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KING of the HILL

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What's King of the Hill?
2. Okay, great, now how do I play?
3. What are the rules?
4. How many people can play?
5. That's not a hill...that's a boat!
6. What? Time indicator?
7. How do you score?
8. What platforms does it run on?

KOTH | Levels | FAQ

1. What's King of the Hill?

Fight to the top in King of the Hill. The only mod where everyone is trying to get where you're standing. The idea is simple: find the "hill" and rack up time defending it. Whoever has accumulated the most time by the end of the level is crowned the King of the Hill.

2. Okay, great, now how do I play?

KOTH is a server side mod. The server code and maps are both included in this release. Just unzip the above file into your Quake2 directory maintaining the archive's directory structure. As a client just run regular Quake2 Deathmatch, no commands, no configs, just join a KOTH server and have fun! You can find more KOTH maps (descriptions, screenshots, and files) at http://www.planetquake.com/osp/

If you want to run a server, you will need to use the King of the Hill gamex86.dll file. Setting up a KOTH server is simple. First, unzip the KOTH release package and the KOTH map pack into your Quake2 directory. Second, run your Quake2 server with the parameter: +set game koth For example, you might type: quake2 +set dedicated 1 +set game koth To run a basic dedicated King of the Hill server.

3. What are the rules?

The rules are simple: find the "Hill" and spend as much time on top of it as possible. As you stand on the hill you will accumulate time by the second. Time is calculated into three score catagories:

Hill Time
This is a measure of the total time you've been on the hill so far in a game. In the current release of KOTH, this score is what counts. Future releases of KOTH will allow the server to rank scores by LUP also.

Hill Time%, Total Time in Possession Percentage
This is the percentage of game time you've spent on the hill.

Streak, Longest Unbroken Possession
If you're a real badass, you might be able to take the hill for an extended period of time. This score shows your longest unbroken period of time on the hill, so you can compare your badassedness with your friends.

It is possible to leave the hill, grab a nearby item and go back on the hill without breaking up a period of possession, if you are gone no longer than a second. What you will find as you play KOTH levels is that getting a big weapon requires an equally big time sacrifice. It is your job to balance weapon use (to prevent others from taking the hill) versus time you spend on the hill.

One other clarification: multiple people can be on the hill gaining time simultaneously. If you see someone on the hill, they are gaining time! Kill them! Quick! The King of the Hill is whoever has logged the most time on top of the hill.

4. How many people can play?

There is no *technical* limit, but some levels are aimed for different numbers than others...it really is an issue of level design. For example, the Plasma level is good for about 6-10 players...it doesn't fit any more very well. The Dirt Pile level is good for about 8-12 players, but any more cause some nasty slowdown (because you can see so far across the level). Other levels, like Yo Ho Ho and It's Raining Men, are great for larger numbers of players. For the best playing experience, we suggest 8-12 players with Pentium II processors and hardware 3D acceleration.

5. That's not a hill...that's a boat!

We never said a Hill had to be a Hill in the literal sense!!! Part of the fun of King of the Hill is the wierd ways in which a hill can be implemented. If you want, we could always rename it to "King of the Place-That-Gains-You-Time"...or not. If you are totally lost, try the following suggestions:

- Go where everyone else is going. Unless they are all really stupid, they're probably going to the hill.

- Go until you see the message "You're on the Hill!" Anytime you start a new period of possession, this message will pop up.

- Watch your time indicator, it'll start to increment when you are standing on the hill. If it's incrementing already then you're already on the hill, silly!

6. How do you score?

The scoreboard can be accessed like the regular Quake2 scoreboard by hitting F1. It displays the picture and name of the current King of the Hill, as well as score information for the top five players. Why only the top five? Ask John Carmack. There is currently a scoreboard message limit of 1400 bytes, so only a little bit of information can be sent. In normal Quake2, 10 or so names can be displayed. KOTH sends more score information, though, so only 5 can currently be displayed. Hopefully this limit will be changed in the future, although technical issues might prevent that from happening.

8. What platforms does it run on?

The current release, Version2.0, is a Windows 95/NT 4 and Linux server side mod.