Usefull Config Tweeks

O-R-B due to the nature of the game is a hard game to modify beyond the scenarios in Skirmish matches, however, with a basic understanding of how code works and being able to speak 'Computer,' O-R-B's INI file which is used to configure the game can be tweaked for some amusing, stabilizing and beneficial results overall.

=INI intro= An INI file is a configuration file used by Windows and programs to fill in variables that can be changed. A setting in an INI file might read: Use_Subtitles_In_Bink=1 which translates to Use subtitles during cutscenes, yes. However, some of these commands are best left alone as they can cause bad gameplay or make the game unstable. Before tweaking the INI it is recommended to make a copy of the original first.

=Tweaks= Tweaks are defined by a subtle change in a variable within the INI that don't necessarily add or take away content but rather enable an alternate mode. These tweaks can be anything from cosmetic that don't affect how the game plays, to practical which do affect how it plays. Tweaks can be considered mods but by and large are anything but.

Cosmetic Tweaks
This section contains minor tweaks to give the game a prettier or nicer feel, or useful information for scientifically minded people.

RunInBackground=x - Where x is your number of preference (0 being off, 1 being on, any other number is treated as a 1) This enables the game to continue if you click outside the window or it s minimized by a pop up, though you will not be able to give commands. This may cause a dangerous system glitch in that the window minimizes but the mouse is stuck in the window, you can't click out or exit the program, effectively requiring ALT F4 or a system restart.This glitch happens rarely with this option on, but is still possible with it off.

xxxxxx_Directory - change the directory of that object. Have new music but don't want to change the old files? put the name of the folder where the X's are and the game will play the music from that folder instead, assuming you gave the files the proper names.

Mod_enabled=x a trivial thing that you can set to 0 or 1, default is 0. If in 0, it will not join normal O-R-B multiplayer games.

screen_height or width=x - enter your custom screen size here if you know what it is, but it isn't listed under video options in-game. Please note the screen will revert to the safe 800x600 res if the game is minimized and opened again without quitting.

bit_depth= 16 or 32, 32 is prettier and runs smoother on 64 bit systems, 16 is faster ONLY ON 32 bit systems, and is also poorer quality. if 16 is used on a 64 bit system, the game will chug horribly.

flag_fullscreen=x 1 is fullscreen, 0 is not, this can fix the issue of the game never going into full screen mode by overriding the in-game video options.

Flag-fps=x default at 0, enable this to view Frame Rate in numbers. Flag_infobar commands- enables the debug view for various things in-game. Base command Flag_infobar must be 1 for the others to show.

ShowPlayableAreaBox=x enable/disable playable area visual boundaries. This option is made obsolete by the toggle option in the in-game menu.

ShowRadarCircle=x shows the maximum radar limit of specific units with a fine white line at the edge of their passive sensor range. Only works with friendlies. Default is disabled.

ShowRadar=x Enable/disable sweeping radar, made obsolete by the in-menu toggle option.

Enable_voicechat=x default set to 0, turn on voice chat which was disabled in the 1.02 patch. can be buggy, was disabled for good reason.

sound_channels commands- if you have a custom sound driver and card, input your channels and buffer size here for the optimum sound quality the game can offer, which can even enable surround sound.

sound_unit_acknowledgements_enabled=x default enabled, made obsolete by the in-game toggle option.

New3dtactical=x enable/disable the tactical map and revert to the original game's 2d tac map.

LOD1 - LOD 8 commands- set the distance in multiples of 1.00000e x that less detailed models are used from the camera to preserve performance.

Flag_persistant_debris=x disabled by default, re-enable the alpha coding for capital ship debris to permanently be in the game. Causes no instability but can lower framerate if there is too much debris.

autosace=x disabled by default, enable autosaving your skirmish and campaign missions.

-*PLEASE NOTE that these commands are only those that have been experimented with. Other commands under the class of cosmetic have not been checked yet and may permanently damage your installation of the game.*

Usefull and/or beneficial in-game tweaks
Flag_console=x disable/enable in-game console access. Default is disabled

use_group_attack=x Enable/Disable the game forcing your fighters to make formation before your command is carried out. Fighters in formation will remain in formation unless told to break formation though. This feature is enabled by default.

Max_attack_group=x tweak the number of allowed maximum fighters in an attacking formation. Can be as high as sixty, default is 5, the smaller the better as smaller formations maneuver better. Optimally used depending on formation of certain fighters (prong formation benefits from having 7 as the max as it retains the maneuverability of a 5 unit formation in wedge shape.)

friendly_fire=x disabled by default, enable the ability to damage your allies by stray fire or accidental ramming.

capital_stay_on_target=x the distance in an unknown length the capital will stop approaching a target and just sit there. 500 is the default number, 600 is relatively safe unless chasing another capital in which case the attacking capital gets out of range too fast to be usefull, 300 is too close as capitals will often ram eachother on accident. 0 is a guaranteed ram every time.

Breakoff factor commands- used by fighters and occasionally frigates to determine how far away to break off and change direction before turning back around to attack. This is so fighters don't ram their targets accidentally. (You may notice the unique dreadnaught section here which is code for fighters VS BEHEMOTH, the unfinished sixth race vessel.)

probe_explosion_radius=x default of 10,000 without the comma, tweak this to give the torpedo probe smaller or larger blast radius upon detonation. DOES NOT CHANGE OVERALL DAMAGE AT CENTER OF RADIUS.

dreadnaught_ram_factor=x the damage multiplier used for BEHEMOTH's devastating ram ability. Default set to 1.e-005

flag_banking= allow banking anims when avoiding obstacles.

fbankingMaxRoll- how far the fighter can roll during banking in degrees. default of 40.

fMaxBankMass=500 the cutoff mass for allowing the roll effect to apply, this is basically everything HEAVY FREIGHTER and lighter (the resource base is around 5000 so that doesn't count)

flag_xxxxxPUSH commands- allows these types of objects to push other objects if they are collided with. Capitals and asteroid pushing enabled by default.

fBeTargetingRadiusFactor=x, default is .5, give less for the beams to be more accurate but less forgiving, more for less accuracy but greater forgiveness against moving targets (more accurate beams aim center mass so the beam at the end may miss a target moving perpendicular to the shot)

AST_PERCENTAGE and NUMBER commands- can be used to modify an asteroid field when loading a new scenario. HIGHLY UNSTABLE and can easily be GAME BREAKING. BEST LEFT ALONE!!!

Resource_Min/max commands - enter the desired number to change the default resource seed when making new levels.

iCapitalSupport=x Override the default cap Pop Limit with this line, can cause games to be unstable, ONLY WORKS FOR CAPMAIGN as Skirmish edits these lines automatically when starting a new game.

iFighterSupport=x same as above but with fighters.

iAuxSupport= same as above but with mining and logistics ships.

iProbeSupport= same as above BUT WORKS IN SKIRMISH- override the maximum allowed probe limit to any number, smaller or bigger.

reduce_shockwave_damage_factor= the variable used to determine damage falloff within the blast radius of a torpedo probe. Default is 1000. DOES NOT CHANGE DAMAGE AT CENTER OF BLAST RADIUS.

Maximum_dock=x default of 1000, this number is never reached, edit this to impose a limit on how much a spaceport, base or carrier can dock other ships.

Harvest_pickup/drop_wait commands- these two commands change how long a freighter stays docked in the 'roid or the base when taking or depositing resources. Smaller numbers are faster.

flag_invincible=x turn EVERYONE invincible or mortal. Used for debugging. flag_sun_damage=x enable/disable damage for touching the sun, disabled oddly by default, though in most scenarios the sun is never touchable in which case this setting makes sense. (Machina sector uses a trigger field to kill)

Universe_Size= maximum size of playable area. The game doesn't like you touching this. Overriden by scenario boundary settings, if there are no boundaries, this number denotes th maximum radius in a sphere from the center that the player can command units to travel. If set to larger, the game will play it but it will cause visual glitches like shaking ships when that particular ship gets too far away from the center.

flag_shared_resources/research - disabled by default these options are made obsolete by the in-game settings in skirmish matches BUT can be used to enable/disable the setting in CAMPAIGN, though it typically only makes for harder enemies and never benefits the player.

HERO UNIT COMMANDS- scrapped commands that would have once allowed players to create hero unis like Polemarch or LORD GENERAL. If enabled the game is VERY LIKELY to crash. BEST LEFT ALLONE.

-*PLEASE NOTE that this list contains only TESTED commands. There are hundreds of others and most have negligible effect on gameplay or cause so much problems they were not mentioned so you do not permanently screw up your copy of the game.