Console (video game CLI)

Console (video game CLI)

A console is a command line interface where the personal computer game's settings and variables can be edited while the game is running. Consoles also usually display a log of warnings, errors, and other messages produced during the program's execution. Typically it can be toggled on or off and appears over the normal game view.

The console is normally accessed by pressing the backtick key ` (frequently also called the ~ key; normally located below the ESC key) on QWERTY keyboards or the ² on AZERTY keyboards, and is usually hidden by default. In most cases it cannot be accessed unless enabled by either specifying a command line argument when launching the game or by changing one of the game's configuration files.

History

A classic console is a box that scrolls down from the top of the screen, and is found in most computer games. This style was made popular with Quake (1996). There are other forms of console:

  • Quake III Arena has one or two consoles, depending on the platform the game was released for. The first is the internal console, which exists on all platforms. The second is an external console, created via the Windows API. The console printing function directs to both, likewise, both consoles can also have text input to them. The external console is used for dedicated servers and to log startup of the engine. Finally, the external console is also used to show errors and display debugging output should the game crash.
  • Dark Engine's console shows output up to 4 lines in length and is accessed by pressing 3 particular keys at the same time.
  • Lithtech's console has no output and is used mainly for entering cheat codes.
  • The Source engine's console is a window all by itself.

Common commands

  • sv_cheats 1: Used to activate cheats in Quake engine or Source engine based games.
  • god: Used to toggle God mode.
    • buddha: Similar to god mode in Source games, but the player can take damage down to a health of 1, but not die.
  • noclip or ghost: Used to toggle Noclip mode.
  • fly: Similar to Noclip mode, the player is only constrained to the walls and boundaries of the map.
  • impulse 101: Used to spawn all items in a game at the player's exact position for a moment to give the player every item in Half-Life based games. Similar to "giveall".
  • giveall or give all Gives every item in the game.
  • addbots (number): When AI bots are available, this will add a number of bots equal to the number inputted by the player.
  • allammo: Gives the player maximum ammo.
  • kill or suicide: Causes the player to die, used when a player gets stuck during a game.
    • explode: In Source games, this will cause the player to explode.
      • Left 4 Dead being a notable exception, where the explode command was used to trigger the Boomer's on-death attack prematurely.
  • give or summon: When used with the name of an entity, spawns that entity at the players location.
  • quit: Quits the game immediately

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Console — Contents 1 Computing and video games 2 Music 3 Other 4 Se …   Wikipedia

  • Source (game engine) — Source engine …   Wikipedia

  • Tilde — For the baseball player known as the Big Tilde, see Magglio Ordóñez.  ◌̃ Tilde Punctuation …   Wikipedia

  • Amiga — Cet article a pour sujet les ordinateurs Amiga. Pour une définition du mot « amiga », voir l’article amiga du Wiktionnaire. Amiga 500 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Linux — This article is about operating systems that use the Linux kernel. For the kernel itself, see Linux kernel. For other uses, see Linux (disambiguation). Linux …   Wikipedia

  • Kinect — for Xbox 360 …   Wikipedia

  • Home computer — A home computer was a class of personal computer entering the market in 1977 and becoming common during the 1980s. [ [http://www.homecomputer.de/ Home of the home computer] website] They were marketed to consumers as accessible personal computers …   Wikipedia

  • Cross-platform — For a type of interchange between different lines in a metro system, see cross platform interchange. In computing, cross platform, or multi platform, is an attribute conferred to computer software or computing methods and concepts that are… …   Wikipedia

  • List of proprietary software for Linux — Though Linux is an open source operating system and usually comes bundled with free and open source software, proprietary software for Linux does exist and is available to end users. The following is a list of proprietary software for Linux:… …   Wikipedia

  • Personal computer — This article is about personal computers in general. For computers generally referred to as PCs , see IBM PC compatible. For hardware components dealing with personal computers, see Personal computer hardware. Personal computer An illustration of …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”