How Meridian works

What is Meridian?

Meridian is a 3D first-person shooter for two to eight players that runs entirely in your browser – no install, no launcher, no account. Open the link, type a name, play. You fight on two compact, symmetrical maps, free-for-all or in two teams. If players are missing, bots at three levels fill the match.

Meridian sticks to classic arena basics: everyone starts with the same assault rifle, and stronger weapons and health sit at fixed spots on the map. There are no classes, no unlocks and no advantages from playtime. Whoever aims better and knows the map better wins.

Controls

• WASD – move
• Mouse – look around
• Left click – shoot, right click – aim
• Space – jump
• R – reload
• Tab – scoreboard
• Esc – release the mouse and open the menu

On phones and tablets there are touch controls with a stick to move, swiping to look around and buttons to shoot, aim, jump and reload. Set mouse sensitivity and field of view in the menu.

The weapons

Assault rifle

The standard weapon everyone starts with. 30 rounds per magazine, about ten shots per second, 20 damage per hit, headshots double. Reloading takes just under two seconds. From the hip it spreads noticeably; aiming with right click makes it much more accurate and zooms in slightly. The longer you hold the trigger, the more it spreads.

Shotgun

Lies on the map to be picked up. Each shot fires nine pellets with 11 damage each. At close range that is almost a guaranteed kill; from about seven metres the effect drops, and beyond a good 25 metres only a quarter is left. Eight shells, then you automatically switch back to the assault rifle.

Marksman rifle

Also a pickup. 90 damage per hit, and a headshot is always lethal. Right click zooms in four times and you hit exactly where the crosshair is. From the hip, while running or mid-jump, though, it spreads a lot. Five rounds, with a little over a second between shots.

Health

Health packs restore 50 health and reappear 15 seconds after being picked up. Weapons respawn after 20 seconds.

Rules

Every player has 100 health. If you are taken out, you rejoin after three seconds and are briefly invulnerable. The winner is whoever reaches 15, 25 or 40 kills first – in team mode the whole team's kills count. The match ends after 5 or 10 minutes at the latest.

The maps

• Atrium: an exposed-concrete courtyard in the afternoon, with galleries, stairs, planters and a water basin. The map is rotationally symmetrical around its centre, so no spawn has an advantage. The galleries are good spots for the marksman rifle; down in the courtyard the shotgun decides.
• Shipyard: a harbour in the evening, with containers, crates, barrels, loading docks and a crane. Mirrored along its long axis. There are lots of narrow lanes and corners between the containers – learning the routes pays off here.

Multiplayer

One player creates a game and gets a five-character code. The others type it in or open the link. The host's browser runs the match, and everyone else connects directly to it (WebRTC). To keep hits fair, the host briefly rewinds on every shot: it checks against the positions the shooter saw on their screen at that moment. If you had the head in your crosshair, you hit the head – even with a bit of lag on the line.

Strategy and tips

• Aim at head height. With the assault rifle, headshots cut the hits you need: three instead of five.
• Short bursts. Holding the trigger spreads more and more. Three or four shots, pause briefly, carry on.
• Stand still to shoot. All weapons spread more while running and especially mid-jump.
• Pick your range. The shotgun wins every close-range duel, the marksman rifle every long one. Don't fight at your opponent's range.
• Reload behind cover. Just under two seconds is an eternity in the open.
• Track the pickups. Remember when you took a health pack. It's back after 15 seconds – for you or your opponent.

Common beginner mistakes

• Firing the marksman rifle from the hip. Without the zoom it hardly hits anything.
• Using the shotgun at range – beyond 25 metres it barely tickles.
• Always taking the same route. Opponents and bots quickly learn where you'll show up.
• Mouse sensitivity too high. Set it so you can aim calmly, even if turning around takes longer.

Frequently asked questions

How good are the bots?

That depends on the level. Bots only see what they can actually see, need reaction time, can't turn arbitrarily fast and aim with an error that grows with distance. Hard bots react quickly and hit well; easy ones are there for practice.

Is Meridian suitable for children?

Meridian is a shooter, even if it has simple characters and nothing graphic. Parents should decide for themselves whether it fits.

What is saved?

Your name, sound, mouse sensitivity and field of view, in your browser's local storage. There is no account.

Behind the scenes

Every map in Meridian is a height grid of one-metre cells: each cell has a height, from the floor through steps and cover up to a wall, and there are no overhangs. That way every computer calculates exactly the same – characters are upright boxes, shots travel cell by cell through the grid, and bots find their way as if on a chessboard. Textures, models and sounds are all generated in the browser, and not a single image is downloaded. That is why the game is ready to play within seconds.