FAQ - Free Tennis

# Frequently Asked Questions - Free Tennis

## I can't start playing. Both players seem to be computer-driven.

When the game start, you need to press either F or G to activate the mouse input. Read the manual to know the difference between F and G.

## Can I play human-vs-human?

You can, but you need two computers connected via LAN or internet. Read the manual to know how to start a game in human-vs-human mode.

## Why can't I play human-vs-human on a single machine?

I considered allowing this but, after making tests, I decided against. Here's what happens when two humans play on a single computer:

- the opponent sees where you are aiming (your parabola is visible). So he moves there before you hit the ball. This results in a distorted gameplay;
- who plays in the bottom half of the screen has too big an advantage;
- who uses the mouse has too big an advantage over who uses the keyboard or joypad.

## Network games across the internet are too slow.

Yes, you probably need a very fast internet connection to play human-vs-human via internet. I don't have one so I can't tell.

Via LAN, however, the game is fast enough.

In the future, I will try to group packets or send fewer packets, in order to make internet matches playable too. I still don't know if this is possible.

## How "finished" is this game?

The computer A.I. is not finished, so please don't judge the gameplay in human-vs-computer mode until version 1.0 is released. I decided to release an incomplete game because in human-vs-human mode it is already enjoyable.

## What does it mean when the player becomes red?

That question is answered in the manual (in bold text).

## What does it mean when the player becomes yellow?

That question is answered in the manual (in bold text).

## The game is too difficult!

So is tennis! :-)
Beginners should use the slow motion feature (see manual). Another thing you should try is change the difficulty with the -computerskill option.
This game is meant to be difficult to learn but rewarding once you did --- kind of like Kick Off 2.

## Sometimes the game crashes and the mouse does not respond anymore.

Sorry, I am currently not sure how to restore the mouse after a crash. Ideally, the game should not crash ;-)
What I do when this happens is the following: activate the terminal with ALT-TAB; press "up arrow" and "enter" so as to execute freetennis again; when freetennis starts, press G or F in order to activate mouse input; press "esc" to quit freetennis; you are now back to X with a working mouse cursor. If needed, you can now restore the resolution.

## Sometimes I get an error about "port binding" when starting two player mode with -server

I hope to fix this soon. If you get this error, wait a few minutes or (better) just change the port number with the -port option. Of course, the client should change the port too.