Installation guide

Welcome to Allegiance

Hi there, and welcome to the Allegiance installation guide. Our purpose here is to get you setup and in the game as quickly and easily as possible.

However, there's lots to know about Allegiance and its community, so please take some time to read the overview section of this guide. It'll answer some basic questions you might already have, and point you towards other resources. Otherwise you can just skip right down to the installation instructions.

Overview

What are the system requirements for this game?

For up to date information on system requirements, visit the wiki page System Requirements

Do I need a joystick?

A joystick is not required, as you can use the mouse as a virtual joystick. Many of our top players use one or the other, so there is no consensus on which is better. If you decide you want a joystick, and are unsure which to buy, ask around in our forums [1]

Is there any other software I should get?

Allegiance requires the Microsoft .NET 1.1 runtime, so you will have to download that. Downloading the .NET runtime is part of the installation instructions. However, you are encouraged to download Teamspeak and Teamspeak Overlay. See Teamspeak for more information.

Is this game really free?

Yes, this game is 100% cost free, and has been since 2001. If you're interested in FLOSS, this game is not that kind of free. It is open source, and we continue to improve the software, but its licence is per Microsoft's Share Source Initiative [2]

Where do I go for help?

That depends entirely on what kind of help you need. If you're having trouble installing, or getting the game to work once installed, please check with the guys in the helpline forum. They have detailed answers to common problems, and specific requirements if you've found a new problem, so please start by reading this page [3], before you ask for help.

If you're looking for help on how to play the game, please check out the Allegiance Academy Cadet 1 course [4].

I have a router, is that a problem?

Routers have never been a problem for Allegiance, provided that you had administration access to the router, and knew how to properly setup port forwarding. Since the release of revision 3 (R3), Allegiance now works with routers even when you don't have access to them, or know how to configure them properly. However, if you seem to be having a router problem, check with the guys in the helpline [5]

Installation Procedures

Installing DirectX

You most likely already have DirectX 9.0c installed on your computer, but in case you don't. Follow these instructions to get it installed.

1. Click on the following link http://www.gamesforwindows.com/en-US/AboutGFW/Pages/DirectX10.aspx
2. Click on the download the latest DirectX link
3. Validate your copy of windows by clicking on the Continue button.
4. If you are not able to validate your copy of windows for any reason, you may try to get an older version of DirectX from here [6]
5. Run the installer you have downloaded, and follow the on screen instructions.

Installing .NET 1.1

.NET 1.1 is a requirement for Allegiance, and unlike DirectX, having a higher version of .NET does not allow previous versions to work. It is save to have .NET 1.1 installed along with .NET 2.0, etc... but you must have .NET 1.1 to play Allegiance.

1. Go to the following web site [7]
2. Click the Download button.
3. Save the dotnetfx.exe to your hard drive.
4. Double click the dotnetfx.exe file to start the installer.
5. Follow the on screen instructions to complete the installation.

Once you have installed .NET 1.1, you should also install the .NET 1.1 Service Pack 1

1. Go to the following web site [8]
2. Click the Download button.
3. Save the NDP1.1sp1-KB867460-X86.exe file to your hard drive.
4. Double click the NDP1.1sp1-KB867460-X86.exe file to start the installer
5. Follow the on screen instructions to complete the installation.

Installing Allegiance

1. Click on the following link [9] and save the executable to your hard drive.
2. Double click on the Allegiance Setup.exe you download.
3. If you do not have .NET 1.1 installed, it will display the following reminder. Click on OK and follow the instructions under Installing .NET 1.1.
   
   
4. If the prerequestits for installing Allegiance have been met, you will see the following screen
   Placeholder
5. Click Next
   
   
6. Please read the terms of the EULA, if you agree to them, click the check box next to I accept the terms in the license agreement.
7. Click Next.
   
   
8. If you have a slower computer (800 mHz or less), you may want to uncompress the game's audio files to .wav format to make the game run faster. Generally you will not need this option, and if you don't understand what this option means, you are probably better off leaving it unchecked. If you want to uncompress the .ogg files into .wav, click Unpack OGG Files
9. Click Next
   
   
10. If you have a preferred directory you wish to install your games in to, you may provide it now. Otherwise, it's best to stay with the default folder provided.
    
    
11. Once you have determined which folder you want to install the game to, click Install.
12. Wait while the application installs, this will take a few minutes.
    
    
13. When the installation is finished, you will see the following screen.
    Placeholder
    
    
14. The installer will put two new icons on your desktop, one for Allegiance the game, and one for the Allegiance academy. If you haven't already done so, we recommend checking out the academy for a few minutes before starting the game. You will be able to get more detailed information on how to play the game and how to make the most of your first few games.

Creating a new account

1. Double click on the Allegiance icon placed on your desktop. This will launch a program called ASGS. You should see a window like the following.
   Placeholder
2. Click Tools -> Create a New Account
3. Your web browser will launch. Fill out the Callsign field with your in-game name.
4. Fill out the Password and Comfirm Password fields with a login password of your choice
5. Fill out the e-mail address field with a valid e-mail address, a confirmation e-mail will be sent to that address.
6. Click Create Account
7. Check your e-mail account you provided in step 5. There should be an e-mail from ASGS@alleg.net with a link. Open that link in your web browser to complete the signup process. If you didn't get an e-mail, within 5 minutes, check your spam and/or junk folders for it.
8. Once you've clicked on the link, you'll be taken to a page which confirms that your account has been created.

Connecting for the first time

1. Double click the Allegiance icon on your desktop.
2. Fill in the Account and Password fields.
3. Click Login.
   • ASGS will update itself if it needs to.
   • You will then see the following notice.
     Placeholder.
   • Please read this message and ensure you understand it before you click Yes.
   • Here is a wiki page explaining the dangers of Linking Callsigns.
4. When you have read and understood the message, click Yes

Allegiance will now start, and take you to the title screen. You're now free to play the training missions (these do not require an Internet connection, and are simply you and a computer tutor showing you the basics of the game), or connect to the free games to play against other people online. Please note that there is no single player campaign for Allegiance, only the training missions. This game was intended to be a multi-player game only.

Finding a game

1. Log in to ASGS, and once at the Allegiance splash screen, select Free Games
   • Allegiance will now update with new information from the servers, if required. This process can take a few minutes. In the background you will see the Message of the Day scrolling by. Links to additional Allegiance resources, and other useful information can be found there, feel free to read it as the game patches.
     
     
2. Click the Game List, or the Current Games Listings button once the patching process is finished.
   • This will take you to the master lobby list. By default games will be sorted in order of most players to least players. There are usually a few games going on at any given time.
     Placeholder
   • In the screen shot above, we can see 4 active games (the stick figure is running), and 3 games with players in them but have not yet started (the stick figure is standing). In Allegiance you can join a game already in progress.
     
     
     • Newbie Servers: Some servers have newbie in the name, for example EU Newbie Server DN. These are servers where you can more easily explore the flight controls and features of Allegiance, as well as play against other new players in relative peace.
     • However, once you're familiar with the game controls, we strongly encourage you to join the main server (i.e. whichever server has the most player - Planet 2 DN 04.60 in the screen shot above). Because Allegiance requires Commanders to manage the teams and the Commanders available on the Newbie Servers are extremely inexperienced, the games you play on the newbie servers will not reflect how the game is actually played, and you might pick up some unrealistic expectations or bad habits if you play on the newbie servers for too long.
     • Warning: Once your game rank has climbed above 7, playing on the newbie server will result in an immediate 24 hour Ban to your account.
       
       
3. Double click on the game which you want to join.
   • At this point you'll be looking at the game lobby for a specific game. Generally there are 2 teams, Blue and Yellow, though Allegiance can be played with up to 6 teams. There is also the Not On A Team group also known as NOAT where you will begin.
   • To join a team, simply double click on the team you wish to join and you will appear as a blinking player on that team which means that you are awaiting that team's Commander's approval to join; or you will be accepted instantly (Commander has toggled "Auto-Accept" to ON).
   • Please keep in mind that the team balance is very important to having a fun game, so try to join the team with the lowest number of Novice players, especially those that still have a (#) displayed next to their name.
   • Please be patient when you join, as a commander doesn't always notice new players right away, and it can take some time to navigate to the pilot menu, especially if the game is already in progress. If you're not getting accepted, you can send a private message to the team's commander. To do this click on their name (they are the one with a check mark in the column headed with a crown), and then type your message into the chat window. Just a gentle reminder (like “Accept please”) will either get you accepted or you will get an explanation as to why you're not being accepted.
   • NOTE: There are occasions when the teams are imbalanced in a way that the team with the fewest players also has the lowest team rank (the numbers in parentheses next to the team name). This may lead to a situation where you will not be accepted by the team with fewer players, because your rank is too low, but you will not be able to join the other team, because they have too many players. In situations like this, you will generally either have to wait until enough players join the low ranked team that you can try for a spot on the higher ranked team, or try another server. (I reccomend persuading a player on NOAT to join a the lower ranked team so you can hop on the higher.)
   • We realize this isn't always fun or fair, but with the limited size of our community, it's sometimes the only thing you can do. We ask for your patience and, with enough new players like you, we'll be able to grow the community to a point where things like this don't occur.
     
     
4. Once you're on a team you will have to wait for the game to start or, if you joined a game that is running, you will jump straight to the base screen. If you've followed the tutorials, you'll have some idea of where to go from here. For more information on the in game interface, and the rules of the game itself, please go to the Allegiance Academy Cadet 1 program [10].