Frequently Asked Questions
This section attempts to answer many of the questions people ask on the various forums throughout Parthoris. In addition, some not-so frequently-asked questions are included as well.
 

 

1. Binds

1.1. How do I bind keys that work when I press them twice ("double-tap")?
Use the bind_double command instead of bind. It works exactly the same way as bind does, but is only activated when the key is double-tapped. For example, to have your character jump when your quickly press the the J key twice you'd use the following:

bind_double j +moveup

To see a list of all double-bound keys issue the bndlist_double command in the console.

Be aware that using the bind_double command on a key you've already used bind on may cause some problems depending on the sensitivity of your keyboard. To adjust that use the Keyboard applet in Control Panel (if you're using Microsoft Windows).
 

1.2. Can I create a key that modifies how other keys work? How?
Yes, by using the bind_command feature of Heretic II. This works like bind and bind_double, but you must first specify the command key. Suppose you want the shift key to alter the way other keys work. This will be your command key: 

bind shift +command

Then you specify keys you want to bind something to when you use this command key. If you'd like to make shift+j attack you would use the following:

bind_command j +attack

Holding down the shift key and then pressing j would make your character attack, but if you simply pressed j on it's own it would do whatever was assigned to j with the bind command, if anything.

To see a list of all command-altered keys you've defined type bndlist_command in the console.
 

1.3. What is the complete list of keys, mouse buttons and joystick functions I can bind?
Apart from the letters, numbers, punctuation and other characters on your keyboard you can bind commands to the following:
 
ALT KP_DEL LEFTARROW
AUX1 - AUX32 KP_DOWNARROW MOUSE1 - MOUSE3
BACKSPACE KP_END MWHEELDOWN
CTRL KP_ENTER MWHEELUP
DEL KP_HOME PAUSE
DOWNARROW KP_INS PGDN
  END KP_LEFTARROW PGUP

 
ENTER KP_MINUS RIGHTARROW
ESCAPE KP_PGDN SEMICOLON
F1 - F12 KP_PGUP SHIFT
HOME KP_PLUS SPACE
INS KP_RIGHTARROW TAB
JOY1 - JOY4 KP_SLASH UPARROW
KP_5 KP_UPARROW
 

Most of these are self-explanatory. The ones prefixed with "KP_" indicate the numeric keypad on the right-hand side of most keyboards. These are different from their equivalents elsewhere on the keyboard. For example, KP_HOME is not the same key as HOME. You cannot bind the Caps Lock, Scroll Lock or Num Lock keys (called "state keys").
 

2. Configuration

2.1. How do I configure my game for use with two different players who use the same computer but have different skins, binds, etc.?
Coming soon!
 

3. Miscellaneous

3.1. What is the console and how do I access it?
The console is where you enter commands directly to Heretic II. It is useable anytime the game is running. To access it press the ~ key (tilde). This will open a window that will cover half the game screen. At the bottom you'll see the prompt (the > character) with a block cursor and above that the results of previous commands and text seen throughout the game. You can scroll up and down this window using the PgUp and PgDn keys.

To enter commands simply type and press the Enter key. You can use the up and down arrow keys to cycle through recently used commands. To enter multiple commands on the same line separate them with the ; character (semi-colon).

To close the console and return to the game press the tilde key again. To change the default key used to open and close the console bind the toggleconsole command to a key of your choice. To save the contents of the console issue the condump command.

Note that if you are playing in single-player mode the game will pause while you are in the console. But if you're playing a multiplayer or co-op game the action will continue around you.
 

3.2. How can I change the color of messages I see in the game?
You can change the color of many text elements used throughout the game. Here is a list of elements and their default settings:
 
Element Default Explanation
colour_chat 22 Messages sent and seen using the say or messagemode commands (the chat feature).
colour_game 17 Messages indicating you've picked up an item, warning you of a missing item, the text of cinematic speech, etc.
colour_level 16 Text seen when entering a new map, if any.
colour_names 7 The names seen over other players in multiplayer or co-op play.
colour_obituary 20 Messages indicating the death of a player, either your or another player in co-op or multiplayer games.
colour_teamchat 23 Text of messages sent to and received from team mates only using the say_team or messagemode2 commands.
 
Valid ranges for the color value are 0 to 31 where 0 is black and 31 is bright white. To change a color use this format:

set colour_names 7  (where "set" is optional)

You can enter the command directly in the console (where the change will last until you exit the game) or in your .cfg file to make the changes permanent.
 

4. Server

4.1. How do I get my server to appear on GameSpy?
Once you start a dedicated server either type in the following commands in the server console (the DOS window) or add them to your dedicated.cfg file:

set master 1

heartbeat
 

4.2. How can I keep a log of activity on my server?
Use the logfile variable either in the server console (the DOS window) or in your dedicated.cfg file like so:

set logfile 2  (where "set" is optional)

A value of 0 turns off all logging. 2 enables continuous logging as the game is being played and setting it to 1 will write to the log file on when the server is shut down normally. The log file created will be called qconsole.log (usually in your \User or \Base folder), a standard text file you can open with Notepad or any other text editor. To include map information in the log file you must also set log_stats to 1 like so:

set log_stats 1  (and 0 to turn it off)

Note that the logging produced here does not include scores. In order to save those you must use another command: log_file_name. Setting this to a file name will save player names and scores from a map, appending new entries every time the map changes. Example: 

set log_file_name scores.txt  (where "set" is optional)

This will log scores to a file name scores.txt. You can get fancy with this logging by setting other variables like so:

set log_file_header "--- New Scores ---"

This will put the text "--- New Scores ---" before it writes each new set of scores.

log_file_footer "--- The End ---"

Writes "--- The End ---" before it closes the file during a server session.

log_file_line_header "-->"

Places "-->" at the beginning of every line of text logged by log_file_name. Using these last three features you can customize your score records, including putting HTML tags or anything else you like.
 

5. Sound

5.1. Sometimes while I'm playing certain sounds get 'stuck' and keep repeating. How can I fix that?
The repeating sound problem can happen once in a while. This is usually caused by many sound effects firing off at once close to your character. To stop all repeating sounds issue the stopsound command in the console. If the problem persists in the same game session try the snd_restart command.
 

5.2. I'm experiencing delays in sound effects. What is causing this and how can I fix it?
You are probably using a SoundBlaster Live! audio card. If this is the case Heretic II is using the EAX sound system which causes this problem. Even if you change this in the game's Audio settings Heretic II has a bug where it will continue to use it regardless. To fix this problem rename the file eaxsnd.dll in your root \Heretic folder (the default is C:\Program Files\Heretic II) to anything else, such as XXXeaxsnd.dll, or move the file elsewhere. You can also delete the file to correct the problem, but it's best to just rename it.
 

6. Video

6.1. How can I tell how many frames per second (FPS) I'm getting?
Issue the timefresh command in the console. This will spin your character's field of vision around a full 360 degrees and display an estimated number of frames per second. Note that many factors can affect this value such as shadows, the number of object in viewing distance, etc. Also note that on higher-end computers the value returned by timefresh isn't particularly accurate, usually far too high.
 

6.2. How do I take screenshots in the game?
Use the screenshot command. Bind a key to screenshot like this:

bind F12 screenshot

In this example pressing F12 while you play will create a PCX graphic file if you're playing in software rendered mode or a Targa (.tga) image if you're using any sort of accelerated video mode. The files are saved in your \Heretic\User\Scrnshot folder using the naming convention htic2-XX where XX is an incrementing number starting at 00. Use your favorite graphics program to open these files.

Note that Targa files are quite large so you may want to periodically convert them into JPEGs or some other compact format.