Action Quake FAQ
last updated on 6/7/99

This FAQ adresses those questions commonly asked while playing the game.   Players are strongly encouraged to visit the message board for further questions, answers, and a general good time. :)
 

Cap'n Swoosh says: This here FAQ was commissioned by Admiral's Bartender and Suislide, who obviously have a keen eye for them whats got experience.  For the purposes of the FAQ, I'm allowing some land lubber to be answerin the technical portion of the questions; but as what there is no man alive who knows more about swashbucklin than yours truly, I'll be jumpin in from time to time with suggestions and comments as the sittyation warrants.  So the long and short of it is, if you come sniffin for a place to learn the know how that I and many other seasoned pirates got about killin and what not, you come to the right spot.  Now, on to the questions.

I died from a single shot!

Can I carry more than one special weapon or item at a time?

What's this IRvision I keep hearing about?

I don't want my special weapon or item anymore.  How can I pick up another?

How do I zoom in with the sniper rifle?

How do I throw the knife?

What is the grappling hook command?

My gun is empty!  How do I reload?

I can't seem to hit anyone, let alone kill them!

How do I open doors?

Why won't I stop losing health?

Help!  I've fallen and I can't get up!  (or, Why did I take so much damage from that fall?)

What's with the limp?

I've just joined a teamplay server, how do I start playing?

I've just joined this team server, but everyone looks the same!  What is this all about?

Oops!  I picked the wrong team and I want to switch.  How do I do this?

How do I start a server?

Will AQ2Seal work with a LAN?

What's the deal with all these other AQ2 mods, like AQ2: Gangsters, and AQ2:CTB?

Bots bots bots! What about bots?

How do I make radio sounds?

Is the A-Team working on Q3?

This FAQ didn't answer my question.  Where can I go for more detailed answers?
 

1) I died from a single shot!
 

Answer:    You were just shot in the head.  Action Quake is based more on "reality" than your average mod.  Anyone can be lethal with some skill and some luck, no matter what weapon or how much health they have.

Cap'n Swoosh says:  Keep yer fool head down whenever possible, swabbie.  These here are bullets headed for you and mighty fast.  One shot to yer noggin and its a deep swim to Davy Jones.

2) Can I carry more than one special weapon or item at a time?
 

Answer:     Everyone starts out with a pistol and a knife.  A player may also carry one special weapon and one special item.   There is an exception: you may carry one additional special weapon if you are wearing a bandolier as your special item.   In rare cases, a  server op may have tweaked something to allow players to carry more than the standard, but this is rare.

3) What's this IRvision I keep hearing about?
 

Answer:  This is another unique feature of the bandolier, a special item.  Bind a key to "irvision" and as long as you are wearing a bandolier, all bodies will appear red, no matter how deep in shadow they may be.  Dead bodies glow just as brightly as live bodies, so pay close attention to posture before you start shooting.

4) I don't want my special weapon or item anymore.  How can I pick up another?
 

Answer:    Bind one key to 'drop item,' and another to 'drop weapon.'   Pressing one of these will toss your current special weapon or item away, freeing up your slot to scavenge anything you find on the ground.

5) How do I zoom in with the sniper rifle?
 

Answer:    Bind a key to 'weapon.'  Pressing that key will cycle through three zoom factors (2x, 4x, and 6x,) then back to normal.  Old versions of Action Quake used the 'lens' command to zoom in, but it was changed to "weapon," with version 95.

Cap'n Swoosh says:  Whoever thought of affixing a telescope to thier musket were a genius, and can be me first mate on any voyage.

6) How do I throw the knife?
 

Answer:    Bind a key to 'weapon.'  Pressing that key will prepare the knife to be thrown.  Fire at will.

Cap'n Swoosh says:    Aim true, swabs, as there is no weapon more difficult to kill with. And to a pirate's heart, none more satifsying.  Arrr!

7) What is the grappling hook command?
 

Answer:   There is no grappling hook.

Cap'n Swoosh says:  This ain't no land lubbin lithium, lad!  There be no hooks here what aren't attached to a maties arm in place of a hand..

8) My gun is empty!  How do I reload?
 

Answer:    Bind a key to 'reload.'   The shotgun and the sniper rifle reload one shell at a time.  The machine guns and the pistol reload one clip at a time.  The handcannon reloads one shot at a time.

9) I can't seem to kill anybody, let alone hit them.
 

Answer:    Your accuracy while firing a gun is directly related to your speed.   Shots fired will be most off the mark if you are running as you shoot.   The shots get more accurate the slower you move.  In other words, if you want to be accurate, HOLD STILL!  If you can crouch, your accuracy is at its best.  Of course, holding still makes you easier to hit, but that is the trade off... you can't get something for nothing!  Just remember, one shot to the head will kill, so precision counts.

Cap'n Swoosh says:  Arrr... lad, if ye can't kill a man maybe ye ought to just stay ashore then.  These here seas can be rough, and she requires rough men to sail upon her.

10) How do I open doors?
 

Answer:    Bind a key to 'opendoor.'  Then when you are near a door, press that key.  This command also closes a door that is already open.

11) Why won't I stop losing health?
 

Answer:    You've been wounded in battle and are bleeding to death.  Quick! bind a key to 'bandage.'  Use it whenever you get shot, or your health will slowly drain away.  Note:  You can't shoot or reload while bandaging, so try to find someplace out of the way.

Cap'n Swoosh says:  By the powers, lad!  Out at sea the ship's doc can't always be on hand.  Any man who calls hisself a pirate better know a thing about fixin up wounds, or he ain't a pirate for long.

12) Help!  I've fallen and I can't get up!  (or, Why did I take so much damage from that fall?)
 

Answer:    Like we said, this mod is based more on "reality" than most.  You can jump down two crates worth, or about twice your height, and not get hurt.  More than that and it will be painful.  Very.

13) What's with the limp?
 

Answer:    You've either been shot in the legs, or you've taken damage from a fall.  Either way, you must bandage yourself to stop the limp.

Cap'n Swoosh says:   In my case, I limp because of me peg leg.  And I won't be hearin no sass out of you on that account neither, swab.  I'll run you through soon as look at you, peg leg or no.

14)  I've just joined a teamplay server, how do I start playing?
 

Answer:  Pick a team and wait until the next round.  As soon as one team eliminates the other, a new round will start and you will get to play.  Recommendation: join the team with fewer players.  If teams are tied for players, choose the team with fewer points.

15)  I've just joined this team server, but everyone looks the same!  What is this all about?
 

Answer:  The server uses "non-official" models and/or skins; ie, they weren't included in the official client pak.  If Quake can't find the skin or model requested by the server, it uses the default model/skin, which for Action Quake is the "resdog" skin.  You know, the guy in the black suit and sunglasses.  What you need to do is get the models/skins that the server uses.  The easiest way to do that is to turn on the "auto-download" feature included with Quake2.  Go to your multiplayer menu and choose 'player setup.'  At the bottom of the list, you'll see a line that says "download options."  Go there and change every option you see to "YES,"  then reconnect to the server.   Now you will begin downloading the models/skins that you need directly from the server.  It can take a long time if you have a pokey phone modem like me, so be prepared for a wait.  Don't worry about unzipping or anything like that, because the server puts everything into the proper place on your hard drive.  Once its all downloaded, the game starts as normal and you may frag at will.

16) Oops! I picked the wrong team and I want to switch.  How do I do this?

Answer:  Pull down your console (usually with the ~ key) and type team 1 or team 2, depending.  You can also type the name of the team you want to join in place of the number.  For example, typing 'team swashbucklers' will switch you to the Swashbucklers team.

17) How do I start a server?
 

Answer:  The easy way is to use AQ2 Seal.  Link provided here.  The hard way is to figure out all the server commands and DM flags, and that is beyond the scope of this FAQ.

18) Will AQ2Seal work with a LAN?
 

Answer: Yes.

19) What's the deal with all these other AQ2 mods, like AQ2: Gangsters, and AQ2:CTB?
 

Answer:  Early in 1999, the source code for AQ2 was made public.  The various AQ2 mods you see referred to around the net are the result of dedicated AQ2ers taking the source code and making additions and/or changes to it, then releasing it under a new name.  Note: while these "community" coders have produced some incredibly fun AQ2 mods, none of them are as yet "officially supported."  Which means that the A-Team is not able to provide any tech support or answer your questions; you must go to the coder of the particular AQ2 mod you have questions about.

20) Bots bots bots! What about bots?
 

Answer: It's coming! But its not out yet. A fanatastic coder named William is working on one as we speak. Its due to come out, well, soon. Check out his website for the latest news.

21) How do I make radio sounds?
 

Answer:  Bind a key to the radio sound you want your teammates to hear.  [bind KEY "radio treport"] is one example.  Pressing KEY will call out, "Team, report in!"   For a complete list of the radio binds, consult the radio.txt that came with the clientpak.  Additionally, installing the clientpak should have dropped a zip file with some sample .cfgs into your quake2/action folder.  Browse these sample .cfgs for the radio commands too; they have been bound to the number pad and the number keys.  Cut and paste at your pleasure or peril.

22) Is the A-Team working on AQ3?

Cap'n Swoosh says: Perhaps I oughta let Admiral Suislide answer this.

"AQ3 remains a possibility but for the moment AHL is our only project and our only concern."

Arrrrr!

23) This FAQ didn't answer my question.  Where can I go for more detailed answers?
 

Cap'n Swoosh says:   Ahoy, me hearties! Put on yer land legs and step over to the Action Message Board.   It can be a rough place, true, but the rum's good and flows freely, sure enough.  So if ye have an eye to adventure on the high seas, (and more importantly ye got a generous hand with the dubloons and the grog,) there will be a matey there willin to help out, and you may lay to that.