Q3F Playerguide: Advanced Communications

Advanced Configuration: Communications

So you want to use fancy coloured,informative, useful messages, like all the other cool kids on the block? Here we go! Q3F's communication features allow you to more accurately communicate information to team-mates, such as your current location or health and also play WAV files to them.

First of all, we'll start with teaching you how to bind basic messages. To store your binds, load up your favourite text editor first and create a new file. Save this file in your /q3f2/ folder with the extension .cfg like: comms_config.cfg. Whenever you want to load this in Q3F, just pull down the console(~ key) and type: "/exec comms_config.cfg".
The proper way to bind keys in a .cfg file is like this:

bind <key> <function>
for example:
bind uparrow +forward

To send a message to everyone by pressing the 'h' key, use:

bind h "say hello you all!"

and to send something to your teammates only by pressing the j key:

bind j "say_team Help! I'm under attack!"

When you send or receive a message in Q3F you can also designate the group of people it's destined for (or become a member of a specific receiving group) by using a special command called 'channel'. Think of this like the channel on a radio.

The channel command can be used to set, add, remove and clear channels that you're currently receiving. If you give no command, your current list of channels will be shown:

\channel
> Now listening on all channels.
\channel set #offence #defence
\channel add #command
\channel rem #defence
\channel
> Now listening on: #offence #command.
\channel clear
> Now listening on all channels.
To send a channel message you simply prefix it with the channel name (including # symbol). For example somebody sending:

say_team "#offence Regroup at $L."
Will be seen by you because you're a member of the #off channel, and additionally anyone else that has used the command 'channel set #offense'.

Wondering what that '$L' is? It's just like Nitro, Cheapo and Qizmo - it prints your current location! Other '$' strings include:

$H Health
$A Armour
$L Location (returns 'unknown location' if unable to work it out)
$D Location of last death. $R Last reported location (i.e. identical to last $L)
$T Team name (e.g. "Red Team", "Blue Team" etc.)
$C Team colour (e.g. red, blue etc.)
$G Disguise (returns 'not disguised' if not wearing a disguise)
$S Current Class (e.g. "Soldier")
$N Name (player name / entity groupname (or one of them)
$E State (e.g. "active", "carried" etc.)
See below for a complete communications example script using $ variables for offence and defence.
NOTE: when using $ in combination with a capital letter, if you use "lower case" letters, like $l instead of $L, the ones who are reading your message will see their own locations and not yours!

You can also make use of a special Q3F feature which allows you to play a wav sound file to all team-mates. The wav you wish to play must exist on all listening clients.

The syntax is as follows:

say_team #channel &sample message
Where:

#channel is the channel to play the sound on (players with no channel selected will also get the message).

&sample is the sample to play, from amongst the set included in the mod (only if the server permits team chat sounds to be played).

Automating Communications

Here's an example script that you might use to make use of the $ communications variables:

//Offence bind "say_team Enemy flag - $l"
bind "key" "say_team Enemy flag - $d" // Use this after dying when you died near flag
bind "key""say_team Enemy flag outgoing - $l"
bind "key""say_team Position - $l [$hH $aA]"
bind "key""say_team Where is the enemy flag?"
//Defence
bind "key""say_team Our flag - $l"
bind "key""say_team Our flag outgoing - $l"
bind "key""say_team Incoming - $l"
bind "key""say_team Where is our flag?"
//Misc
bind "key""say_team Yes/OK!"
bind "key""say_team Cancel that!"
bind "key""tell_teamtarget I have you covered!"
bind "key""say_team ^1NEED HELP!!! - $l [$hH $aA]"
bind "key""say_team Need health/armor/ammo - $l [$hH $aA];saveme"

If you’d like to add some colour to your messages, read on:
Colours can be added to all text messages and names, by using Quake III’s colour system.

0 black
1 red
2 green
3 yellow
4 blue
5 cyan
6 purple
7 white
* reset

All you have to do is put ‘^’ and a number in front of the text you want to be coloured and it’ll be visible as coloured text:

"say_team ^1HELP^4 - Enemy attacking through the ramp room!"

An you did it, your text is red and blue! :-).