going to have to work your way along the enemy corridor until you reach
the flag, then run all the way back out again. Combat in this hallway is
difficult, with the walls and floor both working against you. Use shock-combos
to clear out any blind corners ahead of you, or rockets / grenades if you have
them. Be sure to pick up the shock ammo to make things tougher for the enemy.
Your enemies will virtually always come along the high corridor above your
double door, so try going up the ramp or through the water to avoid them.
ALWAYS pick up both the armour and the pads under the ramps - don't let the
enemy have them.
Once you have the flag and are out of the blue base, just run like hell,
preferably up the ramp. You can then turn around and throw down some grenades
or slime to cover your escape. Swimming through the middle of the NZ is pretty
fast too, but you are vulnerable for the couple of brief seconds you're in the
water.
DEFENSE
-------
This is one where flag-camping is a bad idea. There's a blind corner right
there and enemies will often fire at you before you even realise they're
there. Camping outside your double door is far more effective, as you're right
next to your armour and you can replenish your shock ammo just by ducking back
inside.
The best spot from where to defend the flag is one of the windows in the
curving corridor. Throw your T/L onto the window ledge and crouch here with a
shock rifle, watching the doors.
If the enemy flag carrier does get away from you, translocate like hell
through the water to catch up.
MISCELLANEOUS
-------------
You only have one team-mate in this level and your skill level will almost
certainly be higher than his. Telling him to Hold Position just outside your
doors is much better than telling him to simply Defend - he will likely just
flag-camp and the blues will take him out easily. Hold Position is dangerous
though, because if the enemy FC does get past his position, he won't bother to
chase them, which is just great.
Send him to attack and you might have more luck if you're happy to defend,
though it may also take far longer. If he does manage to pick up the flag,
translocate up to the high corridor and get his back, since this is the way
he'll be using for his escape.
The shock rifle and the minigun are the best weapons in this map, since
they're the only ones you can't damage yourself with (unless you fire a
shockball into someone at point blank range). Those base corridors are hell
for anyone using splash or spam weapons, as are all the other weapons in this
level. Use the shock or mini for your attacks and for chasing enemy FC's.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ______ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|_
@-------------------@
4.3.2 FACING WORLDS
@-------------------@
PRACTISE NAME: CTF-FACE
This ancient asteroid has been converted to an Arena for the Tournament. It is
highly dangerous due to aberrant gravitational properties and, of course, the
snipers from the other team.
---
For some reason Face is THE legendary online classic CTF map, probably because
it's simple but effective. It's another symmetrical map, this time with a
large outdoor neutral zone which is pretty easy to fall off, especially if
you're running backwards at the time.
TEAMS: 4v4
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Keg O' Health: In the very centre of the map.
Body Armour (2): One on the roof of each base.
UDamage (2): One in the ceiling above the entrance to each base.
ATTACK
------
It's simply a case of running over the hill and into the enemy base to grab
the flag. There's not much variation here - it's more down to how good you are
at fighting than how clever you can be. You can use your translocator to
slowly climb up the outside of the enemy base and then attack the flag through
one of their teleporters; but this takes time and you can be vulnerable to
respawning enemies below. Likewise you can make your escape through the
teleporters, picking up the armour and ammo on your way out, but you're going
to have to fall off the tower at some point to reach the ground, so you'd
better be able to afford the health loss.
This is one level where wave after wave of attackers can really do good
damage, even if they aren't co-ordinated. As an attacker you're always within
sight of your own base and your respawning team-mates will never be too far
away. If you order your team to Hold Position halfway down the hill towards
the enemy base, and then you run in and grab the flag on your own, your team-
mates provide a very useful barrier for you to run through and for your
chasing enemies to run up against. This also works if you escape via one of
the teleporters - you can actually leap into the crowd of your team-mates and
die, dropping the flag. One of them will pick it up and head for home, while
you respawn and back him up.
In Face, it's also worth remembering the advantages of a rocket-launch. If one
of your team-mates is carrying the flag homewards and you're running behind
him, try firing some rockets at his feet to give him a boost. Try not to send
him off the edge, however.
Here's a very effective way of scoring points in Face, at least versus the
computer:
1. Pick up your base's redeemer, go to the roof, grab the armour and hammer-
launch your T/L from the roof teleporter ramp to one of the teleporter ledges
on the front of the blue base.
2. Go through the teleporter and grab their flag, go through their roof
teleporter, stand on the sniper rifle, right on the edge of the roof, and turn
to face the blue roof teleporter, shoot the redeemer into the floor at the top
of the teleporter ramp, die.
3. If you were facing directly away from your own base, the blue flag should
go flying through the air and land right next to the keg's spawn-point in the
middle of the NZ, from where your nearest team-mate can pick it up for an easy
capture. By the way, this also works if you rocket-launch yourself from the
same spot on the roof - be wearing the armour so that you die not when you
release the rockets, but when you splat just beside the keg.
DEFENSE
-------
If you're not a sniper, there are two excellent places to defend from. One is
just outside your base entrance, running back inside for health and ammo when
you need it. The other is at one of the enemy spawn-points. They will respawn
with only a pistol, giving you an easy time of it firing shock-combos at them.
It's lame but it works wonders.
Flag-camping isn't a great idea here - it's too hard to see enemies coming for
it. Hang around outside the base for better recon.
If you are a sniper, get up to the roof and camp at the armour. Your ammo will
last a long time and you can control the whole map from here. If you're good
enough your enemies will never get out of their spawn areas, and your team-
mates can saunter in and out with little trouble. This position also lets you
spend a long time trying to take down any intrepid enemy flag carriers, though
you're admittedly in no position to return the flag yourself if they drop it.
You can reach the ground easily by tossing your T/L off the roof.
MISCELLANEOUS
-------------
You might wonder why the ripper is at the spawn area. Sniper rifles are great
but when it comes to knocking an enemy off a cliff you can't beat a secondary-
fire ripper blade. These same blades are also useful for launching flag
carrying team-mates more quickly back to base.
This is one of two CTF maps perfect for T/L-launching. You can get decent
results from anywhere around your base, so experiment all you please. See
section 2.4.12 for more info on T/L-launches.
There's a few invisible ledges you might land on if you fall off the edge -
try experimenting, though not in the middle of a match. These can be useful
places to put a safety-net T/L for when you need to quickly reach the centre
of the map.
There are virtual staircases of ledges on the sides of both the towers - use
them if you're escaping via the roof.
You can take the flag from the roof of the enemy base to the ground without
losing health or bothering to jump from ledge to ledge. Grab the flag, take it
through the top teleporter, and throw your T/L down to the ground far below.
Jump or dodge off the edge with the flag, but activate your T/L as soon as
your feet leave the floor. You will reappear on the ground and the flag will
be falling down after you.
Learn how to run backwards without looking. Or use behindview when you're
trying to escape with the flag so you can see the edge without having to turn
around (though this will make it almost impossible for you to hit the
chasers).
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ______ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
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@------------------@
4.3.3 ETERNAL CAVE
@------------------@
PRACTISE NAME: CTF-ETERNALCAVE
Ruins belonging to an unknown race, acquired by Liandri Corporation's
Xenobiology Division for research and excavation. Deemed a 'valuable and
entertaining venue' by the Tournament Board after 17 XD archeologists fell to
their deaths.
---
This is one of my favourites in the CTF ladder. The neutral zone is mostly
symmetrical but the bases aren't, and as the red team you have the harder base
to defend.
COMPLETION OF THIS MAP WILL OPEN THE ASSAULT LADDER
TEAMS: 4v4
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Thigh Pads (2): One in the spawn-room of each base.
Shield-belt: In a corner of the upper level of the neutral zone.
ATTACK
------
You have two possible routes here, and both of them are popular. The lower
route gives you more space to move, as well as rocket launchers and some shock
ammo; but the upper route holds the minigun and the belt. I'd recommend the
lower, but that's just me. Exiting the NZ via the lower route can be tricky,
as the blues tend to camp just to the right of the exit, where you can't see
them. The next thing you know someone has shot a rocket at your feet and
you're flying into the lava far below. Far better to fire your own rockets at
the ground just outside the exit, then cackle as the blue camper either blows
up or plummets lavawards.
They will also camp on top of the other door and just behind and below the two
torches at the top end of the flag bridge. Keep your eyes open when you're in
the blue base, because one false move will get you killed. If you know the
area well enough, try throwing your T/L all the way down to the flag without
even poking your head out. If it lands OK you get to grab the flag then hustle
all the way back up the bridge. Combining a T/L throw with a backwards hammer-
jump from the flag to the cliff edge can save you much time and hassle, but
only do this if you have a full belt on you.
Again, I'd recommend lower for your escape route because of the health, and
also because the upper floor is a spawn-point for both teams. Having friendly
defenders Holding Position in the lower area can be a lot of help, as usual.
DEFENSE
-------
Well, this is one map where flag-camping is actually a good thing. You have a
big area in which to wait, and two exits from the NZ to watch. They'll be
coming around the mountain when they come, or they'll be translocating over
to your flag from the cliff just in front of it. They also enjoy hammer-
jumping back across when they do have the flag, which is unusual to see from
the bots. Note that if a bot grabs the flag but doesn't attempt to hammer-jump
back across the gap, he's probably low on health.
I'd recommend hanging around beside the ripper, just on the outskirts of the
NZ. This will let you intercept enemies from either exit before they reach the
flag, plus if you get killed you should be able to catch them up from respawn
regardless of where the computer puts you. Don't bother camping above the
lower door - they know you're there before you know they are. Or something.
Sitting at the back beside the slime is another option, though it's hard to
keep an eye on the pit as well as both sides of the mountain. Plus you have
not much room for shock-combos if they do approach from the sides. On the
other hand they'll have a tough time grabbing your flag if you keep the ground
around it nice and green.
Defending in the NZ is tougher because you can't plug both routes at once, but
you should at least make sure the belt is never there for your enemies to pick
up.
MISCELLANEOUS
-------------
For a really stylish cap, try running up the side of the red mountain while
carrying the blue flag. Run up as far as you can, then use two backwards
hammer-jumps to reach the top. Fall onto the red flag from above, and
hopefully die just as you score the point.
There are a couple of bugs around the red base. Stand right at the back,
looking forward at your flag under the mountain. Now walk up one of the slopes
facing you on either side of the base of the mountain until you can't get any
higher - if you've done it right you will suddenly be shot away to the side at
high speed and land in the lava. Don't blame me, I didn't make this game.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ______ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
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@-----------@
4.3.4 CORET
@-----------@
PRACTISE NAME: CTF-CORET
Built into a mountaintop on the Coret moon, this facility was once the
waypoint between the Interstellar zonegate in orbit over the moon and the Zeto
Research Station located half the moon away in the frozen wastes.
---
Another symmetrical map, all corridors and hallways. Even the neutral zone is
a tight squeeze. This is one of my least favourites.
TEAMS: 4v4
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Thigh Pads (2): In opposite lower corners of the neutral zone.
Body Armour (2): Behind the partition at the end of the upper corridor in each
base.
UDamage: In the upper room in the middle of the neutral zone.
ATTACK
------
I suggest grabbing the thigh pads in the NZ and then attacking through the
left, upper route into the enemy base, as this will take you past the vials
and armour. You also won't have to go through that door, behind which anyone
could be lurking. Once you have the flag run out via the lower route, which
will take you past more pads and lots of health. Use the door you avoided
earlier, since this way leads to more health packs and possibly the UDamage.
The thigh pads you picked up on your way in may also have respawned in the NZ.
When you reach the flag-room there will probably be a camper above the flag,
by the shock. Don't try to kill him, just run away down the lower route and
leave him behind. Clearing out that long lower corridor is easy enough if you
can do straight shock-combos or rocket spreads, and by the time you reach the
NZ you should have a clear run to your own flag.
DEFENSE
-------
The NZ in Coret is difficult to defend, as it's very hard to see your enemies
coming. There are pads and health nearby, but not a lot of ammo or weapons.
I'd suggest defending above your flag, opposite the shock rifle. This way will
let you see enemies attacking the high corridor pretty early, as well as
allowing you to jump down and chase anyone who sneaked in through the low way.
You could also try camping above the glass floor in the upper corridor - this
gives you a heads-up on any attackers, as well as keeping you right next to
the armour.
Another good place to camp is in the middle hallway, at the top of the
sideways ramp next to the door. You can spot all the blues attacking high and
some of them attacking low; you can also hear the door opening just down to
your left, which will tell you when someone's just gone through it. The armour
and rocket ammo are close by, and the health can be easily picked up from the
low route to the left just by using your T/L.
MISCELLANEOUS
-------------
The flak cannon is hiding near each flag, behind the dark pillars in the low
room.
The sniper rifle is also hidden - look in the ceiling above the rippers and
the thigh pads at both corners of the NZ.
You can drop past those jump-pads by holding your movement keys while you
fall.
You can jump up the little wall by the thigh pads while carrying the flag -
just look straight down at the ground and do a ripper-jump up the wall.
You can only just make the jump across from ledge to ledge, above your flag.
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@------------------@
4.3.5 THE GAUNTLET
@------------------@
PRACTISE NAME: CTF-GAUNTLET
Not all environments are retrofitted Liandri real estate. The Gauntlet is one
of a small number of highly stylized combat arenas specifically designed for
the Tournament. This particular venue has been customized for team-play.
---
This map always seems to be frantic, with bodies everywhere and constantly
successful raids on both flags. It's mostly asymmetrical apart from the flag
rooms.
TEAMS: 4v4
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Thigh Pads (2): One in one of the lower corridors in the neutral zone; another
just outside the red flag-room.
Body Armour (2): One in each flag-room.
Shield-belt: In the low lava room in the middle of the neutral zone.
ATTACK
------
However you choose to reach the enemy flag-room I'd recommend you leave via
the teleporter in the back. The bots will not camp the teleporter exit point,
and you're free to drop down to the belt and run home to safety. Try not to
get roped into a fight in the enemy flag-room - the pillars and ramps make it
harder for you than for the blues. Just get in and get out quick.
Try to steer clear of the blue spawn-room near your base on your way home with
the flag.
DEFENSE
-------
The bots have to get through that tiny door to your flag-room. Spam it to hell
with slime, shock-combos, rockets, the works. Your bots will generally hang
around your flag-room door if told to Defend, which is good because here is
where most of the action will be. Make sure you keep taking that belt, whether
you're defending or attacking, and take the red armour too.
If the enemy flag carrier retreats via the upper corridor, try sniping him
down from behind instead of chasing him all the way back - you have quite a
long time to take him down with the rifle if you get to it quickly enough.
MISCELLANEOUS
-------------
That redeemer can clear out a packed enemy flag-room for you if you guide it
using secondary fire and then run in straight after the explosion.
If you plant some of your bots in Hold Position mode at the point where the
blue teleporter exits, you get a nice escort force waiting for you when you
come through with the flag, though you'll have to then instruct them to Attack
or Cover to get them to follow you.
The two stone pillars in the blue flag-room have false walls you can try to
hide in.
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@------------@
4.3.6 DREARY
@------------@
PRACTISE NAME: CTF-DREARY
The distant wastemarsh of Vandaron 3 is said to be the wettest place in the
galaxy. A post dreaded by soldiers due to its remote location, cramped
quarters, and maddening echo of ever beating rain.
---
It's not exactly everyone's favourite level but I love this one. No-one much
likes playing a spam map online, but it's different and a lot more fun in
single-player mode.
TEAMS: 5v5
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Thigh Pads: In the top room of the red base.
Body Armour (2): One in the floor of each half of the neutral zone.
Shield-belt: In the top room of the neutral zone.
UDamage: In the top room of the blue base.
ATTACK
------
Attackers in this map are awaited by the worst flag-rooms ever, and I include
November in that. If you're going in there it's as well to make sure it's
cleared out first, which can be done by standing at the bottom of the ramp and
firing a few shock-combos inside. You could also try running in while loading
up some rockets, then just running for the flag while hurling the rockets at
anyone who jumps you from the side. Sit by the flak cannon and spam that
approach ramp to kill more guards, then just bolt out of there, preferably low
so you can pick up the health and armour if you're lucky.
You can actually get back up to the high route from the flag-room ramp - just
jump at the vertical wall part of the ledge and you should land on an
invisible part which will let you hop up to the shock rifle. This is risky,
though, since respawning enemies tend to appear in the rooms under the lifts
to either side of this upper area, and they'll come up the lifts after you. If
you go low they'll still come up the lifts, which will put some distance
between you and them. Another advantage to going low is that you can use the
lift in the middle of the NZ to take you up the middle level again. Drop some
grenades or slime behind you just as you walk onto the lift and you could take
out two or three of the chasers who were dumb enough to follow you.
The advantage of going high is that very few enemies come up here and so you
might get a clear run. Plus the belt might be there, but that's a pretty big
'might'. If you go low but come up the lifts, be ready to fire a shock-combo
into the upper rooms as you turn the corner - there is almost always someone
in here. Try firing a few spread rockets into the flag-room from the upper
ledge before you drop - this sometimes flushes lurking campers out and gives
you a proper shot.
This is a fantastic level for cover-your-back shots - just run through every
hallway chucking grenades off facing walls and letting them bounce behind you,
into the path of the chasers.
DEFENSE
-------
If ever there was a flag-room made to be defended it's this one. You can't
really go wrong spamming that narrow ramp, plus you have all the flak ammo
you'll ever need right there.
If this bores you the only other place I can suggest is camping by the low
armour with a shock rifle in your hand. Hopefully you can take down any blues
who come through any of the entrances to this area, though you will take quite
a bit of damage. The armour rooms are extremely busy throughout this level,
and I recommend you post at least one of your team-mate defenders somewhere in
here.
Sniping along the high route and down at the lower levels can do you a favour
too, as long as you're good enough and your team-mates don't grab the ammo
first.
MISCELLANEOUS
-------------
Don't spend too much time looking out the windows and feeling sorry for
yourself - there's a match on here.
Rockets own this level. Running around releasing batch after batch of rockets
into blind corners is half the fun, and it will definitely come in handy when
attacking the enemy base. Don't even bother looking - just send six rockets
into every upcoming corner.
Don't put all your team-mates on defense for this one on the higher
difficulties - you have virtually no chance of getting in and out of the base
on your own. This is one map where putting everyone on Attack, including
yourself, is very beneficial. The blues can't put up with constant assaults on
their flag, and an all-out blitzkrieg got me a time of 2:19 while writing this
walkthrough.
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@------------------@
4.3.7 LAST COMMAND
@------------------@
PRACTISE NAME: CTF-COMMAND
The Last Command is a fully functional Nuclear Processing Station owned by the
Liandri Corporation. This facility's system oriented layout makes an ideal
proving grounds for Capture the Flag Tournament matches. High Tech voluminous
industrial architecture paired with curving maintenance corridors means
fighting here will require quick reaction times if your team plans on
surviving.
---
This was the very first UT map I ever played online, and I got a kicking from
a sniper with long, blonde hair who was defending the red base. I don't think
I saw the red flag once.
Anyway, this is another corridor-ish map with asymmetrical bases. The blue
base is the harder to attack / defend, but the red base is definitely easier
to bring the enemy flag back to.
TEAMS: 4v4
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Body Armour (2): One in the lower 'plans' room of each base.
Shield-belt: On a ledge in the ceiling of the red end of the neutral zone.
UDamage (2): One in a pipe in the high wall of the red base; another in a pipe
at the side of the lower blue base.
Invisibility: In a pipe in the high wall of the red base.
ATTACK
------
Other than just steaming into the blue base and grabbing the flag, here are
some suggestions to make getting the flag and getting out again easier.
Get to the bottom of that big ramp in the blue base and dump your T/L on the
bottom (on the ramp, not the floor). You can hammer-launch your T/L from this
spot right up to the flag - just be careful the module doesn't hit one of the
light-fixtures on the way.
Secondly, a far sneakier way, which I believe is banned on most CTF servers.
I'm not a CTF player but I think it's called 'tubing'. Anyway, get to the red
room with the armour in it and look at the ceiling. See those holes? You're
going to throw your T/L up there at an angle which will let it land on the
upper floor. It takes some practise but if you get it right you will
translocate to a little blue room with health packs in it, which just so
happens to lead directly to the flag at the far end of the pipe.
From here tube your way into the blue spawn-room, then fire your T/L along the
pipe to the blue flag. Activate it, grab the flag and then bolt back along the
pipe, into the room you just came from. I'd always thought you can't get back
down the floor holes without using your T/L, but now I've found out you can:
stand facing the tubes and forward-dodge diagonally towards them, so that you
bump against the thing in the ceiling just before you touch the floor again.
Now, when you try to walk into the gap you should be able to squeeze through,
whereas before you couldn't get through even by crouching. Just drop down one
of the tubes and run home.
As I said, tubing is probably banned in online CTF, but I don't know if
escaping through those holes is illegal.
DEFENSE
-------
As your base is actually bigger and wider than the NZ, you're compelled to
defend from around your own flag for once. The shock rifle is best for
defending this place, even though it and the ammo are in the NZ, which is
quite far away. There are plenty of rockets by your flag as well, and the
health packs will keep you going forever. Try T/Ling up to one of the rafters
in the ceiling and be ready to drop a shock-combo on the heads of any
invaders.
This, however, is as boring as the Dreary flag-room def, so try heading for
your armour room and shooting into the NZ with a shock rifle. No-one can get
past you from here, and you're right next to health, armour and the belt in
the ceiling.
If the flag carrier does evade you and is hurrying homewards, don't forget
those holes in the ceiling. You can use them for last-ditch defense too -
don't bother chasing the FC all the way through the blue base, just tube
through the ceiling and be there waiting for him when he approaches his own
flag.
MISCELLANEOUS
-------------
It's great fun sending encroaching blues into the slime using the ripper.
If you pick up the UDamage en route to the blue base, your minigun will cleave
through the blues with no problems. Combine the UDamage with a belt and you're
a one-man flag capturing force.
If you are going one-way tubing, remember to lay your T/L down in that little
armour room before you go for the flag. Upon successful capture you can just
activate your T/L again and maybe get another cap straight after your first.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ______ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
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@--------------------@
4.3.8 THE LAVA GIANT
@--------------------@
PRACTISE NAME: CTF-LAVAGIANT
This volatile world has an extremely low orbit around a superdense gas giant.
The resulting gravitational forces have caused the planetary mantle to
collapse. Combatants are issued special gravbelts for each match.
---
On higher difficulty levels, this and Dreary are by far the hardest maps to
attack.
TEAMS: 5v5
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Keg O' Health: On a hidden platform under the high side route which leads past
the rocket-launcher.
Thigh Pads: In the middle of the neutral zone, in the brick corridor which
leads past the redeemer stepping stones.
Body Armour (2): One in each base.
Shield-belt: Under an arch in the very centre of the map.
UDamage: In the middle of the neutral zone, on a hidden platform under the
high side route which leads past the rocket-launcher.
Jump Boots (2): One in each base.
ATTACK
------
Attackers are always going to have problems in such a snipey level, and so
it's best to find a route which lets you avoid the snipers altogether. The
best I have come up with is this:
1. Grab the armour and boots, then jump up to the roof of your base. Drop your
T/L on the very tip of the roof, then crouch behind / under it and hammer-
launch it from here to the top of the big rock barrier which separates the two
halves of the map.
2. Activate your T/L so you appear up top, then hammer-launch your T/L from
here so that you can see it land on the bridge in the blue base, or on the
pointed roof above the flag.
3. Activate your T/L again and appear in the blue base, grab the flag while
you load a hammer-jump, then backwards hammer-jump out of the blue base, with
the boots giving you extra height and distance. Try to use your boots' air
control to swerve away to one side of the base, out of sight of the sniper
nest windows. From here it's just a case of dropping to one of the lower
routes and running home. See section 2.4.12 for more info on T/L-launches.
Rocket-launches might also come in handy in this map, though it's difficult to
aim your launches so that they send your running team-mates to a safe spot.
Your escape should ideally keep you as much out of sight of enemy snipers as
possible, so plan it properly and stick to it every time.
However you attack on higher difficulties, this map will always be
disgustingly unfair, with insane sniping from the enemy guards. Sneaking into
their base and shooting their snipers with rockets is often the best way to
secure your own escape, but don't be surprised if you get hit by four
simultaneous headshots by bots who shouldn't even have been able to see you
coming. This map highlights how overpowered the UT sniper rifle is - LavaGiant
is hardly ever played online.
The same redeemer trick I detailed with for Face can work here, though it's
much harder to get it right. If you grab the blue flag and then fire a
redeemer missile at a forty five degree angle to the floor of the blue bridge,
you can sometimes send the blue flag soaring way over the middle rock face to
land on the high path behind the belt, in your half of the NZ. That's if you
get the angle exactly right: get it wrong and it can end up in lava, on the
roof of the blue base, or down at the slime gun in front of the red base - it
just depends on your own precision.
DEFENSE
-------
Again like Face, this is sniper heaven. There is no approach to your base that
can't be spotted by a sniper sitting on the roof, and almost all of the blues
will be coming along the upper right path, running in straight lines. You
could also drop to the big area in front of the base and just minigun people,
but really you should be sniping if you're at all good at it. Sniping is even
the best way to back up your flag carrier, since it will take you a long time
to reach him on foot.
If by some chance the blue attackers keep managing to get in and out of your
base with the flag, you can lay down a trap for them by hammer-launching your
T/L into their base and leaving it there as a contingency plan. Launch your
T/L from your base to the middle cliff, then onto the roof of the blue base,
then just drop back down and return to your own base (there are wall bugs in
the cliff faces that will catch you as you fall). This lets you defend around
your flag, and also allows you to translocate straight over to the enemy's
base if their FC manages to evade you and is about to make a capture.
MISCELLANEOUS
-------------
This map is perfect for T/L launches, though you'll have to hope the thing
lands somewhere other than in the lava. A side-on shock-combo or hammer strike
into the back of your T/L can let you get from your base to the centre of the
map almost instantly. See section 2.4.12 for more info on T/L launches.
You don't have to run through the gap in the front of the red flag cage - you
can dodge or jump through the upper gaps in either side of the cage, above the
two stone beams.
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@----------------------@
4.3.9 NOVEMBER SUB PEN
@----------------------@
PRACTISE NAME: CTF-NOVEMBER
Battle around a retired November class nuclear submarine docked in an
underground pen. This relic, left from the First Cold War, still includes
machinegun nests and defensive positions key to victory.
---
In my opinion, this is the quintessential CTF map. It's got everything,
including more tubing.
TEAMS: 5v5
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Keg O' Health (2): One in the back room with the boxes in the red base;
another in the upper room with the boxes in the blue base.
Thigh Pads (2): One beside the left staircase of the red base; another on top
of a box inside the entrance to the blue base.
Body Armour (2): One hidden in a box in the box room of the red base; another
in a box in the upper box room in the blue base.
Shield-belt (2): One in the sniper nest at the entrance to the red base;
another in an alcove above the boxes inside the entrance to the blue base.
UDamage: On the very top of the submarine.
ATTACK
------
The easiest and quickest way to pick up the blue flag is by sending your T/L
up the huge pipe in the ceiling at the entrance to their base. Throw it up to
its highest point, then activate it just before it begins to fall. Throw it
upwards immediately again while you're in the air, and then reactivate it when
it reaches the upper floor. You will probably lose some health but there are
health packs up there.
It's possible to hammer-launch your T/L up there too, but you probably won't
have time for this in a match.
You can also get into the blue base by throwing your T/L through the window of
their sniper nest, though this is dangerous as there is usually a sniper
there. Or you could just steam up the long staircase, picking up the pads and
belt on the way.
When you reach the flag-room have a long range weapon ready, as there might
well be a defender camping on top of the boxes opposite the flag. Pick up the
keg and armour if you have time, preferably before you pick up the flag, as
touching the blue flag will trigger the immediate attention of all the blue
defenders, as usual.
The best way to escape is definitely via that big pipe in the roof, and you
can drop down there without losing any health. Practise the following method
before you try it in a match, so that you can do it all at once:
Approach the pipe from above, standing at the hole so that the green warhead
against the wall is on your right. The hole is octagonal, and one of the eight
sides has a wall bug in it which will catch you as you fall. Face the hole
straight on, as if the back wall is the twelve o'clock position; then move
right so that you are standing above the half past four side. The side
opposite is the one with the bug, and to use it you have to jump down the hole
from the half past four side - and then push against the buggy wall so that
your face is scraping down it as you fall. It should catch you halfway down
and let you fall to the bottom with no health loss, though it doesn't always
work.
However you escape from the blue base, you will find yourself under this hole
in the ceiling at some point. You could go all the way round the sub via the
ramps, or you could take your chances in the water; but I recommend you have
your hammer-jump loaded when you reach the water's edge, so that you can just
jump backwards over the water and the sub, landing safely on the red side of
the water. This is, of course, much easier if you picked up the belt, armour
or keg while inside the blue base.
DEFENSE
-------
Surprisingly, this is another level where red snipers can have quite a lot of
success. Try T/Ling up to one of the rafters above the red pool and use the
rifle to keep the blues' hands off your flag. The base has bottlenecks at the
top of the stairs, but you don't get much reaction time here. Better to sit
just beside the minigun nest, taking the belt when it becomes available. The
blue attackers will always have to pass you, which might be made more
difficult for them if you use the handy shock rifle and ammo on them. Just
keep out of the way of the blue sniper in the nest across the water.
Defending in the NZ is tricky, since it's always very popular. It's not really
a good place to camp, but if you can get the UDamage and a sniper rifle with a
lot of ammo up onto one of those ceiling beams, you can have lots of fun
picking the blues off from high above their heads.
You can catch up on any escaped enemy FC's by using that ceiling pipe as a
shortcut, and there will usually be at least one of your Defending team-mates
hanging around the minigun nest at the entrance to your base.
I would recommend attacking in this level, and leaving the majority of your
bots to defend. Your team-mates will take AGES to get just one cap, whereas
you have better methods of grabbing the flag.
MISCELLANEOUS
-------------
You can side-dodge up the sides of the sub to reach the upper level, though
you have to find the right spots at the end nearest the blue ceiling pipe.
This will let you get over the sub without using your hammer or T/L, which
will be useful if you're carrying the flag and trying to make a getaway with
not much health.
The only ways out of the submarine pen water without using the T/L or hammer
are at the sniper nest end of the pool.
The other pipe in the red base holds one of only two R/L's in the level.
There is a lot of sniper ammo under the long staircase in the blue base. The
blue belt is on one of the ledges behind the nearby boxes.
This map has a very obvious bug involving the bots' path-noding. The red bots
are programmed to run up the blue stairs, grab the flag, and escape through
the big pipe in the floor. This is fine if they have armour, but they often</pre><pre id="faqspan-6">
don't, so they either splat and die or they get mopped up by the two or three
blue bots who always seem to hang or spawn around that area. If you're
wondering why your team is constantly grabbing the blue flag but failing to
bring it home, this is why.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<--[.]-->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.4 ASSAULT
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please play the AS Tutorial map to learn about the basics of Assault.
Whenever you play a team match in the ladder you are automatically put on the
red team, though this only really has an effect on CTF and AS. The red and
blue bases are asymmetrical in many of the CTF maps; and the red team always
attacks first in AS. Each walkthrough is written from a red team point of
view.
Attack
------
You begin each AS map in a localised spawn area, ready to attack the first
objective. This usually involves hitting a button or destroying a door or
something. Removing this objective will usually allow you to proceed to the
next one, and so on until your team ends up attacking the final objective to
complete the round.
Your attack time is then made the default for the second round, in which you
and the opposition swap sides and you must defend the base against their
attacks until the given time runs out. If the opposition takes down the base
in a faster time than yours, they win; if they fail, you win.
It's therefore crucial to attack the base as quickly as possible, so that you
won't have to defend for too long in the second round. And it will of course
be helpful to know everything about the map you're playing in and how to get
to each objective in as fast a time as you can.
When you order your team-mates to attack, they will always follow given paths
to the next required objective. This should not be your personal strategy -
you should be using every trick you know to get past those defenders and hit
that button or whatever. You don't have a translocator in AS, but you do have
the hammer with which you can perform hammer-jumps. These will allow you to
reach places your team-mates can't and that your enemies won't think to
defend. Hammer-jumps are critical in AS, especially online.
Another important facet of AS is the tactical suicide - both for attack and
defense. The bots won't suicide, but you can use it to exploit the generation
of new spawn-points which are created once certain objectives are completed.
It saves time and lets you jump far ahead of the opposition in terms of
completing the level. The only map in the single-player ladder in which
suicide is useful is Overlord, and then only on attack - I've mentioned this
in the Overlord section.
The order in which you complete objectives is often not as important as the
game makes it sound. You can very often skip certain objectives altogether if
you know how, and sometimes you can even head straight for the final objective
while the defenders are still hanging around the first one. The bots always
attack / defend the next objective in the preset list, which you don't have to
do. Some objectives are not essential for completing the map, though they may
offer you alternate routes or shortcuts if you do take the time to get them.
Defense
-------
As in CTF, defending an AS base is often easier than attacking it, so long as
you control all the worst bottlenecks. This is not very true of online play,
as experienced players know all the bottlenecks and all the shortcuts past
them; but it's very true of the single-player maps, as the bots will always
follow the preset paths through the bases, allowing you to plan your defense
with ease.
Defending a map in the AS ladder really couldn't be too much easier. If you
know where the enemy is coming from and where they'll be going, you merely
have to post sentries all along their route and make sure none of them make
it. Overlord, for example, is just one long linear hike, and you and your team
should be able to defend for the full ten minutes.
Sharing ammo is important in AS defense, and very much so online. Your team
will have limited weapons and ammo around each section of each base, and you'd
better make sure you don't take it all and leave your team-mates with
whatever's in their weapons.
The enemy bots will always attack the next objective - they won't skip any.
This should let you know exactly what they're doing and where they're going.
Learning when to suicide is probably more important in def than in attack. If
you spawn in section A and then the attackers manage to open Section B, you
can either run like hell trying to catch them up before they hit Section C
unchallenged, or you can suicide and be waiting for them by the time they're
halfway through Section B.
Mostly, telling your bots just to Defend is the best way to go. Spawn-points
are often changing, and so Hold Position commands immediately become a bad
idea. Your bots will know where to defend, though unfortunately they won't
suicide, so trust them to be where they should be at each objective, and just
concentrate on your own whereabouts. You can actually force your team-mates to
suicide by knocking them into lava or whatever, but this is only true in
levels where there are plenty of hazards to put them into, such as HiSpeed.
Defend far forward - don't just all camp at the objective. You can sometimes
have two or three lives for the price of one of your enemy's lives if you sit
as far forward as you can. HiSpeed is a good example of this - you can have
three or four chances at taking down the same attacker if you first meet him
nearer the back of the train.
Misc
----
Assault often comes down to where and how far from the action the spawn-points
are. When attacking Overlord, for example, it is often very advantageous to
get all your team-mates to Hold Position halfway down the first tunnel, once
you have taken the Beach-Head. The enemy will be grouped in the Boiler Room
below, and they can easily kill off your team-mates if they're attacking one
by one. Try grouping them all together and sending them in at once with a mass
Attack command. They will probably all die, but they will provide a
distraction while you run in and hammer-jump to the objective. Just bear your
command menu in mind and think about how to breach certain objectives that are
giving you difficulty.
Enemies often spawn from a very small spawn area, and you can stop them early
if you know where they'll be coming from. Sitting outside an enemy spawn area
and killing them as they emerge can do your team big favours, both on attack
and defense. This is called 'spawn-killing' online, it's illegal, or at least
frowned upon, and there are 'spawn protection' mods in effect to combat it.
The bots won't complain though - they'll just keep coming.
There are in-depth descriptions of each objective and what you must do to
complete them available by pressing F3, but I've just denoted each obj and
trigger point by its HUD display, which can be viewed with F1.
I've tried to separate the level guides by their objectives, but sometimes
this isn't easy to do. The same tactics can often be used to attack or defend
several objectives at once - HiSpeed, for example - and so I'll leave these
areas to your own judgment.
I've included quite a lot of tricks in the AS section, but I don't want to
take credit for the majority of them. Unless I specifically mention that I
invented a particular trick or tip, assume that I either saw someone else do
it or was told about it by someone else. Thanks go to the community of
UTAssault for years of education in Assault - almost all of my AS knowledge
comes from having played countless rounds in matches, friendlies and pubs with
them. If I could remember all the names of every player who ever showed me an
AS trick, I'd mention them here.
Speaking of tricks, see section 2.5.6 for information on ripper-shots. These
can come in useful in certain maps which include the ripper and destructible
objectives.
Finally, I've included my fastest completion times with each map. These were
achieved by playing practise rounds with no bots and seeing how quickly I
could negotiate each level, skipping as many objectives as possible. Try
beating these times if you want - it's just a bit of fun.
Assault Guides
--------------
I've arranged each map guide into sub-sections:
---
PRACTISE NAME: This is the name under which the map appears when you load it
into a practise session.
Epic's Description: This is the map blurb which appears in the game's ladder.
My Description: Just some quick notes about what the map is like to play.
TIME LIMIT: The default maximum amount of time allocated to a round.
TEAMS: The number of players in each team.
MY BEST TIME: My best attack time in a practise session with no bots.
POWERUPS / ARMOUR: The locations of all the powerups found in the map.
ATTACK: My suggestions on the best ways to attack the map.
DEFENSE: My suggestions on the best ways to defend the map.
MISCELLANEOUS: Some incidental details and silly things about the map, just
for fun.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<--[.]-->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@-------------@
4.4.1 FRIGATE
@-------------@
PRACTISE NAME: AS-FRIGATE
A somewhat antiquated Earth warship, the restored SS Victory is still
seaworthy. A dual security system prevents intruders from activating the guns
by only allowing crew members to open the control room portal. However, should
the aft boiler be damaged beyond repair the door will auto-release, allowing
access to anyone.
---
This is one of the least linear maps in the AS ladder, and there are tons of
little tricks you can use on attack. This was the first map I ever saw anyone
do a hammer-jump in.
TIME LIMIT: 6:00
TEAMS: 4v4
MY BEST TIME: 0:15
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Keg O' Health: Under the stairs beside the Hyraulic Compressor.
Thigh Pads: Under the stairs in the upper room of the ship.
Body Armour (2): One at the bottom end of the attackers' spawn area; another
in one of the lower rooms of the ship.
Shield-belt: In the lower stern of the ship.
ATTACK
------
Objective 1: The Ship
Spawning in the building, there are various routes you can take to reach The
Ship. The most obvious is by running along the wooden gangway to the front
door of the ship, under the minigun turret, though this is the one that the
defense will be expecting you at. Reaching The Ship door will cause the
defenders to move closer to the Compressor, which will make destroying it a
bit harder. Your bots will take a while to get through the door, so use this
time to sneak onto the ship in other ways. There is a hole in the underside of
the ship which you can sneak through by jumping into the water and swimming.
Objective 2: The Hydraulic Compressor
There are also plenty of spots from where to hammer-jump, the best being from
the big wooden platform at the top of your spawn area. HJ backwards and land
on the deck of the ship, and from here you can go through the door and drop
straight down to the Compressor. This is easier if you just tell your team-
mates to Hold Position in the spawn base, meaning they won't trigger The Ship
objective and cause the opposition to fall back.
If you have the ripper, it's also possible to shoot primary blades through one
of the four tiny holes in the deck of the ship. Try standing beside the hole
on the bottom right, the one nearest your spawn-point. Experiment with angles
and keep firing blades down through the hole (hint: face the tree) - if you do
it right they will ricochet around in the Compressor room and hit the
objective. Experiment for yourself if you want - it's worth it, though. I used
a ripper-shot to get the 15 second time, and there's a few other ripper-shots
to take out the Compressor.
You could also try sitting on the first level of the stairs and throwing
grenades down into the corridor, bouncing them off the wall so they'll land
near the Compressor.
Anyway, however you choose to approach the Compressor, destroying it should
not be hard. Once it's gone the upper doors will take a little time to open,
and the defense will all head upstairs to defend the final objective.
Objective 3: Missiles
This is the hardest obj to complete, as the defense camp right next to it. Try
firing a bunch of grouped rockets through the upper door from your spawn-point
- this can often take out two or three campers. Rippers work, too - send a lot
of them into that room from far away.
You can try attacking through the interior of the ship, though this is more
difficult than attacking from the roof. Find a spot from where you can
hammer-jump up to the upper or lower roof - there are many such spots. The
defense will all be upstairs, leaving most of the powerups free for the
taking. Collect as many as you can on each attack to give yourself the edge.
DEFENSE
-------
Objective 1: The Ship
Objective 2: The Hydraulic Compressor
The attackers will all be coming along the exact same narrow route, just as in
Guardia, the tutorial map, which should make it a stroll for you and your
team-mates to wipe them out before they get anywhere near the door of the
ship. If one of the attackers gets knocked into the water they will swim
through the hole in the underside of the ship, so keep an eye on any who fall
in and make sure you take the belt, as these sneaks will pick it up on their
way in.
If the attackers do breach the door they will all run along the main corridor
of the ship towards the Compressor. Again, just take them out before they
reach it.
Objective 3: Missiles
Your team-mates will pack the upstairs room if the Compressor goes, so you
should be defending farther forward, preferably back down at the door. Keep
taking all the nearby powerups and spam the door, helped by the minigun
turret. The attackers all run mindlessly up the staircases of the ship, and
there are quite a few camping points for a defender. If you want to defend the
Missiles button, try camping at the top of the highest stairs, sending
shockcombos down at any attackers who approach the bottom.
You might also try arranging your bots in a staggered formation, rather than
leaving them all freelancing at the back. Position yourself at the ship's
lower door, with one bot in the main spawn-room, another at the thigh pads,
and the last one at the Missiles. The lower two get to share the flak ammo
(with one always collecting the pads), while the last man gets the shock ammo,
meaning none of them will ever run out of firepower and be forced to defend
with enforcers.
MISCELLANEOUS
-------------
The Compressor is easier to sneak to if you don't trigger The Ship first.
There are many different ways through the ship - don't take the most obvious
one.
You can hammer-jump to the deck, ripper the Compressor through the hole and be
up the stairs waiting for the door to hiss open before the defense have even
reached their starting positions.
Swim to the left side of the ship and keep jumping up against the metal hull
from the water. You should land on an invisible ledge, as though you are
standing on the surface of the water. Forwards hammer-jump from the ledge by
releasing your fully loaded hammer-jump off the very bottom of the hull, just
above the water - you should be able to jump all the way to the top and onto
the deck. There is a similar invisible ledge on the other side, but using it
leaves you much more exposed.
You can reach the upper interior door from the very bottom of the ship's
interior staircase - stand beside the pipes in the wall and hammer-jump
straight up, moving sideways at the top of your jump.
You need to hammer-jump twice to reach the top deck of the ship from the main
deck, above the Compressor, which means you have to have more than 100 health.
But my ripper-jump bind will let you reach the top deck with one ripper-jump
and one hammer-jump, so you can do it without bothering to get any powerups.
Ripper-jump up onto the door surround (jump at it from the side to reach the
diagonal part), then load a full hammer-jump and fire it off the wall to get
all the way up and over the railing. Note that this hardly EVER works, but
never say never. See section 2.4.6 for the ripper-jump bind.
You can get from the belt to the roof with two hammer-jumps. Grab the belt
then HJ through the hole in the ceiling to land on the mounted guns. HJ
backwards off the guns to reach the upper deck, from where you can ripper the
Compressor (crouch on the railings, above the central post, make sure you are
using centre-hand, fire through the 'top left' hole) and open the doors.
If you're defending, try running into the attackers' spawn-point and grabbing
the sniper rifle and plenty of ammo - the defense don't get their own rifle,
but it can be a big help if you're a good sniper.
It's possible to get onto the roof of the attackers' spawn building by
yourself - I'll leave you to figure out how.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ______ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|_
@----------------@
4.4.2 HIGH SPEED
@----------------@
PRACTISE NAME: AS-HISPEED
Always looking to entertain the public, LC refitted this 200 mph high speed
train for Tournament purposes. This time the combatants will have the added
danger of being able to fall off a train. Get your popcorn out people and
enjoy the show!
---
This is one of those levels that is won or lost by the defense. Online, it
either takes forever or it takes around 36 seconds, depending on where the
defenders put themselves.
TIME LIMIT: 7:00
TEAMS: 4v4
MY BEST TIME: 0:31
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Keg O' Health (2): One on a ledge between two pillars at the back of the
train; another in the lower level of Car 2.
Body Armour: In the lower level of Car 3.
Shield-belt (2): One on the roof of the car with the slime pool; another in
the lower level of Car 2.
Jump Boots (4): Two on the floor of the second last train car; one in between
Cars 3 and 2; another in between Cars 2 and 1.
ATTACK
------
Objective 1: Car 3
Objective 2: Car 2
Objective 3: Car 1
The keg and belt up high will help you out if you collect the boots. The
defenders will be waiting outside Car 3, down low. Use the boots to stick to
the roofs of the carriage, and you can bypass every defender just by running
along the roofs, shooting out the turrets and dodging over the gaps between
the Cars. You will eventually reach Car 1 and the hatch in the roof. Stand on
it to open it, drop through and hit the Control Cabin Access Switch, then drop
down and quickly run under the turrets and through the door to hit the Control
Cabin button.
If you don't want to take this pathetically easy route, stay low when you're
attacking. Going through the door of Car 3 will cause the defenders to fall
back to Car 2. The Car 2 trigger will make them fill Car 1, and hitting the
Access Switch in Car 1 will get them to defend the Control Cabin. It's really
just a case of making your way through each Car and trying to trigger the door
of the next one, picking up whatever powerups are available on the way.
The defenders will spawn in the upper level of Car 3 until you trigger it -
don't go upstairs when running through Car 3, unless you like having to shoot
out two turrets. Upstairs in Car 2 is their next spawn-point, which will be
triggered when you hit Car 3. They will spawn here until you hit Car 1, which
will make going upstairs in Car 2 quite tricky.
As you progress along the train, hitting each trigger, your team will gain
spawn-points farther forward. You will still occasionally spawn in the chopper
though, no matter how far ahead you get - just suicide if this happens.
Objective 4: Control Cabin Access Switch
When attacking Car 1 when it's full of enemies, it's as well to send one or
more of your team-mates in first to draw fire, while you nip up the stairs and
make a charge at the Switch. You can also try using the boots to run along the
lower level and avoid the turrets, then just jump up onto the high ledge and
run to the Switch.
Objective 5: Control Cabin
The Cabin is easy to clear out with a few grenades from up above - make sure
there are no campers waiting for you when you go for it.
DEFENSE
-------
Objective 1: Car 1
Objective 2: Car 2
Objective 3: Car 3
You will spawn first in Car 3, so, run down and grab the armour, then just sit
outside the Car with your team-mates, firing pulse rounds up the train at the
oncoming attackers. You can def here for ages before the attackers breach the
Car door, and this is the best place from which to defend throughout the
level, no matter how far forward the attackers get. Let your team-mates fall
back as the other Cars are breached - the attackers will always spawn in front
of you, and you have armour and health in the Car behind you to sustain you
for a long time.
Objective 4: Control Cabin Access Switch
Objective 5: Control Cabin
If you do want to fall back, the upper level of Car 2 is another good spam
point - take the belt and the keg from the lower level. Car 1 is virtually
impenetrable for the computer attackers, but hang around with your team-mates
and flak anyone who comes through the door. The attackers won't use the roof
hatch, and they will all come through the lower door. They should never get
near the Access Switch, but if they do manage to hit it make sure you defend
farther forward than the rest of your team. Let them camp - you do the forward
freelancing.
MISCELLANEOUS
-------------
Falling off the train is generally suicide, unless you get all the way to the
front of the Car 1 roof and step off the windows onto the tracks. You will
speed along in front of the train without dying, though there's not much
point.
Try shooting a shock-ball off the train and watch what happens to it. Weird.
Is this train actually moving?
Perform a backwards hammer-jump with boots off the roof of Car 2 to reach the
hatch of Car 1. This will let you bypass the 'Attackers are on the roof!'
message if you jump high enough, which is useful online but not really in
single-player. You can also do this by boot-hammer-jumping from the low space
between Cars 1 and 2 and swinging around, up the side of Car 1.
You don't have to use the upper level of Car 2 to get through it. Crouch by
the opening in the left wall of the lower level of the car, facing directly
north (imagine the front end of the train is north), and move out onto the
ledge, holding down your crouch button. Turn slightly to the left, so that you
are now looking about twenty degrees 'west' of the end of the train. If you
get the angle right, you will find that you can crawl along this narrow ledge
without falling off, and reach the second opening on the other side of the
boxes.
There is a bug which will let a defender shoot a shock-ball at the doors of
the Cabin, just as they open. It will lock them so that the attackers can't
ever get in. This bug is an illegal exploit in the league, and I think either
the LeagueAS mod or patch 436 removed it anyway.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ______ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|_
@----------@
4.4.3 ROOK
@----------@
PRACTISE NAME: AS-ROOK
This ancient castle, nestled in the highlands of Romania, was purchased by Xan
Kriegor as a personal training ground for his opponents, hoping to cull the
best of the best to challenge him. The attacking team must open the main gates
and escape the castle by breaking free the main winch in the library and
throwing the gatehouse lever, while the defending team must prevent their
escape.
---
Rook is probably the most popular of the single-player maps in the AS league,
and it's launch-heaven for people who like launches.
TIME LIMIT: 4:00
TEAMS: 4v4
MY BEST TIME: 0:29
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Thigh Pads: In the defenders' spawn-room.
ATTACK
------
Objective 1: Library
You will begin in one of two identical spawn-rooms, both of which lead out to
a set of double doors and two side rooms, both of which have weapons and ammo.
Each spawn-room also has a green teleporter, which both lead to sniper nests.
One of the nests has a flak cannon in it, and although you might be smart
enough not to collect it and risk dropping it for your enemies to use when you
die, your bot team-mates will not be so smart. The same goes for the sniper
rifle in fact.
You must go through the doors and around to the right to touch that big wheel
which will open three more doors leading through the Library to the chains.
Try loading a hammer-jump before you go through the double doors to the
outside. Let your team-mates go through the doors first, then follow them. HJ
backwards off the stairs, aiming to land right on the wheel. Or dodge down to
the ground and do a backwards HJ. This is just easier and faster than battling
your way along the ground.
Objective 2/3: Gatehouse
The chains which open the Gatehouse can be reached by running through the
Library into the tight corridor in the back wall. The chains are at the far
end - two of them - and they can be shot out by any weapons, including alt-
hammer strikes. A bunch of grouped rockets can take them down from the door
end of the corridor, as can rippers or flak shots or whatever - you don't have
to get all the way down the tunnel to destroy them. Each chain counts as one
objective - ten points each.
There are various ripper-shots available to take out the chains. The easiest
one is probably where you crouch just inside the middle Library door, under
the torch. Use centre-hand to fire primary ripper blades at the side of the
door to the chains corridor, just under and to the right of the torch on that
wall, aiming to bounce them back down the corridor to the chains. You can get
both chains from here, and it's a very popular spot for the ripper-shot. This
is what I used to get my 29 seconds time.
Objective 4: The Main Doors
The Main Doors are easy to open - simply run into the little Gatehouse and
touch the lever to open the massive doors outside.
Objective 5: Escape!
Now that the Main Doors are open, the way is clear to run to the end of the
map and attempt to jump into the water. Passing this point will win the map.
It's often a good idea to linger by the Gatehouse and let your team-mates try
to take out the chains. If they manage it, you will be able to run into the
Gatehouse, open the Main Doors, and be charging to the end before the def have
even come back out of the Library.
If one of your team-mates has managed to get a head start on the enemy and is
running towards victory, stay behind and spam the def spawn-room to protect
his chances.
DEFENSE
-------
Objective 1: Library
This is a very spammy map for the defense - the attackers keep having to come
through doorways and into a wall of slime or flak or whatever. The slime is
useful for coating the first double doors, and your minigun should be able to
deal with any attackers running towards the wheel lever.
Objective 2/3: Gatehouse
The Library is also easy to defend - the bots won't try ripper-shots, and they
all have to run down to the chains, through doorways and tight corridors. Use
the rockets and shock to make things difficult for them.
Objective 4: The Main Doors
Once the chains are gone, respawning attackers will come through those double
doors again, rather than via the Library. It's a good idea to hang around by
the Main Doors while the attackers are going for the Gatehouse - when the
Doors open you want to get down that long avenue before the attackers do.
Objective 5: Escape!
There is a lovely sniper rifle and plenty of ammo at the back of the level,
which should be able to hold off the attackers for a long time. You can let
your team-mates do this if you're not much of a sniper, while you hang around
the Gatehouse, sending flak into the faces of any enemies coming through those
big double doors. Keep taking the pads in the spawn-room.
MISCELLANEOUS
-------------
Always try to hang around the route to the next objective on both attack and
defense. You can often get a head start on an objective, depending on how well
or badly your team-mates perform.
On attack, try shooting spread rockets at the feet of a team-mate who is
running directly in front of you towards the Escape! objective. You can launch
the poor bot all the way to the end with six rockets to the ankles, though you
will have to collect the R/L from the Library.
The sniper rifle from the attackers' spawn-point sniper nest can be very
useful with which to attack the Escape! objective. The defenders all have
sniper rifles, so one for the attack could come in handy across such a great
distance.
You only have to defend this map for a maximum of four minutes, so spam like
hell if you're out of ideas.
If you find yourself completely incapable of defending Rook successfully,
there is an exploit which can make it impossible for the attackers to enter
the Library. Run outside the def spawn-room and hammer-jump up to the higher
roof above it - either do two hammer-jumps with the thigh pads on or one
hammer-jump with an alt-hammer click off the top of the wall to reach the
roof. Head over to the back wall and look for the triangular holes. There are
two - fall into the one on the left. The attackers will now be able to hit the
wheel to open the Library, but all three sets of doors will stay shut. This
bug only works with some video resolutions - 1024x768 (my default) worked for
me but 1152x864 didn't, since I was weirdly unable to drop into the hole.
Finally, here's how to complete Rook by only getting the Escape! objective. I
didn't invent this, and I've only heard about people managing it occasionally.
I also wonder whether I'm the only one who practises it with ripper-jumps:
1. Run into the def's spawn-room and grab the thigh pads (and the ripper if
you're not confident), run outside and jump onto the slope to the left of the
stairs, jump over the two sloped ledges and onto the second wide slope,
hammer-jump from here to the area above the Library wheel, and run all the way
around to the right sniper tower.
2. From here, hammer-jump as straight as you can up to the ledge above the
Main Doors, and alt-click your hammer off the top of the wall for the extra
height required to make it up (just press and hold the right mouse button as
soon as you've hammer-jumped - this should let you alt-hammer automatically).
This alt-click is very important - try to do it at as horizontal an angle as
possible against the wall. The more downwards looking you are, the more health
you will lose. If your alt-hammer leaves you with only about 15-20 health, you
may have to rely on a ripper-jump, but if you make it up with 25+ health you
should be fine with either ripper or hammer. The most health you can have here
is 36 - I believe, after many reloads - which should be plenty.
3. This is the tricky bit: stand around the middle of this ledge and turn your
back to one (either) of the side ledges. You have to alt-hammer-jump or
ripper-jump backwards from the first ledge to one of the side ones, taking
care not to hit the corner of the sniper tower on your way past. Anyway, from
the side ledge, side-dodge over to the last ledge, then dodge from the left of
this ledge down to the cliff behind the left torch - there is a slope here
which will catch you, letting you keep what little health you have remaining.
Using the ripper-jump (better than alt-hammer in every way if you get the
angle right) you can end up with an average time of around 40 seconds. As I
said, this is NOT my invention, so thanks to whoever came up with it -
you're an Assault genius :D
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ______ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|_
@-----------@
4.4.4 MAZON
@-----------@
PRACTISE NAME: AS-MAZON
Nestled deep within the foothills of the jungle planet Zeus 6 lies Mazon
Fortress, a seemingly impregnable stronghold. Deep within the bowels of the
base resides an enormous shard of the rare and volatile element Tarydium. The
shard is levitating between two enormous electron rods above a pool of
superconductive swamp water.
---
Another castle level and another one infamous for its launches.
TIME LIMIT: 10:00
TEAMS: 4v4
MY BEST TIME: 0:23
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Body Armour: In the lower level of the castle.
ATTACK
------
Objective 1/2: Chains
Follow your bots down to the river and through the tunnel. This walkway leads
all the way round to the Chains, both of which must be destroyed to open the
portcullis. You don't have to make it all the way over there - just dodge into
the water in the cave and fire grouped rockets at each Chain, though you'll
have to be pretty accurate.
Objective 3: Front Door
Objective 4: Reactor Room
Objective 5: Crystal
The defense will be grouped above and around the Chains, which makes jumping
over the Front Door a lot more attractive. Try running along the bridge
between the turrets and forward hammer-jumping to the level above the Door.
From here you can open the Front Doors, hit the Reactor Room switch or even go
straight to destroying the Crystal.
If you complete any other objective before the Chains are gone, the defense
will remain grouped around the Chains, leaving you to do whatever you want in
the rest of the castle. To open the Front Doors just drop down underneath the
ramps and follow the corridor around to the switch in the wall. You can also
open the doors to the Crystal by hitting the Reactor Room switch on the upper
wall.
To destroy the Crystal without doing anything else, pick up the ripper from
above the Front Doors, then head over to the closed metal gate to the right of
the Reactor Room switch. This gate has a tiny gap at its base which you can
shoot ripper blades under. Stand at such an angle that the blades will bounce
under the gate and back up towards the Crystal. There are several positions
from which you can fire ripper blades to destroy the Crystal, but the others
all require the Reactor Room gates to be opened. The closed Reactor Room
ripper-shot is illegal in the LeagueAS mod.
If you want to complete the level in order of objectives and without cheating,
just help your team take out the Chains, then run through the tunnel and round
to hit the Front Door switch. This will allow you to use the Front Door into
the castle, rather than having to go via the Chains gate (the bots will adjust
accordingly). Battle up the ramps and around to the switch - you can back-
hammer-jump off the middle of the ramps and land on the switch. The switch
opens the three gates to the Crystal.
Whichever order you complete the objectives in, all of them must be triggered
to complete the level except the Front Door switch. The Front Doors are opened
when you destroy the Crystal.
Once the Reactor Room gates are opened, try looking for spots far away from
the Crystal which will allow you to attack it without going anywhere near it.
The area above and in front of the armour platform is good for this - you can
stand miles away and still see the Crystal, with enough room to fire rippers
or grouped rockets right at it. There are other such spots on the left, near
the flak cannon.
DEFENSE
-------
Objective 1/2: Chains
Defending the Chains is easy - just spam that cave tunnel with flak and
rockets. The attackers will come all the way along before shooting at the
Chains, and you can hold them off indefinitely.
Objective 3: Front Door
The Front Doors are just as easy to defend, if not even easier. The attackers
have a very long way to go before they reach that switch - make sure they
don't make it.
Objective 4: Reactor Room
Once the Front Doors are gone, the enemy will start using it to attack the
base, coming up the ramps from the lower floor. Take them down before they get
anywhere near the Reactor Room switch.
Objective 5: Crystal
Keeping an eye on all three gates which open after the attackers hit the
switch is a little harder, but not much. Just stay high and watch for the
invaders. Keep taking the armour and make their lives difficult as they come
along the bridge to the Front Doors. They tend to attack the Crystal through
the low, single gate rather than the two upper ones, so watch for them there,
too.
MISCELLANEOUS
-------------
Try hammer-jumping over the corner of your starting attack spawn-point to land
quickly at the entrance to the cave tunnel - you lose health but you get a
head start on the defense. You can also side-dodge through the gap, although
this takes a lot of practise.
If you are running along beside the river and there is a team-mate running in
a straight line in front of you, try firing six spread rockets at his feet
while he runs. If you fire them at the right place and at the right angle, the
rockets will launch your team-mate into the cliff, and the angles of the rock
will send him up and onto the roof of the castle. From here he will drop down
the lift at the back and head for the next objective from there, though this
is useless if you haven't yet taken out the Chains.
You can jump over the portcullis at the Chains without bothering to destroy
them. There are two little ledges on the gate which will let you reach the top
and over. You can jump over from the other side, too.
When you are running up the big ramps in the middle of the castle, try
side-dodging against one of the sloped parts on either side of the single ramp
- if you do it right you can land on the floor to either side, saving you some
time.
You can hammer-jump from the armour to the level above. You can also hammer-
jump to the area of the upper floor directly in front of the lift by timing
your jump to release as you touch the ammo pack to the left of the rocket-
launcher.
You can hammer-jump up to the platform above the Chains from various places,
giving you another route inside.
On defense, try backwards-hammer-jumping from the very top of the castle roof
- next to the right catapult - to land in the attackers' spawn-point. If you
land on the sloped cliff on your right you will lose no health.
Similar to Rook, the defenders are given a way to prevent the attackers from
ever completing the map. The computer will never do this to you, but fall back
on it if you're having big trouble defending the map. Before the attackers
knock out both the Chains, hammer-jump (or just climb) up to the top of the
spiky portcullis which opens when the Chains are gone. Stand or crouch on it
while the attackers destroy the Chains: the portcullis should rise, causing
you to bump your head off the ceiling, then lower again, remaining closed for
the rest of the round.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ______ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|_
@-----------------@
4.4.5 OCEAN FLOOR
@-----------------@
PRACTISE NAME: AS-OCEANFLOOR
Oceanfloor Station5, built by universities around the globe for deep sea
research, almost ran out of money when LC came to the rescue. Jerl Liandri
President LC: 'If we can't ensure education for our children, what will come
of this world?'
---
This is not a popular online map, mainly because it takes attackers so long to
reach the base every time they respawn.
TIME LIMIT: 6:00
TEAMS: 4v4
MY BEST TIME: 0:26
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Keg O' Health: On the upper level of the base, between Terminals 3 and 4.
Thigh Pads: On the upper level of the base, behind Terminal 4.
Body Armour (2): One in the attackers' spawn-point; another at Terminal 1.
Shield-belt: At the top of the lift between Terminals 1 and 2.
SCUBA Gear (5): Four in the attackers' spawn-point; another on the outer roof
of the base, above Terminal 4.
ATTACK
------
Once you've grabbed the SCUBA gear, you have two options for attacking the
station below. There is an opening at Terminal 4 and another one at the
opposite side, near Terminal 1. The defenders will tend to hang around these
entrances, rather than camping at the Terminals, so if you can sneak past them
you'll have an easy run at all four objectives at once.
Both Terminal 1 and Terminal 4 can be hit by ripper-shots or by throwing
grenades from or next to the water entrances, though 4 is a bit easier.
If you're attacking through the Terminal 4 water entrance, try hammer-jumping
up to the top platform as soon as you emerge from the water - you can fire
rockets down the stairs to hit Terminal 4, then run to the remaining Terminals
while the Terminal 4 defenders chase you.
Terminal 1 is the most difficult of the four objectives to take down, as it's
nestled in a corner between two long corridors. Try sending some ripper
blades down either of the corridors to hit the Terminal without approaching
it.
As with your own defense, the bots will go to whichever remaining Terminal is
nearest. This means that you'll find it much easier to attack the base through
the Terminal 1 pool if you've already gotten rid of Terminal 1.
DEFENSE
-------
One good way to defend this base is to swim around in the water, picking the
swimming attackers off with your minigun before they even reach the station.
Another way is just to camp with a shock at the Terminal 1 pool - the
attackers will virtually always appear at the exact same spot in the water,
and taking them out should be simple.
If the attackers do manage to take out some of the Terminals, your team-mates
will default to defending the remaining ones by camping at them (mostly). You
should stay by either one of the pools to catch the attackers before they
reach your team-mates - the Terminals are very easy to destroy if all the
defenders just sit right next to them. Intercept the attackers long before
they reach their objectives.
MISCELLANEOUS
-------------
There used to be a bug where attackers could destroy Terminal 1 by swimming up
to the exterior wall and shooting a pulse beam through it to hit the Terminal
inside. This is an illegal exploit online, and either patch 436 or the
LeagueAS mod removed it. It might still work offline, though, in unpatched
games.
It is possible to destroy Terminals 2 and 3 by drawing the fire of the shock
turrets towards them - if a Terminal is taken out by a turret the attacking
team does not score the points, meaning it is possible to win the attacking
round with a total team score of 130.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ______ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|_
@--------------@
4.4.6 OVERLORD
@--------------@
PRACTISE NAME: AS-OVERLORD
The tournament organizers at Liandri have decided that the recreation of
arguably the Earth's most violent war would create the perfect arena of
combat. Storming the beaches of Normandy in WWII was chosen in particular
because of the overwhelming odds facing each member of the attacking force.
Defending this beach, however, will prove to be no less of a daunting task.
---
When played online this map becomes a battle between snipers and launchers,
while the minigunners run around the beach like headless chickens with a
weapons embargo. As an offline map it's a killer at high levels, since it's
practically impossible to get through the final cavern.
TIME LIMIT: 10:00
TEAMS: 5v5
MY BEST TIME: 0:37 (no bug exploit)
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Thigh Pads: At the bottom of the ramp tunnels leading up from the Boiler Room.
Body Armour (4): One in the Boiler Room; another in the ramp tunnels leading
up from the Boiler Room; another in the left sniper tower; another in the
foxholes.
ATTACK
------
There is only one objective listed in F3 for this map, though there are three
listed in your F1 HUD.
Objective 1: Beach-Head
You're going to have to get out of the ship and all the way up the beach
without getting sniped, mown down by a turret or splatted by a mortar. The
defense will never defend by coming up the Beach-Head tunnel, so they'll all
be shooting at you from the foxholes or sniper towers.
The best way to avoid as much of the fire as possible is to run up to the
right foxholes and alt-hammer-jump to the top. This lets you bypass the mortar
landing spot. Run around the tower on the right and dodge up to the Beach-Head
(or backwards hammer-jump for speed). Get inside the Beach-Head and you'll get
an objective message.
It's important to get down into the Boiler Room as quickly as possible when
you first take the Beach-Head, because this first run will be your best chance
at meeting a minimum amount of resistance. The defense will change positions
when the Beach-Head is taken, but they take time to get from the towers and
foxholes to the Boiler Room, and if you're fast you can get there before them
and save your team a lot of trouble.
Objective 2: Boiler Room
If you don't make it through the Boiler Room on your first run it can become
tricky, since the entire defense is packed at the top of the ramp and you
don't have anything that can take them all out at once. Try getting your team
to Hold Position at the health packs, then send them all into the Boiler Room
at once. While they're drawing the enemy fire, you can run in behind them and
tap your hammer-jump bind to land up at the tunnel (don't charge it, just tap
it quickly).
If one of your team-mates get the Boiler Room while you are still on the
beach, try a tactical suicide to get to the new spawn-point.
Objective 3: Gun Control
This is the hardest part of any of the AS maps on higher difficulty levels.
It's easy enough running up the long tunnels, but get to the top and you'll be
very lucky not to have your head sniped off before you're halfway through the
final cavern area. The defense are all up high with sniper rifles or rocket-
launchers, and you have to get past them in order to win.
There's a few things you could try if those snipers are driving you crazy:
1. Hope one of your team-mates can get past by sheer luck. This occasionally
happens, and it shouldn't be that surprising since your team bots should have
the same skills as the enemy team bots.
2. Run up the tunnel right behind one of your team-mates, loading rockets in
spread formation so that, by the time you both reach the cavern entrance, your
rockets are ready to be shot at the feet of your moving team-mate, launching
him far forwards, hopefully to land very close to the final objective.
3. Grab the armour and pads in the tunnels, then hammer-jump up the sloped
cliff to the right of the cavern entrance. From this high platform with the
sniper rifle, you can either run around and quickly back-hammer directly to
the final room, or you can sneak into the teleporter and grab some more armour
from the left tower. Just don't go through the Boiler Room tele.
4. Or you could just exploit the bug, which is illegal (and removed) online,
but not in the ladder, obviously. This bug is so lame that it's almost too
easy, even in spite of the absurd sniping you're having to put up with from
the Cheat Brigade in the cavern.
Get a sniper rifle ready and run up the tunnels into the cavern, preferably
with a bunch of your team-mates running ahead of you to draw fire. While
they're busy with the enemy, hammer-jump up to the ledge above the cavern
entrance and move to the extreme right end of it. Look through your sniper
scope, way across the cavern, to the two blueish-purple vertical banners
hanging on the outside of the final objective room, beyond the big cannon.
Look for the circular insignia on the left banner, then look for the triangle
of blue visible underneath it. Shoot at the centre of this triangle - if you
hit the correct spot the final objective should fall.
This same bug spot can be shot from close range with flak or whatever - the
long-range option just happens to be easier and faster. You can also only just
see and hit the correct area of the flag by standing with your back against
the door surround, just to the right of the top of the tunnels, then jumping
and firing while looking through the scope.
DEFENSE
-------
Objective 1: Beach-Head
The attacking bots make incredibly heavy weather of getting to the Beach-Head,
even if you're not a decent sniper. They all mindlessly run into the mortar
shells or get cut down by the turrets or your team-mates. You can just choose
to defend from wherever you want - it won't make much difference.
Objective 2: Boiler Room
Deffing the Boiler Room is just as easy - the attackers will still be catching
mortar shells and turret rounds in the face, only to come down the Beach-Head
tunnels to meet your flak and rockets and the camping tactics of your team-
mates. Keep nicking their two health packs and you can hold them off forever.
Objective 3: Gun Control
Once they get the Boiler Room, the attackers will spawn there, but they still
have miles of tunnel to get through, every inch of which can be rocket / flak
spammed by you. Take their armour, too.
</pre><pre id="faqspan-7">
They also follow a strict path all the way to the final objective room, and if
you keep an eye on them none can get past you.
MISCELLANEOUS
-------------
If you set up a hammer-launch at the barbed wire you can fire your team-mates
up and over the foxholes onto the beach, as long as they run into your hammer.
Good luck surviving for very long, though.
You can dodge up the foxholes, rather than alt-clicking your hammer. This
dodge is used a lot in instagib matches, where the hammer isn't available. To
do it, side-dodge up the foxholes wall, starting from as close as you can get,
and aim to inch onto the window ledge - its only just makeable but saves you
the health you would lose from alt-hammering.
If you're defending from inside the foxholes, be aware that the minigun turret
can harm you if you get in front of its guns - it seems to be set to friendly
fire, which is unusual for turrets.
There's another bug in Overlord, besides the flag shot. Start the first round
as an attacker, then use the Player Setup menu to change teams while the round
is still running. You should reappear on the defending team. Grab a rocket-
launcher and take it to outside the little Gun Control room. Load up some
grenades and throw them into the room, aiming to bounce them around the corner
to hit the objective. As soon as you release the grenades (before they can
explode), pause the game and change back to the attacking team. When you
unpause the grenades will now be flagged as 'attacking' and you should win the
map when they explode against the final objective. This exploit may work in
some other maps, such as Frigate or Mazon, but it won't work in the ladder,
since you can't change teams, or online, since it has been patched out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<--[.]-->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.5 CHALLENGE
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Challenge is a little absurd at high difficulties. As if the enemy bots
weren't skillful enough in the DM ladder, they now move much faster as well.
Inhuman and Godlike are instant-hit-with-any-weapon-from-anywhere hell. It
wouldn't be so bad if they occasionally missed, but they don't.
The Challenge section of the ladder becomes available after you have won the
trophies for all the other four categories. It is the same as DM, except
everyone and everything moves a bit faster (Lightning Death Match) and there
are four new maps. Also, instead of fighting against bots who are recognisably
human, you are now facing off against a bunch of constructs. You must complete
the Challenge section by taking on Xan Kriegor in a 1v1 DM round.
Although the ammo will still disappear when you take it, weapons in Challenge
are set to stay upon pickup. On the one hand there will always be weapons
lying about, but on the other hand you can't stop your opponents from getting
them.
This being Lightning Death Match, everything happens more quickly than normal.
Bear in mind that this includes respawn rates. Powerups and ammo will respawn
noticeably faster, so adjust any powerup circuits you've come up with to take
the extra speed into account. This is especially true of Hyperblast.
Finally, this section of the guide might seem a little short when compared to
previous sections, but I can't really help this. Instead of getting some grand
finale to the game, all you get is four small-to-medium DM maps.
Challenge Guides
----------------
I've arranged each map guide into sub-sections:
---
PRACTISE NAME: This is the name under which the map appears when you load it
into a practise session.
Epic's Description: This is the map blurb which appears in the game's ladder.
My Description: Just some quick notes about what the map is like to play.
FRAG LIMIT: The number of kills you must achieve to win.
OPPONENTS: The number of opponent bots you will be playing against.
BEST WEAPON: My opinion of which weapon is best for the map (from among the
weapons found in the map).
POWERUPS / ARMOUR: The locations of all the powerups found in the map.
CONTROLLING THE MAP: The main guide section. Some general hints and tips about
how you might want to approach the map.
MISCELLANEOUS: Some incidental details and silly things about the map, just
for fun.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<--[.]-->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@------------@
4.5.1 PHOBOS
@------------@
This Martian space station is caught between Mars and it's satellite Phobos,
resulting in a chaotic rotation. Fortunately, the gravity generators are
working well enough to lend a fast paced rhythm to deathmatch.
---
Because of where the bots like to fight, this map is nearly all z-axis
fighting. I believe this is the most difficult of the four Challenge maps.
FRAG LIMIT: 15
OPPONENTS: 5
BEST WEAPON: Rocket-launcher, shock rifle
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Thigh Pads: Outside, on platform 1.
Body Armour: In a small alcove next to the pit in the main roof area.
Shield-belt: Outside, on platform 2.
UDamage: Outside, on platform 3.
Invisibility: Behind a secret panel next to the lowest lift. Shoot the lighter
part of the wall facing the small staircase.
Jump Boots: Outside, on platform 1.
CONTROLLING THE MAP
-------------------
There's little point in trying to do the rounds of the powerups - the
Challenge matches go by really quickly and within seconds of the start you can
find yourself behind by 5 kills or something.
Virtually all the action will take place in the bottom room with the
rocket-launcher, so dropping a redeemer blast or a few shock-combos down into
this area will often net you points. You could also grab the UDamage and take
a DM-Peak approach to the map, though you probably won't survive very long
whatever you do.
This is the best map for reminding you that you can't kill people if you keep
trying to stay out of their way. Don't bother sniping either - it's too steep
an angle and you'll only get fleeting glimpses of your enemies far below,
while they concentrate on actually racking up points.
This map really tests you on your ability with short and medium range weapons,
and you'll also have to watch your back constantly, as there are really no
effective camping spots.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ______ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|_
@--------------@
4.5.2 MORPHEUS
@--------------@
LMC knew they had found an excellent arena at the very top of a newly
constructed Galaxyscraper SuperStructure. Thanks to the modern miracle of
super tensile solids, these three buildings reach a staggering 12 miles high
at their pinnacle. The thin atmosphere and reduced influence of Earth's
gravity provide an interesting test of the tournament athlete's ability to
adapt and conquer in extreme environments.
---
My favourite of the four Challenge maps. At least it's original, though you
might not have much fun if you're not a sniper or shock fan.
FRAG LIMIT: 15
OPPONENTS: 4
BEST WEAPON: Sniper rifle, shock rifle
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Body Armour: On the top platform above the middle building.
Invisibility: On the top platform above the lowest building.
CONTROLLING THE MAP
-------------------
The bots can win this map with any weapon, even the frickin' slime gun. Slime
in outdoor, low-grav areas? Sheesh.
The best position from where to control this map is up high. Camp next to the
redeemer or armour and just snipe like hell. Dodge from powerup to powerup,
picking up the health and ammo when you need it.
Instant-hit weapons are the way to go here - stick with shock, sniper and
minigun to damage your enemies while they glide around outside. Sitting up on
one of the high pillars and firing groups of rockets down into the open spaces
on the sides of the buildings is good, too - bots always respawn in those
rooms and your rockets can often catch a few as they appear.
MISCELLANEOUS
-------------
The scrolling screens inside the spawn-rooms tell you who is currently winning
the match. If you don't see your name up here then you're not winning, and if
you do then you're probably not winning by much.
That's a jump-pad down there - use it to quickly get back into the action.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ______ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|-o-|_x_|_
@----------@
4.5.3 ZETO
@----------@
Liandri Corp., in an attempt to recoup financial losses from a failed research
station on the arctic moon of Coret, has converted this frozen outpost into a
Tournament arena.
---
This is a very crappy, forgettable map, a real disappointment given that it's
the penultimate map for the championship.
FRAG LIMIT: 15
OPPONENTS: 5
BEST WEAPON: Shock rifle, rocket-launcher, minigun
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Body Armour: Underneath the upper rocket-launcher and pulse rifle.
Shield-belt: Hidden in a wall in the shock rifle room. Go to the bottom of the
ramp and touch the striped light on the left wall to open the door on the
other side of the ramp.
CONTROLLING THE MAP
-------------------
Shock owns the place because of the long corridors. Try to stay around the big
room with the shock rifle, as this is where most of the action takes place, as
well as being where the all-important belt is hidden. Camping at the top of
the ramp here is a great place to get kills and multi-kills - fire combos down
into the main room and rack up the points.
I recommend learning this one well, despite the fact that it's uninteresting.
The problem here is that most of the spawn-points will put you at the end or
middle of one of the long corridors, which all look the same, and you can
spend a lot of time running back and forward in the hallways, desperately
searching for just one enemy to give yourself a chance of another point. Then,
of course, when you do find an opponent, you turn a corner and get a flak-ball
in the face at high speed.
Learn the fastest route to the main shock rifle room from anywhere in the map,
otherwise you'll quickly fall behind.
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4.5.4 HYPERBLAST
@----------------@
Thanks to Magnetic Anti-Vacuum Resonance technology, combatants are able to
battle outside of Xan's 'HyperBlast' ArenaShip for an extended period of time.
Use extreme caution though, one mistake and you'll find yourself floating in
space.
---
This is actually an under-rated 1v1 map - it's tense and twisty and there's a
nice powerup / weapon circuit to learn, as well as a perfect balance between
tight indoor and hazardous outdoor areas. Compared to the other three
Challenges this might actually be the easiest.
FRAG LIMIT: 15
OPPONENTS: 1
BEST WEAPON: Shock rifle, minigun, pulse rifle
POWERUPS / ARMOUR
-----------------
Body Armour: In the ramp pit between the ripper and the minigun.
Shield-belt: At the apex of the curving vial corridor.
Invisibility: In the upper corridor, directly above the armour.
CONTROLLING THE MAP
-------------------
Since it's 1v1, you don't have to worry about falling behind on points from
being unable to find an opponent. Xan won't score any points if he can't find
you, which suggests that avoiding him until you're strong enough to take him
on might be a good idea. This can be achieved by finding and taking all the
powerups, then hitting him fast and hard when you finally run into him.
The belt and armour are quite close to each other, and you should definitely
establish a circuit here to keep taking them. Stopping Xan from getting them
is critical - especially the belt - and since it's 1v1 the powerups provide a
gigantic advantage for whoever gets to them first.
The outdoor area is just a bit too dangerous to spend much time in. The shock
rifle and the rockets are both outside, but prolonged combat out there is
probably a bad idea. One wrong move or lucky shot can send you flying off into
space. I'd definitely recommend grabbing the rockets and shock whenever
they're available, but get back inside quick. If you must fight outside, use
the minigun or shock rifle - these are the only instant-hit weapons in the
map, and the rifle has the added bonus of possibly pinging Xan into oblivion.
If you are restricting yourself to the indoor areas for most of the round, by
all means run about collecting weapons and ammo, if only to stop Xan from
getting them. But by far the most advantageous position to camp in is at the
belt. Sit against the wall behind the belt and use rockets or shock-combos
when you spot Xan coming down either curving hallway. He will take the vials
if they're there, which will give you an audible warning that he's coming -
useful if he's picked up the Invisibility.
MISCELLANEOUS
-------------
Most of the open windows can be jumped or dodged through to reach other
windows or ledges - use any shortcuts you can find, especially from the pulse
gun to the belt. You can also jump out of the belt window, swing around in the
air and land on the shock. Experimenting with lots of different jumps and
dodges will let you learn this map intimately, giving you a great advantage
over Xan, who has to stick to his path-nodes.
You don't have to jump or dodge carefully to get from the rocket-launcher to
the belt - just walk forwards off the edge of the roof.
The jump from the lowest window up to the belt window is makeable - jump from
the very edge.
The long windows in the belt corridor can be walked through and jumped in and
out of more easily than the main belt window.
Use side-dodge when trying to fly across the low-grav areas - forward-dodge
gives you no height and will often cause you to miss the place you're going
for. There are also four sloped corners on the roof of the ship which can
greatly boost your dodges if you hit them correctly. Never hammer-jump either,
use alt-hammer instead.
Don't be ashamed to run away when you spot Xan - use any dirty trick you can
think of, in true 1v1 style. For a final boss, Xan is a real idiot, and if you
can bait him into following you it's very easy to set traps for him: shock-
combos, bunches of grenades, big puddles of slime.
It's apparent even at Masterful difficulty that bots are better at shooting at
where you're going to be than shooting at where you are. If you're getting
mashed into the ground by dodging and jinking when fighting Xan, try standing
still and firing a pulse beam into his face. It's amazing how often he fell
for this from me, even on Masterful.
Shooting Xan into oblivion won't win you a point, but it will make him lose
one.
Don't try to jump onto any of the other spaceships - they are too far.
Speaking of the spaceships; if you do get shot way up into space by Xan, your
one hope of avoiding oblivion is to try to hit the underside of the ship
directly above the main ship. You should be able to bounce back down to safety
before you lose too much health.
And now for the coolest trick ever in a DM map (possibly the only DM trick I
ever invented). You can do a backwards alt-hammer jump from the side opening
next to the teleporter nearest the ripper, and if you get it right you can
land directly on the belt. Alt-fire your hammer just after you've jumped
backwards off the floor to get the required height and distance.
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| 5. CONTRIBUTORS / CONTRIBUTIONS |
@-------------------------------------@
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Version 1.0 -
27 August 2006 - Michael Sarich
Provided copyright disclaimer
14 September 2006 - Max_noob
Provided lots of helpful feedback and prevented the first draft of v1.0 of
this guide from being badly made and untidy.
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Version 1.1 -
N/A
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Version 1.2 -
N/A
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Version 1.3 -
03 November 2006 - Supermic
Contribution to section 3.1.2 BINDS: MOVEMENT AND COMBAT
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Version 1.4 -
N/A
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N/A
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Version 1.6 -
30 July 2007 - Headcase
Contribution to section 2.8.1 BEFORE / AFTER GAME
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N/A
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N/A
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Version 1.9 -
N/A
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THANK-YOU TO ALL CONTRIBUTORS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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| 6. VERSION HISTORY / UPDATES |
@------------------------------------@
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Version 1.0 completion - 16 September 2006
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Version 1.1 completion - 06 October 2006
Section 1:
1.1 INTRODUCTION - Added notes about map blurbs; added notes about relative
difficulty
1.3 CONTACT ME - Added notes about reader submissions
Section 2:
2.1 MENUS - Added notes about hidden weapon-handedness
2.2.1 MOVEMENT - Renamed, rewritten and improved
2.2.2 COMBAT - Renamed, rewritten and improved
2.3.1 HEALTH / ARMOUR - Improved description of Health Pack, Thigh Pads, Body
Armour and Shield-belt
2.3.2 POWERUPS - Improved descriptions of UDamage, Invisibility and Jump Boots
2.4.1 IMPACT HAMMER - Added notes about hammer-jump directions; added notes
about alt-hammer shot deflection
2.4.3 GES BIO RIFLE - Added notes about slime-launching
2.4.4 ASMD SHOCK RIFLE - Changed title from SHOCK RIFLE; added notes about
shooting out shock balls
2.4.5 PULSE RIFLE - Rewritten
2.4.6 RIPPER - Ripper-shots now has its own sub-section; added notes about
ripper-shot 'handedness'
2.4.8 FLAK CANNON - Added notes about bouncing primary shots
2.4.9 ROCKET-LAUNCHER - Rocket-launching now has its own sub-section
2.4.12 TRANSLOCATOR - Slight alterations; added notes about translocator /
lift exploit, T/L launching now has its own sub-section
2.5 BOTS - Added notes about path-nodes
2.7.2 LIFTS - Added to from old Section 2.2.2
2.7.3 SLOPES - Added to from old Section 2.2.2
2.7.8 TELEPORTERS - Added notes about teleporter loops
2.7.9 JUMP PADS - Slight alterations
2.7.10 OBLIVION - New section of the guide
Section 3:
3.1.2 BINDS: MOVEMENT AND COMBAT - Reorganised; added notes about 'say #'
commands; added notes to Weapon Hand
3.1.4 CONSOLE COMMANDS - Reorganised; added notes to Slow Motion; added notes
to Fly / Ghost
Section 4:
4. CHAMPIONSHIP LADDER - Corrected and reorganised all map guides, especially
POWERUPS sub-sections; added separators between map sections
4.1 DEATH MATCH - Added Death Match Guides section
4.1.1 OBLIVION - Added notes to MISCELLANEOUS
4.1.4 TURBINE - Added notes to CONTROLLING THE MAP
4.1.5 CODEX - Added notes to MISCELLANEOUS
4.1.6 PRESSURE - Added notes to MISCELLANEOUS
4.1.7 GRINDER - Added notes to MISCELLANEOUS
4.1.12 CONVEYOR - Added notes to MISCELLANEOUS
4.2 DOMINATION - Added Domination Guides section
4.2.3 CRYPTIC - Added notes to MISCELLANEOUS
4.2.7 OLDEN - Added notes to MISCELLANEOUS
4.3 CAPTURE THE FLAG - Added notes about defaulting to red team; added Capture
The Flag Guides section
4.3.2 FACING WORLDS - Added notes to ATTACK
4.3.3 ETERNAL CAVE - Added notes to MISCELLANEOUS
4.3.4 CORET - Corrected mistake about alt-hammer-jumps in MISCELLANEOUS
4.3.6 DREARY - Added notes to MISCELLANEOUS
4.3.7 LAST COMMAND - Greatly improved ATTACK; added notes to MISCELLANEOUS
4.3.8 THE LAVA GIANT - Improved ATTACK
4.4 ASSAULT - Added notes about defaulting to red team; added Assault Guides
section
4.4.3 ROOK - Added notes to MISCELLANEOUS
4.5 CHALLENGE - Added notes about Lightning Death Match; added Challenge
Guides section
4.5.4 HYPERBLAST - Added notes to MISCELLANEOUS
Miscellaneous:
Corrected typing, grammar and formatting errors
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Version 1.2 completion - 30 October 2006
Section 1:
1.3 DEMOS AND SCREENSHOTS - New section; updated Contents
1.4 LINKS - New section; updated Contents
Section 2:
2.3 ITEMS - Added respawn rates and durations to each sub-section
2.3.2 POWERUPS - Added notes to UDamage, Invisibility, Jump-boots and SCUBA
Gear
2.4 WEAPONS - Added notes about respawn rates
2.4.6 RIPPER - Amended re. new section 1.3 DEMOS AND SCREENSHOTS
2.4.11 REDEEMER - Added notes about primary and secondary fire
2.4.12 TRANSLOCATOR - Added notes about spawn direction; added notes about T/L
launching with the bio rifle
2.5 BOTS - Removed notes about path-noding - relocated to new section 2.7.11
2.7.4 WATER - Added notes about breathing countdown and SCUBA Gear
2.7.11 BUGS - New section; updated Contents
Section 3:
3.1.2 BINDS: MOVEMENT AND COMBAT - Added notes to Ripper-jump; corrected
mistake in Mouse Speed
3.1.3 MISCELLANEOUS BINDS AND COMMANDS - Changed title from BINDS:
MISCELLANEOUS; merged with old section 3.1.4; added notes; rearranged; added
notes to Connect / Disconnect; corrected mistakes in Bots; updated Contents
Section 4:
4.1.4 TURBINE - Added notes to CONTROLLING THE MAP
4.1.6 PRESSURE - Added notes to MISCELLANEOUS
4.2.4 CINDER - Added location of UDamage; added notes to MISCELLANEOUS
4.2.7 OLDEN - Added Inhuman test score; Added notes to MISCELLANEOUS
4.2.8 SESMAR - Added location of UDamage; added Inhuman test score; added
notes to MISCELLANEOUS
4.2.8 SESMAR - Added notes to MISCELLANEOUS
4.2.9 METALDREAM - Added notes to MISCELLANEOUS
4.3 CAPTURE THE FLAG - Corrected mistake about flag return time; added notes
to Attack section
4.3.1 NIVEN - Added notes to MISCELLANEOUS
4.3.2 FACING WORLDS - Removed mistake about thigh pads; added notes to ATTACK
4.3.3 ETERNAL CAVE - Added notes to DEFENSE
4.3.7 THE LAST COMMAND - Removed duplicate mention of T/L-launch from
MISCELLANEOUS
4.3.8 THE LAVA GIANT - Added notes to DEFENSE; added notes to MISCELLANEOUS
4.3.9 NOVEMBER SUB PEN - Corrected mistake about wall bug in ATTACK; added
notes to MISCELLANEOUS
4.4 ASSAULT - Added notes to Attack
4.4.1 FRIGATE - Added notes to MISCELLANEOUS
4.4.2 HIGH SPEED - Corrected mistakes in Car numbers
4.4.3 ROOK - Added notes to MISCELLANEOUS
4.4.4 MAZON - Added notes to MISCELLANEOUS
4.4.5 OCEAN FLOOR - Updated record time
4.4.6 OVERLORD - Updated record time; added notes to MISCELLANEOUS
4.5.4 HYPERBLAST - Added notes to MISCELLANEOUS
Miscellaneous:
Corrected typing, grammar and formatting errors
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Version 1.3 completion - 03 November 2006
Corrected version number at top of guide - v1.2 was marked as Guide version:
1.1
Section 1:
1.5 CONTACT ME - Added notes about reader emails
Section 2:
2.2.2 COMBAT - Added notes to Instant-hit Weapons Combat
Section 3:
3.1.2 BINDS: MOVEMENT AND COMBAT - Added Bunny-hopping bind; removed Bunny-
hopping from 2.7.11 BUGS
Section 4:
4.3.7 LAST COMMAND - Corrected mistake about thigh pads
4.4.2 HIGH SPEED - Corrected mistakes in Car numbers
4.5.4 HYPERBLAST - Added notes to MISCELLANEOUS
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Version 1.4 completion - 16 November 2006
Section 4:
4.2.9 METALDREAM - Added Inhuman test score
4.4.4 OVERLORD - Added notes to ATTACK
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Version 1.5 completion - 01 February 2007
New disclaimer
Section 1:
1.2 USING THIS GUIDE - Improved information
1.5 CONTACT ME - Improved information
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Version 1.6 completion - 31 July 2007
New disclaimer
Section 2:
2.4.11 REDEEMER - Added notes
2.6 SPAWN-POINTS - Corrected mistake about AS maps
2.7.1 DOORS - Corrected mistake about upper doors in AS-Frigate
2.7.2 LIFTS - Added reference to section 2.7.11
2.7.10 OBLIVION - Corrected mistakes about DM-HyperBlast
2.8.1 BEFORE / AFTER GAME - New section; Open Tournament Ladder
Section 4:
4.2.9 METALDREAM - Added notes to Controlling The Map
Miscellaneous:
Corrected typing, grammar and formatting errors
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Version 1.7 completion - 14 Feb 2008
Miscellaneous:
Corrected typing, grammar and formatting errors; improved formatting
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Version 1.8 completion - ?
Miscellaneous:
Corrected typing, grammar and formatting errors; improved formatting
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Version 1.9 completion - Oct 2016
Updated many sections with lots of new information. Guide is now considered
complete.
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank-you for using this walkthrough. I hope it helped you out, or at least
taught you how _not_ to play the game. At the very least, I hope you found it
entertaining.
If you enjoy UT Assault and feel like experiencing it online with the other
Assault fans, please go to www.utassault.net and sign up to the forums.
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This guide was written and formatted with the excellent Metapad:
http://www.liquidninja.com/metapad/
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