Soldat
Encyclopedia
Soldat is a Polish 2D multiplayer game for Windows
. It is a side-scroller inspired by Liero
and Scorched Earth
, combined with elements from Counter-Strike
and Worms. The game is shareware
. Registration unlocks extra aesthetic options, such as colored jet flames and custom interfaces. Version 1.5.0 also includes a minimap and changeable screen resolution for registered users.
Since then, the game has gone through many changes and additions. Weapon balance is often a main focus of new releases. The significant release changes were "startup" modifications in the M82A1 Barrett, M72 LAW
, and Combat Knife
, as well as minor bugs with flags and maps.
1.4.2 added many major features. These included a completely new lobby system to replace the aged and unreliable original system (see the forums for problems), an option (registered only) to scale the resolution interface for a cleaner view, a minimap (registered only), BattlEye - an anti-cheat system, and many bugfixes. 1.4.0 was originally intended only as a bugfix version 1.3.2, but was bumped-up to 1.4.0 due to the addition of the many new features. The newest version was released worldwide on August 11, 2007.
1.5.0 is the first release to be handled using public beta testing. In addition to a long list of bug fixes, major new features in this version include in game radio commands, TeamSpeak2 integration and animated GIF scenery.
The latest version 1.6.0 - released more than two years after 1.5.0 - focuses primarily on bug fixes. It also adds a new anticheat solution, new maps, support for widescreen resolutions, the ability to ban by hardwareID and many in-game improvements.
who possesses jet boots. These boots allow the soldier to fly for a relatively short time, before needing to automatically regenerate their fuel. The amount of flying possible at a time, and fuel regeneration rate, both depend on individual maps. The game is normally played over the Internet
or a LAN
, but it is possible to play offline against bots
. There are a variety of game modes to choose from, ranging from the popular free-for-all (DeathMatch
, RamboMatch, and PointMatch) to the team-based (Capture the Flag
; Infiltration, TeamMatch, and Hold the Flag). In some modes holding or defending a flag
is the primary goal, where in others it is simply to obtain the most frags
, with minor objectives (for example, PointMatch sports a yellow flag which doubles its bearer's points). The most popular game modes are Capture the Flag and DeathMatch.
For all game modes, the basic objective is to kill enemy players. Upon spawning
, the player is presented with a large arsenal
of weapons to choose from. A few frag grenades
are also supplied by default and more can picked up from boxes found on the ground ("GrenadeKits," respectively). Jet boots
are used to move around the map
, which typically consists of 2-3 levels/floors, or disorganized, floating boulders. Some servers enable temporary-lasting power-up
s that grant multiplied damage (Berserker), invisibility (Predator
), a flamethrower
along with temporary invincibility (FlameGod), or Cluster Grenades (which temporarily replace regular grenades with three of more powerful, modified versions) or even a Bulletproof Vest (effectiveness of the vest depends on the distance from the firer of the bullet, and the vest slowly decreases as it soaks up damage, disappearing after absorbing a certain amount of damage, though there is no time limit). Health crates (known in the game as "Medikits") are available in many locations for healing injury back to 100% no matter how much a player is injured. Upon death and after waiting for a server-specified amount of time (on average 5 seconds), players respawn and may choose another weapon—this cycle repeats for the duration of the map, unless Survival Mode is enabled (in which case a spawning system similar to Counter-Strike
is used). After a certain allotted time (on average 15 or 20 minutes), the map changes and scores are reset as players continue in another round. Players can chat with each other throughout matches (and to their own teams, for cooperative team-based game modes).
Most games are fast-paced and chaotic. Bodies often explode in a spectacle of blood and body parts, sometimes being hurled clear across the map. Besides its ragdoll physics
, the game's engine, written in the Borland Delphi
programming language, employs realistic concepts such as momentum
and gravity. Fall damage and recoil
are also taken into account when Realistic Mode is enabled, and supply crates, dropped weapons, and grenades realistically tumble down steep hills; another effect is the flag's realistic waving as a player runs with it.
It's also possible to create server-specific weapon mods.
Soldat aims to balance every weapon so no one is better than the rest while each maintains individuality. The choice is largely dependent on the type of map, preferred tactics and weapons choice of the other side.
Much tweaking has been done to try to achieve this but there is often disagreement within the community. In the past, the Barrett M82A1 sniper rifle has been a notorious source of complaint from players for its ability to kill in a single bullet, along with its 10-shot magazine and scope ability (even though these portray real-life characteristics of the actual weapon). Recent versions have included measures to curb overuse of the Barrett, including "bink" (a Counter-Strike
term which lowers accuracy when hit by gunfire), an increased power of other weapons, and, recently in 1.3.1, a startup time similar to the one present on the M72 LAW
. The XM214 Minigun
has also been criticized for supposedly lowering Frame rate
on slower computers and its ability to let Minigunners unfairly "surf" across the map, given its tremendous recoil. With more recent releases, other weapons are being challenged as well. Contention over balance is so great that an entire section of the official community message board is devoted to discussion about the weapons' game balance.
is possible. A player can travel much faster if he or she skips along the ground via frequent leaping, and often players who do not bunny hop are left behind. However, even when bunny hopping, a basic maximum speed limits horizontal movement. In addition, leaping before thrusting substantially boosts horizontal movement, as the leap gives horizontal push while the jet boots must only manage the player's vertical ascent.
Every map consists of numerous textured polygon
s carefully positioned in relation to one another. Unlike Liero
, a major inspiration of Soldat, landscape is non-deformable, though it can be interacted with in other ways. Scenery, such as bushes and sandbags, may conceal players and aid in camping
and sniping. Polygons can be given special attributes to simulate lethal death pits, icy terrain, health-regenerative platforms, and more. Weather effects (snow, rain, and sandstorm) are used on some maps. Some servers enable the powerful stationary M2 turret specified by particular maps (usually CTF and INF) which players can man.
There are several known programs for mapping. The original map editor program is MapMaker 1.2, by Michal Marcinkowski himself. It has a unique control scheme that includes using the right mouse button to navigate the map and the control, shift, and alt keys combined with the left or right mouse button to perform functions. Another popular Soldat mapping program is Soldat PolyWorks, which has a different control scheme and a much more complex interface.
s and 2000 players online, with a record number of lobby requests at 71459 per day. The whole number of players has not been counted but the official Soldat Forums
have over 12000 registered members. Map editors
are also available. Many Soldat players have developed and distributed their own programs for use with the game. These include, but are not limited to, map editors, weapon editors, statistics programs, mods
, server-side statistical webpage-plugins (such as U13SSS and Zitro-stats), and auto-join applications. There are many fan webpages serving a multitude of purposes and tastes, mainly different clans for the official tournaments the game's community sponsors.
Around the time of Soldat v1.3.1, most R/S matches developed a certain "gentlemen's rule" that a player should not "Capture the Flag' unless the opposing team is defeated. Because this is an unwritten rule, it is confusing to most people new to R/S servers. "Capping" or "Running" in an R/S server is usually considered bad etiquette, because it effectively defeats the other team without having to kill them. In more popular servers ran by R/S clans, capturing the flag is a legitimate tactic, as the game mode is still "Capture the Flag", not "Team Deathmatch", which only involves eradicating the enemy team. On the other hand, killing the other team and capping the flag in the few seconds remaining before the round ends, is called a doublecap, earns the team 2 points instead of the normal single point and is accepted in most servers, although many have implemented anti-doublecap scripts to prevent it.
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
. It is a side-scroller inspired by Liero
Liero
Liero is a computer game for DOS, first released by Finnish programmer Joosa Riekkinen in 1998. The game has been described as a real-time version of Worms. It has many weapons and sounds from its precursor, MoleZ. 'Liero' is Finnish for earthworm and is pronounced...
and Scorched Earth
Scorched Earth (computer game)
Scorched Earth is a popular shareware artillery video game, which is a subgenre of strategy game. The game was developed in the DOS era, originally written by Wendell Hicken , in which tanks do turn-based battle in two-dimensional terrain, with each player adjusting the angle and power of their...
, combined with elements from Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike is a tactical first-person shooter video game developed by Valve Corporation which originated from a Half-Life modification by Minh "Gooseman" Le and Jess "Cliffe" Cliffe...
and Worms. The game is shareware
Shareware
The term shareware is a proprietary software that is provided to users without payment on a trial basis and is often limited by any combination of functionality, availability, or convenience. Shareware is often offered as a download from an Internet website or as a compact disc included with a...
. Registration unlocks extra aesthetic options, such as colored jet flames and custom interfaces. Version 1.5.0 also includes a minimap and changeable screen resolution for registered users.
Overview
Soldat is written and maintained by programmer Michał Marcinkowski, who started working on the game in November, 2001. It is coded in the Delphi programming language using the JEDI libraries. Though Marcinkowski is the primary developer, he works with a few others on the dedicated server and lobby, in addition to a small beta team which aids in testing prior to new releases.Version History
1.0.5b (released August 23, 2002) is considered the first major version of the game, though several betas and minor versions were available in the months preceding its release.Since then, the game has gone through many changes and additions. Weapon balance is often a main focus of new releases. The significant release changes were "startup" modifications in the M82A1 Barrett, M72 LAW
M72 LAW
The M72 LAW is a portable one-shot 66 mm unguided anti-tank weapon, designed in the United States by Paul V. Choate, Charles B. Weeks, and Frank A. Spinale et al...
, and Combat Knife
Combat knife
A combat knife is a fighting knife designed solely for military use and primarily intended for hand-to-hand or close combat fighting.Since the end of trench warfare, most military combat knives have been secondarily designed for utility use in addition to their original role as close-quarter combat...
, as well as minor bugs with flags and maps.
1.4.2 added many major features. These included a completely new lobby system to replace the aged and unreliable original system (see the forums for problems), an option (registered only) to scale the resolution interface for a cleaner view, a minimap (registered only), BattlEye - an anti-cheat system, and many bugfixes. 1.4.0 was originally intended only as a bugfix version 1.3.2, but was bumped-up to 1.4.0 due to the addition of the many new features. The newest version was released worldwide on August 11, 2007.
1.5.0 is the first release to be handled using public beta testing. In addition to a long list of bug fixes, major new features in this version include in game radio commands, TeamSpeak2 integration and animated GIF scenery.
The latest version 1.6.0 - released more than two years after 1.5.0 - focuses primarily on bug fixes. It also adds a new anticheat solution, new maps, support for widescreen resolutions, the ability to ban by hardwareID and many in-game improvements.
Gameplay
In Soldat, the player controls a small customizable soldierSoldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
who possesses jet boots. These boots allow the soldier to fly for a relatively short time, before needing to automatically regenerate their fuel. The amount of flying possible at a time, and fuel regeneration rate, both depend on individual maps. The game is normally played over the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
or a LAN
Län
Län and lääni refer to the administrative divisions used in Sweden and previously in Finland. The provinces of Finland were abolished on January 1, 2010....
, but it is possible to play offline against bots
Computer game bot
A bot, most prominently in the first-person shooter types , is a type of weak AI expert system software which for each instance of the program controls a player in deathmatch, team deathmatch and/or cooperative human player. Computer bots may play against other bots and/or human players in unison,...
. There are a variety of game modes to choose from, ranging from the popular free-for-all (DeathMatch
Deathmatch (gaming)
Deathmatch or Player vs All is a widely-used gameplay mode integrated into many shooter and real-time strategy computer games...
, RamboMatch, and PointMatch) to the team-based (Capture the Flag
Capture the flag
Capture the Flag is a traditional outdoor sport generally played by children, where two teams each have a flag and the objective is to capture the other team's flag, located at the team's "base," and bring it safely back to their own base...
; Infiltration, TeamMatch, and Hold the Flag). In some modes holding or defending a flag
Flag
A flag is a piece of fabric with a distinctive design that is usually rectangular and used as a symbol, as a signaling device, or decoration. The term flag is also used to refer to the graphic design employed by a flag, or to its depiction in another medium.The first flags were used to assist...
is the primary goal, where in others it is simply to obtain the most frags
Frag (video gaming)
Frag is a computer and video game term originating from the word fragging, a term indicating to kill an unpopular superior officer with a fragmentation grenade. A frag is roughly equivalent to "kill", with the typical main difference that the player being "fragged" can instantly respawn in most...
, with minor objectives (for example, PointMatch sports a yellow flag which doubles its bearer's points). The most popular game modes are Capture the Flag and DeathMatch.
For all game modes, the basic objective is to kill enemy players. Upon spawning
Spawning (computer gaming)
In video games, spawning is the live creation of a character or item. Respawning is the recreation of an entity after its death or destruction....
, the player is presented with a large arsenal
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, issued to authorized users, or any combination of those...
of weapons to choose from. A few frag grenades
Hand grenade
A hand grenade is any small bomb that can be thrown by hand. Hand grenades are classified into three categories, explosive grenades, chemical and gas grenades. Explosive grenades are the most commonly used in modern warfare, and are designed to detonate after impact or after a set amount of time...
are also supplied by default and more can picked up from boxes found on the ground ("GrenadeKits," respectively). Jet boots
Jet pack
Jet pack, rocket belt, rocket pack, and similar names are various types of devices, usually worn on the back, that are propelled by jets of escaping gases so as to allow a single user to fly....
are used to move around the map
Level (computer and video games)
A level, map, area, or world in a video game is the total space available to the player during the course of completing a discrete objective...
, which typically consists of 2-3 levels/floors, or disorganized, floating boulders. Some servers enable temporary-lasting power-up
Power-up
In computer and video games, power-ups are objects that instantly benefit or add extra abilities to the game character as a game mechanic. This is in contrast to an item, which may or may not have a benefit and can be used at a time chosen by the player...
s that grant multiplied damage (Berserker), invisibility (Predator
Predator (alien)
The Predator is a fictional extraterrestrial species featured in the Predator science-fiction franchise, characterised by its trophy hunting of other dangerous species for sport, including humans and its fictional counterparts, Aliens....
), a flamethrower
Flamethrower
A flamethrower is a mechanical device designed to project a long controllable stream of fire.Some flamethrowers project a stream of ignited flammable liquid; some project a long gas flame. Most military flamethrowers use liquids, but commercial flamethrowers tend to use high-pressure propane and...
along with temporary invincibility (FlameGod), or Cluster Grenades (which temporarily replace regular grenades with three of more powerful, modified versions) or even a Bulletproof Vest (effectiveness of the vest depends on the distance from the firer of the bullet, and the vest slowly decreases as it soaks up damage, disappearing after absorbing a certain amount of damage, though there is no time limit). Health crates (known in the game as "Medikits") are available in many locations for healing injury back to 100% no matter how much a player is injured. Upon death and after waiting for a server-specified amount of time (on average 5 seconds), players respawn and may choose another weapon—this cycle repeats for the duration of the map, unless Survival Mode is enabled (in which case a spawning system similar to Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike is a tactical first-person shooter video game developed by Valve Corporation which originated from a Half-Life modification by Minh "Gooseman" Le and Jess "Cliffe" Cliffe...
is used). After a certain allotted time (on average 15 or 20 minutes), the map changes and scores are reset as players continue in another round. Players can chat with each other throughout matches (and to their own teams, for cooperative team-based game modes).
Most games are fast-paced and chaotic. Bodies often explode in a spectacle of blood and body parts, sometimes being hurled clear across the map. Besides its ragdoll physics
Ragdoll physics
In computer physics engines, ragdoll physics is a type of procedural animation that is often used as a replacement for traditional static death animations.-Introduction:Early video games used manually-created animations for characters' death sequences...
, the game's engine, written in the Borland Delphi
Borland Delphi
Embarcadero Delphi is an integrated development environment for console, desktop graphical, web, and mobile applications.Delphi's compilers use its own Object Pascal dialect of Pascal and generate native code for 32- and 64-bit Windows operating systems, as well as 32-bit Mac OS X and iOS...
programming language, employs realistic concepts such as momentum
Momentum
In classical mechanics, linear momentum or translational momentum is the product of the mass and velocity of an object...
and gravity. Fall damage and recoil
Recoil
Recoil is the backward momentum of a gun when it is discharged. In technical terms, the recoil caused by the gun exactly balances the forward momentum of the projectile and exhaust gasses, according to Newton's third law...
are also taken into account when Realistic Mode is enabled, and supply crates, dropped weapons, and grenades realistically tumble down steep hills; another effect is the flag's realistic waving as a player runs with it.
Weapons
There are ten primary weapons and four secondary weapons to choose from. A total of any two weapons may be held at any given time. Players can drop their current weapon and pick up others from defeated enemies.It's also possible to create server-specific weapon mods.
Soldat aims to balance every weapon so no one is better than the rest while each maintains individuality. The choice is largely dependent on the type of map, preferred tactics and weapons choice of the other side.
Much tweaking has been done to try to achieve this but there is often disagreement within the community. In the past, the Barrett M82A1 sniper rifle has been a notorious source of complaint from players for its ability to kill in a single bullet, along with its 10-shot magazine and scope ability (even though these portray real-life characteristics of the actual weapon). Recent versions have included measures to curb overuse of the Barrett, including "bink" (a Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike is a tactical first-person shooter video game developed by Valve Corporation which originated from a Half-Life modification by Minh "Gooseman" Le and Jess "Cliffe" Cliffe...
term which lowers accuracy when hit by gunfire), an increased power of other weapons, and, recently in 1.3.1, a startup time similar to the one present on the M72 LAW
M72 LAW
The M72 LAW is a portable one-shot 66 mm unguided anti-tank weapon, designed in the United States by Paul V. Choate, Charles B. Weeks, and Frank A. Spinale et al...
. The XM214 Minigun
XM214 minigun
The XM214 was a prototype 5.56 mm rotary barreled machine gun. It was designed and built by General Electric, but it never reached mass production. Also known as the Microgun, the XM214 was a scaled-down version of the M134 "minigun", firing M193 5.56 x 45 mm ammunition.-History:The XM214...
has also been criticized for supposedly lowering Frame rate
Frame rate
Frame rate is the frequency at which an imaging device produces unique consecutive images called frames. The term applies equally well to computer graphics, video cameras, film cameras, and motion capture systems...
on slower computers and its ability to let Minigunners unfairly "surf" across the map, given its tremendous recoil. With more recent releases, other weapons are being challenged as well. Contention over balance is so great that an entire section of the official community message board is devoted to discussion about the weapons' game balance.
Bunny hopping
Soldat is one of many games in which bunny hoppingBunny hopping
Bunny hopping, or bunny jumping, is a term used in video games to describe the basic movement technique in which a player jumps repeatedly, instead of running, in order to move faster.-Concept:...
is possible. A player can travel much faster if he or she skips along the ground via frequent leaping, and often players who do not bunny hop are left behind. However, even when bunny hopping, a basic maximum speed limits horizontal movement. In addition, leaping before thrusting substantially boosts horizontal movement, as the leap gives horizontal push while the jet boots must only manage the player's vertical ascent.
Maps
Maps in Soldat are 2D arenas, most being tailored to fast-paced gameplay. DeathMatch maps are shared by the DeathMatch (DM), PointMatch (PM), RamboMatch (RM), and TeamMatch (TM or TDM, for Team DeathMatch) gamemodes, whereas Capture-the-Flag (CTF), Infiltration (INF) and Hold-the-Flag (HTF) have their own sets of specialized maps.Every map consists of numerous textured polygon
Polygon
In geometry a polygon is a flat shape consisting of straight lines that are joined to form a closed chain orcircuit.A polygon is traditionally a plane figure that is bounded by a closed path, composed of a finite sequence of straight line segments...
s carefully positioned in relation to one another. Unlike Liero
Liero
Liero is a computer game for DOS, first released by Finnish programmer Joosa Riekkinen in 1998. The game has been described as a real-time version of Worms. It has many weapons and sounds from its precursor, MoleZ. 'Liero' is Finnish for earthworm and is pronounced...
, a major inspiration of Soldat, landscape is non-deformable, though it can be interacted with in other ways. Scenery, such as bushes and sandbags, may conceal players and aid in camping
Camping (computer gaming)
In video gaming, camping is a tactic in which a player will obtain a strategic position anywhere on the map and wait for characters to arrive and be killed, or waiting for useful objects to appear in an area rather than actively seeking them out....
and sniping. Polygons can be given special attributes to simulate lethal death pits, icy terrain, health-regenerative platforms, and more. Weather effects (snow, rain, and sandstorm) are used on some maps. Some servers enable the powerful stationary M2 turret specified by particular maps (usually CTF and INF) which players can man.
There are several known programs for mapping. The original map editor program is MapMaker 1.2, by Michal Marcinkowski himself. It has a unique control scheme that includes using the right mouse button to navigate the map and the control, shift, and alt keys combined with the left or right mouse button to perform functions. Another popular Soldat mapping program is Soldat PolyWorks, which has a different control scheme and a much more complex interface.
Community
The new lobby server indicates that there are often 600 serverServer (computing)
In the context of client-server architecture, a server is a computer program running to serve the requests of other programs, the "clients". Thus, the "server" performs some computational task on behalf of "clients"...
s and 2000 players online, with a record number of lobby requests at 71459 per day. The whole number of players has not been counted but the official Soldat Forums
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
have over 12000 registered members. Map editors
Level editor
A level editor is a software tool used to design levels, maps, campaigns, etc and virtual worlds for a video game. In some cases the creator of a video game releases an official level editor for a game, but other times the community of fans step in to fill the void...
are also available. Many Soldat players have developed and distributed their own programs for use with the game. These include, but are not limited to, map editors, weapon editors, statistics programs, mods
Mod (computer gaming)
Mod or modification is a term generally applied to personal computer games , especially first-person shooters, role-playing games and real-time strategy games. Mods are made by the general public or a developer, and can be entirely new games in themselves, but mods are not standalone software and...
, server-side statistical webpage-plugins (such as U13SSS and Zitro-stats), and auto-join applications. There are many fan webpages serving a multitude of purposes and tastes, mainly different clans for the official tournaments the game's community sponsors.
Realistic Mode
As the Soldat community has grown, so has the popularity of "R-mode," or the sub-gamemode "Realistic Mode." In v1.3.1's R-mode, the weapons are more powerful, and have a recoil, where the cross hair slowly moves upwards with each successive shot. There is a realistic field of view, players sustain damage when they hit the ground at high speeds. This emphasizes the need for proper tactics more strongly than the standard game mode, sometimes regarded as requiring more skill.Survival Mode
In addition to Realistic mode, there is the option to enable Survival Mode, a sub-gamemode where all players spawn together at the beginning. In most realistic servers, survival mode is paired with realistic mode. These servers are referred to as R/S (Realistic-Survival) servers. When a player dies, they must wait until the round is decided, then every player spawns again to start the next round. This game mode also provides a break from the normal non-stop action and more intensive battles. R/S mode games usually consist of short length battles between two sides in Capture the Flag mode.Around the time of Soldat v1.3.1, most R/S matches developed a certain "gentlemen's rule" that a player should not "Capture the Flag' unless the opposing team is defeated. Because this is an unwritten rule, it is confusing to most people new to R/S servers. "Capping" or "Running" in an R/S server is usually considered bad etiquette, because it effectively defeats the other team without having to kill them. In more popular servers ran by R/S clans, capturing the flag is a legitimate tactic, as the game mode is still "Capture the Flag", not "Team Deathmatch", which only involves eradicating the enemy team. On the other hand, killing the other team and capping the flag in the few seconds remaining before the round ends, is called a doublecap, earns the team 2 points instead of the normal single point and is accepted in most servers, although many have implemented anti-doublecap scripts to prevent it.