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Guide New? Read me! [OLD]

Discussion in 'The Network' started by Bracko64, Oct 31, 2013.

Guide - New? Read me! [OLD]
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  1. Bracko Emerald

    XP:
    238,128xp
    Contents:
    1. Welcome
    2. Security
    3. Forum details
    4. Forum etiquette
    5. Posting on the forums
    6. Creating a Thread
    7. Playing on Shotbow
    8. Shotbow XP
    9. Gamemodes
    1. Welcome to the Shotbow Network!

    The entire network can be VERY confusing at first, so let's go through everything a little bit. First of all, you need an account here. You may already have one, which is why you are here, but if not this is how you go about getting one. You log into shotbow (us.shotbow.net OR eu.shotbow.net) and you should be prompted to type in a /register <email> command. Once that has been completed, you will be emailed a password. come back to these forums and type in your email address and your password. Huzzah, you should now be logged in with 20xp and a new, shiny account!
    What to do now?
    2. Security.

    First off, let's secure your account. That password is kinda strange, so go to your name (in the top right), hover over the little arrow and go down to the password section on the bottom of the left column. There, you can change your password. Once you've changed it to something more secure and memorable, then you can work on your forum details. Of course, everything you do now is completely optional, so therefore I'll go through them in steps.
    Let's set up some forum details!
    3. Forum details.

    Your forum details are basically the left column that appears when you hover over the little arrow next to your name. Firstly, personal details. Your status appears on your profile wall and is basically what people will see on your profile. Your avatar can either be changed here (in personal details) or on the avatar tab. to do so, you will need to find a small picture on your computer to use. The other personal details are self-explanatory.

    Your signature is what everyone will see at the bottom of every post you make. It can be text, pictures or pretty much anything. It is a thin boundary though, so think carefully about what you can fit in. Your contact details are where you can give people any contacts you want, like your skype details or email address. In privacy, you can set it up so your profile or your presence on the forums are more private. Your preferences basically change how you see things, best not to fiddle around too much but you might find something you like. Finally, alert preferences are how often or under what circumstances you receive a forum alert. This can be when someone replies to your message in a thread, to simply just someone posted on a thread you are watching.
    4. Forum etiquette.

    Firstly, there are some rules to the forums.

    DO NOT:
    • Use any unapproved modifications while playing ShotBow (including but not limited to a hacked client)
    • Impersonate ANY staff of the ShotBow network
    • Exploit any glitches (report them on the forums. NOTE: if it is a glitch that can be replicated to obtain a desireable result, message it to a staff member instead of posting under Bug Reports. THIS INCLUDES F3+A)
    • Flame (excessively insulting another user) any players or staff
    • Use extreme amount of profanity (none is best)
    • Subject other users to comments that are racist, sexist, or that may contain bigotry
    • Disobey instructions given from staff of the ShotBow network
    • Advertise any websites on the forums, mumble, or servers. Giving out links to your Youtube channel/livestream WITH ShotBow related content is fine
    • Post content in the incorrect sections of the forums
    • Post inappropriate content on the forums, servers, or Mumble (if you think that anyone at all would be offended by the content, don't post it. Pornography is NEVER allowed to be posted anywhere)
    • Spam messages on the forums, servers, or Mumble
    Gee, looks scary, doesn't it? Don't worry though, most of it is pretty much common sense. Don't cheat, be nice to others and don't pretend to be something your not. Now, there are a few things you will need to know. Firstly, where should you be posting your thread. If it's a MineZ bug, where do I put it? Here is a small guide to where to post:

    Announcements: This is where the staff post things they are doing. Not only can you not make threads here, but you shouldn't anyway (unless you are staff of course :lmao:).

    The Shotbow Network: This is just general network talk, not gamemode specific or anything. It is about the network though. Talk about anything Shotbow-general here!

    Bug reports and technical support: Found a bug? Say the warrior class in annihilation has stopped spawning with a sword? Report it here! Keep the information simple, re-creatable and easy to follow. Also make sure the bug hasn't already been reported. Make sure you read this first!

    Map and Build Submissions: Built a neat map? Want to see it in MineZ or Smash, or any other gamemode? Plop it here! Before making a submission and putting it here, it would be wise to read the guidelines found here before submitting!

    Then we come to the two places you don't really want to be in, but sadly we have to have.

    Report a player: Found someone being a cheater or ultimately very unkind? Report them here. You MUST include strong evidence or else you are just wasting time. Video evidence of hackers is a must and good screenshots for pretty much anything else is required. Also, make sure your report is well structured. It doesn't need to be an essay, so keep it short, but say what needs to be said. Make sure your title is short and to the point, like "Bracko64: Hacks - Forcefield" or "Bracko64: I.P advertisement". It is strongly advised you read this first.

    Ban appeals: If you've been banned, post here to attempt to get yourself unbanned. Remember though, if you have hacked, there is a 0% chance of getting unbanned. Sadly, the admins cannot unban you if your little brother installed Nodus on your client. Remember to keep your account secure and read the rules to make sure you aren't liable to be banned. Also, if you want to appeal, make sure to read this first.

    'Gamemodes': Then there is a huge list of forums for gamemodes. Basically, if you've done something to do with MineZ (video, talk thread, guide) put it in the MineZ section. If it's Crafty Bomber you put it in Crafty Bomber, etc...

    Off-topic: Want to ask the community on their tastes on music? Perhaps you want to make a small forum minigame. Put it here! Likes and post count are disabled here, so there's not much to worry about. Even still, remember:
    • Advertise any websites on the forums, mumble, or servers. Giving out links to your Youtube channel/livestream WITH ShotBow related content is fine
    • Post inappropriate content on the forums, servers, or Mumble (if you think that anyone at all would be offended by the content, don't post it. Pornography is NEVER allowed to be posted anywhere)
    Even though it's off-topic, keep it civil and directed at the general shotbow community.

    Roleplay: Want to make a stunning MineZ story? Perhaps you'd like to read someone's anni fanfic. Well, here's the place. This forum has it's own etiquette and set of small rules, therefore you should read those before delving into it. They can be found here.

    Clans & Teams: Want to start a huge clan? Perhaps you're looking to join a guild of friendly players. Here is the place to make and join huge clans and teams! Remember though, replying to threads here is disabled to avoid trouble, so if you are making a team you will need to tell them how to contact you to join. Remember to check the clan usage guide here first though!

    5. Posting.

    Next, you can get posting. If you want to create a thread, go into a section/sub-forum and press the "create thread" button in the top right. Remember to use a prefix, it let's people know what you are doing. Next, a title, then a message. Keep the title short and concise, to the point. Finally, you can choose to add a poll. Don't use them if you don't need them, but they can be quite useful for judging public opinion. Once you are done, you can click "Create Thread" to share it with Shotbow. When looking for a thread, you can either browse the different sections from the main forums page to find threads or you can use the search function in the top right! If you want a more specific search, once you have clicked on he search function, you can use the "more..." button to make an even more specific search!

    When replying to a thread, remember you can press the "reply" button on people post's to show you are speaking to them. If the quote is very large or has alot of pictures, you could get rid of the text inside the quote code and just put something like "-snip-" or "-quote" instead. Also, posting twice or more in a row is generally frowned upon, so remember to use the edit button to change or add to your post. Finally, you can also delete your posts if you accidentally double posted or for some other reason by clicking the delete button on your post. You cannot delete threads, only staff can do this.

    Everything else you need to learn will come with experience, and time. For now, try posting a few times. Remember to contribute to the discussions, posting ":)" and that's it is a useless post and once again is usually frowned upon. Also, another thing to note is that posting on threads that have been inactive for a week or two is usually frowned upon, this is referred to as "Necro bumping" and should be avoided unless extremely necessary.

    Also, a quick note. If you're wanting to get a slice of premium or a nice chunk of XP, there are some very charitable people on the forums who will host an open giveaway. Usual ways to enter a normal giveaway would be to simply put your name in and wait for them to randomly select someone, and you might get lucky. Other people's giveaways can have more precise ways to enter, or certain criteria. Remember, you are never guaranteed to win one of these giveaways, as you will probably have alot of competition.

    6. Creating a thread.

    [Note: Special thanks to Braiti and his thread for giving me permission to insert it into this guide.]

    Rule 1: Topic

    Every thread should use a somewhat unique topic, because if there was fifty threads complaining about the new zombies you could imagine how many flame wars there would be on here. So to before you create you thread make sure you aren't copying someone else. It helps to keep things interesting and new!

    Rule 2: Writing

    So let's say I'm going to write a thread explaining my own unique survival strategy on MineZ, and you write it but it's only 3 sentences long, and doesn't really capture the reader's eye. When creating a thread keep in mind that if you don't put effort into it that it probably has the chances of either being locked or removed due it literally being useless. Threads should be three thing colorful, informative, and over a paragraph long (videos are an exception). You're basically killing your time if you write a thread that doesn't follow any of these key factors.

    Rule 3: Grammar

    This is a pretty important rule right here, so I would make sure to remember this one. If you're going to write a thread imagine it as a school paper. If you don't use grammar then you're going to probably fail, and that's how it works on here as well. If you don't use grammar when writing your thread then people will either probably tell a website moderator to remove it or won't be able to understand it. Seriously if you don't use grammar then you shouldn't be writing a thread anyways. You don't need to have perfect spelling on everything though a few misspelled things has never killed anyone before (or has it).

    Rule 4: Language

    It's very important to use a kind voice when writing a thread even if you're complaining about something. If you go spamming swears and rage on a thread, then you're pretty likely to get muted from the forums. Try not to rage, spam, or swear when writing threads. People will be able to actually read your thread. Also by the way there's younger kids on here, so swearing is probably not good for them. Just saying...

    Anyways here's just some basic rules for when writing a thread. Please follow them, because the forums will become a much better place if we all can learn to write threads like this! Also here's a few bonus things to remember as well...
    When you are responding to someone's idea don't forget they have feelings and spamming them telling them that their idea is completely stupid is very rude and immature.

    Never reply more than once in a row especially on your own posts. It's ok if you respond to someone every once in awhile on one of your threads, but if you're going to constantly respond to everyone who replies to you thread it will probably get locked.

    7. Playing on Shotbow.

    So, you've set up your forum account (or not, the forums are mostly optional for the large majority of players). It's time to get playing. Firstly, here are the in-game rules.

    1. Hacks, hacked clients, cheating programs, or any attempt to gain an unfair advantage over another player through exploits, bugs, cheating software or hardware (such as a gaming mouse with macro keys) is a bannable offense. We have the best cheating detection in the Minecraft community and have absolutely zero tolerance for wasting our time. You will not be unbanned.

    2. The only allowed client mods are Rei's Minimap, Optifine, StatusEffectHUD, GammaBright, the Toggle Sneak maintained by HCFactions, and the MineZ Tactical HUD Mod. The use of any other mod could fall under rule #1 (hacked clients) and could result in a permanent ban. If you would like to get a mod approved for use in the Shotbow Network please post it to the forums for consideration. Please note that any mod that gives you an unfair advantage over other players (auto-clicking, entity radar, etc) will not be allowed, and use of such will result in a permanent ban. BRAK NOTE: A list of other approved mods can be found here:

    3. Any duplication of items, exploits, bugs, xray texture packs/programs or third-party programs that give you an unfair advantage over another player will result in a ban - this includes gaming mice, third party programs that allow you to rebind keys, set macros, etc. Please report any exploits to the Bug Reports forum.

    4. Do not spam the chat in the servers or on the website.

    5. Do not advertise on the Shotbow Network website or in the chat of any Shotbow Network server. You are allowed to advertise your Shotbow Network live stream or Youtube channel with Shotbow Network related content (once is enough do not spam it).

    6. Racism, bigotry, personal threats, or other forms of hate speech are strictly prohibited on the Shotbow Network website, forums, or in the Shotbow Network servers. This includes racist names, skins, nudity, pornography, or cybering.

    7. Impersonation of a developer, administrator, or other staff member is strictly prohibited.
    Once again, it is mostly common sense. Don't cheat, don't advertise other servers and don't be annoying. Simple, right?

    To log on to Shotbow, all you need to do is start up a 1.6.2, 1.6.4 or 1.7 client (Shotbow's unique plug-ins allow these version to connect to the same server, although 1.6 is STRONGLY recommended as 1.7 has some odd crashing bugs). Once you have that, you log into shotbow (us.shotbow.net OR eu.shotbow.net). You will appear in a lobby, where you can choose to go to any of the gamemodes on Shotbow, or you can sit around and pop people by hitting them. Your choice!

    8. Shotbow XP.

    Shotbow XP is the server's currency. You earn XP in almost every gamemode which you can spend on sweet gear like new classes, particle effects, pets and abilities. It can be pricey, but that's because it requires dedication. It's also incentive to purchase premium on Shotbow to unlock things faster. Xp rewards vary, like killing a MineZ zombie only rewards 1XP, whilst winning a ShotbowGames gives 100XP. Find a gamemode you enjoy and are good at in order to get good XP! You can also buy XP on the buy premium page too (we'll come to premium in a bit).

    Also, several staff members give out XP codes. If you find an xp code, you can redeem it by going here. The XP codes are most frequently found on the twitter feeds of Highlife and Lazertester, their pages can be found here and here respectively. You may be waiting a while though, they aren't released often and they do expire after a set amount of time! If you want to check everything you've ever bought, click here. Finally, if you just want a rundown of all of your XP transactions, click here.

    Next we'll move on to the actual gamemodes.

    9. Gamemodes.

    [IMG]

    This is Shotbow's Zombie survival game. You spawn into the world with a small amount of gear, and you explore the world, surviving and scavenging. Many people have made their own guides, but generally you can look into the game more by checking the official Shotbow MineZ wiki here.

    [IMG]

    Annihilation (Sometimes referred to with other names such as "Defend your Nexus") is one of Shotbow's newest and most popular gamemodes. You pick a team and a class, and you spawn in a map with a "nexus" for each team and several ore mines whit regenerating ores, boss mobs with special loot and phases that the game goes through, with unique opportunities being unlocked in each phase. For more information, check the anni wiki here.

    [IMG]

    Shotbow's take on the popular Nintendo game "Super Smash Brothers". This game features a % damage instead of hearts, with your % and received knockback going up the more damage you take. You can also double jump, ground pound and grab your enemies. There are multiple maps and items to turn the tides of battle. For more information, check the Smash wiki here.

    [IMG]

    Shotbow's version of "The Hidden: Source", Ghostcraft. Up to nine players work together to take on an invisible player with special powers and abilities. You can pick a class and map, as well as unique ghost abilities. The ghost can pounce, stab, grenade and break the map in an epic battle of survival. To learn more, check the Ghostcraft wiki here.

    [IMG]

    Shotbow's take on the book and movie "The Hunger Games". You are spawned in a world with a kit and up to 124 other players. You are given two minutes of invincibility before PvP is enabled. Then it is an open season free-for-all within the map's 500x500 boundaries. After a few days, a "feast" is spawned with an enchanting table, potions, diamonds and more, forcing all players to the feast for an ultimate end-game. To learn more, check the wiki here.

    [IMG]

    Inspired by the Arma 2: Wasteland mod, Wasted is a team based free-for-all, with guns, rocket launchers, jet packs and mechs. Featuring fast paced gameplay, ammo, money, shops and more, this is truly an ultimate guns-in-minecraft minigame. To learn more, check the wiki here.

    [IMG]

    HCF (HardCore Factions) is a unique minecraft survival experience, featuring deathbans, factions, classes and much more! Maintained by a special staff team, this gamemode is a good choice for those seeking a twist to the regular minecraft experience. They have their own website and everything, so before playing you should check that out. Learn more in the wiki here.

    [IMG]

    CivCraft is another unique take on Minecraft survival, with civilizations, money and much more! They are a partner gamemode proudly hosted here on the Shotbow network. To learn more about CivCraft, check their website out here.

    [IMG]

    Last Man Standing is a MineZ mode on a small map that holds up to 45 players. Grab loot and kill, with a little twist - you only have one water bottle, and the only water source is in the middle. As the round goes on, your Thirst will start to deplete faster, so everyone is eventually brought to the middle for water. You can check out it's wiki here.

    [IMG]

    Shotbow's four player dungeon crawling Roguelike. This game features randomly generated dungeons, loot and some hardy monsters, bosses and minibosses to fight! Earn gold to upgrade your equipment and slowly gain more powerful gear until you can defeat the boss and go to the next stage. This game is in alpha, and also requires an active premium package to enter.

    Smaller / Sub-Gamemodes.

    Wasted Control

    Inspired by Battlefield's control points, this pits you in one of two teams, either defending or attacking objectives from the enemy team. You have a class which gives you a unique load-out on spawn, and is a much faster paced version of the regular Wasted. Wasted control is currently down, but look forward to it's return in the future!

    Wasted Gun-Game

    Inspired by games like CoD, Gungame starts you on a team with one simple gun. Killing someone with this gun will give you a new one. Killing someone with that gun gives you a new one, and so forth. Featuring spectate on death, the first to kill with every gun wins. A fast paced alternative and predecessor to Wasted Control.

    GunZ

    The ultimate combination of Wasted and MineZ, this gamemode places you in an all new world, ravaged by zombies. Search for weapons, including the new loot: Guns. Using your new, extreme firepower, can you survive? GunZ is currently down, but look forward to it's return in the future!

    Arrow arcade

    The arrow arcade features a few, small gamemodes fit for a up to four or more people for some quick paced fun! The following games can be found in the arrow arcade:

    Crafty Bomber
    This is Shotbow's unique take on the old game "Bomberman". You join a game with an unlimited amount of bombs, and you blow the map and other people apart, finding upgrades as you go. You can also go into third person mode by pressing the drop key.

    Light Bikes
    Shotbow's take on the movie Tron, centering on it's lightbikes. Force players to crash into your trails as you ride around on your bikes, which you can earn or purchase with XP. You can also buy different trails and you can even use three special abilities to gain the upper hand over your opponent.

    Flappy Chick
    The popular app "Flappy Bird", reborn in Shotbow. Take to the skies as a small chicken, and flap through several zones. Attempt to get onto the leaderboards and you can get a special XP prize at the end of the month!

    DBV 2
    Minecraft Parkour like you've never seen before. Death by Void (DBV) features a double jump, wall climbing and much more to give you the ultimate parkour adrenaline rush. Compete for scoreboard times and prove you are the fastest player out there. To learn more, check the wiki here.

    Shotbow slaughter
    Shotbow slaughter is shotbow's unique wave survival. Band together and fend off wave after wave of enemies, accessing new areas and gaining new weapons as you progress.

    Sweepers
    Shotbow's take on Minesweeper. Work together or against your fellow players in an attempt to defuse a minefield. One wrong move and you're dead. Correctly clearing the field or flagging mines will increase your score.

    Crafting Mama
    From the Vaecon network merge comes Crafting Mama, a gast paced game based on gathering resources and crafting items faster than your opponents to gain points.

    Hidden in plain sight
    From the Vaecon network merge comes Hidden in Plain Sight, a game where everyone is disguised as a ninja. Not only that, but there are tons of NPCs that look like ninjas too! Can you find the real ones before they find you?


    ====================================================================

    That's my beginner's guide to shotbow. If you see something I didn't add, please let me know. I hope this helped!

  2. Hellomynameis99 Emerald

    XP:
    25,782xp
    You got 36 XP for this thread!

    Ok, now I'll read it...
  3. JordanX120 Silver

    XP:
    120,545xp
    Wow nice, should be pinned.
  4. Majicou Retired Staff

    XP:
    96,560xp
    Most excellent. Do you mind if I will use this in the future, with full credit? Put that on the Wiki, too!
  5. AkatoshKnight Gold

    XP:
    96,377xp
    Nice!
    Should be stickied :3
    Should help new players adjust to Shotbow!
  6. Bracko Emerald

    XP:
    238,128xp
    Never!

    Of course you can, you don't need to ask. :lmao:
  7. JumJumJR Emerald

    XP:
    26,901xp
    Nice job bracko!
  8. FixGoldNameTag Obsidian

    XP:
    3,750xp
    my little sis instaled nudus on my client an i was bann! ps im american and englih is my nativ language

    Might want to fix that for those players :wink:
    mistriman likes this.
  9. Bracko Emerald

    XP:
    238,128xp
    Tell me if I missed something, I'd like to make this as broad as possible. :wink:
  10. BlueToePolca Retired Staff

    XP:
    222,511xp
    Awesome Bracko! This should defiantly get pinned!
  11. time_lord_kronos Gold

    XP:
    119,299xp
    Wish I had this when I started out.
    Somebody pin this thread!
  12. Bracko Emerald

    XP:
    238,128xp
    Little things always help, added. Thanks. :)
  13. Hughzaz Retired Staff

    XP:
    467,985xp
    Wow, something tells me this took a little more than a minute or 10. Nice! :D
  14. KazmaDatWiz Platinum

    XP:
    35,048xp
    Wow, great guide!
  15. Jackd44 Platinum

    XP:
    132,350xp
    WORD WALL ALERT.

    Very nice word wall, actually.
  16. Bracko Emerald

    XP:
    238,128xp
    Thanks for all the positive response guys, now lets see if this actually helps anybody. :lmao:
    thepetpeople and JumJumJR like this.
  17. nray93 Silver

    XP:
    19,291xp
    This may or may not be only my opinion but honestly this deserves to be stickied.
  18. JumJumJR Emerald

    XP:
    26,901xp
    ^^^^^^ THIS.
    christianphilips likes this.
  19. BlueToePolca Retired Staff

    XP:
    222,511xp
    Pin it! Simple as that. This will really help out anyone new to Shotbow.
  20. 100PercentHippo Retired Staff

    XP:
    337,223xp
    SO GOOD! I'm very excited this exists.

    I was wondering how much XP it was worth...
    How do you know? Is there a formula, or is that just the limit?
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