| 1 | =head1 Pclient is a Crossfire+ and Crossfire game client. |
1 | =head1 CFPlus - a Crossfire+ and Crossfire game client. |
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2 | |
| 3 | =head2 Features |
3 | =head2 What's Crossfire+ - Basic Game Concepts |
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4 | |
| 5 | =over 4 |
5 | In the words of Frank Tore Johansen, the author of the original Crossfire |
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6 | game: |
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7 | |
| 7 | =item Fullscreen Map |
8 | "Crossfire is a multi-player graphical arcade and adventure game made for |
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9 | the X Windows systems environment. It has certain flavours from other |
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10 | games, especially gauntletand the rogue-like games. Any number of players |
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11 | can move around in their own window, finding and using items and battling |
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12 | monsters. They can choose to cooperate or compete in the same world." |
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13 | |
| 9 | PClient can uses a fullscreen map, which greatly enhances how much of the |
14 | In the years of development that have followed, Crossfire has grown to |
| 10 | game world you can see. |
15 | encompass hundreds of monsters, thousands of maps to explore, an elaborate |
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16 | magic system, over 15 character types, a system of skills, and many, many |
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17 | artifacts and treasures. |
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18 | |
| 12 | =item Persistent Map Cache (Crossfire+ only) |
19 | Crossfire+ is freely distributed under the GNU license and the code may be |
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20 | obtained from L<http://crossfire.schmorp.de/>. |
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21 | |
| 14 | PClient can persistently cache all map data it received from the |
22 | =head2 Getting Started |
| 15 | server. This not only allows it to display an overview map, but also |
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| 16 | ensures that once-explored areas will be available the next time you want |
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| 17 | to explore more. |
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| 18 | |
23 | |
| 19 | =item Hardware acceleration |
24 | First of all, don't be daunted by the apparent complexity of Crossfire - |
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25 | in reality, Crossfire is quite easy to play and character generation is |
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26 | simple. Later on, when you have some experience playing the game, you may |
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27 | wish to read the full manual. |
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28 | |
| 21 | Unlike most Crossfire clients, PClient take advantage of OpenGL hardware |
29 | =head2 User Interface Basics |
| 22 | acceleration. Most modern graphics cards have difficulties with 2D |
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| 23 | acceleration, while 3D graphics is accelerated well. |
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30 | |
| 25 | =item No arbitrary limits |
31 | # very short description of all ui elements |
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32 | |
| 27 | Unlike other Crossfire clients, pclient does not suffer from arbitrary |
33 | =head2 How to create a new Character |
| 28 | limits (like a fixed amount of face numbers). There are still limits, but |
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| 29 | they are not arbitrarily low :) |
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34 | |
| 31 | =back |
35 | When you start up Crossfire, you will be asked for a character name and a |
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36 | password (you may need to open the B<Server Setup> dialog for this using |
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37 | the button at the top of the screen). If you are playing for the first |
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38 | time, type any name you like; this will be your character name for the |
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39 | rest of the life of that character. Next, type in any password. Remember: |
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40 | you will need to remember the same password again to play that character |
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41 | again! You can use B<Save Config> to save your settings, including name |
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42 | and password, but if it gets lost recovery is difficult, so remember your |
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43 | password or write it down at a safe place. |
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44 | |
| 33 | =head1 Usage |
45 | One more note: it's not a good idea to use "real" passwords to your |
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46 | computer accounts! Doing so may make your system vulnerable to |
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47 | unscrupulous Crossfire server administrators. |
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48 | |
| 35 | =head2 The Map |
49 | Your next step will be to generate random (primary) stats for your |
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50 | character (to see the stats, you might have to open the B<Stats Window> |
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51 | using the button at the top of the screen). You aren't limited to the |
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52 | number of times you can roll your stats - so have fun. Notice that the |
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53 | stats are always arranged that the B<Str> stat has the highest value, the |
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54 | B<Cha> stat has the lowest. You may rearrange the order of these values |
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55 | when you decide that you have rolled some decent stats. Two points: you |
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56 | can never roll a character with better stats than an average of straight |
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57 | 15's, and you can't roll higher than 18 in a stat. |
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58 | |
| 37 | The map is always displayed in the background, behind all other windows and UI elements. |
59 | When you roll your character, the stats displayed are the stats you will |
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60 | get as a human (which are unmodified). When satisfied, you can step |
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61 | through a number of races, each with special bonuses in stats. |
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62 | |
| 39 | #TODO# middle-click scrolls |
63 | The manual shows how your basic stats will be changed by choosing a |
| 40 | # |
64 | different race. The difference between the natural stat limit and 20 |
| 41 | # keys: |
65 | indicates the bonus/penalty assigned to rolled primary stats. For example, |
| 42 | # |
66 | a troll has a maximum strength which is 5 higher than 20-that means he |
| 43 | # a apply |
67 | will begin with an additional 5 points added to his strength roll. On the |
| 44 | # keypad moves, kp_5 applies ranged attack to self |
68 | other hand, a troll can never get above 15 in intelligence. This means |
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69 | that your rolled character will have 5 less in intelligence if you choose |
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70 | that race. You should also note that any bonus to an ability can't raise |
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71 | the final number above your racial maximum, and no penalty can give you an |
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72 | ability score less then one; the lowest it can ever get is one. |
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73 | |
| 46 | Starting to type enters the I<completion mode>. In that mode, you can type |
74 | =head3 Selecting a class |
| 47 | abbreviations or commands and have them executed as soon as they match a |
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| 48 | valid command. This is best explained by a few examples: |
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75 | |
| 50 | Typing B<climb> will display a list of commands with I<climb> in their |
76 | While each class has its particular strengths and weaknesses, in summary |
| 51 | name, such as I<ready_skill climbing> and I<use_skill climbing>. |
77 | its just a fact that some classes are easier to play than others. |
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78 | |
| 53 | You can abbreviate commands by typing only the first character of every |
79 | For beginning players, the "simple fighter" characters are the easiest |
| 54 | word (or even characters within the word - the client will try to make |
80 | to play successfully. The B<Dwarf>, B<Human>, and B<Warrior> are among |
| 55 | a good guess, as long as the characters are in order). For example, |
81 | good earlier choices. As you gain experience with using Crossfire+ you |
| 56 | typing I<iwor> will likely select I<invoke word of recall>, while I<ccfo> |
82 | may wish to branch out into other "fighter" characters such as the |
| 57 | will select I<cast create food>. Likewise, I<rscli> will likely select |
83 | B<Thief> or B<Elf>, or try your hand at playing "spellcaster" characters |
| 58 | I<ready_skill climbing> and I<usl> will give you I<use_skill levitation>. |
84 | like the B<Wizard>, B<Mage>, B<Cleric> or B<Priest>. The "exotic" races |
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85 | (e.g. B<Fireborn>, B<Quetzalcoatl> and B<Wraith>) and the B<Monk> class |
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86 | are the hardest classes to master. |
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87 | |
| 60 | You can enter space and other text as arguemnt to the command. For |
88 | One more note: You will probably find any character class that has a low |
| 61 | example, C<cfoo waybread> will expand to C<cast create food waybread>. |
89 | natural B<Int> (for example, the B<Barbarian> class) will have a fairly |
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90 | difficult time at higher levels. Skills, and most importantly, spells, |
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91 | will be more difficult learn. Plan to spend a lot of loot on grimores, |
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92 | prayer books and skill scrolls. |
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93 | |
| 63 | =head2 The map overview |
94 | =head2 Playing the game |
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95 | |
| 65 | #TODO# |
96 | #TODO biggers house, binding keys etc. |
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97 | |
| 67 | =head2 The Status area in the lower right corner |
98 | =head1 Authors |
| 68 | |
99 | |
| 69 | #TODO# |
100 | Parts of this document were originally compiled, edited, and written by |
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101 | Brian Thomas, Klaus Elsbernd, and John W. Klar. Additional information |
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102 | compiled by Maciej Kalisiak, Gorlin, Anton Oussik and Gene Alexander. |
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103 | |
| 71 | =head2 The I<Statistics>/I<Stats> window |
104 | Adapted for use by I<cfplus>, enhanced and corrected by Pippijn van |
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105 | Steenhoven and Marc A. Lehmann. |
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106 | |
| 73 | #TODO# |
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| 74 | |
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| 75 | =head1 FAQ |
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| 76 | |
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| 77 | =over 4 |
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| 78 | |
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| 79 | =item The client is very sluggish and slow, what can I do about this? |
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| 81 | Most likely, you don't have accelerated OpenGL support. Try to find a |
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| 82 | newer driver, or a driver from your hardware vendor, that features OpenGL |
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| 83 | support. |
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| 85 | If this is not an option, the following Setup options reduce the load and |
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| 86 | will likely make the client playable with software rendering (it will |
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| 87 | still be slow, though): |
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| 88 | |
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| 89 | =over 4 |
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| 90 | |
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| 91 | =item B<Video Mode> should be set as low as possible (e.g. 640x480) |
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| 93 | =item Enable B<Fast & Ugly> mode |
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| 95 | =item Disable B<Fog of War> |
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| 96 | |
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| 97 | =item Increase B<Map Scale> |
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| 98 | |
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| 99 | =back |
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| 100 | |
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| 101 | =back |
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