4.0 Player Information and Settings

4.1 Introduction

4.2 User List

4.3 Player to Player Communications

There are two types of communications entry modes, One-Line and continous.

In One-Line mode, once you have entered a message, your typing area will retract, and your keyboard will revert to its preset combat mode. To enter One-Line mode, press Insert, then type your message or command in this area. You may also select the window with a left-click of the mouse.

To enter continous Communications mode, press the Scroll Lock button. This will drop the typing area into position, but when you hit return, the typing area will remain. In order to return your keyboard to combat mode, press Scroll Lock again. You may also toggle Insert, which will retract and lower the typing area, while maintaining continous Communications mode.

continous Communications mode also applies to Private Message Boxes as outlined below. To toggle these

To send a message, click on the Communications window with the mouse or press the Insert Key. The window will become opaque, and a drop down box will appear with a cursor. Type your message here and hit enter to send your message. This will deselect the Comm window and return the keyboard to normal operations.

To enter Continuous Communications mode, use Scroll Lock as outlined above in Communication Modes

To send a private message, double click on the Player Name, the Disposition, Team or Squadron (as shown in the User List, or Squadron List) to create a private chat window to that  person or group.

By using the Delete key you may toggle the last Private Communications window from which you sent a message. Example: Your last message sent was to Jolly Roger. Hitting the Delete key will allow you to begin typing your next message to Jolly Roger.

Type your message and hit enter to send the message.

To make this window disappear after use, click on the middle "Instant Communications Toggle". All Private Messages to you from other players will appear in the main Comm window as well, and will be signaled by a chime. If you have a Private Chat Window to that person or team, the message will also appear in that Private Window. Use of the Delete key will still recall an Instant Communications Window.

This window has three buttons along its top right. The left hand button controls the Echo. When active, the messages you type are echoed in the window. This mode defaults to "on".

The  button second from the right, as noted above, toggles the window from an standard window to an instant communications window. All messages of that window's type will then be diverted to this window (for example: If you have a standing squadron communications window, all squadron messages from your wingmates will appear in that window). If there is not a standing window for a given type of message, then that message appears in the main communications window. If Scroll Lock is active (or pressed) while this window is open, the window will be in continous Communication Mode.

The button in the upper right closes the window.

Private Messages to another player may be sent to players by typing /p <player name> followed by a colon, space and the message.

Example: /p qwerty: Where are you?

Note it is only necessary to type as much of the player's name as in needed to distinguish him or her from other players; with a player named Qwerty /p qw: Where are you? will usually be sufficient). Matching capitalization is not necessary.

4.4 Teams

Team are non-persistent grouping of players found in the Battlezone Arena and Outerchange. You may join a team by typing "/join" followed by the team number. If this team does not currently exist on this server, you join that team and become its wingleader.  If that team already has a wingleader, then you will join that team as a member. If a team has been set to "Private", you must be invited to join the team by the wingleader. (For Example: If invited to join a team, your communications window will display: "You have been invited to join team 10. Type: "/join team 10" to join the team).

Teams are used to set up sides within scenarios, and to set up games.

When players join your team, their dispositions are automatically set to your current disposition settings. The other player sees you as friendly, and you see him as friendly.

4.5 Scoring

By fighting in the Outerchange or Battlezone Arena, you generate three types of numbers, Kills/Death, Score and Rating. Kills and Deaths are simply a record of the number of times you have killed others and the number of times you have died.

Score is based upon damage to others, and interacts with Bounty. Bounty increases based upon time outside a safezone (or docked) within the presence of enemy units (50km). The amount of points earned per kill is based upon the bounty of the target. In addition, with a high bounty, you are given a multiplier, as high as X2 to the score earned. It behooves you to maintain as high a bounty as possible. Bounty is reset when you die, or change ships, and decreases, if you are sitting in a safezone. Your Bounty is displayed just under your speed bar, at the top middle of your screen.

Score is also impacted by the rating of your fighter, and the target's fighter. High-end fighters, such as the Vrak Stat "Changeling"  have a high rating. This is compared to a fighter such as the Kafic "Sentry". It is assumed the more powerful Vrak Stat will be able to kill the Kafic, and thus the player is awarded a percentage of the Bounty for the Kafic player. In the other way, if the outcome is reversed, the Kafic player will receive a bonus to his score.

Rating is your factor of victory. It takes into account not only kills, but the rating of those who you kill. Like the scoring system, if all of your kills are against piolts with low ratings, you will reveive less of an increase then for killilng players with high ratings.