PC Gamer (Italian) 27

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ PC Gamer (Italian) 27 / PC Gamer IT CD 27.iso / TANARUS / readme.txt next >

Wrap

Text File | 1997-11-10 | 79KB | 1,667 lines

TANARUS TRAINING MANUAL Last Updated 11/9/97 NOTE: There is also a copy of this manual in your Tanarus directory in Microsoft Word format (MANUAL.DOC). Also, be sure to read the Tanarus Rules of Conduct directly following the Table of Contents. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1. Getting Started Communication Window Players Listing 1.1 Tanarus Command Center 1.2 Arena Selection 1.3 Arena Functionality 1.4 Chat Channels Chapter 2. Teams & League Play 2.1 Joining a Team 2.2 Forming Your Team 2.3 Team Roster and Management 2.4 League Play 2.5 League Rules Chapter 3. Instrumentation 3.1 Armor, Crits, and Shields 3.2 Battery, Feed, and Speed 3.3 Chat Window 3.4 Radar 3.5 Module Display/Grid Map 3.6 Targeting Window 3.7 Kills, Deaths, and Score Chapter 4. Recon Stations 4.1 Base Recon Station 4.2 Capturing Recon Stations 4.3 Equipping at Recon Stations 4.4 Stored Module Configurations 4.5 Repairs Chapter 5. Tanks 5.1 Lightning 5.2 Vanguard 5.3 Devastator 5.4 Chameleon 5.5 MagRider Chapter 6. Modules 6.1 Cannon Armor-Piercing Shells Fragmentation Shells Incendiary Shells Heat Shells 6.2 Laser Weapons Mark I Mark II Mark IV Plasma Cannon Phase Multiplier Lancer 6.3 Missiles Battery Drain Deactivator Flash Force Guided Phoenix 6.4 Mines Deactivator Detonator Proximity Mine Sweeper 6.5 Defense Shield Shield Doubler 6.6 Power Enhancements Power Receiver Reserve Power Supercharger 6.7 Special Cloak Controller Doppler Radar Flag Catcher NanoRepair Night Vision Recon Capture Satellite Camera Sharpshooter Smoke Stealth Turbo Boost Chapter 7. Control and Graphic Options 7.1 Optimizing Controls for Keyboard and Joystick 7.2 Adjusting the Graphic Detail Chapter 8. All Dressed Up and Ready to Kill 8.1 Power 8.2 Superiority Through Teamwork 8.3 Flag Capturing 8.4 Activating Modules 8.5 Sample Tank Configurations 26 Artillery Configurations Laser Configurations Capturing Recon Stations Chapter 9. Trouble-Shooting Network Problems ======================== Tanarus Rules of Conduct If you are logged on to the Tanarus server, you agree to the following rules. IF YOU BREAK ANY OF THESE RULES, YOUR TANARUS ACCOUNT, AND YOUR RIGHT TO USE THE TANARUS SERVICE, MAY BE TERMINATED IMMEDIATELY BY SONY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS AMERICA WITHOUT NOTICE. You may not harass, threaten, embarrass or cause distress, unwanted attention or discomfort to another player. You may not use any offensive or sexually explicit language. You may not use any unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, vulgar, obscene, hateful, racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable language toward any other player. You may not impersonate any Tanarus Technical Support representative or other employee of Sony Interactive Studios America. You may not market, promote or advertise anything, or make any other form of solicitation on the Tanarus Service. You may not violate any local, state, national or international law or regulation. You may not modify any part of the Tanarus software that Sony Interactive Studios America does not specifically authorize you to modify. You may not arrange for the exchange or transfer of any pirated software or other contraband while you are on the Tanarus Service, or use the Tanarus Service for any other illegal purpose. You may not organize any teams or groups that are based on, or espouse, any racist, sexist, anti-religious, anti-ethnic, anti-gay, or other hate-mongering philosophy. You may not give false information or intentionally hide any information that is required at the time you register with the Tanarus Service. You agree to the Terms of Service associated with The Station, the interactive online service operated by Sony Online Ventures Inc. These Terms of Service can be found at http://www.station.sony.com/services/register.dyn ======================== Chapter 1. Getting Started The Tanarus Chamber is divided into three main areas: the Command Center, Arenas, and Chat channels. While each of these three main areas have their own specific functions, they also share common features such as the communication window for conversing with other players and a players listing displaying all other tank commanders presently located in the given chamber. This chapter will cover all aforementioned areas and features. Communication Window At the lower left of the Command Center, Arenas, and Chat channels is the Communication window. Talking with other players in the chamber is as easy as typing what you want to say and hitting the Enter key. Here you can brag about how you kicked somebody's Devastator in your crippled Chameleon (yeah, and you should see the size of the fish I caught). You can also use the scrollbar arrows to glance back through older messages that have scrolled out of the window. Players Listing The player listing is the window located to the right-hand side of the screen. The name of your current location is at the top of the screen (Command Center, Arenas, or Chat channels). While the basic function of the player listing window is to let you scroll through all the players presently located in the chamber with you, it also lets you pull up detailed statistics on individuals. Right-clicking on a name in the Player Listing window will display that player's respective kills to deaths and other gameplay statistics. If a player belongs to a team, a Roster button will also appear letting you look at the respective team. 1.1 Tanarus Command Center Before being able to strap yourself into several tons of metallic death, you'll always find yourself in the main Tanarus Command Center immediately following the initial Login Screen. The Command Center is basically a launching point linking you to the Arenas and Chat channels. After gaining proficiency and reaching a certain rank, new features allowing you to form, manage, or join teams will become available here. 1.2 Arena Selection You're ready to get your turret smoking and your treads rolling. At the Command Center left-click on the Arenas button. The Arenas are classified into the following groups. Beginner This is where you'll first begin your tour of duty. Only newbies (fresh meat) through Private First Class are allowed in the Beginner arenas. Intermediate Private First Class through Staff Sergeants are the requisite ranks for the Intermediate arenas. Advanced Veteran tank commanders achieving Sergeant or higher square off against one another in the Advanced arenas. Expect the competition to be much fiercer at this level. Ten Versus Ten A special set of arenas that allow two teams of ten players each to battle for citywide supremacy. Any rank is allowed into Ten Versus Ten. Team The Team arenas serve as a scrimmage area and uses the official League rules. Here you can scrimmage against other teams and hone up your tank killing skills before partaking in League play. There are two primary differences between League and Team play, however. The first is that you can have smaller scrimmages (4 vs 4, 3 vs 5, etc). The second is that it allows different teams to mix together on each side. League So you think your team has got what it takes to be numero uno over the rabble-rousers? Then prove it. League arenas are reserved for team members only. Refer to Chapter 2, sections 2.4-2.5 for a detailed description on League Play. Duel That jerk keeps saying "I'd kick your sorry butt one on one any day." Instead of escalating a private war among every player in an arena, challenge the offensive player to a private duel and clean their clock (or so you hope). The Duel arenas are smaller arenas than the others, ideal for undertaking mano- to-mano fights or even two versus two. The Duel arenas also use the League rules, except that it doesn't require 5 versus 5 to start a game (it can be 1 vs 1, 2 vs 2, etc). Practice Whether you want to try out a risky new tank configuration or simply want to learn without having your individual statistics affected, the Practice arenas are open to all ranks. Within the Practice arenas none of your kills, deaths, or score will be recorded. 1.3 Arena Functionality To choose the arena grouping you want to enter, just highlight the group (such as Beginner) and then click on the OK button. The player listing window and communication window will carry over from the Command Center with the most notable new addition being the Arenas menu located to the upper-left of the screen. Each Arena channel has its own respective communication window to talk with other players in that Arena. An individual arena can hold a maximum of twenty players playing at once, five per team. The Red, Green, Blue, and Gray numbers represent the amount of players within that city on that given color. For example, a red five means that the red team is currently filled with five players. However, any number can be present in arena chat. Left-clicking on an Arena name will go to that Arena channel and the players listing window will reflect the respective players in that area. Player names listed in yellow are currently in the chamber with you whereas red, blue, green, and gray represent players battling within that Arena. When selecting what color you want to join, look at the Red, Green, Blue, and Gray buttons to the right of the Play button in the Arenas window. Left- click on a color that has room to head into battle on that color. But if decisions make your head hurt, left-clicking on Play will randomly place you on one of the open teams that has space for another player. The Exit button will return you to the main Command Center. 1.4 Chat Channels Whether you want to give your trigger finger a rest or are seeking Technical Support, left-clicking on the Chat button found in the Command Center will let you join other conversation channels. A new listing showing all Chat channels will appear to the upper-left portion of the screen. To join a channel, simply scroll until you find the channel you want; then click on the channel name, and the player listing window will subsequently display the players on that channel. Chapter 2. Teams So you're becomingly increasingly frustrated whenever you take your Devastator against two enemy Vanguards. They keep melting your tank into a slag pool before you can even scratch their wax jobs! Instead of cursing them to hell and beyond wondering why you can't seem to kill anyone, keep in mind the name of the game is teamwork. You can informally team with other players in games (and this is highly recommended), you can also form or join official Tanarus teams. The benefits of joining or forming a team aren't just limited to making a new group of friends and wingmen, but your kills (and deaths) will now contribute to the team statistics. Belonging to a team will also let you join a team-specific chat channel accessible only to members of that given team, and will allow you to organize special matches. Ultimately being a part of a team will allow you to join in League play where teams can engage in heavy metal combat to prove who's number one and who's nothing but shrapnel. This chapter will focus on all aspects of teams, from joining and forming all the way to team management. 2.1 Joining a Team Once you've proven your worth in the volatile training grounds you'll get a chance to prove it yet again - this time with teams. At some point or other you'll enter the main Command Center and you'll see a message stating that you've been invited to join a team. It isn't a cult propositioning you - it's a team offering you a position as a member. Three new buttons will also appear: Join, Decline, and Roster. Clicking on Join will automatically join you to the ranks of the offering team. Clicking on Decline will refuse, subsequently terminating the offer. If you want to see whether it's a group of hotshots versus a squad of clowns before making a decision, simply click on Roster. This will show the full roster of the team including their entire team kill/death history. You can keep the offer to join the team standing as long as you don't click on Decline. However, you won't be able to receive any other team invitations while you have an offer pending. After joining and becoming the new waterboy a Team and Roster button will appear. Clicking on Team will take you to your team's private chat channel. Choose the Roster to go to a comprehensive screen detailing all your fellow team members, their individual kills and deaths, and the total kills and deaths accumulated by the team. The Roster varies within its features based on whether you joined or formed the team. One bonus feature in belonging to a team is the private Team Chat button at the bottom center of the Team Roster screen. Left-clicking on this button will take you directly to a completely private channel in which only you and your fellow team members can access to secretly discuss tactics or the latest cool movie (whatever, in other words). Should you ever become disgruntled with the team you joined (this team sucks!) just tap the Retire button at the lower-right of the screen. This will display a window asking `Do you really want to quit the team?" You will have to type the word `yes' and hit Enter to confirm - anything else and you will remain on the team. 2.2 Forming Your Team While you can be any rank when joining a team, you must be a Sergeant or higher before being able to form your own team. When you reach the rank of Sergeant a new button will appear in the Command Center - Form. Now you can be God to your own team (worship me, dogs!). Left-click on Form and you'll prompt the following: Congratulations on your decision to form a new team. Please enter your desired team name: __________ Should you enter a team name that's already been taken (you thought Killers was original?), you will be prompted with, "I'm sorry, but that team name has already been taken. Please create another." After creating a Team Name that is accepted your new team is formed. It's time to recruit. Back at the main Command Center you will now see an Invite button. Click on Invite and you will be prompted for a name. Type in the full name of the player then tap the Enter key to send an Invite out. If the player you're inviting already has an offer pending or belongs to another team the invite will be canceled. The maximum amount of team members including yourself is thirty. To keep an eye on your members, notice that the Form button has now been replaced with a very handy Team Roster button. Refer to the next section detailing the Roster. 2.3 Team Roster and Management Left-click on the Roster button at the main Command Center to display your Team Roster. The Team Roster is essentially the same screen whether you join or form the team, displaying all your team members, individual kills and total kills to deaths. One very important aspect to remember is that when you initially form or join a team, your individual kills and deaths will start at zero in the Team Roster. This is because only from the point you're actually part of a team do your kills, deaths, and score start contributing to the team. Right-clicking on a teammate's name in the Team Roster screen will display the respective player's full statistics. Another handy feature in the Team Roster is the ability to see what teammates are currently playing Tanarus. Any teammate names that appear in white are presently within Tanarus. The Team Chat button is also available for completely private discussions with teammates. But only a team captain can fire someone, pass the leadership on when retiring, or disband the team entirely. At the lower-left portion of the screen next to the Exit button is the Expel button. Say Tommyboy has been dragging your collective team statistics to hell. Expel the dummy! Left-click on Expel, type the name of the player you wish to expel (in this case Tommyboy), and hit the Enter key. This will prompt "Do you wish to expel Tommyboy from your team?" You must type `yes' to confirm the expulsion. To the lower-right portion of the screen are Retire and Disband. Whether it's the headaches of managing a team or your significant other is threatening to kill you for neglecting him or her, these are only options for a captain who wants to leave management. By left-clicking on Retire you will prompt, "Do you really want to quit the team?" Again, you will have to manually type `yes,' which will bring up "Please select the heir to the throne." Type in the name of the team member that you want to succeed you - the successor must naturally be a Sergeant or higher. You will now be given the option to remain on the team as a regular teammate or to quit entirely. If your team is nothing without you, left-click on the Disband button. This will display, "Do you really want to disband the team? This will irrevocably terminate the entire team. Type `yes' to proceed." Typing in `yes' will complete the disbanding, removing any evidence of your disbanded team. 2.4 League Play Belonging to a team also makes you eligible to compete in tournaments against other teams in the Tanarus League Play. The League Play arenas can only be accessed by players belonging to teams and serve as the official center for league competition. The League Play is set up with the Arena listing at the upper left, allowing two teams to select a private arena. Once the teams have selected the meeting place in League Play, they can begin the process of setting up the match. Teams can choose from being either red or blue, with five players on each team. To join a respective color, a team member just clicks on Join Red or Join Blue. This will move their name into one of the two upper right team windows. Once a team member has joined either red or blue, only members of that team can join the same color. If two teams are fighting over a certain color, a player can click on the Random button and be randomly placed on either red or blue (akin to flipping a quarter to see who gets the color). Once both teams have five players each in the team windows, they must click on the Confirm button to get the game rolling. When a player clicks on Confirm, the word `Confirmed' appears next to their name in the team window. To officially start the game, each player must click on Confirm, automatically starting the game when the player confirms. League Play requires both teams to have five players each before a tournament can commence. If a player decides to remove his/her ready status, but wants to remain in a team window, the player can click on the Cancel button. Should a player wish to withdraw entirely before a match begins (making way for another player), the player can click on the Withdraw button, thereby exiting the team window. Last, but not least, all tournaments in League Play are automatically recorded on the Tanarus server, letting players focus on the game without having to keep score manually. For the latest information on either registering a team for League Play or looking for the latest League updates, point your web browser to http://www.tanarus.com. 2.5 League Rules Unlike other arenas, the League Arenas are set up with special conditions to accommodate matches. When all players have confirmed, the game begins with a 90 minute timer. In order for a team to win the match one of several possible victory conditions must be met. During the match, each player is allowed three deaths, and upon the third death the player is automatically removed from the match and is not allowed back in: The following are Decisive Victory Conditions. In effect, shutting the game down before the time limit expires with the following conditions: Total Elimination - A team that can remove all of the opposing team's players before the 90 minute limit is granted this decisive victory. Flag Capture - A team that can successfully capture the enemy's flag before the 90 minute limit is granted this decisive victory. Alternative Victory Conditions are met when the 90 minute limit has expired. These conditions are as follows. Elimination - After 90 minutes, the team with the most earned kills is granted this type of victory. Power Play - After 90 minutes, if both teams have an equal amount of earned kills, the team with the most recon stations wins. No Recon Default - After 90 minutes, any team that has successfully removed all of the opposing team's recon stations wins, regardless of the number of earned kills credited to the reconless team. In other words, any team that does not own a recon station by game's end automatically loses. However, if both teams have no recon stations or, conversely, have tied in the number of recon stations owned, and have also tied for earned kills, the game is a Draw. When 10 minutes are left in the match, a countdown message will be displayed each minute thereafter. When the game ends (whether by Decisive Victory or Alternative), the chat chamber will display the final score for the game. A detailed log of the match is also available for download from the arena chat chamber. Type "#getlog" (without the quotes) to write the log to your local harddrive. You can then find the recorded log in your Tanarus directory named as the file match#.log (where # is the League Arena number where the match took place). Only one log is available per arena, and the last log for the arena is overwritten upon the completion of a newer match. Logs are available for anyone to quickly download. After each game, arenas are reset and a new game can begin right away. Chapter 3. Instrumentation You're ready to rumble. The only problem is that you keep getting dusted while you're just trying to figure out what does what in your cockpit display. This chapter covers the instrumentation so you can know at a glance what the various readings represent (even though some are fairly intuitive). The default instrumentation and viewpoint are what you will initially encounter when you first enter an Arena. The action all occurs in the 3D viewpoint at the top half of the screen - though if you weren't able to figure this part out, then you might need more help than this manual can offer. 3.1 Armor, Crits, and Shields At the center of your console you'll see a tank graphic representing the your tank. Above the tank is your ARMOR indicator and below it the CRITS display. ARMOR shows the remaining plates of Armor on your tank once your shields are breached. CRITS stand for the Criticals which are effectively your last stand before death. As you take damage, your ARMOR will first start to drop. As the numbers decrease the color of your tank icon's body will change colors to a lighter blue, yellow, orange, red, then gray display. Once the body of your tank's icon is gray, you no longer have any armor (and the ARMOR will have a 0 next to it). The CRITS will now begin taking damage, and the color of the tank icon's turret will change to a lighter blue, yellow, orange, red, and gray. Whenever your CRITS are hit, your tank begins to smoke. This in turn makes you a very attractive target (blood for the sharks). Once your CRITS are blown away, so are you. To help extend your lifeline you'll want to use shields. Shields are depicted graphically with curved bars that appear both above and below your tank icon. The top bar is your front shield whereas the bottom bar is your rear shield. At full strength, both bars will appear white. As they take damage, they will steadily begin to change colors to yellow, orange, and red. If there's no bar that means you either don't have shields turned on or you've had your shields shot out. Fortunately you can allocate your shield power in 25% increments. So if you're getting pounded on your rear shield while running away, allocate the majority of your shield energy to your rear shield to increase the chance of survival. 3.2 Battery, Feed, and Speed Under the left chat window you'll find both BATTERY and FEED bars. More than anything else, Tanarus is a power game. Keeping a well-charged battery is critical in the usage of energy weapons. The green bar representing your battery will decrease from right to left as you consume energy through driving, firing energy weapons, or using special modules such as stealth and cloak. Should your battery empty completely, your tank will drive at 30% of its top speed until you manage to get some power back into your battery. Thirty percent of your top speed equates to certain death in most cases if enemies are present. You can turn your shields off to regain a sliver of battery power. Next to your BATTERY bar is your FEED indicator. Your base, satellites, and captured Recon Stations all radiate energy that your tank can draw into its battery. The FEED meter shows the current level of energy your tank is receiving with a blue bar that extends from left to right. Likewise, when near an enemy base or Recon Station, your FEED meter will extend from the right to left with a red bar indicating that you're losing power to enemy energy leech systems. The higher the respective bars, the more energy you're either receiving or losing. Your SPEED indicator completes the right instrumentation panel. When increasing speed, the green bar will rise until it reaches your tank's maximum forward speed. Reversing will result in the opposite with the green bar lowering until it achieves top reverse speed. 3.3 Chat Window The chat window is located at the lower left-side of the cockpit. This is where you can communicate with other teams or privately with your own team. Deaths are also displayed in the chat window showing who died and to whom. You can also toggle a listing of who is on what team and their given bounties by pressing the F1 key. The two modes of chat are open and private team channel messages. Open messages can be sent by tapping the / key followed by your message then the Enter key. As you type your message it will appear in the chat bar located below the chat window. All teams including your own will see the message displayed in white text. Private messages to your team can be sent by tapping the ` key followed by your message then the Enter key. This time only your teammates will see the message and the color of the message will match your team color (a green team private message will be displayed in green text). Hitting the ESC key will cancel the message. 3.4 Radar One of your bigger friends you should refer to often is the circular radar display located to the upper right-hand portion of your screen. Enemy tanks will show up as small team-colored squares - a blue square is a blue tank. Satellites are small circles whose color reflects the given team as well (red satellites are from the red team, etc). Neutral Recon Stations appear as hollow white squares. However, when a Recon Station is captured the color will change to reflect the color of the team that captured it (a red, green, blue, or gray hollow square). Radar also displays when a missile is launched by showing a small white dot. By keeping an eye on radar you can see when a missile is fired at you and just as importantly from where it's launched. Stealthed tanks will not show up on radar so don't become overly-reliant on radar when hunting enemies. There are three radius levels to your Radar which you can cycle through using the F3 key. In general, when scouting an area keep your Radar Long- range, if enemies are nearby switch to Medium range, and for close opponents go to Short-range Radar. 3.5 Module Display/Grid Map To the lower right-hand portion of the screen is your module display/grid map toggle. Whatever modules you've equipped in your tank are shown here. Modules shown in dark green text are modules that are currently turned off. When a module is activated, such as the phase multiplier, the selected module will turn to a bright green. This is also the best way to monitor your ammo count for conventional weaponry. Modules that are light blue are modules that are always turned on. Pressing the F2 key will toggle the Grid Map dividing cities into sectors such as A2, C4, etc. This is a convenient means to communicate tactics with your team like "I need backup at C3," or "Someone capture the Recon Station at D3." Your teammates' tanks will show up as small respectively colored squares (red squares for red tanks) on the Grid Map. Likewise, Recon Stations will be white for neutral or the color of the team that captured them. Enemy tanks do not, however, show up on the Grid Map, whether they're stealthed or not. 3.6 Targeting Window After a while you'll make new friends and enemies in Tanarus. Knowing just who it is piloting that enemy Vanguard can mean all the difference between life and death. Between your Module Display and Speed indicator is your Targeting window. This can be used to target an enemy tank or to show the name of a teammate. Targeting lets you assign a nearby enemy tank into the Targeting window. Targeted tanks will show up on radar as yellow and will also have a yellow arrow pointing down at them within the main action screen. Enemy tanks equipped with stealth cannot be targeted. 3.7 Kills, Deaths, and Score Your present score and kills to deaths are located next above the Targeting window. Your score is directly affected by the bounty of whom you kill - the higher their bounty, the more points you receive. Your kills and deaths reflect how many times you've killed others and how many times you died - unless you enjoy losing, it's better to have the former higher than the latter. Whenever you earn points, half of whatever you earn will also be added to your bounty. For example, if you kill an enemy tank with a 10,000 bounty, your score will increase by 10,000 pts and your bounty will be incremented by 5,000. The following is a list of the required points to obtain ranks all the way through Captain. Rank Points Needed (total score) ==== ==================== Newbie Start Rank Private 250,000 Private First Class 500,000 Lance Corporal 1,000,000 Corporal 2,000,000 Sergeant 3,000,000 Staff Sergeant 5,000,000 Gunnery Sergeant 7,500,000 Master Sergeant 10,000,000 First Sergeant 15,000,000 Master Gunnery Sergeant 20,000,000 Sergeant Major 25,000,000 Second Lieutenant 32,500,000 First Lieutenant 40,000,000 Captain 50,000,000 Chapter 4. Recon Stations A critical element in advancing your team through a city is by capturing Recon Stations. When you first enter an Arena all Recon Stations except for the Base Recon Stations will show up as being hollow white boxes on Radar. This indicates that the Recon Stations are presently neutral, capable of being used by any team. A Red, Green, Blue, or Gray Recon Station means that the respectively colored team has captured it. Capturing a Recon Station has several advantages as opposed to letting it remain neutral. The most immediately recognizable benefit is that you've cut off enemies from being able to use that Recon Station. But that's just the icing on the cake. Another blow to your enemies will be the powerful Recon Gun which fires proximity blasts at nearby enemies. And last, but not least, while your Recon Station feeds your tank energy, it will actually drain power from nearby enemy tanks. 4.1 Base Recon Station Your Base Recon Station shares a couple distinct differences from Recon Stations located out in the battlefield. It cannot ever be captured by the enemy and is the only location where you can actually switch to a new tank or get a Recon Capture module. Like Recon Stations in the battlefield, to use your Base Recon Station slowly drive your tank under the floating orb and hit the Enter key. This will automatically dock your tank and repairs will immediately proceed if your tank is damaged. On both sides of the Chassis Type are arrow buttons letting you cycle through the five available tanks (discussed in Chapter 5). Simply left-click on either arrow until you reach the tank you want. The statistics of the tank will be listed under it, and the Bay Configuration will reflect the appropriate number of bays. You now have your tank and are ready to start the equipment phase. To exit the Recon Station either hit the <esc> key or left- click the Enter button and return to the battlefield. 4.2 Capturing Recon Stations As mentioned earlier, there are several benefits gained from capturing a Recon Station. In order to capture a neutral Recon Station, a tank must equip a Recon Capture module (only available at the Base Recon Station), drive under a white orb and activate the Recon Capture. This will call a friendly satellite over the Recon Station, beginning the capture phase, uploading data into the neutral Recon Station for thirty seconds. If the satellite is shot down within this thirty second time span the Recon Station will return to its neutral state and the capture will be aborted. Provided the satellite survives and captures the Recon Station, the orb and Radar will now reflect the color of the capturing team. A Recon Gun will also be deployed above the Recon Station that will fire proximity blasts at enemies - even stealthed and cloaked enemies. Energy will be emitted to friendly tanks and leeched from nearby enemy tanks. The satellite will also upload a protection system that effectively prevents any other team from being able to recapture that Recon Station for two minutes. Capturing an enemy-owned Recon Station is basically the same method, but it's generally safer to shoot down the enemy Recon Gun before driving in and activating the Recon Capture. Naturally if an enemy team has just captured that Recon Station, you'll also have to wait two minutes before being able to capture it. 4.3 Equipping at Recon Stations Under Equipment Selection, you can use the mouse or keyboard to select modules. Using a keyboard, simply tap the hot-key letter of the Category type (C)annon, (L)aser weapons, etc) to jump directly to that module type, then use the Up and Down arrows to reach the desired module. After highlighting the given module, the player can either hit Enter or double-click to move that module into the tank's Bay Configuration (provided there's room), or tap the I key bringing up a picture and a brief description of the highlighted module. Clicking on the Info button with a highlighted module will perform the same function. Next to the modules is the number of bays a module requires. Some modules take up more than one bay, such as the cannon. Subsequently if you equip a cannon into a Vanguard (which has seven bays), you'll have five bays remaining. The cannon will appear in two of the bays. Modules that appear in red mean you either don't have enough room or you don't have a prerequisite module. For example, you can't equip a phoenix missile until you have a missile launcher. To remove modules from bays type the respective number of the bay a module is occupying then press the delete or backspace key to remove it. Right-clicking an equipped module will remove it as well. 4.4 Stored Module Configurations To expedite the re-arm phase one step further you can use the Stored Configuration feature which allows you to save three module configurations per tank. Just fill the bays with your ideal setup, click on the letter you wish to save under (either A, B, or C), then click on the Save Config button. The saved configuration will be kept until the player decides to change the stored configuration. For example, if you already have a configuration under B and select another configuration to save under B, your old configuration will automatically be overwritten. Recalling a saved configuration can be performed by left-clicking on either A, B, or C. The stored configuration will be displayed in the Bay Configuration. If it's the configuration you want, click on the Load Config button to load the modules into your tank. 4.5 Repairs When a badly damaged tank pulls into a Recon Station, repairs will begin, first on CRITS then ARMOR. Shields are automatically turned off when a tank enters a Recon Station to repair and/or rearm. Recon Stations are by no means safe-houses. If you enter a Recon Station in a badly damaged tank with a pursuing enemy gunning your tank, you will probably die if the rate of damage received exceeds the repair rate. For example, phase-multiplied Mark IV lasers will definitely damage faster than a Recon Station's repair rate. Chapter 5. Tanks So now you know how to select different tank types and how to equip modules, but you don't really know the inherent differences between the tanks or the various functions of modules. This chapter will cover all the basics on tanks while chapter six will focus exclusively on modules. The five available tanks in Tanarus are the Lightning, Vanguard, Devastator, Chameleon and MagRider. Each of these tanks have different strengths and weaknesses. Factors to consider in each tank description when choosing your tank are the individual forward/reverse speeds, turret radius, battery size, armor, criticals, and number of module bays. 5.1 Lightning The name says it all. The Lightning gained fame as being the fastest and most maneuverable light tank in the military. The turret radius is a full 180 degrees le ft or right, giving the Lightning the distinct advantage of being able to shoot from its backside when running away. The Lightning also has a built-in missile launcher. Speed and maneuverability aren't without their costs. Once a Lightning's shields are breached, there isn't much in terms of armor or criticals separating it from a fiery finish. The number of module bays are also a limiting factor when it comes to equipping a Lightning. Nonetheless, the Lightning can be a surprisingly effective tank in the hands of veterans for scouting, firing missiles, laying mines, stealing enemy Flags, teaming with heavier tanks, and harassing enemies from a distance. 5.2 Vanguard For three decades the Lightning and Devastator were the primary tanks seen in fierce fire fights throughout the solar system. While many new tanks tried to fill the void between the light and heavy tank, they mostly ended up filling the battlefields with their own debris. The Vanguard was the first medium tank to be universally accepted into the hands of battle-hardened warriors. Second in speed only to the Lightning with a turret radius of 90 degrees left or right, the Vanguard can circle an enemy tank at a high speed while unleashing a torrent of firepower. The Vanguard's built-in weapon is a Mark IV. As to weaknesses, the Vanguard doesn't really have anything wrong with it. While it doesn't have as many bays as a Devastator, it still has enough to pack plenty of punch. The Vanguard is a solid choice for medium-range combat and can also be used for scouting and capturing Recon Stations. 5.3 Devastator The Devastator is the largest of all tanks, layered in heavy armor with substantial criticals topped off by a whopping ten module bays. The price is speed; all other tanks outrun and outmaneuver the Devastator. But what they don't do is outgun the Devastator. With its abundant armor and customization capabilities, the Devastator is the ultimate deliverer of death, and a great tank choice for novices to seasoned veterans. A built-in cannon completes the Devastator. 5.4 Chameleon One of the newest tanks to appear (or should I say disappear) in fire fights is the Chameleon. Like its reptilian cousin, the Chameleon is capable of blending in with its environment and disappearing from radar due to its integrated Cloak and Stealth systems which drain no extra power. The Chameleon also has a built-in Lancer. Secrecy's price is that the Chameleon is slow, has a limited turret radius, and possesses extremely low armor and criticals. Shields also aren't really a good idea to engage when cloaked, either - the shields will negate the cloak. In other words, if the Chameleon is seen it's one dead lizard. The only time a cloaked Chameleon can be seen is when it either decloaks or fires a gun. When firing a gun, the Chameleon will be temporarily visible for one second. Smart Chameleon pilots therefore attack from behind. A great tank for ambushing and assisting teammates. 5.5 MagRider The first tank to literally glide into the battlefield is the MagRider. Utilizing an electro-magnetic drive train, the MagRider actually hovers above the ground. While the MagRider's turret is fixed-forward, its ability to hover also gives it one distinct advantage over other tanks - the ability to strafe (hover left or right). In this fashion, a MagRider can circle an opponent by strafing left or right, unleashing a torrent of firepower the entire time. The MagRider has an integrated Mark II, Phase Multiplier, and Dampener. Chapter 6. Modules Knowing the tanks and how to drive them is only half the battle. Up to now all the basics of chamber operation, recon stations, instrumentation, and tanks have been covered. But the most important factor in gaining the upper-hand in combat is how you equip your tank. Whether you select a Lightning, Vanguard, Devastator, Chameleon, or MagRider, essentially all you've got is a working shell of a chassis. These tanks all have varying characteristics in terms of armor, module bays, speed and maneuverability, but it's what goes into the module bays that completes your tank. Going into combat with a module bay left empty is not a good idea. This chapter will cover all the modules that you can equip within your tank's configuration bays. The modules themselves are divided into six different categories reflecting the Recon Station equipping menu: Cannon, Laser Weapons, Missiles, Mines, Defense, Power Enhancements, and Special. Once you've experimented with the following modules and found a good configuration for yourself, don't stop there - keep trying out new ideas and configurations. Separating the aces from the novices is the ability to have several configurations per tank, always keeping the enemy unbalanced by never becoming predictable. 6.1 Cannon Tanks as early as the twentieth century used conventional weaponry as a basis for warfare. Since then, cannons have been improved and optimized with new shell types, but the basics remain the same. Conventional weaponry has a notable advantage over energy weapons - although shields absorb most of the damage, some damage will still leak through from the concussion wave to the receiving tank's armor. Energy weapons, on the other hand, must breach the shields first before ever being able to harm what's underneath. Just be prepared for the cannon itself to take up two entire bays, and that's not even counting the ammo. There are three types of cannon shells. Armor-Piercing Shells The only projectile that can completely ignore shields and hit armor directly are armor-piercing shells. Armor-piercing shells are also fairly large, limiting the number of shells that can fit into one bay. Fragmentation Shells One of the reasons ground troops are never to be seen is because they all got the hell out when the fragmentation shells started hitting - at least the few that were still alive. When a fragmentation shell hits, an explosive burst of shrapnel bursts forth in all directions for a wide proximity blast. Although these shells don't do much damage against shielded tanks, they're ideal for raining down on clustered enemies from a distance, spreading damage that can quickly add up through attrition. Due to their smaller size, a good share of fragmentation shells can be loaded into a single module bay. Heat Shells Known not too affectionately as "Hell in a shell," the incendiary shell is guaranteed to give receiving tanks a sunburn they won't ever forget. Although the blast radius is small, the extreme heat is capable of melting several layers of armor. Even when an incendiary shell hits a shielded tank, an uncomfortable amount of heat still seeps through to hit the armor. Due to the micro-fuel canisters within each incendiary shell, only half a dozen can be stored in each bay. 6.2 Laser Weapons Whereas conventional weaponry strips armor from a tank like a peel off a banana, laser weapons can quickly cut shields on a tank. There are four primary types of energy weapons: Mark I, Mark II, Mark IV, and the Plasma cannon. Mark I Featuring the highest fire rate out of any laser gun, the Mark I bursts single lasers which don't do much damage per blast, but repeated rapid-fire hits will start to quickly take their toll on a tank's shields. The extremely long range aspect of the Mark I also makes it one of the most annoying weapons around - an enemy can hit you from far away and if you have a Mark II or Mark IV, you have to drive a considerable distance before you can even return fire. Mark II The `II' in the Mark II represents the dual laser blasts that are cut loose with each squeeze of the trigger. While the firing rate is nearly half that of the Mark I, the dual lasers do almost twice as much damage. The Mark II is also a good medium range weapon, ideal for tanks like the Vanguard and Lightning which can turn their turrets sideways to fire and keep their distance from their targeted tank. Mark IV Packing four searing lasers per shot, the Mark IV is one of the most feared close-range weapons. It even packs appreciable damage against armor once shields are knocked down. Due to its close-range, the Mark IV is best used for crowded areas where enemy tanks can't fire too easily at you from a distance. The energy consumption is also fairly high, second only to the plasma cannon. Plasma Cannon The plasma cannon inflicts very little damage against armor and criticals. What it does do, however, is pack one heckuva punch against shields. Easily the highest damaging energy weapon against shields, the plasma cannon is ideally used when you have another weapon to switch to once you've reduced an opponent's shields to nothing. The only drawback is the high amount of energy consumed per shot. Phase Multiplier To get the most out of the Mark series weaponry, the phase multiplier was engineered to keep the Mark equipment stabilized with over twice the amount of energy passing through. What this means is that when a phase multiplier is turned on, expect the Mark I, Mark II, and Mark IV to inflict twice the amount of their normal damage. The side-effect is that over twice the amount of energy is spent to fire a Mark laser bolstered by the phase multiplier. The plasma cannon isn't affected by the phase multiplier. Lancer A prototype beam weapon, the lancer inflicts the strongest damage against either shields or armor versus other laser armaments. What it delivers in damage isn't with its price, however, as the Lancer needs to charge to 100% before being able to fire. The Lancer maintains a delicate equilibrium while charging or fully charged, meaning that any hit from another weapon and the Lancer will lose its entire charge. 6.3 Missiles Missiles are arguably the best complementary conventional weapons available. From the extremely damaging phoenix missile to the blinding white flash missile, these projectiles can be used in a variety of ways. To use a missile you need a missile launcher which is capable of holding two missiles (although the missiles still need their own bays). The missile launcher is automatically loaded when you select a missile type. Battery Drain There's not much worse than rolling out into battle in your tank souped up with energy weapons, a power booster, and reserve powers than to watch all your energy suddenly disappear - well, aside from your following death. The battery drain missile is the largest of all missiles, requiring three bays, but it's capable of draining an enemy tank of all energy, including any reserve powers. The only protection from battery drain missiles are shields. Deactivator Like the battery drain missile, the deactivator missile doesn't do any physical damage, but knocks a tank out of commission for a duration of four seconds. That may not sound like much until one hits you and you're forced to helplessly watch the other tank blow your immobilized tank away. Shields are the only way to stop a deactivator missile. Flash The flash missile blinds a tank temporarily upon impact, regardless of whether the targeted tank's shields are active. Hitting a non-shielded tank will blind it for five seconds, whereas a shielded tank will only incur two seconds of blinding. Force Missile The force missile may not inflict any physical damage, but when push comes to shove, no other weapon shoves nearly as hard. An ideal tool for pushing enemy tanks to their deaths off high buildings. Guided As the name implies, guided missiles are just that - guided, specifically by you. When you launch a guided missile, your main view switches to that of the guided missile, letting you fly it into your target. While not extremely damaging, it still hits hard, especially against unshielded tanks. The duration before it self-detonates is ten seconds. Phoenix Like a bird of prey, the dumb-fire phoenix missile swoops in to pack the most physical damage of any missile - it even hits hard against shields, passing damage through to your armor. Without shields expect to see your armor and possibly your tank just disappear in a violent explosion. The only drawbacks are that the phoenix missile requires two bays and has no built-in guidance systems. 6.4 Mines In general, if you see a small object lying on the ground that isn't your team color, avoid it. Curiosity kills the tank. Mines can be lain pretty much wherever and have different respective damage attributes. The three main mine types are the deactivator, detonator, and proximity. Deactivator Similar to the deactivator missile, any unshielded enemy tank driving over a deactivator mine will find itself immobile for five seconds. More than enough time to blast the defenseless tank to bits. Shields will set off an enemy deactivator mine before it can affect your tank. Detonator You drive over the mine with your shields on, waiting for the mine to blow. The next thing you know you're directly over the mine with no shield protection and it detonates right beneath you, tearing your tank to bits. Welcome to the detonator mine. Basically a remote-activated explosion, a tank can drop a detonator mine then set it off when it wants. A detonator mine will not explode unless detonated by the player who laid it or when an enemy uses a minesweeper. Proximity A standard IFF (Identify Friend or Foe) mine, the proximity mine detonates when a tank or shield touches it. From there, the rest is a skyward blast of extreme damage for the unfortunate tank that drove over the mine. Shields will reduce the damage, but a fair amount will still pass through to the tank. Mine Sweeper You know there's a mine at the top of that ramp, but you don't want to use your tank to set it off. The answer is the mine sweeper, which will set off any enemy mine within a nearby radius. Just get ready to have half your battery drained when you use the mine sweeper, and obviously try not to park right next to the mines you're detonating. The mine sweeper will not detonate friendly mines. 6.5 Defense Unless you want to die fast and often, shields are the only physical means to extend the lifeline of your tank. Aside from incurring all damage from energy weapons until they're breached and substantially reducing the amount of damage from conventional weaponry against armor, shields also have the capability to recharge after receiving damage. Armor, on the other hand, is gone until repaired. Shield The shield module is a basic shield which can charge up to fifty points for both the front and rear shields. To get the most out of shields, remember that they need to charge up to their potential and also draw power from your battery to sustain their charge. So don't go into a heavy fight then turn your shields on. Turn them on beforehand, let them charge up, then drive in. If your front side is only exposed to a fire fight, you can allocate all your shield energy forward, giving your forward shield 100 points, or vice versa when running away. While a shield is activated, it will greatly reduce damage against almost all energy and conventional weaponry, and also negate or lessen the effects of battery drain, deactivator, or flash types of weapons. Once a shield is damaged to zero, any further damage will hit the tank's armor. A period of three seconds will elapse before the shield is recalibrated and begins recharging. A final factor that affects your shield recharge rate is your POWER meter. The more energy you're receiving from your Base, Recon Stations, or Satellites, the faster your shields will recharge. Shield Boost Capable of increasing both your front and rear shields to 100 points each, the shield doubler is aptly named. You can also channel all energy to the forward or back shield based on your combat situation. Using a shield booster does require more energy; so it shouldn't be used unless you have a good power intake or reserve powers. 6.6 Power Enhancements Energy weapons and shields can take a lot out of your battery, reducing your staying power in actual combat. With this in mind, three modules were developed to specifically enhance power within tanks: the power booster, reserve power, and supercharger. Power Receiver All tanks have a limited capacity to draw power into their batteries from their base, friendly (team-owned) Recon Stations, and Satellites. The Power Receiver lengthens the reach, allowing you to draw power from more distant power sources. Reserve Power Whether you're going after an enemy team's flag or scouting, reserve powers are vital backup power supplies should your tank's battery deplete entirely. An equipped reserve power will automatically activate when a tank's battery is completely drained, refilling the battery entirely. Supercharger A limiting factor on many tanks are the sizes of their batteries. The supercharger will increase a tank's battery size by 80%, allowing the tank to fire energy weapons more freely, use shields, and enhance scouting capabilities into areas without any power intake. 6.7 Special The final assortment of modules available to customize your tank are designated in the Special category. While none of these modules are actually weapons, they can offer invaluable assistance in hiding and finding enemies, capturing Recon Stations and flags, manipulating satellites, or even precariously catapulting your tank through the sky. Cloak Imagine being able to make your tank completely invisible to enemy eyes. With cloak you can, but be prepared to pay the price as this module draws heavy energy to mask your tank and match its surroundings. Also, you can't use shields when cloaked as they will appear visually (hmm, shields but no tank, what could that mean?) and basically undo the entire reason for using cloak in the first place - secrecy. The Chameleon tank already has a special cloak system integrated into its system. Just remember that the Cloak module doesn't make you invisible on radar. Controller All satellites at your base except two are capable of being moved throughout the city. You have one personal satellite you can position wherever you want by using a controller module. Whether you want your satellite as a backup power source, an extra gun, or for detecting cloaked enemies, the controller module is the only way to have the satellite do your bidding. Doppler Radar Since stealthed tanks are a common occurrence within Tanarus, the best way to detect them is through Doppler Radar. Doppler Radar is the best way to hunt chameleons. While you can't see them visually, you can at least see them on radar. Flag Catcher Only a few brave, resourceful players will be able to infiltrate an enemy base, take their flag, and return it to their base for the ultimate insult against the stolen flag's team. But to even try this you need a flag catcher module. A tank equipped with the flag catcher will automatically scoop up an enemy flag when your tank drives directly over the flag. NanoRepair A sophisticated technological breakthrough, nanorepair allows a tank to convert energy into restoring lost Armor and Criticals. The repair process itself is fairly slow, with each restored plate of armor consuming one unit of battery power. Night Vision The other method of seeing through darkness is Night Vision. Equipping a Night Vision module will map your viewing screen in red, allowing you to clearly see buildings and tanks. Recon Capture The full advantages of owning a Recon Station are detailed in chapter 4. But in order to capture a Recon Station you need to have a Recon Capture module. Drive into a defenseless Recon Station, activate the Recon Capture, and cover your satellite for thirty seconds once it arrives over the Recon Station. If you're successful, the Recon Station will belong to your team. Satellite Camera A satellite camera allows you to look through the `eyes' of a Satellite. You have a total of five Satellites on your team, with each teammate being able to control one. Placing these satellites throughout the city not only gives power to any friendly tanks near them, but also lets you use the Satellite Camera to spy down from above. You will even discover cloaked tanks. You can toggle through all your team Satellite views by hitting the ~ key. Sharpshooter The sharpshooter module is a telescopic enhancement that lets you not only zoom in on distant enemies, but doubles the range of your Mark I, Mark II, and Mark IV series lasers. The sharpshooter module is ideal for spying and sniping from a distance. Smoke Smoking may be bad for your health, but smoking in Tanarus can be bad for your opponent's health if used wisely. The smoke module allows you to emit either gray or black smoke, giving off the false impression that your tank is damaged. Great for luring enemies into ambushes. Stealth Tank commanders that prefer ambushing and sneaking throughout the city won't want to leave base without picking up a stealth module first. When activated, a stealth module will make the tank completely invisible to enemy radar. Fortunately the cost of power is minimal, too. Chameleons already have an integrated stealth system. Turbo Boost Imagine the look on your opponent's face when you're right in his gunsights and all of a sudden you've blasted behind him at a blaring speed. The turbo boost module allows you to do just that or even quickly accelerate out of a losing fight. The disadvantages are that it only has one use, your tank steering is locked when engaged, and that the weight of your tank will drastically reduce the turbo distance. Chapter 7: Control and Graphic Options If you were to read only one chapter before jumping right into an Arena (which really isnÆt advisable), this is the most important chapter in terms of actual gameplay control. This chapter covers both how to optimize keyboard and joystick control as well as illustrating the default keyboard control layout. 7.1 Optimizing Controls for the Keyboard and Joystick Different gamers have different control tastes, so while weÆve included a default set of controls, weÆve also given you the ability to customize control completely for the keyboard and joystick. At the initial login menu, left-click on Options. You can completely customize the keyboard and joystick as well as tune the force effects to your tastes if you have a Force Feedback joystick. Once youÆve selected either Keyboard or Joystick you can map the keys to your liking. Above the controls listing is text that instructs you how to properly customize the keyoard/joystick layout. Remember to left-click on the Save button to save any changes you make. 7.2 Adjusting the Graphic Detail Tanarus has extensive support for graphic accelerator cards under Direct 3D. If you have a graphic accelerator card, you'll definitely want to go to Options then Graphics. Under the Graphics menu youÆll be able to do the following: Select the graphics accelerator card you want to use Select Display Resolution Select 3D Options Adjust 3D Particle Density If under Select 3D Hardware it only reads No 3D Acceleration that means you don't have a graphics accelerator card. You'll only be able to turn on the 3D sprites option under Select 3D Options. Select Display Resolution lets you save a cockpit view or full-screen. These can also be turned on and off from within the game (F5 for cockpit, F6 for full-screen). Last, but not least, for those with graphic accelerator cards, the Select 3D Options allows you to balance graphics and gameplay. Some cards handle certain special effects better than others, and some cards simply donÆt support all the types of special effects that Tanarus provides. If you're having low frame rates under your graphic accelerator card, be sure to try turning off some of the special effects until you find a good compromise between graphic quality and gameplay. Whether you're shopping for a graphic accelerator card or just want to see if we directly support your graphic accelerator card, a comprehensive listing of graphic accelerator cards that Tanarus officially supports can be found at http://www.tanarus.com. This also provides links to the latest drivers that weÆve tested with Tanarus Chapter 8: All Dressed Up and Ready To Kill Each Arena in Tanarus can hold up to twenty players with five players per team. Unless you think you're a solo hotshot, the best idea is to join a team that already has a couple players on it so you don't end up taking on the world by yourself (which is often suicidal to say the least). The goal of Tanarus? First and foremost to enjoy yourself. Whether you like getting down and dirty in close combat, providing artillery for long-range support, capturing Recon Stations, stealing enemy flags, or managing a team, Tanarus offers numerous possibilities to match your playing style. This chapter will serve as an initial walk-thru to help you grasp an understanding of what goes in each Arena followed by suggestions to improving your gaming experience. 8.1 Power The first thing a trigger-happy pilot will learn is that bigger guns don't necessarily mean victory. From the main Command Center, choose Arenas and find a low-populated or preferably empty Arena and join it. At the initial Equipment Selection menu, select a Vanguard and equip it with a Mark IV, Phase Multiplier, and Controller. Don't worry about the rest of the configuration just yet. What we're going to cover is the most crucial element of the game: Power. Enter the Arena now and practice driving around near your base speeding up, slowing, reversing, and turning. After you've got a feel for your tank, drive away from the base keeping an eye on your POWER bar. Notice how it's decreasing the further you move away from base? That's because both your home base and Base Recon Station emit power over a certain decreasing radius - the farther your distance the less power you receive. Drive further away so that your FEED meter decreases to neutral then call in a Satellite. When the Satellite arrives, keep an eye on your FEED meter again. Friendly satellites emit power as well. A final form of power is possible through the acquisition of Recon Stations throughout the map. As covered earlier, your Radar will show neutral Recon Stations as white. These emit no power for any team but can be used to repair and re-arm your tank. Try to find a Recon Station that hasn't been taken over and doesn't have any enemy activity near it. Grab a Recon Capture module at your Base Recon Station then drive into a neutral Recon Station and onto the colored tile under the white orb then activate the Recon Capture. You'll see the Recon Capture disappear from your module inventory. Look at Radar and you'll see a satellite arrive. Back up and watch the Satellite as it takes over the Recon Station. During this time you cannot use the Recon Station. Glance at your FEED meter, too. After the Satellite captures the Recon Station and flies away, look at your FEED meter again. You're now receiving much more power than before, and any enemy that drives near your Recon Station will find its power being leeched. Likewise, if you drive near an enemy Recon Station, watch your FEED meter. As you near the enemy Recon Station your FEED meter will start increasing to the left - except this time it's red, meaning you're losing power. 8.2 Superiority through Teamwork Don't try to take on the world alone. Work with your teammates using the private chat to try and maximize your advantage against enemy teams. It's no exaggeration to say that two players teaming up together can successfully hold off and even push back five enemy teammates who are not coordinating with each other at all. 8.3 Flag Capturing The ultimate humiliation to an enemy team isn't by smoking their tanks on the battlefield, but by sneaking into their base, grabbing their flag, then returning to home base to capture the flag. To pull off a successful flag capture you need a flag capture module equipped in your tank and good team support. Packing in some reserve powers and turbo boosts as well as setting up a relay tank (another friendly tank with a flag capture module and turbos waiting for you to bring the flag out and hand off) is a good strategy. But before you try a flag capture, it's important to understand the flag capture system. A flag will only be able to be taken if there is at least one member on that given team. This prevents a player from logging in and scooping up all the flags, then waiting for enemies to log in and killing them instantly with their flag. There is also a ten minute limited time factor in which a seized flag has to be captured, or it will return automatically to the respective team's base. Also, for whichever team has their flag seized, if they log off during those ten minutes the team that currently has the flag will be credited with the kill (the flag will have to be in an enemy tank, though). In other words, don't log if your flag has been seized -- you won't escape death that way. And for a final measure, players that happen to log into a game when their flag is being captured will be given a grace time equal to the maximum time given for flag capturing. Basically a player that logs in has ten minutes grace from his/her flag being captured. This will primarily prevent players from logging in right when their flag is being captured and dying -- they weren't in the game when their flag was seized, so they shouldn't be penalized for it. A quick summary follows: ** Flags can only be taken if the respective opponent's team has one or more players. ** If a flag isn't captured within 10 minutes of being taken, the flag will automatically return to its original base. ** Players logging into a game are given a 10 minute grace period when logging in - this is to protect players logging in from dying when a flag capture is already underway. ** Any player that is on a team when their flag is taken and tries to log will automatically die if the flag is within an enemy tank's possession, giving the capturing team a kill, followed by logging out. For the capturing team, each individual team member receives the total kills. For example, a team captures blue's flag and there are five blues playing, each member of the capturing team receives five kills. The bounty, on the other hand, sums up the total bounty of the team that's being captured (lets say the combined bounty of five players is 100,000 pts), then divides it equally among the capturing team (which for this example has four players). Subsequently each player receives 25,000 pts. 8.4 Activating Modules Remember that equipping your tank with a module doesn't necessarily mean that the given module is automatically activated. Keep an eye on your module inventory - modules that aren't activated will be shown in dark green text, whereas modules that are turned on will be displayed as bright green. Automatic modules are light blue. 8.5 Sample Tank Configurations Although part of the enjoyment in Tanarus is learning the various configurations possible with each tank (and you'll most likely never even use a quarter of all possibilities), it's not fun getting your butt kicked all over the place while you try to learn your first useful configuration. The following list offers basic configurations for artillery, laser, and capturing Recon Stations. Artillery Configurations Vanguard: Shield, Cannon, 4 Armor-Piercing (12 shells total) Vanguard: Shield, Cannon, 4 FRAGS (60 shells total) Vanguard: Shield, Cannon, 4 HEATs (24 shells total) Devastator: Shield, Shield Doubler, Stealth, 6 Armor-Piercing (18 shells total) Devastator: Shield, Shield Doubler, Stealth, 6 FRAGs (90 shells total) Devastator: Shield, Shield Doubler, Stealth, 6 HEATs (36 shells total) ** Tap the 9 key to turn on the shell-cam when using shells to enable precision aiming. Laser Configurations Lightning: Mark II, Shield, Phase Multiplier, Two Reserve Powers MagRider: Shield, Shield Boost, Two Reserve Powers Vanguard: Mark II, Shield, Supercharger, Three Reserve Powers, Phase Multiplier Vanguard: Mark IV, Shield, Supercharger, Two Reserve Powers, Phase Multiplier Devastator: Mark IV, Plasma Cannon, Shield, Shield Doubler, Supercharger, 2 Reserve Powers, Phase Multiplier Capturing Recon Stations Lightning: Recon Capture Vanguard: Recon Capture, Shield Devastator: Recon Capture, Shield, Shield Boost, Stealth Chapter 9: Trouble-Shooting Network Problems Troubleshooting Your Connection You must be familiar with some basic internet terms before you read this section. Refer to ôInternet Crash Courseö for some of the basics. If you are playing Tanarus from work or a connection provided by your work, your connection may be blocked by your employerÆs firewall. To play Tanarus from behind a firewall, your network administrator must add the following settings to your firewall: Allow outbound TCP connections to c04.station.sony.com, port 80 Allow outbound TCP connections to c04.station.sony.com, port 8080 Allow UDP datagrams from the Tanarus player's PC, all ports over 1024 to c05.station.sony.com, all ports over 1024 Allow UDP datagrams from c05.station.sony.com, all ports over 1024 to the Tanarus player's PC, all ports over 1024 If there is no firewall interference, you must contact your network administrator or the customer support hotline of your ISP. Give them the error message exactly as Tanarus displays it. If they cannot resolve your problem, e-mail tanarus@sonyinteractive.com with the error message. Internet Crash Course computer network - A group of two or more computers communicating with each other. internet - A group of two or more computer networks communicating with each other. ôthe internetö is the best known internet in the world. Thousands of computer networks participate in the internet. ISP (internet service provider) - A company that will provide a connection to the internet for money. If you have access to the internet at work, your company pays an internet service provider for this connection. If you have access to the internet at home, you are paying an internet service provider for your connection. firewall û A computer configured to protect a network from unauthorize outside access. Most businesses with internet connections have a firewall. Measuring Internet Quality of Service This section will help you understand how to measure the quality of service your internet service provider is delivering. packet - A message sent from one computer to another on a network packet loss - Failure of a packet arrive at itÆs intended destination. Packets are lost on the network for a variety of reasons. Typical causes of packet loss include heavy network traffic, faulty hardware or software, and corruption during transmission. latency - Packets sent from one computer to another do not arrive instantaneously. Latency is the time a packet spends travelling from the sender to the receiver. Under normal circumstances, latency is only a fraction of a second, so it measured in milliseconds (ms) (1000 milliseconds = 1 second ). If there is a lot of network traffic, latency increases. Lower latency is better. round trip delay (ping time) - this the time it takes a packet to travel to another computer and back. It is the sum of the latency to the computer plus the latency back from the computer. Like latency, If there is a lot of network traffic, round trip delay increases. The Network Status Indicator In the bottom right-hand corner of the Tanarus cockpit, there is a network status indicator. This is a graphical representation of your connection to the Tanarus server. The first number is your round trip time. The second number is the percentage of packets sent to your computer that never arrived. The third number is the percentage of packets sent to the Tanarus server that never arrived. Immediately below these numbers are two connected bars. The bar on the left represents the flow of data coming from the server. The bar on the right represents the flow of data to the server. If you are well connected to the Tanarus server, these bars will be solid green. Two solid green bars means that all recent packets that were sent actually arrived at the destination. If you see a gap in either bar, that indicates that a packet that was sent never arrived at its intended destination because it was lost on the network. 1