Beginners Guide: Interface/Basics

## Interface/Basics

2) Goal of the Game

2a) Assault Mode
2aa) Destroying All Enemy Mechs
2ab) Capturing a Base
2b) Conquest Mode
2c) Testing Grounds
3) **Interface/Basics**

3a) Keys/Functions
3b) The Hud
4) Economy

4a) ComStar Bills
4aa) Trial Mechs
4ab) Cadet Bonus
4b) Mech Credits
5) The Mechlab

5a) Heat, Heat Sinks, Engines, and you!
5aa) Waste Heat
5ab) Heat Sinks
5ac) Examples of Calculation
5b) Weapons Roundup
5ba) Energy-Type Weapons
5bb) Missile-Type Weapons
5bc) Ballistic-Type Weapons
5bd) The Good, the Bad, the Conclusion
5c) Equipment Roundup
5d) Mech Upgrades
5e) My First Mech
5F) Expertise
5fa) Critical Hits
5fb) Consumption of Ammunition
6) Experience Points
7) Modules
8) Games in Groups

8a) Friends
8b) Groups
9) Links and Further Information

The controls of a Mech are anything but easy to learn. The main problem for many new players is to control the torso and legs in unison.

A Mech is able to run in the direction X and turn its torso (independently of its walking direction) in the direction of Y. It does not differ greatly from the ability to really common FPS games to also run into the direction X and looking with your head into the direction of Y at the same time. However, a Mech reacts much slower and on the battlefield there are some additional rules to obey, so I’d like to explain the controls and general interface further in the following chapter.

### Keys/Functions

**Throttle Up/Down [W/S]**

= the Mech moves forwards or backwards
**Turn Left/Right [A/D]**

= the legs of the Mech turn left or right, determining the direction of movement (the mouse will turn the torso and thus determines the viewing direction)
**Centre Torso [C]**

= the torso is automatically returned to align with the legs, so that both are facing the same direction

```
Protip: This is an important feature for beginners if you have lost track of where your torso and legs are relative to each other!
```

**Full Stop [X]**

= the Mech stops abruptly, regardless of whether it is running forwards or backwards (essentially the handbrake of the Mech)
**Toggle Power [P]**

= the systems of a Mech are powered up or down (ergo the “power button”)

```
Protip: You can manually power up after overheating and shutting down. However, doing so before your Mech automatically restarts runs the risk of causing internal damage or cooking off ammunition. Proceed at your own risk!

```

**Next Target [R]**

= select/actively target an enemy Mech in order to reveal its armament and armor status (it is also used to achieve a lock-on for guided missiles)

```
Protip: You cannot target or lock on to Mechs that are powered down! Shut down Mechs will not appear on the radar either!
```

**Show Target Overlay [Q]**

= displays the pilot name and Mech type for all friendly units, plus any visible enemy units
**Jump Jets [SPACE]**

= activates the jump jets of a Mech and grants said Mech the ability to...well, jump
**Free Look [LCTRL]**

= allows you to look around in your own cockpit, without affecting the orientation of the torso
**Override Shutdown [O]**

= prevents the automatic forced shutdown of the Mech when it reaches a critical heat level

```
Protip: The use of this function runs the risk of causing an internal ammunition explosion which will damage or even destroy your mech. It should be used with caution!
Also the internal structure will definitively start to slowly take damage once the Mech overheats and the automatic shutdown sequence gets overridden.
Furthermore it is important know that this function must be activated before the heat level of the Mech reaches 100 %. After its activation the automatic shut down sequence will be overridden for a total amount of 5 seconds. During that time the warning message “OVERRIDE ENGAGED” will be displayed in the upper part of the screen.
```

**Fire Selected Weapon Group [MOUSE 1]**

= the weapons of the currently selected weapon group are fired
**Fire Weapon Group 1 - 6 [1 - 6]**

= the weapons of the weapon group 1 - 6 are fired, regardless of whether they are currently selected or not
**Toggle Weapon Group [RCTRL]**

= assigns the currently highlighted weapon to the currently highlighted weapon group
**Weapon Group Highlight Up/Down/Left/Right [UP/DOWN/LEFT/RIGHT]**

= individual weapons and weapon groups are highlighted and via “Toggle Weapon Group” assigned
**Alphastrike [BACKSLASH]**

= fires ALL weapons on a Mech in one fell swoop
**Weapon Door Toggle [SLASH]**

= opens and closes missile bay doors for missile launchers
* Some Mechs come with missile bay doors which protect any installed missile

launchers.

* When missiles are fired, the bay doors will automatically open and close.
* However this process causes a significant delay between pressing the fire button and the missiles actually firing. This makes aiming difficult, especially with unguided missiles.
* By using the “Weapon Door Toggle” function, the bay doors can be controlled manually.
* This avoids the firing delay but leaves the weapons installed in the bay vulnerable to destruction from enemy fire.

```
*Protip: the small LED in the cockpit states if the doors are:*
*Green  = open, yellow = closed, red =destroyed*

```

**Cockpit Light [PERIOD]**

= changes various levels of brightness for the cockpit (but NOT any digital readouts)
**Toggle Zoom Mode [Z]**

= standard zoom that provides 1,5 to 3x magnification
**Toggle Adv. Zoom [V]**

= activates the zoom module with 4x magnification, provided that the module is unlocked, bought and installed in the Mech
**Toggle Night Vision [N]**

= activates the night vision mode, recommended on dark maps
**Toggle Thermal Vision [H]**

= enables “heat vision”; recommended for poor visibility and for providing contrast against confusing terrain which makes it difficult to find enemy Mechs quickly

```
Protip: Thermal ftw! Thermal vision makes it easier to locate Mechs at range or whilst amongst camouflage or cover! In some cases it helps to identify targets that you might otherwise overlook (small/fast Mechs)!
```

**Toggle ECM Mode [J]**

= switches installed ECM from “disrupt-mode” to “counter-mode”
**Toggle Cockpit Item [APOSTROPHE]**

= enables/disables certain special functions of decorative items that are shown in the cockpit after you have purchased them with MCs
**Global Chat [T]**

= chat to ALL players on the map (white font)
**Team Chat [Y]**

= chat to all TEAM members (<span style="color:blue;"blue font)
**Lance Chat [U]**

= chat to all LANCE members (<span style="color:cyan;"cyan font)
**End Chat [ENTER]**

= submits the typed chat message
**Show Battlegrid [B]**

= enlarges the minimap and allows you to send “commands” to your team
* Once the game starts each player has the opportunity to use the battle grid to take

command via the “Take Command” option, and relinquish it in the same manner.
Only ONE player per team can act as “commander”. This will cause their name and chat text to appear gold.

* By clicking the left mouse button anywhere in the battle grid the commander can place one of several ready-made icons at any time (an explanation of the symbols and their meaning is shown at the top of the battle grid). These symbols appear automatically on the radar and in the compass of all other team members to visualize the “battle plan”.
* It is common sense and good etiquette to follow the commander’s prompts however

you can still suggest an alternative plan, or ignore it entirely. Often the commander role is not required and communication via team chat is enough.

```
*Protip: Press the “I” button to toggle additional information on the battle grid.*

```

**Scoreboard [TAB]**

= displays the current players, their status (alive/destroyed), faction and ping
**Chainfire [BACKSPACE]**

= weapons of the same weapon group will fire one after another, rather than all together at the same time
**all other functions**

= to date (Mar. 2013): placeholder without any effect to the game

```
Protips:
Press “right Shift” + “F11” to completely remove the HUD and take some exciting screenshots. :)
To date (Mar. 2013) it is not possible to bind a mouse wheel via the game settings menu.
There is a workaround though:
      *start the client, hit the options and assign a new, unused key, in the “Alt Key Map”
column to your desired function (e.g.: “lbracket” and “rbracket” for “Weapon Group Highlight Left/Right”)
      *close the game and navigate to your pilot folder within your MW:O directory (e.g.: “D:\Mechwarrior Online\USER\Profiles\WaddeHaddeDudeda”)
      *open up the “actionmaps.xml” with notepad (right mouse button, “open with”)
      *hit the search function (“LCTRL” + “F”) and search for the keys you have assigned to your desired functions beforehand
      *when you have found the according entries (“lbracket” and “rbracket” in our example) replace them with the following commands:
      *mwheel_up
      *mwheel_down
      *close the “actionmaps.xml” file, fire up the game and do the “I’m so happy dance” because now your mouse wheel should be working
      *obviously you can assign any desired function to the mouse wheel, the above one was just a very common example

```

### The Hud

**1. Clock**

Once the counter reaches “00:00” the game ends immediately.
**2. Scoreboard**

This displays the total amount of kills for each team. Blue numbers representing your own team, red numbers the enemy team. As soon as one team manages to accumulate 8 kills the game ends.
**3. Base Status Bar**

While the blue bar represents the status of your own teams base, the red bar shows the status of the enemy base. If one bar is completely depleted, the team it represents will lose the match.
As soon as someone tries to capture your base a “BASER UNDER ATTACK” message will be displayed in the upper part of the screen.
**4. Warning Messages**

These will be displayed in each of the circumstances below:
* “HEAT WARNING” = the current heat level is to high, the Mech is about to initiate the automatic shut down sequence
* “OVERRIDE ENGAGED” = the automatic shut down sequence has been overridden
* “CRITICAL DAMAGE” = the Mech suffered severe damage and all that is holding the parts together is either made of saliva or duct tape
* “INCOMING MISSILE” = an enemy Mech has just launched a salvo of homing missiles towards you
* “BASE UNDER ATTACK” = your own base is in the process of being captured