In the words of Frank Tore Johansen, the author of the original Crossfire game:
"Crossfire is a multi-player graphical arcade and adventure game made for the X Window System environment. It has certain flavours from other games, especially gauntlet and the rogue-like games. Any number of players can move around in their own window, finding and using items and battling monsters. They can choose to cooperate or compete in the same world."
In the years of development that have followed, Crossfire has grown to encompass hundreds of monsters, thousands of maps to explore, an elaborate magic system, over 15 character types, a system of skills, and many, many artifacts and treasures.
Crossfire+ is freely distributed under the General Public License (GPL) and the code may be obtained from http://crossfire.schmorp.de/.
First of all, don't be daunted by the apparent complexity of Crossfire - in reality, Crossfire is quite easy to play and character generation is simple. Later on, when you have some experience playing the game, you may wish to read the full manual.
# very short description of all ui elements
When starting the client you will see a window in the middle of the screen:
There are several settings there:
In the Host:Port entry you can enter the server hostname followed by a colon with the port. The port is per default 13326 if you just enter the hostname.
Below the entry there is a button Server List. If you click on it you will get a server list:
You can choose from the aviable servers there. (Note: At the time of this writing (2006-07-23) only cf.schmorp.de supports all features that are offered by CFPlus).
Here you have to enter the character name you would like to play with. If you are playing for the first time, type any name you like; this will be your character name for the rest of the life of that character. As you don't have a character yet you have to create a new character. It will be explained below at the "Character Creation".
Next, type in any password. Remember: you will need to remember the same password again to play that character again! You can use Save Config (see the buttons on the top of the window) to save your settings, including name and password, but if it gets lost recovery is difficult, so remember your password or write it down at a safe place.
One more note: it's not a good idea to use "real" passwords to your computer accounts! Doing so may make your system vulnerable to unscrupulous Crossfire server administrators.
Enter the desired Username and Password and click on Login now.
Your next step will be to generate random (primary) stats for your character (to see the stats, you might have to open the Stats Window using the button at the top of the screen).
Hover with the mouse cursor over the stats (Str, Dex, Con, Int, Wis, Pow and Cha) to see what they mean or what they do.
Or look at "Character Stats".
You can let the dices reroll your stats with the Roll Again button, you can Swap Stats. You aren't limited to the number of times you can roll your stats - so have fun. Notice that the stats are always arranged that the Str stat has the highest value, the Cha stat has the lowest. You may rearrange the order of these values when you decide that you have rolled some decent stats. Two points: you can never roll a character with better stats than an average of straight 15's, and you can't roll higher than 18 in a stat.
Finally click on Accept stats when you think they are fine.
The next you will see after accepting the stats will be the race selection:
On the top right a text is displayed that explains the current selected race. If you rearrange the windows like this:
You will also see the face of the selected race. Click on Next Race and read all the descriptions until you find the right race for your new character. Keep in mind that the races also affect the "Character Stats".
After you clicked Accept you will see this:
(I chose a Halfling for now)
The dragon on the right is another player that is currently logging in or creating his character.
Now go to the south (you can move your character by with the keypad or the cursor keys). You will enter a hall similar to this:
Step onto the first cell before the teleporter and the description of the character class will be displayed in the message window:
While each class has its particular strengths and weaknesses, in summary its just a fact that some classes are easier to play than others.
For beginning players, the "simple fighter" characters are the easiest to play successfully. The Dwarf, Human, and Warrior are among good earlier choices. As you gain experience with using Crossfire+ you may wish to branch out into other "fighter" characters such as the Thief or Elf, or try your hand at playing "spellcaster" characters like the Wizard, Mage, Cleric or Priest. The "exotic" races (e.g. Fireborn, Quetzalcoatl and Wraith) and the Monk class are the hardest classes to master.
One more note: You will probably find any character class that has a low natural Int (for example, the Barbarian class) will have a fairly difficult time at higher levels. Skills, and most importantly, spells, will be more difficult learn. Plan to spend a lot of loot on grimores, prayer books and skill scrolls.
If you found a class that you like step on the teleporter.
Next you will land in the nexus:
Read the signs by stepping on them and read what they say. These signs automatically display what they have to say in the message window. Other signs you have to read by applying them. You apply something by middle-click it in the floorbox:
Or you can use the spacebar to apply the topmost thing you see in the floorbox.
For now go to the north into the newbies house. Read all signs there and follow their instructions.
If you see NPC's there, click on them and you will enter the NPC dialouge:
The buttons on the right are options of what you can say to the NPC. You can also click on the links in the text to ask the NPC about that.
Another note about entering commands:
In crossfire most things are command driven. You can enter commands in two ways:
If you plan longer chat sessions you maybe prefer this.
Read the tooltip that occurs when you hover the mouse above the entry. This completer can speed up commands a lot.
Ok, I assume now that you finished the newbies house and you are back in the nexus. Now walk to the left, to the exit to Scorn, the main town in the world. It's the main meeting place for most people on the server and it offers newbie dungeons for the beginners.
If you walk into the exit you will be teleported to scorn:
To the west you see the two beginner houses. Step onto the first one:
Press spacebar to apply it to enter the house. Like the newbies house in the nexus read all signs and follow their orders:
After you finished that house, enter the second house and finish it.
After finishing those two houses there are multiple dungeons for newbies. The best for you to start is the Newbie Tower:
To the north there is the Drinking Fountain a well that you can enter. The first parts of the dungeon there are also very nice.
Explore Scorn, there are many dungeons in the houses. Be careful when meeting new monsters, ask questions on the server via the chat command and read the documentation here for further information about some topics.
Before doing further exploration you maybe want to know how to see your progress and where to see what level you are and what your current stats are.
The most important dialog is the Playerbook, it can be opened by clicking on the Playerbook button on the top of the window or by pressing Tab. There are also shortcuts to them on the keys F2 to F5. (F1 brings up this help).
Here is a quick explanation what all main information elements in the client gui mean:
These are the gauges that display your Health, Spellpoints/Mana, Grace and Food. Please hover the mouse cursor above them and read the tooltips. On the bottom of the gauges the maximum value is displayed and on the top the current value.
Below the gauges there is the experience and level displayed. The level is increased once you reached a certain amount of experience points.
Below that there is the range slot. It displays the currently selected range weapon that you can fire with ctrl+<direction>. This could be a bow or a spell.
It displays all the current status messages that occur while playing. For example what you hit, if you gained experience, if someone entered the game or if someone said something. The status messages will disappear over time. Note: Most status messages are also displayed in the message window, for example chatters and if someone entered/left the game.
If you press F3 or open the playerbook via the Playerbook button on the top of the window and select the Skills tab, you will see this:
It displays all the skills you have and displays the experience points and level you gained in each.
If you want to see what stats and resistancies you currently have, go to the Statistics tab in the Playerbook (for example by pressing F2).
Resistancies protect you from a certain type of attack.
If you want to see what spells you have learned yet, go to the Spellbook tab in the Playerbook (for example by pressing F4).
You wont see there any spell if you just started, but if you learn a spell, it will show up there.
If you have learned some spells it should look like this:
If you are tired or want to take a break from playing, you have to find a Bed to Reality. The Wanderers Inn is the best place to find such a bed for a newbie:
Go into it and find a Bed to Reality:
If you apply it your character will be saved. Your score will also be displayed and your rank on the hiscore list.
When you start up Crossfire, you will be asked for a character name and a password (you may need to open the Server Setup dialog for this using the button at the top of the screen). If you are playing for the first time, type any name you like; this will be your character name for the rest of the life of that character. Next, type in any password. Remember: you will need to remember the same password again to play that character again! You can use Save Config to save your settings, including name and password, but if it gets lost recovery is difficult, so remember your password or write it down at a safe place.
Your next step will be to generate random (primary) stats for your character (to see the stats, you might have to open the Stats Window using the button at the top of the screen). You aren't limited to the number of times you can roll your stats - so have fun. Notice that the stats are always arranged that the Str stat has the highest value, the Cha stat has the lowest. You may rearrange the order of these values when you decide that you have rolled some decent stats. Two points: you can never roll a character with better stats than an average of straight 15's, and you can't roll higher than 18 in a stat.
When you roll your character, the stats displayed are the stats you will get as a human (which are unmodified). When satisfied, you can step through a number of races, each with special bonuses in stats.
The manual shows how your basic stats will be changed by choosing a different race. The difference between the natural stat limit and 20 indicates the bonus/penalty assigned to rolled primary stats. For example, a troll has a maximum strength which is 5 higher than 20-that means he will begin with an additional 5 points added to his strength roll. On the other hand, a troll can never get above 15 in intelligence. This means that your rolled character will have 5 less in intelligence if you choose that race. You should also note that any bonus to an ability can't raise the final number above your racial maximum, and no penalty can give you an ability score less then one; the lowest it can ever get is one.
#TODO biggers house, binding keys etc.
I'm done with class selection, now there are three ways to go, where should I go? It is a good idea to take the northern path into the teleporter leading you to the beginners house. You can learn some basic skills there before journeying onward. Once you are there, you will get many things explained to you. Make sure you investigate every place in that house.
I'm on the starting map, what do I do now? You should be in a city square with a few sign posts in the middle. Move over the signs and apply them spacebar to read what they say.
For beginners, there are several maps designed for them. Find these areas and clear them out. All throughout these levels, a player can find signs and books which they can read by stepping onto them and hitting space bar to apply the book/sign. These messages will help the player to learn the system. Probably the first, best area for a beginning player to start out in is "Beginners." This area is a small house located southwest of your starting location.
Some items are perishable. If you shoot a fireball into a room full of scrolls, you will notice them going up in smoke! So be careful not to destroy valuable items.
Crossfire+ is populated with a wealth of different monsters. These monsters can have varying immunities and attacktypes. In addition, some of them can be quite a bit smarter than others. It will be important for new players to learn the abilities of different monsters and learn just how much it will take to kill them.
Most monsters in the game are out to mindlessly kill and destroy the players. Killing monsters will help boost a player's score. When fighting a large amount of monsters in a single room, attempt to find a narrower hallway so that you are not being attacked from all sides. Charging into a room full of Beholders would not be wise, instead, open the door and fight them one at a time.
More advice can be found in the Survival Guide http://crossfire.real-time.com/guides/survival_guide/index.html.
The priority for characters below about 5th level is to gain some basic items. In this regard, better armour and better spells are best. Look for a quest among the various islands that will allow you to obtain mithril mail. Whenever you scrape together ~100-200 platinum pieces go shopping for armour and weapons (or spells). If you are a fighter type, try to have at least a +2 weapon, +2 helmet, +2 suit of armour, and +2 shield before you reach 5th level. For wizards, attempt to recover enough treasure to be able to buy up good attack spells. For priests, first thing to do is worship a god! Try to get the holy word prayer as soon as possible. Make sure your current god allows good potential use of this spell.
For all classes, get access to the detect magic incantation as soon as possible. This will allow you to sort through the treasure you find while you're in the dungeon, and will save you time and money at the shops.
Diseases are, well, diseases. They can be contageous or not, and can be contracted in a number of ways, and they vary greatly in their symptoms and dangerousness.
Diseases have "levels". If you contract a disease and recover naturally, you're immune to that disease forever, provided the instance of the disease is of equal or lower level than your immunity.
For example, you get a case of the flu cast by yourself at level 15. When you get over it, you're immune to any flu of level less than 16. When you become level 16 and cast the flu again, you are not immune.
Spells such as cure disease or restoration will remove a disease, but will not grant immunity.
When cast as a spell, diseases's severity is level dependent. A 30th level cold is a lot more severe than a level 2 cold.
Undead are never affected by any disease.
Any priest player who isn't denied the path of wounding may learn and cast cause cold, flu, typhoid, anthrax and leprosy spells.
Any priest with a high enough Wis and with a religion that is attuned to wounding may learn to cast cause smallpox, white death and red death by praying at his altar.
The damage caused each round varies between 0 and the maximum listed for a disease. So you can inflict a mild case of ebola, which would not kill a monster, or a severe one capable of killing it.
# TODO: disease table needs heavy reformatting anthrax, anthrax, Godpower arthritis, arthritis, Godpower disease_cold, cold, Godpower creeping_frost, creeping frost, Cold diarrhea, the runs, Physical ebola, Red Death, Godpower egg_disease, egg disease, Physical flaming_fart, flaming farts, Physical flu, flu, Godpower immolation, immolation, Fire incontinence, lack of bladder control, Physical insanity, insanity, Confusion leprosy, leprosy, Godpower bubonic_plague, Black Death, Godpower pneumonic_plague, pneumonic plague, Godpower rabies, rabies, Godpower + Confusion scurvy, scurvy, Physical smallpox, smallpox, Godpower tapeworms, tapeworms, Physical tooth_decay, tooth decay, Physical typhoid, typhoid, Godpower warts, warts, Physical
Parts of this document were originally compiled, edited, and written by Brian Thomas, Klaus Elsbernd, and John W. Klar. Additional information compiled by Maciej Kalisiak, Gorlin, Anton Oussik and Gene Alexander.
Adapted for use by cfplus, enhanced and corrected by Pippijn van Steenhoven, Marc A. Lehmann and Robin Redeker.
To install CFPlus, copy and paste the appropriate command in to your terminal.
cpanm
cpanm CFPlus
CPAN shell
perl -MCPAN -e shell install CFPlus
For more information on module installation, please visit the detailed CPAN module installation guide.