Lesson 101: Getting started on Calypso

What do you do in your first hours on Calypso? Find some suggestions below. The goal is to get the gist of the game without much frustration.

Get accustomed to the controls

The controls in this game need a little bit of explanation. There are many ways to "skin the cat" and only the most important ones can be displayed here. The most important keys are available from the help screen (type "h") but this is only very basic. You can customize the controls by hitting "O" but it is not recommended to change much, as this will prevent others from helping you out efficiently. You have to use mouse and keyboard in conjuction to efficiently control your character.

1.  *Control basics -- different modes

By hitting the space bar you switch between the aim mode and the arrow mode. Be prepared to switch often.

The aim mode is mostly used in 1st person view to shoot at something and is vital to control the direction of movement. There is no mouse pointer on the screen, only crosshairs in the middle of the screen in 1st person view. Moving the mouse makes your avatar look up or down and to turn left / right.

The arrow mode is used mostly to interact with terminals, mobs, and other players. The mouse pointer is visible on the screen and can be moved around while the avatar does not turn in this mode. By left-, double- or right-clicking, different actions can be performed.

With the key "Z" or "Y" (dependent on keyboard layout, it is the key below "A" and "S" per default) or with the mouse wheel, you can switch / zoom between 1st person and 3rd person view. With the key, the mode is changed instantly to a default distance in 3rd person view. With the mouse wheel, you can adjust how far you want to zoom in/out.

The 1st person view is mainly used to shoot or sweat mobs as you can directly use the crosshairs to aim.

                *Non-manual aim controls may not function after 10.0, unconfirmed*

The 3rd person view is more general. When running across the land, you can only find fruit or dung if in this mode (unless you run backwards), best is fully zoomed out. You also have a much better overview and can even see mobs behind a small hill. You can even switch the camara perspective by pressing the mouse wheel from behind you to in front of you. Pressing and holding the mouse wheel while moving the mouse changes the camara position continuously. Press and release wheel once to go back to default. Nice for taking screenshots.





1. Moving around -- your first steps
   
   Your avatar is moved best in aim mode, as otherwise, you can only run straight on. You move by pressing the keys Q, W, E, S, A, and D. This is very straightforward. You change direction of movement with the mouse. Individual keys are:
   
   
   • Q: run forward (good for getting fast from A to B)
   • W: walk forward (good for finding fruit & dung)
   • S: walk backward (good for shooting at a mob and finding fruit & dung)
   • E: jump (in case you need to get onto something)
   • A: move sideways left (good for sqeezing yourself through a crown sometimes)
   • D: move sideways right (good for sqeezing yourself through a crown sometimes)
   *WASD controls may not function after 10.0, unconfirmed*
   
   


2. The Chat Window -- your first words spoken
   
   
   You will notice the chat box window in the lower left hand corner of the screen. There are many messages being displayed, such as
   
   • dark red: announcements from MindArk ("server going down in 3 minutes...")
   • red: your avatar receives critical damage
   • orange: your avatar receives damage
   • yellow: warnings like "the item you are trying to use is damaged" or "this creature did not carry any loot"
   • white: anything that players within the radius of your radar say (i.e. type in the chatbox, see below)
   • grey: global messages, the damage you did to others
   • green: skill gain
   • light green: new ranks in skills, skill unlocks
   • dark blue: messages from members of your society
   • light blue: messages from members of your team
   
   
   So how can you "say" something to the public? It is actually quite simple: You hit Enter to get the cursor blinking in the line below the chat window and type your text. You hit Enter again to send the message. If you have not played around with the different tabs (All / Chat / Event / Society / Team) of the chatbox, your text should appear in white, prefixed by your avatar's name. Everybody in range can see it and respond to it. As long as you type in the chat, your keyboard cannot be used for other commands, like running, of course. There is a "run" action discussed below that allows you to talk while running.
   
   *There are no longer tabs, but similar buttons.*
   
   The tabs can be activated with the mouse arrow (the current appears in green font) and serve as filter.
   
   • In "All" you see all messages and what you write goes to the general public.
   • In "Chat" you see only chat messages (white text) and what you write goes to the general public.
   • "Event", "Society", "Team": You see only what was written by people in your event / society / team. What you write can only be seen by people in your event / society / team. There is a little trick: When you hit "V" twice to make your "HUD" disappear and appear again while having the tab "Event", "Society", or "Team" activated, you start to see all messages again, but what you write goes only to the members in your event / society / team. This is important especially in team hunting, as you want to see the damage done (appears only in "All") while talking only to your team members.
   
   
   
   • next topic -- work in progress


finding your way - teleporters - position - quickbar -

First Activities - free

So now that you know the basics of moving and interacting, what can you do in this world? Among free activities suggested for starters are the following:

• Read tutorials and forums! (There is no manual!)
• TP Running: Collect all the Teleporters on the maps. Fun to do in groups, or with your mentor as escort. A map and coordinates of all Teleporters are available on the forums.
• Get a Mentor: Carefully select somebody who will introduce you to the secrets of the game. Needs to be done before you accumulate too many skills.
• Sweating: Earn some free money by gathering sweat from mobs and selling it to other players
• Join a society: Life is nicer with some friends. Societies are loose groups that share common goals.

More advanced

• Trading among players and on the auction
• Hunting
• Mining
• Crafting
• Mindforce