Instructions:

When the game starts the mouse cursor will be locked to the window, press ESC or P to release the mouse cursor and pause the game.

The game defaults to zero bots (opponents). To add bots, go to the Main Menu, go to Settings, click the Game tab, and set the Bots count (try 3 for starters).

In spectator mode: SPACE = switch view, click+drag to orbit camera, cursor keys UP/Down/Left/Right = camera In/Out/Lower/Higher.

The network code is still a work-in-progress, so lag may be a problem in multiplayer sessions. For those running Public Internet servers, it is highly recommended that the Max Player setting be left at 4 (or less in some situations), unless you have a very fast uplink. LAN sessions can usually accomodate more players without too much trouble.

In network play, the "Q" and "P" indicate the relative performance of the network connection (queue length and message "ping" - not an actual packet ping). If Q starts getting consistently higher and P is over 400, then the gameplay experience will not be very good (player lag and teleportation problems). This usually happens if too many players are connected to the server. The Server's CPU, graphics, and connection speed determines how many players it will be able to support.

Game and Network settings are disabled while a game is in progress. Quit back to the Main Menu, then go to Settings to make changes.

Known issues:
Game freezing in Firefox 1.5
Network performance poor under Firefox
Not starting in Mac OS because of missing SWA component (the Full Installer will fix this)
Various collision problems
Various network messaging problems

Recommended for playback:
1.6 GHz or faster CPU
64 MB or greater video card
Internet Explorer 6.x (though many people report success with Firefox, Safari)
Macromedia Shockwave 10 (download here, or alternate)
Andrade Art's Enhancer Xtra (required for mouselook and fullscreen mode, more info here, and here )

Please excuse the dust as we get set up around here. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy the game.
- nick at rasterwerks.com

Setting up Multiplayer Sessions:

Simplest (Method A):

1. Run one instance of the game with Network Mode set to Server (commonly known as the session Host)
2. Set the Network Mode of the other machines to Client and enter the IP address of Server machine for each. If all machines are within the same house or office, use the local IP address (LAN)
3. Start the Server instance first. The Clients should connect within a couple of seconds upon clicking Start, if things are working.

Running a public Server (Method B):

1. On the Server machine, enter a Server Name, and check Publish. This will cause the Server to ping a Lobby application (running on the Web server) periodically during the game with game session statistics (players, bots, match limits, etc).
2. When the client instances click Refresh on the Global Server browser, it will display a list of all Servers currently running that are "Published" Clicking on one of those Servers will populate the IP and Port fields. If the server is password protected, you will need to enter it yourself.
3. This arrangement assumes the Server has a valid internet IP; or if it is behind a NAT device like a router, it should have the listening port (default 1626) forwarded to it. UDP doesn't work if the Server is behind a NAT, haven't figured out why, but I would recommend keeping UDP un-checked in all cases (meaning uses TCP protocol).
4. Please don't "Publish" your server unless you have properly setup your router (otherwise players will see your server but will not be able to connect to it).

Running a LAN server (Method C):

1. Preferably use Method A, just enter the LAN IP of the Server.
2. Or try the LAN Client, LAN Server selection. What this tries to do is list published Servers that have the same Internet (WAN) IP as the browsing Client instance, and connect them via their local (LAN) IP addresses. Might not work at all except for simple LANs with a single router/gateway, typical in a home or small business.

NAT/Router/Firewall issues:

Here's an excellent resource for instructions on setting up your router and firewall:
http://www.portforward.com/

Version History:

b1_222 - 2006.03.16
first public beta

b1_224 - 2006.03.20, fixes:
DirectX warning in Mac OS
Skybox clipping in 16-bit Z
Botmatch console command invalid (instead, go to Settings/Game, check Spectator, set Bots count)
Skybox seam in GL
Scaled overlay bilinear filtering added
Initialization total progress added

b1_227 - 2006.03.20
Server not rejecting 9th connection - fixed
Max Players network setting added, incoming clients receive rejection msg once exceeded

b1_228 - 2006.03.22
player cheats cleared for multiplayer game
console cheats disabled for multiplayer game
autofps enabled for all multiplayer games (this should improve network performance in Firefox)