
                                The Unofficial
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                                                              Version 3.1.1
									  3/29/97
By: Rincewind
AKA: Nicholas M. Ryan
                                                 email: merzbow@pobox.com

This Guide is also on the web at "http://subspace.warzone.com".


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                                   Contents
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Introduction: The Purpose of this Guide

Section 1: The Plight of the Newbie
      Part 1: Getting Better
      Part 2: RTFM
      Part 3: Neg Etiquette
      Part 4: Neg Killing
      Part 5: Gun Follies
      Part 6: Bomb Follies
      Part 7: The Nightwasp

Section 2: Know your Ship
      Part 1: The Warbird
      Part 2: The Javelin
      Part 3: The Spider
      Part 4: The Leviathan
      Part 5: The Terrier
      Part 6: The Weasel

Section 3: How to Fly
      Part 1: Ship Systems
         3.1.1: Top Speed
         3.1.2: Thruster Power
         3.1.3: Rotation Speed
      Part 2: Basic Concepts
         3.2.1: Physics 101
         3.2.2: Timing
         3.2.3: Lag
         3.2.4: Map Elements
         3.2.5: JeffP on: Downgrades
         3.2.6: Saving Your Ship
         3.2.7: Straight but not Proud
         3.2.8: Eye on the Map
         3.2.9: Tight Spaces
         3.2.10: Dead Ends
      Part 3: Piloting Techniques
         3.3.1: Moving Backwards
         3.3.2: The Afterburner
         3.3.3: The Bounce
         3.3.4: The Swivel
         3.3.5: The Wiggle
      Part 4: Turretting
         3.4.1: Dangers of Turretting
         3.4.2: Turret Upgrading
         3.4.3: Turret Damage
         3.4.4: Overconfidence

Section 4: Tool Time
      Part 1: Energy Conservation
      Part 2: Shields
      Part 3: Superpower
      Part 4: Repel
      Part 5: Stealth
      Part 6: Cloak
      Part 7: X-Radar
      Part 8: Warping
      Part 9: Antiwarp
      Part 10: Bursting
      Part 11: Bricks
      Part 12: Decoy
      Part 13: Thor
      Part 14: Rockets
      Part 15: Portal

Section 5: Happy Mining
      Part 1: The Basics
      Part 2: Mass Mining
      Part 3: Strategic Mining
      Part 4: Wall Tube Mining
      Part 5: I Mine in your General Direction!
      Part 6: Defeating the Miner
      Part 7: Stupid Mine Tricks

Section 6: Bombs Away
      Part 1: Basic Concepts
         6.1.1: Conservation of Energy
         6.1.2: L1 vs. L2 vs. L3
         6.1.3: JeffP on: Bombs
         6.1.4: The Pause
         6.1.5: Bomb Inertia
         6.1.6: Extrapolation
         6.1.7: The Kevorkian
         6.1.8: Shrapnel
      Part 2: Bomb Strategies
         6.2.1: What is Needed to Kill
         6.2.2: Prediction
         6.2.3: A Typical Battle
         6.2.4: Bombs and/or Guns
      Part 3: Long-Range Tactics
         6.3.1: The Skywalker Drop
         6.3.2: The Safety Dance
         6.3.3: Battle Blasting
         6.3.4: Carpet Bombing
      Part 4: Short-Range Tactics
         6.4.1: The Distance Principle
         6.4.2: The Toreador
         6.4.3: Double Trouble
         6.4.4: The Rebound
         6.4.5: Wall Killing
         6.4.6: The Rambo Romp
      Part 5: Defeating the Gunner
         6.5.1: The WhamBam Technique

Section 7: Guns of Steel
      Part 1: Introduction
      Part 2: Basic Concepts
         7.2.1: Conservation of Energy
         7.2.2: L1 vs. L2 vs. L3
         7.2.3: JeffP on: Bullets
         7.2.4: Multi vs. Single
         7.2.5: Turrets and Guns
      Part 3: Gun Strategies
         7.3.1: What is Needed to Kill
         7.3.2: Guns and/or Bombs
      Part 4: Short-Range Tactics
         7.4.1: The Chase
         7.4.2: The Tailgunner
         7.4.3: The Spear of Death
         7.4.4: Rotation Attack
         7.4.5: Bouncing Balls
         7.4.6: Chambers of Death
      Part 5: Long-Range Tactics
         7.5.1: The Bullet Cloud
         7.5.2: Fly-by Shootings
      Part 6: Defeating the Bomber
         7.6.1: Up-Close and Personal
         7.6.2: Little Missed Bombs

Section 8: General Strategy
      Part 1: Why is Everybody Always...
         8.1.1: Choice of Zone
         8.1.2: Choice of Team
         8.1.3: Choice of Opponent
         8.1.4: Scavenging
      Part 2: The Chase
         8.2.1: Chase Psychology
         8.2.2: On Speed
         8.2.3: Bombs and Mines
         8.2.4: Just Cut it Off
         8.2.5: Flanking Tactics
      Part 3: The Flight
         8.3.1: Persistence
         8.3.2: Stealth and X-Radar
         8.3.3: Warped Mind
         8.3.4: Low Speed Tactics
         8.3.5: Run like the Wind
         8.3.6: Have your Revenge

Section 9: The Running Zone
      Part  1: Introduction
      Part  2: Pick your Poison
      Part  3: Three Things at Once
      Part  4: Getting Flags
      Part  5: Losing Flags
      Part  6: Kill the Carrier
      Part  7: Team Coordination
      Part  8: The Gang Bang
      Part  9: Keeping your Flags
      Part 10: Turretting
      Part 11: The Prize

Section 10: The War Zone
      Part  1: Introduction
      Part  2: Hell is Other People...
      Part  3: Team Essentials
      Part  4: Greening
      Part  5: Defense Basics
      Part  6: Defense Macros
      Part  7: Responding to Attacks
      Part  8: Attack Basics
      Part  9: Wabbit Season
      Part 10: Attacking Red
      Part 11: Pump up the Base
      Part 12: The Prize
      Part 13: War Zone West Map Specifics
         10.13.1: The D14 Honeycomb
         10.13.2: The N4 Maze
         10.13.3: The J8 Castle
      Part 14: War Zone East Map Specifics
         10.14.1: R8
         10.14.2: S20
         10.14.3: J18
         10.14.4: L1
         10.14.5: I1
         10.14.6: B13

Appendix 1: For More Info

Appendix 2: Acknowledgments

Appendix 3: Changes

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-----------------
|Introduction - The Purpose of this Guide
-----------------

If for some reason you've come across this guide by accident and have no idea 
what SubSpace is, check out its homepage at "http://subspace.vie.com".

The purpose of this guide is to teach you, the SubSpace pilot, how to become a 
better player, not how to play. Please refer to the documentation included with 
the game if you are having trouble with the technical details of the client. 
Don't email me with questions that are already answered in the official 
documentation or website. And don't email me asking to have your SubSpace 
account reactivated, because I can't do that.


-----------------
|Section 1 - The Plight of the Newbie
-----------------

1.1 - Getting Better

So you suck. You've been playing the game for three weeks and can't even hit a 
wall, let alone a 100-bounty player. Or you maybe you just installed the game 
this afternoon, and are frustrated by miners, neg-killers, and pbomb-throwing 
demigods. Although it is certainly true that some amount of natural talent is 
needed to succeed in this game, practice and experience are eighty percent of 
what makes a good pilot. There are dozens, uncountable legions, of people out 
there that could be much better than they are now, save for the fact that they 
don't listen, they don't learn, and just don't care.

It really isn't that difficult to survive in SubSpace. A few simple tips and 
pointers will get you to the point where you have a powerful enough ship to 
fight. From there on, mastery of a few basic strategies will put you ahead of at 
least 75% of your opponents. Once you are comfortable with those, and can hold 
down a 1:1 win/loss ratio, move on to the more advanced strategies. Tackle those 
high-bounty players. Practice that long-distance pbombing. Play the flag game if 
you want. Above all, remember that all of us were once as inexperienced and 
frustrated as you are now.

1.2 - RTFM

First things first: if you haven't yet read the online manual included with the 
game, immediately do so now. Read the whole thing, and then read it again. 
Afterwards, go to the SubSpace web site and browse through their web BBS message 
board, which will familiarize you with many of the current issues, 
controversies, and changes peculiar ongoing with SubSpace. Also bookmark the 
News section of my web page if you like. There is nothing more annoying than 
having a new player ask all one hundred pilots in the arena how to join a squad. 
Sure, I did that too, but please learn from my mistakes. :)

Remember that when first beginning the game you must start out in the Alpha 
Zone. After you have achieved 2000 points you can graduate to the others. 

As you should know by now, when you first enter the game, you are a neg. In the 
Alpha Zone, this isn't strictly true, since ships now begin with 30 bounty 
there, but in all others except for Speed and League, it is true. More likely 
than not, if you weren't born with pbombs in your blood, you will spend a great 
deal of your time as a neg during the first few days. I know, being weak is 
frustrating, but there are things you should do and not do that can make the 
SubSpace experience much more enjoyable for everyone in the arena.

1.3 - Neg Etiquette

It is frustrating, isn't it? Your ship begins with nothing, forcing you to spend 
a good fifteen minutes gathering the green before you have a hope of winning any 
important fights. Unfair as this may seem, the process of upgrading and 
downgrading is an integral part of the game's design; patience is something 
needed in spades if you want to succeed. While you are weak, pretend the gun and 
the bomb keys do not exist. Leave the more powerful ships alone, and they will 
leave you alone. Most of the time.

As you become more experienced, you will often find yourself plagued by negs who 
follow you around for no other reason than to snag a lucky kill. Countless times 
I have fired a bomb at an opponent only to have it detonate on one of those 
nearby pests, lowering my average instead. Such behavior benefits neither party; 
you may feel some satisfaction out of seeing the guy with 12 flags dodge your 
level 1 bullets and plow straight into a minefield, but your gameplay, score, 
and reputation will suffer for it.

1.4 - Neg Killing

When you start with a new ship, your ship begins with a bounty of 0. Generally, 
any ship under 40 bounty is referred to as a 'neg', a term held over from the 
old days when ships used to start with -12 bounty. Most pilots respect a target 
bounty limit that can be set with the target feature. You can either set the 
target within the game by typing "?target=#" or in the Options screen before 
playing. On your radar, enemy ships below this bounty will appear as dark blue 
and ships above this bounty will be light blue. The more skilled a pilot is, the 
higher he will set his target. However, it is absolutely unacceptable to set it 
below 40, and most good players will become pissed if you set it below 80.

People are neg for a reason - to discourage others from killing them. It is 
simply a fact that nobody can put up a decent front against a high-bounty, 
reasonably good player with a ship that has less than 30 or 40 bounty. You can't 
fight, and you can't run if a bully decides to chase you. Think about it, is 
there really any reason to kill a negative player? Points are certainly not the 
reason. Yes, it does increase your win/loss ratio, but at the expense of your 
score and your rating.

There is little or no actual fun in blasting away a weakling. You are not 
displaying any effort on your part, and you are wasting his time and yours. Wait 
until he has powered up, and then meet him in a fair fight. By getting killed by 
that pilot in an equal match, you will learn more and become a better player 
than if you had destroyed him when he was a neg. Of course, it is perfectly 
acceptable to annihilate a neg who attacks you first, but whether you wish to 
ruin your average kill rating in this way is up to you.

The issue of neg killing is closely related to that of engine shutdown and 
'Mavis Beacon' killing, as they all involve the killing of a defenseless, or 
near defenseless, ship. 'Mavis Beacon' killing refers, of course, to the 
attacking of a pilot who is obviously typing, and thus unable to defend himself. 
A player who decides to compose a love poem in the middle of a battle has no 
excuse when someone marches up and pops a cap in his ass. However, if you find a 
ship in some far off corner that just seems to be drifting, be a nice guy and 
just leave him alone. One of the most despicable breed of vermin you will find 
are those Spider pilots who will cloak and follow around a ship until he stops 
to type, at which time they will unload with a stream of L3 bullets.

Please don't shoot at anyone who has picked up an engine shutdown. How can you 
tell this? If your opponent picks up a green, and then suddenly coasts in a 
straight line, he probably picked up a shutdown. If you are the victim of the 
unlucky green instead, rotate your ship to signal to other players that you are 
defenseless. Engine shutdown vastly decreases your rotation speed.

1.5 - Gun Follies

There are two common ways in which 'newbies' will get themselves killed. The 
first involves the dreaded 'one-shot' kill. Basically, our newbie will find 
himself with level 3 multi bullets, a very powerful but very energy-consuming 
weapon, and will home in on the nearest high-bounty player and proceed to fire a 
dozen or so rounds in his direction. More often than not the 'victim' will step 
to the side, and as the newbie passes nearby, he will let off one or two shots 
and the newbie will explode. The most common response to such an event is a 
whine that goes like this: "He killed me with one shot! That's not fair!" Yes, 
he did kill you with one shot, but no, it was not unfair. The most important 
thing to remember in a fight is that your weapons draw upon the same energy 
source as does your 'life'. Whenever you fire a bullet, a little bit of your 
life-force goes along with it, a force that can only be recovered over time by 
recharging. It is all too common to see someone waste so much of his energy 
firing ill-aimed shots that he is easily killed by a pilot smart enough to 
conserve his power.

1.6 - Bomb Follies

Recently the game underwent a drastic change in regards to how point-blank bomb 
damage is calculated. It used to be the case that a bomb fired too close to an 
opponent would suicide the shooter, as well as causing the victim significant 
damage. Now, however, suiciding has been removed. The shooter will take as much 
damage as before, but not enough to reduce his energy below zero. However, the 
energy loss taken by the victim is now adjusted by subtracting the loss taken by 
the shooter. This means that it is no longer possible to march up to someone and 
slam them in the face for an easy but suicidal kill. If this does happen to you, 
simply fire a few shots and more likely than not the suicider will die (having 
reduced his energy to zero with the bomb).

Be very careful when and where you fire your bombs. Bombs are an extremely 
dangerous weapon, both to the bomber and the bombed. On average, a bomb will 
exert an energy drain on the bomber of about 70% of the damage it will cause the 
victim. Also, of course, your bomb is equally likely to do damage to you if you 
aren't a safe distance away. The more powerful a bomb is, the farther away you 
should be from the point of detonation. Luckily, due to a feature called the 
pbomb fuse, you are required to be a certain distance from another ship to fire 
a bomb, but this distance isn't large enough to serve as a substitute for good 
judgment.

1.7 - The Nightwasp

The Nightwasp is the ship flown by the player with the highest score of all 
those in the arena. It looks cool, but has no special abilities above and beyond 
those provided by the type of ship the pilot picked during signon. All too 
often, some newbie will get the idea in their heads that maybe JeffP or Rod will 
mail them a souvenir for killing the Nightwasp, and will go out of his way to 
attack the ship when it's a neg. No, you will not get a souvenir, but yes, if 
you do this more often than not the next time Mr. Nightwasp sees you he will 
waste your ass to oblivion. :)


-----------------
|Section 2 - Know your Ship
-----------------

2.1 - The Warbird

I and many of the better players regard the Warbird as the best ship overall. 
Since you've read the help file, you will know that the Warbird is the most 
maneuverable craft; it has the highest maximum rotation and thruster speeds, and 
a decent top speed. It doesn't have any unusual abilities like the other ships 
do. However, in tight battle situations, maneuverability is by far your most 
important weapon, since the difference between your victory and your death is 
frequently measured in fractions of a second. The capabilities of the Warbird 
will allow you to avoid bombs that others can't, and navigate terrain that would 
stymie a Javelin or a Spider.

Yes, a high top speed is nice for the chase and the escape, but if you had 
killed the guy in the first place you wouldn't have to do these things at all. 
The Warbird starts out useless, however, with a pitiful charge rate and energy 
capacity, and needs to be upgraded mercilessly. If you're a newbie, begin with 
the Javelin, and then after you are comfortable with the game, switch over to 
the Warbird.

2.2 - The Javelin

The Javelin has the highest top speed of any ship. It also starts out with the 
best upgrades - a high charge rate and top speed, both useful for avoiding the 
legions of neg-killers out there. However, its maximum rotation speed simply 
sucks, and its thrusters aren't as powerful as the Warbird's. This is not to say 
that a Javelin will lose to a Warbird every time; there are many good Javelin 
players who kill more than their share of Warbirds. But although it is unmatched 
in its ability to hunt down and overtake those who dare to run, the Warbird is 
simply the better ship once the fight has started. In the flag game, however, 
the Javelin has a great advantage when it comes to outrunning opponents. It is 
also an excellent ship to use in combination with single fire guns, which can 
mean instant death to a slower victim. It is usually a bad ship to fly in the 
War Zone due to the constricted areas within bases, but it can outrun most 
antiwarpers with ease.

2.3 - The Spider

The Spider is special because it starts out with stealth built-in, and can alone 
receive the cloaking upgrade. Other than that, however, it is basically an 
average ship. It is certainly not crippled, and indeed has decent maximums in 
most upgrade areas. However, if you fly the Spider and do not use cloaking 
frequently, you're missing the point. The Spider is unmatched in its ability to 
deceive and annoy the enemy with its cloaking device. You can perform stunts of 
such excessive ferocity and/or cheesiness that they will make your opponents 
gasp in dismay. Since the advent of the base-oriented flag game in the War Zone, 
the Spider has become a spectacular ship to play. It is indispensable for 
stealing your opponent's flags undetected, and no team should be without several 
Spider players.

2.4 - The Leviathan

The Leviathan is the most commonly chosen ship among newbies, but rarely used by 
experienced players. It is said in the help file to be the most powerful ship, 
which seems to lead many new players to the conclusion that they are in for a 
few easy kills. Even though the Leviathan has the ability to upgrade to L3 
bombs, its subpar piloting capabilities make it difficult to win a close battle. 
Furthermore, L3 bombs require massive amounts of energy to fire, which puts the 
ship in great danger of being killed by a retaliatory shot.

Does this mean the Leviathan sucks? Certainly not. If you come up against some 
of the better Leviathan players, you will be in for the fight of your life. 
Their strategy is to always keep a screen or two away from the enemy, whom they 
will constantly bombard with L3 bombs. This makes it extremely difficult to 
approach close enough for a kill, and it frequently takes three or more players 
to nail down an errant Leviathan. If your tastes run more towards the excitement 
of close combat, make another choice.

Perhaps what this ship is best at is controlling large areas of territory. If, 
for example, your team has a base with one entrance, and there is lots of space 
around this entrance where enemies like to hang out, have a team member take a 
Leviathan out there and canvass the area with his bombs.

2.5 - The Terrier

The Terrier is about as maneuverable as the Leviathan but instead of L3 bombs, 
it sports double-barreled guns (and starts off at L2, instead of L1). With 
single fire, instead of shooting out a single stream of bullets, it emits two 
parallel streams. With multifire, though, it only fires four bullets at a time, 
not six as you would expect. One disappointment with the Terrier is that it 
fires these guns at a slower rate, and that if one bullet hits its target the 
other one(s) will automatically disappear. This means that in a gun duel with a 
Terrier, a good Warbird pilot has the upper hand because he can simply do more 
raw damage per second. However, the Terrier's advantage lies in the greater area 
he can cover with his fire. You're only going to win a battle if you are good at 
avoiding most of what your enemy is shooting while hitting him where he wouldn't 
expect a ship to be able to fire.

The Terrier is most at home in the War Zone; in claustrophobic bases those extra 
bullets become deadly. It's an OK ship in the Running Zone, although a Terrier 
with rockets is a sight to behold.

2.6 - The Weasel

The Weasel is another variant on the low maneuverability/special weapons theme. 
It fires a special variety of bomb called the 'EMP', which upon detonation 
prevents the target ship from recharging for a number of seconds. The caveat is 
that the bomb itself doesn't do much direct damage. Instead, what a Weasel pilot 
should do is first disable their victim's charge with an EMP and then home in 
with guns to finish the job. Also, the Weasel has the ability to see mines on 
radar as small white dots, a useful advantage when on the run.

In the hands of a good pilot the Weasel is more effective in battle than a 
casual player might first think. Since it doesn't maneuver that well you'd think 
it would have trouble squeezing in those few bullets needed to finish off a 
damaged enemy. However, an opponent with no charge rate only needs to eat two or 
three bullets to die anyway, and it isn't hard to hit with that many. Never 
underestimate how vulnerable your ship after being hit with an EMP; usually a 
couple easy deaths at the hands of a Weasel will serve as proof. This ship is 
perhaps best in the Running Zone where several people are chasing one target, or 
in the War Zone situations where one person is trying to get in or out of your 
base.


-----------------
|Section 3 - How to Fly
-----------------

3.1 - Ship Systems

I, like many others, will not begin fighting until I have achieved the maximum 
or near-maximum upgrade in all ship systems. However, due to bad luck or damage, 
sometimes I'm left with a less than ideal craft and must make do with what I've 
got. In this section, I will discuss the importance of three upgrades and their 
effect on maneuverability: top speed, thrusters, and rotation. Be aware that you 
can use the ?status command to easily determine in which areas your ship is 
deficient. Also keep it in mind that you can always ask a teammate if you can 
become a turret if you find yourself stuck with a bum ship.

3.1.1 - Top Speed

A high top speed is frequently more useful for getting away from or getting to 
your opponent than it is for killing him. The exception is when you or your team 
is chasing someone who just won't fight, in which case you can speed a couple 
bombs and bullets into his back.

If you play with a low top speed, then you are handing your enemy the advantage 
of being able to choose when the battle is to begin or end. Attempting to run 
from someone with much greater speed is a recipe for frustration, for you will 
see yourself quickly and easily succumb to a barrage of smartly aimed bullets 
and bombs. Likewise, if you attempt to chase a faster ship, he'll disappear from 
your map before you say "coward". If you find your self stuck in a losing 
situation with no top speed, control the urge to run, and instead turn around 
and fire back at your pursuer. Running is the worst thing you can do, because 
your pursuer will be able to keep up and he will be able to hit you with several 
rounds of bullets per second.

3.1.2 - Thruster Power

Don't even think about combat until you have upgraded your thrusters. Otherwise, 
you will find yourself unable to make the sharp twists and turns needed to 
position your ship for battle. If you've spent most of your time in play with 
good thrusters, you have learned a certain set of responses and instincts, much 
like riding a bicycle. If you then play with low thrusters, these same instincts 
will betray you at every turn; your bombs will go wide and your turns will lead 
you into dead-ends instead of routes of escape.

3.1.3 - Rotation Speed

Rotation speed is an important part of what makes a ship maneuverable, although 
not as important as the other systems. With low rotation, you're unable to 
respond quickly to attacks that come at you from the side or from behind, and 
will find it difficult to navigate rocky territory. Be assured that if you are 
fighting any reasonably good opponent, he will take note of your poor rotation 
and will circle around you faster than you can keep up. It is also is difficult 
to pull off tight turns with no rotation. If you find yourself being chased with 
low energy and need to get away quickly, a good tactic is to quickly dive into 
the nearest corridor, hoping your opponent won't have time to follow. A poor 
rotation speed, however, will give the enemy several second's warning of your 
intentions.

3.2 - Basic Concepts

3.2.1 - Physics 101

Although you will quickly develop a 'feel' for the physics of SubSpace, it's 
important to understand what is going on behind the scenes. SubSpace works on 
simple Newtonian principles. Basically, a body in motion will stay in motion. 
One anomaly is if you are flying in one direction, and turn in another and 
accelerate, you will slowly lose momentum in your previous vector.

Walls and obstacles are about 80% elastic; that is, when you rebound off a wall, 
you will be traveling at 80% of your previous speed. Strangely enough, ships do 
not collide, but pass right through each other, a phenomenon disconcerting to 
the experienced Descent player. Your bombs and your bullets inherit your vector 
when fired, and in addition gain a speed increase in the direction pointed. In 
other words, you have inertia, and so does everything you emit. Be aware of 
these facts, for there are certain attacks and maneuvers that take very specific 
advantage of them.

3.2.2 - Timing

There are two skills that separate the great player from one who is merely good. 
The first is an acute sense of timing, and the second is the ability to predict 
what other ships are doing. Since you need good timing to act on your 
predictions, the first skill is perhaps more fundamental.

Almost everything you do in battle will succeed or fail based on your judgment 
of where things will be one or two seconds in the future. You ship is traveling 
along one vector, your enemy along another, and your bomb will form a third. 
Whether or not you score a hit will depend on how accurate your assessment was 
of the desired intersection point between the path of your shot and that of the 
enemy ship. You must also take into account the possibility of his changing 
course, not to mention the probability that you can avoid anything he may be 
able to lob your way. Shooting at a faraway target is even more difficult, since 
you must make an educated guess at where things will be five or six seconds from 
now.

As you can see, you must perform a delicate juggling act between three or four 
variables just to keep up with the crowd. There is little you can do to improve 
your ability to handle these calculations outside of practice and experience. 
Gradually, you will become better able to predict what someone is going to do 
next and where your bullets are going to hit, but be aware that this takes time. 
There is nothing more satisfying that to see an opponent slam into three or four 
of your bombs after he's run far enough away to think you could no longer be a 
problem.

3.2.3 - Lag

One of the phenomena that you will become intimately acquainted with is the 
problem of lag. First, some background. SubSpace is an online game that uses the 
Internet's TCP/IP transport protocol to communicate with the host computer in 
California. Your SubSpace packets usually must hop past a good number of routers 
before reaching their destination, and each one slows it down. The time delay 
introduced by this hopping is referred to as latency, and can be from anywhere 
to one tenth of a second to four or five seconds. SubSpace is programmed in such 
as way that the client must know the location of some or all of the ships in the 
game, and thus the more ships there are in the arena, the greater the load on 
the network connection.

Luckily for players on the East Coast, vie has created both East and West coast 
SubSpace servers. This split is lamentable (since it thins out the player base) 
but necessary due to the presence of the mae-east router. This particularly 
despicable piece of hardware is the router that much east-west coast internet 
traffic must pass through. Like most NAPS that connect major internet backbone 
providers to one another, it is overloaded and underfunded and thus adds 
something like 100ms to any packet that it handles.

Ping isn't everything, however. Packetloss generally has a greater negative 
effect on gameplay than ping. Packetloss is simply the percentage of packets 
that are lost in transit from your computer to vie.com, and vice-versa. To 
determining what your packetloss is, type '?packetloss' into SubSpace. 
Packetloss from vie.com to you doesn't matter much, but loss from you to vie.com 
is crucial. If it is %10, for example, %10 of all of the shots you fire are not 
reaching your opponent. This is the cause of all those bursts that the enemy 
doesn't see and all those repels that don't move his ship.

Your connection to vie.com is very dependent on the ISP you are using. If your 
loss is above %15 and your ping more than 300ms, consider switching. There is a 
utility available from the official SubSpace download page to help you determine 
the state of your connection to the servers.

My hat goes off to vie for improving their code to the point where it is now 
much harder to actually die as a result of lag. The days of being hit with 
twenty lagged bullets at once are effectively over, notwithstanding the 
complaints of many a defeated pilot. What you will see much more frequently, 
however, is the ship that simply won't die. If your opponent's packetloss is 
very bad he may not be seeing many of your shots, which also means that you 
probably aren't seeing many of his. Certain players, and even whole squads in 
league games (you know who you are and so does vie), have at times manipulated 
their connection to simulate such packetloss.

3.2.4 - Map Elements

Each map is divided into a number of sectors in a rectangular grid. A sector is 
identified by a letter and a number; the letters run from A to T from left to 
right, and the numbers from 1 to 20 from top to bottom. Thus, the top left 
corner is sector A1, and the bottom left is sector T20. This coordinate is 
displayed on the top of your map at all times, in small type.

You should be aware of the several different varieties of map terrain and what 
they do.

Empty Space: Duhh. It's all around you.

Walls: Walls behave in exactly the same way even though there are many different 
looking wall graphics. They tile either horizontally or vertically, and if you 
hit them you bounce right off.

Fake Walls: These are tiles that look like walls but actually allow ships to 
pass through them. While under a fake wall you will be invisible on the screen 
but still visible on radar. And no, you can't lay mines under them (damn).

Gates: Gates are straight lines that look somewhat like strips of fluorescent 
tubing. They appear and disappear at regular intervals, even though they always 
appear closed on your radar.

Safe Zones: Safety Zones are greenish tiles that protect you from damage if you 
move your ship into them. For some sadistic reason the designers of most of 
SubSpace's maps decided to make them infrequent and difficult to enter.

Wormholes: Wormholes look like big black holes in space. They exert an enormous 
gravitational force and will suck bombs, bullets, and ships right in. Unlike 
bombs and bullets, ships that are sucked in will then reappear at some random 
location on the map with a depleted energy bar and frequently a downgrade. You 
can even orbit a wormhole if you want.

3.2.5 - JeffP on: Downgrades (written by Jeff Petersen)

Ship damage is defined as losing a prize you have acquired. If a ship has full 
energy (or very near full energy) when it takes a hit from a bomb or bullet (or 
from going through the wormhole) it will not take damage. (Note, the shrapnel 
after the bomb may cause you damage though...). The odds of your ship actually 
taking damage are a function of how much damage is occurring. Once the odds of 
taking damage are calculated a random number is used to determine if your ship 
will actually take damage or not.

Once it is determined that you ship will take damage, one of 17 systems is 
picked to take the damage. If your ship does not have an ungrade to that system, 
then no damage occurs. A fully loaded ship (with all systems upgraded) is more 
likely to get a system hit than a weaker ship. You can never be damaged below 
the minimum levels (you cannot lose your L1 guns for example or drop below 1000 
max energy).

3.2.6 - Saving your Ship

Sometimes you will lose your connection to the SubSpace server, an event that 
you know has taken place when the message "No data coming from server" appears 
on your screen. If you see this, you can save your powerups and your bounty 
simply by exiting the game as usual, but only if that message is present on your 
screen. The next time you connect to the zone you were playing in, you will 
reappear with your ship intact, and for the first two minutes you will be 
allowed to change frequencies without losing your ship. Unfortunately, if you 
had flags at the time you exited, they will now be gone. Finally, quitting the 
SubSpace client in-between connections will set you back to zero.

You can also fly to a safe zone and change teams within without losing your 
upgrades. Also, you can hit shift-insert to switch 'spawns' within a zone. In an 
arena with many people the game will place about 80 in one spawn, the next 80 in 
the next spawn, and so on. Sometimes when you reconnect you will end up in a 
different spawn then you were in before, and you must cycle through them to find 
your buddies.

3.2.7 - Straight but not Proud

A great deal of your game time will be spent chasing after or running from an 
opponent. The one thing you can do that will almost guarantee your death at the 
hands of a veteran pilot would be to fly in a straight line. Your opponent knows 
exactly where you are by looking at his map, and the more predictable your 
actions are, the easier it is for him to hit you. Travel in a straight line, and 
you will almost surely run into a mine laid by the enemy or worse yet, a string 
of bombs fired right back into your path. It is typical of the newbie to chase a 
pilot and fire two or three pbombs at him, only to run into an enemy shot and 
die instantly. And if you are known as someone who likes to run straight, your 
pursuer will be able to tell his teammates exactly where you are heading should 
they be looking for you. Avoid this (and similar) fates by swerving back and 
forth as you fly, and by traveling in an arc over long distances. Even as you do 
so, assume that your enemy has anticipated this and never lower your energy to 
the point that just one chance hit could kill you.

3.2.8 - Eye on the Map

Never, ever take your eyes off of the map for more than a few seconds at a time. 
Before an enemy can kill you, he must first come near you (unless he's a miner), 
and the map will always give you at least five seconds warning before you must 
fight. An experienced SubSpace player will constantly be analyzing the behavior 
of the ships around him; based on their patterns of movement, he can tell at a 
glance whether a group of ships is an enemy team bent on his destruction, or 
just a bunch of negs having a tea party.

When you are engaged in a one-on-one, every so often glance at the map to see if 
there are any other ships that appear to be purposely heading in your direction. 
If so, you should assume that they are coming for you, and it would be wise to 
temporarily break off and move away from their line of fire. This is especially 
important if you have flags to protect, because in such a case a quickly 
approaching ship will frequently bring his entire team with him. Use what you 
see of your opponent's movement to your advantage. If he is coming in a straight 
line, lob bombs in his path. If there is a large group of ships nearby, and you 
are losing the fight, lead him into it in the hope that he will be delayed by 
the melee.

3.2.9 - Tight Spaces

Every arena is a chaotic mixture of large open areas and claustrophobic 
corridors. Many people tend to stay away from the smaller spaces because they 
either fear being ambushed, or are not confident of their navigational 
abilities. However, these are usually the easiest places in which to lose a 
crafty pursuer. Next time you are being chased, turn into one of these areas and 
fly as unpredictably and as erratically as you can.

Several of these regions, though, are so cluttered that they cannot be flown 
through without paying full attention to your screen. This means you've got to 
temporarily violate the cardinal rule that tells you never to take your eyes off 
the map. When approaching, take a quick glance at the map to assure yourself 
that there is no one waiting in ambush, and then fly through quickly but 
carefully.

If you are precise enough with the arrow keys and make liberal use of the 
afterburner, you can execute some quite spectacular moves. Do this correctly, 
and often you can gain a substantial lead over even the most determined pursuer. 
Do it wrong, and you will bump into a wall and bounce right back into a hail of 
bullets.

One of the worst things you can do is to skillfully outmaneuver your enemy in a 
maze only to stumble upon a cloud of ammunition let loose by his stealthed 
teammate. Toggle your x-radar often if you want to avoid such a fate.

3.2.10 - Dead Ends

If you don't watch where you're going, you may find yourself turning into a dead 
end. If your opponent has been playing the game for any length of time, he will 
most likely have his eyes on the map and will note your mistake. He'll then slow 
down, and as you struggle to get out, he will let off a haze of bouncing bullets 
and pbombs that will kill you instantly. Careening into a dead end is one of the 
most reliable ways to die or at least downgrade your ship to the point of 
unusability; even players who know the terrain extremely well will make this 
mistake, since on approach the entrances to many such places look similar to 
those of corridors.

Having made such a mistake, don't panic. The worst thing you can do is slam down 
on the thrusters and overshoot the exit, bouncing around like a pinball and 
hitting every bullet in sight. Your first reaction should be to attempt a warp. 
If you are damaged or if the enemy has antiwarp on, however, this won't work. 
Instead, very carefully and very slowly move your ship to the exit and fly it 
through. You opponent will be shooting at you, but you have no choice but to 
grin and bear it, or better yet, use a repel. If you know you're going to die, 
use a burst and take him with you.

3.3 - Piloting Techniques

3.3.1 - Moving Backwards

It is amazing how many players never use their back arrow key. Skillful handling 
of your reverse thrusters is one of the hardest things to learn in SubSpace, but 
it adds much to your ability to maneuver. When faced with a bomb, a newbie will 
frequently be seen trying to first turn around, and then to use his forward key 
to run away. What he should have done instead is to accelerate backwards, 
instantly putting some distance between him and the bomb, and saving precious 
seconds that would have been wasted in rotation. Your reverse thrusters give you 
a whole additional 180 degrees of possibility, greatly enhancing your ability to 
dodge fire and making it easier to aim at your opponent. When running, instead 
of looking forward, face backwards and fire back at your surprised pursuer, 
using the back key to navigate. Some very good players have taught themselves to 
fly backwards for great lengths of time, weaving in and out of corridors, but 
this is a difficult thing to pull off.

3.3.2 - The Afterburner

The afterburner is used to give you that extra push in situations where your 
thrusters simply cannot get you where you want to go. If you are about to 
overshoot a powerup or are seconds away from being smashed by a surprise pbomb, 
turn 90 degrees and immediately fly away with your afterburners on. Although 
they consume a large amount of energy, if your charge rate is at or near 
maximum, the drain is almost negligible. Frequently you will find yourself with 
a good charge rate but few speed upgrades; keep your afterburners held down 
continuously and you can pick up bonuses and fly past battles with ease. It goes 
without saying that in a tight chase or pursuit situation, your afterburners are 
invaluable for getting from point A to point B faster than your opponent might 
assume possible.

3.3.3 - The Bounce

One way to amaze and befuddle an enemy is to use the properties of the elastic 
wall to place your ship in a position that simply wouldn't be possible by use of 
thrusters alone. Many times you find yourself wanting to reverse course 
immediately; there is no easier way to do this than to fly head-on into the 
nearest wall, bounce back, and turn around. Make frequent use of the bounce to 
put your ship at a needed angle to capture a powerup or to make an exit. You can 
often save four or five seconds over the time the maneuver would have taken 
otherwise, seconds that you can use to defend yourself. In battle situations, 
you can gain an edge by learning how to bounce your ship and your bullets off of 
walls at opportune moments. The enemy will be amazed when he sees you stringing 
two or three bounces in a row to end up behind his bombs.

3.3.4 - The Swivel

An ill-timed bounce can often turn a carefully planned attack into a nightmare 
rout. There is nothing worse than overshooting an opening only to careen right 
back at your adversary and his bullets. Many times you will lose total control 
in such tight spaces, pinballing randomly until you can slow down and sort out 
your position.

When making wide turns, there is an often-used technique that gives you a way to 
avoid pulling such a boner. For example, suppose you are flying toward the 
entrance to a corridor, but are slightly above it and fear that you cannot fly 
in without hitting the opposite wall. If you simply went directly at the 
entrance, you would indeed throw your ship into an uncontrollable series of 
bounces. 

Instead, slow down your ship by turning it about 60 degrees to the left. Gently 
fire your thrusters, and as you near the entrance turn 15 degrees to the right 
and proceed straight down it. You will have bled off your speed slowly and will 
not bounce off the wall, and because you started your turn early any bombs an 
enemy might have thrown at you will have gone high.

3.3.5 - The Wiggle

When you are fighting another ship, he will attempt to hit you by predicting 
your movements based on which direction you seem to be turning. You can confuse 
your enemy by executing the Wiggle maneuver, which is much like pulling a 'fake' 
in football. He is facing you, and you are facing him, and he's about to fire a 
bomb. At this moment quickly wiggle your ship back and forth using your left and 
right arrow keys and just a little bit of thrust, and your opponent will either 
fire in the wrong direction or delay his shot for a few seconds, giving you time 
to counterattack.

This is also an excellent opportunity to use your back arrow key by arcing one 
way, watching the enemy fire into your path, then immediately hitting your back 
thrusters and your left arrow key. You'll be back where you were and will be in 
a position to hit him in the side.

3.4 - Turretting

Turretting is a diverting but not incredibly useful part of the game. You and 
your team can play SubSpace and succeed greatly without ever having formed a 
turret, but others prefer to form them and rampage around simply for fun. The 
actual mechanics of turretting are frequently ill-understood, and ill-covered in 
the manual, so I will go over them here:

1. To connect to a teammate as a turret, use the pgup/pgdn keys to select his 
name in the player list, and press F7. Wait several seconds for the server to 
attach you.

2. If you are a turret, press F7 to detach.

3. To kick off any turrets you have, press F7. You can't become a turret 
yourself unless you kick off your own turrets first.

4. You may only become a turret if you have full energy. If you have stealth, 
cloak, x-radar, or antiwarp turned on, you must turn them all off before you can 
attach. When you attach, your energy will be depleted to almost nothing.

5. If the ship that you are a turret on is killed, you will become detached, but 
will not be killed yourself. If one of your turrets is killed, he will simply 
explode without affecting you or any of your other turrets.

6. If you are a turret and change teams, you will detach and become an 'enemy'. 
If you have turrets and change teams, all your turrets will detach and you will 
become an 'enemy'.

7. If a ship carrying turrets is holding a flag, he will appear red on radar. If 
a ship with turrets does not have a flag, but one of his turrets does, then he 
will appear red on radar only to those enemies with x-radar activated.

8. A turreted ship will disappear from radar only if him and all his turrets are 
using stealth. If any turret is cloaked, he will not be seen on screen as a 
turret. If the ship is cloaked, the turrets can still be seen, but will appear 
as strange 'floating turrets'.

3.4.1 - Dangers of Turretting

Be extraordinarily careful whenever you join someone as a turret, or accept a 
turret yourself. If your host ship is in the middle of a battle, when you join 
you will likely be killed immediately due to the energy depletion. Even if he 
insists he is in the clear, do not wait more than five seconds after such a 
verification to join, since five seconds is all it takes for an opponent to rush 
in and start a fight.

3.4.2 - Turret Upgrading

If a ship carrying turrets picks up a bonus, then all turrets will receive the 
upgrade as well, and this includes shields and superpower. However, every 
additional turret means one less ship is out there gathering powerups for his 
teammates.

Downgrades occur separately on all turrets, so if you lose pbombs, for example, 
and your host ship is not willing to pick up greens, you must run the risk of 
playing without them until you choose to detach and find them yourself.

3.4.3 - Turret Damage

One of the most dangerous things about being part of a turret stack is the 
possibility of taking damage from your fe11ow loose cannons. The more turrets 
there are, the more bombs will be fired in battle, and the greater chance there 
is that one can misfire and bring everyone's energy close to zero. If you are an 
experienced player, you will know doubt have been in battles with a very badly 
damaged opponent where you decided to fire a bomb at close range, confident that 
although it will hurt you badly, it will certainly kill the enemy. On a turret 
ship, such decisions can be deadly.

Perhaps more commonly seen is the presence of a newbie turret who is absolutely 
incapable of aiming a bomb; he thus endangers the entire stack by his tendency 
to fire into walls and nearby ships. Before you join up, be confident of the 
abilities of your turret-mates, for the bad judgment of any one of you will 
affect all of the rest. Even if you are all excellent pilots, due to the effects 
of lag, it is likely the host ship and the turret are seeing slightly different 
screens. Whereas the main ship may see an opponent as being an inch away, to his 
turret that same enemy could be halfway across the screen. Therefore, it is 
safest if you ask your turrets not to fire any bombs at all.

It's also possible for mines to become 'desynched', that is they appear on some 
player's screens but not others. This could lead to a situation where a teammate 
attaches to you and dies instantly since according to his client you were 
sitting in the middle of an enemy minefield. Be warned.

You must realize that all turrets take damage independently; while the main ship 
may be eagerly engaged in battle with full energy, one of his turrets may be 
sweating it out in the red. If you are a turret and are close to death, detach 
immediately. You can never assume your host ship is as badly off as you are, and 
will break off battle at just the right time. If you are a turret pilot, 
remember that you are now responsible for the safety of your gunners and thus 
you shouldn't be taking the kind of risks that you would in single play.

3.4.4 - Overconfidence

An understanding of the psychology of the turreted ship is important if you 
choose to either fight or to fly one. Ships with turrets tend to be grossly 
overconfident in their ability to withstand damage, and forget the fact that a 
few well-aimed pbombs will kill a five-turret stack just as easily as it will a 
single ship. Your imposing mass may strike fear into the hearts of the enemy, 
but his bombs and his bullets will be unperturbed by your greatness. Turret 
ships thus often play more aggressively than is warranted; you can fool them by 
pretending to run in fear, and then turning around at an angle to smash them 
with bombs. On the flipside, do not attempt to bluff a turreted opponent, for 
you'll get called on it more often than not.


-----------------
|Section 4 - Tool Time
-----------------

4.1 - Energy Conservation

There are four non-weapon system upgrades you can find that will give your ship 
certain special energy-draining abilities, which are stealth, cloak, antiwarp, 
x-radar. There are also six special powerups that come in single use packages, 
which are brick, burst, decoy, repel, thor, and rockets. Also, all ships come 
with the ability to warp. And finally there are two time-limited bonuses you can 
get, shields and super. Be especially careful when activating any of the former 
systems in battle since they affect your recharge rate.

Different arenas will give you different powerups at different rates. Bursts, 
walls, and rockets are much more common in the Running Zone than in the War 
Zone, for example.

4.2 - Shields

When you pick up shields, a little countdown timer will appear in the upper 
right corner of your screen. The shields last for 100 seconds, and cause you to 
take a percentage of damage less than you usually would, according to how many 
seconds are left in the shields. That is, if 95 seconds are left, you take only 
5% normal damage. If 50 seconds are left, you take half damage.

As a rule shields are useful only in about the first 50 seconds. Anytime after 
that and the danger you expose yourself to by rushing an enemy is too great for 
even 50% shields to handle. If you get them, the best thing you can do is ask if 
any teammate is near a flag base (if you play War Zone). If so, attach to him 
and rush into the enemy base. With 90% shields, you can run through a dozen 
mines, grab all their flags, and scoot out without taking more than half your 
energy. If there are no bases to attack or you're not in the War Zone, head for 
the nearest high bounty ship and go postal on his ass.

4.3 - Superpower

Super is also a countdown bonus, but unlike shields, the time you have for super 
is randomly determined and can be anywhere from 1 to 60 seconds. During this 
time, you can fire all of your weapons for free. The best way to use this is to 
rush toward a cloud of enemies firing nine or ten bombs ahead of you. If you fly 
a Leviathan, those pilots will be weeping in dismay as they take two or three 
thousand points of damage in just a few seconds.

If you're in a tight spot consider laying five mines in quick succession. A 
pursuer will not expect you to have done this and will be unprepared.

4.4 - Repel

They say that a cat has nine lives; well, a SubSpace player has only as many 
lives as he has repels. In my experience, over half of all deaths can be avoided 
if the victim can remember to use his repel. You can only find repels in single 
doses, and your ship can hold a maximum of three at a time. Since you must hold 
down the shift and control keys to activate the repeller, you are prevented from 
firing your guns while using the afterburner, which is an unfortunate design 
flaw. Repel only works on enemy ships and enemy fire; your teammates and their 
bombs, mines, and bullets will not be affected.

Face it, dying sucks. First of all, it hurts your win/loss ratio and your 
rating, and forces you to spend ten or fifteen minutes rebuilding your ship. If 
you make it a point to never engage in battle without having at least one repel, 
you can reduce your losses by a sizable amount. Be aware, however, that the 
repeller is useless in the hands of a pilot lacking split-second reflexes. 
Practice using the repel in battle and gradually your response time will 
increase to the point where one instant you can be threatened by three well-
aimed pbombs, and three tenths of a second later you can repel them safely on 
their way.

Recently repel was changed so that instead of simply repelling once, it has a 
double effect. That is, about half a second after the first repel activates 
another 'phantom' repel is emitted by your ship. This seems unnecessary but is 
actually quite useful against bombs; the first repel will send the enemy bomb 
into a wall and the second repel will keep the shrapnel out of your way. 
Conversely, this makes repel a much more chaotic force in enclosed areas with 
bullets.

Repel is often the one and only chance you have to avoid dying in a minefield; 
if you find yourself careening toward a dozen mines at top speed, instantly hit 
shift and control, and if they are an enemy's mines, they will all fly away 
harmlessly.

This powerup is an excellent offensive weapon as well. A favorite trick of many 
of the best players is to purposely repel an opposing ship that is attempting to 
maneuver through a tricky spot. For example, if you've herded your opponent into 
a dead end or a narrow tube, repel him back in while he's trying to escape. This 
will give you or your team time to let off bombs or a burst. Of course, if 
you're the guy being repelled, you can always repel back. Last but not least 
there is the infamous minefield repel tactic, which is examined in Section 7.

After firing a weapon, letting off a decoy, laying a brick, etc. there will be a 
short pause during which you cannot use your repel (or any other system). This 
introduces an element of uncertainty into a powerup that many think will provide 
them with total immunity to death. While you are in the heat of battle and 
happen to be unlucky enough to slam into a minefield a split second after firing 
at your opponent, your goose is cooked. Don't complain to the arena that your 
repel didn't work. It's true, it didn't work, but this is a feature, not a bug.

However, due to packetloss, sometimes a repel that is successfully activated 
will have a delayed or even nil effect on an enemy ship. Be conservative with 
this upgrade, but only up to a certain point. Wait until you are somewhat, more 
than 30% sure, that your death is imminent before using it, but remember, if you 
wait too long you are as good as dead. You can always use the time repel buys 
you to mill around and find another, but you can never take back that death.

In the Running Zone, if you've got flags you should never fight without a repel. 
If you use your last, hit stealth and green until you find another.

4.5 - Stealth

Stealth is a tool of many uses; it can be activated to hide oneself from the 
attentions of a trigger-happy foe, and can also enable you to sneak up on an 
unsuspecting enemy. When you are downgraded and wish to hunt for green without 
being bothered, or don't want your flags to show up on radar, then turn on 
stealth. Although you may be invisible to ordinary craft, be careful, since 
minefields and stray bombs can still kill you, and pilots with x-radar can see 
you all the same.

Do not take your eyes off the map, and be aware of any ships that seem to be 
heading directly toward you. They may or may not be tracking you, which is a 
possibility you can easily test for by changing directions and seeing if they 
follow. When attacking a ship with no x-radar, first bomb him from afar. If this 
barrage does not kill him outright, he will begin to run. Respond by chasing him 
firing shots, and if you are fast enough you can enter his field of view from an 
unpredictable angle and hit him at close range. Do this again and again and you 
can wear down even the most skillful of pilots.

Stealth decreases your charge rate by a sizable, though not unmanageable, 
amount. Be aware, though, that in battle any energy advantage held by your 
opponent is a huge plus for him. If you are stealthed and he has x-radar on, 
then your rates are equal, but if he has it off and can stay in sight of you, be 
careful. A nasty trick to play on your enemy is to engage him with stealth on, 
forcing him to engage his x-radar. Then turn off your stealth and enjoy your 
corresponding charge rate advantage; it is likely your opponent will not think 
to test if he still needs his x, and will suffer energy-wise. Of course, be 
equally aware that this card can be played against you.

4.6 - Cloak

As you should know by now, cloaking is an ability that can only be acquired by 
the Spider; in the right hands it can be a very effective and very annoying 
tool. Activated, it renders you invisible to others on the screen, but unless 
you have stealth on as well, you will still appear on the radar map. It is 
amusing to approach an enemy cloaked but not stealthed; he will spin around at 
first, confused, and will sometimes hurt himself trying to hit you with a bomb. 
With both cloak and stealth activated, you are completely undetectable, but 
suffer from a double charge rate decrease. Realize that an enemy with x-radar on 
can see through both cloak and stealth, so watch him closely to see if he knows 
you are there. Sometimes, however, an enemy will pretend not to see you and will 
try to fool you into following him into a trap.

The instant you fire a bomb or a bullet, your cloaking is deactivated, and must 
be turned back on again by hand. A common tactic is to approach your victim 
cloak, fire a quick bomb, recloak and approach from another angle, and fire and 
repeat. Here is what Nucon has to say on the subject:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     The most important thing to remember about the Spider is that you MUST have 
full power to use it properly, so what is really important is POWERUPS.  Do your 
best NOT to engage the enemy until you have a max charge rate.  Also extremely 
helpful is max speed and thrusters, which will enable you to get away from 
every, as the Spider is one of the fastest ships in the game. A Maxxed Spider is 
a formidable ship.

     Cloaking strategy - 

     Remember this..

KEEP AWAY FROM THE WALLS..  Bouncing into a wall IS heard by an opponent, and 
any good player in the game will realize he is being stalked by a cloaked 
opponent.

STAY BEHIND OR NEXT TO YOUR OPPONENT..  Many times cloakers are killed by 
players shooting at a target across the map and simply getting in the way of a 
shot..

KEEP OUT OF PBOMB RANGE..  A fired shot from a ship will explode on firing if 
you are too close.

SCOUT YOUR OPPONENT..  The most effective way to kill an opponent is to learn 
his flying style so that you can predict his moves.

KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN FOR OPPORTUNITY..  Use your brains..  If your opponent 
obviously does not see you, wait and lurk..  The best time to kill an opponent 
is when he is focused on something else, especially a powerup..  Wait for him to 
close on the powerup and slow down to get it (unless it's me, for I do not slow 
down to pick up powerups, I just get them) and then fire..  

Best combat tips for cloak kills vs Leviathan, Javelin, and Spider....

     For the most effective kills on these ships, wait for a slowdown, back to 
max visual distance, start forward slowly, fire your pbomb2:16, fire another 
one, and then use your afterburner in reverse..  After the two explosions follow 
with a few multi-gun shots  if he is still alive, re-cloak and regroup..  when 
fully charged, face him man-to man...

Vs Warbird...

    For the BEST results wait for him to get into an enclosed area and then fire 
1 level 2:16 pbomb into his vicinity.. re-cloak and chase..  Then when he least 
expects it move to max visual range, fire 1 more pbomb and then move through him 
with your multi-guns, spinning as you pass him...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cap'nCloak also has some suggestions:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CLOAKING STRATEGY.

   As Cap'nCloak, I have many alternatives to Nucon's ideas...

1) Cloaked, Drift alongside your opponent, matching his vector and speed (this 
is a great way to kill unsuspecting pilots) and then make sure you aren't under 
the effects of lag - and then rifle off 7-8 quick L3 Bullets (Multi or Not, here  
they come) and KABLEWIE!    Don't think this works? Just sit still while I prove 
it.

2) EVASIVE MANEUVERS
   Spiders when they blow an attack are often VERY WEAK.  A problem most Spider 
pilots make is thinking they can go back to stealth and evade. WRONG.  Quality 
Opponents turn on Radar for the chase, so shut off both CLOAK AND STEALTH until 
you charge up to a safer energy level ... it's saved me many times.

3) SURPRISE!
   Spiders are made for stealth.    See a Leviathan who is spewing Level 3 Bombs 
into a far off combat?  Go Sit on his "face" and tell you that you love him, and 
the next bomb he fires will be his last!  You don't get the kill, but when he's 
sitting there trying to wonder how he died (Suicide) you can laugh yourself to 
death.

... many more recommendations, Spiders are a GREAT way to relieve stress :)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Spider is a devastating weapon in the War Zone flag game. See the War Zone 
section for details.

4.7 - X-Radar

X-radar is your secret weapon against the game's sneakier players. If you intend 
to do any sort of serious chasing or running, this upgrade is absolutely 
required. It is also required for anyone defending a base. Manage to pick up 
flags, and without x-radar you will be dead within minutes; as soon as one 
opponent knows you have no x, he will tell his teammates, and soon you will find 
yourself surrounded by ships you cannot see. There is nothing that can cause 
heartburn faster than to have twelve flags and no x and to find yourself being 
pursued by the best player in the game - stealthed. If you meet up with a Spider 
who both cloaks and stealths, you are even worse off, and a quick warp out is 
highly recommended. Consider becoming a turret on a team member who does have x-
radar, and leave the running to him. If you're being 'stalked' by a cloaker who 
is attempting to ambush you, by all means call a teammate for help.

You will spend a great deal of time chasing people you know you can beat, and if 
they also know this you can bet they'll have their stealth turned on. X-radar's 
energy drain is comparable to that of stealth and cloak, and is best turned off 
in battle if one knows that there are no hidden ships lurking nearby. However, 
every so often toggle it on and off to see if any have wandered into the map 
since you last checked. Conversely, when fighting someone who is stealthed, 
every now and again turn x-radar off to determine if he has unstealthed. This is 
highly recommended since you are putting yourself at an energy disadvantage by 
keeping your radar turned on unnecessarily. Of course, you can always play this 
same trick against your opponent, hoping he will forget to check.

If you and several team members are in a chase, make sure at least one of you is 
stealthed. This will force your foe to keep his x-radar on, sapping energy that 
he might otherwise use to fight back. Also, be absolutely sure that at all teams 
at least one team member at your War Zone flag base has his x-radar on. If none 
of you have the upgrade, then at least put mines at all the entrances so that no 
cloakers can sneak past undetected.

4.8 - Warping

I'm going to tell you right now, don't ever, ever warp a fully loaded ship 
without having at least one repel handy. The act of warping will deplete your 
energy to nothing, and you must be ready and alert to run away from the nearest 
enemy at full speed. No matter how good you think you are, however, sometimes 
you are going to warp into a situation where you will be dead within the one or 
two seconds it take the closest pilot to react - that is, if you don't have a 
repel.

You can only warp with full energy - and stealth, cloak, x-radar, and antiwarp 
must all be turned off. A common tactic is to warp with one hand on the stealth 
key and another on the repel combination; as soon as you appear, turn on 
stealth, and if necessary, activate repel. Some players in the Running Zone make 
a habit of picking up flags and then constantly warping to avoid ever fighting, 
but since the introduction of the antiwarp upgrade this sort of behavior has 
decreased significantly. If you don't have antiwarp, then prevent them from 
warping by making sure that they never has a full energy bar; a steady stream of 
guns and bombs will help with this.

Sometimes you have enough time to warp before hitting a minefield, although a 
repel is more preferable. Many times I'll get sick of looking for a certain 
upgrade and start warping just in the hope of appearing near some green, but 
this is ill-advised for all but the most confident of players.

4.9 - Antiwarp

When activated, antiwarp drains energy at about the same rate as stealth and x-
radar, but prevents any opponents within a radius of about half a sector from 
warping or joining a teammate. Turn it on whenever you've caught the enemy in a 
bad position and are afraid he may warp. A very weak ship holding flags will 
almost always do so given the chance, as will an enemy caught in a dead end.

When chasing a more powerful pilot who likes to warp, it is better to designate 
one teammate as the 'antiwarper', leaving the actual attack to the others. The 
antiwarper will not fight, but will concentrate on keeping himself near the 
victim. Since antiwarp drains energy, especially in combination with the 
sometimes necessary x-radar, it isn't wise to fire while it's on.

If you're being antiwarped and need to escape, consider dropping into the 
nearest wormhole, and likewise watch out for opponents who may pull the same 
trick. Also, you will be automatically warped if a gate materializes on you, 
regardless of antiwarp. If neither of these options is feasible, run down the 
nearest corridor and lay a string of mines behind you. If your opponent is 
stupid enough to follow, his ass is toast.

Frequently people will complain that a person warped while he had his anti 
turned on. This can sometimes be possible due to server lag; if you're being 
antiwarped and suddenly everyone else in the game flickers off the screen, you 
can now warp safely until they come back.

4.10 - Bursting

Like repel, burst comes in singles, and also like repel, you can hold a maximum 
of three. When activated by the shift-delete key combination, a large number of 
purple L4 bullets are emitted from your ship in a circular pattern. L4 bullets 
are seen only with the burst weapon, since it is impossible to upgrade your gun 
past the L3 ceiling; as might be expected, they inflict about a third more 
damage than L3 bullets.

What is interesting is that the burst shrapnel is totally harmless until it 
bounces off a wall. There are basically two situations in which to use burst. 
The first is in small enclosed areas like bases or corridors. The second is when 
you're up against a corner or some other structure that will direct the burst 
outward toward any nearby enemy ships. You can easily take out three or four 
defenders with one burst if you time it right. Be aware that the enemy is likely 
planning exactly the same trick, though, and may activate his before you can 
fire yours.

One other detail: a burst does not inherit the momentum of your ship. In this 
way they are similar to mines, and is useful against a pursuing enemy if you are 
running down a corridor.

It's a very bad idea to hit repel if you are bursted. Very, very bad. Especially 
if you have teammates nearby. Just wait it out and hope for the best. In fact, 
the best thing you can do when bursted in a small area is to sit absolutely 
still. If you're lucky the shrapnel will bounce around and time out before most 
of it has a chance to hit you.

4.11 - Bricks

The brick allows you to place an artificial barrier on the map wherever you 
want. It's about an inch long, times out in two minutes, and is transparent to 
your team while behaving like any other wall to an opponent. Be careful when 
placing it. You can only lay it horizontally or vertically, the direction 
depending on the distance to the nearest solid barrier. If you want to plug a 
gap, stay motionless in the gap and lay the brick, and it will connect the two 
nearest walls.

You can lay it in a corridor or even in midair while being chased to stop any 
pursuers. It's perhaps most useful, though, in base attacks and base defense. 
You can lay it over the entrance to an enemy base, and your team will be able to 
fire in while they can't shoot back. Likewise if your base is about to fall, 
retreat to where your flags are and block the way in.

4.12 - Decoy

Decoys are relatively common. Hit F5 to use one and an exact copy of your ship 
will be released from your location. Well, not exactly. To an enemy, this copy 
looks exactly like you on radar and on screen, except that if you are stealthed 
or cloaked, the decoy is not. To your team, the decoy looks dark yellow on 
radar. The decoy will move in a straight line with the same momentum your ship 
had when you released it, and will continue on that line. In addition, it will 
mirror your ship rotations, giving it a lifelike aspect. All weapons fire pass 
right through a decoy, which does time out in a few minutes. In addition, a 
decoy will bounce off of walls with %100, not %80 rebound, a fact that can be 
used to detect them.

The best use for a decoy is to confuse a pursuer. You are under heavy fire, so 
release one or two decoys in different directions and the enemy will have to 
guess which one to follow. It's a good idea to activate stealth and/or rockets 
the instant after letting off your decoy for obvious reasons. Make the enemy's 
job harder by flying straight for as long as possible, because a decoy that 
turns is not a decoy. Also, if your base is being attack or if you are attacking 
a base, release decoys to make your forces look stronger than they really are, 
confusing your adversary. It's also fun to sneak up on a base cloaked, then 
release a decoy right into their midst. They will panic and waste a couple 
bursts trying to kill you before they realize their error.

4.13 - Thor

The Thor is like a bomb, except it costs no energy to fire and has a wider 
trigger radius. It also has the unique ability to pass through walls. Use it to 
bombard ships who are behind walls defending a base, or an enemy ship with flags 
that is hiding in a tube. The thor is most dangerous if more than one is fired 
at once, and several teammates firing several thors each can take out an entire 
settlement.

4.14 - Rockets

Rockets are like afterburners on PCP. You will find them one at a time just like 
burst, but when you activate them your ship will acquire super-thrusters for 
about six seconds. You'll zip forward at about twice the speed of a normal ship 
and can easily catch up to anything on your radar. However, the face that you 
are moving so fast means that you are that much less maneuverable. If you try to 
backup with rockets on you will find that it simply doesn't work; since you're 
going at about twice normal speed hitting the back thrusters will just reduce 
you to about %50 of that. Try not to run into any walls or obstacles, since 
you'll just careen around like a moron for the last few seconds.

Also consider using rockets to close the gap between you and a ship still on the 
screen. If he was fighting you and made a mistake that cost him energy, he'll be 
turning away from you and will think he's safe. What he won't be expecting is a 
rocket attack in his direction.

Rockets are best used with the Warbird or the Terrier. With a Warbird, you can 
rocket up to your victim and then quickly rotate around him shooting single 
guns. If you find yourself as the victim in this situation you have little 
choice but to repel. Spot him a few seconds before he comes near you, though, 
and you may have time to drop a mine or two in his path, which will weaken him 
considerably. The Terrier is good with rockets because you can simply run right 
up someone's tailpipe with a stream of double guns.

4.15 - Portal

The portal is a very recent addition to the game that is quickly proving to have 
many uses. Single-use like burst, you lay one with shift-insert and then for 60 
seconds you can hit insert to be instantly teleported to the place where you 
dropped it. Dropped portals can't be seen by enemies, but antiwarp will prevent 
you from using it.

At first you might think the portal would be a great way to escape pursuit. It 
is, but the portal is even better as an offensive weapon. The key is to drop one 
while enagaging the enemy, and then activate it shortly afterward to put 
yourself in an advantageous position. For example, someone is chasing you down a 
corridor. Drop a portal, and then when he has passed that point, teleport and 
now you are right behind him. You can do this out in the open as well and appear 
on his tail with single guns blazing. Also, you can set a trap by placing a 
portal nearby and then walking into a dead end. As soon as an enemy comes to 
investigate, teleport out and now he will be the trapped one.

Lamers can lay a minefield, then drop a portal while being chased into the trap. 
Often the opponent will be expecting the mines and will slow down, thinking to 
take another route, but when he does, you instantly activate your portal and 
appear on his other side. He is now between your mines and your ship, never a 
happy prospect. Repel.

People are going to have great fun with this in the War Zone. If you're being 
chased out of an enemy base, drop a portal and you'll have 60 seconds to hold 
for another opportunity. The possibilities are endless.


-----------------
|Section 5 - Happy Mining
-----------------

5.1 - The Basics

First, some facts. Only twelve mines on the same team can be in the arena at one 
time, and only five from the same player. Like firing a bomb, there is a short 
pause after a laying a mine during which the ship cannot lay another. Mines 
behave exactly like bombs, except they are stationary. A mine laid by a moving 
ship will be also be stationary (a violation of several dozen physical laws). If 
you don't have the proximity bomb upgrade or at least L2 bombs, then your mines 
will be absolutely useless.

Here is JeffP on mines:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Landmines cost 330 * weaponLevel units of energy to fire (not quite double a 
bomb). Landmines are identical to bombs in every way except that they do not 
have any velocity and they stay alive for 120 seconds. Landmines can now be 
fired as quickly as bombs. Each player is limited to 5 'live' mines at any given 
time. Each team is allowed 12 'live' mines.

Use SHIFT-TAB to drop a landmine.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5.2 - Mass Mining

Mass mining is a technique sorely lacking in subtlety, and is thus looked down 
about by many of the 'elite'. This perception is worsened by the presence of 
several players who spend all of their time laying mines and none of their time 
fighting. However, mass mining, and mining in general, is a perfectly sound 
strategy if not followed to the detriment of other forms of play. Mass mining 
differs from strategic mining in that it involves the laying of a large number 
of mines in a well-traveled area of the map. The miner then either moves away 
and lets the mines do the work, or tries to goad a random player into chasing 
him or being chased into the field.

There are, of course, good minefields and there are bad minefields. When 
deciding to mass mine, you first must choose a location. The best place is a gap 
or a corridor that is very well-traveled and close to several well-populated 
open areas of the arena. Next, the field must be laid correctly. Before doing 
so, be aware that mine laying is a very dangerous activity. Not only does it 
exact a massive energy drain, while you are mining you are sitting still, and 
are thus an easy target to hit. You need about twenty seconds alone, with 
maximum charge rate, to lay a rudimentary field. For the preferred six to eight 
mines, ask a teammate to join you and help out. A good technique is to turn on 
your stealth while mining, since removes your suspicious behavior from the 
screens of most of your opponents. Even so, since there are probably more than 
five people on your screen, they are more likely absorbed in their own battles 
and won't be paying attention to you. More likely than not, they'll attribute 
your weird motionless behavior to the stupidity of a particularly talentless 
newbie.

Now it's time to lay the actual mines. It is better to lay them in such a way 
and number so that they will kill you opponent instantly; you can always wait 
nearby and swoop in to finish them off, but there is often no need for this. For 
a ship at maximum 1700 energy, it takes about three direct hits from L2 pbombs 
to kill them. Since he probably won't hit all your mines directly, you're going 
to need more like four or five. Frequently his energy will be drained slightly 
from firing, and he can be killed with just a couple, though. Having a large 
shrapnel upgrade or L3 bouncing bullets is a huge advantage, for if your victim 
doesn't die from the mines, he will just as often perish from the debris.

Lay them in a way such that no ship can pass through the area without hitting at 
least a few. If the passageway is wide, you will have to lay out a long string 
of mines, and will probably need the help of a team member; don't leave any gaps 
in the string that someone can fly through. For narrower corridors, lay them in 
a dense line spanning the center of the passage. It is better to do this than to 
lay all the mines close to each other, for your enemy will likely be moving 
quickly through the area and may set them off from far enough away to survive 
the damage.

Now that the field is laid, wander into the nearest crowd of ships and entice 
one into following you. Lead him into your field, and watch him die in 
humiliation and rage. Better yet, scare an enemy into running in the desired 
direction by spraying him with a reckless cloud of bullets. The possible 
presence of a minefield is often not high in the minds of someone running from 
an insane opponent, and because of his fear he is much easier to dupe.

5.3 - Strategic Mining

Strategic mining is generally more acceptable than mass mining, and is more 
useful to the experienced player. Strategic mining refers to the laying of a 
minefield in a less frequently traveled location for the express purpose of 
killing or delaying a specific opponent. In a fight with an enemy who is 
generally equal to you in skill, a strategic minefield can often win the battle 
for you. If you're being chased by more than a couple of swiftly approaching 
players, however, don't mine, for if they don't catch you in the act their 
pbombs will.

Strategic mining is also needed to secure a War Zone flag base. It's best for 
your team to lay two or three mines on each entrance or along each corridor. 
Never lay more than three in one place, since an enemy repel will severely hurt 
whatever unlucky teammate happens to be in the area. For L3 mines, keep the 
limit at two.

When laying a trap for a specific pilot, you need to mine an area that leaves 
little opportunity for avoidance or escape; the best place is a long, narrow 
corridor which will quickly fill up with deadly shrapnel. Be sure that there are 
no gaps in the wall right before the minefield into which your opponent can turn 
and run away; if you can't avoid this, then mine that gap as well. Many of the 
suggestions given in the section on mass mining apply here as well. Since you 
are mining a narrow area, you really need only four or five mines to ensure 
death, so lay them out in a small circle or a fat line.

Don't act suspicious. If your opponent is smart, he'll guess what you are doing 
and you will have wasted all of your mines. Try your utmost not to look like you 
are setting a trap. A common strategy is to periodically fly through a certain 
area at top speed, laying a mine each time. It appears that you are simply 
trying to avoid your opponent's fire, but after five passes, the entire field 
will have been laid. Don't set a trap in front of a pursuer and then sit still 
nearby, since he will take your apparently illogical behavior as evidence of 
your intentions. The best way to lay a strategic minefield is to temporarily 
leave the radar range of your opponent. When he enters the area ten or twenty 
seconds later the field will have been laid; even if you are still making it, 
he'll likely assume your few remaining seconds of stillness mean you're typing 
or taking a bathroom break. Another way to approach the situation is to lead the 
enemy toward another ship so that he is temporarily occupied with fighting the 
new arrival. During the time it takes for him to shake off the annoyance, you'll 
have already set most of your mines.

OK, so it's been laid, and now you have to lead him into it. Assuming he hasn't 
guessed your intentions, simply chase him or be chased down the corridor. Often 
a very good player will automatically choose to travel the corridor next to the 
one you are running down simply by habit; you can use this habit against him by 
flying through the corridor next to your minefield. If you want to ensure his 
death, while he is coming toward your mines reverse course and let off a bomb or 
two, then quickly rush away. The combination of the mines and your bomb will get 
him every time.

5.4 - Wall Tube Mining

This tactic gets its own section since relatively few players know about it, 
despite its great utility. The key is use your ship (preferably a Leviathan with 
L3 bombs) to lay about five mines directly on top of each other right next to a 
wall that encloses a corridor. You are laying them on the outside of the wall, 
so you are safe from whoever's on the inside, unless they choose to lob a thor 
at you. Any victim who flies near these babies on either side of the wall 
thinking he needn't waste a repel on just one mine will be sorely surprised. Be 
careful that he doesn't fly into them while you are still mining, or else you're 
toast. It's advisable to turn on stealth while doing this so people don't become 
suspicious.

5.5 - I Mine in your General Direction!

So you're being chased by some eager beaver who just won't get off our tail. 
What to do? If you're at least a couple inches in front of him, have decent 
energy and don't expect trouble ahead, lay a mine. It will shoot out behind you 
and impact on your friend, who will die if he's been too eager with his shots. 
If the first one doesn't kill him lay another in quick succession, which should 
kill him more than half the time, but be careful of your energy.

The best way to make sure your mine hits him is to alter your direction and lay 
it just as he is doing the same to follow. He'll have too much momentum to avoid 
it and may be forced to break off the attack or repel.

5.6 - Defeating the Miner

Contrary to popular opinion, minefields are easy to avoid. There are two key 
elements to becoming 'mine-aware': knowledge of the terrain and an understanding 
of mining behavior. As you gain experience with the game, you will become 
familiar with the map and will learn where the trouble spots tend to be. There 
are certain places that are more frequently mined than others, and that danger 
should be foremost on your mind as you come near them. It's always safer to make 
a slow approach, giving your ship enough time to stop, than to speed through 
hoping that you'll see the mines in time enough to hit repel. In a chase or 
pursuit situation, however, the former usually isn't possible, so be absolutely 
sure that you do have a repel, and that you are able to use it at the time you 
approach the area. As always, you should expect the unexpected. Frequently 
someone will lay a field a short distance after the place where one is usually 
seen; his cocky pursuer will carefully wind his way through, and upon deeming it 
safe, he'll speed up and happily slam into the trap.

Yes, it is impossible to be 100% aware of the dangers at every moment in the 
game, but an understanding of where mines are likely to appear will allow you to 
focus your attention where it is needed most. Memorization of where the 'trouble 
spots' are is a great advantage, but this is not very effective against the 
strategic miner. Since strategic mining is, by definition, a more directed 
attack against a pursuer or an escapee, it is more effective when placed 
somewhere that is remote and not frequently mined. During battle, you can never 
be sure that an area where you hadn't seen mines before won't have them now. The 
best defense is to evaluate the danger based first on how your enemy is 
behaving, and second on where he is leading you. Laying a minefield either 
requires a pilot to hang around the same area for a minute or two, or to pass 
through the same location several times very quickly. If you see your adversary 
doing either of these things, be wary.

Stationary movement doesn't always mean he is mining, though; for example, if 
the enemy is sitting outside of a corridor exit out of your direct line of 
sight, he may just be planning a simple pbomb ambush. If, however, you noticed 
him milling about inside the corridor not long ago, assume the worst. As 
mentioned before, strategic fields are effective when put somewhere so cramped 
that the enemy has no room to maneuver. This same property makes such areas bad 
places to hide, since you're exposed to bombs coming directly at you in a 
straight line. If you see your opponent do this, assume he's either a moron or a 
minelayer.

Watch out for the hit and run. You'll first see someone with a relatively 
powerful ship fly up to you and start a fight. After he's engaged your interest, 
he will suddenly run away at top speed and hop into the nearest corridor. 
Usually people run away only after approaching death at least once; if you see 
this being done by a formerly eager opponent who has taken only minimal hits, 
there is little possible motive for his behavior than the need to lead you into 
a trap. A good tactic is to tail him by taking the corridor parallel to the one 
he flew down, but again, be aware that the enemy may have planned ahead and 
mined this one also.

Finally, if you see someone laying a field, or meet an enemy who is using one to 
restrict your pursuit, try to use it against him. While he's doing his thing, 
use your repel to blast him and his mines into the nearest wall, which will 
reduce his energy to zero. Then hit him with a single thor or bomb to finish him 
off (be careful of the shrapnel, though). If you're feeling tricky, play the old 
'double-minefield' game. Clear out his field and lay one of your own exactly 
where it was, and watch him explode in horror as he flies right into it. Or lay 
a new field about half a screen away from his, and then chase him down the 
corridor. He'll pass through his own minefield with you in pursuit, and will be 
laughing your apparent gullibility. Little does he know that one second after 
flying past his own mines, his ship will be destroyed by yours.

5.7 - Stupid Mine Tricks

I've already mentioned one such trick, the double minefield tactic. There are a 
few others that lie somewhere in that gray area between accepted practice and 
complete lameness, so use them with caution.

Stacked mines have been outlawed, but you can still lay them very close to one 
another to create what I refer to as bunched mines. An observant enemy will 
always be able to tell how many you've laid, but in the heat of battle not many 
can stay that observant. Better yet, lay the mines right next to a wall as close 
together as possible. Then lead him close to the trap on either side of the 
barrier and hope for an instant kill. Of course, you can always repel him into 
the mines, hoping that he won't be smart enough or quick enough to realize that 
he must repel in turn to survive.

Finally, repel can be used to convince an enemy ship that he really does want to 
plow into your minefield. Drop a field somewhere and hang out nearby with a 
repel handy. When someone walks by, engage him in battle and maneuver him so 
that he's in-between you and your field. Then let 'er rip and he's all but done 
for. If you do engage someone in battle and see some mines nearby, likewise be 
careful not to put yourself in the middle.


-----------------
|Section 6 - Bombs Away
-----------------

6.1 - Basic Concepts

It's difficult to take a skillful enemy from full to zero energy with just your 
bombs. Usually, if he's been sparse with his fire you'll need to finish the job 
with guns, but still the majority of the damage will come from your bombs. Guns 
can be just as devastating in close battle, but it is very easy to be vulched 
after winning a gun fight since the winner will usually be left with very little 
energy himself. Therefore, if there are other ships nearby stay a good distance 
away and hope your bombs will do the trick. If you're dueling in a relatively 
unpopulated corner of the map, though, don't hesitate to use all of your weapons 
to their fullest.

6.1.1 - Conservation of Energy

A bomb is not only a projection of your willpower, but of your life-force. Every 
shot you fire will exert an energy drain on you of around half of the damage it 
will do to the opponent, assuming a direct hit. If you are too close, you may be 
caught in your own bomb's shockwave and will take an even larger penalty. The 
danger here is extreme, and at all times the value displayed in your energy bar 
should be the first and foremost thing on your mind. Not only are you vulnerable 
to your enemy if you miss a shot, but you are both sitting ducks for any other 
ships that decide to intervene. Perhaps 50% of my kills and 50% of my deaths are 
due to outside interference in battles, or vulching; such behavior is a common 
game tactic, however, and you must be prepared to not only deal with it but to 
take advantage of its opportunities.

Every decision you make in battle should be weighed according to the risk you 
assume by taking on its cost in energy. It is difficult to win a battle without 
enduring a very large power drain yourself, due to the mechanics of the game. 
Ships recharge very quickly with the maximum upgrade, and thus must be hit by an 
enormous number of bullets and bombs in a short space of time to be killed. You 
simply are not going to win a battle against a good player by not taking risks, 
and this is perhaps the one concept most misunderstood by newbies and Quake 
players.  Many newbies will gleefully sit back and slam a neg or two into 
oblivion with a single lazily aimed pbomb, and will then wonder why such 
behavior doesn't faze the guy with the 300 bounty. Also, a surprising number of 
good Quake players will walk into the game thinking they can dominate and 
instead find out they have to relearn everything they know. SubSpace is not a 
twitch and shoot game; killing is a much more intricate and involved process.

6.1.2 - L1 vs. L2 vs. L3

The game offers three different levels of bombs for play, the Leviathan being 
the only ship able to upgrade to the top. There are many different opinions 
regarding the merit of each of the three varieties, but most players prefer the 
L2 bomb. A L1 bomb drains 200 energy, a L2 400 energy, and a L3 500 energy. 
However, there is no difference in damage inflicted, and instead the advantage 
of the higher-level bombs lies in their greater trigger and blast radius. 

Recently the so-called 'old' bomb code has been restored to the game, making it 
easier to inflict damage with inaccurately aimed bombs. This is a laudable move 
since the 'new' code make it harder for modem/lagged players to damage anything 
at all.  There is still a slight delay between when a bomb enters the trigger 
radius and when it goes off, in order to allow for closer hits and fewer 
sideswipes. However, the damage calculation is again a linear function of the 
distance from ground zero, and maximum damage is again 760.

Anyway, assuming you have prox, a L1 bomb must be almost on top of your opponent 
to trigger, and won't hurt you if you're more than about an inch away. A L2 will 
activate within the range of about 3/4 inch, and damage all those within two 
inches. A L3 can be set off an entire inch away, and can hurt you from as far as 
three inches (this is on 800 by 600 resolution).

L1 bombs can be fired quickly and furiously, but must be aimed very accurately 
to hit. L3 bombs are much easier to aim, but drain so much energy that you can't 
fire them very often at all. They are in fact quite useless for close battle due 
to their huge blast radius, so the dedicated L3 bomber must instead work to hit 
you from a screen or two away. L2s are the weapon of choice since you can fire 
two in close succession and still have enough energy to survive a single hit 
from an enemy's bomb. And you can use them in close battle without an inordinate 
fear of damaging yourself, as long as you exercise reasonable caution. Since all 
three bombs produce identical shrapnel, L1s do have an advantage in that they 
can produce sixteen bullets with half the energy of a L2 and a third of that of 
a L3, but this is only useful in specialized circumstances. Besides, once you're 
stuck with a bomb upgrade, you're stuck with it. The only way you can go back is 
to be randomly downgraded.

The EMP bombs of the Weasel ship are different, of course. Although I'm not sure 
of the details at this time, they have a similar trigger and blast radius as 
normal bombs but do much less damage. They will, of course, prevent the target 
from recharging for a period of time.

Bomb shrapnel is harmless within the first 250ms after release, and also will 
not bounce off a wall during this time. This is to prevent any instant deaths 
that would occur from eating half of the shrapnel from a direct bomb hit. Also, 
bombs will disappear 60 seconds after being fired if they haven't gone off 
already. You can use this to your advantage by laying a line of 'slow bombs' as 
sort of a travelling minefield. Face down a corridor, go forward and then reduce 
your speed sharply while firing bombs. They will appear travelling very slowly 
and will be difficult to avoid.

6.1.3 - JeffP on: Bombs

Bombs come in two varieties, regular and proximity. The difference between 
regular bombs and proximity bombs (or PBOMBS) is in the 'hit' testing. Regular 
bombs do their hit testing the same way bullets do -- as a single point (in the 
center of the bomb).

PBOMBS do their hit testing against walls in the same manner as regular bombs 
(as a point). However, they do their hit testing against ships in a much 
different manner. A PBOMB has sensors that detect nearby ships and will trigger 
when it gets close to another ship. The actual distance that it will trigger at 
varies depending on the level of the bomb. An L1 PBOMB has a trigger distance of 
48 pixels (or 3 tiles -- a tile is 16 pixels wide). An L2 PBOMB adds another 16 
pixels making it 64 and an L3 PBOMB adds another 16 pixels making it 80.

PBOMBS that are triggered by something other than a ship (i.e. they hit a wall) 
explode immediately. When a PBOMB is triggered by a ship, there is a short delay 
(called the explode delay) before the bomb actually explodes. This delay is 
currently set to 200ms and servers to allow a PBOMB headed toward a player to 
get closer before actually exploding (see bomb damage below). For the first 
250ms of a PBOMBS lifetime, the explode delay is ignored. If the PBOMB is 
triggered during 250ms period, it will explode instantly.

Like bullets, bombs will not be triggered by ships on the same frequency. 
However, when a bomb explodes it will cause damage to ANY ship in the area 
regardless of frequency.

Firing an L1, L2, or L3 bomb (proximity or not) costs 200, 400, or 600 [since 
changed to 500 - Rince] units of energy respectively. There is a 1500ms delay 
between firing bombs. There is also a 'bomb safety' that prevents a bomb from 
being fired if doing so would trigger it instantly (due to a nearby ship). This 
bomb safety cannot be disabled.

We have discussed the triggering of a bomb above, when the bomb actually 
explodes the amount of damage it causes depends on how far your ship is from the 
blast. All three levels of bombs have the EXACT same damage at ground zero; 
however, in practice bombs (regular or proximity) never explode at ground zero 
(relative to your ship). The damage difference between the different levels of 
bombs is in how big of an area the bombs will do damage in. An L1 bomb will 
damage things up to 80 pixels away. An L2 bomb doubles that to 160 pixels and an 
L3 bomb triples it to 240 pixels -- we will call this number the blast radius.

The amount of damage caused by all levels of bombs at ground zero is 760 units. 
The amount of damage that a bomb does dissipates from 760 down to zero in a 
linear fashion as you go from ground zero to the blast radius. The amount of 
damage that will actually occur to your ship is calculated based on distance 
from ground zero (center point of bomb when it explodes) to the center point 
(rotation point) of your ship.

Because L3 bombs dissipate more slowly than L1 bombs (due to larger blast 
radius), getting hit by an L3 bomb 50 pixels away will do more damage than 
getting hit by an L1 bomb 50 pixels away. There are no random numbers in the 
bomb damage formula -- but the damage will vary with every hit.

The lifetime of a bomb is 60 seconds (if not triggered). After this period of 
time, the bomb will simply disappear. There is no limit (currently) on the 
number of bombs that a player can fire.

In addition to the explosion, bombs may also have shrapnel to cause damage. 
Shrapnel is nothing but bullets shooting from the center of the explosion in all 
directions. The amount of shrapnel a bomb has will vary from none to 16 bullets 
(in increments of 4). The type of bullet will be the same as the type of bullet 
the firing ship held at the time the bomb was fired. When the shrapnel bullets 
are initially released from the exploding bomb, they are marked as harmless for 
250ms. During this harmless period, if they hit your ship, the will disappear 
but do NO DAMAGE. Likewise, if a bouncy shrapnel bullet hits a wall during this 
harmless period, it will not bounce. This harmless period prevents ships hit 
squarely by a bomb from get completely destroyed by the 6 or more shrapnel that 
would also hit him instantly. It also prevents all the 'wall side' bouncy 
shrapnel (from a bomb hitting a wall) from being reflected (thus preventing 
double shrapnel on the 'open side').

Shrapnel bullets are shot at 1.5 times the speed of regular bullets or bombs 
(which are the same).

6.1.4 - The Pause

After you fire a bomb, there will be a short pause during which you can neither 
shoot another weapon nor activate a repel. This is partly to protect you from 
accidentally wasting all your energy and partly to give a surprised victim time 
to respond. You are essentially defenseless during the pause, and a wily 
opponent can use this to his advantage in several different ways, most notably 
by closing in with his bullets. Use the pause to readjust the position of your 
ship and retreat if need be; above all, don't sit still.

6.1.5 - Bomb Inertia

The programmers of SubSpace were relatively accurate in their physics. If you 
are at all familiar with Newton's principles, you will have heard of inertia. In 
SubSpace, if ship is traveling at speed x, and fires a bomb, relative to the 
ship the bomb is traveling at a constant speed c. However, to a stationary 
observer, the bomb is traveling at speed x+c. If c is 50, and the ship happens 
to be flying in reverse at speed -50, then any bomb it fires will in fact be 
stationary and will resemble a mine, as mentioned previously. Also, any bomb 
fired will inherit your ship's vector. Fire it straight ahead and it will be 
going in your direction, but fire it to the side, and its vector will be altered 
somewhat and will be seen to skew away from you. This fact can be used to your 
great advantage in the Skywalker Drop maneuver.

6.1.6 - Extrapolation

The fact that a bomb inherits your inertia complicates the act of predicting how 
fast it will go and where it will travel. Unlike our own universe, the SubSpace 
map does have stationary objects, namely the obstacles in the terrain. With 
experience, you will be able to accurately judge your own speed and those of 
others based on how quickly you are passing by these objects. Be very confident 
in your ability to do this before betting your life on the outcome of a 
complicated series of bomb maneuvers, for it is almost as easy to zero out your 
own energy as it is to miss your enemy and be killed by him.

6.1.7 - The Kevorkian

The easiest way to lower your rating, aside from killing negs, is to acquire a 
tendency to fire at point blank range. Doing so will reduce your energy to 
nothing while causing your enemy almost no loss; if he is smart enough to let 
off a round or two of bullets, you are history. A good bomber is an extremely 
patient fighter, one who will know at what points in a battle he is too close to 
shoot safely. If your enemy is coming at you quickly, and you fire at him, even 
if you were at a safe distance when you fired, in the time it takes for him and 
the bomb to meet, he may have come near enough to put you within the blast 
radius. If you are at all doubtful, then don't fire that bomb. Instead, use your 
guns or back away and work for a better position.

6.1.8 - Shrapnel

Your worst enemy is shrapnel. If you hit a bomb at an oblique angle, frequently 
it won't be the blast itself but the three or four L3 shrapnel you hit afterward 
that kill you. Because of this, try to avoid 'grazing' the shrapnel shock wave 
from a bomb. Previously I suggest that you meet a bomb head-on to avoid the 
shrap, but since ground zero damage has been increase to 1000 this is now a bad 
idea. Instead, just try to avoid the damn thing, and if you set it off anyway 
immediately back up or move forward, whatever is necessary to position yourself 
at an angle perpendicular to the line of shrapnel. In enclosed areas, however, 
you are still better off by taking it head-on and staying put. If you are lucky 
you will be in the 'eye' of the shrapnel and should be safe.

6.2 - Bomb Strategies

6.2.1 - What is Needed to Kill

It is useful to know how much you need to hit your opponent with before you try 
to kill him. As I've said before, a ship at maximum charge rate is extremely 
hard to destroy. A ship at full energy has 1700 max, and at full charge rate 
recovers 90 pts/sec. You can fire L2 bombs, which theoretically can do at most 
1000 damage. However, this only happens with a perfectly aimed shot; on average, 
you will cause about an 500-800 energy loss. The bomb pause is around two 
seconds, which allows the enemy to recover 180 pts of this loss. Therefore, 
expect to nab him with three or four bombs in a short period of time in order to 
cause death. You can almost always kill him with less, however, since he'll 
probably be firing at you as well.

In a close one-on-one fight, your guns can often provide the final blow after 
you've drained much of the foe's power; several rounds of L3 multi guns can suck 
eight or nine hundred points. Become aware of the drain that various weapons 
exert both on firing and on detonation, and know how long it takes for that 
energy to be recovered. Even an approximate knowledge of his current power 
situation is an enormous plus during battle. Many times, I've pulled off a 
dangerous tactic that left me with only about 300 energy to spare after killing 
an enemy. I do this only because I knew that my enemy's energy level was far 
enough below mine that he would surely die. Often, your opponent is going to be 
so good that it is only these kinds of extremely precise tactics that will work 
against him.

6.2.2 - Prediction

SubSpace may appear to be a game rewarding brute force over any other kind of 
strategy, but be assured that this is not the case between two good opponents. 
You can only kill your enemy if you fire at him, and only if what you fire 
actually hits. Whether you're shooting at him from across the map or whether 
you're circling his ship in close battle, you have to fire not at where he is 
but where he's going. Since he will be doing the same, the fight will be won by 
the pilot who is better able to model his competitor's behavior.

How can you turn this to your advantage? First, be unpredictable. Make sharp 
turns, and veer away from exits or corridors at the last moment. While he's 
positioning his ship for a shot suddenly change directions to throw off his aim, 
like a schizophrenic. Second, be aware of the terrain around you, for it will 
dictate the range of possible motions for both ships. If you see the enemy 
running toward an exit, fire not in front of him, but toward the exit itself. If 
you are circling each other in a fight, try to extend that circle out in your 
head and shoot where he is turning. The farther out in the future you can 
predict your opponent's behavior, the greater your advantage, but the greater 
the risk. It is hard to do this accurately past two or three seconds, but there 
are always exceptions.

Your mind is your greatest weapon. The most formidable players make use of all 
variables at their disposal: the strength of the enemy, the location of walls 
and obstacles, and the presence of other ships. Get good at this.

6.2.3 - A Typical Battle

How does a typical battle begin and end? Of course, there are no guarantees, but 
many fights will follow a certain pattern from beginning to end. I place bomb 
strategy into two categories, long-range and short-range. During a battle, you 
will often alternate between the two. Here is what typically happens.

So you've spotted somebody you want to kill. What next? Assuming that you two 
are at similar strengths, and there are no ships nearby that wish to interfere, 
what occurs depends on whether you are close to him or far away. It's always 
better to start a fight at long-range, and to then home in on a weakened 
opponent. Fly at him at full speed and let off two or three bombs (but never too 
much that you couldn't survive a stray hit) and swerve back and forth to avoid 
anything he may be throwing your way. One of the easiest ways to tell a newbie 
from a veteran is to notice from how far away he can hit with his bombs. If your 
aim is good enough, you can kill him before he even knows you're coming, or at 
worst, you will weaken him enough to hold a significant advantage when you meet.

Now one of two things will happen; the enemy will either begin running away at 
full speed, necessitating a chase, or he'll decide to fight and meet you within 
your view. Any good pilot who's been hit by a few pbombs will first attempt to 
duck behind the nearest obstacle and regain his strength, but sometimes he just 
won't have time to escape.

Now that the approach has been made, the real battle begins. Against a 
reasonably brave opponent, there are four likely outcomes. The first two result 
in your death and/or his death. The second two involve one of the two combatants 
becoming so damaged that a quick escape become necessary. Your job is, of 
course, to ensure outcome number one. You'll be circling each other, firing 
bombs and guns. As you jostle for positional advantage, you will find yourself 
at varying distances from your opponent. Generally, the distance from your enemy 
will determine how you fight him. If he is off the screen, you are engaged in 
long-range fighting. If he is onscreen, switch to short-range tactics. If you 
are within an inch or two of him, you are at extremely close range and must use 
your guns. At all times, keep your head about you. Most of the one on one fights 
I've won ended because my opponent made a horrible mistake; he flew into a 
cubbyhole, or he ran in a straight line, or he got ambushed at a corner. With 
just a little foresight you can avoid almost all of these errors. This game is 
supposed to be tough. Make it tough on your enemy.

6.2.4 - Bombs and/or Guns

There are few good players who never use their guns in a fight. In dueling 
situations you'll often find yourself too close to the enemy to use your bombs. 
If you're fighting anywhere near walls or obstacles, you can also use these to 
your advantage by angling bullets off them right back into his face. The winning 
blow can sometimes come when my opponent has fired a couple of missed shots, in 
response to which I rush in with guns blazing. A few rounds of L3 bullets are 
just as damaging as any bomb; defeat your enemy in such a way during a bomb 
fight and more often than not he'll be complaining about the evil of the one-
shot kill. Remember, in a close battle if you see a good opportunity to swoop 
down and nail him with a couple rounds of bullets, do so. If he tries to bomb 
you, he'll just damage himself and will be that much more likely to die from 
your shots.

6.3 - Long-Rang Tactics

Long-range fighting is an extremely important part of the game. Generally, if 
you and you opponent are separated by more than two screens, you are in long-
range mode. Firing at a single enemy as you approach him from far away can 
provide a crucial energy advantage when you finally come within his sight. Also, 
if you want to attack two or three ships engaged in a battle, it almost always 
safest to do it from a distance, since they will already be damaged from each 
other's weapons.

6.3.1 - The Skywalker Drop

The Skywalker Drop is an extremely useful tactic that takes advantage of your 
ship's inertia to direct your fire. Basically, it involves sending a bomb down a 
flight path perpendicular to your current trajectory, without having to change 
directions yourself. For example, suppose your opponent is coming down a 
corridor, and you are flying along an intersecting passageway. You certainly 
don't want to turn and proceed down the corridor right at him, but you want to 
nail him with some bombs. How? When nearing the intersection, slow down and turn 
your ship so that its back is facing away from the foe. The instant before you 
fly into his line of sight, quickly accelerate for about half a second and fire 
a bomb in his direction. Immediately decelerate and assume your previous 
orientation, and you'll be continuing along your previous course. Your bomb, 
however, will travel a short distance down the corridor to hit or at least deter 
your opponent. If you are sure that he is far enough away that none of his bombs 
can hit you yet, slow down enough to give you time to fire more than one.

This works because by quickly accelerating (and then decelerating), you impart 
an enormous forward inertia to the bomb; since you slowed down your ship before 
hitting the gap, the speed imparted downward is much greater than the speed in 
your ship's direction. Remember that with maximum thrusters, a half-second of 
acceleration can bring your ship close to its top speed. Thus the bomb will 
travel some ways down the corridor before slamming into a wall.

There are many situations where this technique is useful. One of my favorite 
occurs when an enemy and I are flying parallel to each other, our paths 
separated by a string of obstacles. Every time I fly above the gap between two 
of the obstacles, I turn around and use the Skywalker technique to send a bomb 
flying in his path. Three or four of these and he will be crying for mommy.

6.3.2 - The Safety Dance

Running directly toward an enemy who is fleeing or coming toward you can be 
dangerous, since he can easily hit you by dropping mines or firing straight 
ahead. You can protect yourself while still having a reasonably good chance to 
hit him by using the Safety Dance. The idea is to do most of your flying 
parallel to his line of flight but somewhat off to the side; this way, he'll 
find it much tougher to land shots. Whenever you want to shoot a bomb, you will 
quickly turn a path that is directly behind him, fire your bomb, and then turn 
back into your cruising path. With a Warbird, this can be done in a matter of 
seconds. Since you're minimizing the time spent in the range of his fire, you 
are in much less danger than you would be had you rushed him straight. Of 
course, he may anticipate this and fire not behind him but into your cruising 
path instead.

6.3.3 - Battle Blasting

One of the safest way to rack up kills is to send a couple bombs flying into a 
far away battle. First, locate a group of three or four ships occupied with each 
other, and approach them so they are about halfway across your map. Then 
accelerate right at them at full speed. A half second later, fire a bomb and 
then immediately decelerate. Do this three or four times and you'll have sent 
that many bombs onto their heads. The reason for the deceleration is so that you 
don't fly yourself into the midst of the battle; do so, and more likely than not 
you'll find yourself the target of three or four extremely pissed (former) 
opponents.

6.3.4 - Carpet Bombing

Sick of chasing that loser with the five flags who won't stop running? If you 
find him hugging a wall and are flying parallel somewhat to his right, you can 
use the carpet bombing technique to ruin his day. Normally, this would be a very 
hard kill, but since he is following a wall, his degree of freedom of motion is 
now restricted by 180 degrees.

You can execute this maneuver in two ways. The easiest is to pick a point on the 
wall where you think he will be in a couple seconds. Use the 
accelerate/decelerate technique to shoot as many bombs at that point as you can; 
guess well and a few will hit right before he passes by, a few while he is 
passing by, and a few right afterward. This is frequently enough to kill him.

The second form is the most useful. Fly perpendicular to his path but slightly 
behind and to the right of him. While doing so, keep firing bombs into his side 
until he either dies or tries to evade. Evasion for him is extremely difficult; 
if he attempt to fly out in front of you away from the wall, he is giving you a 
good couple seconds to hit him in the side. The best thing he can do is to 
suddenly slow down, and then speed up, hoping to catch you off-guard, but if you 
are quick with the arrow keys he won't be able to psyche you.

6.4 - Short-Range Tactics

Generally, if your opponent is within your viewscreen then you're engaged in 
short-range battle.

6.4.1 - The Distance Principle

The ideals of war never match up to the reality; that carefully executed attack 
will often turn into disaster due to unexpected and seemingly illogical behavior 
by the enemy. The Distance Principle is an ideal to strive for during short-
range fights. It is neither a guarantor of success if followed, nor a recipe for 
defeat if ignored. It's merely a guideline that, if adhered too, will greatly 
reduce your chances of death.

The principle is this: never put yourself in a position where you cannot avoid a 
bomb fired by your opponent. This is, of course, an impossible goal, but a 
useful rule of thumb when fighting an expert pilot who makes use of every 
opportunity to get in your path.

Follow the Distance Principle by always staying outside of an imaginary cone 
emanating from the front of your opponent. Within this circle it theoretically 
impossible to escape one of his bombs, assuming that he has perfect aim and that 
you are a perfect pilot. This will help you avoid such situations as the Chicken 
Death, where you and the enemy are facing each other at such a close range that 
neither of you would be able to avoid a hit from the other. Unwilling to turn 
tail and be branded a coward, you decide to stay put and fire anyway. He, of 
course, makes the same decision, and both of you are now immediate vulcher bait. 
Don't put yourself into such a position. Instead, watch your enemy's movements 
closely, and only rush in when you know you can hit him and are reasonably sure 
you can't be hit. SubSpace is about risks, yes, but patience is just as 
important.

6.4.2 - The Toreador

The Toreador is one of the most common tactics employed by the experienced 
fighter, and is used when you are being pursued by an foe. The idea is this: 
while he is running toward you, move to the side at the last second or duck 
behind the nearest corner so that you miss his bomb. Then turn your ship so that 
you facing into his path at an angle, and smash him with a few of your bombs. 
You'll have the advantage since he'll be a slow-moving target as he turns around 
to confront you.

This technique is very successful against newbies, and is surprisingly useful 
against veterans. Many of them will sniff out your trap and take wide, arcing 
routes out over your head before attempting to come in from the other side. If 
you know this is likely to happen, then simply compensate for where you think he 
will be, firing out to the side at an angle instead of straight up.

6.4.3 - Double Trouble

The Double Trouble ambush is like the Toreador, but useful against an aggressive 
opponent who won't flinch at the one or two bombs you can hit him with using 
that technique. The key is to place a single mine in his expected path (one mine 
is all you have time for in most chase situations), and wait off to the side, as 
in the Toreador. When your enemy is about as far from your mine as you are, fire 
some bombs right at it. If you guessed right, he will hit both your bombs and 
the mine at the same time, and will be an easy kill. You can be as far away from 
the trap as you want, as long as you fire long enough in advance so that he 
can't avoid them.

A variant on the Double Trouble is to duck behind your corner as usual, and then 
quickly back up and accelerate. While accelerating fire two bombs, and if you've 
done it correctly they will be travelling at different speeds and will converge 
at the point where the enemy is navigating the corner. Bewm.

6.4.4 - The Rebound

This is one of the most useful bomb techniques you can learn. The key is to 
maneuver an enemy into running into and bouncing off of a wall. Once you're sure 
that he's traveling fast enough he can't avoid the hit, then shoot a bomb right 
over his head. On the rebound he's almost certain to smash into it and any other 
bombs you can lay out over him in an arc. This works because many players will 
simply not take the elasticity of the wall into account when running into one. 
The mere presence of the wall denies him a degree of freedom, making it easier 
to you to hit, and the bounce forces his ship on a certain path that you will be 
able to predict with practice.

6.4.5 - Wall Killing

It is a widely known but little used fact that bomb shockwaves can be felt 
through walls. If I am right up against a wall, and a bomb detonates on the 
other side, my ship will be severely injured. If you find an opponent hiding in 
a cubbyhole near a wall, then take advantage of his position and fire as many 
bombs as you can right at him. You probably won't kill him yourself, but call a 
couple of your teammates over and he'll be dead within second. A variation of 
this technique is used when you flying along one side of a wall, and he along 
the other. If he is near enough to the wall, continually shoot out bombs to hit 
as close as possible to his position. At the very least, he will be extremely 
annoyed at this unexpected drain. This is useful against an opponent running the 
'tubes' on the outskirts of the map.

6.4.6 - The Rambo Romp

Need someone dead, and need it done quickly? Never fear, for you have at your 
disposal the extremely risky but extremely rewarding Rambo Romp. It's quite 
simple to describe, but quite difficult to pull off. You need to be at full 
energy, and must have your enemy in sight. Be especially sure that there is no 
one else nearby who you expect will interfere, for that will surely mean your 
death. The key is to maneuver your opponent into taking a path where he can be 
hit with two quick bombs. This is easiest to pull off if he's flying right 
toward you but facing in the wrong direction. Within two or three seconds after 
the first two shots you must hit him with a third and maybe a fourth to 
guarantee the kill. These last two will be the most difficult, for the opponent 
is now certainly heading for the nearest escape.

Be aware that after your first three shots, even a single enemy bomb will kill 
you; this bomb is likely not going to come from your humbled opponent but from 
an evil vulcher.

6.5 - Defeating the Gunner

6.5.1 - The WhamBam Technique

Occasionally you will find yourself running from an opponent of equal speed who 
is draining your energy with a huge cloud of bullets. If you've got bombs, you 
can easily get him off your tail and even kill him with the WhamBam technique. 
First of all, you need to be far enough away from his ship to survive the 
shockwave. In order to make him think you're helpless, run scared for a while, 
as long as you yourself are not in mortal danger. Then immediately turn your 
ship around and fire a bomb directly at him. Continue to fly your ship on its 
previous course, but this time keep yourself facing backwards. If he's stupid 
enough to continue following after the first hit (you'd be surprised), nail him 
with a second, a third, and so on. Unless you're unlucky enough to careen into a 
dead end, there is a simply no way the gunner can win this fight. In order to 
survive this yourself you're going to have to be avoiding most of his bullets, 
however.

I myself will often use mines instead of bombs in this circumstance. This is 
more dangerous because even after he dies his bullets will still be travelling 
toward you at full speed, and since mines drain more energy than bombs, you will 
be more vulnerable.


-----------------
|Section 7 - Guns of Steel
-----------------

7.1 - Introduction

Never, ever underestimate the power of the gun. Although you may prefer to shoot 
with bombs, frequently a surprise round of bullets will win you a close battle. 
When fighting among walls, bouncing bullets become extremely deadly if you can 
find the correct angle at which to fire them. Since your bullets, unlike your 
bombs, can never hurt you, you can engage your opponent with guns at any range 
you choose; if you fire enough in an enclosed space, he will be quickly 
overwhelmed. Guns are also useful for controlling the enemy's movement. If he is 
arcing in one direction and you want him to go in another, often a quick round 
of bullets will convince him otherwise.

7.2 - Basic Concepts

7.2.1 - Conservation of Energy

Even at maximum charge rate, it is impossible to sustain a constant stream of L3 
bullets without running seriously low on energy after about eight seconds. If 
your opponent has any skill, only a few of these rounds will have hit him, and 
he will be ready to finish you off with just a couple shots. Unless you know 
what you're doing, use your guns sparingly. There is no reason to spew off three 
or four hundred energy points in bullets when you know that none of them have a 
chance to hit. Instead, be patient and avoid your opponent's fire while you 
position yourself for an opportunity to rush in close. Unlike bombs, bullets 
inflict a much greater energy drain on the victim than on the shooter. If you 
spot a good chance to get in some rounds, by all means take it. It's likely your 
opponent will not be expecting it if you've been fighting with bombs up until 
now.

7.2.2 - L1 vs. L2 vs. L3

L1 bullets are useless. With L2, you can defend yourself but aren't going to be 
winning many battles. L3's are by far the most deadly, but are power draining. A 
great plus on your side is the phenomenon of random bullet damage - a hit from a 
L3 bullet can cost you up to 415 energy points. This is why you should never 
trade bullets with your enemy for more than a few seconds, unless you know he 
started off the exchange weaker than you. L3 bullets in your shrapnel are 
especially useful, for they add an element of randomness to a usually 
predictable bomb. You can sometimes kill an enemy with a single bomb if he's 
unlucky enough to hit even a couple 415-point shrapnels. The bouncing bullet 
upgrade is extremely useful, since it opens up a whole range of possible 
strategies.

7.2.3 - JeffP on: Bullets

Bullets come in two varieties, bouncy and non-bouncy. Bullets also have a level 
1 to 3. The various level bullets are identical with the exception of how much 
they cost to fire and how much damage they do. A L1 bullet costs 20 units of 
energy to fire. A L1 bullet does a maximum of 135 units of damage. The cost and 
damage of L2 and L3 bullets is simply 2 and 3 times the L1 numbers.

Note that the damage a bullet does has a maximum; however, the amount of damage 
that actually occurs is calculated by the following formula (C notation):

actualDamage = sqrt(rand() % (maxDamage * maxDamage))

Yes there is randomness to bullets, however it is not as random as some players 
would have you believe. The formula allows the actual damage to range from 0 to 
maxDamage; however, by using a sort of RMS (root mean square) technique, we 
decrease the likelihood of either the minimum or maximum damage occurring and 
increase the odds of the 'typical' damage occurring. The typical damage for a L1 
bullet would therefore be 95 units. (L2 and L3 bullets would therefore be 190 
and 285).

The lifetime of a bullet is 5.5 seconds from the time it is fired. Bullets are 
assigned the frequency of the person who fires it and will not hit any player 
who is on that frequency. Bouncy bullets go until their lifetime expires or 
until they hit another ship. Single shot bullets have a 250ms firing delay 
between shots.

Multifire bullets are merely three bullets fired at once; however, there is a 
slight difference, each of the three bullets are linked to each other. All three 
bullets have the potential to damage a ship; however, the first of the three 
bullets to hit the ship will disable the other two bullets. When not using 
bouncy bullets, when one of the bullets hits the wall, the other two bullets are 
not disabled. Only the hitting of a ship by one of the bullets will disable the 
other two bullets. There is no chance that the bullets could hit you at the same 
time.

As such, while multifire will increase your odds of hitting the other player, it 
will not increase the damage that is caused per firing. Multifire cost 1.5 times 
as much (per firing) as the equivalent single shot numbers listed above; 
however, multifire has half the firing rate of the single shot gun (500ms 
between shots). This effectively means that non-stop multifire is less drain on 
your ship than non-stop single shot. You can work out your own strategies based 
on these numbers.

As far as 'hit' testing against things is concerned bullets are considered a 
single pixel big (even though graphically they are 5 pixels by 5 pixels).

The DELETE key allows you to switch between MultiFire and SingleShot.

7.2.4 - Multi vs. Single

Multifire is the only weapons powerup in the game that gives you the option of 
turning it off. Multifire rounds consume one and a half times the energy as 
singles but release three times as many bullets. However, you can shoot 
multifire rounds at only half the speed of single bullets. Therefore, if you are 
right on top of an opponent and know you can nail him with your singles, do so 
and he will be killed twice as fast. According to JeffP's paper, a stream of 
singles will do an average of 1140 damage points per second, and at most 1660, 
and the figure for multifire is half that. This is especially useful for the 
cloaked Spider who usually has only a second or to shoot before his victim will 
respond.

It is, however, much easier to hit someone with multifire rounds. If a ship hits 
just one of three multifire bullets, it takes the damage of a single bullet, but 
the other two then disappear from the game. This holds even if all three are at 
different sides of the screen. Basically, all one has to do while firing multis 
is ensure that the enemy is in the path of just one of your three bullet 
streams.

7.2.5 - Turrets and Guns

Never, ever engage a turreted ship at close range if at least two of them have 
fully upgraded guns. As you play the game, you'll become used to flying quickly 
by a single ship shooting L3 multiple bullets, knowing that the half-second or 
so spent in his range won't be enough to kill you. However, you risk certain 
death if you expose yourself to the combined L3 fire of a ship and his turret. 
Many times you'll be coasting toward a battle, confident you can pass through 
quickly and go on you way. However, if one of the ships in that battle is 
turreted, you're a goner if you risk even a fraction of a second in front of his 
guns. Likewise, if you are part of a turreted ship, your advantage lies in 
getting close enough to the enemy to overwhelm him with bullets.

7.3 - Gun Strategies

7.3.1 - What is Needed to Kill

It is a difficult task to take a ship from full to zero energy using your guns, 
unless he's also drained from firing. If he is stationary or running directly at 
you, it requires only a couple of seconds. More likely, though, he will be 
swerving back and forth and laying mines in your path while you are using up 
your energy. Your best chance to score a kill with guns is to rush in on a pilot 
who is already occupied in battle. He'll take a couple rounds before he can even 
respond, and then he'll not only have to avoid your fire but that of his 
previous opponent.

Most gun deaths occur because the victim made of one of three commonly seem 
mistakes. First, if he allows himself to slow down near a wall, your bouncing 
rounds will finish him off quickly. Second, he may have wasted his energy on 
ill-aimed bombs, an opportunity you take advantage of by swooping in quickly 
with guns blazing. Third, he'll frequently lose his courage and begin to run. If 
you see this, follow behind close and slam a dozen rounds right up his tailpipe. 
Experienced players are unlikely to fall for any of these, however.

It is a bad idea to close in on a Terrier unprepared to fight to the death. Once 
you're in range of his double-barrel guns it is doubly difficult to escape their 
fire, so either have a repel ready or be sure that you started with an energy 
advantage and can win the gun battle.

7.3.2 - Guns and/or Bombs

Your guns provide you with a surgical provision that your bombs lack. If you've 
managed to nail your opponent with a few bombs but find yourself too close or 
too vulnerable to risk another one, consider spraying him with a few rounds of 
L3. Just three hits will force a drained enemy to retreat, if not kill him 
outright. If there are walls nearby, supplement your bomb attacks with several 
rounds of bullets bounced in his direction. Also, if you're in a tight battle 
and want some room, charge the enemy and fire like a madman. If he calls your 
bluff, then you're toast, but he will almost always back off and give you time 
to recover. Nobody wants to run into a cloud of bullets, especially considering 
the random damage factor and the possibility of downgrades.

7.4 - Short-Range Tactics

7.4.1 - The Chase

This is the simplest attack possible with your guns, and the easiest to counter. 
However, it is enormously effective against a slower ship or one with no bombs. 
Just chase your opponent while firing your multifire guns at full bore. If you 
are faster than him, he is unlikely to escape and will be forced to fight back 
or waste a repel. In either case, you've annoyed him and put him at a 
disadvantage. Watch out for meddlesome outsiders who take pleasure in ambushing 
others while they are fighting, for you will be at low energy during this 
maneuver.

This technique is best used in a corridor, since he can simply turn away from 
your fire in open air. If you are in the open, you can try to anticipate his 
turns and fire in that direction, but it isn't easy.

7.4.2 - The Tailgunner

This is one of the best tricks a gunner can pull, and it will leave his opponent 
scratching his head in wonder. If you see someone running at you with guns, turn 
around and accelerate backwards. He will follow, still shooting, but you will be 
shooting too. Assuming that you both started out with similar energy levels and 
charge rates, you will win this battle every single time, with no exceptions. 
The reason is simply that he is hitting more of your bullets than you are his; 
high school physics. This only works if you are accelerating while you are 
flying backwards, remember. If you are both flying at a constant speed, you are 
both in the same frame of reference and will inflict equal damage.

Make sure that your bullets are actually hitting the pursuer. If his fire is 
aimed well and yours is aimed poorly you're going to die every time regardless 
of your orientation.

7.4.3 - The Spear of Death

I almost never use my multifire when playing. The reason is because of the Spear 
of Death tactic, which is especially suited to the Javelin but can be used with 
any ship. As I mentioned above, single-fire guns do a large amount of damage per 
second, and if you are able to pump your bullets into the side of an enemy ship 
for even a few moments he may die instantly. The idea is to observe the movement 
of your opponent and wait until he is presenting an exposed side or rear flank 
to you. If you're careful, you can even chance it by taking him head on and bet 
that he won't be able to rotate back in time to hit you much as you're coming.

When you see him do this, rush or turn towards that spot in a straight line 
while firing single guns. The reason the Javelin is best at this is, of course, 
its high top speed. Due to this you can often use the Javelin to fly right up in 
back of somebody with guns blazing and unless he's smart enough to turn in time, 
he's toast.

Most likely your first barrage won't kill him outright. If so, while you're 
almost on top of him switch to the Rotation Attack as explained below. Because 
of the Javelin's high speed and slow rotation, you're probably better off just 
flying on by and positioning yourself for another spear attack.

7.4.4 - Rotation Attack

This technique most useful against an enemy with a slow top speed, although it 
can also be used against someone who is accelerating from a standstill. To pull 
off the Rotation Attack, fly up right next to him so that you are almost 
touching, and rotate around him in as tight a circle as possible, shooting all 
the time. The rotation gives you some protection against his bullets, since 
he'll have a hard time getting a fix on your moving ship. You are guaranteed a 
couple of hits with this attack, and against an unusually slow opponent, a kill 
is easy to nab. Of course, this tactic can be turned against you if he decides 
to begin rotating as well.

A variation on this technique involves flying toward your opponent and rotating 
and firing at the same time. If you do this correctly you can curve the path of 
your bullets in such a way as to have them come together at one point, causing 
immediate death. This appears to be extremely difficult to pull off; I've 
certainly never been able to do it with any reliability.

7.4.5 - Bouncing Balls

You are fighting a one on one and both of you are heading toward a wall. If 
you've got bouncing bullets, you can hit him with an unexpected broadside by 
firing not at his ship, but at the wall. Judge the angles correctly, and the 
bullets will nail him after they rebound. This is most useful if you're being 
chased and are flying toward a wall in a straight line. Shoot a dozen rounds 
directly ahead of you, and swerve to the side at the last moment. Your 
opponent's shots will miss, and your rounds will bounce directly back into his 
face. If he's right next to a wall, then rush at him firing like mad. He'll be 
twice as likely to hit your bullets since those that miss will bounce right back 
for another go.

7.4.6 - Chambers of Death

This is one of the most devastating attacks possible with your guns. It involves 
being able to find and surprise an enemy who is stuck in a small room from which 
exit is difficult. Often, if he has his x-radar turned off you can sneak up on 
him as he ducks into the chamber to grab a powerup or to hide. Simply begin 
firing as many bullets as you can, and bounce around the room like crazy. Since 
bullets time out quickly, your random flying will help distribute them evenly as 
well as protecting you from enemy bombs. Quickly the place will begin filling up 
with your ammunition, and unless your opponent is incredibly lucky he won't be 
able to escape before he's killed. If you've got burst, use it now, since if he 
has one you will want to destroy him before he can set off his.

Since warp is useless if one is being constantly hit, and since repel will only 
make the situation worse by speeding up the bullets, your victim is doomed. His 
only possible option is to begin firing his guns (or a burst) himself in an 
attempt to take you with him, but the momentum is already on your side.

7.5 - Long-Range Tactics

7.5.1 - The Bullet Cloud

The idea here is to create a cloud of bullets so dense that your adversary will 
be killed instantly if he flies into it. Usually, your rounds speed out in front 
of you with plenty of room to spare. If you fire while decelerating and then 
accelerating, however, you can bunch up your bullets into one small area. First, 
lead your enemy on a chase and put some distance between him and you. Then turn 
around, and fire while slowing to a standstill, and continue firing while 
speeding up to about half speed. Hopefully, he will come flying straight into 
your spewage.

7.5.2 - Fly-by Shootings

This is something to do when you're bored or are looking to create a little 
chaos. Spot three or more ships duking it out, preferably near a wall, and run 
at them from a distance at full bore. Fire away madly while doing so, and rush 
right into their midst, careening your ship and your bullets off the walls. 
Hopefully, they will not have noticed a single ship coming, and the sheer number 
of your bullets gives you a good chance to nab a kill. I can guarantee that 
after pulling this stunt you're going to have to make a hasty escape, so be 
ready to get in and get out.

7.6 - Defeating the Bomber

Sometimes you will find yourself cornered without the necessary bomb upgrades, 
and will be forced to use your guns. If you are quick on your feet, you can make 
life very difficult for your bomb-happy opponent. You may not be able to kill 
him, but you can often prolong the fight long enough to convince him to search 
out easier prey.

7.6.1 - Up-Close and Personal

Success with guns depends on being as close to your opponent as possible. 
Remember that he cannot safely use his bombs unless he is a certain distance 
away. Since you are fighting with guns, you have to define the battle on your 
own terms; this means being near enough to him at all times that he has no 
chance to use his preferred weapon. This, of course, works best against the 
Leviathan.

7.6.2 - Little Missed Bombs

Bombs enact a large energy drain when fired, and create a pause during which the 
bomber cannot defend himself. You can use this against him by forcing him to 
miss, and then coming in to shoot during the pause. The strategy here is to 
position yourself so that you are close enough to be able to rush in after he 
shoots, but far enough away that he won't want to use his guns. Even if you come 
in after the pause, he will be drained and most likely surprised by your 
actions. Of course, this only works if you can avoid his shots in the first 
place, but this is surprisingly not that difficult to do if you devote all your 
attention to the task.

A common tactic is to sit in the open near a corner. Allow the enemy to approach 
you and fire, and at the last second duck behind the corner. After the bomb has 
passed by, immediately rush out and hit with your guns at close range. Remember 
that a ship is very weak after firing two bombs in a row. If you're feeling 
brave, allow him to hit you with one bomb, and he will probably follow up with 
another right afterward. Avoid this one, and then turn around and nail him with 
your guns. Be aware that the very best players almost never shoot a bomb without 
being very certain of their aim. Dance with them at your own risk.


-----------------
|Section 8 - General Strategy
-----------------

8.1 - Why is Everybody Always...

8.1.1 - Choice of Zone

Whenever you boot up SubSpace you are faced with a bewildering choice of zones. 
Where should you go? First of all, most zones are split up into East and West 
coast sections. If you have a significantly better connection to one side than 
to the other, connect to the better server, else just connect to the zone with 
more players. Second of all, if you're a newbie with less than 2000 points, you 
are only allowed to connect to the Alpha Zone. After you reach 2000, then the 
Running, War, Chaos, and Speed Zones become open to you. The League Zone is 
reserved for League games, although some pilots like to play in there all the 
time since you begin with 150 bounty. To gain access to League you must ask one 
of the League Refs to let you in (see one of the League pages or ask around for 
details). The Philosophy and Sheep Cloning Zones are for JeffP and Rod only. 
What they do in there, nobody knows. :)

Usually after a few weeks of play you will come to prefer one zone over the 
other, and will quickly make friends and perhaps squadmates. I hang out in 
Running a lot, although I can sometimes be found in War Zone. The zone you come 
to prefer will be dependent on your personal taste as well as your skill, to a 
lesser degree. Also, every two weeks a champion and a runner-up player and squad 
are chosen from each arena, and their names are posted on the official SubSpace 
web page. How the Champion is chosen is of course different for every zone.

Chaos Zone is a free-for-all melee arena where the object is simply to kill as 
many opponents as you can. You can only get points by killing other players, and 
there are no bonuses, flags, or bases. You begin here with 30 bounty, and it is 
a fun place to fly turrets.

War Zone is for the team-oriented player. The object is to acquire all 8 flags 
in the arena and hide them in your base, with the help of your teammates. By 
getting all 8 every member of your team gets a large flag points bonus, and the 
champion is always the player and the squad with the most flag points. To 
succeed in the War Zone you have to be a team player and must have very good 
judgment. Raw piloting skill is important but not as important as these other 
two factors.

The Running Zone is where you will generally find the most talented pilots 
overall. It can been seen as a cross between the Chaos and War Zones; here there 
are 16 flags for your team to find, but there are no bases. Instead, each pilot 
keeps every flag he picks up, and also acquires the flags of those he kills. The 
champion again will be the player and squad with the most flag points.

The Speed Zone is like Chaos with a time limit. When you enter the arena you 
will be in the middle of a mini-game. Each mini-game lasts 30 minutes, and 
during these two hours the object is to get as many points as you can by killing 
other ships. At the end of the game, you are ranked according to your score, and 
then all scores and bounty are reset for the new game. Champion is again the 
player and squad with the most points.

I currently have separate sections for the Running and War Zones, and a map 
strategy section for War Zone West. Future updates of the Guide will have more 
zone specific information.

8.1.2 - Choice of Team

The type of team and teammates you will be looking for are highly dependent on 
the zone you choose to play in. See the Running Zone and War Zone sections for 
information on those zones. For the Chaos and Alpha zones, teams aren't really 
integral to the game (at least insofar as 'bonus points' are concerned, since 
there are none) and instead head-to-head battle is the normal. And as for the 
Speed Zone, I don't yet have a section written about it yet, since I never play 
there. Look for updates.

8.1.3 - Choice of Opponent

So you've decided to pick a fight. There are seventy or eight ships in the 
arena, each one a possible victim and a likely enemy. How should you decide whom 
to battle? Should it be the guy nearest you on the map? Should it be the weakest 
ship you can find? Or the most powerful? Ask yourself what makes the game fun 
for you. Does it bring you pleasure to spar with the greatest, knowing that you 
will lose most of the time but get lucky some of the time? This style of play 
will bring you a high points-per-kill figure but a low win/loss ratio. Do you 
hate dying and prefer to kill as many ships as you can? You'll acquire a high 
win/loss ratio but have a lower points-per-kill stat, and may be accused of 
picking on newbies. Are you looking to win the zone championship? Then you need 
as many raw points as possible, and your best bet is to round up some teammates 
and have a go at it. Are you a total sociopath and prefer to ruin the game for 
everyone else? Then kill as many negs as you can and mine like crazy. You will 
achieve both an atrocious rating and a repulsive reputation, two things will 
unfortunately seem to only encourage the most annoying players.

OK, so you've spotted a victim and are wondering what your chances would be 
against him in combat. The first thing you should notice is the name on the 
ship. Do they have a rep? If you're new, then it would do you good to become 
familiar with the top twenty or so names on the score chart. Find one of those 
names on an another ship, and be assured that you will be facing a challenge. 
Even if they are damaged or have a low bounty, the veteran player can often 
outsmart or outrun the newbie.

The second thing to consider is their bounty. If it's below about 50, than they 
almost certainly are not fully upgraded, and will be deficient in one or many 
areas. You have the advantage with a fully-upgraded ship, but consider whether 
you really want to fight them. An enemy below 30 is not much of a challenge and 
will likely just lower your rating if killed; you're better off waiting until 
you can engage him in a fair fight. Even if you've never seen their name before, 
if they have a bounty much above 150, they almost always have a good deal of 
talent no matter how inexperienced. Don't go chasing after a guy with 200 bounty 
and expect an easy win. To get that 200 bounty, they've had to fight off wave 
after wave of yahoos like you over the past half hour. If that player does not 
have a reputation for being a supergod, however, then by all means go after him. 
You'll have a fair fight on your hands and a very good chance of improving your 
rating if you can get the kill.

You can tell a pilot's name and his bounty by just a glance, but more useful 
information can be gleaned by observing his behavior. Is his ship downgraded 
seriously in any way? A guy firing L1 bombs or L2 bullets, or one who is 
unusually slow is a good target to attack. Just don't get overconfident and make 
a stupid mistake, no matter how superior your ships is. Above all, be aware of 
the possibility of shields and super. If a guy is rushing toward you like a 
lunatic, shooting off as many bombs as he can and displaying no regard at all 
for his own personal safety, then get away fast. If you are unsure, then lead 
him around for about sixty seconds, which is enough time to make certain that 
his bonus has run out.

8.1.4 - Scavenging

A scavenger is someone who waits for a fight to end, and then moves in to ambush 
the winner. More common is the vulcher, rushing in on a previously engaged ship 
whose attention is understandably directed elsewhere. There are some who claim 
such behavior is boorish, but SubSpace is not a game of chivalry. If they had 
wanted to, Virgin could easily have written such sensibilities into the code, 
but they decided not to in favor of a more energetic game. Remember, a kill is 
awarded not to the pilot who does the most damage but to the one who strikes the 
final blow, so it is to your advantage to let someone else do most of the work 
for you. And due to the SubSpace's popularity, the arena is almost always too 
crowded to find a quiet place to fight.

8.2 - The Chase

8.2.1 - Chase Psychology

Just because you want to fight someone doesn't mean that he wants to fight you. 
If he runs, you're going to have to hunt him down and kill him, and depending on 
his skill, this can sometimes be more dangerous for you than it is for him. How 
determined is he to get away and how determined are you to nail him? A long, 
involved chase can get very boring, since all of your attention is going to be 
directed towards piloting your ship. You can't stop to battle others, and when 
hit by stray ammunition you're going to have to do your best to grin and bear 
it.

It's helpful to know your opponent before starting the run. Some players are 
legendary for their perseverance, and will run for literally hours from team 
after team, while others tire of the scheme after just a few minutes. Generally, 
only the very best pilots can survive a concerted effort by three or more 
players to catch him. If your prey has a flag, he not only has to dodge your 
bombs but those of every other wannabe on the map. Pick up a flag, and within no 
time you're going to acquire a large cloud of "groupies" milling around right 
behind you.

8.2.2 - On Speed

When tracking an enemy of similar speed, you are aiming to achieve one of two 
goals. You can either kill him as he is running, or by superior piloting you can 
come close enough to force a fight. If there is a substantial speed difference 
between the pursuer and the pursued, then the chase will end very quickly. 
Either you will be hopelessly outdistanced, or he will be forced to defend 
himself as you close in. If the speed difference is smaller, then of course one 
ship will have a corresponding advantage or disadvantage.

8.2.3 - Bombs and Mines

If you want at least a chance of killing someone from a distance, then you're 
going to have to learn how to shoot. To hit a fleeing opponent, you must 
accurately predict where both he and your bomb will be three or four seconds 
into the future. Recall that to destroy a ship outright, it must be hit with 
about 4 L2 bombs in the space of about ten seconds, assuming he has full energy. 
If your prey is running at full speed, he is likely not using up any energy with 
weapons fire, which means that he will have a full power bar.

Your best bet for a long distance kill, therefore, is to keep up a steady but 
slow stream of "get-lucky" bombs while waiting for your golden opportunity. This 
opportunity will come when your prey turns into a path that is predictable 
enough where you can be confident of hitting him with multiple bombs. Now fire 
with everything you've got, and hope that your judgment was correct. Such 
chances are rare, however, and you are better off leading him into a populated 
area. If he has flags, the other ships will descend upon him and attack, 
damaging him enough for you to swoop down and kill with your guns.

Always remember not to bring your own energy low enough to be killed with a 
single bomb, unless you are confident that you can avoid anything he has thrown 
your way. A trigger-happy hunter is a dead hunter; since the enemy is outside of 
your direct view, you don't know what he's doing. He could be facing backward 
shooting a dozen bombs in your path or he could be leading you into a minefield. 
Take reasonable precautions and watch out especially for sudden changes in 
direction. This often means he has lost his yellow streak and has decided to 
duel, and you have only yourself to blame if you get caught by surprise with a 
red energy bar.

8.2.4 - Just Cut it Off

The kill-from-afar is hard to pull off, so if you're not a bomb-throwing demon 
your primary goal is going to be to outpilot your opponent. By this, I mean 
navigating the terrain around you in such a way as to approach the enemy faster 
than he can run away. Scrutinize the map in detail looking for shortcuts that 
might allow you to cut into his path. Every time you can put yourself 
unexpectedly in his trajectory, he must waste time turning away from you, which 
allows you to shrink the distance gap considerably.

You have a great deal of control over the direction he is flying; use this to 
lead him into areas that will slow him down or force him to backtrack. Shoot 
bombs to corral his movement towards or away a desired area, and try to lead him 
into a dead-end situation. He will be paying less attention to where he is going 
because he has to worry about your fire, and thus will be easier to fool. If you 
see him fly into such a place, his very first thought will be to hit the warp 
key. Immediately hit antiwarp and get to work.

8.2.5 - Flanking Tactics

All of the good flagging teams will have mastered the art of flanking their 
prey. The idea is to have most of the team following the enemy from behind while 
a couple arc out toward a point on the map where they think the prey is heading. 
This serves to cut off his avenues of escape and may force him to make less-
than-optimal decisions regarding where to turn next. Since the SubSpace map is a 
finite and bounded rectangle, no ship can run forever. Even if your team hasn't 
yet succeeded in corralling him into a trap your flankers will eventually force 
him to come up against a wall, where he can be picked off easily.

If you can, keep some or all of the flankers stealthed. If he doesn't see them 
he won't be expecting their bombs and their guns, and even if he does then so 
much the better for you have denied him a degree of freedom.

Turrets especially are very vulnerable to the stealth attack; since they are big 
juicy targets, they will be under constant fire, which frequently will make the 
host pilot busy enough to forget to use his x-radar. On a more practical note, 
if an especially large turret can see you coming it's likely you'll be dead 
before you reach him, so you damn well better have stealth turned on.

Against a particularly annoying opponent it's useful to have one team member 
perform the kamikaze run. He will arc around at a very shallow angle or wait in 
a strategic juncture, hope to position himself in the path of the oncoming red. 
Then he'll rush straight at the red firing as many bombs as he can. Be sure that 
your teammates are keeping him occupied with fire from the other direction 
before you attempt this.

8.3 - The Flight

8.3.1 - Persistence

So you want to fight, but you can't. Or maybe you don't choose to do battle at 
this time. Or perhaps you're just a coward. Whatever the reason, you have 
decided to make a run for it, and you want to do it right. To develop a 
strategy, first decide what your objective is. Maybe you have no interest in 
fighting, and simply want to flee for as long as possible. This can be the case 
if you've got a large number of flags, and are leaving it up to your teammates 
to get the rest. Or maybe your ship is downgraded, and you only want to retreat 
for as long as it takes to snarf up the green. Or possibly you're fleeing just 
to gain a positional advantage; you might want to lead him into a trap, or 
simply into a crowded area to confuse him.

As with the art of the chase, patience is your secret weapon. The enemy will be 
relying on the fact that you will become bored and engage before you're ready. 
He will bombard you with taunts, goading you into a rash move. Simply ignore 
them; remember, you are running for your own reasons and those alone. When you 
are prepared to fight, then do so. Until then, let your would-be opponent stew 
in his bile.

8.3.2 - Stealth and X-Radar

If you're gonna flee, you're gonna need x-radar. This is not a hint, nor a 
suggestion, but an absolute. If you can't see what you're running from than all 
your effort is to naught. Keep it on all the time, except when you're absolutely 
sure there are no stealthers in the area. Of course, if you're damaged and need 
your energy back quickly, then you may be forced to disable it for half a minute 
or so.

Stealth is also very useful, but not a requirement. If you're being followed by 
a group of talented and persistent enemies, they aren't going to be fooled. The 
tool is most useful if you want to remain invisible to any neighboring ship that 
may pass nearby; remember with flags, you will appear red on radar, and will 
attract the attention of everybody. Stealth will help ensure that the number of 
your pursuers does not increase. Also, realize that turning on stealth also 
means your enemies must turn on x-radar, decreasing their charge rate. This 
means that they can no longer fire as many bombs at you as they might like.

If you're confident in your skills, than you may want to leave stealth off. A 
brave coward will not just run, but will want to slow down his stalkers with 
bombs and mines. This is, of course, easier done without the energy drain of 
stealth.

8.3.3 - Warped Mind

Sometimes you've got no choice but to warp. You can only warp if you have a full 
energy bar, and this means that you have to make your decision before you take 
damage, not afterward. If you've been chased into a dead end, don't think, but 
hit the insert key immediately, and if you're being surrounded by enemies, warp 
now before those eight pbombs toast your ass. If there are less than forty 
people online, warping is relatively safe. You're unlikely to appear right next 
to another ship, and if you do, you can just hit repel. You do have at least one 
repel, right?

An alternative to warping to join a teammate as a turret. Don't do this 
randomly, since your chance of death is almost 100% if you attach in the middle 
of a battle. Instead, ask someone on your team to get safe, and only then join. 
An annoying strategy is to have one member sit in a remote safety zone at all 
times, to which any of you can warp in times of danger.

8.3.4 - Low Speed Tactics

You're going to need a high ship speed to run for any length of time. If you 
find yourself stuck with the low speed model, and are in great demand, basically 
your only option is to warp. Since you can't outdistance your chaser, you simply 
must outmaneuver him until you have a full energy bar. This is easiest in 
crowded terrain, where you can weave in and out of obstacles, attempting to slow 
down his pursuit. Make good use of your back key and the property of the bounce 
to put some walls in between you and your opponent. If he has antiwarp engaged, 
than use afterburners or rockets to head for the nearest wormhole.

8.3.5 - Run like the Wind

You are going to be running, and your pursuers are going to be firing bombs at 
you. Some will also be trying to cut you off, and others will be laying in 
ambush elsewhere. Keep a few simple tips in mind, and you will be able to avoid 
them for quite a while. First, and most importantly, do not run in a straight 
line. Bombs travel faster than ships, and your enemies outnumber you. Therefore, 
if you fly straight from them for more than five seconds, you will have five or 
six bombs hitting you from behind.

Conversely, do not weave in and out of the same area constantly, unless you're 
in rocky territory and know what you're doing. Your stalkers will quickly note 
your backtracking and will surround you with mines and bullets; especially do 
not pass through the same corridor more than once.

Now that I've told you what not to do, what should you do? As you fly, turn 
slowly in an arc, and never run straight for more than a few seconds. You will 
avoid most of the bombs shot at you since they will pass through where you were, 
not where you're going. Because many good players compensate for this, make it a 
habit to pass behind walls and through gaps as you run. Their bombs will be 
blocked and you'll have bought yourself time to decide what to do next. Gates 
are of course useful for delaying their progress, but you've got to be careful 
that you yourself are not trapped when a gate unexpectedly closes in front of 
you. Keep these suggestions in mind and cover as much territory as possible.

8.3.6 - Have your Revenge

Want to annoy the other team? Bored with all the mindless running? Then fight 
back. The more eager your enemies are, the easier it is to injure them. You're 
not going to be able to shoot them with bullets or bomb them in the open. 
Instead, the key is to leave mines and "slow bombs" in their path, and to wait 
in ambush near narrow entrances. Mining is obvious, but how does one lay a slow 
bomb? Simply fly backwards, but at about 3/4 top speed, and fire. The bomb will 
be stationary or will move very slowly. Your best strategy is to lay these after 
passing through a gap or a corridor that your enemy must also traverse. The more 
opponents there are, the more reckless they will be, and with this tactic you 
can hit them again and again until one dies.

The most devastating weapon at your disposal is the ambush. Go through a short 
passageway, laying one or two mines, and wait slightly off to the side. Face the 
gap and plug as many bombs in there as you can, and watch the kills rack up. You 
can sometimes completely delay the progress of the enemy if you choose the right 
place, for few good players are willing to walk into such a pitfall. If they do 
manage to pass through, however, get away quickly. You don't want to meet them 
up close and personal after what you just did.


-----------------
|Section 9 - The Running Zone
-----------------

9.1 - Introduction

In the Running Zone and War Zone, you have the opportunity to play what is 
called the 'flag game'. Basically, the object is to run around a lot looking for 
flags or people carrying flags. If your team collects all the flags on the map, 
you're rewarded with a huge points bonus. If you're planning on achieving a high 
score, then you have no choice but to play the flag game and win, but in no way 
are you required to do so if you play in either of these zones.

In the Running Zone there are sixteen flags, and teams can have a maximum of 
eight people. Furthermore, you can hold flags for as long as you want once you 
pick them up. The guy with the most flags is going to be hounded across the map, 
hence the name 'Running Zone'.

9.2 - Pick your Poison

The first thing you've gotta do is pick a team. The quality of the players on 
your team is the single most important factor in winning the flag game. Unless 
you've achieved quite a reputation, it's unlikely you're going to be able to 
start your own frequency and fill it with talented players. At any given time, 
there is usually one 'elite' team formed that has the best chance of winning, a 
second 'semi-elite' team of mostly players waiting for a spot on the elite team, 
and many other wannabees. Realistically, you aren't going to have a chance of 
success unless you're on one of the two top teams.

You can always ask one of the members if a space is open, but many will not even 
respond unless you've got some very good stats. And don't get pissed when they 
don't respond. They get many, many requests for spots, and because of the time 
it takes to type in a response they aren't going to acknowledge everyone. Live 
with it, and keep practicing.

If you do intend on forming your own team anyway, then pick your wingmates 
carefully. Raw talent in the Running Zone can be gauged loosely by a player's 
win/loss ratio and average kill. However, a player with great talent is useless 
if he never attaches to help kill the red, or if he's reckless and gets himself 
killed with flags.

Don't hesitate to give a promising newbie a chance to prove himself. Invite him 
to your team and see how he fares. You'll quickly learn how valuable he is, and 
if he does turn out to be the next great player, you'll have cultivated a great 
deal of good will by being the first one to have given him an opportunity.

9.3 - Three Things at Once

In order to encourage flag holders to fight and not just run, they accumulate 
points from kills at triple the rate of normal ships. This tripling is not 
factored into their rating, but is an easy way to gain a high score. Of course, 
winning the game itself usually gives you more than you could ever earn with the 
triple bonus, but most players find it more fun to kill than to simply run and 
be killed. Don't be a boor and hide all of the time, unless you are being so 
relentlessly hunted that to stop would be a guaranteed death. If you've got 
thirteen flags, then by all means flee and let your teammates pick up the 
others. If you're got just one of the five flags on your team, however, then 
have some fun and participate in battle.

9.4 - Getting Flags

There are, of course, sixteen flags in the game. You obtain a flag by spotting 
one onscreen and flying over it; they look like little silver spheres. 
Alternatively, you can kill a ship who is carrying flags and you will be awarded 
his. You can tell how many flags a ship has by looking at the second number 
displayed after his bounty.

9.5 - Losing Flags

How does one lose flags? If you are killed, your opponent gets yours, and if you 
leave the game, they are scattered randomly throughout the map. Once a team gets 
all sixteen, then prize points are awarded, the flags are scattered, and all 
ships on the team are reduced to zero bounty. In order to prevent flag carriers 
from camping out in safety zones, it was decreed that if you are hit while 
sitting in such a place, your flags are lost. Of course, you can't actually be 
damaged in a safe zone, but bullets can travel in and hit you, and bomb shock 
waves can be seen to visually shake your ship. Both of these will cost your 
flags; this is bad for the wimp, but good for the pilot who acquires one 
accidentally and wishes it gone. It's fun to see a newbie acquire two or three 
flags and then coast into a safe zone to boast about it. Said boast is almost 
always followed by a series of curses as he realizes some stray bomb has cost 
him his prize.

9.6 - Kill the Carrier

Your team is not going to win by finding all sixteen flags loose on the map; 
usually you're going to have to earn all but a few by raw killing power alone. 
When a game begins, all flags are placed randomly on the terrain, and within 
five minutes or so all of them are likely to be in the hands of whoever saw them 
first. Quickly, within 10 or 15 minutes, the flags will begin moving up the 
SubSpace food chain as carriers are killed by progressively more talented 
players. Soon, three or four very good pilots will have all the flags among 
them, and the top teams will then focus their efforts on killing these people.

As a team member, you will be spending the vast majority of your time hunting 
them down, and if you yourself have flags, being hunted in turn. Those with 
flags will be aware of this, and some will become very cautious and will run at 
the sight of even one good player. Since you're unlikely to catch him on your 
own, you must ask your comrades for assistance. With four or five of them 
helping, there is a very good chance you will be able to kill the opponent 
within about a quarter of an hour. Some pilots are known for their running 
skills, however, and extra strategy will have to be put into ensuring their 
defeat. A few will be willing to fight a single member of your team if he 
approaches alone, but will flee if he calls for backup.

9.7 - Team Coordination

Once you've spotted a red dot on the map, and want help, you should announce on 
the team frequency that you've seen red. There are two ways a team member can 
come to you; he can either attach with join or he can manually fly to your 
position. Joining is the quickest but the riskiest of the two, since it depletes 
his energy. It is a good idea to make sure that you are going to be unmolested 
for about five seconds before announcing red, for the safety of your teammates. 
Some people don't want to take the risk of joining, and someone with more than 
six flags should never do so. In order to provide for them, when announcing the 
presence of red, give your coordinates as well, which is easily done with a 
macro.

Example: "%redname (%redbounty:%redflags) seen at %coord! Safe to attach!"

9.8 - The Gang Bang

When four or more players are fighting a single ship, the battle is officially 
termed a "gang-bang." It is not as easy as it sounds to defeat a good pilot in 
this way. Perhaps the one thing that will most hinder your success is 
interference from the members of other teams. Your group isn't the only one on 
the map hunting for flaggers; often a single carrier will be spotted trailing 
nine or more ships from three different frequencies. Many of these players know 
that the people are around them are focused on the pursuit of the red dot, and 
will lob bombs and bullets in their way looking for an easy kill. Be very 
careful in such situations, as there is likely to be a large amount of loose 
shrapnel and forgotten mines scattered about the area. Don't fire too much and 
keep an eye on all of the dots, not just the red one.

9.9 - Keeping your Flags

OK, so you fire at the little red pixel and it turns green. Now what? You have a 
bunch of flags in your cockpit, and you intend on keeping them. Understand that 
you are now a prime target to everyone who can see you on the map. This means 
that unless you're hiding in an isolated area, any one-on-one you start is 
quickly going to turn into a n-on-one.

You're going to have do a lot of running when things get hairy, but don't be a 
complete gimp by not ever fighting back. You're here to have fun, and so are 
your opponents. Take reasonable precautions, but also bomb and mine and shoot 
when you get the chance. Many pilots lose their heads when they smell a flagger, 
and are easy to catch in traps such as minefields and bursts in corridors. Use 
this to your advantage by leading the pursuers in and out of such areas, until 
they either die or decide you're more trouble than you're worth. However, your 
team is also counting on you to hold onto the flags until the game is won. Don't 
stumble recklessly into a cloud of ships, and know when it's time to retreat. 
And above all, don't warp. Not only does it stretch out the flag game 
indefinitely, it brands you as a pariah among all the regulars.

9.10 - Turretting

I'm reversing my previous stance and declaring that it is sometimes a good idea 
to turret with flags, given a few conditions. The first condition is that you 
and your host not have excessive lag or packetloss, unless you like not 
receiving your teammate's repel or dying from desynched minefields that he 
doesn't see. The second is that you actually pick someone with talent. As long 
as he flies cautiously, you can survive for much longer against a good opposing 
team on a large turret stack than you could alone.

Don't pick a team member who sucks. You'd be surprised how many people with 
three or four flags will choose to turret the most clueless guy on their team, 
sometimes even when he's a neg.

There is another advantage to being a flag turret, and that is your host ship 
will not appear as red on the map unless the enemy has x-radar turned on. This 
applies whether the turret is stealthed or not.

9.11 - The Prize

The prize is yours if your team collects all sixteen flags. Every member of your 
team receives a large point bonus, the size which is determined by the number of 
players currently in the arena. The number of players on your team has no effect 
on the distribution of points; this means there is no advantage in winning the 
game by yourself as opposed to winning with six or seven friends. Winning a 
shitload of flag games is basically the only way to put your name at or near the 
top of the score charts, so be ready to spend many evenings hunting red.


-----------------
|Section 10 - The War Zone
-----------------

10.1 - Introduction

There are eight flags in the War Zone, and the object of the game is for your 
ten-member team to collect all of them. Flags can be picked up like greens, and 
they look like small metallic spheres. They can either 'belong' to your team, or 
to an enemy team. If they belong to yours, they appear yellowish and cannot be 
picked up by any of your allies at all. If they are an enemy's, they are bluish 
and can be acquired by anyone not on their team.

Once picked up, they are stored on your ship, and you now become red on radar to 
all enemy pilots; if killed, your killer gets your flags. You can't hold flags 
forever, since once you get them a small 60-second countdown timer appears on 
your screen. Once those 60 seconds are up, your flag is dropped in space nearby. 
Also, if by chance you happen to knock off another ship while holding a flag, 
not only do you get triple the points but your counter is reset back to 60. It 
is therefore sometimes useful to kill a neg if you're getting low on time.

Once a teammate picks up the eighth flag, you must then wait another 60 seconds 
before you actually win the game. Don't worry about missing this event since the 
SubSpace client will play you some funky countdown music as long as one team has 
all eight. At the end of the 60 seconds, all team members lose all of their 
bounty and nab a huge bonus, and all of the flags are now randomly distributed 
throughout the map, and appear blue to everyone.

Obviously it won't do to dump your flags just anywhere. To have any chance of 
winning the game, your team must choose and defend a base. The War Zone map is 
constructed so that there are many structures that are easy to defend and hard 
to attack. The point is to have several teammates guard one of these bases, 
while others fan out to look for flags. Once someone gets a flag, he then warps 
to a buddy at base, and sits there until the flag drops. This continues until 
either the game is won or the base is taken by another team.

If you see a loose flag and are at very low bounty, you shouldn't pick it up 
yourself. Instead, ask a teammate to attach to you and grab it. There are two 
general exceptions to this rule - one, if you see that an enemy ship is likely 
to get the flag before someone can warp to you, and two, if you're eager for the 
triple points and to hell with the danger.

10.2 - Hell is Other People...

You want people on your team who are good at both attack and defense, and you 
especially need players who will come to the aid of teammates. Mr. John 'Pbomb' 
Wayne with the 800 rating is just a waste to your team if he never bothers to 
help out a base in danger. Many people think that attacking and defending 
require two different sets of skills. Although this is true to a degree, in my 
experience any good player is able to learn to do both of them equally well, so 
don't take any excuses such as 'I'm no good at defense.'

Kill ratio and rating are less than reliable indicators of talent in the War 
Zone, although if you are a newbie you often have no other way of getting the 
attention of the elite frequencies. You have to watch someone play and see how 
they fit into a cooperative environment before deciding whether they are worth 
inviting again.

10.3 - Team Essentials

In order to function well in a team, you need to know not only what your job is 
but what your teammates are doing. Your company has one purpose, to win the flag 
game, but at any one time you should be doing one of three things: attacking, 
defending, or greening.

A word on macros. Some people have a tendency to scroll a macro six or seven 
times in mortal fear that packetloss is going to eat every one. Don't do that. 
It's annoying, and it's unnecessary, since most people's packetloss from the 
server is less than 10%. At most, I scroll three times, except for two 
situations: when I spot the last flag, or when base is 30 seconds away from 
falling.

10.4 - Greening

Greening, of course, is what you do after you die. You are absolutely no help to 
your friends with an awful ship; many players think they can rush in to help out 
an attack with 20 or 30 bounty. In fact, they are wasting their time and the 
team's time, for they will surely die in less than a minute and must then green 
all the way back up again. Unless your base is in imminent danger of falling, 
refrain even from attaching to defend until you're powered up. A 90-bounty craft 
with L3 guns and a full recharge rate is worth 3 or 4 30-bounty ships with L2 
guns and half recharge.

You should also green to help out fallen teammates. If several of your teammates 
die at once in an ambush, for example, you should help green even though you may 
be fine. Every moment that your team is short a defender or an attacker is a 
moment the enemy can use to take the initiative.

A green begging macro can come in handy:

Example: "I died because I suck. Help me green this awful %bounty bounty!"

10.5 - Defense Basics

So how many should attack and how many should defend? At any given moment, one 
or two of you are probably greening, so that leaves eight or nine useful ships. 
There should always be one person who will be at base for the entire game, so 
that people who get flags should know who to return to. This guy should keep 
himself relatively safe within base so that attachers aren't in danger of dying. 
In addition, you need at least two more to act as roving defenders, pilots who 
will patrol inside and sometimes outside the immediate base area to ward off 
attackers.

Never, ever leave less than three people at base. A lucky cloaker could take out 
one of your defenders, leaving only a single pilot in defense of your flags. Of 
course, if your base is about to undergo a major assault, don't hesitate to 
bring back most or all of your offense. An attack can always be called off and 
restarted, but if your base is taken it's going to be very hard to get back 
those flags.

10.6 - Defense Macros

Each defender should have two macros to use when needed.

The first is a macro that announces that the base is under attack, and help is 
needed. Preferably, you will have one macro for 'normal' attacks, and another to 
be used only when base is about to fall. The key to being a good defender is 
knowing when to call for help. Call too often, and you risk pulling your 
attackers off a successful raid only to find out they weren't really needed. 
Eventually, they will ignore your pleas and you'll have no one but yourself to 
blame when you really need help. Call too infrequently, of course, and you risk 
being shorthanded. It goes without saying that the 'about to fall' macro should 
be used only when base actually is about to fall. Amazingly enough, eh?

Example: "Our base at %coord is under attack! Attach to defend!"
Another Example: "OUR BASE AT %coord IS ABOUT TO FALL! ATTACH NOW OR LOSE!"

The second required macro is the 'safe at base' macro. When a teammate gets a 
flag, he's going to need to know who he can attach to at base. To ask this, 
he'll usually say "Who is at base," and whoever is at base has got to respond 
immediately. I can't count the number of times I've lost a flag, either due to 
being antiwarped or timed out, because no one would acknowledge a base call. It 
takes very little effort to hit shift-F8 or whatever to do this.

Example: "Safe at our base in %coord! Attach to drop flags!"

A macro that is useful for both attack and defense is the 'red' macro. If you 
see a red dot on the radar, it is an enemy with flags, and you should ask your 
team if anyone wants to help get him. If you're defending and a cloaker, say, 
steals your flags, this macro becomes doubly useful.

Example: "%redname(%redbounty:%redflags) seen at %coord! Safe to attach!"

10.7 - Responding to Attacks

So how do you know when an attack is really serious or not? A neg accidentally 
warping into base or a single bright blue ship sniffing around your entrance is 
not a cause for alarm. If one bright blue manages to get inside, don't call yet 
but be on alert. Rush out to kill that blue (unless you're the designated safe 
guy). If a defender dies while doing so, now is the time to call for help. 
Alternatively, if the blue doesn't seem to be attacking, and instead is waiting 
around in one of your base's cubbyholes, be aware that all of a sudden his 
teammates may be attaching for a raid. If you know for a fact that the intruder 
is a member of a good, well-organized team, assume the worst and call for help. 
Eliminate the pest before he begins to sprout buddies, for then it may be too 
late.

If you're a good defender, you'll have laid mines in strategic places in base. 
Never take your attention from an intruder at any time. Occasionally he can get 
lucky and make off with your flags, a situation which several mines can do much 
to defuse. Of course, there is the ever-present danger of the cloaking Spider. 
Always toggle your x-radar every so often to look for them; even if you forget 
to, if you've remembered to mine the Spider won't get past without revealing 
himself.

The worst thing that can happen is for one attacker to come in with shields. In 
such a case, your friend and his enemy is time; the longer he takes to rush in 
and rush out, the more vulnerable he becomes. If your base is a victim of such a 
player, do all you can to delay his egress. Repel him from exits, mine as fast 
as you can, even lay bricks. Delay him long enough, and even his shields won't 
be able to resist six or seven guns at once.

A signal that your base is likely to become the focus of a serious attack is the 
sudden appearance of a large collection of bright blues outside your entrance. 
This is probably an enemy team, and the time to yell for help is now, not later 
when they are ten seconds away from your flags. Even if the team isn't one of 
the best in the arena, don't play the hero and think you can take them all by 
yourself. The mere fact that they are there means they have some kind of 
organization and thus some smarts. It is customary in these circumstances to 
inform the team of the presence and location of the 'mass', like "Blues massing 
east of base!"

An integral part of base defense is making sure that the enemy stays as far away 
from your flags as possible. Many bases in the War Zone have a number of 
cubbyholes or safe havens in them at varying locations from the main flag room. 
An attacking team will usually try to claim one of these safe havens and advance 
from one to the other. If this is happening, your base is infected, and it's in 
your best interest to drive out the germs now before things become a lot worse. 
Call in your raiders and blow them away, then make sure this doesn't happen 
again by mining and by mercilessly killing everyone who seems to be hanging 
around.

What if your base falls? If so, then you all must immediately green and 
counterattack. If the enemy chooses to make the base their own, they're likely 
to be weak and unable to withstand a full force of nine or ten ships. If they 
instead just came for the flags, and leave the base empty, then unless it was an 
especially good one focus your attention on another base that actually has 
flags. Since your team is now homeless, you hold the advantage since you can put 
all ten of your players onto attack.

10.8 - Attack Basics

There are three things that a team's offense is expected to do. The first is to 
hunt for either an enemy base or enemy flag carriers. In a long drawn-out flag 
game, generally the team will know where the main enemy base is, so this stage 
will be often be unnecessary. The second is to pursue and either kill or 
antiwarp an enemy flag carrier; if you see red on radar, you know you're going 
to be doing this. The third and usually most important is to raid an opponent's 
base for flags. This is the hardest and most complex task to pull off, and 
you've got be coordinated and you've got to act fast.

Of course, there are required macros you must have in order to be any sort of an 
attacker at all.

10.9 - Wabbit Season

A good hunter must know the map like the back of his hand. The current West War 
Zone map contains about three excellent bases and many other mediocre ones. When 
hunting for an enemy base, you should first canvass the major bases and then 
examine the lesser ones in turn. Usually you should tell the team where you've 
looked by saying things like "D14 clear," but this isn't essential.

What is an essential macro is the 'base found' macro. Once you do find a camp to 
raid, send a message to the team informing them of where you are. If you see 
such a message and are an attacker, attach to him and help in the raid. It's a 
bad idea for a team to be raiding more than one base at once. Focus all your 
resources on one, and then move onto the next.

Example: "Enemy base found at %coord! Safe to attach!"

How do you tell if you've found a base? The most blatant tip-off is a large 
collection of blues in a small area. Very often defenders will have their 
stealth turned on, so toggle your x-radar and often a single blue will turn out 
to be surrounded by five more. Sometimes the enemy will think they can leave one 
guy at base and conclude that no one's going to notice him. If you see one guy 
in a base structure who doesn't seem to be doing anything, go in to investigate.

It's not enough just to find all these blues and then call for raiders. You've 
got to know whether or not there are any flags in there, and this means you must 
zoom in to investigate. Often you won't be able to get close enough to eyeball 
the usual flag-dumping spot; in this case, you should announce it anyway but 
tell your team that the base is 'unconfirmed'.

Try not to tip off the bad guys if necessary. If you see what you think is a 
base, don't just blatantly fly up to their wall and stare. Hit stealth and sort 
of non-chalantly cruise by as you check out their flags; Spiders have it best in 
this regard with their cloak.

If instead of finding an opponent's base you instead find a red ship with flags, 
your goal is to either kill him or chase and antiwarp him until he drops the 
booty. You're gonna need help to do this, so use a macro.

Example: "%redname (%redbounty:%redflags) seen at %coord! Safe to attach!"

10.10 - Attacking Red

So you see a red ship and a couple teammates have come to assist. What should 
you do? The red guy is going to want to warp to his base as soon as possible. 
Your goal is to prevent this from happening by either antiwarping him until he 
times out or by killing him.

If the red guy has a relatively high bounty or is a good pilot, don't try to 
kill him except if you've got two or three friends backing you up. Since there 
are likely to be many other bright blues chasing the same red (some of which 
will be 'vulches' preying on the flaggers), you're the one who's gonna buy it. 
Since it's an especially bad idea to fight with the charge-rate draining 
antiwarp on, if you choose to attack you should turn this off, which means 
you've got no assurance that he won't simply warp out.

Instead, wait until he drops. If no teammates could come help you, then your 
best bet is to keep close to the enemy with antiwarp. He's going to do his best 
to outrun you, and this will usually entail the dropping of mines or the use of 
repel. However, there is no reason to act suicidally when chasing; you can't do 
much if he decides to run down a corridor laying mines or pumping out repels. 
It's surprising how many good players will chase a red down a narrow passageway 
into an obvious trap.

When the red does drop his booty, immediately hit repel to clear the area of 
blue, and then walk in to claim it for yourself. You now have your own problem, 
since every is now going to be chasing you.

If you do have some help, then it's best to have two of you turn on antiwarp and 
assign any others the task of either shooting at the red or chasing away the 
vulchers. With two using anti, you can be following the red from two different 
directions and can cover all of his escape routes, leaving him less opportunity 
to outrun your team.

10.11 - Pump up the Base

So you've a found a base, and are wondering whether to hit it. Should your team, 
as a general strategy, go for the better-defended bases first and leave the 
weaker ones will later, or vice-versa? If you have no flags of your own, then 
it's advisable to go for a weak base and get some. As long as your team has a 
flag and is defending it well, no one else can win, whereas if you are attacking 
the guys with six flags and ignoring everyone else, they can easily get the last 
two. Even if you do have flags, it's still a better idea to mop up the weaklings 
first. The worst thing that can happen to your team is for you to relieve the 
other elite team of their flags with two or three other bases left to take. 
Either all ten members of said team will be at your doorway for the rest of the 
game, or they will have gone and claimed another flag base, meaning you'll have 
to raid them all over again.

All right, you see an enemy base and have decided to attack. The first thing 
you've got to do is make sure that no teammates are attacking any other bases at 
the same time. If they are, go help them instead. It's not a good idea to split 
up your forces, since you've got a much better chance of taking a base with four 
ships, for example, than with two.

There is an exception, however, and that is the Spider. Sometimes an enemy team 
will not be using their x-radar as diligently as they should, and this could 
give you an opportunity to sneak in alone and make off with their flags.

Stealing a bunch of flags right out from under a team's nose is a delicate 
operation, and prepare to be killed perhaps in two-thirds of the attempts you 
make. Before you try, be sure of two things. First, verify that no one there 
sees you. Fly up close to their entrance and see if anyone looks in your 
direction or otherwise reacts. If not, you can assume that they have their x-
radar off. Next, you must make sure that no mines block your path to the flags. 
If so, you can't succeed because the act of repelling those mines will thus 
reveal your presence. You can always wait for two minutes until they timeout, 
but its better to ask a teammate to repel them for you.

Now that you're ready to go for it with your Spider, fly for their flags quickly 
but carefully. You don't want to bump into too many walls because the resulting 
sound could tip them off. If you've got a burst, and your opponents are bunched 
up in a small area, consider taking them all out at once, but be warned that 
burst will frequently leave many of its victims still alive. When you've picked 
up the flags, your time is limited. Once the guards notice they're gone, it 
won't be long before they make the connection. Rush out the exit as fast as you 
can, then uncloak and warp to base. Don't uncloak and warp from within the enemy 
base, because many defenders will keep their antiwarp on constantly, which will 
prevent you from leaving.

Before you make a Spider attempt, ask your team to refrain from attaching. 
You're screwed if some dumbass Leviathan joins to you while you're deep in enemy 
territory.

If you don't have a Spider, you're going to need your team's help to attack. 
First, find a safe place to float either slight outside the enemy base or 
somewhere within it. It's important that you aren't being shot at or aren't in 
any sort of immediate danger, for the sake of your pals. There is nothing more 
aggravating than to come to an teammate only to die instantly.

If you can, try to organize your strike force outside the range of your 
opponent's radar. It's likely that it will be a minute or two before you have 
enough teammates to attack with, and you don't want the enemy to get suspicious 
when you start sprouting ships. This way they will have no inkling of your 
intentions until you come rushing through their door.

You generally need at least three players for an attack, preferably four or 
more. Above all, do not leave your own base neglected while organizing a raid. 
All too often someone will announce an attack, and everyone but two guys will 
attach, leaving base almost totally undefended. If you've decided to be a 
defender, then don't leave. Control your urge to be the hero; you'll get your 
chance next game when you can switch to offense if you like. If you really want 
to attack, don't leave base until you've gotten someone to agree to take your 
place.

OK, so now you're ready to charge. If the enemy's base has two approaches toward 
its flag area, it's a good idea to split up your team and go for both. This has 
two advantages; there may not be enough defenders to hold two passes but enough 
to hold one, and it prevents any defenders from going up behind your forces and 
shooting them in the back, while giving you the opportunity to do it to them.  
In addition, it's always advisable never to have everyone in one place where a 
single burst or minefield could take you all out.

Before you rush down a corridor blindly, be aware that it is probably mined. Go 
slowly and clear the way for your teammates, or if you don't mind giving up the 
element of surprise, repel the mines from outside the base before you enter. 
It's a good idea to lay your own mines in place of theirs, unless those mines 
are needed at your own base.

Once under attack, they will of course call their attackers in for help, so the 
key to a successful raid is killing them off as fast as possible. If you see 
enemies attaching to defenders, then they are going to be low on energy so hit 
them especially hard. Remember, you're not here to kill everyone in the base 
(unless you're claiming it for your own team). Your objective is to get the 
flags and escape safely. Usually, you only need to get them down to about two 
defenders before it's probable that you can successfully rush them and nab the 
flags. This is just another reason to attack with overwhelming force. The longer 
your raid takes, the longer they have to organize a defense, and the lower your 
chances.

If you don't succeed immediately, and the enemy base is large enough, retreat to 
the nearest cubbyhole with a teammate or two and wait for your fallen comrades 
to regreen and reattach. Mine the area right outside your safe haven and pick 
off any enemies who walk by. This is called the 'infection' strategy, and is 
very effective indeed in creating havoc with the opposing team.

Ironically enough, if your base is under heavy assault, consider going right for 
the enemy's flags instead of helping to defend. Simple logic tells you that for 
every person they have on offense they have one less pilot on base defense. If 
you're lucky you will surprise them and take their base right out from under 
them, or at least you will force them to call back their attackers, giving your 
team some breathing room.

Don't be afraid to retreat if a raid is going badly. Not even the best SubSpace 
player in the zone has a chance (unshielded or uncloaked) against five 
defenders, so unless you've got a burst and want take out a few of them as you 
go, just leave. Regroup and fight again, and keep trying until you succeed.

All right, let's assume that you're successful. If you've killed them all, you 
can safely pick up the flags and sit their while your energy recharges, then 
warp to base. Be aware of a very important tactic - if you've just gotten the 
eighth flag and feel relatively safe, do not go back to base. It's likely that 
when the enemy sees your team is about to win, they will rush the base with 
everything they've got, often overrunning all of you in the process. If you had 
returned to base, everything would be over, but since you stayed somewhere else, 
all is not lost.

If you haven't killed them all, once you pick up the flags you're going to have 
bogies on your tail, usually with antiwarp on. Run away, and lay mines or use 
repel to get yourself out of anti range. If you know you're going to die and 
have large number of flags, considering exiting the game or running into a safe 
zone. The flags will reappear two minutes later around the area you dropped 
them, giving your team some breathing room.

10.12 - The Prize

So what do you get for your troubles? The War Zone flag bonus is awarded on a 
strict formula - the number of people in the arena squared. Thus winning the 
flag game in an 80-person arena will nab you 6400 points. You're usually going 
to see a few teams with around 40,000 points, a couple with 200,000 and one with 
over a million. Because of several factors, one team or squad is usually going 
to be dominant in the War Zone, and there is little you can do about it save to 
hope either to join them or form your own killer team. Because of this so-called 
domination, the SubSpace programmers are considering allowing the private 
frequencies fewer player slots in order to compensate. Don't stand for this. It 
is communism and will drive away the regulars who keep the game going. People 
won't pay to be equal, but they will pay to be better than equal or even for the 
chance to be better than equal.

10.13 - War Zone West Map Specifics

In the current War Zone West map, it is generally held that there are three 
great bases and many lesser ones. The three great ones are, in order of 
greatness (a subject on which many disagree), the D14 honeycomb, the N4 maze, 
and the J8 castle.

10.13.1 - The D14 Honeycomb

First we'll consider the honeycombs. There are many places within the honeycomb 
to hide flags, but the best place for a base is in the cell at column 2 and row 
5 (see the War Zone map). There are 3 cubbyholes branching off this cell where 
one can put flags, and only one entrance, which can be easily guarded.

It's advisable to spread out your flags among the 3 cubbyholes, so that one 
lucky intruder will have a harder time getting them all.

To defend this base, have several ships sit in cell 2-5 and fire out of the 
entrance. If your aim is true you can even lob bombs directly into the cell to 
the upper right (this is called the Bishop22 angle). With two or three doing 
this constantly it is very difficult for anyone to approach, let alone attack 
you. It goes without saying that you should keep the entrance mined at all 
times. Put the mines slightly off to the side, not directly on the gap, so that 
when they are repelled they won't slam into the side of 2-5 along with your 
team. Also have a guy line up vertically in the small room in-between 3-5 and 4-
4, and fire straight downward. This is an excellent way to drive attackers away 
from the area.

If you can, don't let the enemy get as far as the cell to the immediate right, 
cell 3-5. There is only one way into 3-5, but to its upper right in cell 4-4 
there is a place where an enemy can easily run into and wait. It's also nice to 
keep cell 4-6 free of enemies, since this cell marks the way in from outside; an 
opponent can just plant himself here and fire bombs into 3-5 with abandon.

A very good strategy for both attackers and defenders is to fly outside the 
combs and re-enter, approaching your enemies from behind, stealthed. They will 
not likely be expecting this attack, and you can pick them off easily with fire 
from both directions.

The combs are extremely difficult to attack, and you generally need overwhelming 
force to succeed. Take about eight teammates with you and place them in cells 4-
4 and 4-6. The key is to have one player rush up to the entrance to 2-5 and 
repel so that the mines are destroyed and the defenders are disrupted. Then you 
all must rush at the same time, before they have a chance to regroup.

There are two other ways of taking this base. The first requires shields and is 
only useful to steal their flags, not to claim the base itself. Have one 
teammate hang out around that area of the map keeping himself alive, and have 
another teammate do nothing but pick up greens. Eventually, the greener will 
happen upon shields, and can then instantly attach to the loiterer and take the 
D14 flags.

Another way is to use a brick. The idea is to brick up the entrance to 2-5. Once 
this is done, your team can now fire in while they can't fire out, and you can 
quickly force them to retreat to the three cubbyholes, where they are easy to 
pick off.

10.13.2 - The N4 maze

There is a spot in the N4 maze with only one entrance that is a great place to 
put flags. Stick your flags down in the lower-right section, and station 
defenders in the square upper-left room. There is a corridor that runs right 
outside this room in front of the single entrance, but since it has three 
openings, you can't expect to hold them all. Instead, keep the area well-mined 
and have a couple ships patrol the general area picking off interlopers. It is a 
bad idea to let an enemy put himself down at the bottom of the corridor where he 
can fire up or at the top where he can fire down. If he does, have someone come 
in and pop him from behind.

Once losing this corridor many defenders make the mistake of retreating back 
into the flag area. Instead, do whatever you can to hold the entrance to that 
corridor; fan out around it and fire from the inside, and they will find it very 
difficult to get in.

Alternatively, try not to venture to far away from base. Often an enemy team 
will try to goad you, the defender, into a chase that takes you far from home.

To attack this base, fly to the large room to the left of N4 and call your 
teammates. Also, have one of you loop around and approach the N4 corridor from 
below. If you can, goad a defender into some mines or some stealthed teammates; 
N4 provides plenty of excellent places to lay traps. If you can make it past the 
corridor and into the square box, the base is practically yours.

10.13.3 - The J8 Castle

The castle is a very fun base to attack and to defend, but more difficult to 
protect than the others because of its size. Because of the large space inside 
it, you will have people warping into there very often, one of which will 
invariably be an opponent ready to call in the cavalry. There is little you can 
do about this than to immediately attack all warpers while their energy is still 
low.

This base has three lines of defense. The innermost line is at the small square 
room where you put your flags. Keep a defender here at all times and mine the 
entrance. If you lose the rest of the base, you can always retreat here and 
brick up the gap.

The second line is the entrance to the right. It's a bad thing to let ships into 
the courtyard, for they can then race you all around the place and let off 
decoys. Mine the entrance in order to keep them to the outer ring where they can 
be killed more easily. There is also an annoying hole in the wall that faces 
this gap from which vulchers can shoot into from the right. Be aware of this.

The third line is the main 'airlock' gate itself. If you let ships in past the 
gate, they can establish themselves in the two cubbyholes on the left where it 
is easy to prepare an attack. You usually shouldn't have someone try to hold the 
gate from outside, because that area is large and usually densely populated. 
Instead, note the small holes in the sides of the airlock. These holes line up 
with holes in the walls of the upper and lower left corners of the castle. If 
you see someone enter the airlock, go to a corner and shoot up or down. You can 
also wait for them to enter and then fire into the corridor, but this is less 
reliable since they can quickly rush into one of the cubbyholes. To stop this, 
keep that corridor mined well.

The key to attacking the castle is to get yourself into one of the two 
cubbyholes. It's unfortunate that you can't see into the inner square from here, 
and thus can't tell if the base holds flags. You can be pretty sure it does, 
though, if you see a bright blue dot just sitting there in the middle. You can 
also break into the inner courtyard and call in the team from there, but this is 
more dangerous for the attachers.

One you've gathered your forces, split up and attack from both directions. If 
you approach the courtyard entrance and see many bombs and mines, hit repel then 
rush in; the repel should give your team a few seconds to safely enter.

Now that you're in, let loose all your decoys in order to keep the enemy 
confused. Keep attacking them until they either die or retreat into the inner 
square. Once you dispense with the ones in the courtyard, it's easy to kill the 
ones inside. That square has a hole on the right you can shoot into, and you can 
even use a brick to block up the entrance.

10.14 - War Zone East Map Specifics

This entire section (WZ East Map) was written by Rampager 
(garkskis@ix.netcom.com).

10.14.1 - R8

R8 is generally heralded as the greatest base. I agree; it's very difficult to 
attack without a wall.

Defending R8:

Drop the flags in the far end of the dead-end tube shaped like an upside-down 
'L'. A MUST is to have one or two people firing slow bombs continuously down the 
tube to the right of the flag box. It deters spiders and the shrapnel aids the 
other defenders. (Slow bombs are when you fly backwards as you fire a bomb, 
causing the bomb to fly slowly.) Always have mines at the entrance to the 'L'. 
Another not-so frequently mined spot is at the end of the small passage to the 
left that leads into the chamber that holds the entrance to the 'L'. It catches 
many more attackers by surprise, and the shrapnel often gets invaders even if 
they repel.

To stop northern attackers, station someone just to the left of the main tube 
firing upward so that the slow bombs will go through the two gaps. This totally 
stops any northern attacks. Stopping western attacks is similar, fire slow bombs 
through that gap. If either the northern or western entrance falls, you will be 
most likely forced to retreat back into the tube. This is not a major problem, 
unless they drop a wall. The hardest part of getting through R8 is the last 
tube. Call for reinforcements when you are forced to retreat there, and drive 
the attackers out.

Attacking R8:

Be very careful, R8 is infested by vulchers usually. Passing the first line of 
defense is simply a matter of firing bombs down the northern and western 
entrances until they retreat to the tube. When you are getting ready to assault 
the tube, be careful of mines and shrapnel. If you drop into the yellow, 
retreat, and if there isn't much shrapnel, lay your own mines in that room. To 
get through the tube, you have 2 choices. Lay a wall at the bottom of the tube 
and fire bombs up until the shrapnel kills all the defenders; the easy way. :) 

The more frequently used strategy is to start firing bombs up while repelling
enemy bombs. This is extremely dangerous, and requires many teammates firing 
bombs up the tube. In both cases, be careful for vulchers and other defenders 
flanking you. Once you take R8, use it for yourself. :) A cheap but popular 
technique is to use bunched mines (L2 and L3) and mine the side of the tube. 
Even through a wall, five L3 (and usually L2) mines will kill someone. Don't 
even bother using L1. 

10.14.2 - S20

Defending S20:

Drop your flags in the small appendix at the end of the long lower corridor. Lay 
mines at the two entrances from above. Lay more mines at the top of the short 
tube that leads to one of these entrances, and more in the twisty passage to the 
west that leads to another of them. Fire slow bombs down the main tube, and 
station at least two players to literally vulch attackers. My job usually. >:)

Beware - in the area to the north of the base many of the walls have holes. 
There are holes in each wall the line passes through, allowing someone to start 
at the top of the line and fire bombs all the way down. Thankfully, that line 
doesn't extend into the main tube. You can use this for defense also; if the 
outer lines of defense fall, the vulching defenders can fire their own bombs 
down it. My favorite spot to mine is next to the wall of the flag box. I bunch 5 
mines on the edge of the wall there.

Attacking S20:

S20 is much like R8 on its side; you again try to fire your own bombs down the 
tube while repelling enemy bombs. Another good technique is to invade the two 
northern entrances and use either guns or shrapnel to kill or force defenders 
into the flag box. While you approach S20, if there's too many vulches or 
defenders in the north, fire bombs down the 'holes of death' until they're dead 
or gone. All in all, it's much easier to attack then R8 is. With a wall, you can 
solo attack it (heheheh :). 

10.14.3 - J18

Defending J18:

Drop your flags around the safe zone, and lay mines in the entrance to this last 
box. Stop anyone from entering the safe zone. If ANYONE gets into that thing, 
the base is as good as lost. He'll call for teammates, and suddenly you'll have 
three bursts bouncing around the flag chamber. The other weakness of the base is 
vulches firing down the left side of the base into the leftmost chamber. If 
people start firing bombs into there, you'll be forced to retreat from that 
chamber. To stop this, either station someone vulching the enemy or fire your 
own bombs up the tube(this is HIGHLY dangerous). Otherwise, this is an excellent 
base.

Use bouncing multifire to stop attackers once they enter the cells. If they win, 
get into the safe zone and turn on anti to prevent them from leaving. Also, 
bunch mines at the entrance to this base, where the two corridors from the north 
and the east intersect.

Attacking J18:

Get in that safe zone! Once you're in there, you've won. If there is a good 
defense, fire bombs down the left side of the base into the leftmost cell to 
soften up their defenses. With two or three teammates, use bouncing multifire to 
kill the defenders or drive them into the safe zone. Unless you kill all the
defenders, get a new base. Also, you can bunch L2 or L3 mines along the sides of 
the base and repel the defenders into them. 

10.14.4 - L1

Defending L1:

Drop your flags smack in the center. L1's protection is the three force fields. 
They rarely ever open, making ALL sieges take at least five minutes. However, 
there are holes in the west wall of L1 and a wall to the west of that which line 
up. This means that someone can start in the chamber on the far left and fire as 
many bombs as he wants into the base. This would be an excellent base if those 
holes weren't there. This base is rarely ever defended well. Most public freqs 
will have 4-5 people sit inside the flag chamber and get slaughtered as soon 
bombs start flying through the hole. To defend L1, station only 1-2 people 
inside the flag chamber, with 3-4 people on vulching.

Most effective attacks will come from the west side because of the hole, so 
station at least one man there, with the other defenders protecting the east and 
southern entrances. Since there's three entrances, mines aren't very helpful. 
Place many mines inside the flag chamber so that shrapnel will kill even 
repelling attackers. Mines also help in the western entrance since it's the most 
popular. Similarly to J18, it's mandatory to keep invaders out of the safe zone.

Attacking L1:

Have 1-2 people fire bombs along the west line; either the bombs will kill the 
defenders or the shrapnel will weaken them. Kill ALL vulchers outside the base. 
Once you're waiting for the field to open, have one person defend the rest from 
vulchers with x-radar on. Repel periodically so mine shrapnel won't kill you 
when you enter. Once you're inside, either kill the defenders and take the 
flags, >:) or get into the safe zone and call for help.

10.14.5 - I1

Defending I1:

Nobody likes this base, but I don't know why! :) I admit, it requires more 
personpower (PC :), but it's very defendable. Put your flags in the small box 
next to the border that contains the safe zone. The main weakness is the line of 
wall holes in the south, which again attackers can fire bombs down. If they 
start doing this, the base is lost. The shrapnel will pin defenders inside the 
flag box, leaving them easy prey. To prevent this, either fire your own bombs 
down it or vulch anyone trying it.

Usually, defenders will be firing down the line, so attackers generally approach 
from the west. Mine all the time in the entrance to the main box. Bunched mines 
are useful at the south entrance to the big box to the west of I1 because 
attackers often come in at high speeds and either can't or won't repel because 
they only see one mine. If they enter the area above that entrance, another 
defender can fire bombs into that box from the area on the far east. Station 
another defender on the west side of the flag box firing bombs down so they 
can't get in and burst.

Attacking I1:

The most effective technique I've found is a straightforward charge. :) Any 
defenders in the flag box are in close quarters and will be hit easily by bombs 
and shrapnel. If they're just too strong for this, fire bombs up the green line. 
It's very hard to stay alive doing this due to vulches.

10.14.6 - B13

Defending B13:

Oh god, I hate this base. However, since it's the only decent base on the west 
of the map, it's used ALL the time. :( Drop flags right in the middle. Station 
some people to be vulches, and fire slow bombs down the tubes on the east, 
south, and west. Also lay mines at the entrance to the flag box, and at each of 
the three corridor intersections within this base. If you're backed into the 
flag box (you're screwed), start laying mines and firing bouncing multifire so 
when the force field opens you'll take some with you. :) The best advice about 
this base is DON'T GET IT. There are 5 other superior bases, one must be free!

Attacking B13:

Get ready for easy flags. Basically you drive defenders into the middle of the 
spiral with bombs. The greatest danger is vulches. When you take the base, and 
you will, :) get OUT! Get I1 at the least!


-----------------
|Appendix 1 - For More Info
-----------------

The SubSpace homepage is located at "http://subspace.vie.com". The WarZone 
SubSpace site is at "http://subspace.warzone.com". You can contact me, 
Rincewind, at merzbow@pobox.com.


-----------------
|Appendix 2 - Acknowledgments
-----------------

SubSpace is, like, a cool multiplayer game and is copyrighted and stuff by 
Virgin Interactive Entertainment. VIE does not endorse the contents of this 
Guide in any way, shape, or form - hence the term "unofficial." The contents of 
this guide are copyrighted by me, except for some sections written by Jeff 
Peterson (taken verbatim from message board postings, with permission), a 
section written by Nucon, a section written by Cap'n Cloak, and the wonderful 
War Zone East Map Section written by Rampager (garkskis@ix.netcom.com).

I am always looking for suggestions, comments, and submissions. Your name could 
be here!


-----------------
|Appendix 3 - Changes
-----------------

v3.1 - 3/28/97
--------------
Updated Guide to reflect changes in v1.24. Replaced all references to stacked 
mines with bunched mines, and discussed the old bomb code that was restored. 
Also put JeffP's explanation of bombs back in.

v3.1.1 - 3/29/97
--------------
Added a Changes appendix.
