Deathmatch (DM)

Most of th' multiplayer games you'll find will be deathmatches for th' simple reason that they're th' most, well, simple way ta play. Basically you shoot everything that moves an' mebbe even some things that don't move, jus' ta be on th' safe side.

Th' Outlaw with th' most kills wins a deathmatch, so th' game is basically a race ta kill th' most people. How fun! Now because ya wanna get th' most kills, self-preservation becomes less important. You don't wanna give away easy kills, but if you waste a lot of time hidin' or layin' in careful ambush ya aren't gonna rack up enough kills ta keep up with th' other players.

So it may sound a bit crazy, but ya jus' gotta get out there an' shoot away. Well, that's exaggeratin' a lil' bit but not much. Grab choice items when ya see 'em but don't waste too much time huntin' around. If ya get killed, run back inta th' fray as soon as ya can; chances are ya wounded someone before they killed ya an' they'll be relatively easy ta finish off now that yer back ta full health an' ammo.

Kill Kill Kill. That's th' way ta win a deathmatch. Anythin' else jus' gets in th' way of killin' an' you'll lose th' race.

I love ta jus' get 3 ta 5 fellas tagether an' go have a wild an' woolly shoot'em-up; nothin' beats th' sheer insanity of a good deathmatch. I ain't as experienced with th' other playmodes below, so th' tips there come not so much from my own experience in their implementation, but from gettin' whupped an' tryin' ta figger out jus' how I got beat so bad.

One-on-One

Many players seem driven ta constantly try ta prove they're th' best gunslinger around, or by playin' th' best ta see where they stand in th' wider scheme of things. If yer inta this testosterone-fueled direct competition then mano-a-mano duels offer th' only way ta settle th' issue once an' fer all.

A duel is simply a deathmatch between two players. In tournaments they're usually played to 10 or 20 kills, first one there wins. While in a larger deathmatch ya hafta race th' other players fer th' most kills, in a one-on-one match yer opponent's only point will come at yer direct expense, so self-preservation becomes all-important. Don't let th' other guy kill you an' he'll have a hard time winnin' as long as yer rackin' up a few kills of yer own.

So while one can't deny th' continued value of lightning reflexes an' a steady aim, sneakiness an' guile will often carry th' day in a two person match. If you can ambush yer opponent an' get in th' first hit or two you'll put yerself in a very advantageous position. But if th' other guy gets in th' first couple'a hits then it might be a good idea ta get out fast an' find some medicine. DON'T let 'im kill ya.

Resource management becomes yer life-blood. Don't force a confrontation until yer as equipped at ya kin get with medkits, th' heaviest boilerplate ya kin find, lots of weapons an' a goodly supply of ammunition. If ya get caught unprepared yer ground chuck.

I've discovered that I stink at one-on-one. Why? 'Cause there ain't an ounce of guile in my body. Welll... mebbe half an ounce. Actually th' real reason is 'cause I get bored easily from sneakin' around; I get impatient an' rush around lookin' fer my opponent while they're stockin' up on supplies an' settin' ambushes, so when I finally find 'em I'm outta breath an' short on ammo while they're kitted out ta th' max. Not a healthy habit.

Kill the Fool with the Chicken (KFC)

Not too many people play this one which I think is a shame. Okay, I'll confess: I jus' like catchin' chickens. But I also like th' "me against th' world" attitude this game inspires.

Basically there's a chicken somewhere on th' level an' th' person who has held onto that chicken for th' longest time at th' end of th' game wins. This is probably th' reason it's not as popular as other play modes; havin' th' most kills doesn't mean squat if someone else caught that chicken an' managed ta hide out with it somewhere fer a long time.

If you don't have th' chicken yer immediate goal is ta find th' person who does, 'cause they're rackin' up a score every second they've got it. Don't waste too much time gettin' items, jus' track that chicken!

Contrariwise, th' "Fool" with th' bird will try ta simply survive as long as possible, usually by ditchin' his opponents an' hidin' out somewhere. Grab th' chicken an' run an' hide as quick as you can. But don't stay in one place too long; good chicken hunters will search through th' level, systematically checking all th' hidey-holes. So wait a bit, then skulk off in search of someplace they've JUST searched 'cause chances are it'll be a while before they get back.

Non-fools can't shoot anyone except th' Fool, unless th' host has enabled friendly fire in which case shootin' a fellow non-fool will give you a NEGATIVE kill. Th' Fool, of course, can shoot anyone. However because he's totin' a chicken with one arm he can't use any medkits which, dependin' on th' level, can put him at quite a disadvantage. Not ta mention th' disadvantage that comes from everyone shootin' at you alone.

Actually, if th' host has enabled friendly fire, really ruthless players will put a few shots into fellow non-fools if they're near th' chicken so that in th' event that they themselves or th' fella they jus' plugged get's th' bird, they'll have a leg-up in th' inevitable shootout that quickly follows an avian acquisition. Or ya could jus' kill 'em outright so as ta have a clear path ta th' bird.

Tag

Tag works pretty much like KFC except th' winner is th' one who is "it" fer th' least amount of time by th' end of th' game. Th' person who's "it" can stop bein' "it" by "tagging" someone else; ie, by bumping into them. Th' obvious problem with this is that players who join late have a big advantage over those who were there from th' beginnin'.

I should also note that tagging, like picking up the chicken in KFC or a flag in CTF, is handled by th' host computer. In a laggy Tag, KFC or CTF match th' host will have a big advantage because he is able to tag people or snag chickens or flags faster than anyone else.

Anyhow, it seems ta me what'cha wanna do ta win in Tag is HIDE. Don't let th' person who's "it" find you. If he does, try ta shoot 'im dead before he gets near ya. This means running backwards and shooting. Rifles come in very handy in Tag games.

If ya get tagged, try ta find an' tag someone as quickly as possible. If you get killed yer still "it" but you respawn away from yer victim, so try not ta get killed. Surprisingly you do NOT want to shoot people much while yer "it," 'cause if they die you won't be able to tag them. So tag 'em first, then shoot 'em so they can't tag you back.

Lag is particularly a bitch in Tag games because, in addition to th' host's tag speed advantage, it could happen that you kill th' person who's "it" only ta find afterwards that he killed you, and then that he tagged you an' you are now "it." Then you hafta respawn somewhere while he's already respawned elsewhere, an' probably nobody's around ta tag. Doh!

Team Play

In team play, th' team that coordinated their efforts will most likely win. Th' team with th' most total kills at th' end wins, but no matter how good ya are you'll have a hard time gettin' many kills if yer takin' on two or more players at once all by yer lonesome.

Most team games in my experience have devolved into sort of crippled deathmatches, where everyone runs around on their own but only shoots at half th' players. But when a team comes along whose members work together they inevitably carry th' day.

Ya gotta communicate with yer teammates. Now th' obvious method of communication would be ta type a message in yer text field. Trouble is, th' other team can see this message jus' as well as yers can. So be sure ta use th' "#r" "#b" or "red:" "blue:" command-line functions (see th' tips and tricks page fer details) that send messages ta jus' yer teammates.

But even with th' handy whisper function, ya often won't have time ta type out a message before th' proverbial sh!t hits th' proverbial fan. So experienced team players will learn ta read their mates intent by their actions. This jus' comes from playin' with each other a lot, an' knowin' yer teammate's habits.

Ya should also be readin' yer map. It shows yer teammates' positions so if ya get separated pop up th' map an' find 'em as quick as ya can. 'Cause any player, no matter how good, will find themselves hard pressed ta take on two or more Outlaws at once.

Teams should move together. By mutual agreement, ideally unspoken, someone should take point while th' others follow along behind at a little distance from th' point man an' each other. When movin' through difficult terrain th' members should spread out so that everyone covers a different angle.

Really clever teams that coordinate before th' game starts will choose characters with complementary skills. For instance, an Anderson can provide deadly rifle cover while his teammate Mary blows fellers away at short range. Dependin' on th' level one or th' other may end up with fewer kills due ta this kind of strategy, but real team players won't care about personal glory as long as th' team itself wins.

Capture the Flag (CTF)

Capture th' Flag is team play with a specific objective: to capture th' other team's flag. And because you can only score a capture point by bringing th' opponent's flag back ta yer flag, ya gotta defend yer flag at th' same time.

That means th' team hasta learn ta coordinate while separated. At least one person needs to remain on defense an' one on offence at all times, otherwise yer gonna be fightin' a losin' cause. Again yer map plays a vital role. Use it ta check an' make sure that someone's guardin' yer base if yer on offense. On defence, use it to follow th' offense's progress. Th' map shows a mark in th' other team's color on th' indicator for your teammate who's captured th' enemies' flag so when ya see that run out an' give 'em cover fire as they dash home.

Th' map also shows yer flag, or its absence if someone on th' other team has it. So if it ain't at yer base ya'd better find it right quick. No point in defendin' a flagless base: go get it back!

Because ya respawn right at yer base every time ya die, it's sometimes better fer a defender ta get killed an' come back quickly than ta fight on with no effective weapon or ammo. As long as th' opponenent hasn't captured it you'll respawn right on yer flag with ammo an' full health while chances are th' attacker has already been hurt an' is close ta exhaustion.

Th' clever attacker will thus avoid unnecessary gunplay. Yer immediate goal on offense is ta get that flag! If ya kill a defender he's jus' gonna reappear right at his base, so th' best thing ta do is ta wait until you have th' flag an' then kill 'em. That way you'll lose th' pursuit. If ya kill 'em before ya get ta th' flag they'll jus' come right back with full health an' ammo. Again, th' REALLY crafty player will merely wound th' defense until he's secured their flag.

Once he's caught th' enemy flag, this really crafty flag-snatcher will check ta see if his own flag is at his base. If it ain't, he'll hide out somewhere until his teammates get it back an' then he'll run home ta score th' capture. It's self-defeating ta get th' flag an' then jus' run around with it--don't give th' enemy a chance ta rescue their flag.

Special thanks ta Thyroid Storm, blackdeath an' SNOOK fer takin' time out ta help me double-check th' map functions.