BadgerKing 2.0

1

Join the game

BZFlag is a free 3D tank game that has been played online since the 1990s. It runs on Windows, Mac and Linux. You need about five minutes to get in.

Download BZFlagGet version 2.4 from bzflag.org/downloads and install it.
Pick a callsignStart BZFlag and choose Join Game. Type the name you want to play under in Callsign.
Find BadgerKingChoose Find Server and pick BadgerKing 2.0 -- WHAMMO! edition. Or type the server whammo.bmbz.org and port 5159 yourself.
Press JoinThen right click (or press I) to drive onto the field. Type /help start in chat for the basics.

Register your callsign, it's free. Make an account at forums.bzflag.org with your callsign as the username, confirm the email, then put your forum password in the Password box when you join. Only registered players are knighted in the Badger King's Court and can fire the King's cannons. Kids: ask a parent or grandparent to make the account with you.

2

Drive, shoot, jump

You steer with the mouse. Push it up to go forward, down to back up, left and right to turn. Leave it in the small box in the middle of the screen to stop.

FireLeft click or Enter

JumpTab

Drop a flagSpace or middle click

Respawn after dyingRight click or I

What does my flag do?F

ScoreboardS

Radar range: near, half, whole map1 2 3

Radar zoom4 5

Talk to everyone / your teamN / M

Talk to the adminsZ

BinocularsB

Menu, options, quitEsc

Silence a playerK

ScreenshotF5

Only a few of your shots can be out at once, so wait for them to reload. Shots bounce off walls here, yours too. Your colour is your team: don't shoot your own colour, it costs you points. Rogues (yellow) are on their own.

Tanks trading fire across a rainy field beside the castle walls — A real fight in the rain. Every glowing streak is a shot you can see coming on the radar.

The radar wins games

BZFlag is 90% radar and 10% main screen. Most kills come from behind or the side, where your view can't see, but the radar shows every tank and every bullet around you in time to dodge. Make it big (Esc > Options > GUI Settings > Radar Size), keep your eyes on it, and jump or turn out of a shot's path.

Some handy settings to type in chat (your game keeps them):

/localset linedradarshots 70 shows each shot as a long line, so you see where it is going.
/localset sizedradarshots 8 makes bullets bigger on the radar.
Radar blank? GUI Settings > Radar Style: Enhanced fixes it.

Don't rush players who have been at this for years. Spawn, stay alive, learn to dodge and jump, and fight when it's to your advantage. That's how everyone here got good.

3

Tour of Badger Land

The map from above, north at the top. Each numbered spot has its own part of the guide.

Top-down view of the BadgerKing map with the castle in the middle

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1The castle. The throne room is the hall on the ground floor, the throne at its south end.
2The keep, with the giant gold crown and its jewels on top.
3The clock tower: the bell in the belfry, the Dragon on the very top. The dashed square is a no-fly zone.
4Excalibur, the sword in the stone, beside the golden tank.
5The King's battery at the north end: three rows of cannons.
6The King's stables. The Steed hides in the cupola, the Triple Crown in a stall.
7The church, a sanctuary from the bell and the sword.
8The market, home of the Rotten Pineapple flag.
9The south-west towers, with their blue roofs.

The whole map seen from the south-west corner: castle, keep, church, stables, market and clock tower

From the south-west corner: the stables on the left, the castle and keep in the middle, the church behind them, the market on the right.

4

The Badger King's throne

The heart of BadgerKing. Sit on the golden throne and you are King, earning points as long as you can hold it.

A red tank sits on the golden throne in the torch-lit throne room, under the banners of the Court

Every 5 seconds

Jump up and sit on the seat. You get 1 point every 5 seconds while you stay on it alive. With 11 or more playing, it's 2 points a time.
Jump to dodge a shot and you keep your crown. Just land back on the seat.
Hop off alive and you keep your points: SERVER: X left the Badger King's throne with 9 points.
Up to 20 points a visit, then rest 60 seconds before your next turn.
It pays only when 2 or more players are really playing (paused or idle tanks don't count).

Shoot the King, take the bounty

Kill the King on the throne and every point he earned there is yours.

SERVER: Lancelot takes the Badger King's throne!

SERVER: The crown wobbles... and falls! Gawain takes 5 points from Lancelot!

Blow yourself up on the throne and you lose your bounty. It stays on the throne as royal treasure for the next King to claim.
King with the Avenger flag, shot off: you keep your bounty.
The throne is solid. Tanks and shots can't pass through it.
No mines can be laid in the throne room. They fizzle.

Throne points count toward your score, and your score gets you into the Court. More in the game: /help throne.

5

The midnight bell

High in the clock tower in the south-east corner hangs the Silent Bell. Ring it and survive twelve strikes, and at midnight every other tank on the map falls.

A real game: the castle under fire while Dr Thief rings the bell — A real game: Dr Thief is ringing, 7 strikes in, while the castle burns.

How to ring it

Drive onto the belfry floor. No Wings or Stealth: drop them first.
Get clear. 3 seconds after you start, the bell strikes: 12 golden shock waves, deadly close to the bell. It will strike you down too.
Everyone hears the countdown, and you blink on everyone's radar as a ring of white dots.
Stay alive until the 12th strike (52 seconds) and it is midnight.

SERVER: Mordred is ringing the clock tower bell! Find him and stop him!

SERVER: Bong! 9 of 12 -- Mordred is ringing -- midnight in 13 s

SERVER: MIDNIGHT! The Silent Bell tolls -- but for whom does the bell toll? It tolls for thee!

The No Bell Peace Prize

Everyone else: find the ringer and stop him. Kill him before midnight and you win the No Bell Peace Prize, 5 points, announced to all. /nobell lists the laureates.

After a midnight the bell rests 15 minutes.
Whoever rang it last can't ring it again until someone else has (or 30 minutes have passed).
Don't camp under the bell. Its strikes reach you there too.
The church is a sanctuary: a tank inside is spared by the bell, Excalibur, the Peasants' Revolt and rogue Genocide.

6

Excalibur

The sword in the stone stands south of the castle, beside the golden tank. Wake it, live 26 seconds, and the sword strikes down a whole team.

Draw the sword

Land on top of the sword (the gold pommel) to wake it. No Wings or Stealth: there's a no-fly zone round the sword while it can be drawn.
A 26-second countdown starts, and a golden beam of light rises over the sword so everyone can find you. You may jump down and fight. Just stay alive.
Survive, and the biggest team colour on the field perishes by the sword. Rogues count as a team.

SERVER: Percival has awakened Excalibur! Stop them within 26 seconds!

SERVER: Excalibur: Percival draws the sword in 10 s -- stop them!

SERVER: Percival has unsheathed the power of Excalibur! All green tanks perish by the sword!

Stop the puller

Kill the tank who woke the sword before the countdown ends and you get 5 points. If you're on the biggest team, it's also the only way to save yourself.

After a draw the sword sleeps 10 minutes. A tank that drew it waits 12 minutes from his own draw.
Whoever woke it last can't wake it again until someone else has (or 30 minutes have passed).
Hiding in the church keeps you safe from the sword.

7

The Dragon

On the very top of the clock tower lie the Dragon's Wings. Take them and you fly as the Dragon, breathing fire on everything below.

Three fiery missiles streak from the clock tower spire

Become the Dragon

Climb the clock tower (Pole Vault flags wait on the tower's ring walk) and grab the Wings on top.
Everyone hears SERVER: Beware -- the Dragon is loosed!
Every shot breathes Dragon fire: three guided missiles at the nearest enemy in front of you.
The Dragon may fly over the clock tower square, where everyone else's Wings fail.
After 52 seconds the Dragon returns to its lair.

The castle at night as the Dragon is loosed — A real game at night: someone has taken the Wings, and the whole map is warned.

Slay the Dragon

Shoot down the Dragon and you get 5 points: SERVER: X slew the Dragon! +5

After each ride the Dragon sleeps 3 to 5 minutes. Reach for its Wings too soon and it roars in your face and knocks your flag loose. Do it again and you're lunch.
Steal the Dragon's Wings with the Thief flag and the Dragon roars, knocking every flag on the map loose.

8

Cannons, jewels and the Steed

Three more ways to make a name for yourself.

Cannonballs streak over the snowy castle and burst beyond it during a real game — A real game: a broadside lands past the castle while Moroni rings the bell.

The King's cannons

Three rows of guns stand on the battery at the north end of the castle: west, south and east.
Fire: drive onto a row's red pad behind its guns, point your tank where you want them to go, and shoot. All 4 guns fire together in a high arc. Broadside!
Shoot again to bring them down early, but only far out, past the castle.
They burst where they land, on the ground, a tower or the belfry, and anyone near is gone.
Reload: stop on that row's pile of cannonballs until it says Loaded! (about 3 seconds), then drive back to the red pad.
A broadside is worth a bonus point. Registered players only.
Under fire? A blinking ring on your radar shows where the balls will land, and you hear the lock-on alarm. You have a few seconds to get out of the ring.

The giant gold crown with red and green jewels on top of the keep

The crown jewels

The giant gold crown on top of the keep has eight jewels. One at a time wakes up. Drive, jump or shoot through it and it's yours: 5 points.

SERVER: X captured one of the Badger King's crown jewels! +5 points

The next jewel wakes about 5 minutes later.

The King's Steed

Hidden in the cupola on top of the King's stables waits the King's Steed flag (KS). Finding it is worth 5 points.

Riding it, you are faster than High Speed.
Charge forward and its hooves trample every enemy tank around you. Land from a jump and a shock wave goes off where you touch down.
No time limit: you keep it until you die or drop it. After your ride you wait 3 minutes before you can take it again.
Rogues can't ride it. The Avenger can't touch its rider, and a Steamroller that tries to run him down is crushed.
Kill the rider and you get 5 points too. SERVER: King's Steed steaks!

9

Flags

Drive over a flag to pick it up. Its letters show on your screen, and F tells you what it does. Space drops it. BadgerKing has no bad flags, only good ones.

Two red Crown's Pyre lasers cross the field — Crown's Pyre lasers in a real game.

A stained-glass church window showing a tank — The church windows. Look closely at what's in the glass.

WHAMMO! flags

Made for these servers. In the game: /flags for the list, /flags sh for one of them.

Flag	What it does
SHSuper Shield	Absorbs 3 hits from normal shots. Blocks Crown's Pyre lasers and the Bouncer's extra bullets completely, +1 point each. Double-drop to let go.
CPCrown's Pyre	A laser. Each kill bursts into flames that spread to more kills. After 3 kills it rests 10 seconds. Kill its holder and he goes up in flames himself, and those kills are yours.
RRRetroreflector	A Crown's Pyre laser that hits you bounces back at its shooter.
BOBouncer	Your shot plus two extra bullets angled down that bounce off the floor.
TGTail Gunner	Every shot also fires a bullet straight out the back.
CSCross Shot	Every shot fires four ways: forward, back, left and right.
PVPole Vault	Jump, and you get a second boost up to the roofs. You can even twist in the air.
AVAvenger	If whoever kills you is holding a flag, he dies too.
MNMine	Press drop to lay a mine where you sit; then the flag is gone. It arms in 2 seconds and an enemy who drives onto it blows up. Nobody can see it, but Seer holders hear a beep near enemy mines. A Shock Wave clears enemy mines, +1 each.
RPRotten Pineapple	A pineapple-shaped burst of bullets with extra range. Kills a Super Shield outright. Lives in the market.
PRPeasants' Revolt	For registered players who are not yet in the Court. Kill one member of the Court with it and every other royal on the field dies too.
TCTriple Crown	Every kill counts 3 points. It hides in a stall of the King's stables, and somewhere new each time it's dropped.
KSKing's Steed	Speed and trampling hooves. See the King's Steed.
USUseless	Not so useless here: with 4 or more playing, each kill is worth double the last (1, 2, 4, 8...) until you die or drop it.

The classic flags

These are the standard BZFlag flags, scattered across the field and the rooftops.

VHigh Speed	Much faster driving.
QTQuick Turn	Much faster turning.
AAgility	Quick bursts of speed sideways and forward.
WGWings	Fly: jump again in the air. No time limit on BadgerKing. They fail in the clock tower square.
FRapid Fire	Shots reload much faster.
MGMachine Gun	A stream of short-range bullets.
GMGuided Missile	Aim at an enemy, right click until it says Locked on, then fire. It chases him.
SBSuper Bullet	Shots go through walls and buildings.
SWShock Wave	Each shot is a blast wave around you that kills everything close.
IBInvisible Bullet	Your shots don't show on enemy radar.
STStealth	You vanish from enemy radar. Can't ring the bell or wake Excalibur.
CLCloaking	You can't be seen on screen, only on radar.
NNarrow	You are paper-thin from the front.
TTiny	A small tank, harder to hit.
BUBurrow	Drive under the ground. Slow, but shots pass over you.
OOOscillation Overthruster	Drive through walls.
SRSteamroller	Run over tanks to kill them.
THThief	Shoot a tank to steal his flag.
SESeer	See stealthy and cloaked tanks; hear enemy mines nearby.
IDIdentify	Names the flags near you.
MQMasquerade	You look like a teammate to everyone else.
PZPhantom Zone	Drive through a teleporter to become a ghost that can't be shot (and can't shoot). Found at the ground teleporters.

10

The Badger King's Court

Your score is the number by your name: your kills and throne points minus your deaths. Climb high enough and the whole map hears you've joined the Court, with fireworks from the crown.

100

Knight

Dame with /court style dame

250

Baron

or Baroness

500

Duke

or Duchess

1000

Badger King

or Badger Queen, the highest rank

The throne room, with the banners of the Court hanging behind the throne

Your title is yours for good, even if you lose points later. Come back and you're welcomed by your title.
Only registered players are knighted. Not registered? At 100 you are a worthy Squire, and if you register within 30 days you're knighted at the rank you earned.
The banners of the Court hang in the throne room.
/knights shows the Roll of the Court and how many points you need for your next title.
Pick how the Court names you: /court style knight, sir or dame.
Caught in the fireworks? You lose no points.

11

Weather in Badger Land

A whole year passes every hour: winter, spring, summer and fall, about 15 minutes each, and the ground changes with them. Rain, thunderstorms, snow, blizzards, fog and falling leaves come and go.

The castle and market on a green summer afternoon

The castle reflected in a muddy flooded field after a storm, with a battle going on — A real game after a thunderstorm: the field is a swamp, and the fight goes on.

Type /weather to see what's coming next. Rotten Pineapple forecasts the storms and blizzards.
After a thunderstorm the land lies flooded for a few minutes, a muddy swamp that slowly drains.
Set your own time of day with the - and = keys. The bell's midnight still comes for everyone.
Hard to read the chat on snow? See Make it run smoothly.

12

Make it run smoothly

BadgerKing is a big map with weather. If your game is slow or choppy, especially on an older computer, press Esc and go to Options.

Display settings

Try these in order, top first:

Shadows: Off, the biggest saver.
Anti Aliasing, Anisotropic and Smoothing: Off.
Quality: Medium (Low if it's still slow).
Lighting: Fast. On a Mac, None also stops walls from vanishing.
Texturing: Nearest. Off is faster but makes everything plain grey.
Energy Saver: Off.
A lower resolution, or playing in a window, helps a lot on older graphics cards.

Effects settings

The weather is pretty but costs speed. Under Effects Settings:

Rain, Fog and Fancy Effects: Off.
Mirror, Track Marks, Display and Animated Treads: Off.
Spawn, Death and Landing Effects: Off.

Then Options > Save Settings so it sticks. Close web browsers and videos while you play, and plug a laptop in.

Smooth picture but tanks jump around, or shots "miss" when they hit? That's your network, not your computer. A wired connection helps most.

Easier to read

Text lost on snow: GUI Settings > Panel Opacity up to about 60% gives the chat box a dark back. Radar Opacity does the same for the radar.
Bigger letters: GUI Settings > ControlPanel Font Size.
Too bright or washed out: Night Shift, Night light or HDR on your computer can wash colours out. Try them off to play.
Blue names hard to read: /localset bluecolor "0.4 0.6 1".
Plain grey walls where there should be stone or wood: Cache Settings > Automatic Downloads: On, and see /help textures.

13

Chat and commands

Press N to talk to everyone, M for your team, Z for the admins. Commands start with a slash and go in the same chat box.

Chat box too busy? Shift+F2 shows just players talking, without the "grabbed flag" lines. Shift+F1 brings everything back. And this page is here so you don't have to read the help while it scrolls past.

Type	To
`/help`	List the help pages. `/help start`, `/help play`, `/help keys`, `/help tips`, `/help throne`, `/help bell`, `/help cannons`, `/help court`, `/help speed` and more.
`/flags`	The WHAMMO! flags; `/flags sh` for one of them.
`/knights`	The Roll of the Court and your next title.
`/court style`	Choose knight, sir or dame.
`/nobell`	The No Bell Peace Prize laureates.
`/weather`	The weather now and next.
`/mines`	How many mines are out, and how long yours have left.
`/lang es`	Chat translation: `es` Español, `pt` Português, `de` Deutsch, `fr` Français, `ro` Română, `en` English, `off` none. Others' chat is translated for you, and yours for them.
`/msg "name" hi`	A private message. `,` answers whoever last killed you or you killed; `.` replies to your last private message.
`/report ...`	Tell the admins about a problem player.

14

Fair play

Keep chat clean. Children play here. Swearing is masked, with a private reminder each time.
All chat, including private and team, is logged for 30 days and may be read by admins to keep players safe.
No sexual talk or dirty callsigns.
No cheating, bots or exploiting bugs. Every game is watched by our cheat detection. Found a bug? Tell an admin with Z or /report.
Be a good sport: no harassing players.
Admins have the final say.

Have fun. Most players are happy to help: just ask.

Explosions and tracers over a rainy battlefield — A real game in the rain: killer ends Moroni's rampage.