Functions (Tribes 2)

Below is a collection of nearly all elements that makeup Tribes 2 as well as some scripts used by experienced players. Features are a lengthy thing to catalog so simple commands such as ‘ski’, ‘jet’, 'disc-mine', & 'disc-jump' have been removed for length’s sake)

I. Command Circuit - Defense and vehicle/flag ‘capper’ (flag carrier) spotting. A well-loved asset assisting with many functions.

1. Place a nav-point on teammates you plan to coordinate an attack with.(BuddyPoints Script)

2. Create your own nav-point markers on the map

3. View where each of your team's bases/assets are located in relationship to yourself.

4. View all of your teammates, and enemies within sight of teammates or sensor network.

5. Click on 1 enemy of your choice in your sensor network. A nav-point will target that enemy whenever they are in your sensor network.

6. Observe the reach of each type of sensor you have active (on/off switch)

7. Observe your teammates (helps determine what armor type your buddy is using)

8. View Current assets and teammates health.

9. Ability to turn on and off indicators for teammates, vehicles, certain types of assets to prevent clutter on the command circuit.

10. Take control of a permanent or deployed turret.

11. Observe the view of a deployable camera. Possible pairing with satchel charge.

12. Create vocal/physical task on a team/enemy asset or player. (ex: defend, destroy, repair, Escort, bomb, target)

13. Ability to Zoom in/out on areas of the map.

14. Return to center of mission area button.

II. Task List - Poor success in T2 due to bulky menu screen & little benefit to use. Would need a re-vamp for use in T:A. Possibly coordinate with the ability for a player to gain in-game credits.

1. accept/decline tasks

2. assign/complete tasks

III. Toss Items - Rid yourself of items to make room for others, or pass items.

1. Trading weapons/packs for those from enemy corpses

2. Tossing health kits to teammates.

3. Passing the flag to a teammate.

IV. Max Toss Items - Removes delay caused by needing to hold down the grenade, toss flag, or mine buttons while attacking/passing/deploying.

V. Observer Functions 1. Observe other players while you are not on a team. (informs them)

2. Multiple speeds for free flying "fly-by" mode.

3. Button mapping to switch between each team's flag when not in fly-by mode. (Useful for tournament play video streaming/”shoutcasting”).

4. Observe 2-5 predetermined camera locations unique to each map at the push of a button. Each are centered around flags, bases, or gameplay epicenters.

VI. Targeting Laser - Entertaining green laser pointer. Both practical and entertaining.

1. Determine Distance to target

2. Create nav-point in the sky for teammates to use 'arc'ing weaponry to easily fire on exact targets

3. Easy to wave around and distract enemy using emote commands. (ex: taunt, wave hello, etc.

4. Later, some scripts allowed targeting for one's self. Point laser rifle to determine exact distance, then use the tick mark in conjunction with the "Arc Distance Reticle" (XLIII) to fire ‘arc’ weaponry (grenade launcher/mortar) at a specific far away target. (Many players disapprove of this rangefinder script).

VII. Interpolate - Used primarily for easier tracking with chaingun and other (machine-gun like weaponry) to compensate and allow more consistent targeting. A client-side function that allows players to emphasize actual coded player location over the default 'smoothed version'. (script)

VIII. Field of View - Image scaling used for wide-screen monitors. (FOV script)

IX. Free Look - Ability to control the camera's direction around your player or vehicle without changing your trajectory.

1. To be used in conjunction with Exterior view.

X. Exterior View - See your character in the 3rd person. View your character from 5 feet behind him/her.

1. Helps remember what pack you are carrying

2. Helps you realize if you have the flag.

3. For use in conjunction with Free Look to determine who/what is chasing or firing at you without changing trajectory.

XI. Beacons - Mark a location. 2 modes (Defense/Offense)

1. Creates a nav-point in the sky for easy targeting with 'arc' weaponry.

2. Many servers auto-deploy defense-type beacons on remote inventory stations to help mark where your teammates hid them.

3. change the color of each type of beacon for preferential use. (script)

XII. Deployable Cameras - For viewing and turret assist.

1. Take control of the camera's convex lens to remotely view a location.

2. Changes nearby turret's mode from Passive to Active (‘active’ meaning turrets will fire much more immediately & intelligently when an enemy approaches)

3. Can be used to target with Missile Launcher

4. Reveals enemies using sensor jammer pack.

5. Placed directly next to force-fields on floor to prevent anyone from entering easily (exploit?)

XIV. Vehicle Assist Commands - keeping squads together and preventing teammates from stealing key vehicles.

1. If a player plans to return to their vehicle they can "Lock" it, preventing teammates from entering the vehicle.

2. A pilot of a vehicle can eject certain passengers if necessary.

XV. Callback Command - Allows players to automatically get their team's attention when they grab the flag. 1 or 2 callbacks after x number of seconds (0-15 Seconds). Informs of current status. (Script)

1. Yell "Help!" or "Cover Me!" both audibly and written in chat. 2. Displays chat message informing teammates of the capper’s total health, if they have a health kit, their current speed, and how many flare grenades they have remaining.

3. Briefly creates nav-point on person in need of help (3 seconds)

4. Allows teammates to accept the task of defending them and creating a semi-permanent nav-point on the flag carrier.

XVI. Chat mute - Prevents particular types of messages from displaying in the chat bar. Removes clutter, and easier access to read typed messages, etc. (script)

XVII. Player Mute - Mute microphone/chat/voice-binds or all communication from a particular player through the duration the player stays on the server.

XVIII. Pilot Mode - Ability for pilots to more easily establish targets for bombing/mid-air non-direct-fire attacks. (script)

1. Shows the bombardier's view/bomber's current attack location.

2. Allows a pilot to independently modify their look sensitivity for 3rd person, separately from 1st person view (unique to each vehicle).

XIX. Zoom Assist - Creates different zoom level preferences for different weapons.(script)

XX. Flag Timer - Countdown until either team's flag auto-returns. (Script)

XXI. Flag Indicator - Informs if flags of either team have been taken, and which player has the flag.

XXII. Heads Up Display Management - Allows players to move screen indicators such as health, energy, heat signature, ammo, weapons list, etc.

1. Re-size Chat HUD [heads-up display]

2. Move HUD’s (script)

XXIII. Mute Observers - Prevents players from realizing they are being observed by others.Mentally prevents players from locking up in a tournament when they feel they are under more pressure by being watched. (script)

XXIV. RoboRoute - Allows a player to record a flag capping route and have a bot run the route.

1. Allows a player better determine the viability of the route and determine weaknesses, used to compare route speed.

2. Also good for practicing turret placement and body blocking. (script)

XXV. Loadout Select - Program a button to change your current inventory loadout without having to enter a loadout menu to a current favorite. Includes ability to set preferences for certain loadouts and save them for every time you load the game. T1 allowed loadouts to be saved as files and transferred to friends or other computers.

XXVI. Weapon/Item Select - Ability to map a button to any item, pack, weapon. Modifies your currently selected loadout by changing 1 item at a time, without needing to view the inventory loadout menu.

XXVII. Weapon Slot Select - Rather than choosing "Next weapon", "Previous Weapon" or cycling through your weapon loadout; map a key to a particular weapon location in your inventory (ex. You can switch to your 3rd weapon out of 5 without scrolling through any weapons in- between).

XXVIII. Fine tune targeting - map keyboard keys to make minor adjustments to your aim. Useful when zoomed in on a beacon's nav-point in the sky.

XXIX. Reticle Remover - Ability to turn off/edit/shrink any weapon's reticle. (script)

XXX. Voicebind Editor - Ability to change the text that appears when a certain voicebind is used. (default & script)

XXXI. Auto-toss Items - Automatically tosses a weapon or item upon spawning

XXXII. Compass - Directional Indicator

XXXIII. Missile Lock Indicator - Indicates whether there is a missile currently tracking you.

XXXIV. Suicide - Used on many capture the flag servers to re-spawn/return to home base. It helps you get back to base quickly to prevent impending attack or chase anyone who stole your flag.

XXXV. Private Message - Send a message to a single individual on either team.

XXXVI. TaskLOS - Automatically waypoints all players (friend and foe) and/or all assets in your field of vision. (script)

XXXVII. Auto-kit - Automatically uses health kit upon taking damage. Alternate scripts allow for automatic use of repair pack while not firing. (script)

XXXIX. Map Editing Tools - Very extensive map editing tools. Too in-depth to discuss here.

XL. Hidden Weapons - Hides weapons so they do not take up the corner of a player's screen. (script)

XLI. Spam Point Scripts - Places a nav-point on a location to stand and in the sky so a player can target enemy assets or crucial points. (is very map specific and must be set up manually) (Scripts like qFireMissions) (many players disapprove of this script)

XLII. Kill Confirm - Plays a sound confirming that you killed an enemy you were attacking enemy. (script)

XLIII. Look Sensitivity - Rate for which a person changes the direction they are looking based on the tracking speed of their mouse.

1. Ability to modify look sensitivity while in certain vehicles.(Pilot Mode script)

2. Ability to modify look sensitivity while using certain weapons. (script)

XLIV. Arc Distance Reticle - A reticle that uses 'bar' marks for arc weaponry. Allowing a player to more easily judge distance when firing on a position x meters away (if the position is at a similar altitude). The reticle marks meter distances of 100-400m in increments of 50m (script).

XLV. Vehicle Transport Pad- Allowed for transport to the mobile point base from your team's vehicle pad (at ground base). A function primarily used in by CTF (Capture the Flag) Players from T2.

XLVI. Demo Recording Tools - Although The recording function was very limited in T2, fans were pleased that this was included none-the-less. It was widely used for tournament play and reviewing matches. Hopefully any future games would allow for more than a play and pause button.

Points of Interest:

1. In T2, hand grenades have different fuse lengths and take longer to detonate depending on which type you use (ex. standard, concussion, whiteout, etc)

2. In T2, the time it takes to change from weapon to weapon varies according to the reload time of the weapon being used. But if you fire a weapon and toss it, then you do not need to wait for the full reload time.

3. No lock-vehicle altitude function was ever incorporated into T2, and neither was a gimbal lock. In maps with a high altitude ceiling it was possible to do a complete flip in your Shrike plane.