Spring:1944 - Getting Started Guide

Getting Started

For those not familiar with Spring RTS and it's little nuances (and even for those who are), just trying to find out how to started a damned game can seem like a daunting task. This section of the guide will try and alleviate that problem.

Downloading and Installing

This part requires the least amount of work or foreknowledge. Download the installer, and run it. :) It will create a new directory called "Spring" (by default) wherever you tell it to. This directory contains all relevent Spring game files, including the \mods\ and \maps\ folders which contain files for Spring games and maps, respectively. The Spring: 1944 game file will be placed into \mods\ (along with any future patches, versions, etc), as are all other games made for the Spring engine. Same with maps, in the \maps\ folder.

However, Spring also has a very nifty gimmick called the Archivemover. What this does is assign all Spring game and map file extensions (.sd7 and .sdz) to be handled by the Archivemover program, so that all you need do is double-click on the file and it will be send right to the appropriate folder in your Spring directory! Neato, huh?

Starting a Single Player Game

Spring currently has very little singleplayer support -- it was an ethos of the original founders of the Spring project that "SP will never be supported". Almost all of Spring's ui elements and interface shells deal specifically with the multiplayer aspect of the game. Likewise, development of battle AIs is also somewhat regressive, particularly for Spring: 1944, as we utilize many features of the engine as well as LUA coding that current AIs made for other Spring games and mods can't handle. This means, unfortunately, that for the time being there is no real Single player support for even "skirmish" style gameplay with an AI opponent. You'll just have to drag yourself out there and meet people to play with! Don't worry, we're generally very nice, and quick to slap anyone who isn't.

Starting a Multiplayer Game

Included in the installer is Spring Lobby, which will allow you to connect to other players in an IRC-style environment which allows you to chat, host and join games, and do other fun stuff. When you start the Lobby for the first time, you'll have to Register a nickname, and then join, obviously. When you join you may not see many people -- there are dozens of different #rooms on the Lobby server. You can check them all out by typing /list and looking at the Official server tab. However, the most important room is #S44, which is where we are.

There are multiple tabs for various sections of the Spring Lobby interface; Chat, Multiplayer, Singleplayer, Options, Replays, Downloads. Of those, Replays and Downloads should be the only one bringing up question marks. Whenever a game on Spring is played, by default your computer will record it, and save it on your hard drive (demos folder in the Spring dir). This allows you to go back and look and watch your games, which is pretty cool. Downloads is part of a built-in torrent system which allows transfering of files between Spring players (and only Spring files, not music or movies). You can turn this on and off in the Options menu.

To actually start a game, you'll want to go to the Multiplayer tab. The first thing you will see is the game list, with various games going on (although all games and mods take place on the same server, we've set your Lobby to filter out non-Spring: 1944 games by default). You can join one of these games, if they're open, or Host your own. When you host, simply set a game title, select Spring: 1944, your connection type and any other options you'll see, and get goin'!

Once you're hosting (or have joined a game) more tabs will appear next to "Battle list". All have options that you can modify and change to suit your gaming glee:

Team: This is your Team #. By default, every player should have a unique Team ID. Sharing the same Team ID will mean you will "share" the same side as the other player; for instance, you'll control the same units. In Spring jargon this is known as "Comm-sharing" (for Commander sharing).

Ally: This is your Ally ID. Players with the same Ally ID will be allies in-game (ie won't attack each other, can share resources, will see what the other sees, etc, but can't control each other's units)

Color: Obvious enough, I hope? Sets your in-game teamcolour.

Side: Again, obvious enough I hope. Sets your side. Ignore "AI" sides for the time being; they are a rather brutish attempt to get some singleplayer and AI functionality. You DON'T want to play as an AI side yourself.

Spectator: By selecting this you will be able to spectate a game rather than play in it; you will see everything going on in the game but won't be able to interact with anything. If you're weary about playing your first game against an opponent, you can spectate others' games to watch how things go.

Ready: Selecting this will set your status to Ready, which will allow the Host to start the game once all players are "Readied up" (if you're the Host, or a spectator, you're automatically Ready and this checkbox is greyed out).

Heading over to the Map tab will bring up a list of maps that you have available, selectable with the drop-down menu at the bottom of the screen or by pressing "Select", which will bring up another selection view. Once you've selected a map, there are three different start configuration options you can choose from: Fixed, which will have players spawn on the map at game-start as determined by the numbers on the map according to their Team ID; Random, which will have players randomly spawn at one of the start positions indicated on the map; and Choose in game, which will allow players to set their start positions anywhere on the map. at first glance this may sound like it could cause problems; what if two opponents start right next to each other? When you select this option you can click and drag "Start boxes" on the map itself, which basically create an area for each team to start in; they can only select any position inside their box, and nowhere else on the map. Each box will have a number in it indicating which team it belongs to, and a "Metal: #%" which shows the approximate amount of territory Command points inside each box (to make sure teams start more or less evenly).

The Options tab has the most options. I won't cover them all; they're fairly self-explanatory. Yuo can set the amount of Metal (Command) and Energy (Logistics) players start with when the game begins; the maximum number of units each player can haev in a game (recommend no more than 500-1000 if you want your computer to survive the night); and others.

Once you've selected all your options and have a room full of players ready to go, you can start your game!

Autohosts

You will also encounter a number of autohosts from time to time. Autohosts are essentially just programs for automated hosting. Some people find this easier and more reliable than hosting their own games (autohost computers usually have quite advanced hardware to handle large games).

The most common "type" of autohost is the "Springie". We won't go into detail about all the functions autohosts can provide; when joining an autohost's game simply type !help and !listoptions for lists of commands you can perform to make it do what you want.

Surviving the Spring Community

The Spring community is filled with ill-tempered, impatient young players who're usually all about speed-gaming. They'll type in half-words and half-sentences, nag incessently for games to get started, quit games prematurely if they're losing, and generally annoy people with any sense of maturity in them. Of course, this isn't the rule, but be prepared. If you're looking for a quiet casual game, you'll probably find one.

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