SR FAQ & Link Compilation v2.0 *LOOK HERE FIRST* common questions/threads
This is my second attempt to reduce the amount of times the same question or thread is posted. Some of the links from v1.0 didn't make the cut, so feel free to visit that one too if you're left wanting ( http://forums.xbox.com/12860051/ShowPost.aspx ).
Feel free to add links or answers to frequently asked questions, but I won't be able to edit this original post. I will also be adding links myself, so scroll down through the thread to find late-breaking threads. Please do not quote this entire post if you're replying.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What kind of game is Shadowrun?
"Shadowrun is an intense multi-player focussed FPS experience that rewards cleverness and split-second improvisation through a unique combination of modern weapons, ancient magic and advanced technology"*. Along with traditional particle-based weapons (i.e. SMG, shotgun, etc.), you can also elect to use the deadly Katana, and many forms of magic (such as teleport and ressurect) and future-force technology (such as a Smart-Link aiming assistance and Glider personal aerial transport). * For more complete descriptions, visit http://shadowrun.com/gameguides/default.htm
Is there a single-player campaign?
There is no single-player campaign in Shadowrun. The only thing you can do offline is the training and solo bot matches. Do not buy this game unless you like online multiplayer and have a Gold account, or have a desire to play against bots. If you are interested in the "backstory" of Shadowrun 360, visit http://shadowrun.com/storyguide/
Is there split-screen?
There is no split-screen at this time. Developers have stated that there is a (low) possibility of it being added in the future.
Is it worth buying?
In my opinion it's one of the most fun and addicting shooter games I've played since Counter-Strike. However, I would advise renting it first, or playing the demo, since it's not for everyone. Player reviews on the game can be found here - http://forums.xbox.com/12829829/ShowPost.aspx
What race should I play? What magic/tech/guns should I buy?
While a full discussion of this goes beyond the scope of this FAQ, it is my suggestion that in the first round of every game you should buy RESSURECT or TREE (teamwork=win). At the very least, buy magic or tech first round as they are retained even if you die, whereas guns are not. See the link compilation section for more threads with in-depth strategy discussions.
What is quickcasting? Do I have to assign res to use it?
Quickcasting is casting a spell or tech without assigning it to one of your assigned buttons. This is accomplished by holding down "B", then finding the appropriate magic or tech with your left thumbstick, and then pulling the right trigger. Any magic can be quickcast, but for Tech, only Grenades and AntiMagic Generators can be quickcast. Quickcasting is essential as you can res people or throw trees/grenades without wasting an assigned button slot. Learn it. Love it.
Can I earn achievments against bots in solo play?
No. You cannot earn any achievments in solo play except for the training missions.
Can I earn achievments in a private match?
Yes. You can earn achievments in a private match as long as there are at least 4 gamertags per team. (Note I said earn - this isn't an encouragement to boost - keep it legit people).
These achievment descriptions are vague! Can you explain them?
Most definately! Visit http://forums.xbox.com/13218400/ShowPost.aspx
What is this Karma system I keep hearing about?
The karma system is a type of dynamic handicap that will grant bonuses to the losing team and hindrances to the winning team. The losing team will benefit with more starting money at the beginning of a round, less essence cost for ressing teammates (2 pips instead of 4), teammates can be ressed more than once and enemy bodies are easier to clear. The winning team will find it takes much longer to clear the bodies of the losing team. Note the losing team has to be down by a significant margin for the karma system to kick in.
The servers suck! They keep quitting! Can't they fix this? Can I be the host?
There are no 'dedicated' servers for 360. Matchmaking will select the person with the 'best' connection and they become the server. Since no one can ever know when they are hosting (nor can you elect to be the host), if they quit, the game will attempt to migrate the host but it doesn't always work as desired, and you may have to search for another game. The developers are working to improve these connectivity issues.
Will I still unlock achievments if the server quits like this?
The developers have stated that achievments and progress towards them will be recorded even if the server quits. I'm a little unsure what happens if you are the one who loses connection in terms of achievment progress.
How do I play with my friends?
To join a game with your friends you should first get together in a PARTY. This is done by pressing "Y" from the Public Match menu and then you can send out invites. Then the leader of the party just has to back out of the Party interface and search for a match.
Why did my party get split up?
For balance reasons, parties may be split based on the trueskill ratings of their members as compared to the rest of the people in the game. Typically in the first game after matchmaking, your party will be split. However you should be re-united by the second game (ideally). While you are split up, take advantage of the opportunity to kill your friends for bragging rights! (Make sure to teabag them...)
Can I choose which map to play on?
By setting your Matchmaking Preferences, you can attempt to seek out or avoid particular maps, gametypes and game sizes. Note that the game will attempt to find you a game that matches your preferences, however it is not always possible to find a match to your liking, depending on the preferences you've set.
Why does it take forever to find a game?
Presently, some players are finding that it takes extremely long to find a game. While the developers are working on a solution, there are some temporary workarounds available until the patch is released. See http://forums.xbox.com/13015291/ShowPost.aspx . Also ensure your NAT is open and the appropriate ports for Xbox Live are open or forwarded.
Are there stats/leaderboards/TrueSkill rankings in this game?
By design, there are no viewable lifetime stats, there are no leaderboards, and your TrueSkill rank is hidden. It is the position of the developers that all these things lead to cheating/glitching, statwh0ring, standbying and other undesired behaviours that affect the online experience. For a more complete explanation straight from the horses mouth, see http://forums.xbox.com/13193074/ShowPost.aspx
What did the update do?
The first title update occured around 6/21 and was very limited in scope and addressed a small memory leak among other things. The second update will be more "meaty". For a complete explanation, visit http://forums.xbox.com/13372896/ShowPost.aspx
Will there be downloadable content?
While there has been no announcement about downloadable content, in interviews the developers have stated that there were a few maps that weren't polished enough to make it into retail. Thus we can almost certainly look forward to some new maps, hopefully as well new game types, and maybe even a new playable race (speculation)
Is there any sweet machinema based on Shadowrun?
As a matter of fact, there is. Check out 1-800-MAGIC from Rooster Teeth, the makers of the popular Red vs. Blue (Halo machinema). http://shadowrun.com/media/1800Magic_Episode1.htm Caution: NSFW/mature content.
LINK COMPILATION
Guides
Achievments Fully Explained v4.20 by xenocidic
http://forums.xbox.com/13218400/ShowPost.aspx
Shadowrun Multiplayer Guide v2.1 by dzs Awez0me
http://forums.xbox.com/13420280/ShowPost.aspx
Shadowrun Guide by Sheep (lots of general info)
http://forums.xbox.com/13525167/ShowPost.aspx
Guide to Playing and Fighting Trolls by SweetLoo (=dev!)
http://forums.xbox.com/13015191/ShowPost.aspx
Guide to becoming an Effective Elf by Sokoto
http://forums.xbox.com/13433420/ShowPost.aspx
Master Gardener Guide & Tips by Muffin Lad
http://forums.xbox.com/13504524/ShowPost.aspx
A crash course on common courtesy
http://forums.xbox.com/13459431/ShowPost.aspx
Client-side Hit Detection or, "Why does the katana hit me from 10 ft away?"
http://forums.xbox.com/13391678/ShowPost.aspx
Reposts of FASA statements on Updates, Hot Issues & Stat Tracking
http://forums.xbox.com/13193074/ShowPost.aspx
Earning Money (detailed)
http://forums.xbox.com/13494469/ShowPost.aspx
Player Reviews of the Game
http://forums.xbox.com/12829829/ShowPost.aspx
Strategy Threads
The Dwarf Den
http://forums.xbox.com/13149500/ShowPost.aspx
The Elven Tree Of Light
http://forums.xbox.com/13149554/ShowPost.aspx
The Human Habitat
http://forums.xbox.com/13149596/ShowPost.aspx
The Troll Pit
http://forums.xbox.com/13149453/ShowPost.aspx
How to kill a...
http://forums.xbox.com/13195498/ShowPost.aspx
Perfect 5-man squads
http://forums.xbox.com/13185215/ShowPost.aspx
Whole-Team templates (chars/builds/weps) best squads
http://forums.xbox.com/12884573/ShowPost.aspx
Build threads
http://forums.xbox.com/12852245/ShowPost.aspx
http://forums.xbox.com/12852280/ShowPost.aspx
http://forums.xbox.com/12871220/ShowPost.aspx
http://forums.xbox.com/12957981/ShowPost.aspx
Weapon / Magic / Tech usage
Pistol
http://forums.xbox.com/13188632/ShowPost.aspx
SMG
http://forums.xbox.com/13128294/ShowPost.aspx
Shotgun
http://forums.xbox.com/13248274/ShowPost.aspx
Rifle
http://forums.xbox.com/13152324/ShowPost.aspx
http://forums.xbox.com/13191057/ShowPost.aspx
http://forums.xbox.com/13253541/ShowPost.aspx
Sniper Rifle
http://forums.xbox.com/13060254/ShowPost.aspx
http://forums.xbox.com/13080736/ShowPost.aspx
http://forums.xbox.com/13094490/ShowPost.aspx
Rocket Launcher
http://forums.xbox.com/13119521/ShowPost.aspx
Smart-link
http://forums.xbox.com/12889944/ShowPost.aspx
Summon (minions)
http://forums.xbox.com/12701519/ShowPost.aspx
http://forums.xbox.com/13162160/ShowPost.aspx
Buy res first round!
http://forums.xbox.com/12955124/ShowPost.aspx
Overlooked abilities
http://forums.xbox.com/12957554/ShowPost.aspx
Criticism / Nerf Threads
Nerf Humans
http://forums.xbox.com/12973154/ShowPost.aspx
Nerf Trolls
http://forums.xbox.com/12958911/ShowPost.aspx
Nerf Elves
http://forums.xbox.com/12944327/ShowPost.aspx
(don't) Nerf dwarves
http://forums.xbox.com/12971168/ShowPost.aspx
why the nerf threads?
http://forums.xbox.com/12973375/ShowPost.aspx
Criticism re: teammates communicating after death
http://forums.xbox.com/13487747/ShowPost.aspx
Smartlink criticism
http://forums.xbox.com/13339363/ShowPost.aspx
Lack of ladder animation in a next-gen game?
http://forums.xbox.com/12931970/ShowPost.aspx
Overpriced for a multiplayer-only game?
http://forums.xbox.com/12864751/ShowPost.aspx
Too many elves?
http://forums.xbox.com/12871708/ShowPost.aspx
Katana too inexpensive? Sniper too expensive?
http://forums.xbox.com/13462379/ShowPost.aspx
Debate / Discussions
An eye for an eye? A discussion on retribution for betrayals
http://forums.xbox.com/13447816/ShowPost.aspx
Keyboard/Mouse vs. Controller
http://forums.xbox.com/12847971/ShowPost.aspx
Shadowrun vs. Gears of War
http://forums.xbox.com/13125475/ShowPost.aspx
Shadowrun vs. Halo2
http://forums.xbox.com/13460104/ShowPost.aspx
Shadowrun vs. Halo3
http://forums.xbox.com/12809167/ShowPost.aspx
Ranking system (lack of visibility into...)
http://forums.xbox.com/12855739/ShowPost.aspx
Praise for the lack of leaderboards/stat/rank display
http://forums.xbox.com/12875085/ShowPost.aspx
Importance of using a microphone?
http://forums.xbox.com/12880557/ShowPost.aspx
More mature/team-oriented gameplay?
http://forums.xbox.com/12859772/ShowPost.aspx
Funny Stuff
Penny Arcade & Ctrl-Alt-Del comics about Shadowrun
http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/comic.php?d=20070604
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/06/04
1-800-MAGIC (Shadowrun machinema from creators of RvB)
http://shadowrun.com/media/1800Magic_Episode1.htm
Funny moments
http://forums.xbox.com/12852869/ShowPost.aspx
http://forums.xbox.com/13517461/ShowPost.aspx
Nicest Gust Moments
http://forums.xbox.com/12881674/ShowPost.aspx
You know you've been playing too much Shadowrun when...
http://forums.xbox.com/13473005/ShowPost.aspx
Stupidest thing you've ever done
http://forums.xbox.com/13058251/ShowPost.aspx
Tom Burlington Memorial Sniper Spot
http://forums.xbox.com/13144003/ShowPost.aspx
Teabag achievment club
http://forums.xbox.com/12857715/ShowPost.aspx
Which race is most fun to kill?
http://forums.xbox.com/13479733/ShowPost.aspx
Etc.
Finding Vista players to party with
http://forums.xbox.com/13201590/ShowPost.aspx
Finding older player to party with
http://forums.xbox.com/12942761/ShowPost.aspx
Angry about the OTHER team calling votes on your players?
http://forums.xbox.com/13141906/ShowPost.aspx
http://forums.xbox.com/13265575/ShowPost.aspx
Lost connection in single player (?!)
http://forums.xbox.com/13145998/ShowPost.aspx
Stupid reasons you've been booted
http://forums.xbox.com/13329231/ShowPost.aspx
Most annoying thing you've experienced in Shadowrun
http://forums.xbox.com/13486123/ShowPost.aspx
Medics! (unite!)
http://forums.xbox.com/13115123/ShowPost.aspx
Brotherhood of Ressurection (BoR)
http://forums.xbox.com/13061358/ShowPost.aspx
Closing Remarks
Thanks to everyone for the kind words in the previous version of this thread. Your continued assistance in bumping this thread would be greatly appreciated. Remember to add your own links or answers to questions. Keep on shadowrunnin =).
confessions of an xbox 360 gamerdadThis post is provided "as-is" and confers no rights.
