faq.xml

<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<page title="FAQ"> 
  <div id="faqtoc"/>

  <section title="FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions (and Answers)">
    <faq-list>
      <faq date="01 Sep 2011">
        <question>I am stuck, how can I beat level XY?</question>
        <answer>
          <p>
            You can find
            full <a href="http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL85CB546B69E1E313">walkthrough
              videos for the Tutorial Island and the Halloween 2007
              levelset</a> on Youtube.
          </p>
        </answer>
      </faq>

      <faq date="04 Oct 2010">
        <question>Where can I find more levels?</question>
        <answer>
          <p>
            Besides the 22 tested and cleaned up levels of the first island that
            come with Pingus. There are also around 120 levels that might be
            playable and another 100 levels that are incomplete at the moment.
            These levels can be found in the <span class="teletype">data/levels/playable</span> and
            <span class="teletype">data/levels/wip/</span> (wip = work in progress)
            directories:
          </p>
          <dl>
            <dt><span class="teletype">data/levels/playable/</span></dt>
            <dd>
              The levels in the
              <span class="teletype">playable/</span> directory might be playable, but there
              is no guarantee for that. They might been broken due to
              engine changes, they might be far too easy or far too hard
              or simply incomplete.
            </dd>

            <dt><span class="teletype">data/levels/wip/</span></dt>
            <dd>
              The <span class="teletype">wip/</span> directory contains
              levels that are not playable at all. Some of them might
              even lack entrances and/or exits. Don't be surprised that
              you can't play them. Instead, these levels can be used as
              starting points for levels you want to create yourself
              with the level editor.
            </dd>
          </dl>
        </answer>
      </faq>

      <faq date="04 Dec 2010">
        <question>
          How do I start the other levels?
        </question>
        <answer>
	  <p>
            There are two ways to start the levels. The first one is to do it simply via the command line:
          </p>
          <p>
            <code>pingus data/levels/playable/somelevel.pingus</code>
          </p>
          <p>
            The other, probably more userfriendly, way is to simply
            load them into the level editor and then click the play
            button.
          </p>          
        </answer>
      </faq>
      
      <faq date="14 Jan 2007">
        <question>
          Pingus runs too slow. Is there any way to make it faster?
        </question>

        <answer>
          <p>
            There are multiple ways to tune the running speed of
            Pingus. <br /> Firstly, reducing the screen colour
            depth (to 16bit, for example) on a slower computer might
            give you a boost of around 50% percent, depending on your
            hardware. X11 doesn't allow switching color depth at run
            time, and the exact instructions for doing this are outside
            of the scope of this FAQ. Consult your distribution
            documentation for more information.
          </p>

          <p>Secondly, a gain in speed can be achieved by
            reducing the display resolution of Pingus. For example, if
            you want to run Pingus at 640x480 you can do this with the
            following command:</p>

          <p><code>pingus -g 640x480</code></p>

          <p>Thirdly, you can run Pingus in a <em>fast-mode</em>.  This
            mode disables all costly particle effects and the
            background.  Thus, Pingus will look less pretty, but will
            probably be a good amount faster. Fast-mode can be turned on
            with:</p>

          <p><code>pingus --fast-mode</code></p>
          
          <p>Remember, the <em>fast-mode</em> has lots of room for
            improvement. If it doesn't help you make Pingus run fast
            enough, not all is lost.</p>
          
          <p>If that is not enough, you might also want to play
            with the <span class="teletype">min-frame-skip</span> and <span class="teletype">max-frame-skip</span>
            options.  Both should result in a more uniform frame-rate.
            This can make the game jerky, but playability can be
            improved nonetheless.</p>

          <p>Finally, the 'F11' key can help you a great deal in
            your optimisation process by showing the frame-rate counter.</p>
        </answer>
      </faq>
    </faq-list>
  </section>
</page>