VRTank Manual
| Introduction, Quick Start |
This game is a remake of the classic tank game "Spectre". It's fun and easy to play.
You control a tank in a dark cyberspace world. There's lots of games to play, such as
Deathmatch and CTF, as well as some single-player games for plenty of fun off-line!
By default, you can drive around using the arrow keys. You can shoot your tank's
cannon with the space bar. If more powerful weapons are available, like the grenade,
you can select them with the number keys (not the numeric keypad), and shoot them with
the CTRL key. Keep in mind that these weapons will often take much of your ammo supply
to fire, but do a lot more damage!
A useful trick is to hyperspace, or teleport to a random location in cyberspace.
Press backspace to do this, but be careful! If you do this without waiting for your
hyperspace energy to re-charge, you run the risk of exploding! It might be safer just
to jump, using the Z key (if jumping is allowed).
In cyberspace you'll find power-ups to help you survive. These are pulsating squares
on the ground: ammo and shield repair (green), restoration (white), flight (cyan),
and Cyber-Shield (orange). Just drive over the squares!
For a different view, press TAB to cycle through more camera angles. When viewing
top-down, press the -, + keys (not the numeric keypad) to zoom in and out.
One thing to note: for flexibility, each game mode may have different settings.
If you connect to an online game, you might find that jumping is disabled, or perhaps
you don't have missile weapons.
Here's a quick overview of what the game screen looks like:
Other
stats may be shown depending on the game mode. For example, the
"Flight" energy would be shown next to the hyperspace energy (denoted
by an 'F'), or in multiplayer modes, your score would be displayed
along with the leading score, and the pointlimit.
Keys - default
- Arrow Keys - Move
- Space bar - Shoot cannon
- CTRL - Shoot secondary
- Backspace - Hyperspace
- Z - Jump
- TAB - Change view
- +, - - Zoom in, out
- 1 to 8 - Switch secondary weapon
- T - Chat
- Y - Chat (team)
- F1 - Scoreboard
- F2 - Server panel
- P - pause
- Escape - open menu, and other uses
- B - open Base Wars upgrade panel
This is a simple scenario where you simply must collect all of the flags
in a level to pass it.
Flags are displayed as flashing white dots on your radar. Power-ups are green,
Enemies are red and orange.
As you advance levels, the number of enemies you will face will increase, as
well as the number of flags.
Luckly, your tank will become more powerful as well...
The objective of this scenario is the same as Challenger - collect all the flags
to pass the level. However, there are more types of enemies, weapons, and power-ups.
Also, expect to see many new hazards, like acid, which will slowly eat away at your
tank, or ice, which is tricky to drive on!
Unlike Challenger you can also jump. Be sure to jump when in danger!
In a deathmatch game, you face other players. It can be a free-for-all, or played
in teams. Destroy an opponent's tank to get a point.
This is a team-based scenario. For a team to get a point, its players ust retrieve
the other team's flag by running over it, and return it to their own flag. If a
player carrying a flag is destroyed, it will be dropped.
A flag is returned to its base if either a player from its team picks it up after
it is dropped, or if the opposing team scores a point with it.
Players that are carrying the enemy flag will flash white and the flag will be
displayed on their tank.
At the beginning of a Flag Rally, 6 flags will be placed in random locations
around the arena. The object is to collect all 6 flags to get a point. When
an opponent's tank is destroyed, any flags it is carrying will be transferred
to the destroyer.
If Scatter mode is on, then the flags being carried will fly outwards from
where the player is destroyed, so be sure not to let other players steal them!
Base Raid is a simple team-based scenario. Simply collide with the enemy base to
gain a point for your team. When a point is scored, any player near the enemy base
will be transported back to their own base. (This applied for both teams).
The indicator on the HUD shows the distance of the closest player to the enemy
base. For example, if the red circle is closer to the blue side, then the red
team could be very close to scoring!
Bumping into your own base will repair all damage and restore your ammo.
Overview ---
This team-based scenario involves multiple (and often larger) arenas. The objective
is to get to get your team's base to Tech Level 10 and use the Omega Missiles
to destroy the enemy team's core.
Your weapons and inventory are now divided into customizable slots. Slots 1-5 are
for weapons, slots 6-0 are for deployable items (like turrets) and HUD upgrades like
the Target Scanner. You can have 1 slot from each category selected at a time.
Select these with the same number keys as you would in other modes.
Your base has a Tech Level, which can be increased through base experience (XP)
points. Drop off resources (cargo) by driving through the resource collectors.
Each base also has its own grid, where your collectors, upgrade pads, and spawn
points are located. In general, the enemy base is a more dangerous place to be.
Your tank also has XP and level. Gaining a level will upgrade your tank stats,
including speed, ammo storage, shield, and cargo. If you die you can lose XP, which
means you can also lose a level and upgrades. Player Level also contributes to the
XP and cargo bonus given to an opponent it is destroyed.
Player XP can be gained by:
- dropping off resources at collectors
- destroying other players
Cargo can be gained by:
- driving over the credits powerup
- destroying other players
Base wars objects ---
Yellow powerups - credits/cargo/resources
Green squares - upgrade pads
- Go here to change your weapon and items. Press B (default) to open the
upgrade menu. To equip something, click the slot, then the item.
- If an option is greyed out, then the base tech level is insufficient
- these will also repair you
Vertical circles - resource collectors
- drive through these to drop off cargo for your base
- This will give Base XP and Player XP
Captioned horizontal circles - portals
- drive onto these to be transferred to a different grid (arena).
Yellow pods - credit plants (CPs)
- Resources are stored in these. If destroyed your base can lose base XP and
possibly a tech level. They cannot be repaired.
Large grey pod - Core
- This can only be damaged by enemy Omega Missles, and cannot be repaired. When
destroyed, the other team wins!
Weapons and items ---
Most of the weapons will be familiar from the other game modes.
Weapons ---
Repair - Use this to repair friendly deployables.
Omega missile - A large missile that can damage the enemy core.
HUD upgrades ---
Target Scanner - This can be used to see the health of deployables and players.
Deployables ---
Repair Turret - Repairs nearby friendly deployables and players.
Cannon Turret - Attacks nearby players.
Camo Mine - An inconspicuous mine that will explode if an enemy gets too close.
Prox Alarm - When an enemy is near this, the slot in your HUD will flash.
Deployables ---
Deployables, such as turrets, can be placed by using the secondary fire button
when the slot containing the deployable is selected. The deployable will be
placed in front of the player, if there is space for it. To remove a deployable,
do the same thing with a slot containing the deployed item.
The health of the deployable will be displayed underneath its name on the HUD.
If a deployable is destroyed, it can simply be placed again.
Deployables can be repaired with the Repair weapon, or Repair Turrets.
Base Tech specifics ---
Your base Tech Level will make certain items available, depending on the level.
That is, you will not be able to equip items if they are not available at
the current level, and if a tech level drops below the level of items you
currently have equipped, you will not be able to use them.
This also means that depolyables will cease to function. However it will still
be possible to remove the deployable, but not place it again.
There
are 9 basic weapons which you'll aquire during the game. Your cannon is
the basic weapon, which you can fire with the Space bar. Press the 1 to
8 (not numeric keypad) to select secondary weapons, and shoot them with
the Ctrl key.
- 1 - Grenades. These take a lot of ammo but are worth it! They do a lot of splash damage.
- 2 - Scatter shot. This shoots a spray of 3 cannon shots. Good for crowded situations.
- 3
- Seeker shot. For an extra ammo point your cannon shot will home in on
the enemy, somewhat. You'll still have to put in some effort to aim
with these, though.
- 4 - Missile. Use missiles if you want a autonomous, high-damage, obsticle-jumping, homing solution to your problems
- 5 - Spinners. If your cyber-foes could get dizzy, this would do it. They won't be able to move or shoot.
- 6 - Mines. They're mines and they do what mines do.
- 7 - Bombs. Use these to keep enemies off your tail or, like missiles, eliminate other players with minimal skill :p
- 8 - Pulseburst. An ammo-efficient way to take advantage of flight. These shoot downward, and then move along the ground.
Power-ups are the pulsating squares on the ground.
- Green - gives you some ammo and minor repairs
- White - full ammo and repair
- Cyan(blue-green) - like the green, but also gives you flight energy
- Orange
- adds an external shield to your tank. This will block enemy shots and
do a lot of damage on contact, but also disappear if they hit any
obsticles.
- Acid - These hurt, so if you don't want your pixels dissolved you shouldn't drive on the red areas very long.
- Mud - Orange-brown sticky stuff. It's annoying but not dangerous unless you're under attack.
- Ice
- White squares. You have no traction on this, so you'll have to jump
if you get stuck. (Since you have more traction in... air...)
- Pushers - Arrows that push you in that direction. Sometimes something unpleasent is in that direction.
- Teleporters - Blue diamond shaped objects. Drive through this and you'll be teleported to another teleporter on the grid.
- Up/Down
transports - These blue-coloured objects have the ability to move you
above or below the map. Being below the map is often helpful since
there's only a few ways you can get hurt...