Manual/Player settings

To access "Player settings" menu, select "Setup" --> "Player" (from the main menu or after pressing ESC key during play). Here you can set your name, "handicap" level, "effects" and your "model/skin" (character).

You can access this screen also clicking on your character's picture in the "choose level" screen in Single Player Deathmatch mode.

Name

See also: Manual/Text colors

Just write your nickname there. The new name will be used in the current mod; remember that, when you first run a new mod, your name and many more options are copied from the configuration of your baseoa\q3config.cfg file, and successively configurations are independent for each mod, this meaning that if you later change your name, you will need to manually change it for each mod (unless using some external tool that allows to maintain the configurations aligned).

If you want, you can use various colors, using "^" followed by a number before the text. For example, writing ^1Your ^2name, you will get Your name. Move your mouse over and away from the name field to see the "source code" or the colored result. You can also change your name from command console using \name <value> command. It is even possible to manually edit your q3config.cfg file with a text editor and change your name there, or to use an external tool, like Quake 3 Name Changer or, better, OpenArena Name Changer (these tools allows to select some symbols and to select if to apply the new name only to one, to some or to all mods).
Note: in OpenArena 0.8.5, black text appears as white, while used in player's names (this to prevent people from trying to avoid recognition by using black text -hard to spot in front of dark backgrounds-); in OpenArena 0.8.8, black text is be shown as black again, but only if the name contains at least a letter of a different color.

If you join a clan, you will probably add its "clan tag" before your name. For example, if your clan tag is "/Clan/" and your name is "Player", you will set "/Clan/Player" as your name.

Tip: to quickly change your nickname, e.g. adding and removing your clan tag as needed without re-typing the name each time, you may bind two different "set name <nickname>" commands to two different keys (see command console), or place them in two different configuration files (that can also be one-line long and that you would then launch using the "exec <configfile>" command), or use the "favorites" feature of the nice OpenArena Name Changer external tool.

Handicap

In short: if you set your "handicap" to a value different from "none", it will make you weaker.

You can change this if you believe you are a better player than your opponents and you want to put yourself in a disadvantage situation to fill this gap. It influences your weapons' effectiveness and your health and armor maximum values. Each player can control his own handicap value.
Usually you should leave this to "none". But if you are a "pro" (very skilled) player and you enter a server with many "noobs" (new/unskilled/casual players), and you kill everyone too easily (for example, you win a FFA match with 50 frags, when the second player ends with 20 frags only, the third player with 10, etc.), please consider the option to set an handicap for yourself, or to search another server with more experienced opponents: for other players, being "owned" (totally surclassed, dominated) is frustrating.

Usually (with "none" handicap) players enter the game with 125 health, and it slowly goes down to 100. "Normal" health bonuses (+25 and +50) can only bring your health up to 100 (you can still go beyond this limit with other items: +5, megahealth, portable medkit, regeneration... but then it will slowly go down to 100 again). If you set "handicap" different from "none", this will be your "standard" value instead of 100. For example, if you select "70", you will enter the game with 95 health and it will slowly go down to 70, then you will not be able to get over 70 using normal health bonuses (+25 and +50). Since maximum health is double of "normal" health, usually you can use bonuses to go up to 200: in our example, your maximum is 140. Handicap affects also your armor: you will be able have it at maximum at the double of your "handicap" value (in our example, 140), and it will slowly go down to that value (in our example, 70).

When you set an handicap, your weapons will be less effective: if you hit an opponent, he will take less damage than usual. Damage reduction to your opponents depends from your handicap value. For example, if you set your handicap to 15 or similar (not advisable!), even your railgun will need many shots to kill someone.

If someone is using it, his "handicap" value will appear on the score table (usually you can show this holding TAB key), on the left.

When playing Elimination, CTF Elimination or Last Man Standing modes (or in other modes with \g_elimination 1), handicap does not influence your starting health and armor, but still influences the effectiveness of your weapons.

You can control your handicap also using the command console: you can simply type \handicap <numeric value between 1 and 100>. "100" is the corresponding value for "none" in the GUI ("100" is the default value for the \handicap variable). Since the "player settings" menu allows for changes by 5 units, if you use the command console to set your handicap, for example, to 91, and then you go to the "player settings" menu, your handicap will be rounded (in this example, to 90).

Note: to prevent unexperienced players from erronously using handicap, in OpenArena 0.8.8 it has been added a message in the player settings screen that warns about handicap making you weaker, and, more important to remember, handicap will be automatically reset to its default value (100, meaning no handicap) each time you will exit a match and return to main menu (this means you will have to set it again each time you will want to use it: this to be sure you will use it only when you really want). This may not apply when using old mods, that would continue using classic behavior (keeping the last handicap level you set until you manually change it again).

Trivia: using "dumpuser <playername>" command on a bot (since the score table shows the handicap of human players only), you see that a skill level 1 ("I can win") bot has handicap 50, a level 2 ("Bring it on") bot has handicap 70, a level 3 ("Hurt me plenty") bot has handicap 90, and level 4 ("Hardcore") and level 5 ("Nightmare!") bots have no handicap.

Effects

These are two colors you can select as you wish. They will simply change the colors of the trace of your railgun shots (main beam and outer spiral).

Model

Push "model" button to select your character. Select a model/skin and then click on "back" button. A "model" is a complete 3D character; a "skin" is simply a texture variation (different colors). When selecting a character, you will see the name of the model above its preview, and the name of the skin below it. Usually each model has at least three skins: default, red and blue (when playing in team game modes, blue and red skins will be automatically used, ignoring the skin you selected), and often additional skins are available. Setting the model from the graphic interface will set it for both team-based and non-team-based modes.

You can change model also from console, using \model "model name/skin name", for example \model Major/red or simply \model major (if skin name is omitted, "default" skin will be used). You can even mix a model's body with the head of another, using \headmodel "model name/skin name" (using different characters for body and head may produce weird/funny effects; again, you can omit skin name).
Using console, you can set a different model to use with team game modes: \team_model and \team_headmodel variables allow you to do this.
Note: both the specified body and head models have to be existing, or you will see the default character (Sarge/Grism) instead. Please take in account that there are less "models" than "bots" (some bots use another character's model, with a different "skin").

You can download and install additional player models created for OpenArena or Quake 3 Arena. Models are in MD3 format.
Note: if you choose a non-standard model, you will see it when playing locally, but when connecting to another server (with "sv_pure" option enabled, as usual), it will be temporarily replaced with the default one, unless the server has got the same model installed.
Please notice: additional skins desigend around Q3 characters may not be shown if there isn't a model with the right name in OpenArena; and if a model with the right name exists, the skin may appear more or less "messed up", because the OpenArena 3D model is not exactly like the original. However, you can try it and decide if you like the result or not. To avoid such things, you should use "complete" models, usually those you find in pk3 files bigger than 1 MB, instead of simply additional skins for Q3 characters. And you may be able to use a Q3-designed model for yourself with no problem, but find out errors in console and strange behaviors (like them using only the machinegun) if its related bot enters the game: up to OpenArena 0.8.5, Quake 3 bot files are not completely compatible with OpenArena, and thus -waiting for the next OpenArena release- you should not use them, or manually fix them to make them compatible, or install a patch that restores almost completely the Q3 bots compatibility: take a look to FAQ#How can I use maps, models, mods made for Quake 3 Arena?.

If you set \cg_forcemodel 1 (default value is 0), during non-team-based gametypes, you will see all player models look like yours. During team-based gametypes, instead, you will see all the players look like the Sarge character.
Tip: some mods allow to customize the default character for team-based gametypes, or even to set a specific model and color only for enemy players. This, at least for the moment, is not part of the main game.

Sometimes (for example, when someone, like a bot, enters the game) you may find other players look like you, when they should look different and you have "forcemodel" disabled. You can try to press TAB key (the key that shows players' score) to update player models rendering.

See also Manual/Characters, PlayerMDLs.

See also

• Manual
• Manual/Graphic options
• Tweak
• OpenArena Name Changer
• Quake 3 Name Changer