This is a thread for all of you new players out there!
Ok, so you just downloaded Soldat recently and you have a few questions.
Customization
or...what to do before you jump into the game.
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 tab at the top right of the screen.
It will show you a few things that you can change, such as...
Name: This is how people will know you in the game.
Controls: These let you customize your control scheme if you wish to change it. Many gamers use the classic WSAD controls found usually in first-person shooters like Counter Strike, and is default for Soldat.
Character: Allows you to customise how your player looks! You can choose hair, helmet, skin colour and what colour you want for your clothes.
Default Secondary: In Soldat, you get a secondary weapon (which you can switch to at any time, or drop to pick up another dropped weapon). You can change your secondary weapon in the weapons menu when you join a game, but here you can select what you'd like selected for you automatically by default.
Now that you have everything customized, you should jump in the game and begin to get a feel of how things work!
Click the Start Game tab at the top left of the Soldat screen and select a game mode at the top. You can select a map from the maps list if you want - though it will load one without you having to choose - and after making sure no bots are added, click Start Game
Basics of Gameplay
or...how to run around with the efficiency of a ninja.
Movement: Whatever controls you chose will move you in that direction. Left is left, right is right. Up is jump and down is crouch. 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, simply running 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.
Advanced moves:
1- Superman flight: this is quite usefull when you want to advance faster while in the air, simply go somewhere high, then jump down press the Down movment button (for laying down) then immidiatly after press the JETS button, this is not a built in movment, its just a nice movement made out of Jets + Laying down in mid air.
2- Backflip: this is a built in option, simply press Up + Backwards+ Jets, this will 'cause your soldier to do a cool backflip, very usefull for dodging and gaining hight (if you start jetting before the backflip is over you can just go on higher with the jets.
3- Rolling: this is a built in option that 'causes your soldier to do a forward or backwards flip/roll quite simple to use, while walking forward or backwards just press the Down key and that will make your soldier roll in he direction you were walking to.
Line of sight: you line of sight is limited by 2 things, the crosair and the max line of sight limit for the soldier.
Always try to have your crosair as far as you can, so you'll be able to see as far as the game allows you.
This, however, only proof usefull in big maps and is less effective in smaller maps with lots of players in it.
Note: your line of sight is at most 1 screen away, it could be to the left, to the right, up or down. when in doubt of which direction the enemie will come from it best to scroll around to all direction instead of concentrating on just 1 of them.
Weapons
or.... finally, we get to shoot stuff.
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/selfbink effects - explained later) 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.
[IMAGE]
Weapon Specifics:
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 12 Shotgun 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.
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.
Barret: Since 1.3.1, a new way of firing the Barret has been introduced. In order to fire the weapon, you have to hold down the fire button (left mouse button most usually) for half a second.
LAW As above, the LAW requires a (slightly shorter) hold on the fire button before it fires, but also requires you being crouched to fire.
Minigun And also as above, the Minigun requires the longest duration of button-holding for it to fire. (no crouching though - phew)
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 within a 20 degree 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
or... what are those little boxes I keep seeing?
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.
Yo, Ok. Wheres the pred and cluster nade info eh? -Chakra
Game Modes
Or....what? theres more to Soldat than CTF and DM?
There are seven game styles in Soldat. They are...
Death Match:
A free-for-all game where your objective is to kill anyone and everyone. You get a point for each kill, and the first to reach the max point limit of the server wins.
Incase of a tie the winner will be determined by the number of deaths. The lower the better!
Team DeathMatch:
Same principle as Deathmatch, only now your kills are added with your teammate's points, which means the total points of your team will determine if you win or not, so remember to defend your teammates and help each other.
Infiltration: In infiltration each team has exactly 1 job to do, Alpha team has the job of attacking Bravo and trying to get their [black] flag back to the white flag in order to gain points.
Bravo has the job of defending against the Alpha team and keeping the flag in their base. as long as the flag remains in it's position in the Bravo base, Bravo team will gain points as time passes (so make sure the flag is at its position , sometimes it can get pushed away from grenades or bullets).
Rambomatch: In the game is a bow. You must find it, drop your weapon and pick it up, and become RAMBO!
Only while as rambo can you get points by killing others. Killing others in the game while not having a bow will take a point away! Find Rambo, kill him, and take his bow.
Easier said than done, as Rambo's health regenerates, and if he switches weapons (same button for going from primary to secondary) he can fire flaming explosive arrows!
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:
In this game mode, you work as a team.
The objective is two teams pitted against one another, each trying to steal the other's flag and return it to their own flag (which must be in it's base's position).
This game mode requires cooperation; defending the base, attacking the enemy, going alternative routes to stop others using it or to sneak into the enemy base, and so on.
Whoever has the most flags scored when the game ends, or if a team scores the most amount of flags, the game is over and the best team wins.
On top of these 7 gamestyles, there are also 4 game 'modes' that can be used together or not at all.
Survival
Quite simply, when you die, you stay dead until everyone else in the server is dead except the last man/no opposing team left.
Real Mode
A complicated mode made to emulate more realistic features. You can get hurt from falling too fast, weapons have recoil (simulated by the crosshair jerking upwards), you can only see enemies within your line of sight, and all weapons are twice as powerful!
Advanced Mode
Another complicated one. When this is on, you're only allowed to use a secondary weapon upon joining the game. The more points you get from killing enemies or scoring flags (depending on game mode), the more random weapon options will be open to you!
Also, the more you die, the more random weapon choices you lose!
Friendly Fire Mode
Quite simply, you can 'accidently' kill comrades on your team. You almost definitely won't find this option enabled on a public server, for obvious reasons. >:)
Gaming Etiquette
Or....how not to be an [CENSORED] like you are in CounterStrike.
Although there aren#8217;t any set rules for online play, you should always follow a code of behavior. The Soldat community is the equivelent of a village compared to other games, and 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. It may be fair, but none the less it annoys some and can end up provking them to insults.
Gloating: Nobody likes a player who brags about their score or kills. Don't do it. [i(unless your names Outcast)
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#8217;t shoot the flag around because it will generally move it to a location where the enemy can get to it alot 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
Or... hold up, is this [CENSORED] free or what?
Downloading and playing Soldat is completely free, forever, and ever.
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. There are numerous ways of paying, and all can be found on www.soldat.pl or in the Soldat Manual. (probably).
If you do decide to register, you will be given several privileges that other players won't have such as:
-Built-in MP3 player
-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.
Updates Log:
Made by Vijchtidoodah
Updated
Updated, changed a bit, fiddled with, abused, added some stuff, and a few typos corrected by Chakra - 19th December 2005[/i]
Updated, Added zyxstand's tip on line of sight 20th December 2005
Ok, so you just downloaded Soldat recently and you have a few questions.
Customization
or...what to do before you jump into the game.
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 tab at the top right of the screen.
It will show you a few things that you can change, such as...
Name: This is how people will know you in the game.
Controls: These let you customize your control scheme if you wish to change it. Many gamers use the classic WSAD controls found usually in first-person shooters like Counter Strike, and is default for Soldat.
Character: Allows you to customise how your player looks! You can choose hair, helmet, skin colour and what colour you want for your clothes.
Default Secondary: In Soldat, you get a secondary weapon (which you can switch to at any time, or drop to pick up another dropped weapon). You can change your secondary weapon in the weapons menu when you join a game, but here you can select what you'd like selected for you automatically by default.
Now that you have everything customized, you should jump in the game and begin to get a feel of how things work!
Click the Start Game tab at the top left of the Soldat screen and select a game mode at the top. You can select a map from the maps list if you want - though it will load one without you having to choose - and after making sure no bots are added, click Start Game
Basics of Gameplay
or...how to run around with the efficiency of a ninja.
Movement: Whatever controls you chose will move you in that direction. Left is left, right is right. Up is jump and down is crouch. 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, simply running 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.
Advanced moves:
1- Superman flight: this is quite usefull when you want to advance faster while in the air, simply go somewhere high, then jump down press the Down movment button (for laying down) then immidiatly after press the JETS button, this is not a built in movment, its just a nice movement made out of Jets + Laying down in mid air.
2- Backflip: this is a built in option, simply press Up + Backwards+ Jets, this will 'cause your soldier to do a cool backflip, very usefull for dodging and gaining hight (if you start jetting before the backflip is over you can just go on higher with the jets.
3- Rolling: this is a built in option that 'causes your soldier to do a forward or backwards flip/roll quite simple to use, while walking forward or backwards just press the Down key and that will make your soldier roll in he direction you were walking to.
Line of sight: you line of sight is limited by 2 things, the crosair and the max line of sight limit for the soldier.
Always try to have your crosair as far as you can, so you'll be able to see as far as the game allows you.
This, however, only proof usefull in big maps and is less effective in smaller maps with lots of players in it.
Note: your line of sight is at most 1 screen away, it could be to the left, to the right, up or down. when in doubt of which direction the enemie will come from it best to scroll around to all direction instead of concentrating on just 1 of them.
Weapons
or.... finally, we get to shoot stuff.
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/selfbink effects - explained later) 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.
[IMAGE]
![[IMAGE]](http://www.boomspeed.com/suicidaldim/WeaponTable.gif){kind=link}
Weapon Specifics:
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 12 Shotgun 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.
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.
Barret: Since 1.3.1, a new way of firing the Barret has been introduced. In order to fire the weapon, you have to hold down the fire button (left mouse button most usually) for half a second.
LAW As above, the LAW requires a (slightly shorter) hold on the fire button before it fires, but also requires you being crouched to fire.
Minigun And also as above, the Minigun requires the longest duration of button-holding for it to fire. (no crouching though - phew)
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 within a 20 degree 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
or... what are those little boxes I keep seeing?
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.
![[IMAGE]](http://www.soldat.pl/man/medikit.png[/img]/[img]http://www.soldat.pl/man/grenadekit.png){kind=link}
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!
![[IMAGE]](http://www.soldat.pl/man/flamerkit.png){kind=link}
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.
![[IMAGE]](http://www.soldat.pl/man/berserkerkit.png){kind=link}
Yo, Ok. Wheres the pred and cluster nade info eh? -Chakra
Game Modes
Or....what? theres more to Soldat than CTF and DM?
There are seven game styles in Soldat. They are...
Death Match:
A free-for-all game where your objective is to kill anyone and everyone. You get a point for each kill, and the first to reach the max point limit of the server wins.
Incase of a tie the winner will be determined by the number of deaths. The lower the better!
Team DeathMatch:
Same principle as Deathmatch, only now your kills are added with your teammate's points, which means the total points of your team will determine if you win or not, so remember to defend your teammates and help each other.
Infiltration: In infiltration each team has exactly 1 job to do, Alpha team has the job of attacking Bravo and trying to get their [black] flag back to the white flag in order to gain points.
Bravo has the job of defending against the Alpha team and keeping the flag in their base. as long as the flag remains in it's position in the Bravo base, Bravo team will gain points as time passes (so make sure the flag is at its position , sometimes it can get pushed away from grenades or bullets).
Rambomatch: In the game is a bow. You must find it, drop your weapon and pick it up, and become RAMBO!
Only while as rambo can you get points by killing others. Killing others in the game while not having a bow will take a point away! Find Rambo, kill him, and take his bow.
Easier said than done, as Rambo's health regenerates, and if he switches weapons (same button for going from primary to secondary) he can fire flaming explosive arrows!
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:
In this game mode, you work as a team.
The objective is two teams pitted against one another, each trying to steal the other's flag and return it to their own flag (which must be in it's base's position).
This game mode requires cooperation; defending the base, attacking the enemy, going alternative routes to stop others using it or to sneak into the enemy base, and so on.
Whoever has the most flags scored when the game ends, or if a team scores the most amount of flags, the game is over and the best team wins.
On top of these 7 gamestyles, there are also 4 game 'modes' that can be used together or not at all.
Survival
Quite simply, when you die, you stay dead until everyone else in the server is dead except the last man/no opposing team left.
Real Mode
A complicated mode made to emulate more realistic features. You can get hurt from falling too fast, weapons have recoil (simulated by the crosshair jerking upwards), you can only see enemies within your line of sight, and all weapons are twice as powerful!
Advanced Mode
Another complicated one. When this is on, you're only allowed to use a secondary weapon upon joining the game. The more points you get from killing enemies or scoring flags (depending on game mode), the more random weapon options will be open to you!
Also, the more you die, the more random weapon choices you lose!
Friendly Fire Mode
Quite simply, you can 'accidently' kill comrades on your team. You almost definitely won't find this option enabled on a public server, for obvious reasons. >:)
Gaming Etiquette
Or....how not to be an [CENSORED] like you are in CounterStrike.
Although there aren#8217;t any set rules for online play, you should always follow a code of behavior. The Soldat community is the equivelent of a village compared to other games, and 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. It may be fair, but none the less it annoys some and can end up provking them to insults.
Gloating: Nobody likes a player who brags about their score or kills. Don't do it. [i(unless your names Outcast)
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#8217;t shoot the flag around because it will generally move it to a location where the enemy can get to it alot 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
Or... hold up, is this [CENSORED] free or what?
Downloading and playing Soldat is completely free, forever, and ever.
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. There are numerous ways of paying, and all can be found on www.soldat.pl or in the Soldat Manual. (probably).
If you do decide to register, you will be given several privileges that other players won't have such as:
-Built-in MP3 player
-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.
Updates Log:
Made by Vijchtidoodah
Updated
Updated, changed a bit, fiddled with, abused, added some stuff, and a few typos corrected by Chakra - 19th December 2005[/i]
Updated, Added zyxstand's tip on line of sight 20th December 2005
![[IMAGE]](http://home.arcor.de/avarax/kickj1.bmp){kind=link}