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                              Odamex v0.4.2 README
                              http://odamex.net/
                                 Authored by:
                            Dean "deathz0r" Joseph
                            Alex "AlexMax" Mayfield
                            Ralph "Ralphis" Vickers
                        Revision date: February 17th, 2009
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Table of contents:
	1. Introduction
		1.1 What is Odamex?
		1.2 Features at a Glance

	2. Installation
		2.1 Requirements
		2.2 Installation - binary download
		2.3 Installation - source download

	3. Setting up Odamex*
		3.1 Client
		3.2 Server
		3.3 Launcher
		3.4 Master

	4. Gamemodes
		4.1 Free for All
		4.2 Head to Head
		4.3 Team Deathmatch
		4.4 Capture the Flag
		4.5 Cooperative

	5. Reference*
		5.1 Odamex client configuration
		5.2 Odamex server configuration
		5.3 Console commands

	6. Frequently Asked Questions
		6.1 Frequently Asked Questions*
		6.2 If you still need help...

* Coming soon
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Section 1: Introduction

1.1 - What is Odamex?

Odamex is a modification of DOOM to allow players to compete with each other
over the Internet using the client/server architecture. Thanks to the source
code release of DOOM by id Software in December 1997, there have been many
modifications that enhanced DOOM in various ways. These modifications are known
as "source ports", as early modifications mainly ported DOOM to other platforms
and operating systems such as Windows and Macintosh.

Odamex is based on the CSDoom 0.62 source code originally created by Sergey 
Makovkin, which is based on the ZDoom 1.22 source code created by Randy Heit.

Odamex is released under the GNU General Public License v2. Please read 
LICENSES for further details regarding the license.


1.2 - Features at a Glance

Odamex features:

 * The popular ZDoom 1.22 core engine and CSDoom 0.62 core net code
 * Compatibility with many major operating systems, including Windows, Linux,
   FreeBSD and Mac OSX
 * Core gameplay modeled on the original doom2.exe
 * Accurate playback of doom2.exe demo files
 * Streamlined WAD loading, allowing the server and clients to load WAD files
   on the fly without needing to restart the client or server
 * Compatibility with Boom, MBF and CTF Standard maps
 * Deathmatch, Cooperative, Team Deathmatch and CTF gametypes
 * Jumping, Mouselook and other non-standard features available as server-side
   options
 * A spectator mode, allowing players to watch games already in-play
 * Comprehensive cheat and exploit countermeasures
 * An open source code base licensed under the GPL, available for anyone to
   examine, compile, or modify to their liking

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Section 2: Installation

2.1 - Requirements

Odamex requires the following in order to operate:

	* A Pentium-compatible or PowerPC microprocessor
	* 32MB of RAM
	* An Internet connection
	* 3MB of hard disk space


2.2 - Installation - binary download

Binary downloads of Odamex are available from *insert url here*. There are
currently binaries available for Windows and MacOS X platforms.

For Windows, extract the contents of odamex-win32-0.3.zip to a desired
location, add a Doom or Doom II IWAD and run odamex.exe.

For MacOS, TBA

For Linux, TBA

For BSD, TBA


2.3 - Installation - source download

The source code of release versions are available from *insert url here*. If
you are interested in the bleeding edge development of Odamex, you can access
the SVN at http://odamex.net/svn/root with anonymous read access. Be warned
however that it might be incompatible with current release versions, and 
stability is not guaranteed.

The following libraries are required:
	
	* SDL v1.2.9+ (http://libsdl.org/)
	* SDL_mixer v1.2.6+ (http://libsdl.org/projects/SDL_mixer/)

For Windows, you will need Microsoft Visual C++ 6 or later with nasm
(http://nasm.sourceforge.net/), or MingW32 (http://mingw.org/) with MSYS,
Codeblocks (http://codeblocks.org/) or any other program that can be used to
assist compiling Odamex with MingW. There is a Win32 makefile and a Codeblocks
project available for Odamex compilation.

For MacOS, you can use the makefile with gcc.

For Linux, you can use the makefile with gcc.

For BSD, you can use the makefile with gcc.

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Section 3: Setting up Odamex*

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Section 4: Gamemodes

4.1 - Free for All

Free For All, otherwise known simply as deathmatch (DM) or referred to by its
acronym as FFA, is a game mode where the objective is to attain the highest
amount of frags and reach the set fraglimit, while facing one or more players.
It is the most basic and played game mode.

4.2 - Head to Head

If you'd like to be given a break and shift your focus from fighting a plethora
of players at once onto battling a single individual, then Head to Head would 
be the perfect choice. Head to Head, commonly referred to as 1-on-1 or dueling,
is a variant of deathmatch where the amount of players playing simultaneously
is limited to only two, hence the name "Head to Head". The objective is the
same -- to rack up the highest quantity of kills, yet only against one
adversary. This game mode particularly allows for high competition among
individuals and many tournaments center on this game mode. 

4.3 - Team Deathmatch

This is the ideal game mode if you would like to still fight a horde of players
yet have some allies back you up. Team Deathmatch is a team-based variant of
deathmatch where players are divided into teams determined by color;
traditionally blue and red teams. The goal is overall the same, yet a whole
team must achieve a higher amount of kills than another team.

4.4 - Capture the Flag

A highly popular and addictive game mode, Capture the Flag, or CTF, draws
attention to strategic and team-based gameplay. Capture the Flag, like Team
Deathmatch, is a team-based game mode, where two teams, most commonly
distinguished by the colors red and blue, fight each other. However, the
objective is not to rack up the highest amount of frags.

Each team has a base with a flag in it that is of the same color as the team to
which it belongs (e.g. the red flag belongs to the red team). One team has to
capture the flag of the other team while it is still in possession of its own
flag (e.g. the blue team has to capture the red team's flag while it still has
its own flag and vice versa). 

Then, the team has to bring the enemy flag to its base to where its own flag is
to score a point (the blue team takes the red flag and brings it back to its
own base to where its own flag is situated, so it can score). If the team's
flag had already been taken, then it cannot score until its flag had been
returned (if the red team had already taken the blue flag while the blue team
has the red flag, then the blue team cannot score unless its flag is returned
and vice versa). To return one's team's flag, the person who is holding the
flag has to be killed and the flag must be touched by the team to which it
belongs.

4.5 - Cooperative

If going against other players isn't your style, then you can always battle
against the monsters with other players on single-player maps. In cooperative
games, players work together to complete the level and any existing subsequent
ones. When a player dies, he or she starts back at the beginning of the map
without any keys, items, or weapons that he or she may have acquired on that
same level, unless the server has such settings that allow for players to keep
their keys, items, and weapons upon respawning. 

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Section 5: Reference*

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Section 6: Frequently Asked Questions

6.1 - Frequently Asked Questions*

6.2 - If you still need help...

If you still have questions that are not answered in this documentation, there
are several different resources at your disposal that may help you find the
answer you are looking for.

Much of the documentation in this manual has been taken directly from
http://odamex.net, the official homepage of Odamex. You may find more
information by checking the wiki or bug tracker, both of which can be accessed
from the main page.

If you prefer a more direct method of speaking with the development team there
are multiple methods in which you can make contact. Through the website, you
can create an account and post to the public message boards.

For a more speedy reply, you may want to consider using IRC to contact the team
on irc.oftc.net #odamex. IRC stands for Internet Relay Chat. By using an IRC
client to connect to a certain server and channel, you can communicate with the
development team and other fans of Odamex in real time. However, knowing the
ins and outs of IRC is beyond the scope of this document.

Some recommended IRC clients are:

 *mIRC (http://www.mirc.com/)
  Windows client (GUI, Shareware).
 *X-Chat (http://www.xchat.org/)
  Windows/UNIX client (GUI, Open Source) 
 *irssi (http://www.irssi.org/)
  Windows/UNIX client (Terminal, Open Source)

Online based IRC clients: 

 *netsplit.de (http://irc.netsplit.de/webchat/?net=OFTC&room=%23odamex)
  Web/browser-based client (Java) 
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