Introduction

This is the final beta release of Serpentine. It requires Unreal version 224 to work; it is not compatible with any other version.

What Is Serpentine?

Serpentine is a conversion for Unreal. It centers around the concept of replacing the Unreal weapons with modern real-world firearms. It moves the emphasis of play off quick reflexes and dodging, on to tactical thinking and guile. The goal was to create a more believable, more visceral deathmatch environment, and to bring back the kind of satisfying firepower that we miss from the days of Doom.

If you find normal Unreal to be too twitchy, or don't find the original weapons to be very satisfying, Serpentine may be just what you've been hoping for. On the other hand, if you're looking for arcade action and you enjoy being able to dodge and jump with inhuman agility, you likely won't enjoy Serpentine much; it was never intended to be for everyone.

All in all, Serpentine represents a serious effort to recapture the feeling of enjoyment that we get from recreational shooting, and to boil that experience down into a deathmatch format for our lan parties. In Serpenting there's a lot of fancy hardware that we only wish we could own, but they all share a common feel with the way our guns behave, and look, and sound.

Installation

Since the release of Unreal version 224, installing 3rd party packages have been simplified with the introduction of the new installer. All files will be placed in the appropriate folders, with this text being placed in Unreal\Help.

Unlike the movies Serpentine guns are based on reality, and in reality surveys show that the person with a full gun, usually wins over one with an empty gun. The installer will bind the shift key to be 'reload' within Serpentine. If you need to move this to some other key, use the command 'set input x button bExtra3' where x is the new keyname. To do this:

Start Unreal.
Press ~ to pull the console down.
Type in the following command:
set input shift button bExtra3

If you want to use a key besides shift to reload, substitute its name in the above command. If you can't figure out what the key name is, use shift, its easier. 8)

Playing Single Player Unreal using Serpentine Weapons

To play through Unreal in Single Player Mode using the Serpentine weapons instead of the default Unreal weapons:

Start Unreal.
Select Game.
Select Botmatch.
For Gametype, select Serpentine Coop
For Map, Vortex2 is the normal start point, though you can play anywhere.
In the Configuration sub-menu set your difficulty level.
Then choose start game.

There are a few small differences, insofar as you start with a 1911 and 100 health, but that is due to the fact that you can play Coop on any map, and over a LAN with a few friends.

To play Serpentine in Botmatch (Deathmatch versus the Unreal Bots), follow the above directions, but select Serpentine DM or Serpentine Darkmatch instead. Pick your favorite map and start fragging. DMTundra and DMAriza are both popular with the Serpentine Authors.

Playing Multiplayer Unreal using Serpentine Weapons

To play a multiplayer LAN or Internet based game of Unreal using the Serpentine weapons instead of the default Unreal weapons:

Start Unreal.
Select Muliplayer.

For the Server:
Select Start Game.
Select the type of Game to Play. (Serpentine DM, Serpentine TeamGame, etc.)
Select your favorite map.
Then choose Start Game.
Set your color/skin/name/etc.
Frag away.

For the Clients:
Select Join Game.
Set your color/skin/name/etc in Player Setup.
Select a Server in the Unreal Browser.
Go forth and kick ass.

With this version of Serpentine, you can no longer directly summon the weapons from the console. Actually, you can, but they won't quite work properly unless you are in a Serpentine game; the burst modes will be fully automatic instead, and you'll miss out on a few other features as well. To experience Serpentine properly, play a Serpentine gametype.

- Latham, Aie!?! and Bane