Cool Stuff : TF Tips : Status Bar
Status Bar Stuff

If you don't know what the status bar is in TeamFortress, then you're missing out on one of the most useful built-in commands for Scout, Spy and Engineer, and can be useful for other classes too. On this page, we'll explain why you should be using it (and how to)!

Topics covered about the status bar on this page:
How to use the Status Bar
Scout Status Bar
Spy Status Bar
Engineer Status Bar
The Rest of the classes

 
How to use the status bar
Players can turn on a status bar which displays various game details, such as the team scores and the number of shots left in your clip, as well as specific class details, such as your current skin/color if you're a spy.
The commands to use it are:
"sbar_on"
This turns the status bar on. If it's already on, it toggles the status bar between two positions. The two positions are designed to put the status bar at the right place on your screen, depending on how you have your console. If you play with no or half console, you want position 2, and if you play with full console you want position 1.
"sbar_off"
Turns the status bar off.
"sbar_200" "sbar_240" "sbar_300" "sbar_350" "sbar_384" "sbar_400" "sbar_480" "sbar_600" "sbar_768"
These commands tell the status bar which screen resolution you're running in, so it knows where to put itself. The res you want to use is the one that corresponds to the Y value in the res you run quake in.
e.g. if you run quake in 320x200, use "sbar_200"
But, in QuakeWorld there's a much better way to set your status bar position. Edit the config.cfg file in your quake\fortress directory and put in the following lines:
setinfo sbar_size [position]
setinfo sbar_res [resolution]
Where:
[position] is either 1, 2, or 3. The position you should use depends on how much of a console you use:
1 : Full Console
2 : Half or No Console
[resolution] is either 200, 240, 300, 350, 384, 400, 480, 600, or 768. It should correspond to the Y value of the res you run quake in.
Then, whenever you connect to a QW TF server, it'll automatically turn on the status bar with these settings.
For example, I run quake in 320x240, with half the console up. In my config.cfg, I've got these two lines:
setinfo sbar_size 2
setinfo sbar_res 240
These commands only work in QuakeWorld. The text above was taken from the TF2.5 Readme (46kb).

 

Scout Status Bar
The scout class has an inbuilt scanning function which can detect enemys (including flags/sentrys/classes) or friendlies.
The command is "autoscan". This command turns on/off the scout scanner. It will keep sending out "bursts" every 2 seconds while it is on. It is defaulted to only scan for enemies (this includes players, sentries and flags/goal items), but can be changed by using the commands "scane" (scan enemies) and "scanf" (scan friendlies). You CAN have both set. Also, the statusbar will report what your scanner has detected (i.e., "Red Soldier", "Blue Sentry", etc.) and it's range from you in approximate meters. There are other aliases you can use to control the amount of cells it uses, you can read more about that in the Team Fortress readme.
Default Commands:
scane : Toggle detection of enemies with the Scanner
scanf : Toggle detection of friendlies with the Scanner
scan10 : Scan using 10 cells
scan30 : Scan using 30 cells
scan100 : Scan using 100 cells

The Blue: 0 and Red: 0 means noone has capped, it's the scores of the game. If blue have capped 3 times, it will say Blue: 30 and Red: 0, etc.
What you see: (Scout Scanner/Status Bar)
Scanner Off
Close Enemy
Close Enemy SentryGun
Ahh there it is (Range 25)
Click for bigger view (29kb)

 

Spy Status Bar
With Spy, the status bar can be particularly useful. It will tell you when you are going undercover, and after you are disguised, what skin and colour you are. In the bottom screenshots, I was on the red team. So when it says "Disguised as Sniper", I was a red sniper. When I changed my colour to blue, it said Blue Sniper.

It's handy to have the status bar on, to check what class you are, especially if you're changing classes as you kill that class (as in, u go ramps, kill soldier, then change to soldier, etc). If a scout "undisguises you" or you run out of cells (remember, while disguised, you are constantly running out of cells, if you are left with no cells, you will be undisguised and won't be able to disguise until you find some cells) then you will know about it from your status bar, even if you didn't get to read the text. 
What you see as Spy (Click the pic for more)
When you're disguising
Disguised as Sniper
Disguised as Blue Sniper

  

Engineer Status Bar
The status bar is the most fantastic invention when it comes to the Engineer. If you leave your sentry, you can still tell if someone is damaging it, or if it is running out of ammo (not pictured, but if it runs out of shells, it will tell you on your status bar as it is running out. so just go back to your sentry and fill it up!).
What you see as Engineer: (click on pics for a better idea)
Building a SentryGun
Level 1 Sentry Gun, Full Health
Level 2 Sentry Gun, Full Health
Level 3 Sentry Gun, Full Health, No Rockets
Level 3 Sentry Gun, Full Health, Full Ammo
Some bastard shooting your sentrygun. 
Warn others or fix it up quick!
All Classes Status Bar
 

Ok, what you'll see with ALL classes, including the classes above that has extra commands, is the team scores. In the thumbnail above, you'll see that neither team has capped. But if for example, blue had capped 3 times, then the status bar would say Blue: 30 Red: 0. Get it? :)

Also, in all classes, if your class has a reload option on the weapon, it will let you know how many you have in the clip. If you were engineer, with the double-barrelled shotgun selected, it might say 16, then tell you how many you have in the clip after each shot. With soldier (rocket launcher selected) it will say 4, as in 4 rockets left until reload.

Need anymore help on Status Bar stuff? Go to the Message Board and type your question, there's always someone around to answer your questions.