Copyright: SubSpace Help -- 12/10/1996                                 Copyright 1996   BURST                                            A division of Virgin Interactive


title
WELCOME TO SUBSPACE HELP (last modified 12/10/96)

1  Introduction

2  Getting Started

2.1  Requirements

2.2  Installation

2.2.1  Operating System

2.2.2  Microsoft’s DirectX

2.2.3  32bit Winsock

2.2.4  Problems Connecting

2.3  Game Menus

2.3.1  File Menu

2.3.2  Start Menu

2.3.3  View Menu

2.3.4  Resolution Menu

2.3.5  Help Menu

3  Game Elements

3.1  Ships

3.2  Controls

3.3  Screen Items

3.4  Game Play

3.4.1  Communication

3.4.2  Teams and Squads

3.5  Miscellaneous

4  Pilot Guides

4.1  General Pilot Guide

4.2  The Ships

4.2.1  The Warbird

4.2.2  The Javelin

4.2.3  The Spider

4.2.4  The Leviathan

4.3  Tips and Strategies

5  Latest Information

5.1  Latest FAQ

5.2  Credits

5.3  Acknowledgments


1  Introduction

Welcome to the beta test of SubSpace. SubSpace is an Internet-only game that supports hundreds of players.

Due to bandwidth issues, capacity limitations have been imposed for all arenas. Please do not ask us to make more arenas or to increase the limit. These limits will be addressed when appropriate measures have been taken to ensure reasonable playability.

SubSpace is a Windows95 and NT4.0 only game since they are the only operating systems that support DirectX. There are no plans for other platform development at this time.

There are 2 ways to play SubSpace. You can kill for points in any arena [you can play solo or on a team/squad(interchangeable but different)] or you can play Flag Games in special Arenas [also playable solo but very difficult] while racking up kills.

Enjoy.

Please email bugs and problems to subspace@vie.com


2  Getting Started

2.1  Requirements

2.2  Installation

2.2.1  Operating System

2.2.2  Microsoft’s DirectX

2.2.3  32bit Winsock

2.2.4  Problems Connecting

2.3  Game Menus

2.3.1  File Menu

2.3.2  Start Menu

2.3.3  View Menu

2.3.4  Resolution Menu

2.3.5  Help Menu


2.1 REQUIREMENTS

Intel (or compatible) based machine

WINDOWS 95 or NT4.0

An Internet connection with a 32bit dialer (Windows95 has one) and 14.4 kilobaud Modem.

(Strongly Recommended)

(Intel) Pentium based computer (or better)

DirectX2 video and sound drivers

28.8 kilobaud Modem Internet connection (or faster)


2.2 INSTALLATION

This help file will assume you have already installed the game. A more complete installation section may be added at a later date if demands warrant.

After you have installed SUBSPACE to your hard drive the first thing you should do is try running it by double clicking on the SUBSPACE.EXE if the game loads up then you have correctly installed the DIRECTX drivers and you can proceed to logging on. If the game locks up when you try to load the product then the DirectX drivers have not been installed correctly. Make sure you have reset your machine since installing the DIRECTX drivers (windows requires this before they can take effect).

Connecting to the Internet.

your Internet account is WIN95 based (Microsoft network, T1, Earthlink) then you are set. Simply click on the CONNECT bar of SUBSPACE and log on as usual. If this does not work then try running your Internet provider in the background then running SubSpace. If your account is DOS based then you can try connecting to it using the TERMINAL program in WIN95 but this is not guaranteed.

To run SUBSPACE, you are required to have an I.P. address. Most good networks provide this (Microsoft Network, Cris, Earthlink, Netcom etc.)

2.2.1  Operating System

2.2.2  Microsoft’s DirectX

2.2.3  32bit Winsock

2.2.4  Problems Connecting


2.2.1 Operating System

SubSpace only works with Microsoft Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0 (and some NT beta revs that support Microsoft DirectX)

Information Pending


2.2.2 Microsoft's DirectX
2.2.2 Microsoft’s DirectX

Message from Rob Keir

I was able to duplicate some people's problems of missing DirectX DLLs and DLLs not being able to be linked to. Here's the story...

"SubSpace" uses two DirectX DLL files at runtime, DDRAW.DLL and DSOUND.DLL. These are usually found in your \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory.

If you manually delete these DLLs, manually copy over the DLLs with other/same versions or even just move the files somewhere else on your disk you'll be in trouble, even if you restore the files back to their original directory afterward. "Subcheck" will report that it has found the DLLs but can't link to them and "SubSpace" will say that it has a problem with DDRAW.DLL and/or DSOUND.DLL and won't start up. This is a peculiar problem considering that restoring the original files to their original directory should have no effect!

So, here's what you can do :-

1. If you haven't already done so, download the "SubSpace" game from our Web site (http://www.vie.com/subspace/files.htm) and install it. DON'T run it yet.

2. If you haven't already done so, download the DirectX install program from our Web site (http://www.vie.com/subspace/files.htm). DON'T install it yet.

3. REBOOT YOUR MACHINE. When it's finished booting DON’T start "SubSpace" or any other program that is likely to use DirectX stuff.

4. If you have already installed a version of the DirectX software or have any remnant of DirectX still on your machine then :-

If you have them, make a backup of the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM\DDRAW.DLL and 	\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\DSOUND.DLL files, preferably to a floppy disk.

Delete the files \WINDOWS\SYSTEM\DDRAW.DLL and 	\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\DSOUND.DLL.

5. Run the DirectX.exe install file. Note that this will (very rudely) reboot your machine.

"SubSpace" should work now. (Probably).

One thing to be aware of, if you delete the files DDRAW.DLL and DSOUND.DLL and then reboot your machine, Windows95 may fail to start. You will then be forced to start the machine in DOS mode (select command prompt only from the startup menu) and then copy your backup DirectX files (see 4) back into the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory and reboot. So DON'T reboot your machine directly after deleting the files!

Rob Keir

SubSpace Team, VIE

More Information Pending


2.2.3 32bit Winsock

What is WinSock?

Windows Sockets, or "WinSock" as it has become known, is an open network API standard. It was first designed to create a standard programming interface for TCP/IP on all versions of Microsoft Windows including Windows 3.x, Windows for Workgroups, Windows NT and Windows 95. The major benefits of WinSock to date have come in 3 areas. First, by providing an open API standard rather than a closed proprietary API, it has helped foster the success of TCP/IP on Microsoft Windows operating systems. Second, application developers have been able to easily create applications that will run on many different vendors' TCP/IP network stacks. Third, it has made it much easier for end users and MIS managers to select both applications and network stacks - they need only look for WinSock compatibility.

More Information Pending


2.2.4 Problems Connecting

Still having problems connecting?

The best way by far to connect to the internet is using Microsoft’s DIAL UP NETWORKING. This comes with WIN95 and gives a true 32 bit connection. This is what it looks like...

Double click on the icon and then NEW CONNECTION to bring up the following screen:

Enter your providers name in the box provided.

Enter the local phone number in the area marked. PROVIDERS PHONE NUMBER HERE

Now double click on the new icon created and dial up your provider. After entering your name and password you will be logged into the internet. To play Subspace simply run subspace and you should see player counts and be able to log right in.

Note some providers use proprietary dial up software such as AOL and CSERVE.  Cserve has a 32 bit dialer in their INTERNET forum and you should get in touch with them for advice on how to set it up. AOL is moving to a 32 bit dialer at present and should be available sometime in 96. Please check in AOL's INTERNET section for more details.

have loads of problems and cannot get connected email the SubSpace team at subspace@vie.com.


2.3 GAME MENUS

2.3.1  File Menu

2.3.2  Start Menu

2.3.3  View Menu

2.3.4  Resolution Menu

2.3.5  Help Menu


2.3.1 File Menu

Connect- This menu option brings up a dialogue box (automatically when you first start the game) where you enter your Player Name, Password, and pick the playing Zone you would like to fly in. In the dialogue box, you can choose Quick Start (puts you right into the game), OK (connects you to the server without putting you in the game), and Cancel (closes down the dialogue box).

[Note: If this is your first time connecting and you get an “Invalid Password” error message, then you have chosen a Player Name that already exists and you will have to choose another.]

Disconnect- This menu option will disconnect you from a playing Zone (only available when connected to a Zone).

Set Proxy Server- This menu option allows many users to connect to only one machine connected to the Internet.

Basic Information:  The SubSpace team has provided a basic proxy server on the website called the Fun-o-Tron. It uses IP addresses to transfer information across a basic network. Here is how it works; The computer running the Fun-o-Tron should be connected to the Internet and to your local network. The network card needs to have an IP address “bound” to it. The actual IP address does not matter (I have seen 1.1.1.999 used). The other networked machines should have an IP address bound to their network cards as well (I suggest 1.1.1.###, where ### is any number from 1 to 998 {your proxy server is using 999 remember} just make sure any 2 computers are not using the same number). When the other machines load up Subspace, the should use the SET PROXY SERVER… option to set the proxy server to 1.1.1.999 (as per the example).

More Information Pending.

Exit- This menu option exits the program


2.3.2 Start Menu

Play Game- This menu option puts you into the actual playing aspect of the game.

Join Squad- This menu option (active only when connected to a Zone) brings up a dialogue box asking for Squad Name and Password. You can join an existing Squad if you know the password or you can start your own Squad (as long the name has not been taken yet) by entering a Name and Password just like you did when creating your pilot name.

Set Banner- This menu option (active only when connected to a Zone) allows you to set a flag-type Banner that will appear next to your name in certain Zones after accumulating a set amount of points.

Subspace comes with 15 sample banners (sample00.bmp, sample01.bmp, sample02.bmp, etc.) that you can use or you can use the TEMPLATE.BMP file to create your own banner (using this file will give you the correct color palette). To create your own banner, load the TEMPLATE.BMP file into your favorite paint program and edit away. All banners must be 12 pixels wide by 8 pixels high and save in a BMP format or else they will not work.

There is a Banner page on the SubSpace website at  http://www.vie.com/subspace/banners.html with banners submitted by pilots. These banners are available for download and use if you do not wish to make your own.


2.3.3 View Menu

News- This menu option (active only when connected to a Zone) views the latest news about the game.

Message Hot Keys- This menu option allows you to set up to 8 text macros and 2 sound files for use in the game.

Options- This menu option brings up a dialogue box that allows you to change the way SubSpace looks when you are in the game.

Weapon Gauge: Standard shows full graphical representations of all weapons and devices, while Text only displays the text description and Off turns all representations off.

Status Gauge: Standard shows full graphical representations of your ship’s status including Energy level, frequency, flags (personal and team) and your bounty, while Text only displays the text description and Off turns all representations off.

Energy Bar: Standard shows a full graphical representation of a double-sided energy bar, while Text only displays a minimal graphical representation and Off turns it completely off.

Radar: Small shows a 4 sector by 4 sector graphical representation of a double-sided energy bar, while Large displays the same information but the blips are a little more accurate and Off turns it completely off.

Font: Short displays normal text, while Tall displays a taller font and Legible displays an older style font that shall remain nameless (any SINCLAIR users out there?).

Sound: On means all game sounds will be active, while Engines Off will turn off engine sounds and background noise and Off turns all sounds off.

Miscellaneous: Check boxes (when checked)Low Detail-turns off bullet explosions, ship damage fluff, and ship exhaust and shrinks status box; Show Stars-turns on starfield background; Gamma Correction-makes screen brighter; Shaded Boxes-puts gray background behind status graphics; Opaque Message-does not allow stars to show up behind messages; Wave Messages-allows you to hear wave files played by other users; Block Obscene Messages-blocks text messages with known obscene words (not configurable); Message Ticker Help-turns on helpful hints while playing the game; Joystick-turns on ability to use joystick; Show All Arenas-????.

Message Lines-Number of message lines displayed in the game before old messages tart scrolling off the top.

Target Bounty-Sets bounty level for radar[level when dark blue ships turn light blue (self-imposed honor system)].

Some users have asked for settings that will allow optimal performance. The picture below shows what the settings should be for an optimal SubSpace session.


2.3.4 Resolution Menu

Monitor resolution levels are set here. Levels that are faded out are not supported by your current drivers/video card. Contact your video card manufacturer for latest (DirectX) updates.


2.3.5 Help Menu

Message Ticker Help- This menu option displays if you have the Message Ticker Help option checked in the VIEW/Options dialogue box (this is for display purposes only).

Contents- This menu option accesses this help file.

About- This menu option displays SubSpace Team information.


3  Game Elements

3.1  Ships

3.2  Controls

3.3  Screen Items

3.4  Game Play

3.4.1  Communication

3.4.2  Teams and Squads


3.1 Ships

There are four different types of ships (plus special ship art) available at the start.

 WARBIRD - Fighter

Starting Characteristics

Level 2 Acceleration

Level 2 Rotation

Level 1 Guns (Ion cannon)

The Warbird is VERY maneuverable and also packs a good punch with it built in ion cannon a good choice for first time pilots. The Warbird upgrades to be the most maneuverable craft in the game.

 JAVELIN - Interceptor

Starting Characteristics

Level 2 Speed

Level 2 Recharge rate

Level 1 Guns (Ion cannon)

The Javelin has an enormously powerful Hawking generator that gives it a high top speed and a good regeneration capability. The Javelin is however hard to steer.  The javelin is the only ship in the game that can upgrade to the fastest speed.

 SPIDER - Stealth Craft.

Starting Characteristics

1150 Energy base

Level 1 Guns (Ion cannon)

Cloak

1 Decoy

The Spider is a craft for the cunning amongst us. It has no other outstanding characteristic other than it comes with a DECOY built in.  The Spider is the only ship in the game that can pick up the cloak device.

 LEVIATHAN - Assault Craft. (Still in Design Phase)

Starting Characteristics

1300 Energy base

Level 1 Guns (Ion cannon)

Level 1 bomb

The Leviathan comes ready made with Dark Matter Bombs. It also has a huge energy capacity . It is the only ship in the game that can achieve Level3 bombs.

NIGHTWASP - No graphic available, bonus looks only.

The Nightwasp is given to the player with the highest score in the arena. It has no extra capabilities and has the characteristics of whichever ship you have chosen to fly.


3.2 Controls

The controls for maneuvering your ship are as follows:

<ESC> MENU KEYS - Hitting the ESC key will bring up a long list of previous messages in addition to a menu box of the following options:

Q	=Quit

F1	=Help

F2	=Cycle through Player List Box

F3	=Toggle name displays on/off

F4	=Toggle map display on/off

F5	=Toggle message display on/off

F6	=Toggle help ticker on/off

F7	=Toggle starts on/off

F8	=Toggle engine sounds on/off

F9	=Toggle gamma correct

Any other key to exit Menu.

CURSOR KEYS

LEFT ARROW	=Rotate ship right

RIGHT ARROW	=Rotate ship left

UP ARROW	=Thrust forwards

DOWN ARROW	=Thrust backwards

CTRL	=Fire guns

TAB	=Fire bomb

F1	=Help

F2	=Cycle through Player List Box

F3	=Not used

F4	=Drop Brick

F5	=Activate Decoy

F6	=Fire Thor’s Hammer

F7	=JOIN another ship. ONLY if you have 100% energy

F8	=Not used

F9	=Not used

F11	=Toggle Spectator Mode ON/OFF

F12	=Cycles through ship types in the game. Will loose powerups

HOME	=Toggles your stealth device ON/OFF

DEL	=Toggles your multifire ON/OFF

INSERT	=Warps your ship ONLY if you have maximum energy

END	=Activates X-RADAR (if present)

SHIFT+INSERT	=Cycles through Public Arenas (Use in a safe zone to keep your powerups)

SHIFT+DEL	=Fires the BURST weapon.

SHIFT+HOME	=Toggles your cloak ON/OFF (Spider Only)

SHIFT+END	=Toggles ANTIWARP ON/OFF.

SHIFT+PGUP	=Increases the size of Player List Panel by one player

SHIFT+PGDN	=Decreases the size of Player List Panel by one player

SHIFT+CTRL	=Activates REPEL device

=[1-9999]	=Set weapon frequency/Ghz. Requires full Energy. (see pilots guide)

SPECTATOR MODE:

To Select ship to spectate	=PGUP/PGDN

To Look at that ship.	=CTRL/TAB


3.3 Screen Items

All screen items can be represented by text or graphical icons (accessible from the Options Menu).

FLAGS

 These are flags (Flag arenas only). The BLUE Flag can be picked up by your ship. The YELLOW Flag (Defensive Flag arenas only) is a flag owned by your team [You cannot pick up the Yellow Flag so it must be defended to avoid being stolen by another team].

POWERUPS-As you travel around the map you will notice green dots appear from time to time. When you pick these up your ship is changed.

 "Hello I am a POWERUP, please pick me up in the game!" Powerups can be positive or negative and are listed below:

POSITIVE

UPGRADE GUNS - There are three levels of guns in the game. Each one progressively does more damage and costs more energy to fire. You fire your bullets by pressing CTRL.

BOUNCING BULLETS - This powerup makes your neutron pellets bounce off walls.

MULTIFIRE - This powerup makes your guns fire a spread of three bullets ahead of you. It is toggled ON/OFF with the DEL key.

 MULTIFIRE disabled

 MULTIFIRE and BOUNCING BULLETS

 MULTIFIRE disabled and BOUNCING BULLETS

UPGRADE BOMBS - Bombs do area damage (which can be outside the visible area of explosion!) There are 3 levels of bombs and they progressively do more damage and cost more energy to fire.

PROXIMITY - Bombs explode within range of enemy (range increases with bomb level)

SHRAPNEL - Bombs expel shrapnel equivalent to gun level bullets.

PROXIMITY and SHRAPNEL

UPGRADE SPEED - Increases the top speed of your ship (limited to maximum).

UPGRADE THRUST - Increases how fast you can accelerate (limited to maximum).

UPGRADE ROTATION - Increases how fast your ship can turn (limited to maximum).

STEALTH - When you activate stealth your are invisible on the RADAR map display to all other players. Stealth is a large drain on your ships batteries so you should use with discretion.

CLOAK - When you activate the cloaking device your ship becomes INVISIBLE however your radar image can still be seen. Cloak is an enormous drain on your energy reserves and turns off when you fire.

Note: A ship that is stealthed AND cloaked is completely invisible on RADAR and VISIBLE light.

XRADAR - Ahh but there is always a catch :) The XRADAR reveals all STEALTHed and CLOAKed ships on the map when activated.

ANTIWARP - When activated, prevents ships within range from WARPing to safety when activated.

FULL CHARGE - Automatically charges your ship to its maximum battery capacity.

WARP - Warps you across the map.

MINES - Static bombs (of your current bomb level) that you place on the playing field (PROXIMITY and SHRAPNEL work just like bombs)

REPEL - Throws away from your ship all enemy ships/bombs/mines & bullets. A one shot weapon.

BURST - This little baby throws out level 4 bullets in all directions from your ship. HOWEVER. These bullets are only active AFTER they have bounced off something (will not bounce off enemy ships).

DECOY - When activated, the decoy will take on all of your ship’s characteristics including velocity, direction, flag count and looks (including Nightwasp). The decoy will not have thrust and bullets and bombs will pass through it. Decoys also show up on radar and cannot be counteracted by XRADAR

THOR’S HAMMER - Level4 Pbomb that travels through walls. A one shot weapon.

BRICK - Drops a 7 by 1 wall that drops perpendicular to the nearest wall.

SUPER(see Status Panel below) - Allows firing of bullets and bombs without any energy drain.

SHIELDS(see Status Panel below) - Counts down from 100% and indicates percentage of protection from damage.

NEGATIVE

Sometimes when you pick up a powerup it will REMOVE an item from your ship. For every bonus listed up above there is an OPPOSITE effect that can take away your preciously built up bonuses. In addition there are very special unpleasant Negatives that you can pick up.

ENGINE SHUTDOWN! This Negative disables your thrusters for a few seconds and you will only be able to rotate slowly

ENGINE SHUTDOWN SEVERE! - The worst thing that can happen. As above but you are held for 40+ seconds.

ENERGY DEPLETED This Negative takes away your energy. (Very bad if you are in battle or a congested area!)

STATUS PANEL-Located in the upper right corner of the screen.

Energy is how much energy you have left. Firing weapons and getting hit takes away energy.

Frequency is the frequency you are tuned to. Players on the same frequency are colored yellow. A frequency is often referred to as a "team" this is different from a squad.

Flags. In some arenas, a team has to collect all the flags to win the game.

Personal is the number on the LEFT and represents how many flags YOU have.

Team is the number on the RIGHT and represents how many flags YOUR TEAM has.

Bounty. This is how many points you are worth to be killed. Thus in the example above you would be worth 15 points if you got killed.

Shields. This percentage is how much damage will be stopped. This number decreases as time goes on.

Super. This number represents how many seconds you have left until firing weapons uses energy again.

Flag drop Timer. This number represents how many seconds you have left until your Flags become stationary objects that must be defended from enemy team members.

PLAYER LIST PANEL-Located in the upper left corner of the screen.

The different modes of the player list panel show different pilot stats. Use F2 to toggle the different modes.

+ next to pilot name shows teammates attached to you as a turret.

The 3 pictures above are the first 3 player status panel modes. These show the players in the game. The Yellow pilot names are your teammates, Blue pilot names are pilots (friendly and enemy) that you have sent a private message to in the last 2 minutes and the Gray pilot names are enemy pilots.

Mode 1 shows only pilot names. Mode 2 displays Banners (section 2.3.2), pilot names and accumulated points (including flag points). Mode 3 displays Banners, pilot names, squad name, wins, losses and rating.

The above picture is Mode 4 of the Player Status Panel and it displays Frequency statistics. All frequency numbers below 100 can be read by others. Frequency statistics include total points, total wins, total losses and total flags for all members of the frequency.

RADAR DISPLAY-Located in the lower right corner of the screen.

Yellow dot in the Center is your ship.

Light Yellow dots are friendly ships.

Dark Yellow dots are decoys from friendly ships.

Blue dots are enemy ships or decoys.

Green dots are powerups that upgrade or downgrade your ship

Red dots are enemy ships (or their decoy) carrying flags(advanced Capture the Flag arenas only)

Alternately Flashing Dark Yellow/Red dots are team-captured flags(advanced Defensive Flag arenas only)


3.4 Game Play

3.4.1  Communication

3.4.2  Teams and Squads


3.4.1 Communication

PUBLIC RADIO	=Simply type what you want then hit ENTER.

RADIO MACROS	=Type a message then hit SHFT+F1-8. This will then send the message and

send the same message every time you hit SHFT+F1-8 from then on.

RADIO CHANNELS	=To change the target for a private message or audio message simply use

the PG-UP & PG-DN keys. This will alter the pointer on the player

display.

PRIVATE RADIO	=Start a message with a  /  and it will only be broadcast to the person

selected Thus  /Hello  would say hello to the target person only.

Alternatively you can type the person’s name enclosed in :.

e.g.  :Jeffp:hello sends a private message to JeffP.

TEAM RADIO	=// or ' sends a message to everybody on the same weapon frequency.

AUDIO SEND	=This function allows you to send an audio clip to the selected party (select

using PGUP , PGDN.) SHFT+F11 or SHFT+F12 plays you selected audio

clips. These clips are chosen in the VIEW/MESSAGE HOT KEYS menu

bar. (currently disabled)

USEFUL COMMAND LINE PARAMETERS

There are some commands you can put in to make sending messages easier.

(The first few items have examples and are best made as macros.)

If you add the following case sensitive key letters in a message, they will do the following.

%coord	Prints out your coordinates.

eg: "Hi guys I am at %coord "

will come out as "Hi guys I am at H11"

%area	Gives text description of your area.

eg: "Hi guys I am in %area "

will come out as "Hi guys I am in upper left."

%selfname	Gives your own name in game

eg: "I am %selfname"

will display as " I am Rodvik"

%tickname	Prints the name you have ticked on the stat box.

eg: "Ok %tickname"

will display as "Ok persons name"

%squad	Prints out what squad you are on.

%frq	Prints out what frequency you are on.

%bounty	Prints your bounty.

%flags	Prints how many flags you have.

%energy	Prints much Energy you have.

%shield	Prints how much longer you have left with Shields.

%super	Prints how much longer you have Super left.

%redbounty	Prints bounty of closest red flag carrier (must be seen on radar).

%redflags	Prints flag count of closest red flag carrier (must be seen on radar).

%redname	Prints name of closest red flag carrier (must be seen on radar).

?flags	Prints a list of who currently holds flags.

?team	Prints a list of your teammates with flag counts.

?go [arena]	Warps you to private arena or creates one if it doesn’t exist. Requires full Energy.

eg: "? go KillingField"

Warps you to KillingField sub-arena."

?go	Warps you to public arena  from a private arena. Requires full Energy.

”[message]	Sends message to entire team of the player whose name is ticked in the stat box.

:[alias]:[message]	Sends message to player across arenas.

?usage	Prints Current Session Time, Total Usage Time, and Date Alias Created.

?target=[##]	Sets bounty level for radar[darkblue ships turn lightblue (self-imposed honor system)].

?ignore [pilot]	Toggles ignore feature on and off (confirmation message will appear).

::[message]	Sends message to last player to send you a private message.

?savemap XXX	Saves current arena map(even local) to name you specify (XXX=name) [BMP format]


3.4.2 Teams and Squads

Teams (limited to max persons on frequency)

When you first enter a SubSpace arena, you are place on a frequency (or Ghz). Everyone else on that same Ghz is on your team. Your team radio and weapons operate on this frequency which means when you send a team message, only your teammates will see it. This also means that your bullets will not hurt teammates and teammates will not cause the detonation of bombs or mines (bomb blasts, not the shrapnel, from bombs exploding against walls will still hurt you and your teammates). You can change you frequency in the game by typing =XXXX where XXXX is a number from 1-9999.

EXAMPLE OF A TEAM

Items in italics are ACTUAL key presses

Luxor and Marx are playing in the game. Luxor send a private message to MARX (selecting Marx in the player dialogue box using PGUP & PGDN keys)

/Hi Marx wanna team up?

Marx then selects Luxor and send back the private message.

/Sure, tune freq 555

Luxor and Marx then both type the following

=555

Now on their radar screens BOTH of them have yellow dots. Their weapons cannot hurt each other. They also can broadcast to anyone else in on the same frequency by starting their message with // OR '

//Hey Luxor you hear this?

/ Yes Marx lets go!

Now at any time they can invite other people to join their squadron if they wish.  The // message type will go to EVERYONE on that frequency so large squadrons are possible. ENJOY!

Squads (unlimited membership)

You can join a squad if you get the password from squad member or you can create your own squad a recruit pilots to fill out your ranks. Squads differ from teams in that squad members can fight against each other if they are on different frequencies. Squad members can even be in different sub-arenas racking up points for their squad scores. There is no “Squad Radio”.


3.5 Miscellaneous

PLAYER ETIQUETTE (or Code of Honor)

Much has been said about “Neg Killing” (Neg is an old SubSpace slang term referring to a time when users started out at a negative bounty to deter powerful ships from picking on weak ships) and this section is here to provide only one of many views on the subject.

Negs are players with weak ships and with the current system some users feel you cannot have a proper ship until you reach a bounty of at least 50 unless you are VERY lucky. Usually you do not get enough powerups to get decent weapons, recharge rate, and energy levels. Others believe that any ship is fair game whether or not they can defend themselves or even run away.

Either way, users will develop reputations for themselves and players will learn who they should avoid (if they can). Since each user can set their own Target Bounty to any level they wish, it all depends on the morals (for lack of a better word) of each user.

MAP EDITOR COMMANDS

Map is saved "on the fly" (or on exit, haven't tested this yet) as local.lvl

To edit an existing level, copy and rename current map (you will have to do some timestamp checking) to local.lvl.

To start with a blank map, delete local.lvl.

Hold down SHIFT and CTRL when selecting PLAY from the START menu to enter editor.

 --Doesn't matter if you are connected or not.

Enter brings up a RADAR type display so you can see what you are doing.

Arrow keys move the locator on your Map.

Shift+Arrow keys move the locator on the Tile Box.

Spacebar - Places selected tile or deletes if already on a tiled section.

Delete - Deletes tiled section (like I had to explain but you just never know).

Ctrl - Places selected tile. (use with arrow keys to draw straight or diagonal lines quickly).

(Capital) D - Space Station (6x6 tiles)

(Capital) E - Gravity Warp (4x4 tiles)

(Capital) A or C - Small Asteroid (1x1 tiles)

(Capital) B - Medium Asteroid (2x2 tiles)

[Note: There are no Large Asteroids anymore.]

SELECT and ERASE/COPYnPASTE

1. (Capital) S - Start SELECT

2. Use arrows to size box

3. (Capital) S[again] - Set size of box (will copy what box surrounds)

4a. (Capital) E to Erase contents of box

4b. (Capital) P to Paste what was copied in #3

Escape to exit and save

Don’t forget to send your map to the SubSpace team for possible use in a future arena.


4  Pilot Guides

4.1  General Pilot Guide

4.2  The Ships

4.2.1  The Warbird

4.2.2  The Javelin

4.2.3  The Spider

4.2.4  The Leviathan

4.3  Tips and Strategies


4.1 General Pilot Guide

HANDLING THE SHIPS

Although the ships in SUBSPACE are often upgraded and downgraded much of the time, a player will very often be flying the basic ship with its individual characteristics. Scanning through the text may also give you new ideas on how to use the different upgrades.

GAME SECTORS

Each game SECTOR is listed when you boot up. A SECTOR is a game type like WARZONE. Within each SECTOR are many ARENAS, typically 20-80 players each. After you enter an ARENA you can cycle to other PUBLIC ARENAS by going to a safe zone or spectator mode and hitting SHIFT+INSERT.

PRIVATE ARENAS

In addition to cycling through the public arenas within each Zone players can create their own PRIVATE ARENA by using the following command. ?GO NAME. This is useful for players who want a private battle or want to duel it out. You can exit a private arena by creating another private arena or by using SHIFT+INSERT (go to a safety zone to keep powerups) to cycle though Public Arenas

THOR’S HAMMER

This artifact is an incredibly powerful weapon and its mighty warhead is the largest in the game. Unfortunately, due to the warhead’s size there is no generator powerful enough to fire it so it requires its own built in generator. This generator warps space/time so much it gives THOR’S HAMMER the ability to pass through inanimate objects. However a ship can only carry a limited number of these weapons and the generator is SO unstable that users may find THOR’S HAMMER will destroyss the user as much as the target. Handle with care.

Tip: THOR’S HAMMER is great to "Winkle" out an enemy ship hiding in a structure. It passes straight through walls and can often be the "Final Blow".


4.2 The Ships

4.2.1  The Warbird

4.2.2  The Javelin

4.2.3  The Spider

4.2.4  The Leviathan


4.2.1 The WARBIRD

"Once at the enemy, you should not aspire just to strike him, but to cling after the attack."

-Myamoto Mushashi

"You can have computer sights or anything you like, but I think you have to go to the enemy on the shortest distance and knock him down from point blank range. You'll get him from close. At long distances, it’s questionable."

-Colonel Eric "Bubi" Hartmann, GAF

Worlds leading ace, Luftwaffe. 352 victories, WWII

The Warbird is the ideal craft for the beginner. Easy to learn and packing a good punch, an expert Warbird pilot can run rings around less maneuverable opponents.

A good tactic for a Warbird pilot is to actively seek out heavier opponents then dogfight with them dodging opponents bullets and bombs until he believes the enemy has depleted his energy then striking the killer blow with his own level 2 guns. The Warbird’s excellent acceleration and turn rate makes this tactic possible.

Warbird pilots should be very wary about using their gun. Although it is powerful it should not be used for "spraying" a target with bullets as each round is expensive in energy and the Warbird has little energy to spare. The gun is best used in short bursts or even better as single "ranging" shots to keep an opponent distracted until you get nice and close then the killing burst.

When on the defensive, remember to use your maneuver ability to cling to the edges of walls and always turn around a wall at the very last moment. The chances are that a clumsier craft will hit the wall and lose valuable moments allowing you to escape.


4.2.2 The JAVELIN

"Speed is life."

-Israeli defense manual.

"Defense against [Japanese] fighters is resolved around the superior speed of our fighters..."

-Major "Dick" Bong USAAF

Leading U.S. Ace WWII - 40 victories.

The Javelin is a fast, well powered craft that is hard to handle due to its relatively weak acceleration.

Speed is what the Javelin is all about. Not only does its speed allow it to reach powerups before other ships but it gives a decisive edge in combat if used correctly.

Against other ship types, the Javelin can use its speed to decide where and when to pick a fight. When the Javelin pilot decides to engage he should use high speed slashing attacks then use his speed to stand off until his fast recharge rate allows him to strike again. Using these tactics a Javelin can wear down and frustrate even the most powerful of opponents.

The Javelin’s high speed also allows it to orbit near dogfights then when one opponent is killed then the Javelin can sweep in and finish off the loser who is presumably damaged after the fight.


4.2.3 The SPIDER

"Concealment and swiftness are the two principle elements of closing."

-Colonel V. Dubrov, Soviet Airforce

"It is always the one you don't see that gets you."

-Major Thomas B."Tommy" Mcguire, USAAF

Second leading U.S. Ace WWII 38 victories.

The Spider is of average speed, average handling and weakly armed. Its one great advantage is that of cloaking. The cloak device, when turned on, makes the Spider invisible to the naked eye, giving it a huge advantage in terms of intelligence.

’s best form of attack is to zoom in from the side of the targets vector, deliver a volley of rounds, then egress to the rear of the enemy and disappear again. The rearward egress forces an additional delay on the enemy that he has to reverse his vector to follow you costing him precious moments that allow you to change direction again and give him the slip. Once at a safe distance, the Spider can turn off the stealth, recharge his batteries and repeat the process until a kill is achieved.

The Spider requires great self restraint however as you must always hold in reserve enough energy to remain in stealth until you are a safe distance away. A disciplined Spider pilot will wait until he sees the enemy visually then pound him with 5 rounds before disappearing away again into the black.

One particularly sneaky tactic a Spider pilot can use is to hover around a powerup while cloaked (without actually picking it up) and when an enemy approaches the powerup, the spider pilot can fire a volley of bullets at the unsuspecting pilot, potentially killing the player before he even realizes he is being shot at.

A Spider with Stealth and the Cloaking device, which makes the ship invisible to the eye and on radar, is one of the most potent weapons in the game.

The nemesis of the stealth is the X-RADAR which reveals all stealthed and cloaked ships on radar. However X-RADAR costs energy to maintain and you should not assume that even if a ship has already demonstrated XRADAR that it is always on.

To fight and win with the Spider takes cunning and skill but there is great satisfaction destroying an enemy without him ever knowing of your existence until its too late.


4.2.4 The LEVIATHAN

"With an inferior weapon system you cannot fight a superior one. You can have a surprise success but not

success for a long time."

-Lt. General Adolph Galland, Luftwaffe.

The Leviathan is the only craft to start with bombs and it has the energy capacity to use them. One level3 bomb can destroy most starting ships and 2 can kill any ship in the game. The Leviathan’s whole strategy is centered around bringing this weapon to bear.

Leviathan players should be wary however as bombs cost a lot of energy to use and this can leave the Leviathan like a beached whale ready to be destroyed.

Leviathan is best suited to crowded terrain. Remember that bombs explode when they hit walls so if you are fighting and enemy in an enclosed space then you have an advantage as even a near miss will cause him damage. Also bombs can inflict damage through walls. It is always amusing to corner an enemy hiding behind a wall then explode a bomb next to him and watch him whine when he dies.


4.3 Tips and Strategies

If there is a "super user" online, gang up on him by sending a private team message to other players asking to join up to defeat him

Your bullets take the same energy that keeps you alive do not fire constantly.

A must read for newbies and veterans alike, Rincewind’s strategy guide is full of extremely useful information and can be found on the web at "http://www.vsconnect.com/rincewind/subspace/". Although this document is “UNOFFICIAL”, it is highly recommended by programmers and designers behind SubSpace.

Above all else, Enjoy the game.


5  Latest Information

5.1  Latest FAQ

5.2  Credits

5.3  Acknowledgments


5.1 Latest FAQ

ERROR MESSAGES

When I start SubSpace, I get an error message stating “Cannot load DirectX DLL’s” but I have already installed your DirectX? - The files may not have decompressed all the way. Please re-unarchive the files and repeat installation. Also please look above in section 2.2.2 for more detailed instructions if you are having problems installation DirectX drivers.

COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How do I join a Squad (or form my own)? - After you have successfully connected to a server, go to the Start Menu and choose JOIN SQUAD. If you know the name of an already existing squad, just enter the NAME and PASSWORD (Make sure to capitalize all the appropriate letters). If you want to create your own squad just choose a NAME and PASSWORD just like you did when you created your PILOT name. If you get an “Invalid Password” error, you have chosen a Name that is already in use and must choose another.

How come it say I am “LOCKED OUT” when I try to enter the game? - In an attempt to keep the playing field fair for all players, we have implemented some security features to catching 'Hack'ers, 'Lag'ers and anyone else trying to get an unfair advantage in the game. As with the product, these security measures are continually being refined and most lockouts will be reversed shortly.

How do I get a Name and Password? - Just choose one from the connect screen. If you get an “Invalid Password” error, you have chosen a Name that is already in use and must choose another.

Why do I get powerups when I haven’t flown over any? - To make powering up easier and to promote team play, you will receive the same powerups as your teammates as long your bounty is below 100.

PROXY ISSUE: I just won't give up on this proxy issue. I finally found a program that is supposed to be able to proxy UDP & TCP ports just like Wingate proxies TCP ports. It SEEMS like subspace ought to be able to work with it, but I'd like an experts opinion, so I have a few questions:

Do you think that Subspace should be able to work over a proxy server that can proxy both TCP & UDP ports? Yes

First off, the OverrideTCPPort in the subspace.ini file should be completely ignored (it is no longer used) --WE DO NOT DO ANY TCP TRANSFERS AT ALL (anymore).

Second, the OverrideUDPPort is the port number that the client will receive data on and send data out of.

You should not need to change it to get things working with a proxy server. Leave this number at zero, although if it makes you feel warm and fuzzy you can set it to some random number over 1000 (it just doesn't really matter).

With a proxy server, the idea is that you send data to the proxy server and it forwards it to the proper destination. SubSpace sends data to the destinations listed in the arena.lst file. If SubSpace tries to send this data to game-server-ip, it will NEVER get there because the internal network does not know how to route it there. You need SubSpace to send the data to the proxy-server-ip, not the game-server-ip. To do this, you modify the arena.lst file such that all the game-server-ip's listed are changed to the proxy-server-ip.

The port number specified in the arena.lst file is the port number that SubSpace will be trying to send data to (we already have it sending the data to the correct machine). You must change these numbers as well because we use the same port number on different machines for game-servers. Once again, these port numbers in the arena.lst file don't really matter much, they are simply the port number on the proxy-server that you are sending stuff to. (The proxy server then forwards packets coming into this port to the correct ip/port for the game-server -- see next step). (note: you must pick port numbers that are separated by at least 2 and over 1000 -- I will explain later)

Next, you configure your proxy server to forward packets coming into these port numbers (the ones now listed in the arena.lst file) to the correct ip/port number of the game-server. Here is an example:

YOUR MACHINE IP: doesn't really matter

PROXY MACHINE IP: 11.22.33.44

ORIGINAL ARENA.LST

----------------------------

Alpha Zone,207.168.8.10,5380

CHAOS Zone,207.168.8.10,5500

War Zone,207.168.8.10,5510

Expert Zone,206.135.130.12,5510

League Zone,206.135.130.11,5382

MODIFIED ARENA.LST

-----------------------------

Alpha Zone,11.22.33.44,2000

CHAOS Zone,11.22.33.44,2010

War Zone,11.22.33.44,2020

Expert Zone,11.22.33.44,2030

League Zone,11.22.33.44,2040

You then configure your proxy-server as such:

proxy UDP port 2000 to ip:207.168.8.10 port:5380

proxy UDP port 2010 to ip:207.168.8.10 port:5500

proxy UDP port 2020 to ip:207.168.8.10 port:5510

proxy UDP port 2030 to ip:206.135.130.12 port:5510

proxy UDP port 2040 to ip:206.135.130.11 port:5382

Also, the latency-pinger/arena-count display on the connect dialog box, operates on the port numbers listed in the arena.lst file +1. So if you want your pinger to work (ie. get something other than no-response), you should configure your proxy-server to forward these as well, so configure your proxy-server with these as well:

proxy UDP port 2001 to ip:207.168.8.10 port:5381

proxy UDP port 2011 to ip:207.168.8.10 port:5501

proxy UDP port 2021 to ip:207.168.8.10 port:5511

proxy UDP port 2031 to ip:206.135.130.12 port:5511

proxy UDP port 2041 to ip:206.135.130.11 port:5383

Ok, everything should be ready to go, with one exception. When you connect to the server, it will think that your arena.lst file is out of date (it checksum's the file) and will automatically download you a new one -- which will over-write the one you just carefully constructed. So, the next time you log-in, it will be the original file again. You have two choices here: 1) keep a copy of modified one under a different filename and copy it over the original arena.lst file each time you want to connect or 2) mark the arena.lst file as read-only.

MORE ADVANCED STUFF

-------------------

The above configuration will only allow one player to use the proxy server at a time. You can have more than one person playing, simply by having the other player use his own modified arena.lst file that specifies different ports than the one you are using (have him specify port numbers starting at 3000 in the arena.lst file for example). Then, you add his entries to the proxy-server in the same manner as you added yours. If he had used numbers in the 3000 range (where you used numbers in the 2000 range), you would add the following to the proxy-server to get him up and running:

proxy UDP port 3000 to ip:207.168.8.10 port:5380

proxy UDP port 3010 to ip:207.168.8.10 port:5500

proxy UDP port 3020 to ip:207.168.8.10 port:5510

proxy UDP port 3030 to ip:206.135.130.12 port:5510

proxy UDP port 3040 to ip:206.135.130.11 port:5382

proxy UDP port 3001 to ip:207.168.8.10 port:5381

proxy UDP port 3011 to ip:207.168.8.10 port:5501

proxy UDP port 3021 to ip:207.168.8.10 port:5511

proxy UDP port 3031 to ip:206.135.130.12 port:5511

proxy UDP port 3041 to ip:206.135.130.11 port:5383

and his modified arena.lst file would look like this:

SECOND USER MODIFIED ARENA.LST

-------------------------------

Alpha Zone,11.22.33.44,3000

CHAOS Zone,11.22.33.44,3010

War Zone,11.22.33.44,3020

Expert Zone,11.22.33.44,3030

League Zone,11.22.33.44,3040

This should do the job for you. If somebody actually gets this working, please let us know and how you did it (if our description is not accurate). -JeffP

Will more zones be put up? - Not until VIE gets more bandwidth. It does not matter how many computers or zones we have running because we would still have the same bandwidth.

When I connect, the servers report over 150 people online but when I get into the game my stat box says that only 87 people are in the game. Where are the others? - If there are a LOT of people playing, the server may have spawned additional arenas to prevent overcrowding. Additionally, the game allows users to spawn their own private arenas.

SubSpace does not have a Chat type lounge. Is there any way to communication with other players without being in the game? The SubSpace website (URL http://www.vie.com/subspace) has several message boards including Technical Support, Game Suggestions and even a Trash Talk Lounge where users can Dis each other.

There are SubSpace IRCs and when we are able to track down the specifics, we will post the information here and on the website.

Posted by NiNjA BuNnY on August 29, 1996 at 20:21:59 on the SubSpace SUGGESTION BBS:

I have created a Unofficial IRC chat room for SubSpace. If anyone likes they can come in and talk about how to play this game or just talk. PLEASE COME AS YOUR SUBSPACE LOGIN NAME.

You may enter this room at:

irc.qdeck.com

#SubSpace

Do important people ever read the message boards on the SubSpace website? - That depends on who you consider important. Seriously though, the SubSpace Team reads the TECH, SUGG, TRASH and BEGINNER bbs’s many times a day. Our users provide us with many great ideas, suggestions, and bug reports and anyone would be a fool to dismiss the valuable knowledge gained from the message boards.

Will new ships be added? - Ships designs may change but for now only the 4 types of ships with their individual characteristics will be available.

I have heard that there is a Map editor for Subspace. Where is it? - Please look above  in section 3.5 for user instructions. Now you can create your own maps (or edit existing ones). Don’t forget to submit them for possible consideration for future Zones.

I don’t have Windows 95 or NT4.0 installed on my computer. Can I still play SubSpace? - Sure you can, but you will need to find a computer that uses Windows 95 or NT4.0. SubSpace uses Microsoft’s DirectX drivers for performance and currently only Windows 95 and NT4.0 support DirectX. Until other platforms support Direct X, no plans will be discussed to port SubSpace to other CPU platforms.

I like the way SubSpace is now, don’t change it! - The SubSpace team has pretty much finished with the game development in terms of functionality. We will be devising other ways to play SubSpace (like “King of the Hill”, Territorial games, etc.) so that everyone can find the game they like best.

LATENCY AND BANDWIDTH ISSUES

Latency is the whole point of this test. Please let us know how bad it gets.

LAG - The layman’s term for latency. 99% of our issues revolve around Bandwidth (or lack thereof). No matter how many computers we have running arenas we will still have to deal with our connection to the Internet.

Users seem Invincible - Some users may seem to be invincible when in fact the problem again points to latency (a Player’s ship jumping around is a good indication of this and it would be advisable to hunt some other Prey). Sometimes you will show your bullets/bombs hitting their ship but they will only see a small percentage of your ordinance. Although it is still possible that a user could have gotten a shield powerup.

Arena Full message - Since this is a test, we have had to limit the number of players for each arena due to bandwidth limitations. The capacity limits will be addressed when appropriate measures have been taken to ensure reasonable playability.

TECHNICAL GAME QUESTIONS

Rating Formula = (PointsFromKills*10+(Wins-Losses)*100)/(Wins+100)

PointsFromKills does not include PointsFromFlags or Triple Bonus Points for Flag

Carriers (only regular points for kills).

Bounty = The number of powerups your ship has received (including team powerups).


5.2 Credits

SubSpaceTM development team

Jeff Petersen

Rod Humble

Juan Sanchez

Rob Keir

Michael Simpson

Christopher Yates

© 1996 Virgin Interactive. All rights reserved.

Developed by Burst.

A division of Virgin Interactive.


5.3 Acknowledgments

The SubSpace Team would like to thank everyone who helped beta test this program and provided us with valuable insight on ways to improve performance and game play.