Retrocycles

Controlling Speed

Drive next to a cycle trail to go faster. You can use another player or your own trail. The closer you get, the faster you go. Acceleration stacks, so driving between trails makes you go even faster.

To slow down, press the brake key. Brakes are temporary but replenish over time. Monitor your brakes with the gauge in the lower right.

Turning also slows you down a small amount. Learn to control your speed with a combination of driving close to walls and turning.

Keybindings

When you first start the game it asks you to pick common direction keys like WASD or arrow keys. You can change these in the player menu under Input Configuration. Most players bind multiple keys for each direction. Pressing two direction keys at the same time lets you to turn faster. Some players even add a third direction key.

When changing keys, consider the following:

• Are you using one hand to turn or two? If two, does it feel natural to make left turns with your left hand and right turns with your right hand?
• Can you put direction keys close to glance keys? It's important to look around while playing. Glance keys can be changed under the Camera Input Configuration menu.
• Will your key bindings be comfortable when playing a long time? Having them further apart may ease strain on your wrists, shoulders and neck.

Chat

Retrocycles has an in-game chat function. Press the Enter key to compose a message then press Enter again to send it. Chat will appear at the top of the screen. Also, there are 25 customizable instant chats. Retrocycles has many game styles and you'll want to ask questions about how to play and how to get better. Chat is especially important in team games where good communication is essential to winning.

Lag Meters

Lag meters are triangle or diamond shaped lines drawn around other cycles when playing online. Because it takes time for your computer and server to talk to each other, the cycle you see on the screen is not where it actually it. Lag meters show you where the cycle might be, and their size depends on how much time it takes for the server to send and receive information from players. The general rule is, stay comfortably outside your opponent's lag meter.

Rubber

Rubber stops your cycle from exploding before you have time to react. Like brakes, you have a limited amount that refills over time as shown in the lower left gauge.

Technically, Rubber is a special function of Retrocycles that makes network play possible. When you press a key it takes time for the signal to reach the server. Rubber works like a buffer. When you reach a wall, the server slows the cycle down while it waits for you to turn. If you don't turn, you run out of rubber and explode. Some servers have high rubber settings that cause the cycle to momentarily stop while touching a wall. It looks motionless on the screen, but the server is actually using rubber to slowly move it forward.

Game Modes

Retrocycles is extremely customizeable, which results in a large variety of servers, though most generally fall into two categories: Classic and Zone-Based.

Classic servers are melee style where players fight be the last one standing. They are great for casual gamers and usually have high rubber settings, which is easier for new players. Zone-Based servers have one or more circular spaces that players fight to control. Some zone-based servers are challenging. In Sumo, players try to survive in a zone that shrinks. Another game is Fortress where teams try to keep opponents out of their zone.

Customization

You can customize nearly every aspect of Retrocycles. Some of this is easily done through the game menus, but other changes require typing commands in the game's console. To open the console, press the ` backquote key. For example, players often change the look of zones by typing ZONE_ALPHA_TOGGLE 1. A complete list of commands is on the wiki.

Sometimes players want to make permanent changes which require editing or creating files. The location of these files is in the main menu under "About". In these directories you can change maps or textures for a completely different look and feel.