FAQ
Problems getting Robombs to work? Maybe this section can provide some help!
Q: Which version should i download?
A: For Windows, download the Windows-only version. It’s the largest distribution but will cause the least trouble, because it includes everything needed to play the game. For Linux, either download the Windows/Linux-version or use the Webstart version. For all other systems (Mac OSX, Solaris), use the Webstart version. All versions except the Windows-only one require Java5 or higher to be installed on your system.
Q: I can’t start a server and/or a single player game. Why is that?
A: Make sure that the server port is free on your machine and that no firewall blocks it, The default port is 7000 but you may change it to anything you like in the server browser.
Q: There is a server, but the server browser doesn’t show it and i can’t connect. Any ideas?
A: The server browser is hard wired to port 7002. If this port isn’t available on your system (or on the server), you don’t see any server. In that case, you can still connect to the server if you know the IP address and port of the running server. Just type that into the “connect to” field and click “connect”.
If it still doesn’t work, check your firewall settings to see if it doesn’t block any of these ports.
Q: Port 7002 is free, the firewall is all fine…but i still don’t see any server. What can i do?
A: The server browser works by sending a broadcast into the LAN. All machines in the same segment will get this broadcast. Maybe your machine isn’t in the same segment as the server is (for example: The server is running on an internet address and you on a local one). In that case, type the server’s IP and port by hand into the “connect to” field to connect.
Q: The game is running slow. How can i improve this?
A: First, make sure that it’s really the game that is slow, not just the mouse rotation. When running a game, there’s a fps counter in the lower left corner. If the game runs at full speed, it shows something like 75fps (the game’s internal limit). If it’s much less, the game runs slower than it should on your machine. This can be caused by your CPU and/or your GPU being too slow. In the startup dialog that appears before the actual game starts, you can adjust the game’s resolution and (after clicking on “show options”) some detail settings. Try to lower/disable AA and/or shadows and see if that helps. If it doesn’t, consider to run the server on a more powerful machine in case that you were running one on your machine.
Q: The fps are fine, but the game feels jerky…it stutters somehow. How can i gid rid of this?
A: If you are running Windows XP and have a NVidia Geforce card of some kind, try to update the drivers. There’s some driver issue that can cause this stuttering on some machines. If that’s not an option, try to reduce the resolution and/or shadow details. It may help as well, but doesn’t really solve the problem.
Q: Graphics look very strange. The ground is just black and doesn’t look like on the screen shots. What can i do?
A: You can disable shadows in the setup dialog that pops up when starting the game. Some S3 graphic chips claim that they can do shadows…and some really can. But those who can’t get those dark mess. Unfortunately, the auto adjustment has no extra profile for S3 chips, which is why i gets fooled by the driver reporting that shadows will work. This will be fixed in a future version.
Q: The graphics look fine, just a tad too dark. Why is that?
A: Because your driver and/or graphics card doesn’t support rgb scaling. You should try to update your drivers. That helps in some cases.
Q: Mouse speed sucks. Where can i adjust it?
A: In the startup dialog that appears before the actual game starts (click on “show options”, then adjust the mouse speed).
Q: Where can i configure the controls?
A: You can’t. The game uses a fixed set of keys. Have a look at the instructions page on this website fpr more information about it.
Q: Why do i have to install that stinky Java? I’ve heard that it’s awful.
A: If you are using Windows, you don’t have to…just use the Windows-only download and you are fine. On Linux, you may have to. On Mac OSX and Solaris, Java already is installed. And it’s not stinky and not awful. It enables this game to be played on four different platforms.