Frozen Synapse Interactive Tutorial

Part 1
 
Welcome to Frozen Synapse.
step72();  I'm sure we're both going to enjoy this equally.  Select the green unit by left-clicking on it.
step74();  To move a unit somewhere, make a waypoint by double-left-clicking.  Do this now in the glowing green 
step74a();  Your skill with clicking is astonishing.
step75();  Make another waypoint over here, this time by right-clicking in the box and selecting 'Add Waypoint'.  You can use either method any time you want to make a waypoint.
step76();  Now move the waypoint from the green box to the other green box by dragging it with the left mouse button.
step78();  Phenomenal.
step79();  Finally, delete all the waypoints by hitting 'Backspace' a couple of times.  That's 'Backspace', not 'Delete', which is used to delete individual plan elements.
step80();  When you place a waypoint, the system will calculate the best route of getting you to it.  Sometimes, you'll want to override this.
step84();  To do this, hold down 'Left Shift' when making or moving a waypoint.  Make a waypoint in the middle of that box by holding down 'Left Shift' and double-left-clicking.
step85();  That was relatively painless.  For you, anyway.  Let's move on.
Part 2
 
step89();  Now let's look at combat.
step90();  To win an encounter, you must consider four aspects: Range, Stillness, Aiming and Cover.  Let's look at what happens here.
step90a();  Our green unit was standing still: he had time to prepare.
step91();  His red antagonist had superior cover, however.
step92();  Cover is vital and one of the most important aspects of combat.
step93();  On the tactical display, the dark-blue cuboids are full-height walls.  The light-blue cuboids are half-height objects: boxes, windows, tables etc.  You can duck behind them and not be seen, and you can shoot over them in cover giving you a considerable firing advantage.
step94();  Let's quickly look at the time controls at the bottom of the screen.  It's pretty simple, just press the |< button to go to the beginning of the turn, and the > / || button to play or pause.  Very straightforward.  Just press > to see the action again and we'll move on.Matches are divided into turns.  Every turn has a Planning Phase and an Outcome.  In the Planning Phase, you make plans for your units and test them by pressing play, just as we have been doing.  When your plan is complete, hit the PRIME button to commit it.  You don't need to do that now: click 'NEXT'.

Part 3
 
step98();  In a moment, we'll test this plan and see what happens.  The objective is to shoot from behind the window and eliminate this red enemy.  Machine gunners engage automatically when they acquire visual on a hostile.
step99();  
step104();  Our unit gets shot before he can get to cover.  To evade this attack, we need to use a Continue On Sight (COS) order: this will make our unit continue moving without engaging: very useful.  Select the highlighted waypoint with the left mouse button.
step105();  Now open the Orders menu by right-clicking, and select 'Continue On Sight'.  Obviously.Good, the order has been added to the plan.  Click 'NEXT'.
step107();  We're getting there, but we now want our unit to revert back to his default state ('Engage on Sight') in order to take this hostile out.  Select the highlighted waypoint.
step108();  Open the orders menu (right-click) and select an 'Engage on Sight' (EOS) order.
step109();  Ok, let's play it.  Click 'NEXT'.
step110();  Congratulations: you are no longer a total incompetent.  Let's move on to something more stimulating.

Part 4
 
step201();  By default, units aim in the direction they are travelling.  It is possible, thankfully, to aim any direction we choose.
step202a();  Select the highlighted waypoint.
step203();  The 'Aim Handle' is always floating near your current selection - it's the small circular icon which looks like a crosshair.  Drag this out into that green box over the left-hand enemy.
step204();  The Aim Line we have created forces the unit to look in the direction of the arrow, and continue looking there as he moves along.  When a unit is aiming, he will move more slowly; however, he will also have an advantage when he engages an enemy.
step205();  Time to do something on your own.  Click on the next waypoint in the plan, then create another Aim Line to take out that unit to the right.  When you're happy, press play (on the Time Bar at the bottom of the screen) to test your plan.  When you have successfully taken out the two hostiles, we will move on.
step206();  You may not be able to divine this from my demeanour, but I am unbelievably impressed.
step207();  Aiming is very useful, but sometimes you will want to revert units to their default state.  Select the highlighted waypoint inside the green glowing box.
step208();  Now open the orders menu (right-click) and choose 'Cancel Aim'.As you see, your unit stops aiming when he executes the Cancel Aim order.  He will now move faster, looking straight ahead, but lose his aiming advantage.

Part 5
 
step209();  Here's a new situation: as you can see, we have a unit in some difficulty.  We have a basic plan, but it doesn't look like our unit will escape...
step209a();  Oh dear.
step210();  The small clock-like circle to the lower-right of every waypoint is a Time Handle.  If you drag it to the right, our unit will wait there for some time.  Have a go with the first waypoint.
step211();  Good.  Now, by waiting for about two seconds at the first waypoint, get our unit out of there alive.  You can use the spacebar as a shortcut for the play button, by the way.  Test the plan now by playing it.
step212();  Good work.  Let's move on.

Part 6
 
step213();  Units can duck behind cover.  The order is available from the right-click orders menu or you can shortcut to it with the 'd' key. 
step217();  Our unit ducks behind the crate and shoots the first enemy.  He needs to turn to face the other enemy before he comes around the crate.  Select the unit, drag out the time handle, left-click to select a little way along it, then drag the Aim Handle to create an Aim Line.  If it's all too much, you can skip this section and I'll show you the answer.  Press space to test your plan.
skipQuiz1();  
step217a();  Here's how to do it.
skipQuiz2();  We can move on now.
step218();  Very good!

Part 7
 
step219();  Time to cause some ridiculous explosions.
step223();  Units with explosive projectiles (the Rocket Launcher and Grenade Launcher) behave differently to other unit types, in that they don't engage automatically.  Believe me, it's better that way: you should have seen the early tests.  Essentially, you have to tell them where and when to fire.
step225();  Fire a rocket by using the Aim Handle.   Select the Rocket Launcher unit and create an aim line to blow a hole in this wall.  Press play to test the plan.  We'll move on when all of the hostiles have been neutralised.  If you make a mistake use backspace and delete to reset your plan.
step226();  Explosions are usually fun for all involved.  Let's continue.

Part 8
 
step256();  How can we resolve this situation?  We want our unit to pop out and shoot the nearer enemy before the sniper gets a shot off.  We then want to move around and engage the sniper.
step257();  We need to tell our unit to ignore the sniper to begin with.  Select the highlighted waypoint.
step258();  Now right-click *on* the sniper, and select 'Ignore Enemy' from the orders menu.You need to right-click actually on the sniper, which is the top enemy unit
step259();  Good.  We want to target him later on though, so select the newly-highlighted waypoint...
step260();  Now open the orders menu (right mouse button) and select 'Clear Focus/Ignore'.
step2615();  Good. From looking at you, I can tell you'll need further help.  This can be acquired by clicking the '?' icon in the top-left in the Main Menu to read the manual.  Don't do this now, we don't have time.
step2616();  You can also click on the '?' icon at other times...
step2617();  In multiplayer games, it will give you some brief information about the current game mode.
step2618();  In single player games, it will replay the mission briefing at any point.
step261();  Your training is complete.  I feel that we have both achieved something today.
exitTutorial(true);