Scorched Earth 2000 FAQ

Q: How do I play against other people?
A: Let's say you want to play against your friend. First you will have to agree with him who will be the master of the game and what resolution you want to use.You may also want to select a game password so that only you and your friend(s) will be able to enter the game. Then the player who wants to be master logs in and creates the game, but does not start it. Then others log in. The master will see their names appear in the list. When everone joins, master presses the start game button. Game begins. If you just want to play with somebody, create a new game without a password and wait until people come in.

Q: What is the "official" url of the game?
A: The official address is http://www.scorch2000.com/ Even if it redirects you to some other server, always try to use this address to access Scorch.

Q: Some person has created a game but doesn't want to start it. I can't play!
A: This is a known problem in the server. We are working to fix it. For now when you see somebody who does not start game for more than 3 minutes, please let us know by sending an e-mail and we will clear the game ASAP. Please, send e-mail, don't post to the form.

Q: I'm using AOL web browser and the game says "can't connect to the server"
A: The game doesn't work in AOL browser. Please get a real browser such as Firefox

Q: I'm using Internet Explorer 4.0 or newer and the game doesn't work, all I can see is a gray rectangle
A: Most likely you don't have JVM (java virtual machine) installed. Microsoft no longer includes it with its IE browsers. You will have to download Java VM from Sun here

Q: I'm using Netscape Navigator 3.xx or Netscape Communicator 4.0x and the game doesn't work
A: It doesn't work because Netscape did not support Java 1.1 before one of the late Communicator releases. Try using Firefox instead.

Q: I have WebTV and the game doesn't work at all
A: WebTV does not support Java. You won't be able to play.

Q: I am behind a firewall which doesn't allow outgoing connections. What port should I open?
A: Scorch needs to be able to establish connection to port 4242 of the server.

Q: I'm using Internet Explorer and everything works fine, but when I go to the Inventory screen there is no buttons to turn shields on
A: Yeah, it's a known bug in Internet Explorer. Get the latest Java VM from Sun here.

Q: I have a Mac. Can I play?
A: Yes, you can. We have seen some versions of Internet Explorer run the applet. If you can't get your IE to work, go to the apple's site and get the latest release of MRJ. It will either work with your IE or even Netscape, or you can run applet using AppletRunner.

Q: I've tried everything but the game still says that it can't connect to the server!
A: Well, that means that the server is down. E-mail us and we will try to fix it.

Q: I want to setup my own server. What do I need?
A: Download the binary distribution from the web page and run it. README file has enough information to get you started. Please setup your own server only if you really need to and if you feel that you are skillful enough to do it with minimal support from us. If you are a web-master or ISP and want to set up the server for your clients we can setup the server for you for some negotiable sum of money.

Q: How much do I pay you for setting up my own Scorched Earth 2000 server?
A: You don't have to pay us for anything. However we do ask you to put a link from your web site to our main Scorched Earth 2000 page. This is mandatory. It is quite a simple thing to ask, but you'd be surprised how many people ignore it. If you feel like supporting our project you can send us money via PayPal.

Q: Scorch2000? Why such a lame name?
A: The project started in September 1999, in the midst of Y2K bug hype, so the name was a joke, kind of. We wrote in our design specs that the game is going to be Y2K ready (and it was ;) Well, it's not such a bad name after all.

Q: I've come up with this really, really cool feature...
A: Unfortunately we don't have time to work on new features right now. We have a huge lists of things we would like to add. Most likely the feature you want to suggest is already on our todo list. If you think you have a revolutionary idea, post it to the forum.

Q: Who are you people?
A: There are only two people from the original KAOS Software team supporting the project:

For the rest of the original crew see the About box in the game.

Q: How long did you take it to write this game?
A: We started coding in October 1999 and first playable release was made in December 1999. After that we've added a lot of features, but basic game design did not change. See this timeline for more details.