Gameplay

What you do in Airtime. Each page covers one area of the game.

File	What
learning.md	Learning the moves and finishing a jump for the first time: the first goal
mechanics/	How you move: strafe jumps, ice, walljumps, crouching, wall-runs, jetpacks, double jumps, gravity flips, zones, power-ups and more
runs.md	Runs, routes, stages, speedruns, practice vs timed, the splits timetable
ghosts.md	Competing with yourself and with other people's replays
multiplayer.md	Playing online together: realms, spectating, crews, and races, live events where you drop out once you fall
teams.md	Team modes: relays, team times, co-op maps
competition.md	Leaderboards, medals, rule sets and styles, events, ranks
building.md	Building maps, alone or together, while playing

Movement first, gunplay second. Airtime is about moving. Some sections give you a gun (a shootable switch, a story moment), but shooting is always the side dish, never the meal.

The core loop#

Two stages. Most new players spend days, sometimes a week, in the first one, and that's the game working as intended.

First: learn to finish.

Try the jump.
Fail, retry: one key, back to your saved spot.
Learn: watch a ghost do it, use the practice tools, practise one part with save / load.
Finish it once: the first big win.

Then: race.

Run: start the timer, get to the finish as fast as you can.
Fail, retry: one key, back to the start.
Improve: check your splits, race ghosts, find a faster line.
Beat a target: your best, a medal, a friend, the record.
Share: your run is a ghost for others, and your map is a place for others.

Every mode in these pages is a variation on these loops.