Type 40 Tardis Handbook (Tardis Rewrite controls and guide)

A guide to using the Tardis Rewrite (or just TARDIS as of writing, its predecessor mod is now called Tardis Legacy). The goal of this guide is to be a teacher and a quick reference if need be. It also includes how redecoration works, basics for noobs, and military use.

All Controls of the Type 40 Tardis

The following is a list of all controls and their functions in no particular order for quick reference:

Space-time throttle: starts dematerialization/rematerialization

Time-rotor handbrake: blocks dematerialization from happening, also charges Artron energy faster

Vortex flight: turn off or on the ability to fly through the vortex (basically enables or disables fast teleporting)

H.A.D.S: Hostile Action Displacement System, Tardis will auto warp away and to a random location if harmed or picked up by a physics gun

Fast return protocol: forces Tardis to warp back to previously landed location (bypasses vortex flight, CAN be initiated in vortex)

Toggle screen: enables the digital screens in the Tardis, can be used to access things that may not be on the physical console or you are unable to find

Engine-release: forces the tardis to demat even with handbrake enabled (only works as the tardis "spins down" after pulling the space-time throttle), also gives 5 Artron energy at the cost of health while in vortex

Cloaking device: turns Tardis invisible

Anti-gravs: enables 0 grav on the Tardis making it float as if it where in space

Flight-mode: enables flying of the Tardis outside of the time vortex

Spin direction/toggle spin: enables and changes the rotation of the Tardis while flying (some times the controls are 2 seperate things depending on the interior choice)

Power switch: turns Tardis off and on (disables other things if enabled except being invisible)

Self-repair: Tardis will repair itself if any damage was taken, occupants of Tardis have to leave it for it to begin

Redecoration: changes Tardis interior and exterior design to specified choice unless chameleon circuit is enabled (will be random if you have not selected a new design)

Chameleon circuit: changes exterior of Tardis to desired choice to "blend in"

Isomorphic security system: blocks other players from using controls of your Tardis

Coordinates: save, load, and plug in specific points on any map

Shields: enables or disables shields (when turned on, takes a moment to get full strength)

Door switch: open and closes Tardis main door

Door lock: locks and unlocks Tardis main door

Lock down mechanism: will lock the Tardis to that spot in space, nothing can move it aside from the physics gun

Manual flight control: puts you in thirdperson of the Tardis and from there you can use key binds to opperate it without using physical levers or switches (key binds further down in guide)

Destination select: puts you in a thirdperson ghost form of the Tardis so that you can find a specific spot to warp too (key binds for function is further down in guide)

Music: play music into the Tardis either with songs it comes with or by URL

Destination Select and Manual Flight Control key binds

Flying and Selecting both share lots of similarities to using noclip, especially Destination Select, your knowledge of that will help here.


Destination Select

Flying to select a location is exactly the same as noclip, shift to speed up, space bar to go up ect.
Rotate on the spot: hold shift AND alt and use the A and D keys to rotate
Locking to the ground: simply press R and the ghost form will lock to the ground under it, if on a slanted surface, press R again to adjust to the angle of it
Alternatively, pressing RMB will zip to the location you are looking at, also works on walls and even the bottom side of roofs
Pressing G will send the ghost form to a random spot on the ground
Pressing H will bring you back to the current Tardis location
Pressing F will cycle through Chameleon Circuit options at random
Pressing MB3 (mouse wheel) will open the virtual console as seen on the screens
Left click to confirm location


Manual Flight Control (depending on the interior, you access it it can either be by a physical button or holding alt and pressing E on a blank space of the console)

Enabling flight can happen 2 ways like a few other controls that will be mentioned, either by activating a button/lever or going into MFC and pressing R. Once flying it works like noclipping but you cannot phase through objects and have some weight to it.
Holding LMB and aiming the little red X allows you to pick a spot to remat in on the fly (no pun intended), be warned however that once selected the Tardis will initiate immediate demat.
Pressing H will transfer you to the Destination Select variant of the whole thing.
Pressing L will toggle cloak
Pressing R will toggle flight (as said before)
Pressing T will toggle 0 grav
Pressing G will toggle the physical lock
Pressing P turns off/on the Tardis
Pressing J will toggle Time Rotor Handbreak
Pressing MB3 (mouse wheel) will open the virtual console as seen on the screens
Pressing F will open and close the main Tardis door
Pressing RMB will change and toggle the spin direction of the Tardis
Holding Ctrl while free falling will make the Tardis land upright and dampen the potential damage impact

Holding X when looking at an entity will enable tracking of that object or person; the Tardis will auto follow said entity at the distance it started at as closely as possible. You can still "fly" it, but will be locked onto the target specifically, only adjusting the distance and height relative to it. To cease tracking, simply hold X again and look at the world to disengage or change target.

Basic Warping and Destination Inputting for Dummies

Maiden Voyage for you? This is the section you need!

(Note that there will be something called "Artron energy" on the top left next to its health bar, it shouldn't effect this section, but see further in guide for details)

First thing first, spawn your desired Tardis model and go to the console.

At this moment you have 2 options for how you want to get there:
1: input destination then dematerialize
2: dematerialize into the vortex then input destination

We will use option 2 for this. Simply press E on the space-time throttle to begin vortex flying. If Tardis does not demat and tells you so, you have 1 of 3 things:
1: the time rotor handbrake is enabled
2: time distorter is enabled (see further in guide for details)
3: front doors are open
(if it was option 3, this can be changed in the build menu options to have the doors close when throttle is pulled)

Once rectified, pull the throttle again to enter the time vortex. Congrats! You are now "in flight" to your destination, or will be I suppose. The next step is to select a destination; using the info mentioned earlier on how to use the Destination Select, do so to find a location you desire (can even be in the sky if you wish). Once the destination is locked, pull the space-time throttle again to rematerialize in said location. Congrats! You have just finished your first travel to a location via demat and remat!

Chose a location in the sky? Be sure to enable either the anti-grav or the phys lock so that you do not tumble to the ground.

Want to save the location for future use? Make sure your Tardis is *exactly* where you want it, then go to the coordinates and press E to open it. A screen will show up that will show saved locations on the left and editable and plugin-able coordinates on the right. To save the current spot you are in, make sure you are in *exactly* the right spot, look at the top right coordinates that have your current location in it, click "save", name the location for quick use later, save it along with the prompt for direction and rotation of the Tardis, and now you have a saved location for rapid use in the future!

To load one in the future, open the coordinates either before or during vortex flight, click on one, then click on "set"; remat when desired.

Artron Energy

Artron energy is the dimensional charge of the Type 40 Tardis that enables the more "engine intensive" activities to be completed.

The Type 40 has a passive charge rate of +1 Artron per X amount of seconds that can be adjusted in the admin settings along with: starting charge, max charge, health, amount of shield given, and speed boost found in: Options > TARDIS > Admin Options.

The following is a list of functions that gives Artron energy assuming other options that drain it are not enabled:
+1 passive charge rate (adjusted in settings)
+2 rapid charge with Time-Rotor Handbrake enabled

The following is a list of functions that take away (which will now be called "buy in" and "buy out") and/or drain energy:
Anti Grav: -2 buy in/out, 0 drain
Lock Down: -4 buy in/out, 0 drain
Cloak: -4 buy in/out, will drain
Flight: 0 buy in/out, will drain
Chameleon circuit: -4 buy in/out, 0 drain
Fast Return Protocal: -8 buy in, no buy out exists, 0 drain
demat/remat and vortex flight: -4 buy in, 0 buy out, will drain

Special case: the Artron Inhibitor: will drain -2 every 3 seconds (see further in guide for details)

While in vortex flight, if you pull the Engine Release, you will sacrifice a random amount of health anywhere from 10% to 50% to gain 5 Artron energy; since the price for such energy in that regard is extortionate, ONLY use this command in truly dire moments to avoid being ejected from the vortex in a random location.

If you are cloaked and landed on the ground and run out of energy, you cannot disable the command while the Tardis has run out of energy and is off, as a result you should: enable hand break, wait for charge to get to 10, turn on Tardis, disable cloak. If you start Tardis again under 4 energy, it will turn on for half a second then turn off as the power immedietly went to the cloak. This strategy can be easily adapted for other commands that have buy ins.

If force demating with the Handbrake enabled, it will shave off 4 energy as usual. However, if you disengage the handbrake while in the vortex, you are immedietly ejected out of it and the Tardis turns off as if it had blown up.

The Sonic Screwdriver

While a different thing to the Tardis, it works as an essential extension to any Tardis user.

While the Sonic Screwdriver has many functions, we will only focus on its uses in regards to the Tardis (full feature list is on the mod page).

The driver acts as a remote for it, but it needs to be linked first. To link your Tardis or any Tardis to your driver, look at said Tardis, hold alt then hold LMB, it will notify you when it is done. Same for unlinking if you wish. (if linking does not happen, this likely means your alt key isn't bound to "slow walk")

Once linked, you can order your Tardis to warp to any set location you can see. To do so, hold the LMB at a spot and you will get a notification that the Tardis has it locked in. Then Press R to initiate the travel sequence. Note however that if you have vortex flight enabled it, it will take longer because it will go into the time vortex and wait for you to press R again to finally rematerialize in the spot you desired. Alternatively, you could just press R at the desired spot without having to hold LMB.

You can order the Tardis to start tracking you or objects you can see as well. If you want it to track an object while you are outside it, hold Alt and RMB for it to begin. For it to cease, do the same in a random part of the world (NOT looking at another entity) for it to disengage. Alternatively, the same function that makes it cease tracking can also tell it to track you instead; to stop tracking is the same as before.

You can also lock the Tardis at a distance, simply hold RMB while aiming at the Tardis to lock and unlock it. Same goes for opening the doors at a distance too, but use LMB instead. You can also do a short-ish range temporal shift teleport into the Tardis by looking AT THE DOOR, holding alt, and then holding LMB. You can also do this right next to the Tardis if you do not have a screwdriver to teleport inside if you are in a tight spot, same for exiting.

The Sonic Screwdriver also has the ability to locate the Tardis via pings when linked. Simply hold down the LMB and RMB for it to start searching; it will get much faster as you look at the Tardis. It can be useful for locating it if you can't quite remember where you parked it or turned it invisible.
-
(Shout out to a user by the name of (at the time of writing) Sky W. in the comments for pointing this out, I always thought it was an audio glitch and never put 2 and 2 together lmao)

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=153825236&searchtext=sonic+screwdriver

Redecoration and the Chameleon Circuit

Redecoration is the Type 40's ability to totally change its appearance without having to delete and respawn it. It also remembers the controls that where enabled such as physics lock and isomorphic security when it changes.

Selecting it by itself will make it choose a random look governed by how many other Tardis mods you have for the Rewrite. But lets assume you have an interior design choice you want.

What you do is you open the spawn menu where you originally got it from, right click on it and select "redecoration", you can also exclude it from random redecoration if you so choose too and can edit certain aspects of the look and cosmetics of it depending on the mod. Once done, all you have to do is press E on the redecoration switch on the console and it will do its thing, all occupants must leave the machine first for it to begin.

Side note: if it is damaged, it will also health itself first *then* change to the new design.


The Chameleon Circuit is the Type 40's ability to change its exterior on the fly to "blend in" to its surroundings without overhauling the interior. Depending on how many mods you have for the Rewrite, you may be limited or abundant in your selection of disguises.

To enable such a thing, go to the console or interior screen and select it from the options listed. Once there it shows you all the cloaks you can enable and in certain folders too. Simply select one and click apply. When ready to change back to base look, navigate to the same screen and click reset. You can also do this in the vortex and will instantly change back the moment it starts appearing when remat-ing. If you are in the vortex and enable that feature and manually select a destination, your "ghost" will appear as the chosen disguise for optimal positioning and clipping avoidance.

When Redecorating or spawning a new Tardis in, it will clear your Chameleon circuit's current cloak for the base model of said Tardis mod. However, it is possible to change the chameleon's exterior look *and* redecorate at the same time. When selecting a model for redecoration, below that there is "chameleon circuit" section where you can select the exterior; pick the one you want AND toggle "enable on spawn", then redecorate. Your Type 40 will then change the interior to your choice while making the exterior to your specified settings.

Important to note: toggling "enable on spawn" will be remembered for that Tardis model, so if you change back to that and have a weird exterior, that is why.
Some Tardis mods have more options for interior choice listed as "alternative versions" and are NOT related to the chameleon circuit command, only the redecoration.

The Time Distorter and Artron Inhibitor

The Time Distorter and Artron Inhibitor, put simply, makes life difficult for the Tardis demat and remat wise. Within a small-ish radius it blocks demat/remat attempts and saps artron energy respectively. These devices really have no use in singleplayer, but are a defensive tool in multiplayer.

If used correctly defensively, the TD will block Tardis users from rematerializing in a certain area (think of it as a sentry gun with an area of denial). On the other hand, you can trap a Tardis user by letting them land and then enabling the device. However if the Tardis user is experienced enough or has read this guide, they will know that to break out of a TD trap, all they have to do is pull the space-time throttle and hit the engine-release switch to get out of there. It will permanently brick the TD but shave off 30% of Tardis health if the health of it is at the base setting of 3000. (if shields are enabled, they will take the hit instead)

If cunning enough, you or another person can start the device inside the Tardis causing problems. Be warned however, the owner of the Tardis will get a note stating that "something is causing time distortions inside the tardis". If they choose to plow through it, it will interestingly not block the Tardis from warping as it would outside of it, but shave off 10% of its health every time it demats. However to truly maroon a Tardis driver with the TD is to start it both outside and inside and have them run simultaneously; not even activating the engine-release will help, the user will have to manually find one and disable it. (credit to a user named Space Core for finding that last portion out)

If using the TD is too much of a risk, the Artron Inhibitor would be a better option. It gives no sort of notification that it is turned on to the enemy Tardis user even when inside. Per device, it will sap 2 energy every 3 seconds. However this usually isn't enough to immobilize a Tardis permanently. The best way to go about this is to make an "artron bomb"; start by spawning about 6 and weld them all together, if you have Wiremod then add a button on it that controls the on and off function for all of them. Then get to within striking distance and weld it to the enemy Tardis from afar but still within its zone of effect, enable it and get out of there; the device will follow it through the vortex to anywhere it lands, even if it is stuck in some objects, it wouldn't matter as it is serving its purpose.

Military Application

The Tardis can be a very powerful tactical device; used in the correct hands to the point of being "broken". This final section is to lay out strategies you may use in brawls with your friends. It is recommended to raise the Tardis health from 1000 to 30,000 and same for the shields in the admin options on the build menu.

Any permanent base the enemy might make is totally voided in effectiveness due to the "warp anywhere" ability the Tardis has, ideally you would stealthfully do this and enable the cloak before landing as it also masks the landing and take off sounds of the Tardis. However, opening the front door will make just the front door appear so be aware of that.

If you have ever played Spy from TF2 and/or prop hunt, the Chameleon Circuit is basically his disguise kit and that game mode, and the trick to using it (like in TF2) is acting and placing. While the flat out invis cloak would work better, the CC avoids the issue of players running into an invisible box and shooting it; highly situational, but when used with ignorance from the enemy who doesn't know the disguises you have and has only ever seen perhaps the cloak function could come in handy.

While it can warp anywhere, this doesn't mean that the interior is safe. The interior is spawned in a random location in the map always above your head. Best case scenario is that your interior spawns in the sky box. But sadly most of the time it spawns within the map right at the edge and height of it. In past updates for the Tardis, a savvy or lucky player could look up and carefully search for your player model and shoot it down, luckily now that has been changed. Now the interior itself has a defensive wall against damage to any players inside it. However the downside is that shields don't work on the interior and the damage is directly against the Tardis health, tread carefully.

If you need to get somewhere safe where the Tardis will not be hurt you can do 2 things, 1: send it into the time vortex, it becomes invisible and only known to people inside it, nor can it be damaged externally. 2: provided the interior is placed in the skybox, destination select to inside the Tardis (can be done via finding your player model or outlining an area with some props) and warp to it, *make sure* that lock-down is enabled so that it does not fall through the interior floor. (some interiors have collision but only for a fully materialized Tardis; as such, the lock-down can be disabled once landed)

If you need to get one of your allies out of a tough spot what you can do is tell them to remain still and Destination Select right inside them. Making sure the Tardis is unlocked, once it has materialized around them they will be instantly transported to the Tardis interior, quickly lock and demat again to get out of there, no time wasted in unlocking, getting in, then leaving. (This can be done either as invisible or visible). (See the episode Bad Wolf where the 9th Doctor does this very trick to save Rose from the Daleks)

While the lock down mechanism is very helpful, it does not block physics gun usage on it. A savvy enemy will use this to block you from getting back inside even with H.A.D.S, because once started it cannot stop warping unless the time rotor handbreak is enabled *before* entering the time vortex. Best to enable the persistence function to void this, this is done by putting this in console: sbox_persist 1.

Interestingly, the Tardis is a rather heavy machine for its size, as such, while in flight mode, it can be used as a battering ram to push props or prop kill enemies. The higher the flight speed, the higher the damage.

If you have the sonic screwdriver and need to get out in a pinch, there is a trick you can use instead of walking around to hit the space-time throttle. Assuming you have the driver linked with the Tardis, vortex flight is enabled, *and* you enabled the option for the front doors to close on demat: hold LMB to select a location for the Tardis to lock onto, once inside the Tardis press R for it to take off taking you safely out of the situation. Be warned however, while players can walk through the Tardis as it demats, it can still take splash damage and bullet damage, keep this in mind.

If you get screwed where your Tardis is totally destroyed, you can't leave it to repair because you will be killed and the doors are still locked, you can spawn another Tardis inside of it in a clear area and escape that way.

Have an intruder? There is a fix for this. Luckily the Tardis is aware of its owner and will save him or her in the event of their death and spawn them inside the Tardis *if* they die inside of it. Others not so much, close and lock the door, find and kill the intruder, and when they respawn they will be outside of the Tardis with no way in.

If you *are* the intruder, assuming the enemy Tardis user hasn't enabled Isomorphic Security, you could slip into their machine and spam one of the "buy in" energy controls marooning them for a moment; or leave just enough so they get into the vortex and are ejected out in a random location.

As mentioned before, you could make an Artron Bomb, however this can be further developed. Artron Inhibitors *stack* their effects, so what this means is that a theoretically 20 large AB is possible, but this lacks efficiency. On the other hand there is a stealthy way of going about it. If you spawn in the bomb, no collide the world relative to the bomb, slide it into the enemy Tardis from behind, and when just a tiny bit is peaking out, weld it to the enemy Tardis. It will take a very long while before they figure out what is happening.

There is a theoretical strategy here, however some testing shows that it isn't possible due to bullets and rockets not passing through the open door of the Tardis, the strategy is as follows: set the CC to the "Siege Cube" small varient (it is the size of a vehicle tire), set it to track the enemy or vehicle you are following *from behind and above* (if it doesn't stay behind, enable that by pressing T), enable cloak, open Tardis door and start firing. You see, the Siege Cube doesn't actually have a door to the outside perspective, but on the inside it still does, what this means is that you can fire upon the enemy and have near 0 repercussions as you are a small, invisible target that cannot get shot in return.

While there is the "scanner" tab on the screens in the menu, there is a better if not broken way of finding out what you're enemy is doing without even being there. Simply use the Destination Select function to track and spy on your enemies at any distance, anywhere. There is a downside to this however, on certain maps, when using the Destination Select, it will only make map objects visible, not players or entities or even npcs. What this means is that you could stumble into the middle of a war zone or land right in the middle of some props; map knowledge is key to using this ability safely. (The beginning of the Doctor Who Movie where he gets shot is a perfect example of this risk).

Closing Remarks and Tardis Mods I Use

I hope this was helpful to all who read through it all, experienced and new alike. I will be around to answer any questions you all may have.

The one thing that I have never learned though was the "advanced control sequence" of the Type 40, however a friendly user by the name of RB22486 has done some digging on the subject, and with his permission, have been added here, these are his findings on it: "There isn't actually one single control sequence. Some TARDISes have it and some don't. All you have to do is press E on where the control is highlighted on the tips, (Also, very rarely some TARDISes may even have more than 1 control sequence for the same interior like the 1973 extension)."

The following are the mods I use that are of good quality along with the base mod itself.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=153825236&searchtext=sonic+screwdriver
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=307175678&searchtext=tardis
https://steamcommunity.com/workshop/filedetails/?id=499280258
https://steamcommunity.com/workshop/filedetails/?id=673981855
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=590296269****
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=592082058
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=751777287
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=954124222
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1902614190
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=590689012
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2964994055
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2981899164
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2931145172
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2979819762
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2991428856

[BabyInAnMRI]

@colestew2013 It's just backup power that you can enable in the event that your Tardis is dead.

It only provides emergency lighting and power to certain components, such as your repair switch or door lock.

To enable it with a dead Tardis: flip your handbrake, lock-down mechanism, and engine release; after that, flip your power switch.

[colstew2013]

One Question. What is aux power? @Captian Rico

[Captain Rico]

@HerrscherofAutism Hmm... that may mean it isn't bound to that key yet, try the options for the Tardis on the right side of the build screen, you should be able to bind different keys there!

@SilverSurfer To my knowledge no heh, to be honest I have never heard of such a way of running it like that before; out of curiosity, why would you want to control it that way?

[Romans9090]

is there a way to control the tardis with console commands?

[Herrscher of Autism]

rotation isn't working in destination select

[Captain Rico]

@sbgi1996 That depends on how damaged it is, but it will last no longer than 60 seconds in total if its health gets totally annihilated

[sbgi1996]

How long does the repair time take on the outside?

[RB22486]

@Captain Rico of course, I'd be delighted. (Also, very rarely some TARDISes may even have more than 1 control sequence for the same interior like the 1973 extension)

[Captain Rico]

@RB22486 My man! Would it be alright if I add your input to the guide? Credit included of course

[RB22486]

@Captain Rico I've figured out how to, and this is for anyone else who wants to know:

There isn't actually one single control sequence. Some TARDISes have it and some don't. All you have to do is press E on where the control is highlighted on the tips