New Player Startup

Hopefully, this will be an easy-to-follow, straightforward guide to getting started with Darkwind. If it isn't...either change it (it's a Wiki after all), or comment on it in the discussion section so somebody else can change it. :-)

Introductions

After you've signed up on the main site and created your gang, you'll end up on the web management interface of Darkwind. Here is where you'll plan your long term stuff, buy and sell things, recruit people and so on, while the client is more specialized toward participating to events. You can subscribe to events from both, so you can just fire up the client to start playing and getting the feeling of the game. The client interface is pretty straightforward:

There is a big panel showing the global game chat (which is also available in game), there is a panel which show the upcoming event to which you may register and the live events that you may spectate (or play if registered) and there is a panel listing the current players. It would be really unusual to be alone in the Lobby, so the first thing you should do is introduce yourself. A simple, 'Hi. I'm new' should suffice, and lets the veteran players and Marshals (players whose names are bracketed by asterisks (*)) know that you are new, and may need some help getting up and running.

Tutorial

The current tutorial covers the driving and shooting basics in a format that is a bit more ... low-key than the previously used Driving School. There are more prompts, and more direct instructions on what to do next.

Launch your tutorial by clicking the Tutorials button in the game client. This will take you to the in-game interface, centered on your car. Follow the instructions literally to proceed forward. If you are stuck on a particular tutorial step, repeat what you're tasked to do as zooming but using the keys specified in the tutorial balloon.

Notice that the global lobby chat remains available on the top of the screen. This panel content is controlled by the buttons directly under it: "Lobby" shows the global chat, "Events" shows the event log for the current game, while the "Team" button shows the private chat of the game you're in.

Driving School

Driving School has been replaced with the Tutorial described above. This section is maintained because it is possible it will return as a secondary training/learning tool.

To learn how to control a car enter the Driving School. Control means more than steering and speed in Darkwind. It also includes changing drivers, assigning gunners to any weapons in the car, and reloading those weapons.

Do not hesitate to ask another player to join you in the Driving School event. This serves a couple of purposes:

1. It gives you a human to drive with/against. Since you are just starting out, it is entirely possible that the NPC drivers in the school will leave you behind, and that's no fun, as there won't be anything to shoot at. ;-)
2. It will get you and your helper out of the general Lobby chat. General Lobby chat can get very hard to follow with a lot of players online. If you and your helper are in Driving School alone it will be easier to ask and answer questions without a lot of extraneous noise.

Characters in Driving School do not come out of your gang; they are random, 'disposable' characters for use only in the school. As such don't be concerned if they get hurt or even die.

The school event is a 4-lap race. The vehicle used is somewhat random, but is usually something small, fast, and lightly armed (a Machine Gun, for example).

It is not necessary to finish the entire event. Because it is a training event, as soon as you feel comfortable controlling your car you can Resign or Exit the event.

After The Tutorial

Now you've managed the basic of the game, there are still some information that you may find useful for more prolonged combats:

• hovering with the mouse on a car shows is "demoralized" status. Demoralized cars may continue fighting, when all enemy or yours cars are demoralized the combat phase ends.
• you can resign via the menu available on the top right of the in game screen or you can resign a particular car by right clicking on that car.
• you can reload weapons via right clicking on the car that has a weapon to be reloaded

When you return to the Lobby, look for an event that is starting soon. In-town events are Races, Deathraces, and Arena Combats, and their League equivalents.

It is recommended that you start with the Racing events, then progress to the Deathraces, and finally to the Combats, as even in "controlled" town events characters death is very possible, as computer controlled car may continue hitting on you even after you've resigned, or by just one unlucky crash. Still consider resigning just a little before your car armor is worn out.

The League events provide League points in addition to prize money for contestants who place (usually 8th or higher).

Again, don't hesitate to ask others to join the event. Often, you will get some veteran players involved, and that will increase the prize money (and League Points for League events) available.

Doing the events in the order above will do a couple of things:

1. Get you used to the various cars, and driving surfaces in Evan (Races)
2. Get you used to managing your car and its weapons at the same time (Deathraces)
3. Introduce you to combat tactics (Combats)
4. Teach you patience

The last one is really the most important, as patience is key when you get involved in wilderness scouting (Initial Scout Guide).

After Some More Practicing

After you're confident enough with the driving shooting/part of the game, you may also ask some people to help you out on your first scout. Remember to prepare ahead of this as to be ready when te opportunity to join a scouting squad arise, in order to do so you'll need to return to the web management interface.

First of all, you'll need a car. If you don't feel ready to lose your main characters in this event you may also hire two more recruits for it.

To get the car select vehicles -> my vehicles from the top navigation bar on the web interface. On this page you can see the option for renting various kind of cars; the "antagonist" would be a good for starters. Remember that those car have not off road wheels and may suffer from sandy scenarios.

To get some people on your team, if you feel like it, select places -> Somerset from the navigation bar. Clicking on the Dexter's tavern will take you on a page where you can hire some more people. To man your new car, a driver and a heavy gunner will do.

If you're subscribed, you can take the opportunity to go from the Somerset page to the marketplace to buy some more ammo for your guns. (You can see which guns you have mounted on your "Borrowed" car in your vehicle page)

Now go to the vehicle page, select your borrowed car and assign drivers and ammunition to it from the popup that appears. It's advised to have a driver and a gunner - at least - if your car can hold one more people, it will come handy for the looting phase (if you survive the encounter and win). More about scouting on the dedicated pages: [Initial Scout Guide]

You're now ready to roll, so go to the client lobby and ask for somebody to help you out on scouting or just ask to join some other player's party, specifying that this is your first scout ever so that they may steer clear of more dangerous area. They will provide you with a squad name to join, so go again to the web interface and select squad -> search squads from the navigation bar. join the squad, add your car and notify in the lobby that you're ready. After some time you'll have the notification that the scouting event is starting and you'll be taken in the game combat view. Be sure to follow the advice of the other players to keep alive, and good luck!

Enjoy Darkwind!