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Frozen Synapse
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<a:link*www.frozensynapse.com>http://www.frozensynapse.com</a>

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Contents
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<a:tag*1>Introduction</a>

<a:tag*2>About the Game</a>

<a:tag*3>Getting Started</a>

<a:tag*4>Principles of Combat</a>

<a:tag*5>Units</a>

<a:tag*6>Making a Plan</a>

<a:tag*7>Testing</a>

<a:tag*8>Aiming</a>

<a:tag*9>Firing</a>

<a:tag*10>Giving Orders</a>

<a:tag*11>Orders Reference</a>

<a:tag*12>Advanced Orders</a>

<a:tag*13>Selecting the Next Unit</a>

<a:tag*14>Commit Your Plan</a>

<a:tag*15>UI Toolkit</a>

<a:tag*16>Visibility Tester</a>

<a:tag*17>Outcome Phase</a>

<a:tag*18>Keyboard Shortcuts</a>

<a:tag*19>In-game Menus</a>

<a:tag*20>Home Screen</a>

<a:tag*21>Multiplayer Menu</a>

<a:tag*22>Advanced Setup</a>

<a:tag*23>Game Modes</a>

<a:tag*24>Search</a>

<a:tag*25>Notes on "Duplicate"</a>

<a:tag*26>Friends</a>

<a:tag*27>Profile</a>

<a:tag*28>Options</a>

<a:tag*29>Single Player Menu</a>	

<a:tag*30>Single Player Campaign</a>

<a:tag*31>Skirmish Generator</a>

<a:tag*32>Troubleshooting and Known Issues</a>

<a:tag*33>Level Editor</a>

<a:tag*34>Contact</a>


***
<tag:1>Introduction 
***

Welcome to Frozen Synapse!

If you're a new player, we recommend having a go with the tutorial or taking a look at these <a:link*www.frozensynapse.com/tutorials.html>tutorial videos</a> 

Got a technical problem? You can contact us at support@mode7games.com or visit the forums at  <a:link*forums.mode7games.com>http://forums.mode7games.com</a>


***
<tag:2>About the Game
***

Frozen Synapse is a simultaneous-turn-based game: both players take their turns at the same time, commit them, then watch the results.

Matches take place between two players, or between the player and the computer.

Each player is dealt a "hand" of units: these have different capabilities, weapons and ranges.

There are no health bars; units are killed by one good shot from an enemy or by being caught in an explosion. The game is about pure tactics and outwitting your opponent, rather than ploughing through a resource tree or mindlessly constructing unit rushes!  Not that there's anything wrong with that...

***
<tag:3>Getting Started
***

An interactive tutorial and a quick tutorial video are available in the Single Player menu.

We recommend you play these, then have a quick game against the AI (again from the Single Player menu) to kick things off.  After that, you'll be ready to play online for the first time.

//
The Level
//

When you start a new game, you'll be confronted with a map.

Dark blue areas are walls; light blue areas are half-height objects or windows.

Half-height areas can be ducked behind and fired over.

Explosions caused by rockets can destroy walls, whereas explosions caused by grenades cannot.

To move the camera around the map, hold down the right mouse button and move the mouse, or use the arrow keys.

To zoom, use the mouse-wheel or the "M" and "K" keys.

//
Teams
//

The green team are your units; the red team are hostiles.

In single player, the teal units are units who cannot be attacked by your forces and generally have a hostile affiliation.  

Yellow units are friendly units controlled by the computer - you cannot make plans for them.

Colours can be changed in the Options menu.  If you set custom colours, they will only be seen locally: your opponent in multiplayer will not see any difference.

//
Turns and Plans
//

Matches are comprised of turns that usually last for five seconds. 

Both you and your opponent will need to make a plan, then press the PRIME button on the time bar at the bottom of the screen to commit it.  When both plans are committed, you will both be able to see the outcome of your actions.

In single player, the AI will need to calculate its response to your plan.  The time this takes will vary depending on the performance of your computer.

***
<tag:4>Principles of Combat
***

Combat in Frozen Synapse is based on the following principles:

1. Cover
  
A unit who is behind a half-height area is given an advantage; units ducking behind half-height areas cannot be shot by enemies who cannot see them.

2. Changing stance (transitioning from ducking to standing)

A unit is less likely to win an encounter if he is in the process of changing stance.  

3. Stillness

A unit is less likely to win an encounter if he is moving while engaging.

4. Aiming

A unit is given an advantage for facing in the correct direction, and a further advantage for actively aiming at a hostile.

These are listed in rough order of importance, but all of them are vital to consider when making your plans.  Although they may seem complex at first, if you adopt a tactical mindset when evaluating a map, you will find they come naturally.


***
<tag:5>Units
***

-Bullets-

NOTE:  All bullet-based units fire automatically upon seeing a hostile (this is by default only: you can alter this behaviour with a "Continue On Sight" order).  Their weapons cannot harm friendy units.

//Machine Gunner//

These are the bread-and-butter of your tactical assault team.  With a surprisingly long range, they can cover a significant area of the map and are vital to your assault force.

//Shotgunner//

These have a shorter range than machine gunners, but move much faster and will win most close-quarters encounters.

//Sniper//

Snipers have the longest range, but take a while to fire, so position them where you think they can get a good look at the enemy.

-Explosives-

NOTE:  All explosives units will not fire until you instruct them to.  Their weapons DO harm friendly units.

//Rocket Launcher//

The correct use of a rocket launcher can cause you to dominate the map: their ability to destroy terrain can come in very useful.

Rockets only explode on contact with walls (the edge of the level is not included in this) so you must time their use very carefully.

Rocket launchers normally fire their rockets over half-height objects.  To hit them, the unit must be ducking before firing.

//Grenade Launcher//

Grenades cause more splash damage than rockets, and can be bounced off walls.

Ducking makes no difference to the path of grenades.

-Single Player Only-

//Commando//

The commando unit is, essentially, a very fast shotgunner.  Keep moving it around to make maximum use of its abilities.

//Civilians/

Green civilians can be moved around just like other units.

//?//

There is one other secret unit in the single player.  Explaining it here would spoil your fun; it would make this Help a little bit like a rude clown or a biscuit that looks nice but is actually rubbish.  You know, one of those cheap biscuits?  Like that.


***
<tag:6>Making a Plan
***

To start making a plan, left-click on the unit you wish to select.

You will probably want to move your unit somewhere, so double-click on the map wherever you want him or her to go: this will create a waypoint.

Waypoints are generated with pathfinding: you don't need to make multiple waypoints to guide your unit around an obstacle.  If you want to override the pathfinding and position the next waypoint literally anywhere on the map, just hold down shift and double-click.

If you want to delete the most recent waypoint you have added, just press Backspace.

To delete the last 10 waypoints in your plan, press =.

***
<tag:7>Testing
***

How do we know where our unit will get to in the five seconds he has to move?  We can get an idea by testing our plan, so just click on the Play button on the time bar or press the spacebar.

The plan will run through, and then skip back to the start so you can continue to edit it.

It's important to note that your turn may not play out exactly as it does when you test it: units can react dynamically to hostiles they encounter, so things may happen slightly differently.

However, it's a good idea to test!

***
<tag:8>Aiming
***

Bullet-based units (machine gunners, shotgunners and snipers) will automatically engage any enemy who enters their field of vision by default.

However, they will gain an advantage if they are specifically aiming in a particular direction when an enemy appears.

To tell your unit to aim:

1.  Left-click anywhere on your plan (not just on waypoints) to indicate when you would like your unit to start aiming.  If your unit does not yet have any movement orders, but you would like him to simply start aiming in a particular direction, you can skip this step. 

2.  Click and drag the "aim handle" (the circular token that looks like a crosshair) in the direction you would like your unit to aim.

3.  Test your plan to ensure your order is working correctly

The Aim order is now complete.

Your unit will continue aiming in the direction you have indicated as he walks along.  To change the direction in which he is aiming, simply issue another aim order using the above method.

If you would like to tell your unit to stop aiming completely, you will have to issue a "Cancel Aim" order.  Issuing other kinds of orders is dealt with in the next section.

***
<tag:9>Firing
***

Explosives-based units (rocket launcher, grenade launcher) will only fire when instructed to do so.

To fire a rocket or grenade, drag out the aim handle as normal.  This will simply create a "Fire Now" order, which behaves in a similar manner to an Aim order.

***
<tag:10>Giving Orders
***

You can do more than simply moving your units around and aiming.

To issue an order at the current point on your plan, just open the orders menu with right-click.

If you want to issue an order at a different point, left-click on your plan to select when you would like it to be enacted.  Then right-click to open the orders menu.

You can move orders around your plan by dragging them, and you can delete specific orders by left-clicking on them and pressing Del.

Remember that you can progressively delete your plan and orders using Backspace.  This is handy for quickly re-doing a part of your plan that is not working out as you intended.

***
<tag:11>Orders Reference
***

Here are the basic orders that you can give your units:

//Add Waypoint//

Simply adds a waypoint where you right-clicked.

//Duck//

Causes your unit to crouch down.  Units can move while crouched, and cannot be seen if they are behind half-height areas.  This order is cancelled by a "Stand" order.

//Stand//

Cancels a "Duck" order.

//Cancel Aim//

Use this at a point in your plan to force a unit to stop aiming and return to his default behaviour.

//Continue on Sight//

This causes a unit to ignore all enemies until he is given an "Engage on Sight" order.  If a bullet-based unit is not set to continue on sight, he will stop and engage any enemy he sees: this will often prevent him from moving out of a dangerous situation, or may cause him to be delayed.  Use "Continue on Sight" to evade enemies and have a greater chance of reaching your target position.

//Engage on Sight//

Cancels "Continue on Sight".

***
<tag:12>Advanced Orders
***

//Focus on Enemy//

This causes your unit to ignore all enemies except from the one you have indicated.

Issue this order by left-clicking on your plan at the point when you wish the order to be issued, then right-clicking on the enemy you wish to focus upon.

This order is cancelled by a "Clear Focus / Ignore" order.

//Ignore Enemy//

This causes your unit to ignore a specific enemy.

Issue this order by left-clicking on your plan at the point when you wish the order to be issued, then right-clicking on the enemy you wish to ignore to open the orders menu.

This order is cancelled by a "Clear Focus / Ignore" order.

//Clear Focus / Ignore//

Cancels "Ignore Enemy" and "Focus on Enemy".

//Check//

This causes your unit to glance in a direction briefly.

Issue this order by left-clicking on your plan at the point when you wish your unit to glance, then control-left-clicking at the point where you would like him to look.

Check can also be issued from the orders menu.

//Waiting//

Sometimes you will want your unit to pause at a particular waypoint. 

To do this, drag the small clock-like icon at the bottom-right edge of the waypoint out towards the right.

This is a time handle.  If you now play your plan you will see that the time handle "plays" from left to right, closing up inside the waypoint until it has disappeared.  When it has closed up, your unit will continue along the plan.

You can add orders and aim lines to a time handle - just left-click at the point when you wish the order to be given and issue it as normal.

***
<tag:13>Selecting the Next Unit
***

When you've finished making a plan for your first unit, just click on another one to select it.  Alternatively, you can use the "Next Unit" and "Prev Unit" buttons on the time bar to select other units in your team.

Also, you can use Tab to cycle through the units, and 1-9 to select them.

//Setting up the Opposition//

If you wish, you can now make a plan for your opponent's units as well, in order to test out your strategy.  Just select a red unit and give it a plan as if it were one of your own.

In "dark" game modes (modes where you cannot see the location of hostiles until one of your units has line-of-sight on them), you may see grey units appear.  These are ghosts, and represent the last known position of a particular hostile.  You can give plans to ghosts in exactly the same way as you would with your own units; you can also pick them up and move them around by dragging them.

***
<tag:14>Commit Your Plan
***

When you have finished planning, remember to press PRIME to prime the system and get ready to commit your plan.


***
<tag:15>UI Toolkit
***

In the bottom-right of the screen is a small icon shaped like a spanner.  This opens the UI Toolkit, which can be used for advanced planning.

//Show...//

These functions toggle various elements of plans on and off, enabling you to isloate things that you wish to edit.

"Currently Selected Only" shows only the current waypoint.

//Plan Layers/

If you wish to make a plan which doubles back on itself, you may want to try using "plan layers".  These separate your plan into different sections.

Let's say we wish our unit to move out of cover, then run back into it.  We would start by making a new waypoint at the place where we wish him to run to.  Then, we would select New Plan Layer.  After that, we could make a second waypoint at his starting location, to get him to return there.  This can be repeated as many times as we like, so highly complex routes can be defined.

Once you have started making plan layers, you can move between them using the "Next" and "Prev" buttons.  The "All" button returns you to the normal view, showing all layers simultaneously.

***
<tag:16>Visibility Tester
***

Want to test your unit's line-of-site?  Just hold the "v" key and move the mouse around!


***
<tag:17>Outcome Phase
***

When your opponent's plan is ready, the outcome of the turn will be played automatically: sit back and watch the carnage!

Once the turn is over, the next planning phase will start.

To review a turn which has already happened, just click on it on the time bar: it will play through again.

***
<tag:18>Keyboard Shortcuts
***

Cursor Keys = Scroll the map
M and K = Zoom
Space = Play/Pause
Backspace = Remove waypoints/Orders from last to first
"=" = remove the last 10 waypoints on a plan
Delete = Remove selected order
D = Duck
S = Stand
C = Continue on Sight
E = Engage on sight
X = Cancel Aim
Hold V = Test visibility
Tab = Cycle through your units
1-9 = Select one of your units by its number

***
<tag:19>In-game Menus
***

//Chat//

Click the chat icon at the top-left in-game to connect directly to our IRC channel!

To close chat, simply click the chat icon again, or the "x" at the top-right of the window.

The "Size" button cycles through various different window sizes.

//In-game Chat//

You can also chat directly to your opponent while in a game by using the chat icon on the top-right info pane.

If you or your opponent are not currently in the same game together, and you attempt to chat, a message will be sent inviting you both into the IRC channel.  Use IRC for chat that will persist across different games, and for general communication.

//Help//

Click the Help icon (the question mark at the top-left) to get information on the current game mode.

In single player, this icon will replay the current mission briefing.

//Main Menu//

I mean, seriously, come on.  Surely you can guess this one?  Yes?  Are we done here?

//Game//

-Export to Youtube-

If you wish to export the currently-open game to YouTube, use this dialogue.

You can enter a title and description for your video.

The game must currently render to the screen while it is encoding your video, so please be patient while this is happening.  Anything you do on-screen will be reflected in the video.

The video will upload automatically in the background, but may take a little while to appear in your YouTube account while it is being processed.

Please don't close Frozen Synapse while a video is uploading.

You can also render videos locally and upload them yourself.  They are always saved as "record.ogv" in the root of the game's directory, so you will need to re-name this file if you wish to save multiple videos in this way.

//Info Pane//

In the top-right-hand corner of the screen, you will see the info pane.  This indicates your name, your opponent's name, the current game mode, the current turn-limit and whether it is a light (can see hostiles' locations all the time) or dark (must have line-of-sight to see hostiles) match.

It also has a Chat button which allows you to chat directly with your opponent.

//Traffic Lights//

The "traffic lights" and mode selector in the bottom-left of the screen enable you to quickly get into a game.

Simply click on the red light to change it to amber or green.  Here are the meanings:

Red - I don't want a game right now

[Please note - you can still be directly challenged to a game while you are set on 'Red'.  If you do not wish notifications to appear while playing Single Player, then use Offline mode which is selectable when the game starts up.]

Amber - Available to play a game

Green - Actively seeks out a game for you

//Mode Selector//

Click on the "Modes" at the bottom-left to bring up the mode selector.  Click on modes to light up the ones you would prefer to play.

//Games List//

The "Games" button at the bottom-left displays the current number of active games.  Click it to open the games list.

The NEW in the left-hand-column indicates that this game requires your attention.

Its ID is used to reference it - you can search for games using their ID.

The "Vs" column shows your opponent.

The "Game Mode" column is ludicrously obvious.

The "Turn" column tells you which turn you're currently in.

"Hide Game" allows you to ignore games which you don't currently wish to play.  "Show Hidden Games" will reveal those games again.

***
<tag:20>Home Screen
***

The Home screen will give you quick access to various parts of the game.

Double-click on a Top Player to see their profile.

To watch the Featured Game, just click the "Load" button.

The News area will give you stimulating updates on the state of the game and community.

***
<tag:21>Multiplayer Menu
***

If you would like to join a game right away, just hit "Find Me a Game".

To set further options, hit "Create A Game".

Opponent:  type in your opponent's name or leave blank for random

Game mode: select the game mode

-People Online-

The "People Online" sidebar shows all of the current players online, their level, and your record against them.  Your friends are listed first.  
Double-click on a player's name to see their profile.

Click once on a player, then...

...use the "Friend" button to add that player to your Friend List.

...use the "Challenge" button to challenge them.

-Levels-

The higher the number in brackets next to your name, the better you are!  

Just like in real life.  Levels are given based on your performance in multiplayer matches - when you level up, you will be notified at the end of a match.

To see your current level, click the Profile button (the one with your username on it) in the Main Menu.


***
<tag:22>Advanced Setup
***

Warning: Advanced Setup is very powerful and can easily create broken levels - take care when using it!

Advanced Setup is accessed via the "Create Game" button on the multiplayer screen.

This will allow you to generate your own levels and set up a game on them.

The generation and unit buttons on the left sidebar will edit the currently visible level.

Once you are ready to activate your level, click the "Submit" button.

You can then specify the game mode, your opponent, the visibility mode and other options.


***
<tag:23>Game Modes
***

//Multiplayer//

-Light-

In Light game types, your opponent's units are visible throughout the match.

-Dark-

In Dark game types, your opponent's units are only visible when your units have line-of-sight on them.  When a hostile goes out of visual range, a Ghost appears.  Ghosts can be dragged around, and you can make plans for them.

[A Note on Placement: In game modes where a green zone is visible, you may drag your units around in this zone during their first turn to set their starting location.  Remember to also make a plan for them during the first turn - you wouldn't want them to just stand there!]

-Extermination-

In Extermination, your objective is to kill all of your opponent's units while keeping all of your squad alive.

-Secure-

In this game mode, one team must attack an area of the map and the other must defend it for five turns. 

The attackers must get a unit into the area; this unit must then remain alive for three seconds.

When the match loads, you will see a grid of blue lines overlaying the map.  You are now bidding on an area that you think you will be able to defend for five turns, given the hand of units that you have been dealt.  Click on boxes to bid them, click again if you wish to deactivate them.

If you want the computer to bid for you, just click "bid for me".

Pay attention to the red area when making your bid: the attacking team must start their first turn somewhere within that area.

Once you have finished your bid, click Prime.

The team who has bid the larger area will be defending.  He must start his units within the zone he has bid.

In the first turn, you may drag your units to move them around within their starting zones, as well as as making a plan for their actions.  In the future, there may well be a separate placement phase to clarify this process.

The attackers may not win the match for two turns.

The red outlined boxes shown on the map denote the losing bid - they are present for information only.

-Disputed-

In Disputed, a series of boxes appear on the map at the start of turn 5. 

The team who collects the larger number of boxes and escapes to the exit zone around the edge of the map will win.

A team must score three or more boxes to win.

If all of one team dies or escapes, the other team will automatically collect the remaining boxes.

-Hostage-

The units in the middle of the map with "H" next to them are hostages.

Team 1 must stop the hostages escaping.

Team 2 must help the hostages to escape to the yellow escape zones around the edge of the map.

Team 1 cannot shoot the hostages while they are in their starting zone.

Team 2 can control the hostages, but only while they are in their starting zone.

When Team 2 wants the hostages to leave their starting zone, they must be given their entire plan to escape at once - this plan cannot be modified once the hostages have left their starting zone.

Both teams can drag their units around at the start of the game within their respective starting zones (the green zones).

The hostages cannot leave their starting zone in the first turn.

-Charge-

In Charge, players bid to see how far down the map they can get their units.

The player who bids the furthest will be attacking.  He must get a unit over the line and keep it alive for three seconds.

The player who loses the bidding will be defending: trying to stop him accomplishing this.

***
<tag:24>Search
***

Click the magnifying glass icon at the top of the menu to search for players and games.

***
<tag:24>Rankings
***

Frozen Synapse has four ranking systems

-Global Ranking-

A simple ranking of total points acrued.  A loss gives negative points and a win positive points. 

-Daily Ranking-

The same, but only on games in the last 24 hours. 

-Score Streak-

Consecutive wins without a loss.

-Daily Percentage-

This is based on the Duplicate system, which is discussed below...

***
<tag:25>Notes on "Duplicate"
***

When completing a match, you will see a "Watch Next Duplicate" button.  Also, duplicates are available from a game's info page (you get to this by searching for a specific game by its ID).

Here are some notes on the concept of Duplicates...

Whenever Frozen Synaps finds you a game, you play a randomly generated map.  Duplicate keeps this, but means that other people will play the same maps as you do.  Whenever you get into a match, the FS server will try and find a recent “Duplicate” map which neither you nor your opponent have played.  If it finds one, you play that map.  If it doesn’t, the system generates a new map, which future players will also play on. 

When you finish a match,  you have two scores – the “map” score, and the “duplicate” score.

-The Map Score-

This is the regular score.  In basic Extermination, it is calculated as...

10 * kills – 10 * losses + a bonus of 20 for wiping out the opposing team

So let’s say you’ve just played a match against Bin, and you killed two of his guys and he killed one of yours – you have a score of 10.

-The Duplicate Score-

As you post your score on the match, the FS server looks at all other matches played on that map.  Let’s say the following results were posted:

Ian vs Paul – Ian wins, score of 20
You vs Bin – You win, score of 10
ThomS vs Archa – Draw, score of 0

Your Duplicate Score is defined as the percentage of people you beat on this map.  In this instance, you did better than ThomS but worse than Ian, so you get a score of 50%.  ThomS’s score will be 0% (he beat no people), and Ian’s is 100% (he beat everyone).

Paul’s score on this map is defined as -20, ie the loser’s Map score is the negative of the winner’s.  Paul’s Duplicate Score is 0 because he beat no-one, Bin’s is 50 and Archa’s is 100.

Duplicate Scoring only compares you to the other people who played as your side.  In this instance, Ian, you, and Bin are being compared to each other, and Paul, Bin, and Archa are being compared to each other.
Why?

These reasons:

1. By far and away the biggest reason is that Duplicate Scoring allows you to have un-even sides in a battle, and for the result to still be competitive and meaningful.  Even with the comparitavely even sides in standard Extermination matches there are still complaints about unfairness.  I personally think that this adds texture and makes FS better, but Duplicate really takes away the notion of unfairness from map and unit layout.

2. A leaderboard based on Duplicate Percentage is one of the most fair and representitive scoring methods there is.  Your performance on each match is no longer compared to just one person (your opponent) – it is now compared against tens or hundreds of other results.  But a bad result on one match will not kill your leaderboard chances, as it only makes up a small percentage of your score for the day.

3. After finishing a game, seeing how others played the same map is really fun and interesting.  Maybe they took an amazing line at turn 1, or maybe they did something stupid you’d never do.  It’s just fun to interact with.

***
<tag:26>Friends
***

The face icon on the Main Menu takes you to the Friends screen.

"Friends" are people who you have selected to follow, who have also befriended you.

"Followers" are people who have befriended you, but you have not yet returned the favour!

To add or remove a friend, type in their username and use the appropriate button.


***
<tag:27>Profile
***

To view information about yourself, as well as your match history, click the button with your username on it at the top-right of the Main Menu.

-Favourite Games-

These are games you have "liked" by clicking the "Like" button visible on the post-match screen.

-Top Games-

These are games in which you have featured that other people have "liked".  They are sorted by the number of "likes".

***
<tag:28>Options
***

Most options should be self-explanatory aside from...

"Use simultaneous AI processing" - you will almost always want to keep this checked; however on very low- end systems, it may not be possible to run the game while using this option.  AI turn calculations in single player will take much longer with this unchecked, but the game itself will run faster.


***
<tag:29>Single Player
***

-Tutorial-

Here you can view Tutorial materials, natch.

-Campaign-

When you haven't begun a campaign yet, just hit "Start Campaign" to get going.

When a campaign is in progress, "Resume Campaign" will take you to the start of the current turn in whatever level you have reached.  Your progress is saved automatically - you can leave a campaign at any time without losing your progress.

-Play Unlocked Missions-

This will allow you to play any iteration of any mission you have previously generated in the campaign.

Select a mission from the list and click "Play" to play a random instance.

To play a specific instance, select a mission from the list and then select the seed you wish to play.

If you wish to share a seed with a friend, just copy it from the text field using CTRL-C

-Campaign Profile-

This is only required if you wish to play through the campaign multiple times, or you are sharing your computer with another person.

If you wish to start a new playthrough, press the "Add" button and type a name for your new profile.  You can switch between profiles using the drop-down selector.

-Instant Skirmish-

This just generates a quick skirmish Extermination match against the AI.

-Skirmish Generator-

Takes you to the Skirmish Generator, which is entirely deserving of its own section...

***
<tag:30>Single Player Campaign
***

The campaign is divided up into "Operations" - groups of three missions.

After each operation is complete, you will see the Operation Control screen.

On this screen you can chat to characters (by clicking on their portraits), open Dossier articles (by clicking on them and then clicking "Load Dossier") and start the next mission by clicking "Start Operation".

You can also read news items from the city on the ticker.

When you're in a campaign mission, clicking the "?" icon at the top-left will replay the briefing.


***
<tag:31>Skirmish Generator
***

The Skirmish Generator allows you to use Frozen Synapse's map generation system to create many different kinds of AI skirmishes.

It is a very powerful tool and is capable of producing maps that may be difficult for both the AI and your machine to cope with.  

The performance indicator text at the bottom-left of the screen should help give you an idea of whether the map you are trying to create will be playable!

Many settings should be self-explanatory; here are some that may be a little more opaque...

-Spawn Type-

"Situation" spawns units in random locations around the map.

"Opposite Sides" spawns you across the map from your opponent.

-AI Type-

This should mostly be self-explanatory; OldAI is an AI variant which takes less into account and generally works out as being less aggressive.

The "Randomise" buttons allow you to randomise your squad.

You can save or load generation presets using the UI at the bottom-left of the page.

You can share or import settings directly using the appropriate buttons.

Specific seeds can also be used; just input these in the text field at the bottom-right.

***
<tag:32>Troubleshooting and Known Issues
***

-General advice-

Please first ensure your graphics card drivers are up to date.

If you have a problem and you are running in Windows, please try running Frozen Synapse as Administrator.


-GAME CRASHING ON LOAD-


Fix #1:

Open common/preferences/prefs.cs and place this at the bottom of the file:

$pref::disableMenuBackgrounds = 1;

Close, save, and restart FS.

Fix #2:

Do you have an ATI 6900 series card?  If so, there is a short-term existing prolem with the ATI drivers.

Setting the vsync to always on via the catalyst control center fixes the issue.

Fix #3:

ATI card owners may need to find specific new openGL drivers for their cards.


-GAME CRASHING AT WEIRD TIMES IN THE MENUS-

Please go into the options and check "disable menu backgrounds" and restart.


-CANNOT CONNECT TO THE GRAND SERVER/ COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS-


Fix #1:

Please check that you have opened port 28021 for TCP traffic both ways.


Fix #2:

Resetting your router may fix this issue.


Fix #3:

If your username has a weird character in it, please email support: support@mode7games.com


Indeed, if you have any kind of problem then mail support@mode7games.com - we want to help you ASAP.

***
<tag:33>Level Editor
***

The Frozen Synapse level editor is currently officially unsupported and may cause crashes.

To open it, open the console with ` (above the TAB key) and type

loadEditor();

You're on your own from there, visit the modding forums at http://forums.mode7games.com for more instructions.

If you get REALLY stuck then mail support@mode7games.com.



***
<tag:34>Contact
***

Twitter: @mode7games

Facebook: <a:link*www.facebook.com/pages/Frozen-Synapse/297858703892>http://www.facebook.com/pages/Frozen-Synapse/297858703892</a>

Forums:  <a:link*forums.mode7games.com>http://forums.mode7games.com</a>

Support: support@mode7games.com

Anything Else: paul@mode7games.com

