NavigatingUse the mouse to control view, and the WASD keys to control movement. During flight, you may be in either first or third person view – each have their advantages and disadvantages. Third person perspective allows you to control your wasp from a more aback view, allowing for a much wider level of vision. Third person view is available at any time whilst controlling your character and is achieved by pressing F5, and again to revert back to first person.

Third person flight is good for getting a good overall, clear vision of what is ahead, but it can be difficult to control at times – this will vary depending on weather circumstances such as wind, as well as the strength and health of your wasp. Be steady with the mouse and keys during this time to maintain a balanced and intentful path, as crashing may result in a loss of health, or staying too close to danger such as a birds nest!

You will sometimes waver across the screen making things hard to control if you don’t pay attention.Hold shift whilst flying or walking to move faster. By default, in flight, you move at half speed.

Watch your mini-map carefully. As you explore, areas will reveal more clearly, starting as a mere fade, they will before stronger the more you explore the territory. For this reason you should stay close to the hive to begin with, gradually venturing further away.

Wasps also often use the Sun to navigate – with this in mind, take note of the direction of the Sun at different times during the day. At sunrise, the sun will always point towards the hive, and as such, away from it at sunset.

Whilst great for uncovering useful bits of information however, vision isn’t great in first person. For things such as combat, and moving around, third person is often more preferable.

First person view is useful primarily for finding out information such as scents and numbers. Whilst in first person view, you may see and deposit pheromone trails. These scents appear as bright colours on the screen, and represent different things. For example, red pheromone may indicate danger, yellow for territory, and green for food. Hovering over these with the crosshair may also reveal more information such as which wasp the trail was left by, or which hive the trail belongs to. The pheromones will fade with time and may also be affected by weather conditions.

Landing can be a difficult feat, but can be done in either third or first person view. To land, position the mouse so that the crosshair is pointed at where you want to land, and click to lock on to the target. Doing so will outstretch your legs and set your legs at the correct angle for landing there. Then simply fly toward that area, watching your speed and position carefully before touching down on the area. At this point you will return to walk mode. Holding shift to run and angling upwards will again return you to flight mode.

The Hive

The nest is where the bulk of socialising, storing food and tending to eggs take place, but it is also the place to manage egg production, worker distribution etc. To do so, you must first take the form of the queen wasp; as with any wasp in your hive, you can exchange bodies by getting close, moving the crosshair over the body and clicking when the ‘switch’ option becomes available.

Though you may wander freely around the nest, control of the queen wasp is limited – there is no reason to leave the hive (unless in the case of a swarm! But we’ll go into that another time), and the main purpose of taking her form is to manage nest attributes. These options will become available to you in an extra screen when in first person and appear as scattered sliders found around different areas of the nest.

The hive can be expanded to be rather large, accommodating up to 1000 wasps!

As an ordinary worker wasp, the main purpose of the hive is to store food, eat food, build and tend to eggs; all are actions that are done in first person view. Options for these actions will become available when directed toward, and close enough to certain areas such as cells(to deposit, or take food), edges of combs (where he nest could be expanded), or near laying sites (for tending to eggs and young, or, if you are a queen, laying).

Combat

Oftentimes you may find yourself in situations where you have just two options; fight or flight. If you decide to fight, understanding the mechanics and having good reflexes could be the difference between life and death.

Reasons for combat could include: Other wasps (Individuals, as well as mass attacks) Defending against predators Attacking prey

If you want to launch a surprise attack, you may like to sneak to make less noise (with ctrl), before sprinting (with shift) and launching into the enemy either with pincer posed (space) or by biting and mauling. Clicking on your target with the left mouse button when the action appears will make for an attempt to lock down and secure the enemy. At this point you can stab with your pincer, or use your jaws as well as the spurs in your legs. You will find that different types of attacks will have varying effects on your opponent and reactions, depending on species as well as other factors. There are many movements and attack combinations, the key combinations for which are explained in the game, but all can be adapted for different techniques and combat styles.

In a frenzy between hives, there will be much panic - Notice the strong red pheromone signals all around.

Predators and Humans

Though you might think of the wasp as an aggressor, you will actually have a lot of enemies to deal with and at times, the reckless aggression associated with you may suddenly seem very justified! You’ll have many things to watch out for as an individual wasp, such as:

Humans (Fly buzzer, swatting, poison, stamping) Birds (Magpies, starlings, blackbirds) Insects (Prey mantis, dragon flies, beetles, large moths. Other wasps) Amphibians (Frogs and toads)

When being attacked from above from something like a bird, flying insect, swatter, or foot, you will not have much time to react. Oftentimes you will see a shadow approaching overhead, and you must use your reflexes to avoid the danger.

Much of the defence against these predators involves simply avoiding them in the first place, or fleeing at the first sight of danger. Though you may sting enemies at will (between intervals of regenerating the toxins), there will be times when it is simply not worth the risk, but this depends on your style of play.

Avoiding predators involves keeping a keen eye on your surroundings. Danger pheromones are a sure sign that another wasp has been here and there was some cause of alarm. Listening out for sounds of frogs, birds, and humans may seem difficult at first, but this will soon become second nature and you will learn to swiftly avoid dangerous situations.

Sometimes you may come across electric fly buzzers. These can be very deadly and should be avoided at all costs. As a flying insect, being naturally drawn to these light, you will find that the closer you get the more drawn in you become, and the stronger the pull toward it. Keep your wits about you, and don’t get too close to avoid electrocution.

Collecting FoodThere are many areas food can be found, and many different types, depending on the time of year. The most common types would be fruit and nectars, insects such as caterpillars, and sometimes even human food such as jam or cake. Water can also be collected or drunk.

You may also need to keep your thirst up! You’ll know if your wasp is hungry or thirsty by visual signals on the screen and sounds. But be careful not to drown!

Most food items can be either eaten there and then, or taken back to the nest for young and the queen. Some of these foods will need to be cut around. And some food sorts such as smaller insects will first need to be paralysed or killed. Of course, as usual, these actions need to be initiated by pointing the cross-hair over the target and selecting the appropriate action. In the case of paralysation, or cutting around areas of food to carry, you will then have to position your sting or jaws around the exact area you wish you strike, before clicking, or clicking and dragging as necessary.