: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : H A L F - L I F E A D V A N C E D M U L T I P L A Y E R : : : : G U I D E : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : v.70 (4/6/00) Updated for Half-Life version 1.0.1.6 Best viewed in Windows Wordpad (no word wrap required). See bottom of this document for copyright information. By: Josh R. (Email: joshr@tcac.net) (ICQ #: 34384634) Half-Life Alias: (CF)-[DS]Hostage Found at: http://cfds.cjb.net (our clan website) (this guide is not there yet) http://www.gamefaqs.com http://www.gameadvice.com http://home.planetinternet.be/~twuyts/ (Disclaimer: The stuff in this guide is mostly my opinion spilled out onto a text document...so if you don't like it, tuff. :P) PLEASE EMAIL ME WITH ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE!! I AM WILLING TO HELP!! THE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS SECTION NEEDS TO GROW!! ----------------- Table O' Contents ----------------- (1.) Updates (2.) Intro (3.) Stuff You Should Already Know (3.1) Abbreviations (3.1.1) Expression Abbreviations (3.1.2) People Abbreviations (3.1.3) Weapon/Item Abbreviations (3.1.4) Other Abbreviations (3.2) Other Configs You Should Have (4.) Stuff You Need to Learn (4.1) Hardware (4.2) General Config Tweaks (4.3) Binding (4.3.1) Binding Sayings (4.3.2) Binding Weapons (4.3.3) Binding Cheats (4.4) Tau Cannon Tips (4.4.1) Shooting Through The Wall With The Tau (4.4.2) Tau Jumping (4.5) Combos (4.6) Bots (4.7) Demos (4.8) Other Playing Tips (5.) My Stuff and How I Learned It (5.1) My Configs (5.2) My Combos (5.3) My Favorite Servers (6.) Map-Specific Strategies (6.1) Boot_Camp (6.2) Crossfire (6.3) Stalkyard (7.) Frequently Asked Questions (8.) Other Links (8.1) General (8.2) Models (8.3) Maps (8.4) Console Commands (8.5) Logos (8.6) Communication (8.7) Sounds (8.8) Speed Tweaking (8.9) Bots (8.10) Binding (9.) Outro (10.) Special Thanks and Other Info (10.1) Special Thanks (10.2) Contributing (10.3) Copyright Info :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- : :- (1.) U p D a T e S - : :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- : v.70 (4/6/00) - Added a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section. - Updated my config.cfg file and my autoexec.cfg file with some brand new strategies of speeding up your gameplay. - Added some more links to the Other Links section. - Added a My Favorite Server section to My Stuff and How I Learned It - Added a tip in the Other Configs You Should Have section of Stuff You Should Already Know. - Added map tips and tricks for stalkyard. - Added some more people to Special Thanks. - Added a new place where this guide will be found. - Corrected a few typos here and there, ya know. v.60 (3/31/00) - Removed a tip. - Moved the Links To Websites About Binding down to the Other Links section, and moved the Bot links to the Other Links section as well. - Added a few new links to the Other Links section. - Added map tips and tricks for crossfire. - Edited map tips and tricks a bit for boot_camp. - Added a new place where this guide will be found. v.55 (3/28/00) - Added Demos section under Stuff You Need To Learn. - Added map tips and strats for boot_camp. - Fixed some minor errors. v.50 (3/25/00) - First version of this guide. :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- : :- (2.) I n T r O - : :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- : Hey!! I decided to write this because I have seen a lot of guides around the 'net dedicated to Half-Life, but almost none dedicated to telling the players how to actually be considered good (and, yes, I had to learn this on my own, and trust me, it wasn't fun. lol). Hopefully, this will help you a bit in your quest to becoming "good" at Half-Life and not be labeled a newbie your whole life, or I should say your "half-life" :P. This guide assumes that you know how to play and are used to your own controls. But, I give my controls if you want to tweak yours (although mine probably aren't any different from any of yours). Also, it assumes you know which weapon is which and what primary and secondary fire on each weapon does. If you need to experiment, go ahead and do so before reading ahead. One more thing before I start the rest of this guide. What's the definition of a good Half-Life player? Well, in my opinion, it comes down to 3 factors: Aim, Memorization, and Evasion (AME). You've got to know how to hit the guys, where things are in the map you're playing on, and how to keep from getting hit by the enemy as much as you can. That's what this guide is for ... to help you with these tasks and make them more clear so that you can improve at Half-Life. Two words also come to mind: practice and experience. Without these two things, you are doomed to crappiness at Half-Life forever :). Well, read this guide and I hope you learn something. Just remember, most of being good is your own experiences, so this is just to get you started on that long road to becoming respected. :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- : :- (3.) S t U f F y O u S h O u L d a L r E a D y K n O w - : :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- : This guide wasn't meant to be a total explanation of how to play Half- Life, just to help you improve a bit and provide some info you might not know. But, there are several of you out there that should probably read through this part of the guide anyways, even if you THINK you know it all. You should already be familiarized with the interface of Half-Life deathmatch (no, deathmatch is NOT Team Fortress dammit) and with what all the weapons/items do. You should also have a basic idea of what most of the maps that came with Half-Life look like. : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : (3.1) ABBREVIATIONS : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : You should also know what some abbreviations mean that might be said in-game. Read the list below and make sure you know what these abbreviations mean so you won't have to ask during a game and be considered a newbie. (3.1.1) EXPRESSION ABBREVIATIONS -------------------------------- lol Laughing Out Loud OR Laughing OnLine rofl Rolling On the Floor Laughing gg Good Game g/g Gotta Go brb Be Right Back bbl Be Back Later afk Away From Keyboard plz Please rdy Ready omg Oh My Gosh shhhhh newbie A guy that thinks he is good telling a player that he thinks sucks to stop whining (I used to get this alot) fyi For Your Information jk, j/k Just Kidding thx Thanks ty Thank You gl Good Luck np No Problem nm Nevermind c See r Are u You k OK b4 Before thru Through ne1 Anyone (3.1.2) PEOPLE ABBREVIATIONS ---------------------------- peeps People lpb Low Ping Butthead (someone with low latency) hpb High Ping Butthead (someone with high latency) hpw High Ping Whiner (someone with high latency that whines a lot about it); This can also mean High Ping Warrior, in other words someone that is really good for their ping. newbie or newb Someone who is new to the game or just plain sucks at it. camper Someone that stays in a certain spot to get items and kills and almost never moves. tau jumper Someone who uses the Tau Cannon to jump around while shooting and trying not to get hit, or who uses it to run. scrub Someone who sucks or deserves to have Chinese nipple torture performed on them because of how low they are. (3.1.3) WEAPON/ITEM ABBREVIATIONS --------------------------------- Rocket Launcher rpg, rocket launcher .357 Magnum mag Machine Gun mp5, machine gun, mg MG Grenades grenades, nades, pills, mg grenades Tau Cannon tau, the cheat gun (lol), wind-up gun, laser gun Gluon Gun gluon, egon gun, gayon gun, lpb gun Satchel Charges satchels, c4, explosives, detpacks Trip Mines mines Shotgun shotty Crossbow xbow, bow Hive Gun bug gun, bee gun (you deserve to be put in the guillotine if you use this gun too often) lj Long Jump module (3.1.4) OTHER ABBREVIATIONS --------------------------- dm Death Match mp MultiPlayer latency A number showing the reaction time of an action performed in an online game in milliseconds. Usually shown by holding . ping Same as latency. lag Slowdown in a game due to internet connection, computer speed, or both. spawn When you come back after getting killed. skillz If someone has these, they are good. frag Refers to a kill. nuke spot A place where the Tau Cannon can hit and spread the damage to anyone nearby. sacked Refers to being killed by the Crossbow. pimped Refers to being killed by the Crowbar. bumnosed Refers to being hit at very close range with either a rocket launcher shot or a MG grenade shot and kills both people. type killed Killed while you are typing something. spawn killed Killed right when you respawn. binding Refers to binding specific weapons to keys for quick switching from weapon to weapon. You can also bind things like a 1 button long jump, cheats (for when they are enabled), and saying things. How to do this will be covered later in this guide. l33t Elite, as in good. comp Computer bot A non-human player (Artificial Intelligence). Those abbreviations are most of what you'll hear during games of Half- Life. If you see any abbreviations I missed (my brain's only so big), email me (my email address is listed at the top of the guide) and I'll add it. : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : (3.2) OTHER CONFIGS YOU SHOULD HAVE : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : -- You should also have the console enabled. Here's how: 1.) Make a shortcut to Half-Life on your desktop or wherever. 2.) Right click on it, and choose Properties. 3.) After the file path, space once and type -console and press OK. If the file path is in quotes, make sure to type -console after the close quote instead of typing it inside the quotes. -- You should know how to add servers to the server list by IP both in the built-in Half-Life game launcher and in GameSpy. Here's how to do it: IN HALF-LIFE 1.) At the server list, click on Add Server. 2.) You must know the IP of the server. An IP is how the server is identified, and may look something like this: 207.255.10.255:27015. The 5 digit number after the colon is the port that the server is on. By default, it is 27015, but sometimes it is different. If it isn't 27015, then you must put the correct port number after the IP (oh, just so you know, if it is 27015, then it isn't required that you put it in). 3.) Type in the IP and click Ok. 4.) Now, to find the server that you just typed in, click on Filter. 5.) Check the box next to "are in my 'favorites' list", and click Ok. 6.) Now the servers are narrowed down enough to find that server you added. Servers that you add to your favorites and add by typing in the IP have a yellow star way to the left of their name. 7.) One more thing: To add existing servers to your favorites list, right click on the server and choose "Add to favorites". There are more options than that when you right-click a server and they are pretty self-explanatory. IN GAMESPY 1.) Click on the button on the toolbar that says "Add Server" when you run your mouse over it. 2.) Choose HalfLife as the game and change the port number if it is different from 27015. 3.) Type in the IP in the box and click OK. 4.) Now, over in the area where it lists the server, click ok Address, which sorts the servers by IP address. You can now find your server by finding its IP. :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- : :- (4.) S t U f F y O u N e E d T o L e A r N - : :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- : There is much to learn, young grasshopper. I will give you several things to get you started...the rest is just what you learn on your own. : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : (4.1) HARDWARE : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Hardware is one of the most important factors when it comes to game playing (especially 3D shooters). The player with the faster and more loaded computer will most of the time end up doing better than someone with an old crappy one. On the other hand, the player with a crappy computer but with a good internet connection may do better than someone with an awesome comp and a bad connection. What I recommend is at least a Pentium 233 or higher with at least 64 megs of RAM in order to make the game playable and enjoyable. Mine is a Compaq K6-2 400 with 96 megs of RAM, a Voodoo 3 3000 graphics card, and a Cambridge Soundworks 3-piece sound system. It's a nice computer for game playing and anything else, but definitely not for hosting games because of something weird with my LAN card :-(. If you want to host, I suggest going with either a Celeron, Pentium II or higher, or AMD Athlon. AMD K-6's are so-so, and the Intel brand is your best choice. Some added bonus's you could have include a 3D sound card, 4-point surround sound speakers, a graphics card, more RAM...the possibilities are endless. A graphics card really helps when it comes to Half-Life, and you can find a good Voodoo 2 card for under 50 bucks just about anywhere. Any card will do as long as it has at least 12 megs of buffer memory so it won't be too choppy. Some more things to remember about hardware include: -- The more RAM, the better. -- Same goes for Hard Drive space...you can never have too much. -- Some computers may be too fast to run Half-Life...you would then have to use a slowdown program to make it playable, so watch your speeds. -- Make sure you can hear your opponent clearly and have a good idea where he is. A cheap Soundblaster Live Value, XGamer, or MP3+ would make a world of difference. : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : (4.2) GENERAL CONFIG TWEAKS : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : -- Turn your mouse sensitivity up to where you can turn 180 degrees easily. You can do this in the console by typing: sensitivity xx <---xx is number amount of the mouse sensitivity Mine usually stays around 15. -- Probably the best thing to stop lag is this command here: cl_download_ingame "0" This will stop all decal downloading in a game and thus reduce your lag significantly. It's a lag killer deluxe edition with a lifetime money- back guarantee! -- You might want to change your data exchange rate in the console. Rate is how fast your modem is going in thousands. Say for example you have a 56k connection, then you would want to set rate equal to about 4800 or so. To change it, in the console type: rate xxxx Here is a list of connections and rates you need if you have that connection. CONNECTION RATE NUMBER (to replace xxxx) ---------- ----------- 28.8k 2600 33.6k 3360 56k 4800 - 5000 (depending on connection) ISDN 128k or above 10000 or over (depending on connection) Don't try to set it too high or too low...you won't like the effects, trust me. :) -- You could experiment with the command fps_modem and see if that lowers your ping. This command sets your FPS (frames per second) at a constant rate, and the lower the number, the lower your ping. So, choose a number that is both playable and supported by your computer. To check your current FPS, go to console and type: r_speeds "1" You will see a number telling you your FPS. To turn it off, type: r_speeds "0" Anyways, back to fps_modem. If you were to type it somewhere, this is what it should look like: fps_modem "xx" xx : frames per second you want to have continually A word of warning: do not set this too high, as it will shoot your ping up to the stars. -- Try disabling the fancy graphic crap, such as blood, decals, and bullet marks. This should lower your ping quite a bit in most cases. To disable all "decals" (or, fancy effects), go to console or your config.cfg and type: r_decals "0" If you want some decals but not as much as default, try this: r_decals "150" This will only allow 150 decals to be in a game at a time. Change it to suit your needs. -- Check my autoexec.cfg file for tips on speeding up your gameplay. -- Go to the bottom of this guide to the "Other Links" section to find some more links to webpages about tweaking your connection and game. : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : (4.3) BINDING : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Probably one of the most awesome things ever put in Half-Life is this little feature right here. The bind feature allows you to associate almost anything in the game to any button. I will give you several examples, although there are more that I will add as soon as I discover them. (4.3.1) BINDING SAYINGS ----------------------- Say for instance you wanted to be able to hit "p" on your keyboard and it would say "Hey! You suck!". Then, in the console (or in your config.cfg), you would type: bind "p" "say Hey! You suck!" That would then display "Hey! You suck!" to every player in the game. If, however, you only want your teammates to hear it, you should type: bind "p" "say_team Hey! You suck!" Binding things that you say often not only saves you time, but will keep you from getting killed when you have to stop and type it all. And you KNOW how pissed you get when that happens. So be prepared. (4.3.2) BINDING WEAPONS ----------------------- I refer to this feature as "the only way to really cheat in Half-Life", hehe. This gives you so much of an advantage if you know how to use it and get used to it. I do not use weapon binds yet (although I may have to switch to them in the future). I simply just hit the numbers corresponding to the weapon, and have gotten quite fast at it, although probably not as fast as I could do it with binding. Well, anyways, here is a model of how to bind weapons to keys (if you forgot already, you need to type this in the console or in your config.cfg in the valve directory): bind "key" "weapon_xxx" (be sure to include quotes) key : the key you want to bind the weapon to xxx : the name of the weapon. Here is a list of them all: WEAPON NAME CONSOLE NAME (to replace xxx) ----------- ------------ Crowbar crowbar .9mm Pistol 9mmhandgun 357 Magnum 357 .9mm Machine Gun 9mmAR Shotgun shotgun Crossbow crossbow Rocket Launcher rpg Tau Cannon gauss Gluon Gun egon Hornet Gun hornetgun Hand Grenade handgrenade Satchel Charges satchel Trip Mine tripmine Snarks snark (4.3.3) BINDING CHEATS ---------------------- If cheats are enabled by the server administrator (by typing sv_cheats 1 in the console), it would be wise to have them bound somewhere on your keyboard. Try to use keys that are out of the way, though. There are three cheats that you will need (key : any key you want to bind it to): bind "key" "impulse 101" <---Gives you all weapons and armor if you hit it several times bind "key" "give item_healthkit" <---Gives you a health kit. Every time you hit the key it drops one on the ground. bind "key" "give item_longjump" <---Gives you a long jump module. Every time you hit the key it drops one on the ground. : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : (4.4) TAU CANNON TIPS : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : (4.4.1) SHOOTING THROUGH THE WALL WITH THE TAU ---------------------------------------------- Have you ever just been innocently walking inside a room, and then all the sudden outta nowhere comes this sproingy sound and then you were dead? Then you have probably experienced the old tau-thru-the-wall trick. Now, most of you probably already know about this, but you can wind up the tau by holding the secondary fire button and release it on a wall where you think someone may be behind it. It will hit everyone that is behind the wall for splash damage (or, damage that covers a large radius). Most of the time, if you are wound-up almost all the way, it will kill everyone behind the wall. Now, there's something that I call a "double-layer wall", and it's a wall that just simply cannot be shot through with the tau. You'll have to find these out on your own. You can also shoot people through corners of walls or ledges. If someone is standing behind a corner of a wall (or under a ledge), then try to aim at the corner and release and it should kill them or hurt them badly. It's a technique I call "cornering", and it's rather difficult to perfect. And, it does have it's downsides. You can very easily kill yourself if you don't do it right. Sometimes it bounces back straight at you, which isn't good at all :D. Also, some places can reflect your tau shots and kill you instead. It's very irritating, trust me. :) (4.4.2) TAU JUMPING ------------------- Ooooooo, now HERE's a touchy subject. This little technique right here has caused more arguments than you've ever had with your parents (and trust me, that's a crapload). If there are any of you Quakers reading this, then you probably know what I mean when I say the words "rocket jumping". Well, tau jumping is similar, except it's a lot easier to do than rocket jumping (if you practice a little). You just point the tau cannon at the ground somewhere in an open area, wind it up by holding the secondary fire button, and releasing. See how it propels you into the air? Now, think of ways you can stay in the air and jump to different places by winding the tau up and shooting it. : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : (4.5) COMBOS : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : You may have never thought of it before, but there are several deadly combos waiting to be perfected in Half-Life. Some are easy, some are close to impossible. It all depends on how much you are willing to play and tweak things to get it to where you can perform these. And when I talk about combos, I don't mean take 5 seconds between each step...I mean in very quick succession...because, remember, your enemy isn't going to give you time to look at you keys and say "Now which one was the tau cannon again?" Here are some common combos seen and the difficulty level of each (based on binding)(note: sometimes it just depends on how used to your keys you are): longjump - nades everywhere/shotgun/any weapon, hehe (easy) nade - rpg (easy) rpg - nade (easy) nade - rpg - nade (medium-easy) tau jump (medium-easy) tau jump - rpg - nade (medium) tau jump - nade - rpg - nade (medium-hard) tau jump - tau (medium easy - medium-hard) tau jump - nade - shotgun for the kill (hard) tau jump - crossbow for the kill (incredibly hard) Be it known that adding a few long jumps in any of those makes them harder to perform, and also harder for your enemy to hit you. : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : (4.6) BOTS : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : There are various bots around the 'net that you can use to practice mercilessly upon. Most of them come with their own instructions on how to use them and how to configure their skill level. ALL of the bots are in development - which means that none of them are near perfect...but some are better than others. Check the Other Links section for links to some bot websites. : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : (4.7) DEMOS : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Demos are recordings of playing a game. In other words, you can record what is happeneing on the screen during a game. To start recording a demo, type this in the console: record xxx xxx : filename of the demo The demo should now be stored under the Half-Life/valve directory, under the filename you recorded it as. To play back the demo, here are the instructions: 1.) First, make sure the demo is located in the Half-Life/valve directory. 2.) At the Half-Life main menu, select Multiplayer. 3.) Then select LAN game. 4.) Then Create Game. 5.) It doesn't matter what map or any settings, just create one. 6.) Once you are inside the game, go to console and type: playdemo xxx.dem xxx : filename of demo 7.) The demo should be played back to you. : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : (4.8) OTHER PLAYING TIPS : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : -- AIM FOR THE HEAD!! Peoples...a head shot counts 3 times as much damage as other shots. Other than head shots, you can have body, arm, and leg shots...but they all count for normal damage. So, try to target your cursor to the head of your opponent. -- Try to get to where you can long jump around a lot to avoid being hit by your enemy. I know it's hard, but just practice it and turn your mouse sensitivity up a bit to help you out. -- In close hallways and such, avoid using explosives such as MG grenades and the RPG rocket launcher. Try practicing using the shotgun...it WILL be your best friend in these types of levels. -- In teamplay games, really try to keep communications going between you and your teammates. If you play one map predominately over any other, you can try binding sayings for things like landmarks on the map. Example: For boot_camp, I bound 4 main sayings (and various others): "I'M AT -BRIDGE-" "I'M AT -COURTYARD-" "I'M AT -WATER TANKS-" "LOCATION??" I got this idea from several other guys. Try it out. -- Accommodate your playing to the opposition. If the guys you are playing suck, then you shouldn't play too seriously (unless you really want to embarrass them, hehe). If you are playing someone as good or better than you, then try to adjust to his skills and work him over with them. If you can't beat your opponent, learn from your mistakes and his style of play and try to incorporate them into your styles. -- Try not to get too angry while playing. I know it's difficult, but playing with a clear mind and making friends while your at it is the best way to improve. -- Watch the good peeps play. Ask if you can be an observer in a clan match and watch the guys and how they move. You can learn a lot by doing that. -- When you are walking around and here a suspicious sound, always stop for a moment and listen to where it is coming from. You can also continue moving by means of crawling or walking (which makes no sound). This also confuses your enemy, as they have probably already heard you and now that your being silent, they think that you left. :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- : :- (5.) M y S t U f F a N d H o W i L e A r N e D i T - : :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- : So, how did I get to be a better Half-Life player? Well, to tell you the truth, I got lucky. There used to be an all boot_camp server called Domain-of-Pain.com that I happened to fall across one day. I had already thought I was good at Half-Life...but I was so wrong :). I got myself plastered (I think my score was like -1/20, hehe). Of course I thought the people in the game were cheating because I thought that nobody could be THAT good. But, they looked past my newbieness and told me what I was and wasn't doing right (yes, there are a few nice peeps out there). So, I created a LAN game of my own with some bots and just practiced shooting and being quick at changing weapons. Binding really really helps...if you are used to it. I used to just change weapons by pressing the numbers for them, and sometimes I still do. But, I didn't just get better by practicing with stupid bots. Most of the goodness comes from practicing in different servers. Boot_camp is a great map to start...if you find the right servers, that is. Some servers house dark, evil spirits called l33t clan members that can and will smite you with one mighty blow with any given weapon. Doesn't it make you shudder just thinking about it? Then, please, follow my advice and stick to practicing with people your own skill level. (5.1) MY CONFIGS ---------------- Here is my key config as of 3/25/00 taken directly from my config.cfg file in the Half-Life/valve directory: unbindall bind "TAB" "+showscores" bind "ENTER" "+attack" bind "ESCAPE" "cancelselect" bind "SPACE" "+lj" bind "'" "say_team lol" bind "+" "sizeup" bind "," "+moveleft" bind "-" "sizedown" bind "." "+moveright" bind "/" "+movedown" bind "0" "say_team --SPAWNED/TYPED/BUMNOSED/KILLED BY A NEWBIE--" bind "1" "slot1" bind "2" "slot2" bind "3" "slot3" bind "4" "slot4" bind "5" "slot5" bind "6" "say_team LOCATION??" bind "7" "say_team --RECHARGING--" bind "8" "say_team --ROGER THAT--" bind "9" "say_team --NEED LJ--" bind ";" "+mlook" bind " :" "sizeup" bind "[" "say_team I'M AT -COURTYARD-" bind "]" "say_team I'M AT -WATER TANKS-" bind "`" "toggleconsole" bind "a" "+moveleft" bind "c" "weapon_9mmAR" bind "d" "+moveright" bind "e" "+use" bind "f" "weapon_rpg" bind "g" "weapon_9mmAR" bind "i" "drop" bind "j" "name *Hostage*" bind "k" "impulse 101" bind "l" "say lol" bind "m" "give item_longjump" bind "n" "give item_healthkit" bind "o" "say_team *****UNDER 30 HEALTH*****" bind "p" "say_team I'M AT -BRIDGE-" bind "q" "lastinv" bind "r" "+reload" bind "s" "+back" bind "t" "impulse 201" bind "u" "messagemode2" bind "v" "+moveup" bind "w" "+forward" bind "x" "crouch" bind "y" "messagemode" bind "z" "+duck" bind "~" "toggleconsole" bind "UPARROW" "+forward" bind "DOWNARROW" "+back" bind "RIGHTARROW" "+right" bind "ALT" "+strafe" bind "CTRL" "weapon_gauss" bind "SHIFT" "+duck" bind "F5" "snapshot" bind "F6" "save quick" bind "F7" "load quick" bind "F10" "quit prompt" bind "F12" "snapshot" bind "INS" "+klook" bind "PGDN" "+lookdown" bind "PGUP" "+lookup" bind "HOME" "messagemode" bind "END" "say ICQ: 34384634" bind "MOUSE1" "+attack" bind "MOUSE2" "+attack2" bind "MWHEELDOWN" "invnext" bind "MWHEELUP" "invprev" bind "PAUSE" "pause" joystick "0.000000" m_filter "0.000000" cl_nopred "0" pushlatency "-800" cl_adaptive "0" cl_pred_fraction "0.5" cl_pred_maxtime "255" cl_timeout "305" m_side "0.8" m_forward "1" m_yaw "0.022" m_pitch "0.022000" sensitivity "16.000000" lookstrafe "0.000000" lookspring "0.000000" cl_skyname "desert" cl_backspeed "400" cl_forwardspeed "400" cl_himodels "0.000000" rate "9999.000000" bottomcolor "1" topcolor "25" skin "" model "limp" team "" name "*Hostage*" hud_centerid "0" hud_fastswitch "0" crosshair "1.000000" gamma "2.500000" brightness "1.000000" sv_aim "0.000000" vid_nopageflip "0" _vid_wait_override "0" _vid_default_mode "0" _vid_default_mode_win "3" vid_config_x "800" vid_config_y "600" vid_stretch_by_2 "0" _windowed_mouse "0.000000" viewsize "100.000000" scr_transparentui "1" mp_decals "300.000000" gl_dither "1" gl_polyoffset "4" gl_overbright "1" gl_flipmatrix "0" gl_monolights "0" s_rolloff "1.0" s_doppler "0.0" s_distance "60" s_automin_distance "2.0" s_automax_distance "30.0" s_min_distance "8.0" s_max_distance "1000.0" s_leafnum "0" s_refgain "0.4" s_refdelay "4" s_polykeep "1000000000" s_polysize "10000000" s_numpolys "200" s_bloat "2.0" s_verbwet "0.25" s_a3d "0.000000" s_eax "0.000000" volume "0.800000" suitvolume "0.250000" hisound "1.000000" bgmvolume "1.000000" _snd_mixahead "0.1" +mlook +jlook As you can tell, I use the default move/shoot commands. Also, most of the sayings that I have binded are customized for the boot_camp map, mainly because that is the map I play the most. You can use this config to modify your own. That's pretty much how I learned how to do it was by rummaging through these babies. Also, here is what's in my autoexec.cfg file: bind "f" "use weapon_rpg;+reload" alias "+lj" "+duck;wait;+jump" alias -lj "-duck;wait;-jump" You probably won't have one of these...but you can create a blank text file, rename it to autoexec.cfg, put it in your Half-Life/valve directory, and put various things in it. For more instructions, go to: http://www.planethalflife.com/thebind/ : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : (5.2) MY COMBOS : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Some of the combos that I use include: longjump - nades everywhere/shotgun/any weapon, hehe (depends on aim) nade - rpg (perfected) rpg - nade (perfected) nade - rpg - nade (perfected) tau jump (perfected) tau jump - rpg - nade (perfected) tau jump - nade - rpg - nade (getting better) tau jump - tau (depends on aim) : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : (5.3) MY FAVORITE SERVERS : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Here are a few of my favorite servers (WARNING: These servers will contain lots of really good people...if you want to know which servers to start in to get better, check out the Frequently Asked Questions section). 12.25.142.162:27015 (crossfire 24/7) 128.2.121.212:27015 (boot_camp 24/7) 146.7.156.15:27016 (boot_camp 24/7) 208.195.212.220:27015 (mainly boot_camp and stalkyard) :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- : :- (6.) M a P - s P e C i F i C s T r A t E g I e S - : :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- : Tired of getting plastered in boot_camp? Is crossfire leaving you kind of, well, dead? Then this section is for you. Here, you can find tips and strats dedicated to certain maps to help you "Know The Ledge" a little better. :D : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : (6.1) BOOT_CAMP : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : **MAP WALKTHROUGH DEMO** http://clans.halflife.net/cfds/demos/boot_camp.zip Approximately 1.08 Mb (For info on demos, see the Demos section under Stuff You Will Learn) This map is a biggie, and contains lots of little nooks and crannies that can be hard to get to sometimes. The good thing about boot_camp (or bc) is that it has good balance between outside and inside areas. The accessibility in this level is also great, as you can get to almost any area in the game fairly easily - if you know where you're going. Check the demo I have provided for you for some tips and key areas. KEY AREAS --------- BRIDGE - this is the area on and around the bridge. Weapons in this area include the tau, rpg, crossbow, and mg. Collect as much ammo as you can and use the tau and lj to jump from building to building as quick as you can, because there are lots of nuke spots for the tau here that can get you killed quicker than you can say "What's that noise?". COURTYARD - this is the big area in the middle, and includes the building with the gluon and the building with the upper balcony containing the crossbow. This is where good fights occur, as it's a fairly open space and allows for easy rpg firing. WATER TANKS - the only 2 lj's in boot_camp can be found here. This is the area with the 2 water tanks and also includes the walkway with the lj and the area with the other lj and the rpg, along with the armor room. TIPS ---- -- This is a tuffy if you're in the popular all boot_camp servers. Your best chance in this map is to use the tau and lj a _lot_ to move around. Also, practice your aim, because you will need a lot of it here. There is lots of cornering and pole shooting with the tau...so be prepared. -- When you respawn, immediately look for a mg or something useful, and then go in search of an lj as quick as you can. : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : (6.2) CROSSFIRE : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : **MAP WALKTHROUGH DEMO** http://clans.halflife.net/cfds/demos/crossfire.zip Approximately 1.5 Mb (For info on demos, see the Demos section under Stuff You Will Learn) This map is fairly small and great for fast and furious games. It's very difficult to perform good tau jumping in this map because of it's tight places and many buildings. Shooting through the wall will most likely hand you a frag if there are more than 10 people in crossfire at a time. Try it sometime! KEY AREAS --------- CENTRAL COURTYARD - This is the open place in the middle where the RPG rocket launcher is at. A good place to find lots of people to shoot. Plus, it has easy access to almost any area in the map...most notably the HEV rooms with the armor panels and the long jump modules. But, staying in this place too long will get you fragged, so try going out every once and awhile to ammo up. BUNKER - This area serves up tons of great sniping places, as well as an added bonus - a nuke that can kill anyone in the map if they aren't in the bunker or tau jumping waaaaaay high in the area outside the bunker. The bunker also contains a crapload of ammo and is a camper's paradise...so it can be assured that you can find one or two players lurking around here. TIPS ---- -- You can tau jump to many ledges to get you out of danger. Also, staying around the area outside the bunker can help you practice your tau jumping and killing people from the air. -- There are several sniping places that you can try that can't be seen easily...like on top of the metal thing near one of the HEV rooms, and the bunker. -- If you really want to irritate people, try using the two huge guns at the top of the bunker and picking off people coming towards the bunker...it doesn't get you any kills, and is sure to make a lot of people mad! :) MORE COMING SOON!!!!!!!!! :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- : :- (7.) F r E q U e N t L y A s K e D Q u E s T i O n S - : :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- : Q1: What are some good servers to start in? A1: Well, you can try just updating the server list and choosing a random game, and that would probably be the best thing to do. I believe that games with 8 or less people in them are the best, because of the availability of weapons and items, and you are unlikely to get spawn killed every time you respawn. Q2: What are some good servers to start practicing in? A2: Well, the best thing (in my opinion) is to update and find a random server on the map you want to get good at with maybe 8 or less people playing in it and if they are worse or equal to your skill level, those are great people to practice against. :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- : :- (8.) O t H e R l I n K s - : :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- : Here are a few links to various websites that I have compiled if you want anything extra: (8.1) GENERAL ------------- -- Planet Half-Life http://www.planethalflife.com/ The best Half-Life site out there...period. Contains anything and everything dedicated to Half-Life. -- GameSpy http://www.gamespy.com/ The greatest game launcher of all time. You see lots of info about any servers that are currently online. You really need to get this if you don't have it already. -- GameFAQs.com http://www.gamefaqs.com/ Really great site that has several thousand walkthroughs, FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions), tips, and codes for almost any game made. -- GameAdvice.com and GameWinners.com http://www.gameadvice.com/ http://www.gamewinners.com/ The guy that owns this place was nice and asked to host my guide...of course I agreed :). This place has TONs of cheats and walkthroughs for any game you need. (8.2) MODELS ------------ -- Cold Fusion http://www.planethalflife.com/coldfusion/ Looking for new/old player models? Then this is the place to go. (8.3) MAPS ---------- -- Radium http://www.planethalflife.com/radium/ Great site containing a crap load of maps for Half-Life. If know a map you don't have, than Radium most likely has it. (8.4) CONSOLE COMMANDS ---------------------- -- Command Center - Unabridged List of Cmds & Cvars http://www.planethalflife.com/commands/index.shtml HUGE list of all of the commands typable in several places: the server command line, console, config.cfg, autoexec.cfg, server.cfg, binds, aliases, other user made scripts, etc. VERY useful resource. (8.5) LOGOS ----------- -- Logos R' Us http://www.planethalflife.com/logos/ A site with a vast amount of logos (spraypaints). (8.6) COMMUNICATION ------------------- -- BattleCom http://www.shadowfactor.com/ A wonderful program that allows you to talk in real time voice to someone in a game while causing little or no lag at all! I believe it's more clearer sounding than Roger Wilco, too. -- Roger Wilco http://www.resounding.com/ Another real time communications program. Although not as good as BattleCom (in my opinion), it comes in at a close second. (8.7) SOUNDS ------------ -- Half-Life Wav Pool http://www.planethalflife.com/wavpool/ A frickin hilarious site that contains various wavs that are funny as hell. Check it out. (8.8) SPEED TWEAKING -------------------- -- SpeedGuide.net http://www.speedguide.net/ Great site for speeding up those cable modems. -- 3 Fingers' Net Tweaking Page http://www.voodooextreme.com/3Fingers/stuff/nettweak.htm Gives links to good sites for tweaking your internet connection. -- Tweak3D.net http://www.tweak3d.net/tweak/modem/ Tells how to tweak your 3D and internet connections for optimal performance. Very good and informative site. -- Ask Mr. Modem http://www.spy.net/%7Edustin/modem/ This site right here is really awesome for analog modem users (56k and below). You can select your modem brand and type and it will give you specific settings for each needed for better performance! Is that not cool? :) (8.9) BOTS ---------- -- JumBot http://www.telefragged.com/thefatal/jumblow.shtml Great bot - probably my favorite of them all. This guy who developed it updates fairly often, too. -- PhineasBot http://www.planethalflife.com/phineas/ A really good bot, although some controls arent implemented that are in the JumBot. Another con of this bot is that it isn't updated that often at all. -- RhoBot http://www.gamershomepage.com/rhobot/ You really need to keep an eye on this one...it shows promise. -- Bot Epidemic http://www.botepidemic.com/bots/halflife.shtml The best place to go to look for how the popular bots are doing. -- Half Life Bot Central http://www.captured.com/bot/hlbc2/ Another bot-development watching page. -- botman's Half-Life bot development web page http://www.planethalflife.com/botman/ If you are interested in building your own bot, then this place is for you. Contains lots of interesting tidbits...and even includes a few sample bots for you to mess around with. (8.10) BINDING -------------- The Half-Bind http://www.planethalflife.com/thebind/ THE SITE to go to for info on binding and some examples of cool tricks you can do with the autoexec.cfg file. Clan -ssm- Website Files Section http://clans.halflife.net/ssm/files.html Has a little bit on binding, and -ssm-snipes's config.cfg and autoexec.cfg. :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- : :- (9.) O u T r O - : :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- : Well, I hope this guide at least helped you a little bit. If it didn't, then it's YOUR fault. :) Haha, just kidding. Anyways, if this guide wasn't enough for your taste, then there are a few other guides at www.gamefaqs.com and www.gameadvice.com you can check out (although they just mainly give tips and walkthroughs for single player and technical stuff). You can also try searching the 'net with almost any search engine for forums about Half-Life. These are also great ways to collaborate with people. Thanks for reading this, and peace! :D - (CF)-[DS]Hostage "And Thats All I Have Ta Say Bout That!!" :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- : :- (10.) S p E c I a L t H a N k S a N d O t H e R i N f O - : :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- : (10.1) SPECIAL THANKS --------------------- -- All my clan members. -- Everyone who helped me become better. -- Domain-of-Pain.com for hosting a great boot_camp server for awhile (too bad it all turned to Counter Strike) :-( -- GameFAQs.com for hosting this guide. -- GameAdvice.com for asking to host my guide. -- All the guys in all the servers I have played in for putting up with my constant griping...lol. -- -|O|-ike* for letting me have his autoexec.cfg file. (10.2) CONTRIBUTING ------------------- If you would like to contribute something to this guide, please do so. I will consider every submission and, most likely, post the majority of them (if I believe they are good enough). To contribute, send in email in this format: To: joshr@tcac.net Subject: Half-Life Guide Contribution Body of Email: Your name (so I can give you credit), your email address, and what you want to submit. Please make it as detailed as you can, as FAQ readers LOVE detailed explanations. :-) (10.3) COPYRIGHT INFO --------------------- This document is Copyright 2000 Josh Rieken. You may NOT post it on your website/faq/guide/magazine/etc. without my consent! You are also prohibited to sell this document for money of any kind. And, if you even think about changing the contents of this document, forget it...you can't do that either! If you happen to run across this guide anywhere other than where it should be found (listed at top of guide), then contact me immediately and tell me exactly where you found it using my email address listed at the top of this guide. :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :EnD oF gUiDe :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :- :-