150 FAQ

Stan edited this page 2024-08-25 15:04:31 +02:00

Table of Contents

• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
• General
• Platform-Specific
• Multiplayer
• Gameplay
• Contributing
• Main game
• Map making
• Modding
• Miscellaneous

![]FAQ:Empires-Ascendant-1024.png

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Latest release:
Alpha XXVI - Zhuangzi
Changelog

[modified: Winter 2022/23**, style=color: gray; font-size: 90%)]span(**Last ## **Troubleshooting**

NOTE: If the problem remains, ask for help either on the Forum or via IRC #0ad/ #0ad-dev^[(1)]FAQ#Footnote^, the game is maintained by volunteers who do all sorts of tasks, be patient.

General

Sure! Here is the table converted to markdown format:

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Issue	Solution
Storage location for cache, config, logs, mods, replays and screenshots	See wiki/GameDataPaths.
Crash when starting the game/ No replay files are generated	Do you have any antivirus software running? Try disabling it or add an exception for 0AD.
Crash when starting a match	Disable Post-processing in the game options.
Errors are displayed/ Game crashes on startup/ Permanently black screen	1. Try to disable all mods not compatible with the new version via the Mod Selection page. 2. If you cannot access the Mod Selection page, try to locate your user.cfg file (see wiki/GameDataPaths) and either backup and then delete it or search for mod.enabledmods. Replace this line with: #!cfg mod.enabledmods = "mod public" 3. In some cases after disabling old mods, you might also have to delete the contents of your /0ad/mods/user folder. The wiki article wiki/GameDataPaths should tell you where to find it.
Why does the screen keep going black for a short time?	Try disabling FreeSync on the monitor to fix the black screen issue. - Related forum thread: 0 A.D. Screen Goes Black (20/Nov/21)
How do I increase or decrease the user interface?	Settings => Options => Graphics(general) => GUI scale
How can I change the maximum/minimum camera zoom?	Try to locate your user.cfg file (see wiki/GameDataPaths) and add the following lines to it: #!cfg view.zoom.min = "30" view.zoom.max = "300" By decreasing view.zoom.min you can zoom in closer, and by increasing view.zoom.max you can zoom out further. The default values of the game are set in the [default.cfg]source:ps/trunk/binaries/data/config/default.cfg@27104#L577. With a larger zoom max more things have to be drawn, expect reduced performance, especially on weak GPU's. In single player mode, you can open the developer overlay with Alt + D and toggle the Restrict camera option so that you can adjust the camera zoom to your preferences. ![]FAQ:restrict_camera.png
Game is lagging	Network latency: The lobby is hosted by us, but all the games you play connect you directly to the game's host. Depending on your location and internet quality, you may experience a high Ping/ latency with certain players. NOTE: If you suffer from a consistently high Ping time, you will cause lag for all other players. Using an Ethernet cable can help a little. You can check your RTT (aka Round Trip Time/ Ping) with different hosts by pressing F11 or Alt+F11 and toggle through until you see the Network host/client statistics panel. ![]FAQ:in_game_profiler_network.png Computation lag: This is a common problem with the game. The main factors that determine how smoothly 0 A.D. runs are primarily the CPU speed, the amount of RAM available, the type of graphics card in your computer, the game options, and the game's setup settings you choose. If you are unhappy with the performance of the game on your computer, there are some things you can do to improve it, but be aware that the lag for large battle scenes will likely be noticeable regardless of your settings or PC specifications. 1. Before Launching 0 A.D. - It is recommended to close all other applications as they consume resources and affect the overall performance of the system. 2. Game Options - Antialiasing: FXAA has no performance impact, MSAA only for good GPU's. Must be disabled for macOS, see [Platform-specific]FAQ#macOS. - Set Model Quality to the lowest value. - Disable Shadows or choose Low Quality from the dropdown menu and a low value for Cutoff distance. - Enable Water Effects, but disable High-quality water effects and Water refractions. - Texture Quality - Low - Texture anisotropic filter - 1x 3. Game Setup - Play on smaller maps and limit the population to 600 units across the map for all players. Rendering, simulation (for example gathering/attacking), and the pathfinder all have an impact on performance. If you have more units, more things need to be drawn, which affects rendering, more things to calculate for unit activity affects simulation, and larger map sizes cause longer paths, which affects the pathfinder. NOTE: Multiplayer games are calculated on all computers simultaneously, with the slowest PC determining the game speed. If your computer is a bit outdated, you should follow the guidelines listed above. This might make the game faster for everyone. By toggling the wiki/In-GameProfiler with F11 or Alt+F11 you can see which processes take the most time, often it is the render process and in large battle scenes also the sim update. ![]FAQ:in_game_profiler_render.png Wiki/GamePerformance summarizes the problems, that need to be solved, to improve performance.
Frame rate - CPU and GPU workload	1. Every frame that is calculated by the GPU is "prepared" by the CPU, one of them will limit your frame rate (FPS). When you select graphics effects, you create additional workloads for your GPU and CPU, causing your framerate to drop. Current PCs are mostly CPU limited in 0 A.D. Since graphics effects mostly affect the GPU, you can (on newer PCs) choose the higher graphics effects without sacrificing performance. 2. Thermal throttling is especially known for mobile PCs. If the hardware gets too hot, it throttles its performance until the hardware cools down again. Therefore, a limited but constant frame rate is usually better than a frame rate that fluctuates due to thermal throttling. 3. VSync will also limit the framerate to the framerate of the monitor. - Related forum thread: Recommended FPS Throttling? (16/Dec/20)
No sound, no audio, or 0 A.D. is the only app with sound	There are some settings in the game related to volume levels. From the main menu, click Settings, Options, Sound. If you start 0 A.D. then connect a sound device or plug in an audio jack, then usually it is necessary to configure your operating system to use that new sound device as the default sound device and restart 0 A.D. in order for it to be detected. If you often do that on Linux with pulseaudio, consider enabling "allow-moves" in the OpenAL configuration. More on the configuration is later in this answer. Note that the default setting changed between release version 1.19.0 and 1.20.0, to remove a workaround for a KDE bug related to the primary audio device. Thanks to Dunedan and seeh for the idea. Assuming that sound works for other apps while 0 A.D. is not running then troubleshooting the sound output of 0 A.D. likely involves troubleshooting OpenAL on your system. This is because 0 A.D. uses the OpenAL sound system for audio output. It can be useful to test other games that use OpenAL, such as chromium-bsu, supertux, supertuxkart, dustracing2d, scorched3d, lugaru, warzone2100, ioquake3, and rtcw. Check the OpenAL configuration, which on Linux and Mac is stored at /etc/openal/alsoft.conf, and on Windows is stored in %AppData%\alsoft.ini. If it does not already exist then download alsoftrc.sample, rename it to the appropriate name for your OS and store it in the correct location, listed earlier. Ensure that the correct "driver", also known as "audio backend", is being used by OpenAL. There are reports from users where unexpected drivers were used by OpenAL, for example trying to use jack, failing, next using alsa instead of Pulseaudio. The only documentation easily found about the OpenAL configuration is in the comments within alsoft.conf. When referencing drivers in the OpenAL configuration, use the name of the audio backend within the quote marks at alc.cpp. Recommended OpenAL drivers configuration statement: - Linux: drivers = pulse,alsa, - Mac: drivers = core, - Windows: drivers = wasapi, Note that OpenAL driver availability depends on your operating system and compile-time choices for your copy of the OpenAL library. The openal-info utility lists detected devices. If you are using Linux then openal-info may be available for your distribution in a package called, for example, openal-info. For further help with OpenAL, contact the OpenAL developers via the means specified on their website. Note that OpenAL can only work as well as the audio backend or driver that it is configured to use, so that is another area to consider during troubleshooting.

Platform-Specific

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Game does not capture the left ctrl key press.

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Game fails to launch on Ubuntu.

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Mouse cursor is missing

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Triple screen, 0AD doesn't span over all screens!

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Mouse cannot change screen on multiple displays e.g. 5120x1440

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Can't move cursor through the entire screen (mouse is restricted to some region)

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Can't switch audio device for 0AD

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0 A.D. cannot be opened because the developer cannot be verified.

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0 A.D. is damaged and can't be opened.

![]FAQ:macOS_damaged.png

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All but player silhouettes and menus are just white.

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Batch size adjustment and delete without the confirmation dialog doesn't work with the Shift key.

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Game does not render correctly/
Rainbow colors

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Mouse cursor disappearing

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Do I have to uninstall the old version when updating?

<!--- The following is an anchor to uniquely identify a position in the document. <https://trac.wildfiregames.com/wiki/WikiFormatting#SettingAnchors> -->
The left ctrl problem seems to be a result of the show cursor functionality of gnome-tweak. Related forum thread: Crash on map selection and hotkey problem (19/Jul/21)
If snap doesn't work, you can try the PPA (Ubuntu's Personal Packaged Application), see link below. Related forum thread: Game fails to launch - Assertion failed: "!m_Worker" (20/Sep/21)
Try to locate your user.cfg file (see wiki/GameDataPaths) and add the following lines to it: #!cfg cursorbackend = "system" nohwcursor = "true" Related forum thread: I don't have a cursor in the game (30/Apr/22)
Workaround it with windowed mode and xfce4 fullscreen. Related IRC chat: Triple screen Linux (25/Dec/21)
Try to locate your user.cfg file (see wiki/GameDataPaths) and add the following line to it: #!cfg borderless.fullscreen = "false" Related Ticket: #6644 - Game Menu not accessible when playing at resolution 5120x1440 fullscreen (24/Oct/22)
Try to open the game in a window mode (Alt + Enter) and disable mouse grab via Settings => Options => Graphics (general): ![]FAQ:mouse_grab_disabled.png If it's impossible to open the game in a window mode try to locate your user.cfg file (see wiki/GameDataPaths) and add the following line to it: #!cfg window.mousegrabinfullscreen = "false" Related Ticket: #6649 - Can't move cursor through the entire screen on Linux with GNOME (12/Nov/22)
Not being able to switch the audio device 0AD uses to output sound while 0AD is running might be caused by a bug in KDE or a limitation of the default OpenAL configuration. To fix that, consider adding the following option to OpenAL's configuration file (either /etc/openal/alsoft.conf or ~/.alsoftrc): #!cfg pulse allow-moves=true More information about this issue is in the answer to the question "No sound, no audio, or 0 A.D. is the only app with sound"
The reason for this message is that 0 A.D. would need to be signed with a developer AppleID, which costs an annual subscription. At the moment, this problem can be bypassed for the installation by right-clicking and clicking Open. ![]FAQ:macOS_installation.jpg See Apple Support: Open a Mac app from an unidentified developer
When downloaded through a typical browser, an attribute called com.apple.quarantine is added to the file. When the file is opened, macOS Gatekeeper is triggered. The problem would probably not occur if 0 A.D. would be signed with a developer AppleID, which costs an annual subscription. As a workaround, users can manually remove extended attributes using xattr, a natively installed macOS utility for viewing/removing extended attributes from files. Open Terminal and type the following command. xattr -rc /Applications/0\ A.D..app NOTE: If the file was downloaded using curl --remote-name <URL> or wget <URL>, the problem would not occur because no attribute would be added. Related article: How to View & Remove Extended Attributes from a File on Mac OS (3/May/18) Related forum thread: M1 install "corrupt" error (26/Feb/23)
Disable the graphics option Antialiasing. Related forum thread: All but player silhouettes and menues are just white? (3/Oct/21)
The default batch adjustment hotkey (Shift) seems to not work correctly on non-Apple mice, set it to another, for example Alt. Related ticket: #6501 - Changing the batch size via mouse wheel broken (18/Apr/22)	To delete without confirmation, press the Fn key in addition to Shift, or set it to another key, for example Alt. ![]FAQ:delete_shift.png
You need to adjust the property settings of the 0 A.D. application, see the link below. Related forum thread: Game does not render correctly (22/Feb/21)
Go to the Graphics (general) settings tab and switch to Windowed mode. After restarting the game, the mouse cursor should be visible all the time. Related ticket: #6369 - Mouse disappears after 1st click (30/Oct/21)
Windows is the only operating system that requires you to uninstall the old version of 0 A.D. when you try to upgrade to a new release. Related IRC chat: Updating the game on Windows (11/Apr/22)

Multiplayer

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How to play online?

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Registering for the Game Lobby does not work:

- "The server's certificate could not be verified or the TLS handshake did not complete successfully."
- "Certificate expired"
- "The stream has been closed by the server"
- "An I/O error occurred"

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"Authentication failed."

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I forgot my Game Lobby password.

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The Game Lobby is empty or nearly empty. Or, I can't see my friend in the lobby, but we are definitely both logged in.

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My friend cannot join my game and I cannot join their game.

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Failed to connect to the server. UDP port 20595 not being forwarded.

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How to do port forwarding?

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How to play via LAN?

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Can I host my own lobby/ server?

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How can I ban observers in multiplayer mode?

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[#LobbyModeration I was kicked, muted or banned from the lobby. Why, and how do I rejoin?]

Go to Multiplayer => Game Lobby => Create a new account, then you should see this page, now you can join a game or set one up yourself via Host Game. Or, watch this video to see a demonstration of how to create a new 0 A.D. lobby account.
Try to disable TLS via Settings => Options => Networking / Lobby ![]FAQ:TLS_disabled.png <div class="important" style="background: #ffd"> NOTE: There is a limit to the number of accounts you can submit per hour; if it doesn't work, try again later.
This message usually appears, when you have got a typo in your password or username. If you are sure both are correct, you could create a forum account and contact user1. ![]FAQ:password.jpg
Resetting is currently not possible via the user interface, you would need to create an account on the Forum and contact user1.
You may be using an older version of the game. Each major version of 0ad has a separate lobby. See play0ad.com/download for the latest version, or https://releases.wildfiregames.com/ for archived versions. Ensure that you are using the same version as your friends in order to join games together.
Firewall: Try disabling it or add an exception for 0AD. Related forum thread: How open ports for 0AD multiplayer match? (8/Mar/19)	Router: If you forward the port, everyone will be able to join you. If you use STUN when hosting, probably many but not everyone will be able to join you. If you can't join someone else's game, there's nothing you can do about it other than informing the host that he should port forward or host your own game.
There are several possible causes of this error message. Often it is caused by an incorrect network configuration on the host side. The host must ensure that UPnP is enabled at the router or UDP port 20595 is forwarded to their correct private IP address. If you see this error when attempting to connect to all hosts using STUN then you should check whether you have an Internet connection that uses Carrier-Grade NAT. If you discover that you have CGNAT then you may be able to ask your ISP if you can subscribe to "public IP address service". See the forum thread for more information. An alternative solution is to use a VPN to play 0ad online. Although the above are the most common causes, there are numerous other scenarios that can cause this symptom. Here are some examples. Double-NAT networking configuration: Troubleshoot and remove the unnecessary NAT device. This could be present client-side or host-side. Wireless network with too-high packet loss: try connecting with an ethernet cable instead. Intel Puma chipset in the modem or router causing too-high packet loss: replace the affected device. Inappropriate MTU used with a VPN causing loss of larger packets: should be fixed in 0ad alpha 27 and later.
Port forwarding is a way to make a computer on your network accessible to computers on the Internet, even though they are behind a firewall/router. This is commonly used when playing games or downloading files. If you have forwarded a port in your router settings, it is referred to as an open port. 0 A.D. uses UDP 20595 by default. Related wiki article: [Wiki/Manual_SettingUpAGame#Settingupyournetwork]Manual_SettingUpAGame#Settingupyournetwork ![]FAQ:router_port_forwarding.jpg
See this forum thread with detailed instructions - Multiplayer on LAN (16/Jan/17).
Comprehensive instructions for hosting a lobby can be found in this Github repository: github.com/0ad/lobby-bots. So far, there is no way to run a game on a central server. One of the players is always the host. Related forum thread: Dedicated Game Servers for Host Activities? (17/Nov/21) <div class="important" style="background: #ffd"> NOTE: Don't forget to modify your user.cfg file to connect to the correct lobby.
Possibilities for the Host of the game: Set up a password. In the Options under Networking/Lobby find Observer limit and set it to zero and no one can join after the game starts. Open the chat window and type /kick (person can rejoin) or /ban (person can't rejoin) followed by the user nickname. Use the Tab key to autocomplete player names. ![]FAQ:ban_player.png
We hope that you too want to support an enjoyable environment for everyone in the lobby. Please be aware of the conduct that is against the rules by reading through the lobby legal terms, especially the Terms of Use. Lobby moderators watch the chat messages in the public lobby, game room names, and player names. Misconduct is punished with kicks, mutes or bans, typically on a reactive basis that may be delayed by hours. So, don't assume that the messages you sent just before being muted were the cause of the mute. If you were simply kicked then you are able and allowed to reconnect to the lobby immediately. There are four English swearwords that cause the profanity filter bot to punish players. Initially, the bot will kick a user from the lobby for using profanity. With subsequent infractions the bot will mute a player for 2 days. If you were manually muted or banned then it is usually intentional, and you can privately contact a lobby moderator, via the forum or IRC chat, in order to ask about the reason for the mute/ban or engage in the appeal process. Please include in the message your lobby username, the approximate time and date that it happened, and a description of what happened. You are not allowed to publicly complain about or even publicly discuss a ban. This helps to avoid spamming public chat with heated argument, and it ensures that there is an atmosphere conducive to a judicial process, Instead, the appeal process must be done through private communication with the lobby moderators. Lobby moderators include admins, moderators and helpers. The current lobby admin is user1. Current lobby helpers are Norse_Harold, Ginnungagap, Pemulis, seeh, Defc0n/Rossenburg , and ("only in an emergency") Dunedan.

Gameplay

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How to beat the AI and get better in this game?

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What are the differences between Random, Skirmish and Scenarios maps?

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What does the triangular icon above my unit indicate?

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How to interpret these resistance numbers in the tooltip?

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How to defeat rams and siege towers?

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Is training units in batches more efficient than training one at a time?

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Can I order my units to run?

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What do the different formations do?

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How do you destroy a building instead of capturing it?

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How does capturing work?

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Where can I find all keyboard combinations for the game?

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How do I select idle units?

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How do you select only military units?

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Can you make groups of units?

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How does trading work?

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Do you get the specified loot amount when you kill an enemy unit?

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Does the game have cheat codes?

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How can I get units to move as individuals and not in formation?

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How do I get a Game Lobby rating and how is it calculated?

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How do I report a user who quits a rated game without resigning?

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How are the points for total, economy, military and exploration calculated?

Read these threads and you will defeat the AI and most likely become a competitive player in the Game Lobby. Related forum threads: Multiplayer strategy guide (11/May/17) A collection of tips & tricks that might help players improving (24/Dec/22) Related Reddit thread: Strategies to beat AI (17/Jul/22) Alternatively, you can watch Youtube replays (see [Miscellaneous]FAQ#Miscellaneous below) of pro players or download their replays to better see their build order and which tech upgrades they focus on. Related forum topic: Game Replays
See [wiki/Mod_Layout#maps]Mod_Layout#maps ![]FAQ:map_type_selection.png
It shows the current rank of your unit. The bar increases during combat by gaining experience points, once a certain threshold is reached, the unit moves up a rank. Depending on the type of unit (Healer, Ranged or Melee), certain values of the unit are boosted. Move the mouse cursor over the rank icon in the HUD to see the benefits of each rank. The Rank icon and Experience status bar can be toggled on/off in the Options on the Game Session tab. ![]FAQ:promotion.png <div class="important" style="background: #ffd"> NOTE: Units can also gain experience points when garrisoned in certain military buildings that have Rigorous Training.
There are three major types of damage: Hack damage is usually inflicted in close combat by infantry or cavalry units. Pierce damage is dealt by ranged units, either infantry archers or skirmishers or even special siege units such as bolt shooters. Crush damage is caused by siege units such as catapults or rams. The combat system works by matching the attack type with the resistance type. In the image below, the Gallic Mercenary Cavalry has a 6.5 Hack attack and the Athenian Hoplite has a 5 Hack resistance level. The value in brackets is the effective resistance percentage, calculated like this 1-0.9^resistance level^ (1-0.9^5^ = 41%). For each attack made by the Gallic Mercenary Cavalry, 59% of their Hack attack will deal damage to the Athenian Hoplite. ![]FAQ:attack_resitance.png Attack damage and resistance levels can be increased through technology upgrades, unit ranks or auras. Some units also have a bonus against certain unit classes, e.g. the Athenian Hoplite in the image above has a 3x attack bonus against cavalry units. Related forum threads: Using a percentage for armour (15/Jan/13) Armour tooltip format (13/Sep/19) Armour computations (10/Jan/20) Resistance calculations (5/May/22)	In addition, there are Status Effects that can cause various (temporary) effects. As of Alpha XXVI - Zhuangzi, this is a small feature that is limited to two effects. The Iberian Champion Cavalry can set enemies on Fire ![]source:ps/trunk/binaries/data/mods/public/art/textures/ui/session/icons/status_effects/burning.png@27104 and the Mauryan Guard Archer can Poison ![]source:ps/trunk/binaries/data/mods/public/art/textures/ui/session/icons/status_effects/poisoned.png@27104 enemy units. Different resistances for Status Effects are not implemented yet, meaning that if the unit is vulnerable, it will suffer the same damage as any other unit, regardless of tech upgrades. ![]FAQ:status_effect_poison.png
Most effective are units that deal Hack or Crush damage, such as axemen, macemen, swordsmen, war elephants and rams themselves. Ranged units primarily deal Pierce damage, and are therefore ineffective against rams and siege towers. Large numbers of female workers can also be utilized, but they have a low HP and should therefore only be used as a last resort. Related forum thread: Have rams been nerfed for the next patch? (11/Jul/22)
As a rule of thumb, training units with batches is more efficient the longer you do it and the larger the batch is. Related forum thread: Batch Training (The Good, The Bad and The Ugly) (24/Aug/21) <div class="important" style="background: #ffd"> NOTE: If you press the Batch production key (Shift by default) and use the mouse wheel, you can change the batch size when the mouse is over the unit icon; alternatively, you can set the batch size in the options.
The unit only runs when it flees or when it is called into formation. There is no special command with which you can order a unit to run. Related forum thread: Walk vs. run (20/Jun/21)
Your units are positioned in a certain way, for example in the Box ![]source:ps/trunk/binaries/data/mods/public/art/textures/ui/session/icons/formations/box.png@27104 formation your melee troops are on the edge and your ranged units in the middle. Apart from that, there is no bonus that derives from forming a formation. Related forum thread: What do the different formations do? (21/May/22)
Right-click the building you want to destroy while holding down the Ctrl key. <div class="important" style="background: #ffd"> NOTE: The default behavior is set to change to destroy instead of capture with the release of Alpha XXVII. There will be no option to switch back to the old behavior.
The buildings have capture points for all players. If a player reaches 100% of the capture points for that building that player gains control over that building. Capture points can be gained by ordering units to capture that building or by that building standing inside a players area of influence (the player-coloured borders).
Either in the game itself via the GUI Hotkeys button or see wiki/HotKeys.
You can assign a specific Hotkey via the GUI for selecting: Builders (unit that can construct buildings) Workers (unit that can gather resources) Warriors (unit suited for fighting) Any idle unit In addition, press the Include offscreen key, by default the Alt key, to select all. ![]FAQ:idle_hotkeys.jpg
Press Alt and draw a rectangle over your units.
Select a bunch of units and then press Ctrl + 1, you can make more multiple groups by using different numbers. To select this group, press the 1 key or another number key to which you have assigned your group.
Let your traders move between markets or docks, which can be your own, your allies' or those of a neutral player. If you want to gain the most resources, choose the ones furthest apart from each other, since trading efficiency increases with distance. In addition to the gains made by the trader, each market or dock owner receives an international bonus when trading between players. The Barter&Trade menu allows you to set what is traded by clicking on the up or down arrows for each resource. ![]FAQ:barter_trade.png
If you kill/ destroy an enemy unit or building, you get the specified loot and all resources that the unit had on it. You do not get this loot if you delete one of your own units or buildings.
See [wiki/Manual_Cheats]Manual_Cheats
Right-click on the symbol in the top left, the small indicator changes the symbol. ![]FAQ:formations_disabeld.png
Currently, only 1v1 matches are rated, and this option can be turned on or off by the host of the game. When the option is turned on, it will be displayed at the bottom of the game settings page. You will start with a score of 1200, which will increase if you win and decrease if you lose. After your first rated game, the rating will be visible. ![]FAQ:rated_game.png <div class="important" style="background: #ffd"> NOTE: The rating adjustment is calculated with a simplified ELO algorithm, the exact details can be found here: elo.py.
You need to find the correct replay file (see wiki/GameDataPaths) and upload it here: Ratings Disputes and Offence Reporting (11/Jun/21).
Total: Sum of economy, military and exploration score Economy: Resources gathered + trade income, divided by 10 Military: Sum of enemyUnitsKilledValue, unitsCapturedValue, enemyBuildingsDestroyedValue and buildingsCapturedValue, divided by 10 Exploration: percentMapExplored, multiplied with 10 ![]FAQ:score.jpg

Contributing

Main game

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How can I contribute?

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If I find a solution to a bug, what should I do?

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Where and how should I report bugs?

![]FAQ:contributing.jpg We can always use another helping hand for this project. There are several ways to help and contribute: Programming code.wildfiregames.com Engine development (mainly C++) Gameplay / UI development (mainly done in JS, using the engine as the basis) AI development (also mainly in JS) Art wildfiregames.com/forum/art-development Ranges from 2D icons, textures to 3D models Testing trac.wildfiregames.com/wiki/ReportingErrors Just play the game and report problems and bugs you found. Documentation trac.wildfiregames.com/wiki Keep the wiki up to date Translating transifex.com/wildfire-games/0ad Help to translate the game into different languages. Modding wildfiregames.com/forum/game-modification Create your own mods/ maps and share them with the community. Promoting wildfiregames.com/forum Be a community manager and help others on the Forum or social media. Spread the word by creating gameplay videos or writing a blog article about it. For more details, check the wiki/GettingStarted article. Contact us through the Forum or via our IRC #0ad/ #0ad-dev^[(1)]FAQ#Footnote^ channels.

Phabricator (aka Phab) is used to manage patches. You can upload your solution there and request a review of your patch. If the developers accept it, it will be added to the development version and later ends up in the bundled release version. Details on how to submit patches can be found here: wiki/SubmittingPatches. <div class="important" style="background: #ffd"> NOTE: The only thing that gets a patch committed is a team member who pauses work on their own feature to review something. So if you feel you are not being heard, you may need to nag a developer, the best way is usually via IRC #0ad/ #0ad-dev^[(1)]FAQ#Footnote^.

Guidance on how to report bugs correctly can be found here: wiki/ReportingErrors. Before creating a ticket, you are encouraged to do a quick search, as the issue may already be known. You can use the search box below to search all tickets (open and closed) by title.

Map making

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How to get started?

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How can I play my self-created maps from the Scenario Editor?

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How to create a map preview ?

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Can maps be scripted to feel more like a mission?

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How to garrison my units in a building or ship through the Scenario Editor?

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Can you recommend a video?

The game comes with a Scenario Editor (aka Atlas) for information see: Related wiki article: [wiki/Atlas_Manual]Atlas_Manual Related forum topic: Scenario Design/ Map making

Depending on which options you enabled/disabled when saving the map, you should find them under the correct map filter. Related forum thread: How Can I Play My Own Maps? (7/Jan/22) <div class="important" style="background: #ffd"> NOTE: Post your creation in the Scenario Design/Map making subforum, if it is well received it may even be included in the main game or become part of the community-maps-2 mod. To find your saved maps, see also [wiki/Atlas_Tricks]Atlas_Tricks.

Must be done manually, see links below for instructions: Related wiki article: [wiki/Atlas_Manual_Map_Preview]Atlas_Manual_Map_Preview Related patch: [Hack for making a map preview]Phab:D4117

Triggers can change the state of a unit directly, or they can be used to send the usual commands that users send through the user interface, see the wiki article for more information. Some standard maps that use triggers are Danubius, Polar Sea or Jebel Barkal. Related wiki article: [wiki/Triggers]Triggers Related project with intensive use of triggers: Campaign: Macedonia (5/Jun/20) <div class="important" style="background: #ffd"> NOTE: Triggers must be programmed in JavaScript, there is no graphical interface for them.

There are four ways to workaround this limitation. A graphical interface solution depends on ticket #3008 (13/Jan/15). Start the simulation in the Scenario Editor (aka Atlas), garrison your units, and then save the map while it is still running. Related forum thread: How to put units in the ship in the editor (19/Apr/22) Edit the .xml file by inserting Garrison and GarrisonedEntity, see [skirmishes/sicilia_nomad_2p.xml]source:ps/trunk/binaries/data/mods/public/maps/skirmishes/sicilia_nomad_2p.xml@27589#L15623 for an example. This can easily lead to unwanted errors if done incorrectly. Open the .xml file and paste the following code into some Script tags, replace HOLDER_ID and ENT1_ID, ENT2_ID, ENTN_ID, ... with the uid numbers the entities have, you find them within the .xml file, e.g. <Entity uid="3435">. Open the map via Atlas and your units should be inside the structure. Save the map, open the .xml again and remove the Script tags and the code they contain. <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <Scenario version="7"> <Script> let cmpGarrisonHolder = Engine.QueryInterface(HOLDER_ID, IID_GarrisonHolder) if (cmpGarrisonHolder) cmpGarrisonHolder.initGarrison = [ENT1_ID, ENT2_ID, ENTN_ID, ...]; </Script> Alternatively, add a trigger script to your map that is programmed to garrison entities in specific structures when the map is started. Related wiki article: [wiki/Triggers]Triggers

See How to easily turn ANY Country into a 0AD Map! - 0AD Map Making (28/Mar/21)

Modding

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How to get started?

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How to enable mods?

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[#FindMods Where can i find mods?]

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Can I add my mod to the in-game download area?

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What to do if I need help?

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Can I use the game assets?

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Where to find the source code?

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Is there a documentation for editing the XML files of entities?

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How to print to the console when console.log does not work?

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How can I start the game from the command line and what options are available?

The game itself is developed to be highly modifiable, to get started see: Related wiki articles: [wiki/Modding_Guide]Modding_Guide [wiki/Mod_Layout]Mod_Layout Taking a look at small existing mods (e.g ffm_visibility or Battle Mod) might help to better understand how things work. Some total-conversion mods are: Hyrule Conquest, Delenda Est or 0AD City Builder. Related forum threads: How to modify 0 A.D.? (31/Aug/16) How to mod 0AD from Zero? (6/Oct/21)

See [wiki/Modding_Guide]Modding_Guide

You can find and download mods in the following places: In-game: Settings => Mod Selection => Download Mods easiest to install, and can filter game version compatible mods only. Downloads from these sources require a manual installation and may be outdated (see [wiki/Mod_List#HowToInstallMods]Mod_List#HowToInstallMods): Github - largest list of mods. 0 A.D. mod.io - same list as the in-game downloader if you uncheck the filter valid mods only option within the in-game download mods screen. Forum - some mods are on the forum and can't be found anywhere else, it's worth snooping around. Trac - list is in it's starting up phase.

See the links below for instructions: Related forum thread: Guide for publishing mods on mod.io (13/May/18) Related wiki articles: [wiki/Mod_Publishing_Process]Mod_Publishing_Process [wiki/Mod_Verification_Process]Mod_Verification_Process

You can ask via IRC #0ad/ #0ad-dev^[(1)]FAQ#Footnote^, or you might find old threads in the Game Modification subforum answering your questions, otherwise you can create a topic and ask for help there.

As long as you abide with the [0AD license]Modding_Guide#License. "0 A.D. is released as open source: you can freely use, copy, modify and distribute the game's source code and data files, as long as you include attribution to Wildfire Games and let anyone freely modify and distribute any of your own modifications to the game's files."

See wiki/BuildInstructions <div class="important" style="background: #ffd"> NOTE: For autocompletion and notes about implemented functions from the 0ad source code, you can take advantage of the created typescript files from the Autociv mod. The notes were made around the Alpha XXIII - Ken Wood codebase and are not complete. Simply copy the .ts and tsconfig.json files from the src, gui and simulation folders into your project.

This page lists the components that can be added to entities and the XML syntax for their initialisation data. docs.wildfiregames.com/entity-docs/trunk.html

See [wiki/Logging#Scripts]Logging#Scripts

All command line options can be found in [binaries/system/readme.txt]source:ps/trunk/binaries/system/readme.txt. ```sh # start a "Mainland" map with a random civ and your own mod binaries/system/pyrogenesis -mod=mod -mod=public -mod=<YOUR_MOD> -autostart="random/mainland" -autostart-civ=1:random # start with certain config values, see "binaries/data/config/default.cfg" binaries/system/pyrogenesis -conf=mod.enabledmods:"mod public <YOUR_MOD>" \ -conf=windowed:true -conf=renderactors:false ```

Miscellaneous

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When will the next version be released?

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Why is this game still in alpha?

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Will you put the game on Steam?

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Is the website up to date?

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How to keep up with the game?

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Does 0AD use any social media accounts?

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Are there Youtube channels about this game?

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Does 0AD have a Discord?

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How about more factions?

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Will you add support for single-player campaigns?

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Does the game have an in-game store, is it freemium or pay-to-win?

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Would it be possible to have access to old versions of 0AD?

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Can you recommend a presentation or video about 0ad?

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Who are the team members?

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What to do if I have a question that is not part of this FAQ?

When it will be ready. Unfortunately we can't be much more specific than that, there are too many things we just don't know. We're working on the game in our spare time, so we don't know how much time we'll have to make the game.

A developer wrote (21/Mar/21): "0 A.D. is also still quite laggy, and needs a fair few improvements before I think it's ready for a more mainstream audience. I would push towards dropping the 'alpha' from the name, but that doesn't mean it's quite ready."

We're going to look at putting the game on Steam to make it easier for people to find out about it, but not until we get to the beta stage at the earliest. We want the game to be as good as possible so people don't miss it among all the other games that are there.

Yes, but gameplay related infos (Features, Factions, Game Manual) are a bit outdated. This needs to be fixed, if you want to help us, raise your voice either via the Forum or through IRC #0ad/ #0ad-dev^[(1)]FAQ#Footnote^.

For casual players there is no channel that summarizes progress. From time to time there are some social media posts and a development report, but they are rare. For players with technical background, you can read the [wiki/Changelogs]Changelogs, check committed patches on Phabricator or the timeline on Trac.

You can find a list of all accounts at the bottom of our homepage play0ad.com.

The four most popular channels are: 0AD Newbie Rush Ágora 0AD Tom 0ad ValihrAnt - 0AD & AOE2

There is no official Discord, however there are some unofficial servers run by members of the community. discord.gg/KJPwF94 discord.gg/VbE9U3r discord.gg/hxuVxmt93e Related forum thread: Welcome to my discord server! (9/Oct/21)

There are mods that add more factions to the game (see github.com/0ADMods), see the forum links below for some likely candidates. Nomads Xiongnu (29/Apr/17) Zapotecs (7/Apr/17) Japan (17/Oct/15) Lusitanian (28/Apr/14) The concerns, for adding new factions, mainly revolve around balancing all the factions so that they are equally strong, but still different from each other and to be historically accurate.

It has been added to Alpha XXV - Yaunā. For more information, see the links below. Related forum threads: Tutorial Campaign (29/Jan/21) Campaign: Macedonia (5/Jun/20) NOTE: Mapmakers who are willing to work on a campaign, please contact us (via the Forum or IRC #0ad/ #0ad-dev^[(1)]FAQ#Footnote^), we would appreciate your contribution to the implementation of a campaign.

The game is completely free and open source. We only use donations to pay for server hosting, etc.

On this page - releases.wildfiregames.com - you can find all released versions and some statistics about how many times each version has been downloaded recently. <div class="important" style="background: #ffd"> NOTE: Additional statistics from users who have enabled the Feedback setting in the 0ad app can be found here: feedback.wildfiregames.com/results.

PDF-presentation - Sogyo Presentation (1/Feb/20) Videos 0 A.D. Evolution - All Alphas (3/Feb/19) 0 A.D. Empires Ascendant, a FLOSS Game (25/Nov/20) ![]FAQ:video.jpg

You will find a list of names in the Wildfire Games Team Wiki and in the Forum's Staff Directory.

Join IRC #0ad/ #0ad-dev^[(1)]FAQ#Footnote^ or check the Help & Feedback subforum where many questions have already been answered. You may also ask any new questions there.

## **Footnote** ^(1)^ Most active team members are in the [CET](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_European_Time) time zone. The chat is logged [irclogs.wildfiregames.com](http://irclogs.wildfiregames.com/).