Getting Started

Overview

This article covers the basics of getting started with BZFlag. It is intended for new players who have just found the game and require assistance. More detailed help can be found on our Getting Help page.

Getting Started

These simple steps have been designed to allow new users to begin playing the game as quickly as possible.

Downloading and installing the game

The main thing users need to play is the game software. Users can Download the software for a number of different systems.

Windows

The most common operating system for players is Microsoft Windows. A simple installer can be found at, http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/bzflag/bzflag-2.0.10.exe?download . Simply Double click the downloaded file to install the game.

Mac OSX

The next most popular system for players is Apple's MacOS X for the Macintosh famialy of computers. The version for macs can be found at, http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/bzflag/BZFlag-2.0.10.dmg . Simply drag the BZFlag icon from the extracted DMG to your hard drive to install the game.

Linux

The project does not distribute a premade binary package for linux, but many linux distrobutions have BZFlag in their package management systems ( APT, YUM, emerge, etc.. ). Linux users can always build the game from the source code. Please see the downloads page for more information.

Registering a callsign(Optional)

It is not mandatory to register a callsign ( the name a player uses in-game), but it is hihgly recommended.

A few of the benefits of registering are:

• The callsign is reserved, and can not be used by any other player.
• Registered users post on the BZFlag forums
• Registered users can join global groups, and leagues.
• Many servers require registration to play.

Users that wish to register can simply do so on the BZFlag fourms at [1]

Running the game

Once the game is installed, it must be run to play.

Windows

Windows users that have installed the game with the provided installer will find a shortcut to the game in the start menu, under program files. Users simply have to click this shortcut to start the game.

Mac OS X

Macintosh users simply have to double click the BZFlag icon that they draged to there computer to start the game.

Linux

Linux, and other unix based platforms can start the game by typing the command bzflag in a terminal.

Joining a game

The Main Menu When you start up BZFlag, you will probably see a screen similar to this one. The main menu is used to get to all of the games options: The Join game screen, which is covered below The Options (settings), these are used to control key mapping, display options, effects settings, etc.. Save Settings is used to save your current options to your configuration file Help is used to access the in-game help and information	The Main Menu
The Join Game Menu For now, we will be concentrating on the "Join Game" Screen. This screen allows you do quite a few things, such as: Find and select a server Enter your Username (and password, if you registered.) Select a team (Red, Green, Blue, Purple, Rogue, and Observer) Enter an email string. (Note: Most users do not enter their email here, instead, they usually have a catch phrase, team, etc..)	The Join Game screen. Here we see the user "Winny" is going to connect to the server bzf.guleague.org:5158 as an observer.
The Server List If you want to see a list of current servers, move to the "Find Server" option. A second or two after you select this, a series of servers will appear on the list, with the most popular servers being first. Select one that sounds good, and you will be returned to the "Join Game" screen. Then select "Connect", and you will join the server. Once the join is complete, you will see a list of users, a server message, and any other info (such as chat), in the chat box.	The Serverlist
Playing BZFlag Once you've joined a server, you are going to be playing with anywhere from 5-35 other people. Their names are listed on an in-game screen, which can be enabled or disabled by pressing "s". This list shows a few things: Current players Player score (Kills, deaths, teamkills, etc..) Current teams (Each color represents a team) CTF Score (If the map is a CTF (Capture The Flag), then the current CTF score is in the top-right) Radar The Radar (In the bottom left), shows a top, 2d view of the map. This is useful for dodging bullets, and making sure no one sneaks up behind you. Mouse Box The "mousebox" is used for a few things: Helps you aim. The tiny rectangle in the middle shows where your bullets are going to go Your altitude. The sides of the mousebox have markings, showing how high off the ground you are. Reload time. To the left of the mousebox, there are small rectangles, each of which show how long until a shot is reloaded. The number of boxes depend on the number of shots on the server. Sportsmanship When playing BZFlag, keep a few simple rules in mind: Don't shoot at people on your own team. Make sure to not accidentally carry your team flag everywhere. (This is called flag running) If you're nice to others, they will be nice to you. (Keep the language clean, be polite, etc..)	A typical server. This client has modified textures, so it will not look identical to yours.