[NEW PLAYERS] Welcome to Project Reality

[[R-MOD]Nate.]

Welcome to Project Reality

This thread serves as quick orientation for new players joining the community and the game. This thread does not replace reading the manual!.

The following video serves as a quick introduction to Project Reality.

Project Reality is a teamwork-oriented realistic tactical FPS that started off as mod for Battlefield 2. It is completely standalone and free to download and play. The following is intended to serve as a quick guide to get started.

A. Download and Setup

Spoiler for Download and Setup:

1. Getting the Game

Download the full client here: https://www.realitymod.com/downloads
Please use the installation guide here: https://www.realitymod.com/forum/showthread.php?t=99834. Project Reality is a standalone & completely free game. You do not need any additional software. It is highly recommended to have a working microphone.

2. Creating an Account and Configuring Settings

Project Reality comes with a launcher where you can change most settings outside of the game. You can change your settings to your personal preference before starting up the game. You will need to create a PR Account before you can play online. Please follow the dedicated tutorial on that here if you are having issues.

Spoiler for Settings:

3. Mumble

Project Reality comes with an integrated VOIP System (Mumble) that requires no extra installation. It automatically switches you to the right channels ingame. Most servers enforce microphones at least for the squad leader level.

Therefore, make sure you have mumble set up properly (Start Launcher -> Settings -> PR Mumble -> Launch Mumble -> Configure) and know which buttons to press:

Spoiler for Mumble:

:: B-Key: Local Speech
Press B (or H) to talk to everyone around you ingame. Enemies cannot hear local speech. You can use local speech even when you are down. Local Speech comes with positional audio.

:: V-Key: Squad Radio
Press V (or Num0) to talk to every player in your Squad.

:: Numpad / (Divide)-Key: Squadleader to Commander Radio
Press Numpad / to directly contact your team's commander.

:: Numpad * (Multiply)-Key: Squadleader to All Squadleaders Radio
On this channel, you talk to all Squadleaders and the Commander of your team at the same time. Do not Spam this channel.

::Numpad 1 - 9-Keys: Squadleader to dedicated Squad Radio
If you want to contact a specific squad, just press the respective Squad Number on your Numpad to directly talk to them. Use this to coordinate attacks, relay intel to armor or for calling in mortars, supplies or transport.

The colour of each channel is represented in the ingame overlay. If someone talks to you in local, their name will appear in blue. If someone in your squad uses Squad Radio, it will be green. If the commander contacts you, it will be yellow et cetera.



If you want to change your keybindings to something that suits you better, head to the Mumble Tab in the PR-Launcher Settings to change them:

Spoiler for Mumble:

Furthermore, in the PR Launcher -> Options -> Audio tab, you can change your Audio Cue Settings. Since the Radio Cue sounds can be very loud, it is recommended to reduce the cue volume. You can also disable all cue sounds if you wish to do so.

Spoiler for Radio Cue:

If you have a problem with your mumble connection, let your squad know in the ingame text chat (default: L). Alt-Tab out of your game and close the small mumble tray icon in the bottom left. Mumble will then restart and re-connect, which usually solves any connection issues.

4. Controls

You can access and edit your controls ingame via options -> controls.

5. Manual

Absolutely crucial to understanding the basics of the game is the PR Manual. You can find the latest version in your launcher under "Manual" or in the internet: PR Manual
You can find in-depth explanations of the Launcher, Menus, Mumble as well as all ingame mechanics and how to play the game, it's classes and gamemodes.

We especially recommend Section 3 - The Basics.

B. Basic concepts and game modes

Spoiler for Basic concepts and game modes:

1. Basic concepts

• Project Reality is a teamwork-oriented game. It revolves around the unit of a Squad. Each team of 50 players can have up to 9 squads, with up to 8 players each.
  
• In each squad, the Squadleader is in charge of what the squad will do throughout the round. He has special abilities, such as placing markers on the map and constructing Forward Operating Bases.
  
• Squads use the integrated VOIP solution "Mumble" to communicate. All players can communnicate with those around them using local mumble speech. There is also squad chat to communicate with the squad.
  
• There are different squad types. The basic squad is an "Infantry" squad. More specialised squads follow defined naming conventions in order to claim certain assets that are available on a map. A "Tank" Squad will be allowed to take the tanks on the map. The same goes for "Transport" (Helicopters) and "APC"s.
  
• The role you have is defined by your kit. Kits are also subject to limitations within the squad (e.g. only one grenadier per squad), and the team (e.g. only 2 snipers per team).
  
• You can spawn on player-constructed FOBs, which require logistical crates to build. They show up as a white button with a green triangle on your map. Your squad leader can also place a short-term rally point, which will show up as a white button with a green label that has your squad number on it.
  
• Shooting in PR uses the concept of deviation. Since there is no weapon sway, accuracy is defined by the deviation of your weapon. This is affected by your movement and stance. Look out for the small deviation indicator at the top of your compass. Only when the two small needles are very close together you will fire accurately. Moving while shooting, changing your stance to prone or jumping affect your deviation negatively.
  
• Learn about the terminology of PR here.

2. Game modes

Most servers will run either Advance and Secure (AAS) or Insurgency gamemodes when the server is filled.

Spoiler for AAS:

AAS - Advance and Secure (AAS) - Defend your flags and attack the enemies flags in a pre-set capture order. If a CP controlled by one team is neutralized and captured by the enemy, the team will lose 30 tickets. Getting wounded costs your team one ticket. Going dead costs your team two tickets. Reviving saves tickets and keeps you in the fight. Assets are worth more tickets, so they are valuable!
Defense Flag Marker
Attack Flag Marker

Spoiler for Insurgency:

INS - Insurgency - The objective of the coalition force is to find and destroy five insurgent weapons caches hidden throughout the map before running out of tickets. The coalition forces lose tickets for every player death or asset destroyed, while the insurgency team only loses tickets when a weapons cache is destroyed.
approximate cache location
cache location unknown for coalition

.. there is also Command and Control, Vehicle Warfare, Skirmish and Gungame.

B. Playing Project Reality

Spoiler for Playing Project Reality:

1. Servers

There are several clans and communities that run their own Project Reality Public Gaming Servers for up to 100 players. There is a website as well where you can check which servers are up at the moment and who is playing without having to start up the game:

PR SPY Website

2. Ping

Generally speaking, Project Reality : Battlefield 2 can be played even with a high ping. There are servers all over the world that can be joined. Everything up to a ping of 300 is playable without many problems. This means, if the peak time of your time zone is over, you can still join the servers of another continent and play PR just fine.

3. Server Rules

Most Servers have a website or discord server with their ingame rules listed there. Most servers share very similar rules. To find the rules and location of the all popular servers, go to their respective website.

4. Reserved Slots and Full Servers

Most Servers are full with 100 players. Some Servers have reserved slots, which means, starting at a certain point (98 players for example), only players with a reserved slot can join. There is an auto-connect function in PR:
- Select a Server
- Click "View Server Info"
- Click "Auto-Connect"
- Enter Maximum amount of players (= Max. Players - Reserved slots). If there are two reserved slots for a 100-player server, type in 98 and then click "Auto-Connect". The game will then automatically attempt to join the server.

C. Surviving the first minutes

Spoiler for Surviving the first minutes:

Project Reality relies on a number of mechanics that have been established in the mod over the years. These are crucial to a fluid and fun gameplay experience for everyone. As listed above, the server rules are central to the endeavour of keeping the standard of gameplay on a high level. Server Admins want to play the game themselves and will not hesitate to remove players from the server if they fail to comply with the server rules.

For you as a new player, here are the most basic things you must consider when hopping on a server for the first time:

• 1. Join a squad in the "Squad" screen on the top left. Most servers will automatically kick you after a certain time if you do not join a squad. It's best to look for a squad where the squadleader has an officer kit and where you see the squad is staying together on the map.
• 2. Let the squad leader know that you are new in the squad voice chat (F).
• 3. Ask the squad leader which kit to take and where to spawn.
• 4. Spawn and Stick with your squad. Open your map frequently (capslock or M)
• 5. There are no name-tags! You need to differentiate friend and foe by their uniform and gun sounds. Use your map if you're not sure! Situational awareness is key in Project Reality.
• 6. Press 8 for a bandage that can heal you a bit if you are wounded - anything else: Go see your squad's medic.
• 7. When you are wounded ("down") don't give up and respawn too fast and wait for a medic. It takes 5 minutes to bleed out completely. When you have been revived, there is a 2-minute window in which you go "dead-dead" (non-revivable) immediately, so stay in cover after you got revived.
• 8. Type K for your team' text chat (or L for squad text chat) if you have any questions or ask in mumble. (Note: If you are wounded or dead, the players that are alive CANNOT read what you type).
• 9. Type !shownext to see the next map in the rotation. Admins run mapvotes. You can vote Option 1, 2 or 3 by typing the number in the squad chat (L).

Spoiler for Squad Creation:

There is specific time set before which it is not allowed to create Squads. This is to allow slow loaders to get a chance of a specific squad and to avoid a bug that arises with early squad creation.

The time when it is allowed to create a squad during the briefing time is usually around the 2:00 minute mark, but might differ between servers. Do not create a squad until the respective time on the countdown is reached.

Spoiler for Mumble and Communication:

As discussed in the first paragraphs, make sure your mumble is setup and running and you know which keys to press. If you have a problem with your mumble connection, let your squad know in the text chat (default: L). Alt-Tab out of your game and close the small mumble tray icon in the bottom left. Mumble will then restart and re-connect, which usually solves any connection issues.

1. Don't be afraid to ask questions and communicate with others.
2. Do not spam the radio, but keep people in the loop. Inform the Squadleader when you go down, when you are taking fire et cetera. Use local mumble if possible.

Spoiler for Spawning and Respawning:

One of the most common mistakes new players do is spawning in the wrong place at the wrong time. Next to the mainbase spawn, your team has player-placed Forward Operations Bases (FOBs), which are small green triangles on the map that you can spawn on, as well as player-placed Squad Rallypoints, which are small green numbers.

Only Squadmembers of the respective Squad Number can spawn on the rally point. If you are in Squad 3 and try to spawn on the Rallypoint of Squad 5, you will spawn in Main Base instead. Therefore, you have to select your spawnpoints carefully.

1. Do not give up right away! When you go down, don't give up and respawn. You can be revived. Call your squad's medic (press Capslock for the map and then right-click the "GIVE UP / CALL MEDIC button). You have five minutes time until you bleed out. You can give up when your squadleader tells you to do so. Waiting some minutes is much better than getting separated from your squad and having to try to get back to your mates on your own.

2. Do not respawn right away! When you are dead, wait for your squadleader to tell you where to spawn. Don't just go ahead and spawn at a place of your choice. Ask where to spawn prior to spawning. Your Squadleader might decide to choose a different fight if the squad was defeated, so it's not always the right thing to spawn nearby and run back into action.

Spoiler for Kits:

For new players, it is recommended to stick with the basic infantry kits for the beginning. Many kits require a deeper knowledge of game mechanics that you will learn over time. A rifleman kit is a good choice for the beginning. It is a good allround kit with grenades, smoke and ammunition.

You can drop your kit by pressing T, then right-clicking and then pressing G. Pick-Up kits on the ground with the G key. Enemy kits can only be held for a short amount of time. Make sure you replace them with a friendly kit asap when you pick one up.

If you follow these few guidelines, the PR community will welcome you with open arms and you will have the opportunity to learn PR very fast by playing with experienced players that are more than happy to teach you the game.

D. Tips & Tricks

Spoiler for Tips & Tricks:

Situational Awareness
Situational awareness is what makes you an effective player. It can be split up roughly into 25% Audio, 25% Visual, 25% Communication and 25% Positioning.

- Audio-Awareness:
Listening to what is going on around you is a key element in being an efffective player. As an infantryman, you can hear footsteps, grenades, reloading, revives, ladder use, ropes thrown, and many more things that give you an edge in combat. Make sure your effects volume is not too low. When you're the last man standing, it can make sense to not move at all to figure out where the enemies are and strike when they are vulnerable (e.g. reviving).

Audio is also almost more important than visual awareness when it comes to dealing with vehicles. Vehicles in PR have unique sounds, learing to distinguish them is an essential skill in dealing with them. As the average infantry-joe, APCs, Tanks, CAS and Jets are out to kill you and you're defenseless against them. If you can see them, they can see you. But you can hear them first, even from very far away. Stay in cover and simply determine their relative position by listening to the engine/firing sounds.

- Visual Awareness
- With the edge of your screen, you can see objects beyond the normal view distance in the center of the screen. So sometimes, if you want to look at something far away, turn so that the edge of the screen is facing what you want to look at.

- Check your map constantly, using Capslock. Makes it easier to tell friend from foe and keep an overall idea of where to go and what is going on.

- Communication
Many people in PR suffer from communications overload. Either they can't hear ingame sounds over all the talking, or can't hear the talking over all the ingame sounds, or can't hear what people are saying on TS/discord! One great solution is using auto hot key to dynamically adapt the audio setup to your needs. Look at this thread for a how-to: https://www.realitymod.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=119843

- Positioning
Positioning determines what you can kill, and what will kill you. Try to always fire from cover. The crouching behind cover and quickly standing up for shooting and then crouching again is one of the most effective ways to position yourself as an infantry player.

When choosing a firing position, always consider how easy it will be to revive you. If you die on an exposed rooftop or open field it will be much harder to revive you, then if you died in good cover.

Useful links:

PR Manual

PR SPY Server Browser - Official Map Gallery - PR STATS Player Statistics Page

PR Discord Server - Support Forums

Other resources:


Useful PR tips

How to be more effective in PR

PR Dictionary and PR Terms

PR Guide Tips and Tricks

Spoiler for Other Video Tutorials:

Any other questions, feel free to ask them below.

Have fun!

[PlaynCool]

So hyped for the new players influx. You are all welcome, PR could use some fresh blood. Great post btw.

[SANGUE-RUIM]

excellent job

[fatalsushi83]

Very nice. We definitely need more players getting into this incredibly rewarding game.

[Ranzpirat]

And there is nate again, getting +2 internet.

[[R-DEV]Mineral]

Nice work!Wouldn't link the PRT wiki though. It's so slow and unfinished! Stick to the WGP one

[boberczus]

Great job Nate!
If any new player needs a more personal approach, I'll be glad to help! Just PM, we'll get a date figured out and we will set up for ~1hr long introduction to the basics of the game.

Hoorah!
Boberczus

[BSR_Pheelz]

Nate is 1 metre above ... very good, the post is supreme.

I'll try to catch new players when I'll be online aswell.

[Rezza]

Good post. Helpful for new players.

[splatters]

This should be mandatory reading for all new guys, hell, even before the manual!

If we can't have that, at least a big PSA somewhere visible on "How to talk?!1!"