Frequently Asked Questions - Free Tennis
I can't start playing. Both players seem to be computer-driven.
When
the game start, you need to press either F or G to activate the mouse
input. Read the manual to know the difference between F and G.
Can I play human-vs-human?
You can, but you need two computers connected via LAN or internet.
Read the manual to know how to start a game in human-vs-human mode.
Why can't I play human-vs-human on a single machine?
I considered allowing this but, after making tests, I decided
against. Here's what happens when two humans play on a single computer:
- the opponent sees where you are aiming (your parabola is
visible). So he moves there before you hit the ball. This results
in a distorted gameplay;
- who plays in the bottom half of the screen has too big an advantage;
- who uses the mouse has too big an advantage over who uses the keyboard or joypad.
Network games across the internet are too slow.
Yes, you probably need a very fast internet connection to play human-vs-human via internet. I don't have one so I can't tell.
Via LAN, however, the game is fast enough.
In the future, I will try to group packets or send fewer packets, in
order to make internet matches playable too. I still don't know if
this is possible.
How "finished" is this game?
The computer A.I. is not finished, so please don't judge the gameplay
in human-vs-computer mode until version 1.0 is released. I decided to
release an incomplete game because in human-vs-human mode it is already
enjoyable.
What does it mean when the player becomes red?
That question is answered in the manual (in bold text).
What does it mean when the player becomes yellow?
That question is answered in the manual (in bold text).
The game is too difficult!
So is tennis! :-)
Beginners should use the slow motion feature (see manual). Another
thing you should try is change the difficulty with the -computerskill
option.
This game is meant to be difficult to learn but rewarding once you did --- kind of like Kick Off 2.
Sometimes the game crashes and the mouse does not respond anymore.
Sorry, I am currently not sure how to restore the mouse after a crash. Ideally, the game should not crash ;-)
What I do when this happens is the following: activate the terminal
with ALT-TAB; press "up arrow" and "enter" so as to execute freetennis
again; when freetennis starts, press G or F in order to activate mouse
input; press "esc" to quit freetennis; you are now back to X with a
working mouse cursor. If needed, you can now restore the resolution.
Sometimes I get an error about "port binding" when starting two player mode with -server
I hope to fix this soon. If you get this error, wait a few minutes or
(better) just change the port number with the -port option. Of course,
the client should change the port too.