Overview
This is basically a guide to playing Synergy properly in 7 simple steps:-
The Contents
1) Don’t rush! Synergy is a co-op game for Half-Life, Half-Life 2 and similar maps, NOT for racing like there’s no tomorrow or a speed running competition. All players should eliminate every finite spawning bad guy (including but not limited to Metrocops, Combine Soldiers, Combine Snipers, Combine Elite, APCs, Hunters, Hunter Choppers, Gunships, Striders, Rollermines, Manhacks, Suppression Devices, Combine Hoppers, Combine Turrets, barnacles, all types of headcrab, all types of zombie, and all types of antlion but not the friendly antlions in the Vortigaunt Camp bugbait training area and the Nova Prospekt areas) before moving on unless the enemies are on infinite respawn. Also, all players should search for and checkout all interesting nooks and crannies and other interesting things such as G-Man and hidden goodies off the beaten path before moving on. Also, once the dust from a fight has settled, why not chill and immerse yourself in the wonderful set pieces and awesome music like Valve and Kelly Bailey planned?
Also if you find yourself at the “finish line” of any map, wait for as many players as possible before tripping the level change countdown trigger. At the same time, as each player arrives at the end, make sure they are fully stocked with health and ammo. If not, heal and supply them with ammo before triggering the level change countdown.
2) Don’t troll or flame other players with the mic or chat. It’s alright to talk normally or ask for help or give helpful instructions or even have a sense of humour or let off steam but don’t take your anger out on other players especially if they are doing nothing wrong or are inexperienced. Only flame players if they are rushing or mic/chat trolling or excessively mic/chat flaming other players or abusing the votes.
3) Use Teamwork. As above this includes killing all finite spawning bad guys firing on your team. In addition players should heal other players and supply them with ammo. Players should also help slower or inexperienced players catch up and provide them with helpful advice instead of rushing or flaming or even trying to !votekick/!voteban them.
For those that don’t know how to heal other players simply do the following to bind a key for healing; In the Synergy menu choose “Options”. In “Options” scroll down to “Give Health”. Highlight “Give Health” and click “Edit Key”. Press any key such as “i” and click “Apply” and finally click “Ok”. Return to the game and move right up to any player who is low on health. Press your chosen key eg “i” to heal them. The clever thing about this is that you can even heal other players whilst your in the “freeze frame” waiting for the level change as long as the other players are close enough to you.
For those that don’t know how to supply ammo to other players simply do the following to bind a key for supplying ammo; In the Synergy menu choose “Options”. In “Options” scroll down to “Give/Drop Ammo”. Highlight “Give/Drop Ammo” and click “Edit Key”. Press any key such as “p” and click “Apply” and finally click “Ok”. Return to the game and move right up to any player who is low on ammo. Press your chosen key eg “p” to supply them with ammo. Again as above, the clever thing about this is that you can even supply ammo to other players whilst your in the “freeze frame” waiting for the level change as long as the other players are close enough to you.
4) Don’t be a Synergy Banhammer Wannabe! There was already one Synergy Banhammer Badmin and we don’t need anymore ever again! It sucks! Nuff said. (Don’t worry KillerB, Cultist and Gleb, I don’t mean any of you bros! :D)
5) Don’t abuse the !votekick/!voteban system! If someone is rushing or mic/chat trolling or excessively mic/chat flaming other players or abusing the votes then by all means !votekick/!voteban them. However if they are merely talking normally or asking for help, or being helpful, or having a sense of humour or venting off steam or even doing nothing wrong then don’t !votekick/!voteban them.
6) Don’t abuse the !votemap system. If the map is glitched and team suicide and restarting the map doesn’t fix the glitch then by all means skip the map but if there is nothing wrong with the map then don’t !votemap.
7) Don’t spawn too many vehicles. Driving in Synergy is fun whether its through the Canals, Highway 17, Outlands or even our own makeshift driving routes in other maps and makeshift indoor car parks, so it is necessary to spawn vehicles for any player that needs them. However if too many vehicles are spawned in close quarters or where scripted events take place, then that can break or crash the map. Also don’t spawn vehicles where they would block players and our resistance allies. Ironically though, on some occasions, its possible to circumvent a faulty door or faulty barrier as long as the vehicle is spawned in the correct position. This would avoid skipping an interesting map.