This FAQ will hopefully answer any questions you may have about map editing, before you are forced to post on the UniBall message board or ask someone. The format of this FAQ will be as follows:
After downloading the game, use your favorite ZIP archive program (ex. WinZIP, PKZIP) to extract all the files into a new folder. The folder can be placed anywhere you want. Refer to your program's documentation for further help. Once you've extracted the game and all the corresponding files, double-click on BRChat.exe (looks like a "BR" inside a speech bubble) to run the chat lobby program. Or, jump straight into the game and double-click on uniball.exe (looks like a "UB" inside a ball) to run UniBall itself. The programs should look something like this.
- I've installed the game, and I can't find any instructions. What are the controls?
The Controls for the current version of Uniball actually has a built in Control Editor. To check this out start the Uniball Launcher which screen should look like this: Launcher Screen. Click "Uniball Configuration" then on the right side you will see a button for "Edit Controls". From there you will be able to change the default control settings.
In case you didn't read the controls list, click and hold your Left Mouse Button until the ball shoots. You don't always have to click and hold, usually clicking works just fine, but if you're lagging, it may help.
- What are rocket boosters, and how do I use them?
Use your Right Mouse Button to activate your boosters. Hold it down. It is limited, but slowly recharges once you let go of the right mouse button. You can check the amount of remaining boost you have left in the meter at the bottom right of the screen. Rocket boosters, or turbo as they are sometimes known, will give you an increase in speed for as long as you hold the button down.
There is also a 'boost trick' that you can make use of. Exactly how and what you do varies from player to player, but basically, you get your ship moving at normal speed, release the up arrow and use all of your boost in
3-4 spurts. You can't turn or get hit while doing this, so use it wisely.
Practice and ask other players for help.
- How do I lose/make other players lose control of the ball?
To knock the ball off an opposing player, collide into them with your ship. Likewise, if someone hits you while you hold the ball, you will lose control of it. You cannot force a player on your own team to let go of the ball.
Observer mode is a nifty addition that NickW added to the game recently. It allows you to join a game and watch all the action. You can enter observer mode by clicking on a game in the game selection mode and selecting "Observe Game" or you can enter it from a game by hitting F4. Once in observer mode you can do free flight or follow a player or ball by left clicking on it.
Right clicking will cycle through things to follow. Please remember to be courteous and use team chat in observer mode by typing ' before your sentences.
You try to score on the goal that is the same color as you are. May sound strange at first, but if a four player map ever reappears, you will realize why.
The ones that are commonly called goals look like glowing boxes. Once the ball gets shot into them, they respawn in the center, and a point is added to the team who owns that goal.
Bumpers
These look almost like a pinball bumper, with a light in the center. They do not make the ball respawn, but instead, the ball will ricochet off the bumper. The bumper is then deactivated for 5 seconds. The light will be off when it is deactivated, and on when it is activated.
- What is that weird paddle that sits in front of the goal all the time?
It is a goalie. They don't necessarily have to be in front of the goal, but they usually are placed there. They will try to prevent the ball from passing them to the best of their ability. The goalie will try and move to where the ball will be, so take this movement into account when you shoot.
- What is that rotating green thing that I see on some maps?
It's a special type of wall. Only players can pass through it. The ball cannot, unless it is being carried across the wall by a player. Commonly called a forcefield.
Just type something - it will appear at the bottom of the screen. Hit the ENTER key on your keyboard to send the message. Hit the DEL key to clear all that you've typed, which is faster than holding the BACKSPACE key for 10 seconds.
You can also use team chat by typing ' before your sentence. Only your team can read this, or in observer mode, only observers can read it. Out of courtesy, please remember to use team chat when observing.
- Can I whisper / private message other players in the game?
Unfortunately, no. It may be implemented sometime in the not-so-near future though.
Use the colored buttons on the scoreboard, in the bottom left of the screen. Pressing the Red button switches you to the Red team, the Blue button switches you to the Blue team, and so on.
- What does the panel in the bottom left of the screen do?
It shows the current score. It also allows you to change teams, which you can do by pressing the corresponding colored button. Finally, the mode button will switch the clock from system time, to game time. This is for timed games - it will show the time currently remaining before the game ends.
You cannot switch teams if you will cause the teams to be uneven by more than two players. In other words, if the teams are currently 4 red - 4 blue, and you're red, you can switch to blue, making the teams 3 red - 5 blue (even though it wouldn't be too sportmanslike to switch). However, if the teams were 4 red - 5 blue, you will not be allowed to switch.
- What is that dotted circle that's always around my ship?
It is something that can help with picking the ball up more accurately. The solid circle(s) that rotates around on the dotted line will always point to the location of a ball. The usefulness of this feature has decreased with the multiple resolutions support. It can be toggled on or off with the F3 key.
- What is that players tab that's on the left side of the screen?
It lists all the players currently in the game you are playing. It used to also list the squad in a separate area, but since squad support has been disabled for now, it won't. The players tab has other functions as well. This players tab can be toggled on or off with the F2 key.
- What do the two buttons on the left, and the three buttons on the bottom of the players tab do?
The two buttons on the left scroll the players list up and down. The three buttons on the bottom do the following:
Left
Nothing for now, though it's supposed to sort the players list.
Middle
Ignores the player that's currently selected in the players list. You can view and edit all the players you have ignored by viewing the muzzle.txt located in the same folder as UniBall. Simply delete the names you want to remove from your ignore list.
Right
Will boot the player, locking him out of the game (the player cannot return to that particular game). However, you can only do this if you are the game creator, if you aren't, it won't do anything.
- What is the panel in the top right of the screen?
It contains the radar. The triangle in the middle is your ship, the other triangles are the other ships. Walls are solid white, goals are colored, bumpers are two circles inside of each other, and goalies are colored lines. The two buttons on the bottom will change the scale of the radar, from 1:1, 1:2, 1:4, and 1:8.
- When the ball respawns, why can't I pick it up immediately?
This is due to the anti-camp. Currently, after a goal is scored and the ball respawns, the ball will not be able to be picked up for five seconds. It is there to try to prevent camping, as it gives both teams a chance to get back to the respawn point. On some larger maps, five seconds isn't long enough though. Anti-camp is in effect as long as a forcefield surrounds the ball.
Hold the Left Mouse Buttonbefore touching the ball. It will immediately shoot in the direction you aim as soon as you touch it.
- Why can't I pick up the ball again after I get hit?
After you get hit, if the ball wasn't knocked too far away from you, you will not be able to pick it up. You must back off a bit, and then try to pick it up. It may seem annoying, but imagine if you hit someone from behind, the ball gets knocked forward, and they just continue to move forward, and pick it up again right away. They would never lose the ball.
- Why does the ball spin around me 10 million times before I can catch it?
This is from the "gravity" that each ship has. It makes picking the ball up easier, but occasionally the ball will spin around your ship a few times before you actually pick it up. The farther the ball is from your ship, the weaker the gravity, causing the ball to "slingshot" around your ship. In addition, the gravity only affects the ball, and only within a certain distance from a ship.
- Why does the ball sometimes shoot in the direction I was previously aiming, instead of the direction I am aiming right now?
This is due to lag. If you are holding the Left Mouse Button before touching the ball, and you quickly change the location of the cursor, it will occasionally fire in the direction you were just aiming at.
This is due to lag (yes, again). The main advantage of using CTRL to stop, instead of just going backwards, is CTRL will (eventually) bring you to a complete stop. In addition, holding down the CTRL button while trying to move will slow you down.
- While playing UniBall, I got a message in white saying, "You have been dismissed from the game." What does that mean?
It means you have been booted, and locked out of the game. You can not return. Only the creator of the game or an administrator can do this. More often than not, it was done by the game creator. Administrators will usually warn you before booting you.
No. We will pick administrators whenever and however we please. If you ask us this question, we will simply ignore it. (Question and Answer directly ripped from C:\'s UniBall FAQ with permission)
This may sound harsh, but it will come out when it does. Same goes for any other update relating to UniBall. The server will go back online when it does, new maps will be added when they are, XPong will be released when it is, new graphics will be released when they are ready, etc. Don't bother asking, it's pointless and redundant.
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