Frequently Asked Questions

1. OS Specific Questions:
1. Windows:

1. Q:	How can I enable 3D acceleration?
   A:	Go to the web page of your graphic card vendor and look for help there. Most of the time, a driver update should do the trick. You can check there if 3D acceleration is supported for your version of Windows, too. For an automated setup for older video cards, try GLSetup.

2. Linux:

1. Q:	Immediately after Armagetron Advanced opens it's window, it crashes. What's wrong?
   A:	First, check Question 3.1 for the OS independent answer to that problem. Special Linux case: In some rare cases ( old 3dfx Mesa implementation ), you need to be root to run 3d accelerated programs Try running Armagetron Advanced as root; if that works, check out the HOWTOs and FAQs for your graphic card on how to run 3d programs as non-root.

2. Q:	The textures and fonts don't seem to work.
   A:	Recheck your SDL_image installation; it probably can't load PNG images. The included show-program has to be able to display the PNG images from the textures folder.

3. Q:	How can I enable 3D acceleration?
   A:	You may have to download some stuff and modify your kernel module configuration and XF86Config. That sounds scarier now than it is in reality. For generic instructions, have a look at the XFree DRI documentation. For NVIDIA cards, get the latest drivers from NVIDIA directly.

4. Q:	When trying to run Armagetron Advanced, I get the message "error while loading shared libraries: libXXX: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory". What's wrong?
   A:	You probably installed a binary version of Armagetron Advanced that is incompatible with your system. Check if you have installed all the required libraries. One of the third party packages may fit better to your system. Or, if you want the latest version, try installing from source. If you installed Armagetron Advanced from a RPM without warnings, that RPM is broken; please inform me about it.

2. graphics:

1. Q:

   The graphics are ugly! There are almost no textures around, the menu is just writing on black background. What can I do?

   A:

   Armagetron Advanced detected that your OpenGL implementation does not support hardware acceleration. It may be wrong on that; check it by increasing the detail level in "System Setup/Display Settings/Detail Settings". If you tune up the texture modes and get an immediate performance dropdown, you are using software rendering. Check out the OS specific answer to "How can I enable 3D acceleration?" for Windows or Linux. If the rendering speed stays OK, you have hardware acceleration; in that case, please send me ( ) your your user.cfg (found in the var-subdirectory of the Armagetron Advanced directory in Windows resp. of the directory ~/.armagetronad(-dedicated) in Unix ) so I can correct the detection in future versions.

2. Q:

   Rendering is VERY slow, I only get about 1 fps even in the menu. What's wrong?

   A:

   It seems your OpenGL implementation does not support hardware acceleration, and Armagetron Advanced did not detect it. Check out the OS specific answer to "How can I enable 3D acceleration?" for Windows or Linux. Please send me ( ) your your user.cfg (found in the var-subdirectory of the Armagetron Advanced directory in Windows resp. of the directory ~/.armagetronad(-dedicated) in Unix ) so I can correct the detection in future versions. In the meantime, edit this user.cfg and set TEXTURE_MODE_0/1/2 to -1 and ALPHA_BLEND to 0, this will disable the features that cause the slowdown.

3. generic stuff:

1. Q:	When I start Armagetron Advanced, the screen turns black and the game exits shortly afterwards. (Or similar right-after-start problems) What can I do?
   A:	just try again about four times; Armagetron Advanced should notice that the first attempts failed and try some other screen modes (with different colour depths, initialisation methods and in fullscreen or windowed mode).

2. Q:	I can't join a game! When I start a local game, I only see AIs fighting, and in a network game, I can only watch the others. I can't even chat! What's wrong?
   A:

, You are stuck in spectator mode. It has been reported to get activated by itself on random occasions (upgrading etc.). Go to "Player Setup"/"Player 1 Settings" and change "Spectator Mode" to "Off". )
4. network play:

1. Q:

   Why can't I play on my LAN? The server my friend started is invisible, and when I do a custom connect, the connection fails.

   A:

   You probably have an activated personal firewall running on your machine blocking the network communication. You have to set your firewall to allow outgoing UDP connections on port 4533 (for the master server) and usually port 4534 for the servers. Note that some versions of MS Windows (XP, I think) install a firewall by default that blocks all unknown connections, so you may not be aware you have a firewall running at all.

2. Q:	Why can't I play on the net? When I try an Internet game, I get an error saying the master server is not responding.
   A:	It may be that the master server is temporarily down. It is only running on my now stationary laptop connected by DSL; that is not completely failsafe. The previous question may give some insights, too.

3. Q:	Sometimes, I see players (esp. me) passing through walls. Is that a bug?
   A:	Probably not; it is the normal effect of network latency (Laaaag!) when your client does not yet have the latest information from the server. But yes, if the effect is permanent (you really end up on the other side), it is a bug you should report.

4. Q:

   Someone is cheating! I keep cutting off his way right before him, and that kills me, not him!

   A:

   Again, this is not cheating, but a network latency effect that happens when you disable "Prediction" from the network game menu. Then, you see the other players not at the place they are probably now, but where they were a little while ago. So while you thought you were ahead of your opponent, he was in reality a bit ahead of you. By trying to cross him, you ran directly into his wall. Either turn on prediction or the "Lag-O-Meter" that shows where your opponent may in fact be NOW. Learning to handle these effects is one of the skills you need to kick your opponent's ass.

5. dedicated server:

1. Q:

   I started a server, but nobody sees it on the master list. What's up?

   A:

   You need to set TALK_TO_MASTER 1 in settings_dedicated.cfg. Our default polity is not to make network connections if not explicitly enabled; the connection to the master server is no exception. Plus, we like it when the administrators of public servers read the documentation before they put up a public server, and disabling the master server connection by default apparently has this effect. You're not reading this FAQ just for fun, right?

2. Q:

   I started a server with TALK_TO_MASTER 1, but can't see it on the master server list. What's up?

   A:

   That's normal for default settings if the server and your client are on the same LAN; when the client polls your server, the server sends its response packets over the LAN, but the client expects them from the internet. We found no failsafe way to avoid this problem yet; you can correct it by setting SERVER_IP <server's public internet IP> in settings_dedicated.cfg. Instead of the raw IP, you can enter a DNS name that will resolve to your correct IP.

3. Q:	How do I get rid of AI players in multiplayer games?
   A:	Use the settings AUTO_AIS 0 MIN_PLAYERS 0 NUM_AIS 0

4. Q:	No, I mean ALL AIs. The ones that join human teams bug me, too.
   A:	That would be TEAM_BALANCE_WITH_AIS 0

5. Q:	And how do I get rid of teams? On an internet server with people joining and leaving all the time, they are confusing.
   A:	That's TEAM_MAX_PLAYERS 1

6. Q:	I don't like the way braking works. How can I change that?
   A:	To disable braking, use CYCLE_BRAKE 0 To turn the brake into a turbo, set it to a negative value. To reenable the brakes as they were before 0.2.5 (unlimited use), use CYCLE_BRAKE_DEPLETE 0.0

7. Q:	How about restricting all clients to cockpit view?
   A:	You are starting to bug me. Use CAMERA_FORBID_SMART 1 # forbid smart camera CAMERA_FORBID_IN 0 # forbid internal camera CAMERA_FORBID_FREE 1 # forbid free camera CAMERA_FORBID_FOLLOW 1 # forbid fixed external camera CAMERA_FORBID_CUSTOM 1 # forbid custom external camera I personally really like these settings, but most users seem to disagree there.

8. Q:	And what about...?
   A:	Gaa! Enough is enough! This is a FAQ, not a ACQ (All conceivable questions ). Read at settings.cfg and settings_dedicated.cfg and the documentation. Yes, it is long. If you don't find your answer there, look for help on the Forums.

This document was created by Manuel Moos

Last modification: Oct 11 2009