Last Updated: 04/17/98
CRBotv1.12
BEST VIEWED 1024x758 / 800x640
THE BOT EPIDEMIC HELP GUIDE
SERIES
Created by:
Mike
Malakhov
Go check out
The Official CRBot Hompage
Guide by Floyd
WELCOME TO THE 2nd Edition of the setup Guide!
I hope to provide you with all the essential data
to quickly and easily get
CRBot up and running on your PC. As well as provide
in depth looks at the commands
and finer points on botting with CRBot. I will also
provide regular updates as they
become available. But if something
major happens in a release
all the info will be provided in the Current News
section.
_______________________________________________________
If you have any questions or comments regarding this
bot, please drop me a line.
And I will try to field any intelligent questions
as quickly as possible.
Also since this is a new version of the setup guide-
I'd appreciate any feedback you may have about it.
_________________________________________________
Ok, Nuff said. Lets get started.
Current
News
Mike has worked on the CTF stuff quite extensively
and has added some new commands
to the CTF mix, as well as adding new twists to the
regualr DM games, by providing a
Rune option. Sorta like Lithium Deathmatch.
The use of the grapple is also interesting in the
non-CTF levels too.
Mike has also addressed the fact that the bots have
to learn the maps each time you play. And with
CTF this gets a little annoying, so he has created
a nodemap table for the ThreeWave Capture
Maps.(q2ctf1-q2ctf5). Be warned your CPU will
take a hit, and a slower machine this mean
some chunkyness in certain area's! He has also
added a command that lets you save the nodes
for other maps for future use. Just make sure you've
played long enough for the bots to know the
map before you save.
Click here to see how the commands
work.
Getting
Started
The first thing you need to do is make sure you have
the most current version of Quake2.
Now you do have CRBOT don't you? Got
get it from the Downloads section as
well.
I am going under the assumption that you have had
atleast a little experience on the internet.
(you are here now aren't you?!?)
And you have downloaded programs, pictures or something
before. And have used either WINZIP
PKUNZIP to extract files from a '.zip'ed archive
before.
If you have neither of these programs (preferably
WINZIP) then go here and download
it.
I will provide a quick instruction to extracting
the CRBot from the .zip using WINZIP.
Ok, Nuff said.
Let's get started.
Setup
Guide
Locate the zip and double click on it. Or run WINZIP
then load the CRBOT zip into it.
Now select everything and extract it into a
new folder called CRBOT inside of your Quake2 directory.
CTF NOTES:
MAKE SURE YOU COPY THE 'PAK0'
file from your CTF directory, into
your CRBOT directory.
Now close down WINZIP. Fire up Windows Explorer,
and locate the QUAKE2 directory.
Select your Quake2.exe. Then <right-click> on
it, and select 'CREATE SHORTCUT' from
the pop up menu. Should be something like 'copy
of quake...'. Rename it to something
you'll remember. Now select the copy, and <right-click>
on it again. This time
select PROPERTIES at the bottom of the menu. Now
select the SHORTCUT Tab
from the top. In the 'TARGET' field you should see
"C:\Quake2\quake2.exe" click at the
end of the line and type the following :
+set game "crbot" +set death match
1 +set ctf 0
(this is optional, as it will turn off Capture the Flag)
save it.
Now you have the option of either dragging the file
onto your desktop, thereby creating
a shortcut. Or you can make a short cut to it inside
of your Quake2 Directory in your
Programs folder from the START menu.
I prefer the latter, but I'm anal about a neat desktop.
So lets quickly cover the
steps to doing this.
Go to your desktop if you aren't there already. Select
the start menu. Now select the
SETTINGS MENU, then select TASK BAR from there.
When the window pops up;
select START MENU PROGRAMS tab. Then select ADVANCED
from the 'Customize
Start Menu'. (This will bring up an interface
very similar to Windows Explorer.)
Now click on the programs folder on the left hand
column. This will give you a directory
of the contents in your PROGRAMS MENU. Now
find QUAKE2 folder. Click on it.
Now go up the FILE menu at the top of the window,
and select NEW/SHORTCUT.
When a window pops up asking you for the location.
Select BROWSE, and find your CRBOT
shortcut in your QUAKE2 directory. After selecting
it. Click on NEXT, there you'll be asked the
name you wish to call the shortcut. Should now be
something like ACE. But you
can name it anything you like. From there just click
on finish. And that's it.
Now either double <click> on your desktop shortcut.
Or open up the shortcut from
your START/PROGRAMS menu.
Did it load up Quake2?
If not, run through this check list:
-
Do I have the most current version of Quake2?
-
Do I have a folder named 'CRBot' in my Quake2 folder?
-
Is all the pertinent files needed to run it in the CRBot folder?
(ie.
gamex86.dll)
-
Did I type the shortcut out correctly?
-
If CTF isn't working, did you copy the pak0 file from your CTF Directory
to your CRBOT directory?
-
Re-Read over the setup guide above.And read the accompanying ReadMe.txt
that came with your bot.
If it still isn't working. Mail
me, and tell me what exactly is happening.
Ok, So you got it working. And you are sitting at
the Quake2 main menu. Just hit the
'~' - TILD key up on the top left corner of your
keyboard. Just next to the '1' key.
This should bring down the console. Now you
need to select the map you wish to play, so type:
map <name>
Where <name> is just insert your favorite
map. (ie. Base1, Q2DM1, IKDM1, SPBOTDM1)
If you don't know the name of the map, or would
like to see the list of maps you currently have, type:
dir maps\*.bsp
When your new map pops up, type:
sv addbots 3 1
This will spawn a bot with a skill of 3 for your
fragging pleasure.
Ok, now lets have a look at the complete commands
list.
note: You can do most of these commands from the built
in menu system, click on it above for info.
-
sv addbots <skill> <amount>
This commands is used to spawn several bots into your level
to frag it out with. Where <skill>
can range from 0 to 10. 1 (Easiest) 10(ridiculous aim).
0 is a special skill that makes the bot dynamically
adjust its level to yours of play. (ie. by dropping a level
every second time it kills you. And raising a level
every second time you kill it.) Skill can also be set to
be variable by using <min_skill>..<max_skill>, as seen
in the example below. Just REMEMBER to stick 2 dots(periods) between
the ranges.
[ sv addbots 3 5 ] -- this
will spawn 5 bots with a skill of 3.
[ sv addbots 2..6 5] -- this will spawn 5 bots
with varying skill between 2 and 6.
-
sv addbot "<name">" <skill>
<model> <skin> <team_no>
Use this command to add individual bots. Where <name> is the name you
wish to call your bot.
<skill> is (0-10); <model> is the name of the model you wish
to use; <skin> is where you tell CRbot what
skin to wrap around your model; and <team_no> is where
you assign a team(if any) the bot is to be on. This
can be a number from 1 - 9. Leaving this slot blank, or by
putting in a 0, will tell CRBOT that this is an individual.
(ie. Bot will act on its own.)
Look over the examples below VERY carefully!
folder name of model
|
| folder to look for skin
| |
| |
skin name
| |
|
[ sv addbot "Zena" 4 female female/cobalt 0 ] -- this will spawn Zena
with a skill of 4, using COBALT
from the Female directory.
[ sv addbot "Ranx" 3 cyborg cyborg/matrix 1 ] -- this will spawn a Cyborg
named RANX, with a skill of 3,
using the Matrix skin, and will be on Team 1.
[ sv addbot "Sniper" 6 male male/sniper 4 ] -- this will spawn a Male
named SNIPER, with a skill of 6,
using the Sniper skin, and will be on Team 4.
Removes the bot <name> game permanently. (ie. sv killbot ranx)
Use this to set the <#> of the team for the next created bot. 1 - 9
are valid team numbers.
And 0 will designate that they will be individuals(not on
a team), which is the default anyway. Bots on
a team will not intentionally harm another team member.
The examples for this are held off till a little
further down, because I wish to show you how to use this in
conjunction with the other commands.
The default for this is "male", but can be set to any of the
current models that reside in your players
folder. (ie. c:\quake2\baseq2\players\ ) So the next created
bot would use this model.
[ bot_model astro ]
[ bot_model female ]
[ bot_model battloid ]
Default for this is "male/viper". But as above, this can be
set to any of the skins that reside in the
models directory you wish to use. (ie c:\quake2\baseq2\players\
)
[bot_skin astro/astroboy
]
[ bot_skin female/voodoo
]
[ bot_skin battloid/max_genius ]
Puts you into team <#> (1-9) with bots.
Example 1:
[ bot_team 1
] --
This sets the next created bots to be on team 1
[ bot_skin "male/grunt" ]
-- This sets the next created bots skin to Grunt
[ sv addbots 3..7 4
] --
This will spawn a team of 4 bots with above settings, and skills from 3..7
Example 2:
[ bot_team 2
] -- This sets
next created bots to team 2
[ bot_model "female" ]*
-- This sets the model for next created bots to female
[ bot_skin "female/stiletto" ]
-- This sets the female skin to Stiletto
[ cmd join_team 2
] -- and this
puts me onto team 2, and will effectively make it a 4 on 4 deathmatch.
[ sv addbots 3..8 3
] -- This spawns
3 female Stiletto skinned bots, with varying skills from 3 to 8
* -- please note that in EXAMPLE 1 no BOT_MODEL command
was used because CRBot defaults to "male"
Since we are on the subject of teams, lets go ahead and cover
the extended TEAM-PLAY options.
Type this in to see team scores, and total frag count per team..
Use this to summon all the members of your team to your location.
Let it be noted that this only works with bots not engaged in combat.
And sometimes it takes them
a while to get to you. They tend to gather items first as a priority(which
is not to say its a bad thing,
but just so you know they may not come to your immediate aid).
This will tell all bots to form a tight formation around you. When they
do make it to you, they will salute.
And generally sit and rotate on that spot until you
move. Then they will attempt to follow you. Be warned! This
doesn't work exactly as you may think. They tend to
follow the 'straightest line to the leader' theory. So
if you were on a ledge above them, they would only stay near you,
and not to find a way up to you.
This will tell the selected bot, or if no bot is specified, the whole formation
to disperse, and act on its own accord.
Useful for freeing up bots previously given duties to guard an
area, or patrol a path or hall.
-
cmd team_guard [bot name]
This will tell a specified bot to guard an area directly in front of you.
Which usually means they will collect a few items, then return
to the specified spot, and stay and guard the area.
If not told to a specific bot, it will effect any bots visible in front
of you.
-
cmd team_patrol [bot name]
This will tell a specified bot to patrol an area. As with cmd team_guard,
if no bot was specified, it will
effect any bot(s) directly infront of you. As a note this term
patrol is used loosely here. A bot that's given the command
to patrol will roam a pretty large area (depending on the map)
and will return to the general area from which it was told
to patrol. So keep this in mind. But this does have some
good uses: like having a bot patrol an area in a CTF map
and another one set to guard an area just ahead of him, or near
the flag, that way if they are attacked they will
be able to give each other support.
As soon as the CTF is perfected. These team commands will
surely add a whole new depth to CTF play with bots.
This can be used to turn off the bots chatter(ie.kill.txt, pain.txt, fight.txt)
The default is 1(on)
This will show information on all bots in the current game.
This can be used to turn off
the death messages.
[ie. CRBOT1 was killed by Players Rocket]
You can now turn off the taunting that follows a good thrashing
from the bot. Incase you
were tired of seeing that chick grab her ass, or that guy yank
his croch in a mocking fashion.
(Leave it on, a little humility is good for the soul!)
You can now setup a specific map list to cycle while you are playing!
[ie. edit the map.txt file]
Its finally here, CTF Play. By default CRBot will automatically
be set to run CTf. So you must put
'+set ctf 0'
into your short-cut command line. (See Setup
Guide above for instructions)
Or type it in the console, before you load the map.
This command gives you the ability to turn on or off the runes for regular
deathmatch games.
So you could have the goodies from Capture the Flag to exploit
your victims with!
Just be sure to set this first, then load the map.
This will make it so the bots won't see or attack you, until you fire at
them.
This command has limited use, and is mainly good for bot debugging.
And checking out
PPM's in action. Just be sure to type this command before
you load a map, otherwise
you'll have to reload the map, and respawn the bots, because its
a 'take effect on next game'
command.
Ok, everyone should be familiar with this one. But just incase, this one
lets you see the
actual gun model the player is currently using. Originally designed
by ID, but the functionality was
never added for it. So thanks to HENTAI, you now can use this.
Just be sure the view_wep mod
is in your quake2/baseq2 directory. Otherwise you won't
see any weapons at all.
*PLEASE NOTE, this mod currently only supports MALE/FEMALE/CYBORG
models,
CrackWhore, and Battloid. And more will be added. So be
sure to check out from time to time.
You'll see big grey diamonds or no weapons at all on those
models unsupported.
Recently a few PPM Models released have weapon support built
in. Check out TURRET, and
Morticus/Necromicus as well! They're over at the BODYSHOP
or Q2PMP.
This is something new to CRBot. And it allows you to save a path node structure(route
file)
of a map to disk. Just be sure you allow the bot time
to learn the different areas of the map. Otherwise
you'll have an incomplete path file, and the bot will still have
to learn the rest. This works particularly well
with CTF maps, so you don't have to wait for the bots to figure
out the routes to and from the flags!
This is an in game menu system using the inventory menu controls.
You can do almost all the functions above
by simply selecting the command and changing its flags.
'TAB' -- to bring up the
menu
'[' and ']' -- to move up and down in the
menu.
'Enter' -- to change the selection,
and cycle through models, skins, and teams.
After making your selections, just hit 'TAB' again
to return to play.
This system is a bit slow and unwieldy, and a move backwards
cmnd for the a cycle list would be much appreciated, since
if you have alot of different models, or skins like me, its easy
to skip right by the one you wanted, since they aren't listed
in alphabetical order. But it is the easiest way to configure
a game for yourself.
Advanced
Ok you've made it this far. Lets briefly go over the Bots.cfg
files
A bots.cfg file is where you can create custom setups of
pre-defined bots. And not have to go to the menu display
and select them, or add them manually in the console. This
is very usefull for having you favorite sets of PPM models
or team configuations for CTF, or Team Play DM. I myself
have created some various 'themed' config files. Which is
the example I use below.
Its the Colonial Marines vs. the Xenoids* ; and
here's what it looks like:
name
|
skill (0,1..10)
|
| model
|
| |
skin
|
| |
|
team no.
|
| |
|
|
sv addbot "Worker" 5
xenoid "xenoid/xenotype1" 2
wait
sv addbot "Guard"
5 xenoid "xenoid/xenotype2"
2
wait
sv addbot "Drone"
4 xenoid "xenoid/xenotype3"
2
wait
sv addbot "King"
6 xenoid "tyrant/tyanid"
2
wait
sv addbot "Riggs"
5 male "male/recon"
1
wait
sv addbot "Lance"
5 male "male/sniper"
1
wait
sv addbot "Dixon"
6 female "female/stilleto"
1
wait
(then I'd make the 4th person on team 1.)
(You'll notice the wait commands in between each of the bots.
This is to make sure the bots don't appear all at the same
time, and probably telefragging eachother instantly. Especially
on maps with very few respawn points.)
What can I say, I am a big fan of the ALIENS(tm) trilogy. The second
part in particular.
After I load up CRBot, I then load either Fatal2 or some
other good team map. Then in the console I type:
exec marine.cfg
The beauty of this is you can create your own custome bots.cfg
files. And run them in CRBot just by typing
exec <name>.cfg
And where <name> is just substitute it with your file name.
Mini
PPM Guide
This is a new edition to the Epidemic Site. And I
know there are plenty of good sites already devoted to this.
So this section will be more of an informative nature.
I will however, cover the following:
A preview of new bots in development;
A short list of some of the 'cream of the crop' in PPM's
and links to the best places to get them.
As well as some cool skins/sound pak links.
And some notes on models with high poly counts.
Maybe provide some links to fixes for those damn NULL_SKIN errors
that pop up.
And a list of the current pak's available for the View_wep
patch!
Maybe some interviews if any of those modelers &
skinners would grant me a few words.
STAY TUNED within the next week.(4/98)
FOR NOW: These are the models I mention
in this guide, and where to get them:
1. 
2. 
3. & 4.
1.Hive Tyrant Plugin Player Model
Created by: Mike O'Rourke
Stop by his Page.
Go download this righteous model form one of the
sites below. |
2.ASTROBOY
Created by: Jonn Gorden
Grab this excellent model from one of the sites below.
|
3 & 4Battloid & Xenoid Plugin Player Model
Created by: Dan Bickell
Drop by the Quake2 Player
Model Pack
(where Dan currently works)
Or grab this from his home
page or one of the
model sites listed below. |
THE
BODY SHOP PX&69's
Q2 Place THE
QUAKE2 PMP
I hope this has provided you with all the information
you needed to get this excellent bot up and running.
Be sure to check the other guides by clOck
wOrk and Floyd.
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