This FAQ will help you to become “an experienced beginner”, that doesn’t ask silly questions in game chat and generally gets more fun from the game.

The Most Frequently Asked Question
When will this be in the game, and why that has been changed, it used to be so much better?!
The game is being developed by a talented team. Our developers work days in and nights out to make “Tanki Online” even better. We have our vision of the game and our perspective on how it should evolve and we stick to this plan. If you have some interesting ideas to suggest, please post them on the public forum. We do read it carefully. Forum users have already contributed greatly to the game development, with their constructive suggestions and tricky questions.
Starting the game
Q: Why is the loading takes so much time? I keep waiting, but nothing happens.

A: When you start the game for the first time you will have to wait since the game needs to download the core game files about 10Mb size. Meanwhile, you might want make yourself a cup of tea or coffee, you’ll definitely need it. After the downloading is completed these files will remain on your computer (in cache) and every time you start the game afterwards, the loading time will be much shorter. Also, we advise you to increase the “cache” size of your browser to 200 Mb (this will allow storing the downloaded files ( textures, models, sounds) on your computer.
Q: I don’t see the start up webpage, why? (possibly – “I see only black screen, why?”)
A: Most likely, you have to install the latest Flash player, or you might have some problems with your internet connection (e.g. closed ports). Please see the Troubleshooting section of this FAQ.
Q: Why do I have to submit my e-mail?
A: If you happen to like this game and you want to save your game progress, your e-mail will help to recover you password (should you forget one) or recover your account and all saved progress in case of a server crash. You will also receive important information related to the game, confirmation of account registration, newsletters, etc.
For beginners.
Starting the game.

When the game finishes loading, you will see this picture:


On the left hand side of the screen – the chat window, in the middle – the list of active battles, on the right hand side – parameters of the battle selected from the list in the middle.
To enter the battle, select any battle highlighted in green and press “Play” button in the bottom right hand corner of this window.
To create a battle, press “Create” button in the bottom of the active battles list. A battle creation menu will appear.
Q: Why is “Play” button inactive?

A: It seems that all slots in this particular battle are taken or, possibly, you don’t meet the rank requirements of this battle.
Q: What are rank requirements?
A: When a player creates a battle, he or she can specify the rank requirements for players that can enter the battle. The battles that are not available to you due to your rank are displayed in grey. This allows matching players of equal skill: beginners fight beginners and veterans fight veterans. Although, it is possible to create a battle with no rank requirements (high rank players in the top level tanks can still one shot you, even if the battle is marked as “For beginners”). It is recommended to pay attention at the rank requirements before entering a battle.
A: What buttons do I have to push make my tank move and shoot things?
Q: The tank can be controlled with arrow or WASD keys, to shoot – press “Spacebar”, to rotate the turret – press “Z” and “X” keys.
Controls:

“1-4” – Use a consumable (First Aid (Repair Kit), Double Armour, Double Damage, Nitro). Effect of a consumable lasts around 1 minute.
“F” – Drop the flag. (Available in Capture the Flag mode only).
“+”/”-“ - Increase, decrease the game screen. Smaller screen provides higher FPS rates.
“Tab” – Shows the scoreboard of current battle. The scoreboard displays names and scores of the players participating in a battle.
Arrow or WASD keys – Tank movement keys
“Z”,” X” or <,> - Turret rotation
“C” – Centre the turret
“Spacebar” - Shoot
“Del” – Self-destruction. Takes time to self-destruct.
“P” - Pause.

“Page Up”/”Page Down” – Change camera position
“Enter” – type a message in the chat, press Enter again to send the message.
“Ctrl” + “Enter” or “T” – Team chat.

Please note, that pressing multiple keys simultaneously may cause errors on some PCs, especially when arrow keys are used for movement. It may make tank unable to shoot while moving, or rotate the turret while shooting. We don’t yet have an option to customize controls, but you can use WASD keys as alternative controls.
Combat

Q: How do I use consumables?

A: The consumables are available for purchase in the garage: First Aid (Repair Kit), Nitro, Double Armor and Double Damage. To activate a consumable during a battle, you must press 1,2,3 or 4 key . 1 – First Aid (Repair Kit), 2 – Double Armor, 3 – Double Damage, 4 – Nitro.

Q: How long does the effect of consumables last?
A: First Aid (Repair Kit) restores tank’s hit points up to 100% instantly. It requires some time to use it again, so you will be unable to use to spam this ability in combat.
The effect of other power-ups purchased in the garage lasts 1 minute. The effect of the power-ups picked up on the battle field lasts 40 seconds.

Q: Can I go to the garage during the battle and return back without losing my points earned in this battle?
A: You can’t. If you go the garage during the battle, you lose your points earned during the battle. Although, you can return to this battle and start from scratch.

Q: How is damage calculated? Is there any difference hitting the tank in the front or in the side?


A: There is no difference. The resulting damage will be the same regardless of the area the tank was hit in. The resulting damage is a random number taken from minimum and maximum damage range of a weapon. Some weapons may lose effectiveness with longer range.
Q: What can I do if my tank flipped over and lying on its side?

A: You have two options. If the tank lies on its side and has a weapon with a recoil effect (Smoky, Fear Machine), you can try to rotate the turret and shoot in the ground. If that doesn’t help try to ask your teammates for help. If they can’t help you, press Del to self-destruct (takes some time). If your tank is equipped with a light hull and a Smoky Gun you can decrease your chances to turn over when jumping off the ledges. Just shoot in the direction your tank is flipping while in midair.

Q: What are the game modes?

A: There are three game modes:

1. Deathmatch – is free for all match. In this mode you are battling against all other players. The goal is to get more kills than the others.

2. Team Deathmatch – is team vs. team match. The primary objective of this game mode is to kill as many players of the opposing team as possible.

3. Capture the Flag – well the name speaks for itself. The objective is to capture the enemy flag and carry it out from the enemy territory to the your base.

Brief rules of Capture the Flag (CTF).

1. This is a team battle. Each team has a base with a flag in a specific location.
2. There can be only one flag per team, red and blue for respective teams.
3. The primary objective for both teams is to bring the enemy flag to one’s own base while defending their own flag. The enemy flag can only be captured if the your flag remains on its spot.
4. If the tank carrying the flag is destroyed, the flag is dropped and it remains on the spot where flag carrier was destroyed.
5. If the flag is picked by one of the members of the team the flag belongs to, the flag instantly returns to the “Flag spot” at the base.
6. If the tank carrying the flag of the opposing team is destroyed, his teammate can pick the flag and carry it on. If the flag is not picked during 30 seconds it automatically returns “back home”.
7. It is possible to drop the flag of the opposing team deliberately by pressing the “F” key. The flag will be at the location where the “F” key was pressed. Note that, during five seconds after the flag was dropped the tank that dropped the flag cannot pick it up again.
8. For each flag captured (given the team’s own flag is on its spot) the team is awarded with a team point. The delivery of the enemy flag to the home base adds the same amount of points to total point pool of the game as complete wipeout of the opposing team.
Private Battles
You can create a private battle, by ticking “Private Battle” in “Create Battle” window and pressing “Start” button. You will see “Battle Info” window where you can copy the link to your battle and send to your friends you want to play with. Private battles are not shown in the general battle list
Career

Q: What are these ranks for?
A: Ranks give you access to different kinds of weapons and hulls. Higher ranks give access to more powerful equipment, the also make you look awesome in the eyes of beginners.

Q: How many tanks do I need to burn down to get the next rank?
A: The game utilizes a score system which determines your career progress. The amount of points awarded for a kill varies from 1 to 20. To get 20 points, you need to kill an enemy who has a much higher rank than you.
In the top left hand corner of the screen there is a sign which represents your current rank, there is also a bar with two numbers inside separated by a slash. The left number is you current points earned and the right number is the amount of points needed to reach next rank.

Q: How do I upgrade weapons?

A: To upgrade your weapon you need to click on its picture and look at the info window. Depending on your current rank and amount of crystals you may see one of the messages:

1. You don’t have required rank.
2. Not enough crystals for upgrade.
3. You can upgrade your equipment.

Q: The game was launched not long ago, why do some players have very high ranks?
A: Before the game was officially launched, there were two stages of testing, (although we are still testing the game). And it’s quite natural that people who have been playing since the launch of the game have high ranks.

Q: I think I’ve got a new rank, but it doesn’t appear next to my name, what to do?
A: It happens sometimes, just restart the game.


Communication

Q: How does the chat work?
A: There is a general chat for those who are in the active battle list or in the garage. Each battle uses its own chat, which can be accessed by pressing “Enter” key. It’s very easy to use. Just press “Enter” to type a message and then press “Enter” again to send it.

Q: How do I send messages to my teammates only?
A: Press “Ctrl “+ “Enter” or “T” key.

Q: How do I add/remove a player to/from Black List?
A: There several commands which must be entered in chat window:
/block name - block incoming messages from a player (works everywhere)
/unblock name – unblock incoming messages from a player (works everywhere).
/blocklist – displays a black list (ignore list)
/unblockall – clear the black list

Q: How can I access the forum?
A: Forum address - forum.alternativaplatform.com. Use the same login/password you use in the game.

A: I try to login into the Forum, but it says that my login/password is incorrect.

Q: This is a known problem and we are working on it. The forum just can’t handle such numbers of users. We’ll fix it soon.

Crystals

Q: How do I get the crystals?

A: The crystals are the only currency in this game you can buy items with. There are three ways of earning crystals.
1. You play the game actively and get lots of kills. The top players of at the end of the battle get their share of crystals from the total crystal pool of the battle (the size of the crystal pool is displayed in the bottom right hand corner).
2. You run around the map hoping to get blue boxes with crystals inside. The number of the blue boxes dropping from the sky depends on the total crystal pool of each battle, therefore to get more boxes you still need to kill. In the normal battles the crystal boxes are dropping at a steady rates.
3. Press the bin icon and you will see a window with different payment methods. Choose the method that suits you the best to purchase more crystals. 5 crystals cost around 1 rouble (different methods of payment have different commission rates).

Q: I have enough crystals to by this, but still I can’t, why?
A: To purchase something you must have either money (crystals), or required rank. In most cases you must have both. Many items become available only when you reach a required rank.

Q: I see that I have X amount of crystals during the battle, but when the battle ends, I get much less of them, why?
A: The crystals that are displayed during a battle are not your own, it is a total crystal pool of this battle. When the battle ends the crystals from this pool are distributed among the participants depending on their performance during the battle. The crystals are added into the battle pool when players kill each other. The kills are not all equal. To add 1 crystal into the battle pool one must destroy much more tanks with lower ranks than those with higher ranks. So obviously killing tough guys is more rewarding!

Q: How do I transfer crystals to other players?
A: You can’t do that. It is not possible to transfer crystals, tank hulls, weapons, consumables to other players.

Q: How do I sell items I don’t need anymore?
A: You can’t do that.

The Garage.
Q: How do I buy items?
A: The bottom bar is a Shop. The items with grey background are unavailable to you due to rank restrictions. Press on the icon of an item available to you and the press “Buy” button. The item is transferred to the upper bar “Your Items”.
If it is a hull, weapon or a tank skin, you need to press “Equip” button to equip it. If it is a consumable you simply can buy some more of them.

Q: What are “Lava”, “Polished Metal”? What do they do?
A: They are just tank skins, and don’t provide any bonuses. Though the more noticeable skin is the more chances you have to draw unwanted attention and be taken down than a player that has a colour pattern of his surrounding, say bushes or trees.

Q: Where can I see detailed information about stats and prices for weapons and hulls?
A: Read this forum thread.

Q: Is there a table displaying points needed for each rank?
A: It is here.


Troubleshooting.

Q: I’m trying to get into the game but I see “Could not connect to the server” or something like that, why?
A: As in every other online game, there are occasional restarts of Tankionline server. This is done after server crash (it happens sometimes), or for maintenance purposes (updates, patches, etc). The server can be down for the period of 3 to 30 minutes. Meanwhile you can go back to your everyday chores and do something useful in a real world which still exists, you know.

Q: I’m trying to get into the game, but it goes over all port numbers (5190, 5222, 5223), but I still can’t connect. What to do?
A: You need to open one of these ports. You can ask your system administrator or technical support of your Internet Service Provider to open the port for you. No ports – no tanks!

Q: I’m trying to get into the game but it freezes during loading.
A: Try to restart the game.


Q: I have very low FPS rate. What to do?
A: 1. You can decrease the game screen by pressing “-“ key (to increase press ”+” key)
2. You can try to use another browser (like Opera or Mozilla or Internet Explorer).
3. You can try to launch the game using different software, via Flash Player.
4. You can upgrade your computer.

Q: Why can’t I enter a battle I created myself?
A: When you create a battle you can specify the ranks of players that can enter the battle. If you don’t meet the rank requirements, you can’t enter your own battle.

Q: How do I remove my own battle?
A: You can’t do that. The battles are removed automatically when no one enters it for some time.

Q: What is FPS?
A: FPS means Frames Per Second. It is a number of time the screen is refreshed in a second. FPS should be around 24-25 to get comfortable performance.

Q: Why do I have 11-16 FPS every time?
A: To increase FPS rate you can adjust the screen size with “-“ and “+” keys during the battle. You also can update you Flash Player or buy a new PC.
Alternatively, you can use a standalone Flash Player to run the game without using your browser, sometimes it can dramatically improve FPS rate and makes the game more enjoyable.
And by the way if you increase the cache size of your browser up to 200Mb, you can store all maps, models, and other games files on your computer and you won’t have to wait the game to load that long.
If you use Firefox browser, disabling "Skype Extension for Firefox" may improve the game performance.

Q: I have problems with connection stability, what to do?

A: Many problems with freezes and disconnects can be avoided if a cable connection is used instead of WiFi. If you use router, you need to disable “traffic shaping” option in router settings.

Q: I’ve found a bug. What is the best way to report about it?

A: Click the “Bug” icon in the top right hand corner of the game screen. You will see a dialog box where you can fill in the heading and a description of the bug you have encountered and if possible upload a screenshot with a bug (the uploading takes some time). Another way is to send an e-mail to tanki@alternativaplatform.com, we can’t promise to reply back due to the large number of incoming mail, but we do read carefully every message we receive.

Q: have more questions! Where can I ask them?
A: The best place for this is here on the forum. There are many smart people here, and they will gladly help you out. Frequently asked questions are posted here in the FAQ. You also can send us an e-mail to tanki@alternativaplatform.com


Special thanks to Midgard and strrol for helping to make this FAQ.

Play the Tanks! PEW-PEW-PEW! OLOLOLO!

This message was edited 26 times. Last update was at 19/01/2010 16:41:44