Insectoid's Newbie Guide


This is "Apollo Program" by Gareth Richards, an example of an XPilot map created from a photograph.

Preface.

At first glance, XPilot seems rather complicated, especially considering the number of key-bindings, the number of configurable options, and the variety of maps and modes of play.  So-called "Newbie Guides" (like this one) aim to make understanding how to play XPilot a lot simpler by separating the advanced stuff (like configuration) from the novice stuff.

That said, this is not the only XPilot Newbie Guide—merely the newest.  While I intend to include as much material for beginners as I can, it may not be complete for a while.  I suggest you visit Jarno's Newbieguide; it was last updated in 2005, but still has a great wealth of information for new players.  A Blood's Music-specific Newbie Guide was done by Angeba Mekelt; it can be found here.

My earliest attempt at a guide for XPilot was in 2000, when I was still a newbie myself!  (It was basically just some reference pages of the items and objects, with descriptions of each.)  Portions of this guide were from a rich-text guide I started in 2010, wryly called The Larvae's Guide to XPilot; others were originally part of the main XPilot page on this site.


1. Introduction to XPilot.
  1.1. What is XPilot?
  1.2. Where do I get it?
  1.3. System Requirements.
  1.4. Compiling from Source. 
  1.5. Installation. 

2. XPilot Basics.
  2.1. Getting Started.
  2.2. The Game Window.
  2.3. Basic Controls.

3. XPilot Gameplay.
  3.1. Objects. 
  3.2. Items. 

4. Basic Configuration.
  4.1. Creating a Configuration File (Unix). 
  4.2. Some Useful Options in the Config File. 
  4.3. Key Bindings. 
  4.4. Shipshapes. 

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