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For the New Soldat Players
Soldat Forums - Soldat Talk - General Discussions
Vijchtidoodah
December 13, 2004, 9:19 pm
This is a thread for all of you new players out there who don?t want to spend your first few days of Soldat figuring out the basics. It explains concepts that weren?t covered in the manual, that are too detailed in the manual to be understood, or commonly made mistakes.

Customization
When you begin to play, don?t just rush online immediately without first checking things out. Initially, you should start up Soldat and then click on the ?Player? tab. It will show you a few things that you can change:

Name: This is how people will know you in the game, it'll show up for your teammates and on your opponents screen and the death console when either you kill them or they kill you.

Controls: These let you customize your control scheme if you wish to change it, although I would recommend keeping the default keys because they're simple and easy to use.

Don?t worry about the rest?it?s all in the manual.

Now that you have everything customized, you should jump in the game and begin to get a feel of how things work

Basics of Gameplay
Movement: Whatever controls you chose will move you in that direction. But there are some more advanced combinations of controls that will move you much faster.

Jump/Skipping: If you want to quickly move across a map, running alone is not enough. What you want to do is to hold down your direction keys and then jump in that direction (default W). After you hit the ground immediately jump again. To move even faster than that, hold down the direction key, hit the jump key, and then press your jet boost key (default right mouse button) for a short period of time (it gets used up). You can experiment to see how long after a jump you should press the jet key and for how long to hold it to see what moves you fastest.

Jump/Jetting: If you want to get to an area up high, just jetting there usually won?t get you far enough. Instead, use the technique above but without the directional keys ? hit the jump key, then hit the jet boost and hold it down. While jetting through the air you can move sideways by hitting your directional keys. If you run out of jet, let go of the key and it will begin to replenish (it will replenish faster if your feet are touching the ground).

Jumping Up Hill: If you use any of the techniques above chances are that you'll actually end up going slower up a hill, so here's a solution that'll actually propel you extremely fast: While running up hills, repeatedly press the jump button as fast as you can. If it is at just the right angle (and remember that not all hills allow you to do this), you'll move across the hill and launch over the top while barely losing any speed until you land again.

Weapons
Crosshair: This is what your mouse controls. It shows you where you are aiming and, if you place it over another player, it will give you their name and (if they are friendly) their current health shown in a percentage. If they are an enemy, it will show you their name in red as long as they aren?t crouched or prone.

Shooting: It isn?t as simple as placing your crosshair on the enemy and shooting. The bullets will be pulled downward by gravity over a period of time so, depending on how far your opponent is and what gun you are using, you will want to aim a little higher than your opponent. Also, your weapons will become less accurate while you shoot or are being hit (the bink effect) causing dramatic changes in almost all weapons.

Specific Uses: Each weapon has its merits. But all weapons have unlimited ammo. You should always pick different weapons depending on the conditions of the map and never forget to swap your secondary weapons for a better one when you spot another primary on the ground.

Weapon Specifics:
This will give you information about each weapon, such as:
Type - Does the gun fire one shot for each mouse click or can you hold the button down
Reload Time - The relative time it takes to completely reload after shooting all of your bullets (the spas can reload single bullets at a time)
Hits to Kill - How many hits on the body a person will take before dying (This doesn't take into account head shots. Also, if a weapon shoots more than one bullet at once the result is if all hit)
Range - How far you should be from your enemy to be accurate.
[IMAGE]

1.3 introduced the weapons editor, so, while the default settings may match this table, weapons modded servers will have widely varying settings.

Knife- This weapon is special because it never needs to be reloaded, but the damage that it deals can vary. When you press the fire key you will stab out in front of you for a one hit kill. Alternatively, you can press your drop weapon key to charge the knife until either you let go or it hits the maximum charge. Once it's let go, it will be hurled at an enemy and, depending on the speed of the knife upon impact, deal a great amount of damage.

Grenades- This is one of the most useful weapons in the game because you can throw them while using your other weapons. Just click your 'Grenade' key (default E) and release. The grenade will be thrown a certain distance away depending on the angle that you released them and how long you held the button down.

Special Techniques: There are a few weapons that you can use in alternate ways. But be aware that a lot of people don't like it when you use the weapons these ways and use is strongly discouraged, if the other players ask you to stop you should.
-M79/Grenade Jumping: If you want to jump really high or move extremely fast, you can harmlessly bounce off of explosions. This takes a lot of practice, but what you do is actually very simple. With the M79, you will have to jump into the air and then point your gun down and fire so that the explosion propels you away. With the grenades, you will have to throw a grenade, and then time your jump over the grenade perfectly so that it explodes when you are over it. As of 1.3.1, the m79 deals 30% more self-damage, so this technique is much more difficult.
-Minigun Surfing: If you want to get extremely high or move across the level quickly, you can select your minigun and shoot it in the opposite direction that you want to go. It will push you back faster and faster, however, once you reach your destination, you will be completely out of ammo.

Ricochet: As you shoot many bullets, you will notice that some of them bounce off of the surfaces in the level. This is called ricochet. It is very useful to kill opponents in tunnels as you don?t have to aim directly at them. However, ricochets only occur if your bullets hit the surface at a very acute angle.

Reloading: If there are no enemies around and you have a spent clip, reload so that when you do encounter some you will have plenty of bullets to kill them with.

Powerups
While they can play a crucial role in the outcome of the game, they can also deter your performance if not used correctly.

Medikit/Grenades ([IMAGE]): These crates can only be picked up if nobody else is currently standing on them, so be sure not to hover around them for too long otherwise your teammates won?t be able to get any.

Flame God([IMAGE]): Normally a great powerup, but only if you didn?t already have a better weapon. It can only be used at a moderate range and sets your enemies ablaze. Also, in Deathmatch or Pointmatch this powerup makes you invulnerable.

Berserker([IMAGE]): This makes your shots more powerful. Leave it for your teammates to pick up if you aren?t carrying a fully automatic weapon. It is completely wasted on Barrets because those already bring about a one hit kill.

Game Modes
There are several concepts to remember when playing in certain modes.

Rambomatch: If you don?t have the bow, then don?t run around killing everyone you see. You won?t get any points for it and the other players will get extremely frustrated with you. Also, keep in mind that the arrows pass directly through colliders so, even though you'll feel safe hiding behind a crate, it won't do you any good.

Capture the Flag: You gain the enemy flag by touching the stick at the end of it. Be aware that when you have the flag, everyone on the opposing team will try to kill you. You should try to bring it back to your own flag (generally where you spawned) so that your team can get its due points. However, you won?t be able to return the flag unless your own flag is already in your base.


Gaming Etiquette
Although there aren?t any set rules for online play, you should always follow a code of behavior. The Soldat community is fairly small and if you misbehave you will be remembered and possibly banned from a number of servers as your reputation grows.

Camping: The act of sitting in one position for an extended period of time usually with a Barret. Although technically not a bad thing, if you do it often or for a very long time, people will get extremely upset at you.

Barreting: Most people don?t like the way that a good player can kill with only one hit repeatedly, so if you are accused of barreting, simply switch your weapon and learn how to use the new one.

Gloating: Nobody likes a player who brags about their score or kills. Don?t do it.

Shooting Friendlies: A very annoying behavior because it not only pushes your teammates around, but it severely effects their accuracy and inhibits their ability to defend themselves.

Shooting the Flag: In Capture the Flag and Infiltration games, the flags can easily be hit by your bullets and moved to a new location. If you get bored, don?t shoot the flag around because it will generally move it to a location where the enemy can get to it a lot easier. Not only that, but it also makes the score box show a Flag Missing sign so that your teammates think that they have to rescue the flag.

Registering
Downloading and playing the program is completely free, but if you like it, you are encouraged to donate $9 to the creator of the program so that he may continue working on updates.
If you do decide to register, you will be given several privileges that other players won?t have such as:
-Adding your own music to listen to
-Accessing custom interfaces (changing the HUD and the look of the game)
-And getting custom jet flame colors


If you have any further questions or more things that new players should know, please add a post or PM me.


Updated August 11, 2005.
Updated December 12, 2005.

mar77a
December 13, 2004, 9:25 pm
Complete & simple.

(I didnĀ“t know that when you have low helth, bink happens)

FliesLikeABrick
December 13, 2004, 9:28 pm
very good summary

Vijchtidoodah
December 13, 2004, 9:31 pm
I didn't either, but someone told me. Oh...I have to add in the M79 and grenade jumping. And the Minigun surfing...

n00bface
December 13, 2004, 9:37 pm
Well it's wrong. Bink doesn't happen when you have low health.

Vijchtidoodah
December 13, 2004, 9:39 pm
It's out of there.

Kazuki
December 13, 2004, 9:54 pm
Very nice, though I recommend that you warn the newbies about the Special Techniques, especially Minigun Surfing. Most people aren't very fond of it, so if you're using the technique and you notice someone whining or asking you to stop, you should probably be a good sport and stop, for the sake of the game. Other than that, very nice job. How long did it take you? lol

Vijchtidoodah
December 13, 2004, 10:19 pm
It only took an hour or two, most of it was just finding out what noobs need to know. Hello's thread helped out a lot.

Kazuki
December 13, 2004, 10:58 pm
Hmm, I made this table for you to help sort out that mess of weapon information you have. :D Tell me if it's too big or something.

[IMAGE]

Have fun. ;D

_Mancer_
December 13, 2004, 11:00 pm

quote:Camping: The act of sitting in one position for an extended period of time usually with a Barret. Although technically not a bad thing, if you do it often or for a very long time, people will get extremely upset at you.

Barreting: Most people don?t like the way that a good player can kill with only one hit repeatedly, so if you are accused of barreting, simply switch your weapon and learn how to use the new one.
Gloating: Nobody likes a player who brags about their score or kills. Don?t do it.

Funny, seeing how you camp and barret yourself.

Hipocrit.

(Btw good job typing this up XD)

Vijchtidoodah
December 13, 2004, 11:28 pm
Thanks Kaz, that's great!
Mancer, I am a hypocrite! :)

Whoa...I just looked at the table I made and it's such crap! I guess it doesn't show all the spaces that I added to line stuff up.

n00bface
December 14, 2004, 12:09 am
A dreadfully annoying hypocrite. Also a stubborn barret whore. Anyways, that chart is inaccurate also..how are you judging the shots?
I can 1-hit kill from above with spas, I can 2 hit kill from above with deagles etc...what are kind of shots are you basing your chart on?

Vijchtidoodah
December 14, 2004, 12:09 am
They were based on body shots, not hits to the head. Perhaps I should state that...

Kazuki
December 14, 2004, 12:16 am
You're welcome. Yeah, the forums doesn't include any extra spaces, but you could make a table using dots or hyphens as your spaces instead.

The following statement containts EXTREME sarcasm! n00bface is perfect.

Vijchtidoodah
December 14, 2004, 12:19 am
Actually, using the forum code, you can add extra spaces by typing &-nbsp (but without the dash).

Kazuki
December 14, 2004, 12:20 am
Oh, hah, didn't know that. :D

n00bface
December 14, 2004, 12:48 am
Sorry kazuki, apparently you thought I was saying I was perfect, rather than looking at the point I was trying to get through:
People can 1 hit kill with spas, it's perfectly possible. People can 2-hit kill with deagles, it's perfectly possible.

The following sentence also containts sarcasm: People value kazuki's opinions, and they also care what he thinks about them.

quote:Barreting: Most people don?t like the way that a good player can kill with only one hit repeatedly, so if you are accused of barreting, simply switch your weapon and learn how to use the new one.
More hypocrasy :)

Edit: You can also add spaces in between parts by surrounding it with [code] tags.

Like This

Jello
December 14, 2004, 12:48 am
Just wanted to compliment you, and Kazuki as well on the exellent summary and weapons table.

peemonkey
December 14, 2004, 12:49 am
you forgot knife

Skate4Razors
December 14, 2004, 12:54 am
Hey, nice guide man, although I didn't read all of it :/ WEEEEEEE!

Vijchtidoodah
December 14, 2004, 1:15 am
n00bface, this isn't the place to discuss my gaming habits.

Peemonkey, the knife is below the list because it has special attributes (like the fact that you can throw it).

n00bface
December 14, 2004, 3:13 am
I'm not discussing your gaming habits solely. I'm discussing this topic, but also pondering the author's credibility, which is where your gaming habits come in. Not only do you disrespect someone's wishes - you disrespect an admin's wishes. Not only do you disrespect an admin's wishes, you totally ignore them 8]

Marine
December 14, 2004, 4:27 am
Very good job. But...M79 would be moderate, I think.

Chakra
December 14, 2004, 4:39 am
A few things on controls you should add...

Most people find it good to use First Person Shooter (FPS) style controls (such as WSAD), up and down for jump and duck, left and right for moving in that direction, and other controls such as 'reload' scattered within quick reach.

And of course the grenades. the 'nades button must be held down for a brief period; the longer held, the further you throw it.



By the way, can we not discourage acts of m79 jumping and minigun surfing? I find it goes against the spirit of gameplay, as it's much more fun to fight for your goals or stick to actual stealth, than just taking advantage of speed. Things like jumping up on inf_rise for example....is it never more fun to fight your way up with your team mates clearing the way for the flag holder?

Vijchtidoodah
December 14, 2004, 4:50 am
Good advice for the controls, and I'll add in the grenade part. Hmmm...considering how many people use the m79 and minigun tricks, I was beginning to think that I was the only one who didn't like them.

Outcast
December 14, 2004, 9:42 pm
There are variations in how much hits it takes to kill. SInce head shots and leg shots do matter.
YOu should add "when shot into torso" note at the end of the weapons thingie.

ReDevil
December 14, 2004, 9:45 pm
Good summary indeed.
Thought few things arent quite right , but if new soldat player will read it he will evade many bad and noobish things maybe .

Vijchtidoodah
December 15, 2004, 3:19 am
Outcast, it already does say that, but thanks for the suggestion.

ReDevil, would you mind telling me what isn't right?

Marine, I don't think that the range for a noob would be moderate, maybe until he got better. And sorry for skipping your suggestion last time.

Marine
December 15, 2004, 5:10 am
Actually that's true; if you aim the gun straight to one side, it will drop fairly quickly, unlike a ruger or so. It takes quite a bit of angling to get a good ranged shot in. My mistake (As you said, range depends on skill level of player).

Teh Panda
December 15, 2004, 11:11 am
Good summary. Needs stickying ;P

zoldat
December 15, 2004, 7:18 pm
quote:Originally posted by peemonkeyyou forgot knife
yer U forgot the knife

Vijchtidoodah
December 15, 2004, 9:24 pm
Zoldat, read the response I made to him before you repeat what he already said...

Marine
December 16, 2004, 5:27 am
In other words: Learn to [IMAGE]ing read.

Vassili_Zaitsev
December 16, 2004, 9:00 am
yea gr8 summery...
sum of u guys are damn blind...jeez read the whole thing (yes the words, you have to read the words) be4 u start mouthing off.
the think about m-79 jumping: im not a n00b (hopefuly) i'v been playing for a decent number of years now and i have neather done or ever seen anyone do a m-79 jump. never.
my point is this isnt something a n00b would be doing...makes sence to talk about it though :/
nice summery...

Keron Cyst
December 17, 2004, 1:19 am
quote:Originally posted by Vassili_Zaitsev... i'v been playing for a decent number of years now and i have neather done or ever seen anyone do a m-79 jump. never....

Well, have you been playing recently? Watch the spawn points of CTF_Voland. People equip the M79 and shoot downwards as soon as they jump, flying through the upper hole much faster than if they had simply jumped and started jetting :-|

lieroguy
December 17, 2004, 1:26 am
Yeah. One of the few ways you can actually win on offense in some INF maps.

Michal Marcinkowski
December 17, 2004, 2:12 pm
Good work, I always wanted to write something like this, thanks.

Skate4Razors
December 17, 2004, 2:45 pm
This guide looks good, nice job, you should make this into a site or something. Like, soldathelp.com or something. Who knows... I hope this helps a lot of people :D

Vijchtidoodah
December 17, 2004, 10:52 pm
Thanks guys, I really appreciate it.

EDIT: Yay, it's been stickified!

Vassili_Zaitsev
December 18, 2004, 4:52 am
quote:Originally posted by Michal MarcinkowskiGood work, I always wanted to write something like this, thanks.


OMFG!!! 'THE GOD' MARCINKOWSKI HIMSELF APPROVES!!!

lol gj
i agree, but to extend that idea, i think 'Te God' should add yer post into the help file as a summary, with a few modifications to suit himself of course...

Zero Wiggles Murasame
December 18, 2004, 10:40 am
I should have read this when I first played. lol.

Vassili_Zaitsev
December 19, 2004, 9:25 am
that would have helped...then again, i never really knew about the soldat forums untill around about half a year before version 1.2 came out and by then i had been playing alot...i started on the ol' 1.1.5...ahh the memories...sooooo many memories.

ah well not the place for that...yea would have been nice having this on-hand like IN THE HELP FILE

apocalypse
December 22, 2004, 4:13 am
too long cdf reading it, and im not a begginer lol, prob kewl, hooah!!

Nos-D
December 28, 2004, 9:24 am
I n3v3r noticed this topic, I think it`s great for new players.
good job Vijchtidoodah.

hypno
December 29, 2004, 12:31 am
thanks now i can kik some ass
i woop ass

Messiah
December 29, 2004, 12:56 am
Yeah, good job on this, Kaz, you should add your "Pringles" video onto the post Vij made, it kinda goes with it, and helps them understand it better.

Anti-mff
January 5, 2005, 11:58 pm
Six hits to kill with Socom? Must be leg shots i that case, or the enemy carries an armoured vest. With a mix of head and body shots you should be able to kill by at least four hits.

Maui_Bud
January 21, 2005, 11:04 am
Is one hit ruger shot possible to kill someone in the head?

Vijchtidoodah
January 21, 2005, 10:57 pm
I'm pretty sure it takes at least two head shots to kill.

SpankyMcGuire
February 19, 2005, 6:25 pm

Very nice thread and very helpful for n00bs I'm sure.

TeenSpirit
February 21, 2005, 11:12 pm
Spas can kill with a 1 hit. You must be above your opponent to do that though.

klimax
March 15, 2005, 8:35 am
Good job, though I agree, some weapons are listed wrong. I kill loads of people with ruger in only 2 shots, it happens all the time, and I also remember killing someone with spas in 1 shot.

JiggaBlue
March 15, 2005, 9:02 am
Read the damn thread retards.

b00stA
March 15, 2005, 1:30 pm
JiggaBlue, mind your language.

Karvinen
March 25, 2005, 12:30 pm
Add this to the etiquette:

Avoid killing non ramboes in rambomatch.

Vijchtidoodah
March 25, 2005, 10:13 pm
Ahh, good catch.

Edit: Nevermind, that's already in there under game modes.

Deleted User
March 25, 2005, 10:22 pm
How come you don't mention all of the powerups?

Vijchtidoodah
March 25, 2005, 11:03 pm
I tried not to put much of anything that was already explained in the manual.

Marine
April 24, 2005, 2:00 am
Yeah right.

Keron Cyst
April 24, 2005, 2:41 am
Actually, I think that's true.
quote:Originally posted by TeenSpirit
Spas can kill with a 1 hit. You must be above your opponent to do that though.
You don't have to; just make sure all the pellets smash into the soldat's skull ;)
quote:Originally posted by Maui_Bud
Is one hit ruger shot possible to kill someone in the head?
In Realistic Mode, yes, but otherwise, no...

Deleted User
April 24, 2005, 11:43 am
...unless u are damaged

Deleted User
April 25, 2005, 7:59 am
That really was a nice summary..

Deleted User
June 25, 2005, 10:52 am
My m57 law doest works. if I click nothing happens:'(
greetz mart lubbers
(SS General von klinkerhoffen.

b00stA
June 25, 2005, 11:06 am
quote:Originally posted by klinkerhoffenMy m57 law doest works. if I click nothing happens:'(
greetz mart lubbers
(SS General von klinkerhoffen.

You have to crouch down or prone first.

Deleted User
June 26, 2005, 12:26 pm
My law doesnt works. The law ....

gr. klinkerhoffen

Deleted User
June 26, 2005, 12:27 pm
my law doenst wroks
gr my

Deleted User
June 26, 2005, 12:33 pm
press "s" (default) before u fire. or press X or Z (dont remember default) and then ur law works.

Splinter-Cell
June 30, 2005, 3:28 am
joly man good on yuo to type all this shi*t out. I mean i sure as hell wouldnt of done it :o

Deleted User
July 2, 2005, 1:58 pm
M72 law pretty much sucks.If it would load as fast as a M79 or At least a baret,it would be deadly.

By the way,Shooting at team mates can be good.If they are bots and stuck,you can kick their ass using an M79.

Deleted User
July 9, 2005, 5:52 pm
You're welcome. Yeah, the forums doesn't include any extra spaces, but you could make a table using dots or hyphens as your spaces instead.

Deleted User
August 1, 2005, 12:21 am
thanks for the info!

VodkaZombie
August 1, 2005, 2:57 am
quote:Originally posted by E-MaginationM72 law pretty much sucks.If it would load as fast as a M79 or At least a baret,it would be deadly.

By the way,Shooting at team mates can be good.If they are bots and stuck,you can kick their ass using an M79.


This topic wasnt made to point out whats good or bad, its a reference to people that are new.

quote:My m57 law doest works. if I click nothing happens:'(
greetz mart lubbers
(SS General von klinkerhoffen.

You need to crouch or prone for it to shoot. If its not working then you probably edited the default controls for the "crouch" and "prone" check and see.

UGK
August 4, 2005, 6:44 am
u forgot about the part where the get pwned by the good players. ahahah i wnet through that too.=( so if anyone calls u a noob then tell them they were noobs too at one point of time. Fight the power.

Deleted User
August 11, 2005, 3:14 pm
I guess that would make this table obsolete now.

Vijchtidoodah
August 11, 2005, 10:01 pm
Yeah...I'll get around to fixing it eventually. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

Dark Templar
September 7, 2005, 10:40 pm
That's all very good info for beginners to know, but how many beginners even know about the soldat forums, let alone come here. heck I've been playing soldat for almost 4 years now, and this is the first time I've ever come here.

Deleted User
September 9, 2005, 2:29 am
For GDI Fight win Prevail.

wormdundee
September 9, 2005, 4:00 am
Taken from the Soldat Manual: 0.9.4b - first public beta (09.05.2002)

Quite impressive that you've been playing for "almost 4 years" when Soldat has been out for just barely 3 years now. I absolutely hate people who mention how long they have been playing as a sign of awesomeness, especially when they don't know what the hell they're talking about.

Nice guide vijcht :D I'm sure it will be quite helpful to any newbies who happen to come to the forums.

Vijchtidoodah
September 9, 2005, 9:22 am
Yeah...it's almost a year old and, judging from the posts and PMs, it has already helped out many people.

Vagabond
September 9, 2005, 2:15 pm
Yeah, and it certainly did help today.

Deleted User
September 10, 2005, 7:41 am
Well, when I first heard about Soldat, I wasn't too sure about it. So I read the manual first. Then I figured I'd have a look at the forums (this thread was one of the first I read). 10 minutes later, I was impatiently waiting for Soldat to finish downloading. :)

Vijchtidoodah
September 10, 2005, 7:48 am
Thanks for your support. :)

Masta
September 11, 2005, 4:22 am
What about the bow wepon i see it on the 18 wepons list on soldat hompage but i never get to use it.....

Deleted User
September 11, 2005, 5:32 am
The bow is only available in Rambo Matches?

UGK
September 11, 2005, 10:21 am
^^simple as this:Y-E-S

KiKAzz
September 11, 2005, 8:03 pm
Or if you go to a weapon mod server where they edited the gun to be like the bow...

silly Suasag3
September 16, 2005, 6:54 am
.....duh

Asmodean
September 18, 2005, 7:32 pm
So, I just got into this amazing game. Due to the lack of server rooms, there isn't usually much rooms that aren't full, etc etc so I take what I can get. So when I come into a room and started wooping peoples asses, its quite bothersome when they go ahead and ban me. This has happened twice now, and all I did that I can tell is kicked some serious ass. Now there are few servers with low pings so this is really a huge bummer. Is there any way I can have a ban lifted?

Lowhunter
October 9, 2005, 7:13 pm
lots of info about guns and more!!!!too much!

Kursed
January 1, 2006, 11:02 am
Wow, that was helpful ^_^
...but even with all that help, I'm still not gonna be as good as my boyfriend T_T
*continues to practice*