Game Lobby

Most references to something that happens "in-game" mean "during a match" rather than in the lobby. The lobby is the screen that is shown before and between matches. It can also be called up during a match, but that obscures the battle view.

The buttons and tabs here can be used to chat with other players or to set up a match.

Lobby Tabs

Welcome

This tab shows the news feed for the game and recent posts on the community forum.

The "Discord" button will open a link to the official Zero-K discord server in your browser. On Discord there are several channels related to game support, streaming and development of the game.

The "Forum" button will open the Zero-K Forums in your browser.

The "Manual" button opens this Wiki.

The "Website" button will open the Zero-K home page.

Chat

Lobby chat is mirrored on the Zero-K Discord server, and chat in the #zk channel on Discord is likewise displayed in the game's lobby chat. Text with a blue username comes from the Zero-K lobby, while a teal username indicates messages copied from Discord.

Clicking on the list of players will allow you to view their user page, send them messages, and perform other actions.

On the user page, at the bottom of the page you can view current rating statistics for the chosen player. Viewing your own user page will allow you to browse a list of Clans, which you may opt to join.

Inviting a player to a party will allow you to queue for team matches together. Players you have invited will have a small icon next to their name until they accept the invite. When other players accept, a new chat tab (and its corresponding channel) will be created in the lobby.

There are some voice channels in Discord that may be used for team communication. When not using them, be sure to disconnect from the voice channel using the small handset icon.

Profile

There is some basic profile information about your current profile, including your user name, level, rank, and awards.

Friends

A section of the tab displays a list of your current friends in the game.

Settings

These options affect the Zero-K lobby. Most gameplay options are accessed while a game is in progress with the In-game Menu.

Lobby

Settings for the game lobby itself, and some settings related to match setup.

The language for the lobby can be set here. To change the language used during a match, click the flag on the game interface while a match is in progress.

Graphics

The graphics quality can be adjusted by choosing a preset from Compatible to Ultra. Individual settings also can be customized.

Game

Mouse behavior, transparency (referred to as Alpha) of certain elements, and some other game options can be configured from the lobby.

The Game Interface Scale will change the size of the UI elements while in a game.

Invert Zoom will reverse the zoom direction of the scroll wheel.

Text To Speech will read out all in-game chat messages using a voice synthesizer if you have one installed. You will need to have at least one English voice on your computer to hear speech. If multiple English voices are installed, the game will choose a random voice for each player every time a new match starts.

Downloads

If you are using Steam, the Steam client should come with a number of maps. Additional maps and other assets will be downloaded as needed in the match lobby. If a map or a game modification takes too long to load, check this tab. It may indicate that download has failed, in which case you can try to restart it.

Game Buttons

Singleplayer & Coop

Progression in the campaign is separate from player ranking, nor is the ranking affected by playing skirmish matches.

Campaign

The campaign provides a series of set-piece challenges, structured as a branching set of missions. Pay attention to the hints given in the mission briefing, as they are often critical to completing the scenario.

In the Steam client, the campaign may be played cooperatively with another player.

In the campaign, your Commander will gain experience and level up when missions and optional objectives are completed. The Commander leveling up works similarly to how upgrades work in skirmishes and multiplayer games, except here the Commander can't be upgraded during the mission, but instead begins the mission at the level you have unlocked. Unlocked components may be swapped out at will for use in a given mission before it begins.

All units and structures unlocked from completing missions can be used in future missions. You can attempt a difficult challenge once you have acquired access to more units.

Skirmish

This will let you set up a single-player match against the AI, similar to a multiplayer battle. You can set up a quick battle with the options given, or click on the "Advanced" button to configure the game in more detail.

Survival mode will set up the game so you are fighting against waves of alien Chickens.

Multiplayer

Further information: How to gain rating

Most multiplayer matches affect your game rating, though there is an option in the match setup to prevent a match from affecting rating. As more games are played, your player rank will increase.

Matchmaking

Further information: Matchmaking

You can play against other players or against the AI by joining one or more of the available matchmaking modes. If a match is not found in a long time, you can easily leave this mode and instead look for or set up a custom battle.

Custom Game

This is a list of current matches. Many of them are started by players. The exception is auto-hosts (marked with "[A]"). They are set up by the administrators. These hosts do not disappear when the last player leaves.

You can set up your own game by clicking the Host Game button and selecting the desired game type. Be sure to set up a password if you don't want anyone to disturb you, otherwise expect visitors and do not be rude to them, as the game is then public.

Planetwars

Further information: PlanetWars

This is a persistent campaign which runs periodically.

Replays

The game client automatically saves a replay for all games you participate in. This includes campaign missions, skirmishes, and multiplayer matches.

While viewing a replay, there is a small interface bar to adjust the game replay speed.

Replays can be viewed from any player's/team's point of view.

Additional replays may be viewed directly or downloaded outside of the game from the recent battles archive or by following battle links in the forums.

Help

Links

Useful links to game information and streamers.

Tutorials

A short sequence of missions to demonstrate game concepts.

Benchmarks

Allows comparing the performance of different versions of the game's engine. These can take a while to complete.

Report a Bug

Bug report form that allows you to communicate an important issue to the administrative team.

Exit

The preferred way of closing the lobby.