This ReadMe documents a few of the features and options available in UnWheel, as well as providing a basic outline of gameplay.

It should be noted that UnWheel has been tested and works with with UT2004 patched version 3369. In addition, it requires the freely downloadable "UT2004 Editor's Choice Edition". If you do not have these installed already, you can download them from BeyondUnreal.

The UnWheel download is provided in two formats - an installer for Windows users, and a plain Zip file for Linux users and servers. Installation instructions for both are provided below:

EXE Installer:
The EXE installer is recommended for Windows users, it will place all the files in the correct locations automatically, and provides uninstall support.

Once you have downloaded the file, simply double-click it and follow the on-screen prompts. Make sure you select your Unreal Tournament 2004 installation directory as the target location or UnWheel won't work.

The installer will also create a selection of shortcuts in your Start Menu. The "Play UnWheel" will launch UnWheel for you. If you're interested in creating custom content for UnWheel, the "UnWheelEd" shortcut will launch UnrealEd with support for UnWheel.

Zip install:
The zip install is recommended for users who don't use Windows or for server installations where a graphical install may not be possible.

Start by creating an "UnWheel" directory inside your UT2004 installation directory, then, extract the contents of the .zip download to the UT2004\UnWheel directory.

Because UnWheel now runs as a standalone mod, you do not need to modify any of your regular UT2004 configuration options, simply start the server with whatever options you need defined in UnWheel's config file (UT2004\UnWheel\UnWheel.ini), remembering to include the "-mod=UnWheel" option on the server commandline.

If you would like to disable certain vehicles from specific gametypes for whatever reason, you can do the following for each of UnWheel's gametypes in your server's main .ini file:

[UnWheel.UWGameRace]
DisallowVehicles=UWSCarCentipede;UWSCarPOSCar;UWSCarNassau;UWSCarSemiRace

In the above example for the Race gametype, we have listed a collection of vehicle classes seperated by a semi-colon (';') - this list defines which vehicles a player will not be able to use. You can find a complete list of vehicle classes in the UnWheelSCars.int file.

There are two ways of launching UnWheel.

The first, is to use the "Play UnWheel" shortcut in your Start Menu, if you used the Windows installer to install UnWheel.

Alternatively, or if you installed from a plain zip file, you can launch UnWheel from within a regular Unreal Torunament 2004 session. From the main menu, choose the "Community" option, then go to the "Mods" tab of the menu that opens. You should have "UnWheel" as an option in the list of installed mods, simply select it and click "Activate" to launch UnWheel.

Once in UnWheel, things behave pretty much like they do in UT2004. Use the "Practice" option to play offline/single player. "Join" to browse for and join multiplayer servers on the internet or LAN, and "Host" to start your own server.

When the map has loaded or you join a multiplayer server, you will be prompted to select your vehicle. Just click one in the list on the left and you will see a 3D rotating view of it.

You may also sleect an alternate skin for your vehicle from the skins list below the vehicle preview.

Once you are happy with your vehicle and skin selection, click the "Select" button to enter the game with your chosen vehicle.

In multiplayer games, if a server administrator has disabled any specific vehicles, you will not be able to select those vehicles - the "Select" button will become disabled when a disallowed vehicle is selected.

Additionally, the vehicle selection screen also offers you the option of selecting Mouse Steering, which will allow you to steer by moving the mouse from side to side.

Also, in Race and Rally, you are able to choose wether your lap times should be uploaded to the UnWheel lap record database.

The controls for UnWheel are fairly simple. Use your move forwards/backwards keys to accellerate and brake (once you have come to a stop, pressing backwards will make you reverse). To steer, use the strafe left/right keys.

Pressing the jump key will cause you to use the handbrake, which can help you around sharp corners or make quick 180 degree turns.

Use the mouse scroll wheel ( or your next and previous weapon keys) to move the camera view closer or further from your vehicle. While using the 'Drop Cam', this will cause your view to zoom in or out.

Pressing Fire or Alt-Fire will play a horn sound effect.

Mouse Steering
UnWheel features an easy-to-use mouse steering option (which you can enable from the Vehicle Selection display when starting a game). To steer with your mouse, simply face the camers in the direction you want to go and your vehicle will steer and adjust to ensure you end up driving that way. Note: Works best with the "Free Camera" camera mode.

In addition to the above standard controls, the following are also available and can be set to specific keys from the Controls Configuration options screen:

Turbo
- When you engage the Turbo, you will get a short boost of improved acceleraton and top speed. While in use, your turbo bar (lower-left of HUD) will decrease. Once it's run out, you will need to wait for it to recharge over time before you can use it again.
Flip
- If you roll or flip your vehicle and end up upside-down, you can quickly correct your vehicle by flipping it onto it;s wheels.
Full Reset
- You can use a full reset to place your vehicle back at the last waypoint/checkpoint/goal you were at. Useful if you get yourself into a sticky situation.
Toggle camera
- Toggles between the free camera (default view) and the fixed behind view (more like a traditional racing game view)
Drop camera
- 'Drops' the camera at it's current location and focuses on your vehicle. Using the next/previous weapon keys or mouse wheel will cause the view to zoom in or out.
Rear View
- If you are using the fixed behind view, holding the Rear view key will flip the camera around so you can see what's behind you. Releasing the key will return your view to normal.

Below is a brief outline of each of the numbered HUD elements to the right:

1: Game summary
This area normally holds your score or lap count, as well as your position in the game.

2: Navigator
The navigator helps you find your way to your objectives in the game. The rotation of the direction finder is relative to the direction your vehicle is facing, so when the direction finder it at the top of the circle, your goal or objective is straight in front of your vehicle, if it's at the bottom of the circle, your goal or objective is behind you. In addition, the colour of the direction finder will change based on the distance to your goal or objective - yellow means it's very far away, red means it's very close. In team games, indicator's are added pointing to each base.

3: Extra information
Any extra or useful information specific to the gametype you are playing will be displayed in this area.

4: Speed, Turbo and Damage
This area displays 3 bits of information relating to your vehicle's status:
Speed: Your current speed - either forward or reverse. It has no bearing on real-life KM/h or M/h, and is just used as an indicator so you may judge your relative speed.
Turbo: Amount of turbo boost you have remaining. When you use turbo, it'll drop rapidly, and then slowly recharge over time.
Damage: The amount of damage your vehicle has taken. Smashing into roadside obsticals and other vehicles will inflict damage on your vehicle. As you take more damage, your vehicle will become slower and slower, so it's best to avoid crashing. In Race and Rally, some tracks may have a pit lane which you can drive through to get some of the damage repaired, and in Wrecker, you can park on roam points to repair slowly.

5: Mini score-board
It's not always convenient to switch to the full score-board mid-game to keep track of player positions, so this mini score-board will display the top 3 players and their scores/laps. In team games, it will show each teams's score, and the score required to win.

6: Race progress indicator
On Race or Rally maps, this progress bar will appear. You are the green dot, all other vehicles are red dots. In race, the bar is divided up into however many laps there are. It helps to judge everyone's positions in the race at a glance.

The various UnWheel game types are straight-forward and easy to pick up on pretty quicky. Here's a short description of each one:

Roamer
In Roamer, players score by driving over various 'roam points' in various locations. After scoring at one roam point, one of the other roam points will become active. The red target indicator on the top of the HUD will point towards the active roam point. Follow it to the next roam point to score. To win, a player must reach the score limit by driving over as many roam points as possible, as quickly as possible.

King of the Hill
To win a King of the Hill round, players must try to keep control of a specific area of the map. More than one player can in fact be the 'king' at once, so players must try to knock other players out and keep them out of the 'hill' area while still trying to stay in themselves. For every few seconds a player manages to stay in the scoring area, a point is awarded until a player can reach the target number of points to win.

Race
Racing really needs no explination. Players are placed on a track which they must follow to complete laps. All checkpoints placed at various points around the track must be driven through in order to complete a lap. The first player to complete the specified number of laps wins.

Rally
Like Race, but Rally takes place over a much longer course and there are no laps. The first player to complete the course wins.

Capture the Flag
(Free-for-all CTF gameplay) A flag is spawned at any one of a number of possible locations in a map which players must drive over in order to pick up. After picking up a flag, the player with the flag will be giuded toward the capture point by the target indicator, while the other player's target indicators point out the location of the flag carrier. Players can steal the flag from the carrier by bumping into him. Any player who enters the capture point while holding a flag will be awarded a point. Once a flag capture is scored, a flag will be re-spawned somewhere in the map. To win, a player must reach the capture limit.

Rabbit
In Rabbit, a flag is spawned in the map and players must pick it up by driving over it. Once a player has the flag, that player will score one point every second. Other players may steal the flag by bumping into the player with the flag. The player who reaches the score limit first by holding the flag the longest, wins.

Big Air
The goal of Big Air is to get the most stunt points as quickly as possible. You can gain stunt points by making jumps - rewards are based on how far the jump is, and if you managed and mid-air rolls or similar stunts. For every 10 stunt points you earn, your score is increased by 1.

Wrecker
Wrecker is a typical "Destruction Derby" type game. The only goal is to be the last man standing. You'll need to wreck as many of the opposition vehicles as possible, while trying not to get wrecked yourself. As it's played on Roamer maps, you can drive onto a roam point to get repaired. Repairing is fairly slow hoever, and you'll be a sitting target while waiting to repair. Be on the lookout for other drivers attempting to repair as well.

Team Capture the Flag
Team CTF works much like traditional Capture the Flag. Two teams, red and blue, each have a base and a flag they need to defend, while trying to steal the other team's flag. Players must drive over the enemy's flag in order to pick it up. They then need to get the flag back to their base and drive over their own flag to secure the capture. After a capture, the enemy flag is returned to it's base. Flags can be passed to team-mates by driving into them. Flags can be stolen by the enemy in the same manner. Once you take your flag from an enemy trying to capture it, you will need to return it to your base to secure it. Players already holding flags cannot take flags from other players. If a player holding a flag resets or enter an out of bounds area, the flag is passed to the nearest enemy or friend, however if there are no players able to take the flag, it will be reset to it's base. The first team to reach the goal score, wins the round.

Team KBall
Team KBall is UnWheel's equivalent to Soccer. Each team starts on a side of the 'field', and a KBall is spawned in the middle. Each team needs to knock the ball around and try to score in the other team's goal. The HUD navigator will show a green indicator which points toward the ball. The first team to score the requireg number of goals, wins.

Race and Rally both offer the option for you to record your best lap times to the UnWheel lap record database, for other players around the world to try to beat.

Current lap records may be viewed in-game via the "Lap Records" button on the UnWheel main menu, or via a key press you can define in the Control Configuration, to view records mid-game.

In-game record browser: Using the in-game record browser, you can view the top records for any maps you have installed. Just select a map from the drop-list at the bottom, and the records will be retreived from the online database. The top 3 times are displayed at the top, and the following 10 closest times are listed below that. You can also see which vehicle the player used to set each record.

Each player may only hold a single record for each track. In other words, each time you better your own record on a specific track, it will overwrite the old one, and the old record will be discarded.

From time-to-time, the record database may be reset without warning. This is done to ensure there is always competition and there are never 'unbreakable' records hanging around for too long.

A much more flexable record viewer is also avaialble via the UnWheel website, which lets you view more than just the top 10 records, and allows filtering by tracks, players and vehicles.