FAQ:

It's the frequently asked question section, where I in my role as Uncle TODave (grey hair, rocking chair, blanket over legs, puffing on a smoking pipe and saying things like 'I remember when all this was fields') gather you around me and answer those awkward questions you've got about Dustbowl. Or sex and relationships.

How do I detpack open the extra tunnels on Maps 1 and 2?

You can't. They open up all by themselves after a period of time. The first tunnel is on Map 1 near the grenade bag. Go up the ladder onto the ledge above the left hand tunnel and it will appear there (inside there's an ammo bag too). The second tunnel appears on Map 2 in the tunnel that splits left and right near the grenades. The tunnel will open up on the wall to the right and exits behind a grate in the open area near the cappoint. But neither of them can be opened up with a demoman's detpack, you just have to wait.

My name is always just 'Player' on the server. How do I set up my name then?

Tsk, it's simple. Just bring down the console (that strange button to the left of the '1' on your keyboard) and type Name "Mrs Smoglifyer". Don't forget the quotation marks (you don't need them, but you can't have spaces in names without using them). And hey... please change your name, it makes it far easier for people to talk to you.

The attackers keep taking out my sentries with spies and none of my team seem to be able to spot them. What can I do?

When you see them, use a really obvious weapon to alert the rest of your team, like the railgun and it's beacon-like green fire. Either that or chase after them with your shotgun. Hopefully one of the plankton brains on your team will work out why you're getting so agitated. Or hey... just call Trim. He spy checks everything! (man, I love that comment)

Someone was prattling on about 'new models' and 'old models' the other day on a server. Are they referring to the styling differences between the Mark I Escort of 1972 and the second generation Mark II in 1979 with the circular headlights? Personally I always found the Mark I to be the more pleasing to the eye.

Well, they might have been talking about this, but I'd take a gamble and say they were probably talking about the new and old models in TFC. Valve introduced a new model set a while back, and some people prefer the old ones, and others prefer the new ones. Personally I find the new ones indistinctive, and I can't easily tell the difference between the various classes. But because the feature to change between the two is buried deep in the setup options of TFC, there's probably a good proportion of people who've never even seen the old models. You might find spy detection easier with the older ones, but at the very least you should give them a try. To switch to the old models, load up TFC and go 'Multiplayer > Customise > Advanced Options'. Now down the bottom you'll see a little drop down menu that allows you to switch between the two model types. Go on, give them both a try.

I've seen people sending the same message throughout a game, how do they do that? I like to talk to people.

Ah, that's nice. I like talking too. TFC has some built in messages which you can access via the menu (it's called the 'In game GUI' in TFC, so see which key you've got it assigned to), but a lot of people set up their own. You can make these as complicated or as simple as you like, and if you visit some more general TFC sites they'll have ready made message sets for you (or have more complicated setups called 'scripts'). To set up some quick and easy message binds, load up Notepad. Now type this:

ECHO Dustbowl Messages Loaded
Bind F1 "say_team Understood / Acknowledged / On my way"
Bind F2 "say_team Sentry removed"
Bind F3 "say Visit www.dustbowl.co.uk for the complete guide to Dustbowl"

Save it in your Sierra/Half Life/TFC folder as 'Dustbowl.cfg'. Now next time you're in a game, bring down the console and type 'exec dustbowl.cfg' and the message 'Dustbowl Message Loaded' should appear in your console. Press the F1 key and you'll see the message 'Understood / Acknowledged / On my way' appear on screen. Well done, you've now got some message binds.

Key points:

  • 1) The 'ECHO' bit is what appears in the console after you've loaded the .cfg file. So you can change that to whatever you want it to say.
  • 2) Obviously change the F1, F2 and F3 keys to whatever buttons you'd like to use for your messages. I just use the function keys because I don't use them for anything else and they're nicely spread across the top of the keyboard.
  • 3) 'say_team' will send out messages to only the people on your team.
  • 4) 'say' will send the message out to everyone on the server (so think about which ones you need to just tell your team ('I'm a spy', or 'Sentry removed') and which ones you might want to tell the whole server (such as my 'visit www.dustbowl.co.uk' example above).
  • 5) Remember that you need to save the file as a .cfg file and not a .txt file.
  • 6) You'll need to know the name of the file you want to load, so keep it simple and obvious.
  • 7) You will almost certainly need different messages for attacking and defending, so maybe have two sets, one called dustbowlatt.cfg and the other dustbowldef.cfg (or shorten those to dbatt and dbdef).
  • 8) Don't keep sending the same message many times in a row. It just annoys everyone.
Where do I get grenades on map 3?

There aren't any. The attackers get them when they respawn (as they do on all maps), but the defenders don't get any on map 3. Sorry about that.

How do I drop the flag?

You can't. Once you pick it up, the only way you can drop it is to die. If you really want to drop it, bring down the console and type 'kill', You'll die straight away and drop the flag as a result.

How do I know if I'm carrying the flag?

Yes, occasionally we do seem to get people who don't realise they are holding the flag. The thing is, there's a very slight giveaway... it's that great big blue blob thing on the left hand side of your screen, look:

See?

Why is it so laggy?

Ahhh, well, that's because Dustbowl uses large textures, and it's always been more laggy than most TFC maps. There was a project a while back to remake Dustbowl with smaller textures, but I dunno whatever happened to it. Shame really. But in answer to this question, it's just laggy. Always has been.

Why haven't I got any sound?

Assuming you've got your speakers turned up (I like obvious answers), press Esc to take you back to the TFC menu, then click on 'Resume game'. You should now find your sound is working again. If not, restart TFC.

It's still not working.

Dunno then, something else is shagged.

The klaxon that goes off when the grate opens won't stop, how do I turn it off?

Bring down the console and type 'stopsound'. If this doesn't work, you'll need to restart TFC.

Your answers got a bit short towards the end there.

Sometimes people just want the facts.

Shame you didn't employ that idea throughout this guide really.

It had crossed my mind.

If YOU have any difficult Dustbowl questions that are just too embarrassing to ask on a crowded server, then write to me at t_o_dave@ntlworld.com. If you require a personal reply, please include a stamped addressed envelope. And a small chocolatey treat.
  

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