OLD TIPS
Now with 162 tips!
Old Tip 1: If you want to create a small maze, or a maze with small areas, or any other maze in which you think weapons would be too overpowering, split your maze up into two sections (or more if that helps make it look nicer or whatever). Put the tank spawn points in one section and put at least one weapon spawn point in another section. Make sure the two sections are 100% isolated. That way, weapons won't be able to spawn. For more information about the map editor, go to Item 1 in the Other TT Stuff tab.
Old Tip 2: Here is a rare move: If tanks spawn next to each other like so, and there is a thin wall that far away from each of them, and you are using a keyboard, you can easily aim at the edge of the wall w/o risking hitting either corner of it (refer to General Tip 4), if you don't move from your spawn point.
Old Tip 3: Try to use unfair mouse control when possible, because it will give you better accuracy and the ability to switch directions quicker. However, note that although the mouse will give you better accuracy when shooting, your shots will be more consistent with the keyboard.
Old Tip 4: Beware that when the screen shakes (this happens when a tank explodes), a bullet may bounce back to exactly where it came from, instead of where it should go to, due to what I believe to be wall misalignment.
Old Tip 4: Beware that when the screen shakes (this happens when a tank explodes), a bullet may bounce back to exactly where it came from, instead of where it should go to, due to what I believe to be wall misalignment.
Old Tip 5: If you spawn in a corner with your enemy ready to kill you, try this trick shot: Shoot into the corner and swerve out of the way.
Old Tip 6: If you are trying to achieve the "Put Her Down" or "Doggy Bag", you might want to consider creating 3 mazes which have long, narrow corridors or large, open spaces (you can make a screenshot of any mazes you've already created and rebuild them later) and then set the options so that you only play your own mazes. You might also wanna consider disabling the laser.
Old Tip 7: It's the end of the world! Look what you did. Now you're sitting on a booby trap. Okay, booby traps have a VERY short delay before exploding if you choose to step off. If you can turn the corner and get safely behind that wall in less than half a second, do it. If not, you can still dodge bullets, and even move around a super tiny bit without setting it off. And yes, in this photo I did make it without dying. Watch Full Guide to Booby Traps to see this in action.
Old Tip 8: If your opponent has a death ray, get as close to them as possible, because if you get close enough, then in the time they are charging up the weapon, you can get out of the line of fire. Anti-Tactic 2 discusses this further.
Old Tip 9: If you fired a frag bomb, you don't have to wait for it to explode. You can make it explode early by left-clicking, or pressing M or Q (depending on your controls).
Old Tip 10: RC missiles: As they leave you vulnerable, it's best to know you've got your enemy trapped before you use them. Do know, however, that the RC missile can still be used as an effective weapon even if you don't have them totally trapped. Chase them down! If they start coming in your direction (if they're almost halfway there), turn your missile back towards yourself and maneuver it past yourself before they can get to you! The obstacle highlighted in red is a good example of an obstacle you would want between you and your opponent for use of this weapon.
Old Tip 11: For those of you who are only used to playing regular mazes (if you don't change the menu options and haven't made any mazes this is you, or if you've only played Tank Trouble on a website other than tanktrouble.com then this is also you), I would like to point out that the death ray cannot shoot through a white-filled wall.
Old Tip 12: Don't just place booby traps at choke points and weapon spawn points; be smarter about it. After all, your booby traps will block you, too, not just your enemies. You can put booby traps in the center of an intersection or corridor if you don't plan on going there.
Now, what about placing a booby trap against the wall? This will still block the corridor, but it will allow you to get by. Of course, if your enemy is paying attention, they can get by also, so sometimes it is better just to put one in the center. Also, you can place booby traps along both walls of the corridor to make an obstacle course.
Or, what about the corner of a corridor? Even though you need to make turns at corners, requiring more room, the width of a corridor is wider at the corners than at the straights. If you put one in the corner, there will pretty much always be just enough room for you to maneuver around it, making it great at filtering out enemy tanks, but still allowing you to go through. Watch Full Guide to Booby Traps to see this in action.
Now, what about placing a booby trap against the wall? This will still block the corridor, but it will allow you to get by. Of course, if your enemy is paying attention, they can get by also, so sometimes it is better just to put one in the center. Also, you can place booby traps along both walls of the corridor to make an obstacle course.
Or, what about the corner of a corridor? Even though you need to make turns at corners, requiring more room, the width of a corridor is wider at the corners than at the straights. If you put one in the corner, there will pretty much always be just enough room for you to maneuver around it, making it great at filtering out enemy tanks, but still allowing you to go through. Watch Full Guide to Booby Traps to see this in action.
Old Tip 13: Yes! I got a Gatling gun! Oh... wait no! I don't wanna use it HERE! This is terrible! Just press your firing button (but don't hold it down). The thing will start spinning, but it won't shoot anything. Then you'll be free to use regular bullets.
Old Tip 14: The Gatling gun: Be smart about how much you use. You don't have to use all of it. You might end up dead that way.
Old Tip 15: Gatling guns - how to use them without killing yourself: Shoot into an open area or down a corridor. Continue to shoot until you see one of your bullets approach a corner. As soon as that happens, stop shooting and run, as a bullet may bounce back.
Old Tip 16: If you're going to shoot a tank that's stuck on a booby trap, be careful. Hide behind a wall because after the tank is destroyed, the trap will explode. Watch Full Guide to Booby Traps to see this in action.
Old Tip 17: Easy RC missile steering with keyboard: Aim like a normal bullet and don't steer it until you need to.
Old Tip 18: RC missiles are relatively easy to steer with unfair/standard mouse control.
Old Tip 19: A risky move, but one that can be effective is using the RC missile at close range... a good way to keep from getting shot in this instance is to get as fast as you can to the other player and keep moving without stopping and shoot when they're right around the corner.
Old Tip 20: It's more time efficient to booby trap an area from the inside, than it is to trap it by going around the outside. Watch Full Guide to Booby Traps to see this in action.
Old Tip 14: The Gatling gun: Be smart about how much you use. You don't have to use all of it. You might end up dead that way.
Old Tip 15: Gatling guns - how to use them without killing yourself: Shoot into an open area or down a corridor. Continue to shoot until you see one of your bullets approach a corner. As soon as that happens, stop shooting and run, as a bullet may bounce back.
Old Tip 16: If you're going to shoot a tank that's stuck on a booby trap, be careful. Hide behind a wall because after the tank is destroyed, the trap will explode. Watch Full Guide to Booby Traps to see this in action.
Old Tip 17: Easy RC missile steering with keyboard: Aim like a normal bullet and don't steer it until you need to.
Old Tip 18: RC missiles are relatively easy to steer with unfair/standard mouse control.
Old Tip 19: A risky move, but one that can be effective is using the RC missile at close range... a good way to keep from getting shot in this instance is to get as fast as you can to the other player and keep moving without stopping and shoot when they're right around the corner.
Old Tip 20: It's more time efficient to booby trap an area from the inside, than it is to trap it by going around the outside. Watch Full Guide to Booby Traps to see this in action.
Old Tip 21: If you're sure you'll die by staying on a booby trap, your best bet is just to drive off the thing and run. Yes, it is actually possible for all the debris to miss you, but you should drive as straight as possible, so you don't swerve into any debris flying past you. Watch Full Guide to Booby Traps to see this in action.
Old Tip 22: Have you ever tried activating your own booby traps? Place a trap near the end of a wall so you can pass by it later and let it explode on a nearby enemy.
Old Tip 23: Fair mouse control driving you crazy? Trying to drive backwards, but you instead do a 180 and get blown up? Be sure the cursor doesn't get too far away from your tank.
Old Tip 24: Here is a good tip for using the mouse: Now, you will travel in the direction of the cursor if it's far from your tank. This can lead you to get stuck on a wall, so I recommend spinning the cursor in a giant circle at the start of every match to keep your tank in the center of the square unit you start in.
Old Tip 25: How to handle Old Tip 8: Simple. They try to get closer to you, so you must try to get further away. Now, if you are in trouble because an enemy is closing in on you and you can't fire in time, once you get like 2 seconds away from them, just shoot the death ray (even if it hits no one) so you can switch back to standard bullets.
Old Tip 26: Old Tip 6 states that you should just use your own mazes and you should turn off the laser when trying to get a Laika achievement. This is true. However, if you are not trying to get an achievement, I recommend using both the laser and regular mazes too. ----- You should use the laser because it is an example of an opponent having an advantage over you, which happens a lot when you face people instead of Laika. If you face Laika without the laser activated, then you may not be used to opponents having an advantage over you (weapons). ----- You should often use regular mazes as well as your own to develop an important skill: adapting to a variety of different mazes. If you do not have this skill, then you will be at a disadvantage when online comes out.
~ Suggestion by Dalek-Buster ~
Old Tip 27: If your enemy constantly gets you with booby traps, try this. Make booby trap obstacle courses for yourself for practice. This will help you memorize booby traps better and learn how to maneuver around them more effectively. Advanced Controls Tip 1 is useful for this.
Old Tip 28: If you are using unfair mouse control, you will not be able to drive backwards. Why is this important? You can't run away and shoot at your opponent at the same time. Instead, run away from them, and then turn around 180 degrees just long enough to fire back at them and then turn around and continue running again.
Old Tip 29: If you want to practice your steering, disable smooth collisions.
Old Tip 23: Fair mouse control driving you crazy? Trying to drive backwards, but you instead do a 180 and get blown up? Be sure the cursor doesn't get too far away from your tank.
Old Tip 24: Here is a good tip for using the mouse: Now, you will travel in the direction of the cursor if it's far from your tank. This can lead you to get stuck on a wall, so I recommend spinning the cursor in a giant circle at the start of every match to keep your tank in the center of the square unit you start in.
Old Tip 25: How to handle Old Tip 8: Simple. They try to get closer to you, so you must try to get further away. Now, if you are in trouble because an enemy is closing in on you and you can't fire in time, once you get like 2 seconds away from them, just shoot the death ray (even if it hits no one) so you can switch back to standard bullets.
Old Tip 26: Old Tip 6 states that you should just use your own mazes and you should turn off the laser when trying to get a Laika achievement. This is true. However, if you are not trying to get an achievement, I recommend using both the laser and regular mazes too. ----- You should use the laser because it is an example of an opponent having an advantage over you, which happens a lot when you face people instead of Laika. If you face Laika without the laser activated, then you may not be used to opponents having an advantage over you (weapons). ----- You should often use regular mazes as well as your own to develop an important skill: adapting to a variety of different mazes. If you do not have this skill, then you will be at a disadvantage when online comes out.
~ Suggestion by Dalek-Buster ~
Old Tip 27: If your enemy constantly gets you with booby traps, try this. Make booby trap obstacle courses for yourself for practice. This will help you memorize booby traps better and learn how to maneuver around them more effectively. Advanced Controls Tip 1 is useful for this.
Old Tip 28: If you are using unfair mouse control, you will not be able to drive backwards. Why is this important? You can't run away and shoot at your opponent at the same time. Instead, run away from them, and then turn around 180 degrees just long enough to fire back at them and then turn around and continue running again.
Old Tip 29: If you want to practice your steering, disable smooth collisions.