FAQ

Answers to your frequently asked questions regarding Forts gameplay.

How do I fire my Swarm Missiles or Warheads?

A basic Sniper needs to be built in order to aim either Swarm Missiles or Warheads with it's laser sight. Click on the Swarm or Warhead silo, this will activate the Sniper's laser sight and open any doors in front of him. Then click on the intended target to set the missiles going.
NOTE: Upgrading the Sniper removes this ability in exchange for armour piercing capability.

How come AP Snipers can't laser target for Missiles?

Upgrading the Sniper to AP Sniper exchanges the ability to target missiles for armour piercing capability. The purpose of the tech tree is to make the player make decisions, which leads to more interesting battles.

Why won't my Machine Guns open their doors to fire?

Machine guns will open any door to fire at missiles, if they have time before impact.

Mortars are a different story. Machine guns are not very effective at shooting down mortars after having to open a front facing door, and they make themselves vulnerable to snipers in the process. If we didn't have this, the enemy could fire mortars, force your doors open, and take out your machine guns every time.

Building a machine gun nest which has armour or a door at the front and is open at the top is a common approach to defending against mortars. It is most effective when built low on a fort. This also helps defend against missiles that are nearing impact.

You can also build the door so the lowest joint of the door is just higher than the machine gun. The machine gun will see that opening the door doesn't make it vulnerable to snipers and so opens it to shoot at mortars.

How do I use Commanders?

Commanders are shown in the lower left corner of the screen while playing in Skirmish or Multiplayer. Initially they are not powered up, but their passive ability is engaged. To remind yourself what their abilities are, you can mouse over them and you will see their info.

You power them up by either causing damage or receiving damage. You will see their round gauge fill up. When they are powered up you will see a flashing star on them and hear a low tone pulse.

If you click on them (or press T) their active ability will engage for a period time. Use their ability quickly and efficiently! You will see the gauge run down and then you'll have to recharge it if you want to use it again.

Where can I find a list of all the commanders and their abilities?

We have collected the details for all commanders in one convenient place. http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=914462469

What do the red, blue and flashing struts represent?

The colours of the struts show the type and amount of force they are taking. Red means that they are taking a lot of weight, or compression. Blue indicates the strut is under tension - being pulled apart. The darker the red or blue colour, the more force.

When the strut flashes pink it is being pressed or stretched to breaking point, and is likely to snap if more weight is added. You could add more cross bracing, change the material to armour, use ropes to hold the structure back, or remove some weight to help the situation.

Why does my game desync while playing online?

We are working hard to improve the stability of Forts' online play, and if you experience a desync we encourage you to send the files using the built-in report system after it happens. That said, there are a few other causes which you should be aware of:

1. Use of cheat trainers that give you resources, etc.
2. Tampering with game data. (verify game files*)
3. Recording AI forts for a built-in map and then fighting it with other players. (delete all fort* files in that map then verify game files*)
4. Some mods may cause instability

* to verify game files, right click on Forts in Steam, then go to properties, local files and select 'Verify integrity of game files'.

How do I make custom keyboard bindings?

You can reassign the keyboard bindings via Main Menu > Options > Input

Why don't Machine Guns fire automatically?

Campaign - Machine Guns are always on auto-fire.
Skirmish - Machine Guns can be set to auto-fire by selecting 'Automatic' in the Defences section of the setup screen.
Multiplayer - Select 'Team 1 AI' or 'Team 2 AI' to add auto-fire Machine Guns to the respective teams.

Machine Guns will not open front-facing doors to shoot at mortar projectiles. It's not effective and makes them vulnerable to sniping. If the machine gun is protected to the front they will open any doors.

Only Machine Guns can be set to auto-fire. Upgrading them to Miniguns removes this ability in exchange for increased fire power.

Is there a way to disable the grid?

The grid can be toggled on and off by pressing 'G' or clicking the grid button in the bottom right of the HUD.

How does Co-op Multiplayer work?

Multiplayer modes can be toggled between Team Death Match and Team Co-op multiplayer when setting up a multiplayer match. In Team Co-op all forts and resources are shared between players on a side. As long as there is a reactor still going on each side all players are still able to participate.

How do I chat to teammates?

Press ` (grave) or F3 to open console and start typing chat.
Press TAB to switch between chat to ALL or TEAM.

Is there a pause or truce period in which to build before fighting begins?

A truce period can be enabled via the Mods menu (under rules) in Skirmish and Multiplayer. You can also hide the other teams' forts during this period.

How do I have both humans and AI in one team in multiplayer?

Setting 'Team # AI' to on will enable Automatic Machine Gun Defences. The game does not allow for AI to build for the player, however.

Is there a Spectator Mode?

When setting up a multiplayer match, change your team designation to Observer to spectate the battle.

Will Forts be available on Mac/Linux?

While not officially supported, there is a guide on how to make Forts run on a Mac here...
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1307546246

Is Steam Workshop going to integrated in to Forts for map sharing and mods?

Steam Workshop is available in Fort for Maps and Mods. Check out some of the cool player made content here...
http://steamcommunity.com/app/410900/workshop/

Just click on subscribe and the content will be available in your game under the "Player" tab in Maps and Mods.

Where do my movies and GIF's go?

Movies and GIFs get recorded into...

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Forts\users\<USERNAME>\video

You can also get there by...

In Steam, under games, right click on Forts, click properties, click Local Files, click Browse Local Files. You should see a users folder, in there you should see your user name, and in there you should find the video folder.

How do I calibrate the lasersight of a sniper?

When the sniper is selected and you are using Eagle Eye, you can recalibrate the sniper lasersight by holding the right mouse button and scrolling the mouse wheel (you can also use the page up/down keys). So pick a target, fire the sniper rifle, watch where the bullet hits, then adjust the laser sight to line up with where the bullet hit. Next time you shoot it should more or less hit the same place.

Is there multiplayer matchmaking?

Yes, use the ranked multiplayer system to play against players similar to your skill level, and climb the leaderboard as you improve. See next section for additional details.

Ranked Multiplayer

To play a ranked match, follow these steps:

• 1 - Click ‘Multiplayer’ from the Main Menu
  
• 2 - Select ‘Ranked Match’ from the Lobby Select screen
  
• 3 - Click ‘Start’.
  
  You will get placed into a lobby with a player of a similar rank, or if none are available, start your own ranked server to await an opponent of similar rank.

1v1 Steam Leaderboard Link

Ranked matches have some restrictions that custom games don't:

• Symmetrical built-in maps only
  
• Only a few built-in mods may be selected
  
• AI settings are symmetrical
  
• Teams must be even and lobbies full
  
• You can't battle the same player more than 3 times in the last 10 games
  
• The host receives artificial lag based on the average ping

Players are scored like so:

• The larger the difference in score, the higher the gain the lower ranked player receives if they win, and the lesser the gain the higher ranked player receives
  
• Part of your score comes from how current your last match was
  
• Quitting early results in a forfeit, even if you are knocked out of TDM
  
• The host can quit without forfeit within 30s to correct game configuration
  
• Disconnecting results in losing points if you are losing (judged by damage)
  
• Desyncing results in no change to scores

[Ceasar]

What should I use to make mod sprites?

[[DEV] Blammo]

Send to [e-mail]

[zmdyh]

How to get players banned for malicious swipes, taunts and insults in "Forst"
I can provide screenshots to prove it

[Frayjin2018]

k thanks

[[DEV] Blammo]

Stagger your mortar shots so that you can hit the reactor as the dome reloads

[Frayjin2018]

how do i Destroy the reactor without destroying any energy dome in mission 2 ?

[Kepler_22]

Am i able to make the game save GIFs and movies in "Downloads"?

[[DEV] Blammo]

There are a few BFCs in the workshop - https://steamcommunity.com/workshop/browse/?appid=410900&searchtext=bfc&childpublishedfileid=0&browsesort=textsearch&section=home

[Reen]

What is the bfc and how do i get it???

[[DEV] Blammo]

The Howitzer is a heavy weapon, particularly damaging against structures and wooden bracing. The Howitzer was introduced with the Moonshot DLC, and can be built from the Munitions Plant.