The ABC of LSN.
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Less graphic intensive option recommended for slower machines and especially machines without graphics cards.
To set 2D mode, open the client and select SOUND/VIDEO OPTIONS, then set DISPLAY HARDWARE to 2D card. You will need to restart the Laser Squad Nemesis client after you change this setting before it will actually take effect.
There are some known problems with 2D mode: there are only two levels of zoom; the scaling of selected units, icons, and health bars is wrong; graphics generally are poor; plus Marines fire yellow beams rather than red, Greys fire ugly white squares and Spawn may be surrounded by green squares.
Not to be confused with plan mode (keyboard shortcut 'P').
Full 3D rendered option. Game play is the same as 2D mode but with superior graphics.
To set 3D mode, open the client and select SOUND/VIDEO OPTIONS, then set DISPLAY HARDWARE to 2D card. You will need to restart the Laser Squad Nemesis client after you change this setting before it will actually take effect.
Requires DirectX 8.0+. It is recommended that you have a 3D card equivalent to a GeForce 2 or better in order to enjoy the graphics at the maximum quality.
4 FP Machina unit (view stats). The AI is a slow moving but tough and powerful combat unit that also acts as a battlefield repair centre.
AI is an abbreviation of 'Artificial Intelligence', which is rarely used.
The AI has a death explosion.
If an order becomes impossible to complete during the time it takes to carry out, then it is aborted. Normally any time spent is wasted, but in the case of healing and reloading etc there may well be partial success.
Occasionally an order may be aborted after it has taken effect, but before it has been fully completed, resulting in a small saving in time. For example, after a shot has been fired but before the weapon has been made ready again (this is usually about the final 0.4 seconds of the firing action).
Note that since terrain fire is aborted if the targeted terrain is destroyed, it is possible for successful terrain fire to abort itself, thus saving the time that would normally be spent to complete the attack.
Note that since targeted direct fire is aborted if the targeted unit is destroyed, it is possible for successful direct fire to abort itself, thus saving the time that would normally be spent to complete the attack.
A ranged attack is aborted when ammunition falls to zero. This mainly affects Greys, because they use energy for shields to protect themselves, and can run out of ammunition without firing a shot. It doesn't benefit Psykers, nor close combat units who always have zero ammunition. It can affect other ranged attack units on their last shot before running out of ammunition.
In LSN 3-10 terrain fire is no longer aborted for terrain that cannot be seen to be destroyed. This eliminates the exploit of a medic firing at a door to check when it is open; and the annoying bug that aborted MT terrain fire at ground out of LOS that had become destroyed.
The average deviation from true for a weapon shot, in degrees. Note that a higher 'accuracy' value is worse.
The effect of inaccuracy increases with distance; movement by the target will also have a much more adverse effect on your chances at greater distances due to the longer projectile flight time.
A game where both players are online and the turns are flowing thick and fast between them. Such games can finish in a single session.
Amount of time taken for each shot or attack.
In practice, this is often significantly increased by reaction time.
Ammunition is required to attack with most weapons.
Ammunition is not required for attacks by close combat units (Buzzers, Drones, and Queens).
Grey ammunition is called energy because they also use it for their shields.
A ranged attack is aborted when ammunition falls to zero. This mainly affects Greys, because they can run out of ammunition without firing a shot. It doesn't benefit Psykers, nor close combat units who always have zero ammunition. It can affect other ranged attack units on their last shot before running out of ammunition.
Marines and Machina take six seconds to reload fully. Greys vary in their recharge/reload rate, but it's generally a lot longer.
Greys can recharge/reload from a Saucer in the same manner as from a Regenerator, but at a cost to the Saucer's energy.
Spikers and Goo Spitters die if they run out of ammunition. Note that they have no way to reload.
75 degrees to either side of facing; or 150 degrees total.
A unit with no orders; reloading or given hold orders has 360 degree vision.
Toggle vision mode (keyboard shortcut 'V') to see areas the currently selected unit can see highlighted in blue. Use of vision mode may drastically slow down playback.
An image, representing your game persona, appearing below your name on any post you make in the forum.
To set an image as your avatar, log in to ezboard. Click on 'My Control Center', then 'Edit Profile'. Make sure that the 'private' box is not ticked for 'My Photo', and enter the URL of the image in the field. Scroll down, and click on 'Save Changes'.
NB The image should be 60x60, and the avatar should be less than 40K. The image has to be hosted somewhere, ideally your own personal web space.
An experimental or test version of the game which may have some kinks to be ironed out.
Beta games have their own Beta web interface
Beta turns should be manually sent to lsnbeta@codotech.com or lsnbeta@codo-linux1.bytemark.co.uk
Blast.
Scheme which allows you to introduce friends to Laser Squad Nemesis and earn an extra month's subscription if they subscribe.
If you have played over twenty five games you also qualify as a trainer. Log into the web interface and click on the RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING tab to find out more.
Death explosion, particularly applied to AI, Missile Tanks and Saucers.
Common name for a military building.
Also the name of one of the first LSN maps.
A unit which breaks cover and deliberately exposes itself to fire in order to draw enemy fire away from another unit which would otherwise get shot. A dangerous but useful tactic.
Occasionally units bunny for its own sake, to waste enemy ammo or time.
- 1 FP Spawn unit (view stats). The Buzzer is a fast and agile scout, as well as a capable close combat unit.
- The Buzzer flies. It can pass over low terrain and is not affected by goo.
- The Buzzer can pass through windows which have no glass in them.
- Buzzers can pass through holes in the top of wired walls.
20 single player scenarios organised into four campaigns. Each mission takes 2-3 hours to play, with three different difficulty levels.
Marine campaign: Dawn Patrol, Rescue from the Hive, Jonlan's Gambit, Friendly Fire, Alien Abduction.
Machina campaign: Expand the Core, Biohazard, Enemy Unknown, Let Me Be, Reboot Shell.
Spawn campaign: Research Completed, Party in Tool Town, Bitch Fight, 14 Hours to Save the Earth, Machina Hatchery.
Grey campaign: Eye Spy, Batteries Not Included, Like Rats, Checkpoint Charlotte, Warped.
To adopt a defensive, static position and allow the other player the initiative. The term often implies criticism.
Invitation to play a game. Not nearly as confrontational as it sounds.
Challenges may be issued via the client or the web interface.
The map may be chosen by the challenger or play on a random map. If the challenger has chosen a specific map, it may be because it suits their preferred faction, loadout, or they know it well - in other words, your opponent may have given themselves a home ground advantage. On the other hand it may be new to them and they chose it because it has novelty value.
Both players may be limited to one specific faction; or any faction may be chosen.
Challenges may be either league (with points, ranking and league position at stake) or friendly (still competitive but for bragging rights only). League challenges can only be made or accepted by players in the same division. Friendly challenges may be made or accepted by any player.
Challenges can be either named (directed at a particular player) or open (for friendly, any player may accept the challenge; for league, any player in the same division).
You do not have to accept a challenge unless it is part of a tournament. Until both sides have deployed, the game has not started and no league points are at stake. You can decline a named challenge by using the 'DECLINE' option at the top of the web interface. It is also considered polite to use either the 'For the Attention Of' section of the forum, or the message in a new challenge to explain why you have changed your mind about a challenge that you issued, open or named.
Challenges are usually removed if after 14 days on the server both players have not deployed. If the challenge was part of a tournament, this deployment time can be less. If one player fails to deploy by then, he will lose through default. If both players fail to deploy, their next opponent gets a bye.
In named challenges, the player issuing the challenge deploys in blue. In open challenges, the player picking up the challenge deploys in blue.
You can distinguish a free trial player in the open challenge list or league tables by looking for an '*' following the name.
Software installed on your computer to enable you to play LSN turns.
After you have watched the results, plotted your orders and tested them, revised them, tested them some more, when you are finally happy with them then they are sent to the server for processing.
Note that there can be subtle but important differences between the way that the client processes orders (test orders) and the way that the server processes them (your results).
The Guardian's Cloaking shield halves the visiblity of all units within its shimmering field.
The Guardian's Cloaking shield has a similar effect on the Scanner's ability as it does on normal vision.
The Guardian's Cloaking shield does not have a cumulative effect. A unit cloaked by two (or more) Guardians only has its visibility halved, still.
Units covered by the field are often described as cloaked.
LSN uses a Chess style clock system.
Until both players have deployed, the clocks are not started and the game has not properly begun.
Once both players have deployed, results are processed and both clocks are started.
Your clock stops when you submit orders. If you have submitted orders but your opponent has not the game will be displayed as 'WAITING' on the web interface.
Once both players have submitted orders the results are processed.
Your clock is ticking when you have results that you have not submitted orders for. The game will be displayed as 'PLAY TURN' on the web interface.
Note that, unlike Chess, both players may have their clocks ticking.
If you time out you lose; in a league game you will suffer any normal point loss and an additional five league point penalty.
There is no league point bonus for your opponent timing out, but you do still get any normal league points due.
If you allow your subscription to expire, your clocks will continue ticking and you may time out.
- Buzzers, Drones and Queens can only attack enemies next to them. When you issue a fire order by clicking RMB on an enemy, a Spawn unit will attempt to move next to the enemy and bite it once. Issue multiple attack orders to bite more times. If you issue a pursue orders by clicking LMB on an enemy, a close combat unit unit will attempt to attack the enemy continuously.
- The Fire/Attack at Will engagement instruction will cause a close combat unit to move towards an enemy to attack it. This attack will only be triggered by enemies within the vision range of a close combat unit unit.
- Ammunition is not required for attacks by close combat units. They are therefore always combat capable.
- Queens may also attack and pursue friendly units. This allows her to kill and recycle them.
- Enemies standing directly on the other side of open windows, firing slits and sandbags can be attacked with close combat units (bitten).
Company responsible for LSN.
A combat capable unit is defined as a unit which can attack and has ammunition remaining, or at least an HQ to reload from.
Buzzers, Drones, Splatters, and Queens do not require ammunition to attack and are always combat capable.
HQs, Regenerators, Scanners, and eggs cannot attack and are never combat capable.
Notice how Greys benefit from this: they will often recover one energy (ammunition) at the very end of the turn, before the combat capability is checked.
Medic pressed into service on the front line because the situation is grim.
Set as either Fire/Attack at Will or Hold Fire: whether a unit will open fire unordered or not.
The Rules of Engagement (combat reaction and sighting reaction) are triggered by LOF not LOS. They will not be triggered by a unit seen through a forcefield, or a window which has glass in it.
- You may find that you are unable to change the Combat Reaction for a unit that remains stationary. Try setting a forced movement waypoint on their position, and then changing the Combat Reaction.
3 FP Marine unit (view stats). The Commander has a powerful laser cannon capable of breaching walls, allowing sneak attacks or stealthy retreats.
There are no conditional orders as such, but you may create the effect by careful plotting of the available orders.
There is no penalty for issuing orders which cannot be carried out. This means that you can stack large amounts of direct fire and movement to create conditional orders to the effect "Move-shoot at every known target if possible-move-shoot at every known target if possible-move...". This is particularly true of the Machina with their use of Scanners to locate enemy units.
Terrain fire is aborted if the terrain is destroyed. This is handy for looping terrain fire to create conditional orders. The classic example would be "shoot at the door until its destroyed, then go through the doorway".
In LSN 3-10 terrain fire is no longer aborted for terrain that cannot be seen to be destroyed. This eliminates the exploit of a medic firing at a door to check when it is open; and the annoying bug that aborted MT terrain fire at ground out of LOS that had become destroyed.
You may also use forced orders to create conditional orders. A good example is to have a Commander repeatedly terrain fire at a wall, then move aside. A Grenadier stood next to him has been forced ordered onto the Commander's spot, then lob a grenade towards the wall. The effect is that the Commander breaches the wall, steps aside and allows the Grenadier to step up and lob a grenade through the breach. Since it is all in one turn it can be devastating for your opponent. Note the conditional chain of events: the Grenadier can't move unless the Commander vacates his position, and the Commander won't do that until he breaches the wall. Of course, if the Commander is killed somehow before he breaches the wall you are in big trouble...
If you want to use forced orders to move to another unit's position before carrying out further orders, a fire order must be plotted at the desired waypoint. If you don't want a fire order, then you need to use The Tharg Method™ : plot a zero range direct fire order right on top of your unit at the desired forced waypoint, before the rest of the orders. The fire will be ignored but first it will force the movement to be carried out. If a fire order is not plotted the movement is aborted and the unit skips to its next order.
To concede a game, click the 'Options' button (the small tick immediately to the left of 'Time') and select it from the list.
Some players prefer to play to the end and take great satisfaction in wiping the enemy out completely, so you may want to ask permission before you concede.
There is a bug which means that the final concede message will not be received by your opponent.
Classic move, also known as window dancing or simply dancing.
Typically, to move a unit out from behind a corner, fire (usually opportunity fire), move back behind the corner, then repeat. Often a hold order is added when the unit is in cover for added safety.
The main advantage is to breaking LOF before the opponent can return fire, especially if he has a slow firing unit. In this way a Grunt can pose a deadly threat to a Sniper.
Also provides partial cover for the 'dancing' unit, especially valuable at long range when the flight time of projectiles is long.
Dead body, or the remains of a Machina, HQ or Regenerator.
When eaten by the Queen, corpses provide her with food value to lay eggs.
Corpses can be destroyed by explosions.
Controlling or denying access to corpses is often decisive in games involving Queens.
Continue on Sight: sighting reaction which means that a unit will carry out its orders regardless of whether it spots a new enemy.
The Rules of Engagement (combat reaction and sighting reaction) are triggered by LOF not LOS . They will not be triggered by a unit seen through a forcefield, or a window which has glass in it.
Damage is inflicted by a successful attack, by nearby explosions or by goo.
Damage from attacks varies randomly between 50% and 150% of the stated average damage.
Damage from explosions varies according to the distance from the centre of the blast.
Damage is applied to health, after armour protection value has been subtracted.
Greys are protected by their shields before they take any damage to their health. This damage is subtracted from their energy. Note that armour does not protect shields.
Damage from Psykers is not protected by shields, it is always applied directly to health.
Classic move, also known as corner dancing or window dancing.
Typically, to move a unit out from behind cover, fire (usually opportunity fire), move back behind cover, then repeat. Often a hold order is added when the unit is in cover for added safety.
The main advantage is to breaking LOF before the opponent can return fire, especially if he has a slow firing unit. In this way a Grunt can pose a deadly threat to a Sniper.
Also provides partial cover for the 'dancing' unit, especially valuable at long range when the flight time of projectiles is long.
HQs, Regenerators, AI, Missile Tanks, Splatters and Saucers explode on death.
Even if their death was caused by an explosion, there will still be a subsequent death explosion.
Damage from explosions varies according to the distance from the centre of the blast.
Players very near the bottom of Veteran or Elite division may be demoted. Rookies are never demoted.
Demotions are not automatic and will only take place to ensure that the three divisions are roughly equal in size (based on total league points).
Demotions, if any, take pace at the same time as promotions: about 3pm GMT.
Initial turn in which units are chosen and placed.
In named challenges, the player issuing the challenge deploys in blue. In open challenges, the player picking up the challenge deploys in blue.
You don't have to deploy a HQ unless it is a HQ scenario.
In HQ scenarios, Queens count as Spawn HQ and obviously the Regenerator counts as the Grey HQ.
Units can be deployed half on, half off a deployment zone. This can be important when trying to squeeze large units such as AI, MT, HQ etc into a small area.
Units can't be deployed in doors but Buzzers can be deployed in windows which have no glass in them.
Direct fire (RMB) can be targeted on an enemy (red line) or untargeted (purple line).
Direct fire requires little or no reaction time.
If there is no LOF to the target unit the action is aborted.
There is no penalty for issuing orders which cannot be carried out. This means that you can stack large amounts of direct fire and movement to create conditional orders to the effect "Move-shoot at every known target if possible-move-shoot at every known target if possible-move...". This is particularly true of the Machina with their use of Scanners to locate enemy units.
- Note that since targeted direct fire is aborted if the targeted unit is destroyed, it is possible for successful direct fire to abort itself, thus saving the time that would normally be spent to complete the attack.
Untargeted direct fire is useful for suppressive fire. If a unit keeps popping up in a window or doorway to take a shot, then disappearing from view before you can get a shot off, you might consider firing a shot in anticipation of the unit popping up.
Untargeted direct fire, along with terrain fire, are the preferred firing method for Grenadiers, Goo Spitters and Missile Tanks. Opportunity fire, reaction fire or direct fire targeted on an enemy unit are usually considered to be too unpredictable in their trajectory...of course, if you are up against it and have nothing to lose they can be worth using.
Disruptor beams all have an effective range of 160m and travel at 80m per second.
Disruptor beams are often referred to as Laser beams.
Doors come in three types: locked, sliding and military doors.
Locked doors have to be destroyed to open them; use terrain fire and loop it if necessary. They are quite weak so most any weapon has a fair chance.
Sliding doors may be destroyed or they may be opened by standing near them; about 2m is close enough to trigger the mechanism. You can use this to have scouts open doors to create temporary pathways for grenades or missiles. Until they are fully retracted, sliding doors block vision, LOS, LOF and projectiles just as much as if they were closed. Sliding doors cannot be destroyed when they are retracted into the floor. For this reason sliding doors are often the last thing standing in a building destroyed by explosions.
The military doors are indestructible, and they can be locked (red) or unlocked (green). Locked doors are impassable, but unlocked doors will behave like automatic sliding doors. To lock or unlock military doors you need to select a unit and click LMB on the door control that faces towards the military doors. A blue line will be plotted between the unit and the controls, ending with an 'A' (for action). For some reason it is very difficult to plot these orders in plan mode. If a door control is destroyed, then the doors it controls will become permanently unlocked. Military doors are displayed as they were last seen, red or green, but bear in mind that they may well have changed. This even applies to when you lock or unlock the door: unless you can see the door itself and not just the controls, don't expect it to change colour.
1 FP Spawn unit (view stats). The Drone is fast and a vicious close combat fighter.
The Drone is immune to goo.
Nicknamed dogs or doggies, from the way that they run.
Helpless, fragile and immobile unit laid by the Queen.
Eggs grow rapidly and hatch into a random (non Queen) Spawn unit about one second after being laid.
An egg is worth no victory points, but they are much easier to kill before they hatch into units.
Eggs cannot be Psyked.
Element.
Tactical grouping of units, particularly applied to Marines. A 'Grenadier element' would consist of a Grenadier and a Grunt. Originates with the justly famous 'Grenadiers Bible'.
The top division of the league.
Player in the elite division.
General term for a skilful player.
- Grey ammunition is called energy because they also use it for their shields.
- Greys are protected by their shields before they take any damage to their health. This damage is subtracted from their energy. Armour does not protect shields.
- A ranged attack is aborted when ammunition falls to zero. This affects Greys a lot, because they'll often get hit and lose their remaining energy. It can be used to their advantage by creating conditional orders. Eg issue a Sentry with oppportunity fire until the end of a turn, followed by a swift retreat: hopefully they will fire unless they are hit badly, and in that case simply fade away. It doesn't benefit Psykers, though.
- Greys recover two energy per turn for free, without reloading.
They recover one energy point at the end of every fifth second, beginning from the time in the turn that their energy fell below maximum. If they begin the turn below maximum this will be 5.0 and 10.0.- LSN 3-10 introduced a bug: in Test Orders, the final point of energy recovery at 10.0 will not be gained, even though it will in the actual results.
Explosions anywhere on the map are seen by both players, regardless of the usual LOS rules.
Damage from explosions varies according to the distance from the centre of the blast.
Direct hits with missiles cause double damage.
Explosions gain an additional 'airburst' blast radius for airborne explosions, on trees etc.
Explosion damage laps around walls and through open windows, firing slits and so on. These can act like a funnel for damage and so can be a dangerous place to be stood when a missile slams into the wall outside.
Explosion damage is determined at the exact moment of the explosion for all units within the blast radius, but applied later as the blast spreads. So units can scramble behind cover or even teleport away but still take damage.
Explosions can destroy corpses.
For practical purposes, implosions are very similar to explosions.
- 1 FP Machina unit (view stats). The Exterminator (XT) is the workhorse of the Machina. Slow moving but tough, it is equipped with a reasonably accurate plasma gun.
"The world's largest discussion board network."
Home of the official Laser Squad Nemesis discussion forum.
Keyboard shortcut for in game help.
Describes impatiently waiting for turns - hitting the F5 ('refresh') key repeatedly.
FAQ.
Frequently Asked Questions. There are a few FAQs to help bring you up to speed:
The official Codo FAQ archive
New Player Help - General FAQ
New Player Help - Game Management FAQ
New Player Help - Game Client FAQ
Maps and mapmaking - Maps FAQ
Joegan's LSN Techincal FAQ archive
smart bunny's Common problems and their solutions
Fire/Attack at Will: combat reaction which gives your unit permission to fire at the nearest enemy if it is not otherwise busy carrying out your orders.
Often accompanied by 'Halt on Sight' sighting reaction which means that the unit will stop carrying out orders if it spots a new enemy in order to fire on them.
The Fire/Attack at Will engagement instruction will cause a close combat unit to move towards an enemy to attack it. This attack will only be triggered by enemies within the vision range of the close combat unit unit.
The Rules of Engagement (combat reaction and sighting reaction) are triggered by LOF not LOS . They will not be triggered by a unit seen through a forcefield, or a window which has glass in it.
Fire/attack On Command: combat reaction which denies permission to fire unless specifically ordered to, even if the unit has no orders and a target presents itself.
Also known as Hold Fire (HF)
Experienced players who volunteer their time to help new players to learn the game.
Would you like to know more? Visit the Field Instructor Roster.
If you have played over twenty five games you also qualify as a trainer. Log into the web interface and click on the RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING tab to find out more.
Select a unit and click the RMB on a friendly unit to issue a follow order. A green line will be plotted between the two units.
Follow orders are always plotted as taking 10.0 seconds. However, you don't have to issue the order at the start of a turn for follow to work.
The selected unit will move towards the other by the best visible route. Greys will take advantage of teleportation if it shortens the route.
There will be a small space left between the units, to allow room to manoeuvre.
If tight formation and exact timing are required, you may want to plot the orders yourself: using forced movement to have one unit immediately occupy the space vacated by another. Units will have less room to manoeuvre and traffic jams may occur if you do not plot the orders carefully.
A Medic or AI can't follow another friendly unit, it must heal them instead. This has much the same effect.
Force Points (FP) are the measure of unit cost and rough indication of their relative strength.
FP translate directly into Victory Points (VP), which are a measure of how many FP worth of the enemy you have killed and the means of deciding the game in 'Wipe out' scenarios not won outright by the turn limit.
In regular games started via the client or web interface games, both you and your opponent will each have between 15 and 30 force points to deploy, depending on the options chosen.
In official and TAS tournaments the force points available may vary between one or and forty.
It is possible to deploy les than the full amount of force points with the T method.
You may wish to issue orders that are not possible at the time of plotting them, but will (hopefully) be possible at the time they are to be carried out. These are called 'forced' orders.
To 'force' orders, press CTRL along with the usual command.
Unlike regular orders which are generally cancelled if they cannot be carried out, units continue to attempt to carry out forced orders until they are successful. This can put them in a dangerous position, as they single-mindedly run into a wall, oblivious to the enemy shooting at them.
You can use this to move through a door or wall you intend to breach during the turn.
You can also use it to force untargeted direct fire, rather than targeted direct fire.
You can move to another units position (overriding follow or heal) or back to a units own original position.
If you want to create conditional orders to move to another unit's position before carrying out further orders, a fire order must be plotted at the desired waypoint. If you don't want a fire order, then you need to use The Tharg Method™: plot a zero range direct fire order right on top of your unit at the desired forced waypoint, before the rest of the orders. The fire will be ignored but first it will force the movement to be carried out. If a fire order is not plotted the movement is aborted and the unit skips to its next order.
The official Laser Squad Nemesis discussion forum: http://p069.ezboard.com/bcodogames
LSN features a free trial, which you can download. When the download dialogue appears, click on 'open' to download and install the game. The file size is 9MB.You get to play the first single player campaign mission, and you can create a free account for online play.
The new free trial system (introduced 16th July 2006) allows league play on all of the maps, but limited to deploying Marines and only 200 turns total online play.
You can distinguish a free trial player in the open challenge list or league tables by looking for an '*' following the name.
Non league game where no league points are at stake. Usually played in a more relaxed, casual manner.
Friendly games may be played against any player, even if they are not in the same division.
Bouncing green ball fired by the Goo Spitter.
Goo balls have an effective range of 40m and travel at 10m per second.
These burst spreading sticky and corrosive goo over the ground in a 6m radius, which disperses gradually.
1 FP Spawn unit (view stats). The Goo Spitter fires a ball of sticky goo that bursts and spreads out on the ground, immobilising units and causing gradual damage.
Units in goo are normally stuck. You can't move into goo, but if you are at the edge you may be able to move off.
Goo causes two points of damage per turn.
Goo damage is not cumulative. No matter how many goo balls are fired, no matter how much goo a unit is in, it will only ever take two damage per turn.
Goo damage is applied to the shields of Greys, not their health.
Goo Spitters are not immune to goo; not even their own.
A Goo Spitter dies if it runs out of ammunition. Note that it has no way to reload.
2 FP Marine unit (view stats). The Grenadier fires a bouncing grenade that explodes causing great damage.
The predicted bounce of a grenade shown in plot orders by holding down the RMB is that of a perfectly accurate shot. It is not necessarily the most likely outcome, or even a close approximation of the most likely outcome. This is particularly true of trick shots where a slight variation can send the shot bouncing in a wildly different direction. So it always pays to test your orders, several times.
Terrain fire and direct fire cause a different bounce.
Grenades can bounce over wired walls, wired fences and fort style military walls.
Grenades do not always explode on contact with a unit. If a grenade is coming towards you, and you can't get to cover, you may try running towards the grenade! It is sometimes possible to kick the grenade away; if you are lucky it may even go back towards the unfortunate Grenadier. If you are unlucky it may explode at your feet.
See explosions, football.
The fourth faction: advanced extra terrestrials.
The Grey units are the Guardian, Psyker, Saucer, Sentry, Warp Gunner and Regenerator.
1 FP Marine unit (view stats). The Grunt is the general dogsbody of the Marines. He is useful as a scout; a spotter for a Grenadier; as close support for a Sniper; or as a guard for an HQ. His laser carbine does low damage and is woefully inaccurate, but due to its high rate of fire it can be deadly at close quarters.
- 3 FP Grey unit (view stats). The Guardian has a shield used to protect and hide other Greys. It also has a powerful cannon capable of breaching walls, but its combat use is limited because it is slow firing and pitifully short ranged.
- The Guardian's Cloaking Shield cost 2 energy per second to activate.
- The Cloaking Shield absorbs damage, which depletes the Guardian's energy.
- Grenades and goo balls may bounce off the Cloaking Shield.
- The cloaking effect halves the visiblity of units within its field. That is, they can only be spotted by enemy units from half as far away as usual.
- The cloaking effect reduces the Scanner's ability in a similar manner.
- The Guardian has trouble turning in tight spots. It can fit down the narrowest military corridors but not an industrial corridor of the same width. The Guardian cannot use force field switches or door controls, although other large units can.
Heal orders are always plotted as taking 10.0 seconds. However, you don't have to issue the order at the start of a turn for healing to work.
The Medic heals one health point every 2.0 seconds. The AI heals one health point every 1.12 seconds.
A unit must be stationary in order to be healed, but otherwise can still carry out orders (such as firing, reloading or healing).
A unit can be healed by more than one Medic or AI at a time and the effect is cumulative.
You can heal an uninjured unit in the expectation that they may be wounded during the course of the turn.
A Medic or AI can't heal itself; but another Medic or AI can heal them as they would any other unit.
HQs and Regenerators can't be healed.
A Medic or AI can't follow another friendly unit, it must heal them instead. This has much the same effect.
You can heal through windows. The units have to be positioned just right: dead centre and adjacent. The line will be plotted the long route it will be through the window in the actual results (and if you watch in test orders).
Likewise the AI can heal through single doors etc if positioned correctly.
Your units cannot hear events that they can't see. Explosions are an exception and may always be seen and heard.
However, you can hear quite clearly events that you might only glimpse briefly, such as a grenade bounce. Listen out for them, it may save your units' lives.
If you listen very carefully, beam (laser, plasma, disruptor) weapons have lower pitch for the more powerful ones.
Hold Fire: combat reaction which denies permission to fire unless specifically ordered to, even if the unit has no orders and a target presents itself.
Also known as Fire/attack On Command (FOC).
Hold order (keyboard shortcut 'H'): the unit holds its position for one second.
A unit has 360 degree vision issued hold orders (or unordered), as opposed to has a vision arc of 150 degrees (75 degrees to to either side of facing) when carrying out most other orders.
You can use hold orders, combined with Halt on Sight and Fire/Attack at Will for the duration, to have a good look around for enemies and make sure that you don't run into trouble. After you have checked that the coast is clear, carry on. This can be particularly valuable when entering a room: enemies often lurk in the corners to ambush you as you run in.
Hold orders can be crucial in coordinating your units: whether it is avoiding fragging your troops with you own grenades; or bunnying successfully; or maintaining surprise until the last split second of an ambush; or keeping your Greys under the cover of a Cloaking shield - a great deal can rely on this humble order.
Halt on Sight: sighting reaction which means that a unit will stop carrying out its orders if it spots a new enemy.
Often accompanied by Fire/Attack at Will combat reaction which means that the unit opens fire on the newly spotted enemy.
The Rules of Engagement (combat reaction and sighting reaction) are triggered by LOF not LOS . They will not be triggered by a unit seen through a forcefield, or a window which has glass in it.
1 FP Marine (view stats) or Machina (view stats) unit. An HQ is an ammo depot with unlimited supplies.
Abbreviation of 'Head Quarters', which is rarely used.
In HQ scenario games, the Queen counts as the Spawn HQ and obviously the Regenerator counts as the Grey HQ.
Once spotted you never lose track of an enemy HQ - including its health. This allows units blinded by a Psyker to attack a previously spotted HQ.
HQs have no vision and never see units attacking them so check on them now and again.
Movement plotting does not take other units into consideration, including the HQ. So movement is often plotted straight through the HQ whereas in actual results you will have to go around, sometimes taking a lot longer. Occasionally you will not be able to get past at all.
The HQ has a death explosion.
In 'HQ' scenario games, you must deploy at least one HQ. You may deploy more than one; in fact it is in your interest to do so.
In 'HQ' scenario games, the Queen counts as the Spawn HQ and obviously the Regenerator counts as the Grey HQ.
An ‘HQ’ scenario is won if your opponent has no combat capable units left, or you have eliminated all your opponents HQs. If the game turn limit is reached, and both players still have at least one HQ each, then the game is a draw, regardless of the score.
1 FP Machina unit (view stats). The Hunter is a cheap reconnaissance unit, also capable of harassing and even destroying rear elements.
- The Hunter flies. It can pass over low terrain and is not affected by goo.
- Hunters can pass through holes in the top of wired walls.
Warp Gunner missiles cause implosions rather than explosions.
For practical purposes, implosions are very similar to explosions.
The grey or brown walled buildings.
These walls are destructible and may be breached by nearby explosions or a powerful weapon, such as a Commander's Laser Cannon.
Arrow keys scroll map window.
+/- zoom in / out.
CTRL+RMB force direct fire order.
SHIFT+RMB terrain fire order.
SPACE+RMB opportunity fire order.
U undo last order.
H hold for one second
P plan mode toggle on / off.
V vision mode toggle on / off.
B health bars toggle on / off.
X explode (Splatter only).
R view results mode.
O issue orders mode.
T test orders mode.
S send orders.
L lighting toggle on / off.
F frame rate display toggle on / off.
F1 help.
Also
TAB Next unit.
D Deselect unit.
Red beams fired by the laser weapons of Commander, Grunt, Sniper and Medic.
Laser beams all have an effective range of 160m and travel at 80m per second.
Plasma beams and Disruptor beams are often referred to as laser beams.
Rarely used official name for the Marines.
The LSN official league is divided into three divisions: Rookie, Veteran and Elite.
Initially, you will be an unranked Rookie. After your first league game you will be ranked and listed in the Rookie division of the league.
To be promoted to Veteran, you need to be the top ranked player in Rookie division to have completed ten league games.
To be promoted to Elite, you need to be the top ranked player in Veteran division to have completed twenty-five league games.
If you are near the bottom of Veteran or Elite you may also be demoted.
You may only challenge players in the same division to league games.
If you are inactive in the league for sixty days you will also revert to unranked and no longer listed in the league tables. Division and league points are retained and used to rank you should you become active again.
A player begins with 1000 league points. Points are won or lost for victories or defeats in league games.
League points are won and lost in a league game according to the Chess ELO formula. This formula is along the lines new rating = old rating + 20 * ( 1 - winning probability ) where winning probability is based on the difference between the two league ratings.
In an even match, both players will stand to win or lose 10 points. In a grossly uneven match, one player might stand to gain 19 points for a win while risking only 1 point for a loss. His opponent would receive just 1 point for a win but lose 19 points for a defeat.
Note that it is possible to win and lose quite a few points for a drawn game. Be wary of players who may try to exploit this, especially if you receive a named challenge on a non-random map well suited to camping.
A five point penalty is suffered if you time out in a league game, in addition to any other point loss.
Lighting effects can be toggled on or off using the keyboard shortcut 'L'.
With lighting off the map is uniformly bright.
With lighting on the map is dull but pools of bright light surround units (as well as recent events such as explosions).
It's very useful to watch results with lighting on because you can pick out the enemy, even if only glimpsed briefly.
It's easier to plot orders with lighting off because you can see details more clearly.
If you take screenshots of maps remember to toggle the lighting for best effect.
Note that 2D mode does not support the lighting effects feature. Lighting is always bright.
Type of deployment chosen. Eg a balanced Marine loadout or an MT heavy loadout.
Left Mouse Button.
Line of Fire. Select a unit, hold down the RMB and move the cursor to the target to determine if you have LOF to a particular target
The LOF plotted is based on a hypothetical 100% accurate shot; the actual shot will almost certainly suffer deviation (based upon accuracy). You may well have LOF, but if the range is long and there are a couple of close brushes with intervening terrain, then realistically you probably will not make the shot.
Note that this is not the same as whether you can see an enemy or piece of terrain (LOS): you can see them but still not have LOF. The Rules of Engagement (combat reaction and sighting reaction) are triggered by LOF not LOS . They will not be triggered by a unit seen through a forcefield, or a window which has glass in it.
Line of Sight.
Each unit sees the state of surrounding terrain or spots enemy units across the map. An enemy unit will not be shown on the map until at least one of your units can see it. In order to see an enemy unit there must be a clear ‘line of sight’ and it must be within your unit’s vision range. Terrain such as walls and large objects will block a unit’s line of sight. Larger units can be seen at a longer range, but smaller units can only be spotted at a closer range.
Toggle vision mode (keyboard shortcut 'V') to see areas the currently selected unit can see highlighted in blue. Use of vision mode may drastically slow down playback.
Laser Squad: Nemesis.
The second faction: intelligent war machines.
The Machina units are the AI, Exterminator, Hunter, Missile Tank, Scanner, and HQ.
Also commonly referred to as the 'mechs or the 'bots.
If the client can't connect to the server, you can save your turns, attach them to an email and send them manually.
Address the email to lsnorders@codotech.com or lsnorders@codo-linux1.bytemark.co.uk You can leave the subject line and message area blank.
Ensure that you are sending orders files and not game state or event files.
Do not attach more than one file or it will not work.
Beta turn emails should be addressed to lsnbeta@codotech.com or lsnbeta@codo-linux1.bytemark.co.uk
Mech.
1 FP Marine unit (view stats). The medic is a fairly ineffectual combatant (somewhat worse than a grunt) but more than makes up for this by his healing ability.
Melee.
Close combat attacks may only be made by Buzzers, Drones and Queens.
The blue metal walled buildings (or bunkers).
These military walls are indestructible.
This does not mean a unit inside is invulnerable! Explosions can 'lap around' doors and windows to damage them.
Min spec.
The minimum specifications required to play LSN:
A Pentium III PC, or better
Windows 98, ME, 2000 or XP
64Mb of memory
40Mb hard disk space
An email account and internet connection for online play
It is recommended that you have a 3D card equivalent to a GeForce 2 or better in order to enjoy the graphics at the maximum quality.
4 FP Machina unit (view stats). The Missile Tank (MT) is capable of firing a barrage of devastating missiles. It has limited ammo so a HQ should never be far away. It is also vulnerable to close assault and is often supported by other units.
At present, there is a loophole which allows an MT that is adjacent to an HQ with exactly two ammunition left to fire two missiles and then reload two missiles each turn. A ranged attack is aborted when ammunition falls to zero. This happens to occur before the order is complete, but after the missile has flown, saving about 0.4 seconds. This extra time is then spent reloading rather than readying the weapon. This is just enough to allow the MT to squeeze in another missile reload.
The Missile Tank has a death explosion.
Missiles have an effective range of 160m and travel at 12m per second.
Missiles may pass through the firing slits in fort type military bunkers.
Direct hits with missiles cause double damage.
See explosions.
Movement is executed via the shortest route between waypoints. Greys will take advantage of teleportation if it shortens the route.
The plotted route between two waypoints is an estimate based on conditions at the time that orders are issued. If a shorter route between two waypoints presents itself during the turn, the unit will take that one instead of the plotted route. This may be because some terrain is destroyed during the turn, or is revealed to have been destroyed by coming into a unit's vision.
If you want to be more certain over a unit's movement, describe it in more detail: set more waypoints, particularly at crucial junctures. Make sure a unit runs through a door by setting a waypoint on the door.
Movement plotting does not take other units into consideration, including the HQ. So movement is often plotted straight through the HQ whereas in actual results you will have to go around, sometimes taking a lot longer. Occasionally you will not be able to get past at all.
Set as Continue on Sight; Halt on Sight or Retreat on Sight: determines the response of the unit to spotting a new enemy - basically to carry on, stop, or run away.
The Rules of Engagement (combat reaction and sighting reaction) are triggered by LOF not LOS . They will not be triggered by a unit seen through a forcefield, or a window which has glass in it.
- You may find that you are unable to change the Movement Reaction for a unit that remains stationary. Try setting a forced movement waypoint on their position, and then changing the Movement Reaction.
Also known as sighting reaction.
MT.
Abbreviation of Missile Tank.
Name, naming.
Version 3-10 introduced naming of units.
To name your troops, edit the name.cfg file (default location: C:\Program Files\Laser Squad Nemesis\Configs).
You can add a series of names for each unit type, separated by a '|' character. There is a maximum of 20 letters, and a limit on character types. You can use letters, numbers, spaces, dots and dashes only.
When you move the cursor over a unit its name will appear below. The name of the selected unit will appear above the unit type description on the left of the interface panel.
NB You must run the client after you install it to create the name.cfg file and enable unit naming.
Seriously weaken a faction or unit via statistic or game mechanic changes.
A new player. Inexperience is often made up for by skill and enthusiasm.
Opportunity or 'Opp' fire (RMB+Space = yellow line) is normally used when you suspect or know the enemy to be present, but cannot see them. It is normally slower but more flexible than direct fire, and faster but less flexible than reaction fire.
Opp fire targets an arc to 75 degrees of either side of the yellow line plotted. An enemy unit in this area that is in range and LOF will be fired upon; if there are more than one the one nearest to the line will be selected.
Opp fire takes up reaction time based upon the deviation of the firing angle from the plotted yellow line; the closer the less reaction time required.
Opp fire is much less vulnerable to broken LOF than direct fire.
Opp fire is ideal for corner dancing and window dancing.
Play By E-Mail. LSN supports an email option as well as the web interface.
Log into the web interface and select the 'EMAIL OPTION' along the top to enable or disable email results.
Note that you are always receive some email notifications, even if the email option is disabled.
Small picture displayed to the right of your name on the forum.
To set your personal icon, log in to ezboard. Click on 'My Control Center', then 'Account Preferences'. Tick 'Use Personal Icon URL' and enter the URL of the image in the field. Scroll down, and click on 'Save Changes'.NB The image should be 10x10. The image has to be hosted somewhere, ideally your own personal web space.
Plan mode (keyboard shortcut 'P') gives a view of the map with terrain flattened to allow you to see hidden units and terrain more easily. It is also much easier to judge close LOF calls.
Not to be confused with 2D mode which is a graphics option for machines without 3D graphics cards.
Green beam fired by the plasma weapons of AI, Exterminator, Hunter.
Plasma beams all have an effective range of 160m and travel at 80m per second.
Plasma beams are often referred to as laser beams.
Amount of Aim time expended before the attack is made.
The top players in each division are promoted at around 3pm each day. However, players are only eligible for promotion if they have played a minimum quota of league games. You need to have completed at least 10 league games for promotion to the Veteran division, and 25 games for promotion to the Elite division. Note that this means you may be promoted even if you aren't near the top of your league, provided that you are highest ranked among those with the quota of league games.
It is also possible to get demoted if you get very near the bottom of the Veteran or Elite divisions.
Measures a units resistance to the damage from Psyker attacks.
Psyker damage is reduced based on the Psychic Resistance of the target. For Marines and Greys this is 0.8, for Machina 0.7 and for Spawn 0. Eg in LSN 3-10 Psyker damage is 10 so on average Marines and Greys would take 2 damage, Machina 3, and Spawn 10. Note that Psyker damage is subject to the normal random variation of between 50% and 150%, however.
HQs and Regenerators have a Psychic Resistance of 1 and are immune to Psykers.
Eggs are immune to Psykers; even though they have a Psychic resistance of 0 they are simply not targeted.
2 FP Grey unit (view stats). The Psyker uses telepathic attacks for both reconnaissance and disruption. He has no conventional weapon and is vulnerable to counter attacks.
Psykers target an area rather than a unit. Click the RMB at the desired point. A white line will be plotted, but the Psyker does not need LOF, or LOS for that matter. The Psyker will attack the closest unit to that point. Units may be attacked up to about 10m from the point selected with decreasing chance of success.
You gain the vision of a Psyked unit until the end of the turn. This applies even if the Psyker that attacked them dies before the end of the turn.
Psyked units are blinded for the remainder of the turn. They still carry out their orders as best they can and may act on what other units can see. Note that blinded units can always attack a previously spotted HQ.
Psyker damage is applied directly to the health; it is not protected against by armour or Grey shields.
Psyker damage is reduced based on the Psychic resistance of the target. For Marines and Greys this is 0.8, for Machina 0.7 and for Spawn 0.
HQs and Regenerators have a Psychic resistance of 1 and are immune to Psykers.
Eggs are also immune to Psykers; even though they have a Psychic resistance of 0 they are simply not targeted.
Psykers cannot use opportunity fire; reaction fire or the pursue command.
Select a unit and click the LMB on an enemy to issue a pursuit order. A purple line will be plotted between your unit and the enemy.
Pursuit orders are always plotted as taking 10.0 seconds. However, you don't have to issue the order at the start of a turn for pursuit to work.
The unit will fire continuously if the enemy is in LOF and within half of its firing range...
If not then the unit will move towards the enemy until it can satisfy those conditions and open fire...
If it loses sight of the enemy it will move towards its last known position until it regains sight of the enemy...
If it reaches the last know position without regaining sight of the enemy it will stop moving.
There is a bug which means that units which kill the enemy they were pursuing sometimes continue their 'pursuit' of the corpse, up to the point of going and standing on it. This can be annoying if it leads them into the middle of no mans land, standing there like a target dummy.
New players tend to overuse pursuit. It seems like a powerful and convenient order, but it is also somewhat clumsy and unpredictable. It takes control out of your hands: a pursuing unit may block friendly movement, break firing units LOF, or even step into a grenade or missile. Note that pursuing units move towards the enemy, rather than into a firing position. Even if a unit finds a good firing position it is vulnerable, because it stands absolutely still, rather than dancing or taking advantage of any nearby cover. There is also the bug mentioned above. Use with discretion.
- 4 FP Spawn unit (view stats). The Queen is a large and powerful close combat unit, as well as a potential source of new units.
- In HQ scenario games, Queens count as HQs and destruction of HQs determines victory.
- The Queen can eat adjacent corpses (using the Eat command, keyboard shortcut 'E'). This takes approximately 2 seconds.
- The Queen can lay eggs (using the Lay command, keyboard shortcut 'G') This takes approximately 2 seconds.
- The Queen can lay one egg for each Food Value she has stored. She begins the game with zero Food Value.
- The Queen gains Food Value for each corpse she eats. Most units are worth 1 Food Value. Guardians, Scanners, Saucers and HQs (not Regenerators) are worth 2. AIs, Missile Tanks and Queens are worth 3.
- Eggs do not have to be laid immediately after eating a corpse. Food Value is stored, so the Queen can move away in order to find a safer place to lay them, or wait for a better time to lay them.
- Eggs are laid under the Queen, and she must move away before the egg can hatch. After laying, the egg will grow rapidly and will hatch the next turn.
- Queens may also attack and pursue friendly units. This allows her to recycle them.
Shorthand for a 'random map' challenge - the map being chosen randomly by the server, rather than selected by the challenger. Seen by many as the fairest way to choose the battleground.
Random maps can be limited to small, medium or large maps.
Note that not all of the available maps are included in the 'pool' from which maps are chosen at random. You can see which are by logging into the web interface and going to Official Maps.
Range is generally measured in metres.
If a range is not followed by 'm' or 'metres' then it may be measured in tiles instead.
Maps are measured in tiles so 60/60 is 120m x 120m.
In general, raw data is given in tiles, while documentation tends to give ranges in metres.
Due to the isometric perspective, diagonal ranges appear shorter than orthogonal ones.
Reaction fire occurs when a unit with no orders has a target and has been set Fire/Attack at Will combat reaction.
When a unit has been set Halt on Sight sighting reaction it disregards all of its orders on spotting a new enemy. If the unit is also set to Fire/Attack at Will it now begins reaction fire.
The Rules of Engagement (combat reaction and sighting reaction) are triggered by LOF not LOS . They will not be triggered by a unit seen through a forcefield, or a window which has glass in it.
Reaction fire always uses the full reaction time.
Reaction fire selects the closest enemy unit as the target.
Despite being slow and rather haphazard, reaction fire is useful for scouting hostile terrain while being able to engage any enemies found.
- The range at which a unit will react; where the units Rules of Engagement (combat reaction and sighting reaction) are triggered.
- Note that this can be shorter than vision range.
Amount of time taken a unit takes before it can start firing after spotting an enemy.
Reaction fire always uses the full reaction time.
Opportunity fire takes up reaction time based upon the deviation of the firing angle from the plotted yellow line; the closer the less reaction time required.
Direct fire requires little or no reaction time.
1 FP Grey unit (view stats). A Regenerator is a base with unlimited energy, as well as a teleportation gate.
- In HQ scenario games, Regenerators count as HQs and destruction of HQs determines victory.
- Once spotted you never lose track of an enemy Regenerator - including its health.
Teleportation is between two Regenerators. Like all units, Greys will always take the shortest route between waypoints; they automatically make use of teleportation if it shortens the route. A faint line plotted between Regenerators indicates teleportation.
Note that the Regenerator's physical size is much smaller than the field it generates. Units may occupy space in the shimmering sphere around the Regenerator.
Regenerators have no vision. They never see enemy units attacking them, even if they are adjacent. You may want to check on the health of unguarded Regenerators, to tell if they are under attack.
The Regenerator has a death explosion.
Marines and Machina take six seconds to reload fully. Greys vary in their recharge/reload rate, but its generally a lot longer.
Greys can recharge/reload from a Saucer in the same manner as from a Regenerator, but at a cost to the Saucer's energy.
Reloading takes less time than plotted in issue orders, dependant on the speed of the unit. This is because time is spent moving the unit to the centre of the HQ, whereas it only needs to be adjacent to reload. Eg for Missile Tanks this can be as much as 2.0 seconds extra.
Units can reload through windows. The units have to be positioned just right: dead centre and adjacent. The line will be plotted the long route but it will be through the window in the actual results (and if you watch in test orders).
Likewise large units can reload through single doors etc if positioned correctly.
At present, there is a loophole which allows an MT that is adjacent to an HQ with exactly two ammunition left to fire two missiles and then reload two missiles each turn. A ranged attack is aborted when ammunition falls to zero. This happens to occur before the order is complete, but after the missile has flown, saving about 0.4 seconds. This extra time is then spent reloading rather than readying the weapon. This is just enough to allow the MT to squeeze in another missile reload.
Rest weapon.
Amount of Aim time expended after the attack is made.
Right Mouse Button.
Rate of Fire.
May be used generally. Eg 'A grunt has a high ROF'.
May be used as an exact measure of how many shots a unit can fire per turn. Eg 'A grunt has a ROF of 10'.
The lowest division of the league.
Player in the rookie division, or as yet unranked player.
General term for an inexperienced player.
Retreat on Sight: sighting reaction which means that a unit will stop carrying out its orders and attempt to run away if it spots a new enemy.
The unit retreats out of LOF back to its last waypoint. Think about where you set your waypoints when you use ROS; you may find it useful sometimes to set a waypoint at the beginning of the turn where your unit is already stood (CTRL+LMB) for retreat purposes.
The Rules of Engagement (combat reaction and sighting reaction) are triggered by LOF not LOS . They will not be triggered by a unit seen through a forcefield, or a window which has glass in it.
Combination of a unit's combat reaction and sighting reaction.
Combat reaction is set as either Fire/Attack at Will or Hold Fire: whether a unit will open fire unordered or not.
Sighting reaction is set as Continue on Sight; Halt on Sight or Retreat on Sight: determines the response of the unit to spotting a new enemy - basically to carry on, stop, or run away.
The Rules of Engagement (combat reaction and sighting reaction) are triggered by LOF not LOS . They will not be triggered by a unit seen through a forcefield, or a window which has glass in it.
- You may find that you are unable to change the Rules of Engagement for a unit that remains stationary. Try setting a forced movement waypoint on their position, and then changing the Rules of Engagement.
- 5 FP Grey unit (view stats). The Saucer is a fast and powerful ground support unit. It is also capable of acting as a mobile supply base, recharging other Greys.
- Other Greys can recharge/reload from a Saucer as from a Regenerator, at a cost to the Saucer's energy.
- The Saucer flies. It can pass over low terrain and is not affected by goo.
- The Saucer suffers a death explosion.
2 FP Machina unit (view stats). The Scanner is a reconnaissance unit with excellent vision and penetrating deep scan ability, but as it is unarmed and fairly slow it must remain hidden or else be escorted.
- Scans 30m though solid terrain to detect enemy units.
- The scan does not include terrain: this is simply shown as last known and any changes are not revealed (this is why enemy units may appear to walk through solid walls).
- The scan is 360 degree even if the Scanner is moving.
- The Guardian's cloak has a similar effect on the Scanner's ability as it does on normal vision.
- A successful Psyker attack on a Scanner does blind and steal the scan ability as well as normal vision.
Scenario.
- 1 FP Grey unit (view stats). The Sentry is the Grey foot soldier, often assigned to guard duty. They are reasonable combatants and can be surprisingly powerful in large numbers.
Signature automatically added below the body of any post you make on the forum.
To create your sig, log in to ezboard. Click on 'My Control Center', then 'Account Preferences'. Tick 'Use Custom Signature' and enter the text in the field. Scroll down, and click on 'Save Changes'.
It is a good idea to include helpful details such as player name, league division, and time zone.
Set as Continue on Sight; Halt on Sight or Retreat on Sight: determines the response of the unit to spotting a new enemy - basically to carry on, stop, or run away.
The Rules of Engagement (combat reaction and sighting reaction) are triggered by LOF not LOS . They will not be triggered by a unit seen through a forcefield, or a window which has glass in it.
- You may find that you are unable to change the Sighting Reaction for a unit that remains stationary. Try setting a forced movement waypoint on their position, and then changing the Sighting Reaction.
Also known as movement reaction.
Nickname for the Queen.
2 FP Marine unit (view stats). The Sniper provides accurate and deadly long range fire support for the Marines. His excellent vision is also an asset in scoping out the battlefield.
Snow Effect.
A mod for use with the Santas Grotto LSN Skirmish tournament, and available for download from that site.
To saturate an area with explosions in the hope of hitting something, rather than aiming for a known enemy.
Spike.
1 FP Spawn unit (view stats). The Spiker provides the Spawn with ranged fire support. It is the most conventional of the Spawn units.
A Spiker dies if it runs out of ammunition. Note that it has no way to reload.
- 1 FP Spawn unit (view stats). The Splatter is a walking bomb. They are best deployed singly for fear of chain reactions, and in isolation from your other units whenever possible.
- The Splatter has a death explosion.
- The Splatter may voluntarily explode (keyboard shortcut 'X').
- Pursue by clicking LMB on an enemy, a white line will be plotted between the two. The Splatter will follow and explode on contact.
- Online subscription allows you to play as all four races, as well as:
- Free updates and patches for two years - from the date of your purchase. LSN is a continuously evolving game system, and Codo will be making many improvements and additions in response to your feedback.
- Unlimited 'hotseat' play - play against a friend on the same computer.
- Play unlimited games for the duration of your subscription.
- Use the 'bounty scheme' to gain one months extra subscription for each new player you bring to the game.
- Gain a ranking in the world league competition.
- Take part in many other competitions and tournaments with special rules and maps.
- Choose from over 100 maps, with more being added all the time.
- Participate in the lively online community using the forum and chat room.
If you subscription lapses, any clocks on your games will continue ticking and you may time out. Your league points and division are preserved should you resubscribe.
A mod that allows players to deploy less than the full amount of force points in a game.
The mod is simply adding T | SetTestOrders | Null to the deployment screen keyboard accelerators in the interface.cfg file. From now on you can end deployment at any point by pressing 'T'. Be warned: not only is it possible to deploy with zero force points, but also without HQ in a HQ scenario - resulting in a loss on the initial deployment turn.
For more detailed instructions visit The Running Man League's How To Deploy Less Than 15FP; see also Tharg's Interface Edit which gathers together several useful interface mods, including the T Method.
Note that TAS tournament administrators have direct control over force points, making the T Method pretty much redundant with TAS.
An AI, Missile Tank or Saucer.
Tournament Administration System used to create automated player competitions such as King of the Castle or LSN Skirmish.
Teleportation is between two Regenerators. Like all units, Greys will always take the shortest route between waypoints; they automatically make use of teleportation if it shortens the route. A faint line plotted between Regenerators indicates teleportation.
Terrain fire (RMB+shift = orange line) is used to destroy terrain. If you keep RMB held down, you will see the strength of the terrain as well as the percentage chance of destroying it with an attack by the selected unit.
You may find it easier to target terrain by using the plan mode (keyboard shortcut 'P').
If you find that you cannot target the glass in windows directly, plot a direct fire shot to pass through the glass - much easier in plan mode (keyboard shortcut 'P').
Terrain fire is carried out regardless of LOF obstructions, by terrain or units. Be careful not to move into the line of fire of your own units!
Terrain fire is aborted if the terrain is destroyed. This is handy for looping terrain fire to create conditional orders (classic example would be "shoot at the door until its destroyed, then go through the doorway").
Note that since terrain fire is aborted if the targeted terrain is destroyed, it is possible for successful terrain fire to abort itself, thus saving the time that would normally be spent to complete the attack.
In LSN 3-10 terrain fire is no longer aborted for terrain that cannot be seen to be destroyed. This eliminates the exploit of a medic firing at a door to check when it is open; and the annoying bug that aborted MT terrain fire at ground out of LOS that had become destroyed.
Slang for the common practice of issuing very large numbers of direct fire orders, creating a thick red line in plot orders.
There is no penalty for issuing orders which cannot be carried out. This means that you can stack large amounts of direct fire and movement to create conditional orders to the effect "Move-shoot at every known target if possible-move-shoot at every known target if possible-move...". This is particularly true of the Machina with their use of Scanners to locate enemy units.
A turn lasts 10.0 seconds, so each unit is capable of carrying out 10.0 seconds worth of orders each turn.
You may issue more than 10.0 seconds worth of orders, in the expectation that some of the earlier orders may become invalid. There is no upper limit to the number of orders you can issue in one turn.
Fire orders at the end of the turn may be carried out at slightly less than the plotted time. This is because the plotted firing time includes the period of recoil and readying of the weapon again after the shot has been fired. Depending upon the weapon, you may be able to count on an extra tenth of a second or two extra, getting shots off plotted as 10.1 or 10.2.
Reloading takes less time than plotted in issue orders, dependant on the speed of the unit. This is because time is spent moving the unit to the centre of the HQ, whereas it only needs to be adjacent to reload. Eg for Missile Tanks this can be as much as 2.0 seconds extra.
Note that since terrain fire is aborted if the targeted terrain is destroyed, it is possible for successful terrain fire to abort itself, thus saving the time that would normally be spent to complete the attack.
Note that since targeted direct fire is aborted if the targeted unit is destroyed, it is possible for successful direct fire to abort itself, thus saving the time that would normally be spent to complete the attack.
At present, there is a loophole which allows an MT that is adjacent to an HQ with exactly two ammunition left to fire two missiles and then reload two missiles each turn. A ranged attack is aborted when ammunition falls to zero. This happens to occur before the order is complete, but after the missile has flown, saving about 0.4 seconds. This extra time is then spent reloading rather than readying the weapon. This is just enough to allow the MT to squeeze in another missile reload.
If a player runs out of time on his clock, they lose the game - regardless of the score.
If it was a league game win then league points are gained as for any other victory.
For a league game loss then league points are lost as for any other defeat, and in addition there is a five league point penalty for timing out.
Try to learn the firing times and exploit them.
Even a fast projectile that is left hanging in the air at the end of a turn may well be sidestepped by your opponent if he sees it and it is far enough away. Try to avoid leaving long shots (such as Sniper's) in the air at the end of a turn if you can help it.
Similarly try not to launch grenades at the end of turns. It gives the enemy far too much chance to use test orders to avoid the explosion, or even try to bounce it back at you. Just hearing a grenade launch may cause your opponent to scatter and ruin a good ambush.
Tournaments here refers specifically to official Codo tournaments and those created using the Tournament Administration System (TAS).
Tournaments may have different deployment times than the usual 14 days.
In a tournament game, you can't decline or ignore a challenge - you must deploy or suffer the consequences.
In an official knock out tournament, if one player fails to deploy in the time allowed, he will be knocked out. If both players fail to deploy, then they are both knocked out and their next opponent gets a bye. Other tournaments may apply different penalties.
The range at which the unit can detect enemies through solid terrain.
More commonly known as scanning range, since at present only Scanners have this ability (although Psykers once had it to a much more limited degree).
- The Guardian's cloak has a similar effect on tracking range as it does on normal vision.
An impressive, imaginative shot with a grenade involving multiple or difficult bounces; or even bouncing the grenade off your own units.
Often the cause of a bad bounce.
Delete orders from a selected unit: keyboard shortcut ‘U’, or the anti-clockwise arrow ‘Undo’ button. Each press will delete the last order given to the unit. You can then issue different orders to the unit if you wish. There is no way to clear all orders with one keystroke or even delete multiple orders, so think carefully before using the Thick Red Line ;)
The middle division of the league.
Player in the veteran division.
General term for an experienced player.
Victory Points (VP), which are a measure of how many Force Points worth of the enemy you have killed and the means of deciding the game in Wipe out scenarios not won outright by the turn limit.
Keep a close watch on the Victory Points and you will sometimes be able to tell if you killed any units that you cannot see. This is particularly true for explosions, which are often be fired blind (spamming). If you are confident, you may even make an educated guess as to what was killed based on the amount of Victory Points gained; what units you have seen so far; and what other units you might expect to be deployed.
Often interchangeably called Force Points.
Normally, units can see terrain at up to their vision range; barring obstructions. Eg a Sniper can see 80m.
Units can see enemies up to their vision range multiplied by each enemy's visibility. Eg a Sniper can see a Buzzer, with visibility of 0.8, at 64m; but he can see a Warp Gunner, with a visibility of 1.1, at 88m.
A Guardian's shield cloaking effect halves the visibility of units within its field. Eg a Sniper can only see a Warp Gunner cloaked by a Guardian's shield at 44m.
Units can act on what other units can see. They may fire upon units that are well out of their own vision range, as well as pursue. This is true for blinded psyked units as well. Note that blinded units can always attack a previously spotted HQ.
All units have a vision range. Note that this may be far shorter than their weapon maximum range, or even shorter than what might be considered the weapon's effective range (bearing in mind its accuracy).
Toggle vision mode (keyboard shortcut 'V') to see areas the currently selected unit can see highlighted in blue. Use of vision mode may drastically slow down playback.
A unit has a vision arc of 150 degrees (75 degrees to to either side of facing) when carrying out orders, but it has 360 degree vision issued hold orders or left unordered.
You can use hold orders, combined with Halt on Sight and Fire/Attack at Will for the duration, to have a good look around for enemies and make sure that you don't run into trouble. After you have checked that the coast is clear, carry on. This can be particularly valuable when entering a room: enemies often lurk in the corners to ambush you as you run in.
Try to leave a small amount of time unordered at the end of the turn. Then your units will have 360 degree vision at the end of the turn and you will have a better idea of where the enemy is when planning your next turn. Often this will be 'free' time eg a grunt running until 10.1 probably won't make the final square so he might as well stop at 9.9 instead. You need not do this for all of your units; sometimes there is good reason to go 10.0+...such as reloading, healing, squeezing an extra grenade off, or plotting extra conditional orders.
All units can 'see' the whole picture; that is they can act upon what other friendly units can see but they can't. This can be important in effectively extending a unit's vision, or when Psykers start blinding you.
- 4 FP Grey unit (view stats). The Warp Gunner is able to fire a guided missile over long distances. The warhead initially causes a devastating implosion but decays with distance travelled. He has no conventional weapon and is vulnerable to counter attacks.
- Warp Gunner missiles may be guided. Fire by clicking RMB on target or first waypoint; add up to four more waypoints to the path by holding down RMB and pressing 'W ' key at the desired waypoint (RMB+W).
- Warp Gunner damage decreases over range.
Warp missile.
Telepathically guided missile fired by the Warp Gunner.
Warp missiles have an effective range of 100m and travel at 10m per second.
If you select a unit, click LMB on the map, and it is possible to move there, you create a waypoint.
If it is not possible, you can used forced movement (CTRL+LMB) and set a waypoint there anyway.
A unit will try to move from one waypoint to another via the best visible route. Greys will take advantage of teleportation if it shortens the route.
Units are fairly good at avoiding each other but you must still be careful not to order two units into the same space at the same time. This can result in a traffic jam with neither moving.
Path finding for healing and reloading seems to be less reliable, so try to move as close as you can before issuing these orders.
This is even more true of enemies who will not cooperate in moving round you and in fact may take the opportunity to shoot you as you blithely run into them.
The web interface is the most convenient way of getting your results from the server.
Beta games have their own Beta web interface.
Some windows have glass in them and some don't. It can be hard to tell sometimes, but it is much easier to see in plan mode (keyboard shortcut 'P').
- In addition, some glass is cracked. This can be hard to see, especially in low texture resolution. Cracked glass has a lower strength (6 rather than 9).
Windows with glass do not block LOS but do block LOF. Yes, even laser fire.
The Rules of Engagement (combat reaction and sighting reaction) will not be triggered by a unit seen through a window which has glass in it.
The glass is surprisingly tough but you can shatter it with explosions or shoot the panes out with a powerful gun (like the Commander's Laser Cannon)
If you find that you cannot target the glass directly, plot a direct fire shot to pass through the glass - much easier in plan mode (keyboard shortcut 'P').
Buzzers can fly through windows which have no glass in them.
Explosion damage laps around walls and through open windows, firing slits and so on. These can act like a funnel for damage and so can be a dangerous place to be stood when a missile slams into the wall outside.
Classic move, also known as corner dancing or simply dancing.
Typically, to move a unit out to a window, fire (usually opportunity fire), move back away from the window, then repeat. Often a hold is added when the unit is in cover for added safety.
The main advantage is to breaking LOF before the opponent can return fire, especially if he has a slow firing unit. In this way a Grunt can pose a deadly threat to a Sniper.
Also provides partial cover for the 'dancing' unit, especially valuable at long range when the flight time of projectiles is long.
Scenario in which the objective is simply to kill the enemy.
A ‘wipe out’ scenario is won if your opponent has no combat capable units left, or by having the highest score at the end of the game. Each game has a game turn limit which is set at the start of the game. If the game turn limit is reached and both players have the same score, then the game is a draw.
- Abbreviation of Exterminator.
Zoom in and out using the '+' and '-' keyboard shortcuts, on screen buttons or the mouse wheel.
Note that 2D mode only has two levels of zoom, rather than the usual seven.
Different levels of zoom are more suited to plotting different orders. Eg long range missile shots are best plotted at maximum zoom out, to check LOF. Spawn attacks are best plotted at maximum zoom in.
Email me with corrections, clarifications, or contributions.