Getting Started

Table of contents

1 Getting To Your First Game 1.1 STEP 1: Is your computer ready? 1.2 STEP 2: Download the Current Installer 1.3 STEP 3 Make Sure the Game Works on Your Computer Game Controls 1.4 STEP 4: Playing Online - TASClient.exe 1.5 STEP 5: Hosting Online - TASClient.exe

Getting To Your First Game

STEP 1: Is your computer ready?

Spring runs on Windows XP, Vista, and Linux Operating Systems. In theory, it's compatible with earlier OSes, but since we're still beta, we'll call it "hit and miss".

For native Linux Spring, check out the Setup Guide to see how to install it in your machine.

You will need some kind of 3D hardware acceleration, an you should be sure you have the latest graphics card drivers from your card's manufacturer). You will also need DirectX (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx/default.aspx?url=/windows/directx/downloads/default.htm) installed (for windows installations).

STEP 2: Download the Current Installer

Click Here (http://spring.clan-sy.com/download.php) to go to the downloads page. Download the Regular installer option. Run it and install it somewhere on your computer. In theory if, at this point, you read the stuff in the "docs" folder, then you will know what to do next.

STEP 3 Make Sure the Game Works on Your Computer

Browse to the installation folder and double-click "spring.exe". Choose "yes" on the "do you want to be a server" dialog, choose the "Commanders" script with the arrow keys and enter, choose a map with the arrow keys and enter, press enter to force start the game.

Don't bother going online until you figure out how to make your Commander build buildings and your buildings build units, and manage to find and kill the other Commander on the map and get the "You Win" message.

Spring supports AI plugins, which allow for external AI programs to be used. There is currently one AI included in the download, but you can find more singleplayer AIs on the AI forum. If you start the spring.exe application directly, you will get to choose between these Global AI's. You can also use the lobby client to create a battle with AI (Bots) in it.

Game Controls

Camera controls Move the camera with the arrow keys or by placing the mouse curser at the screen borders. Holding shift makes the camera move faster, and holding ctrl makes it slower. Turn on mouselook with mouse button 3 (or backspace). Use ctrl+mouse3 to toggle between the camera modes available. Key assignments You can configure the assignment of keys by editing the file uikeys.txt, and by running the Selectionkeys editor. These are the default key bindings:
	Camera controls		Function
	Mouse 1		Selects units. Drag to select a group, double click to select units of the same type. Gives order if a specific order has been selected.
	Mouse 2		Gives the default order for the unit
	Mouse 3		Toggles mouse look
	Ctrl + Mouse 3		Toggles camera mode
	Arrow keys		Moves the camera
	Ctrl/shift		Increases/decreases camera movement speed
	Mousewheel		Moves the camera up/down
	T		Track a selected unit
	C		Take direct control of a selected unit
	F3		Jump to last message location
	General		Function
	F1		Toggles color coding of the map according to terrain elevation
	F4		Toggles color coding of the map according to the metal density
	F12		Screenshot
	+/-		Increases/decreases game speed
	Pause		Pauses the game
	Enter		Used to send chat messages
	B		Toggles the display of debug information
	§/`		Draw stuff in map that you and allies can see (mouse1=lines, mouse2=erase, mouse3=marker,doubleclick=named marker)
	H		Share Interface
	L		Show los and radar info in map
	Unit groups		Function
	0-9		Select AI group 0-9
	Ctrl + 0-9		Add current units to AI group 0-9
	Q		Selects an unnamed group from which at least one unit is selected
	Ctrl + Q		Creates an unnamed AI group or selects an AI for an existing one
	Shift + Q		Deletes the current AI group
	Building buildings		Function
	Shift+Drag mouse		Create a line of buildings
	Shift+Ctrl+Drag		Create an axis aligned line of buildings
	Shift+Ctrl+Click unit		Build a ring of buildings around existing unit
	Shift+Alt+Drag		Build a box of buildings
	Shift+Alt+Ctrl+Drag		Build a hollow box of buildings
	Unit commands		Function
	M		Move (Ctrl=keep relative distances among selected)
	P		Patrol
	A		Attack
	S		Stop
	X		Toggle on/off
	Ctrl-D		Self destruct
	G		Guard
	K		Cloak
	D		DGun
	E		Reclaim (Can take an area)
	R		Repair (Can take an area)
	L		Load (Can take an area)
	U		Unload (Can take an area)
Tips
The repeat order option can be very usefull. For example if you want to make a factory output an unlimited amount of units or if you want transport units to ferry units from one area to another indefinitly. Holding the shift key while placing orders is another trick to make you more efficent. Spring is full of these kind of UI features, and aims to keep unnecessary micro to a minimum. If you have a fast computer, you should consider enabling LuaUI, and downloading some of the Lua Widgets that other users have made, such as IceUI, or the Idle Builder's widget. Spring's UI is very customizable (even the build menu layout can be changed in ctrlpanel.txt), so be sure not to miss out on these enhancements once you master the basics! Ballistic weapons(maybe also other later on) can now be set to fire in a high trajectory which can be usefull to shot over mountains etc but they will lose some accuracy. (we are not entirely sure if we will keep this option or not)

STEP 4: Playing Online - TASClient.exe

Playing is quite simple. Just make sure you are connected to the internet, then double-click on the tasclient icon. Once you are in the client app, you will need to use the options button at the top of the window to set up an account. From there, just click the little button in the upper left section of the screen to connect to the server. Assuming your firewalls aren't excessively paranoid, it will make a noise and you will be put into the main discussion channel. You can then choose a game from the bottom pane, or chat in the top one. One of the first things you will find is that you are missing a lot of the mods or maps that other players have. All of the maps and mods (and Lua Scripts) are hosted on Unknown Files. Another thing to keep in mind: Experienced players often don't like playing with new players (and may kick you from the game or force you to spectate), as it isn't fun for either them or you, so it's best you find other new players to play with initally, and spectate some games with good players to see how they play. Watching replays of your losses is another good way to learn from your mistakes and improve as a player. Once you get the hang of things, you'll at least be able to hold your own against most players.

STEP 5: Hosting Online - TASClient.exe

In order to host a game, you must open the "Battle Window" by clicking on the "Battle Screen" button. Once there, you will need to click on the "Host battle" button. The bar at the top defines the ammount of players you can have (2-16), next is the game's name, followed by a dropdown box with a list of your currently installed mods, the port the server will host on, and if you wish to lock your server from outsiders- you can also add a password.

You've started your game, people joined, and you started it! Great! But, what if once you're ingame, everyone elses' name is stays red for several mins? That means they were unable to connect to your game. (oh noes) This normally means you have a firewall blocking access to your computer from the outside. Consult http://www.portforward.com/routers.htm if you need to know how to open ports on your router. Choose any game in the list, it doesn't matter, just be sure to use the port 8245, instead of what the game's listing says to use.