Changes: Manual/Player settings

Revision as of 08:24, 20 February 2019

Players can customize their characters (or virtual avatars) in OpenArena. To do so, go to "Setup" --> "Player" from main menu, or from ESC menu if you're playing. This will bring you to the Player Settings page, where you can customize your name, "handicap" level, "effects" and your "model/skin" (character). You can also access this screen by 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. This is going to be your display name while playing. You can also use various colors, using the "^" symbol, followed by a number before the text. Move your mouse over and away from the name field to see the "source code" or the colored result. For example, writing ^1Your ^2name, you will get Your name.^[1]

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.

Handicap

You can change the "Handicap" setting if you think 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, 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. With other items such as the Small +5 Health, the Megahealth, the Medkit, the Regeneration powerup or the Guard rune, you can still go beyond this limit (up to 200), but then your health goes down steadily to 100 again.

As an example of what Handicap does, with a value of "70", the player enters the game with 95 health decreasing slowly to 70, and he/she will not be able to get over 70 using normal health bonuses (+25 and +50), and not over 140 with other items.

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. The lower the handicap value you set, the lower the damage you will cause!

If someone is using it, his "handicap" value will appear on the score table, on the left. The score table (TAB key while in-game) shows the handicap value of human players only.

When playing Elimination, CTF Elimination or Last Man Standing modes, handicap does not influence your starting health and armor, but still influences the effectiveness of your weapons.

To prevent inexperienced players from erroneously using handicap, handicap is automatically reset to its default value each time you 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.

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), as seen by you and by other players.

Model

One of the settings a player can customize is his/her character's avatar. This can be done accessing the "Model" submenu in the "Player" menu.

Just select a model/skin, and then click on the "back" button. A "model" is a complete 3D character; a "skin" is simply a texture variation (different color schemes).

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-based game modes, blue and red skins will be automatically used), and often additional skins are available^[2]. Choosing the model from the graphic interface will set it for both team-based and non-team-based modes. See the Appendix for this page for setting the model/skin through console.

You may need to show the score table (usually pressing the TAB key) or wait until your character dies, to see the new model applied. In case cg_deferPlayers variable is set to 0 (default value is 1), the game would immediately show the new player model, instead.

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.

You can download and install additional player models created for OpenArena or Quake 3 Arena.

See also Manual/Characters, PlayerMDLs.

Notes

↑ The black text is shown as black only if the name contains at least a letter of a different color.
↑ Some "additional skins" do actually have their own red and blue variants (such as gargoyle/tech in OA 0.8.8): even if they are not shown inthe GUI, they will be used in team-based games. If the additional skin doesn't have its own red and blue variants, the default "red" and "blue" skins will be automatically used instead.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-To access '''"Player settings"''' menu, select "Setup" --> "Player" <small>(from the main menu or after pressing ESC key during play)</small>. Here you can set your name, "handicap" level, "effects" and your "model/skin" ([[Manual/Characters|character]]).
+Players can customize their characters (or virtual avatars) in OpenArena. To do so, go to "Setup" --> "Player" from main menu, or from [[ESC menu]] if you're playing. This will bring you to the ''Player Settings'' page, where you can customize your name, "handicap" level, "effects" and your "model/skin" ([[Manual/Characters|character]]). You can also access this screen by clicking on your character's picture in the "choose level" screen in ''[[Single Player Deathmatch]]'' mode.
-<small>You can access this screen also clicking on your character's picture in the "choose level" screen in ''[[Single Player Deathmatch]]'' mode.</small>
 ==Name==
-'''''See also: [[Manual/Text colors]]'''''
+::'''''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 [[Manual/Text colors|various colors]], using "^" followed by a number before the text. For example, writing <tt>^1Your ^2name</tt>, you will get <span style="color:red; margin-bottom:1em;">Your</span> <span style="color:green;margin-bottom:1em;">name</span>. 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 <tt>\name <value></tt> 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]]).<br />
+Just write your nickname there. This is going to be your display name while playing. You can also use [[Manual/Text colors|various colors]], using the "^" symbol, followed by a number before the text. Move your mouse over and away from the name field to see the "source code" or the colored result. For example, writing <tt>^1Your ^2name</tt>, you will get <span style="color:red; margin-bottom:1em;">Your</span> <span style="color:green;margin-bottom:1em;">name</span>.<ref>The black text is shown as black only if the name contains at least a letter of a different color.</ref>
-''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==
+You can change the "Handicap" setting if you think 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.
-''<span style="color:red; margin-bottom:1em;">In short: if you set your "handicap" to a value different from "none", it will make you <span style="color:magenta; margin-bottom:1em;">'''weaker'''</span>.</span>''
+Usually, 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. With other items such as the Small +5 Health, the Megahealth, the Medkit, the Regeneration powerup or the Guard rune, you can still go beyond this limit (up to 200), but then your health goes down steadily to 100 again.
-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.<br />
-'''''Usually you should leave this to "none".''''' <small>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 [[Free For All|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.</small>
+As an example of what Handicap does, with a value of "70", the player enters the game with 95 health decreasing slowly to 70, and he/she will not be able to get over 70 using normal health bonuses (+25 and +50), and not over 140 with other items.
-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.
+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. The lower the handicap value you set, the lower the damage you will cause!
-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.
+If someone is using it, his "handicap" value will appear on the ''score table'', on the left. The ''score table'' (TAB key while in-game) shows the handicap value of human players only.
-When playing ''[[Elimination]]'', ''[[CTF Elimination]]'' or ''[[Last Man Standing]]'' modes (or in other modes with <tt>[[g_elimination|\g_elimination 1]]</tt>), handicap does not influence your starting health and armor, but still influences the effectiveness of your weapons.
+When playing ''[[Elimination]]'', ''[[CTF Elimination]]'' or ''[[Last Man Standing]]'' modes, 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 <tt>\handicap <numeric value between 1 and 100></tt>. "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<ref>Using the "handicap" console command should be the quickest way to do set it.</ref>). This may not apply when using [[ModCompat|old mods]], that would continue using classic behavior (keeping the last handicap level you set until you manually change it again).
+To prevent inexperienced players from erroneously using handicap, handicap is automatically reset to its default value each time you 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.
-<small>''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.</small>
 ==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).
+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), as seen by you and by other players.
 ==Model==
+One of the settings a player can customize is his/her character's avatar. This can be done accessing the "Model" submenu in the "Player" menu.
-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 [[Manual/game modes|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.
+Just select a model/skin, and then click on the "back" button. A "[[model]]" is a complete 3D character; a "skin" is simply a texture variation (different color schemes).
-You can change model also from console, using <tt>\model "model name/skin name"</tt>, 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 <tt>\headmodel "model name/skin name"</tt> (using different characters for body and head may produce weird/funny effects; again, you can omit skin name).<br />
-Using console, you can set a different model to use with ''team'' game modes: <tt>\team_model</tt> and <tt>\team_headmodel</tt> variables allow you to do this.
+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-based [[Manual/game modes|game modes]]'', blue and red skins will be automatically used), and often additional skins are available<ref>Some "additional skins" do actually have ''their own'' red and blue variants (such as ''gargoyle/tech'' in OA 0.8.8): even if they are not shown inthe GUI, they will be used in team-based games. If the additional skin doesn't have its own red and blue variants, the default "red" and "blue" skins will be automatically used instead.</ref>. Choosing the model from the graphic interface will set it for both team-based and non-team-based modes. See ''[[/Appendix|the Appendix for this page]]'' for setting the model/skin through console.
-You can download and install additional player models created for ''[[OpenArena]]'' or ''[[Quake 3 Arena]]''. Models are in [[MD3 format]].<br />
-''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.<br />
-<small>''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?]]''.</small>
+You may need to show the score table (usually pressing the TAB key) or wait until your character dies, to see the new model applied. In case <tt>cg_deferPlayers</tt> variable is set to <tt>0</tt> (default value is 1), the game would immediately show the new player model, instead.
-If you set <tt>\cg_forcemodel 1</tt> (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.<br />
-<small>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.</small>
 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.
+You can download and install additional player models created for ''[[OpenArena]]'' or ''[[Quake 3 Arena]]''.
 See also ''[[Manual/Characters]]'', ''[[PlayerMDLs]]''.
@@ Line 60: / Line 48: @@
 ==See also==
 * [[Manual]]
+* [[Manual/Player settings/Appendix|Additional notes for this page]]
 * [[Manual/Graphic options]]
-* [[Tweak]]
+{{Appendix available}}
-* [[OpenArena Name Changer]]
-* [[Quake 3 Name Changer]]
 [[Category:Manual]]