Joe’s Counter-Strike Guide

By Joe Black

Here are a few essential tips for playing successful CS, having fun with CS and how not to look like a newbie. Other information can be found in the manual supplied with Counter-Strike.

Etiquette

Don’t spam people, you’ll probably get kicked or banned from that server, and changing your name won’t help because it’s done by the WON ID code of your Half-life game.
Don’t cheat – you might think you’re having fun but if you’re cheating then what you really wish you could do is be good enough to kick ass without cheating.
Don’t shoot your own team – friendly fire may be on and this may also get you kicked or banned.
Don’t swear on American servers – they don’t like it. European ones are usually fine with it.
Choose a good name – I had [-=WS=-] Cancer, which may sound good but I cannot use as, understandably, it upsets people. You can change your name when not in a game or you can change your name in game by pressing the key above tab (by default) to bring down the console, and typing name X, where X would be the name. To include spaces in the name, use % signs as spaces or put the individual words in speech marks.
Help to balance teams on the server – even if you are on the losing team (this is how to get better.) It will annoy people if you change to the winning team.
Throw away the bomb if you are on a de_map and don’t know where to plant it. Press G (by default) to get rid of it at the START of the round, so one of your team-mates can pick it up and plant it. If you are on the CT side and someone has planted a bomb, and you are the last person alive, don’t hide – you must attempt to defuse it or people will get angry! Defuse it by walking up to it and pressing your use key.

Combat Skills

Always buy a Desert Eagle and 21 rounds in the first (pistol) round of any level, (unless you are Counter-Terrorists and it is a long range sniper map, in that case buy a Five-Seven.) The people who buy just body armour are fools – just shoot them in the head! Body armour will only make the difference of 1 shot maximum if you are shooting someone with a Desert Eagle, and if they have purchased body armour, they won’t have been able to afford a Desert Eagle and they will have a standard issue pistol, which will take more shots to kill you than a Desert Eagle will to kill them. Not buying anything is even crazier because even if your team loses, you can afford to buy a Navy in the next round, so you should be fine.
Choose weapons carefully and appropriate to the map – in as_maps this is usually decided for you. Sniper rifles such as the Arctic Warfare Magnum are great for these maps because 1 or 2 shots kills the VIP, and on maps like as_tundra, and as_highrise, the escape point is surrounded by ideal sniping positions. You’ll have to decide if the map is for sniping (use AWM’s, Steyr Scouts, G3/SG-1) or close combat (use AK’s, Colts, SIG Commandos, Steyr Augs, Navy’s, UMP’s, SIG 550s or Desert Eagles, and shotguns for really close combat such as on cs_747.) The SIG 550 is terrible for sniping as it takes several shots to kill and it is inaccurate. Usually the map will be a mixture though – develop your own choice as your progress, and remember Counter-Terrorist weapon choices differ from those of Terrorists.
When in a close up gunfight, the best thing to do to survive is to hit your crouch key and continue firing. This is because with all guns (especially the P90), the bullets traces upward if you hold down fire due to the weapon’s recoil. Jumping around in the fight isn’t as effective as you have to keep changing your aim, and it’s really difficult to keep getting hits.
Grenades are useful for injuring enemies to make it easier to take them out, and getting them to back off if you are wanting to get into somewhere. You can only carry one at once so use it wisely. You can press and hold fire and walk around with your grenade ready to throw at the release of a fire button. If you do this, run forward and go into a crouch jump (hit jump and crouch simultaneously) whilst aiming the grenade high, throwing the grenade as you jump, it will greatly increase the distance you throw the grenade. Throwing them takes practice, as does this manoeuvre, but if done correctly, it can be used to throw a smoke grenade from the terrorist respawn area in cs_italy to the counter-terrorist respawn area, from level with the back door on cs_assault on to the bridge and from the terrorist respawn area on de_jeepathon2k to level with the counter-terrorist respawn area (good for protection against sniper fire). HE grenades and flashbangs can’t be thrown this far as they go off somewhere in mid air.
Flashbangs blind people temporarily, use them just before entering an area then go and clean up. If someone throws one at you, look at the nearest wall, away from the flashbang and down at the floor.
Smoke-grenades pour out large amounts of smoke, affecting you and the other team. Use them intelligently – and do just throw one and charge in, wait for a few seconds for the smoke to disperse before going in. Turn up the complexity of the smoke grenades sprites in the Customize menu in Counter-Strike to make the smoke more like smoke and easier to see through! 0 is the highest, values above this give lower quality smoke. Type fastsprites [value] without the square brackets to do this in the console.
When using a Colt, use its second function, the silencer, when on open maps with long range shooting. This not only makes the weapon quieter, it improves its accuracy slightly. When on close-range combat maps (e.g. cs_747 where there is little sniping), do not use the silencer as it does more damage this way (each shot takes off 1 more health point). This weapon can be used very effectively if someone is hiding behind a wall, box or whatever, as it shoots through walls more effectively than other weapons and the bullets do more damage than normal when they reach the other side. All rifles, the Desert Eagle and the Para machine gun shoot through boxes and walls to some extent.
Personal weapon choices are important. If you are Counter-Terrorists I find sticking to Navy’s, Desert Eagles and UMP’s works (if you are a bit strapped for cash) and using AWM’s (on sniper maps) and Colts if you have a bit more, is really successful. The Steyr Aug is terrible if used incorrectly – in zoom mode use short bursts of 1 or 2 shots to maintain accuracy, and you will find that this weapon is more accurate out of zoom mode! As terrorists, stick to Navy’s, Desert Eagles and UMP’s if you’re strapped for cash, they are accurate even on full auto, but if not the AK, the SIG Commando and AWM’s (on sniper maps) are great weapons. You need to do quick bursts with the AK to keep accuracy, don’t worry about not getting as many bullets out as possible because with the AK it doesn’t matter, your opponent won’t stand many more than 3 shots. The SIG Commando can be used quite effectively on full auto in zoom mode, it’s much more stable than the Steyr Aug, but, as with all weapons, if you are in full auto and the person you’re firing at ain’t dying, then just pause for a fraction of a second and re-aim, it will improve accuracy. Be very careful what weapons you buy – the M429 machine gun on open maps is pathetic, it’s hopelessly inaccurate, as is the AK on full auto (holding down fire, as is the Ingram Mac10, and as is the AWM if you don’t have it in zoom mode or if you are running with it at all. If you don’t believe me, load up cs_militia on a LAN game, find the targets near the house, open up on ‘em and watch where your bullets hit. When firing at someone using any degree of full auto, bring the weapon’s crosshair downwards, the further away they are from you the further down you should bring the weapon. This requires judgement. This is because the bullets always go upwards and slightly to the right using right handed player models. (choose the hand you like to use best in the Customize menu in Counter-Strike). Avoid buying Dual Berettas at all; they look good but are a waste of money (they take too many shots to kill someone) and you can afford a better weapon if you have enough money to buy these. Remember also to make use of the weapon’s secondary function if it has one!
Amount and order in which you buy the weapons and ammo is also important – don’t buy 40 rounds for an AWM, you simply won’t need it, and if you have a plentiful supply of ammo for your main weapon, you don’t need to buy more pistol ammo than is supplied to you by default. If you are short on cash, consider whether armour and a poorer weapon or no armour and a better weapon would be the best choice.
If you can hear someone coming from round a corner, but can’t see them, aim low and start firing a split second before you think they are about to appear on your screen. Most likely they won’t realise you are doing this in time (unless you are the last person left alive and you do it too soon), or they will think it’s a gunfight going on somewhere else, and they will walk into your bullets.
Crouching next to a wall with the gun pointing towards where you expect an enemy to appear, and using the wall to cover half of your body area makes it much more difficult for the other team to hit you should they appear.
Try to work out patterns in the movement and behaviour of the other team, and use these against them by camping in unexpected positions or out-flanking them.
When rescuing hostages, don’t just use them and then run to the rescue point. Rescue them carefully, because they will get stuck, and when they do, do back to them and guide them carefully past any tricky doors etc.
Using hostages does actually earn you some money as Counter-Terrorists, so don’t just ignore them, it’s beneficial to use them.

Movement and Advice on Key Binds

To get somewhere fast, i.e. to a camping spot before the other team arrives, press 3 and then fire to select your knife at the start, or if you have a grenade, flashbang or smoke-grenade, then run with one of these. Running with your knife greatly increases speed. So that you can get your weapon out really fast (pardon the expression), press the number of either your main weapon (1) or pistol (2) while you are running with your knife, then if you see an opponent or get close to where you need to be, you can draw that weapon really fast and start using it just by pressing fire. Be careful to avoid the numbers which appear in the top left hand corner from pressing the button for the same weapon repeatedly, otherwise when you try to fire at your opponent, nothing will happen. To get rid of these numbers, simply press fire once.
Speed can be increased further by practicing and using a manoeuvre known as bunny jumping or bunny hopping. This makes it very difficult for snipers to hit you as you move at least twice as fast as someone running with a knife and you move from side to side - if you do it properly. It works better with a low ping and a frame rate of around 70 frames per second (increase frame rate by lowering screen resolution). When running forward with a knife, strafe to one side, whilst looking at around a 25 degree angle to the same side. Jump, and before landing, change the side you are strafing to and the side you are looking at before jumping again. Repeat this process, changing strafe and view each time. This is a very difficult manoeuvre and takes around 30 hours practice to do it at all. For more info, go to http://counterstrike.xgamers.com/article.phtml?id=196 for a good article written by someone who is a practiced bunny hopper.
Ladders in vents, eg. on cs_assault, can be heard by everyone in a large area near the ladder. To avoid the ladder being heard, jump in to the vents (over the ladder) or approach them from the side, and to avoid making sounds on the ladders within the vents, hold down the crouch key when climbing them so that you are ready to crawl into the next part of the vent when you reach the top.
Stand side on to a ladder and use left and right strafe to go up and down it without actually having to look up and down – if the ladder is opposite the entrance for your opponents, this can come in useful for surprising them by suddenly (and easily) descending the ladder whilst facing them, then quickly going back up to reload when they are dead! It may sound trivial but it does work very well – I have seen people get five kills in one round on cs_backalley using only this technique!
Flashlights (default key F) can be used to help you see if it is dark, but be careful because they give away your position!
Learn to use the radar, it tells you where your team mates are (purple dots), where the VIP or bomb carrier is (red dot, for same team only), where somebody who has just said something is (eg. somebody calling for back-up) and whether they are on your level, above you (T shape) or below you (upside down T). Type drawradar in the console to show radar and hideradar to remove it again.
Jumping from a high place to a lower place can be painful – but can save time. Find the lowest possible level to jump from and save health by crouching, walking off the drop in crouch mode and, during your fall, release the crouch button. It is possible to jump of the bridge in cs_italy and lose no health this way.
Remember to walk around pointing your weapon’s crosshair round about level with where, if someone appeared, you would expect their stomach to be – don’t point it at the ground or you’ll miss something above you! (This sounds silly, but a lot of people do it.)
Learn to play with some keys you feel comfortable with. It’s quite easy to get used to a set of keys, and I recommend choosing some which are close to each other so you can use 1 hand to do all the work whist moving about using the mouse. I recommend:

Forward: Right mouse button

Back: N

Strafe left: ,

Strafe right: .

Fire: Left mouse button

Reload: M and MOUSEWHEELUP

Secondary function: ;

Jump: / and MOUSEWHEELDOWN (decreases need for timing on long jumps)

Walk: Shift

Crouch: CTRL

Night vision goggles: End

Change teams: Delete

Purchase primary ammo: K

Purchase secondary ammo: L

Specials menu: O (allows rapid purchase of special equipment)

Adjust Crosshair colour: J (see console section for how to bind this)

Start to record a Demo: R (see console section for how to bind this)

Stop recording demo: E

Instantly buy armour / grenade / specific weapon + full ammo: F1 to F12 (see console section for how to do this)

Take screenshot: F5

Jargon

AWP lamer – person who uses AWM’s too much and ‘just sits there pressing the button when an opponent appears on the screen’. Contrary to the opinion of the annoyed person you have just killed, there is some skill in aiming these weapons accurately.
Llama – new player who isn’t very good
Newbie – new player
N00b – newbie, new player
Camper – someone who regularly sits in one position, usually hidden, waiting for the opposition to arrive
TKer – team killer, someone who shoots people on their own team.
De_map – Maps based on defusing a bomb
As_map – Maps based on assassinating a VIP
Cs_map – Hostage rescue maps
Es_map – Escape maps, no longer featured in Counter-Strike
Ce_map – Classic editions of any map, from past release versions of Counter-Strike
Ka_map – Knife arena maps where knives only are allowed, no weapons can be bought. Not issued with the game, but are downloadable
Pa_map – Prepared assault map – weapons available near respawn areas. Not issued with the game, but are downloadable
St_map – I think it stands for stupid, they generally are! Not issued with the game, but are downloadable
Spam – talking a lot so it fills people’s screens with text, or repeatedly saying the same thing
AWM – Arctic Warfare Magnum
AWP – Arctic Warfare Police sniper rifle, another (and the official) name for AWM
Duals – dual beretta pistols, only available to terrorists
Deagle – desert eagle pistol
Ruse – misleading, apparently innocent statement said to make the other team think you are doing something which you are not
Server side – a specific setting or rule set by the server you are connected to. This setting applies to all clients, e.g. sv_gravity
Client side – a setting or rule which can be changed by and to suit the person connecting to a server (the client)
Host – The person who is ‘hosting’ the game, i.e. the person running the game on their computer to provide the server for others to connect to
LAN event – stands for ‘Local Area Network,’ i.e. a local area, probably in a single building, where computers are connected via a hub to form a network, to allow those using the computers to play games against one another
Server IP – the unique code used by a particular server. This code is entered using the ‘Add Server’ option in the ‘Internet Games’ menu to allow people to click on that server and connect to it
Ping – the value which tells you how much lag you are getting: smaller pings = less lag. To find your ping, press TAB (by default) when in a game. It is measured in thousandths of a second, and is how far behind real time (what is actually happening) the images on your screen are
Response time – the speed the server is responding at in milliseconds. A smaller value = a faster server = smaller ping for you. Find the fastest server by sorting your list in the ‘internet Games’ menu by server speeds. Click the list at the top to do this
Server admin – the person controlling the server and all its settings. These people have the power to remove others from the server
Hostage jumping – this is when you jump of a ledge on to the head of a hostage and either move around on top of the hostage to position it to jump on to a ledge or repeatedly jump on it’s head to gain a high position and therefore an advantage
Bunny jumping – a type of jumping used to exploit a bug in the game and allowing the user to move very fast and jump very far (see Movement section)
Scripts – eg. headshot scripts or see-hrough wall scripts, lines of code entered by the user to give them some kind of advantage
LPB – low ping bastard, a person with a low ping (usually below 100), considered to have an advantage due to this ping
HPB – high ping bastard, a person with high ping (usually above 180), sometimes used to refer to a person who is a good or lucky player despite their ping
Bots – coded players used to practice against when offline
Aimbot – a script or program lines added into certain files in the CS directory to enhance the aim of your weapon (and increase the number of headshots).
Wall hack – a script or program lines added into certain files in the CS directory to allow the user to see through walls
FF – friendly fire, the ability to shoot and thereby deduct health points from your own team members
ECSL – European Counter-Strike League, a league for CS clans (teams) to compete against one another
Clanbase – the largest collection of clans in the world, featuring leagues and competitions for various games including CS
HP – health point

General Internet and LAN Knowledge

Don’t believe people who tell you to type gg_money or other gg_commands in the console, you’ll get yourself automatically kicked.
Letters before people’s names e.g. [-=WS=-] Joe Black stand for the name of the clan they are in. [CLP] stands for clan-less player.
What is a good score? Decide for yourself! My personal best is 25 kills to 2 deaths, and the most kills I’ve ever had in one round is seven, using various weapons.

· Type listmaps in the console to find out what maps are available and the order in which they are to be played on the server to which you are connected. Type votemap [mapname] to vote for a map you want to play (don’t include the square brackets).

· Type listplayers in the console to find out the number assigned to each player on the server. Type vote [player number] to cast a vote against that player (i.e. to create 1 vote towards kicking that player from the server). Don’t include the square brackets. The other people on the server cannot find out who cast the vote.

· Type kick [player name] in the console to remove that person from the server, if you are hosting a game. Don’t include the square brackets.

· Type changelevel [map name] OR map [map name] in the console to change to the chosen level at any time. Don’t include the square brackets.

· Type timeleft in the console to find out how much time is left on the map you are playing.

· Type status in the console to find your co-ordinates on the map, the names and numbers of the people on the server, their kills, deaths and the length of time they have been on the server.

· Type net_graph [1, 2 or 3] in the console (without the brackets). 1 shows the number of frames per second Counter-Strike is running at, the number of kilobytes per second coming in from the server and the number of kilobytes of information per second that you are sending to the server from your computer, and a graph of your ping. 2 is the same as 1 but with a graph of your frames per second variations too. 3 is the same as 1 but without the ping graph. Typing cl_showfps 1 in the console will just show the frames per second. Use the value of 0 to turn these graphs off again.

Practice Makes Perfect

If you can’t afford to go online all the time, the best alternative is to install some CS bots to play against. You can get the one’s I use from the link below. They are very good and if you practice against them on different types of maps, you can develop all your combat skills. Remember on a LAN game (create one to let you view a level on your own), your computer will easily support 20 players. http://www.counter-strike.net/realbot/
Thoroughly learn all the different maps on CS – where the bombsites, hostages and escape zones are, where the hiding and camping places are (which you use infrequently and variedly to shock your opponents, usually dark corners, behind boxes, up ladders, in vents etc.) – you cannot possibly be competent without knowing the maps. On public servers, learn where you can safely get to if you rush with a knife without the other team getting there first.
Learn the different radio commands, and the key presses to use them. They are a very useful way of telling your teammates what you want them to do quickly and clearly.
If you are a clan leader, create map-specific tactics for clan games (either using squads or individual routines), then run through these tactics with the clan to show everyone how they work and ensure that the clan learns and knows them.

General Game Knowledge, Sneaky Tricks and Other Neat Stuff

Press the key ‘U’ (by default) to talk only to your own team, when dead or alive. This allows you to discuss tactics in secret.
There are flaws in some maps, which allow you to do things which in reality you shouldn’t be able to. These are not cheats, you have nothing installed to aid you and they are available to everybody.
Turn left from the CT respawn area on cs_estate, crouch and walk into the bend in the bush on your right (after having turned left!) so that you can’t be seen but can see through it and shoot through it.
Sv_clienttrace X, where X is a number, can be used to improve aim (built in aimbot!) Higher values = larger distance you can aim away from a person and the bullets will still hit them. Default value 1 for manual aim. Cannot be used by clients on public servers, may only be used by the server admin or the person running the server.
Using another crouching person, jump on to the hidden area on as_highrise just above the windows near the Terrorists respawn area, on the roof of the building just opposite the green door.
Cs_militia has a toilet in the bathroom featuring an explosive turd!
Cs_assault has two nasty map bugs. If you are a terrorist, get someone to crouch for you on the galley inside the building. Stand on their head, and both of you must hold down crouch and press the jump key repeatedly. The one on top (you!) will go through the roof and surprise the counter-terrorists! ON the counter-terrorist side, you and another player can climb the very high ladder near your respawn point. One must stand on the other’s head. The one underneath must first stand up straight by BOTH players pressing the jump key repeatedly. The one on top will now be high enough for this trick to work – both of you must continue pressing the jump key repeatedly and the top player will suddenly find himself walking around in the sky!
In as_oilrig, from the CT spawn, it is possible to come out at the access point to the terrorist snipers platform in the room near the entrance to the tower, due to an invisible platform. I will have to describe the position of this platform from the terrorists POV. Go down the ramp to the base of the tower, but instead of turning into the tower entrance, turn left, walk through the room to the access vent and go through the vent until you reach a sniping platform near the winch positioned above the water. Go to the left hand side of this platform (when facing the winch and water) and walk forwards off the platform. A door entrance will be behind you, and railings to your right. Jump on to these railings and crouch jump back TOWARDS the platform. You will find yourself on the small invisible platform, from which you can jump back on to the sniping platform and back out to where you just came from (useful as a CT for very quick access to helicopter).
In as_oilrig, go from the CT spawn to the narrow window overlooking the interior of the building. Move to the right hand side of the window (as you are looking out) and crouch. Get someone to stand on your head, and you can boost them through the roof here.
In de_train, above every door/entrance with a wooden surrounding which is also in a corner where two walls join, on the side nearest the wall, there is an invisible platform. Unfortunately only one of these platforms is accessible. From the terrorists respawn point, take the first door on the right which leads into the building. Go up the stairs and go along the left corridor in the building until you reach the ladder going down to the main train yard. The door you go out of to reach the train yard features this platform – jump on to it by climbing the ladder on to the train at the bottom of the stairs and jumping towards the corner above the door.
In de_dust, on the corridor with many green boxes, connecting the terrorists respawn point (not the indoors route, the outside route), at the CT end, on the left hand side (if you are facing the route to the terrorists respawn point), there is an invisible box. Jump on to the large box by running along the wall near these boxes; it is possible to climb on to the higher boxes using an invisible box situated next to the higher boxes, on top of the larger one.
In cs_estate, go from the CT spawn and through the main entrance to the garden. Head about 45 degrees to either the left or right. If you stand on top of the bushes in front of you, you can crouch-jump into a tree and sit there.
In de_prodigy, it is possible to escape from the normal bounds of the map and walk around in the air. In the room with the keypad door, there are several green boxes in the corner near the back of the map, situated near a lighting fixture. Jump on to these boxes and then on to the lighting fixture (takes skill + practice to jump exactly on to the light). It should be obvious which boxes to use. Once on the light, crouch jump on to the wall with the barbed wire. Once on this wall, walk along the wall so you are on the bit of the wall which runs a short way along the back of the map (below is the corridor leading to the keypad door, and the ladder leading to the sniper’s roof). Jump from this wall on to the stone wall sloping upwards towards the back of the map. You’ll have to keep your forwards key held down during this in order to ascend the wall. Keep walking forwards up the wall and you’ll suddenly find yourself off-limits!
In de_aztec, it is possible to plant the bomb on the grass verge running alongside the river. Go to the bomb site which overlooks the river, and start to plant the bomb. As the code is almost entered and the bomb is ready to be planted, run towards the river (still pressing fire to keep the bomb planting mechanism going) and jump over the wall. This will take practice to plant the bomb on the verge; it also takes practice to land in the river (and still plant the bomb on the grass verge) instead of on the grass verge (and thereby saving health). If you plant it in the river, it will not go off and the round will continue (pointless for terrorists as the CT could just hide and win!)
In cs_italy, go in to the house (one of the routes connecting the spawn points, NOT the wine cellars) and go into the room with the wine bottles on the table. Go into the next room after this and crouch jump into the far left corner. You will find yourself stuck on a light, providing that you keep the crouch key held down all the time. If you release the crouch key you will fall down. This is of limited use but may surprise enemies once or twice.
In de_dust2, at the bomb site which is furthest away from the CT spawn point (ie. not just up the ramp and left), it I possible to plant the bomb so it cannot be defused. Go from the CT spawn point through the main door and turn right. Walk forwards past the green boxes on the left. In the corner on the left there is a green box with a space behind it – plant the bomb behind this by getting on to the green box from the raised area behind the small wall. It is just out of reach of the normal planting area so start the bomb planting activation mechanism and when the mechanism is almost finished walk towards the space behind the box and plant!
You may also find it possible, either by using scenery, jumping on to a hostage’s head (see below) or jumping on to the back of another crouching player, to get on to the rooves in pre 1.1 versions of cs_italy (amongst others) or the outside wall in cs_arabstreets, giving a good view and sniping advantage.
On hostage maps, it is sometimes successful to position hostages in windows (ie. on cs_italy) because the counter-terrorists may see the hostages from a long way off and shoot them to pieces, mistaking them for an opponent. This works even better if you shoot the hostages so they are on low health, twice in the chest and once in the foot with a Glock (supplied by default to terrorists) takes them down to about 5 health. Hiding the hostages on the rooves of cs_italy or on the roof in cs_arabstreets is another good trick, and shooting them and hiding yourself in a really important situation is also an option (though be careful doing this! Repeated hostage killing will get you kicked from a server, it doesn’t make you a good player and it is not a fair option!)
Jumping from a small ledge on to the hostages’ heads and therefore to a high advantageous position, is known as ‘hostage jumping’, and several hostages may be used at once. By doing this, you can get the hostages to an inaccessible place for the CT team. This is also cheating as it is unrealistic and unfair, but it is a good trick to use if you are among friends or desperate to win a game – be careful about the rules of the game though (there are different rules for different leagues). Controlling their movement when underneath you takes practice – look down at the tops of their heads to do this. You can also stand on their heads and jump repeatedly, and because they follow you, they move up to meet your feet, providing you with another ‘platform’ to jump from. By doing this repeatedly you can jump very high using only the hostages. There are plenty of sneaky tricks like this!
To get onto the roof above the entrance to the house (not the wine cellars!) in cs_italy, jump on to the railings, on to the barrel, on to the top of the door and on to the roof. This takes practice and must be done really fast if done at the start of the round because the counter-terrorists will be upon you fast! Crouch at the back of the level platform to avoid being shot by people who have come through the house or are on your left.
Custom maps (eg. maps with vehicles), weapon skins (e.g. gold Dual Berettas as used in Con Air, bloody knives), spray logo images, hostage skins (e.g. prostitute or naked hostages!) and player skins can all be downloaded from the web. Also available are downloads for the latest broadcast of the Counter-Strike radio program from America, spoof songs such as Camper One More Time, key bind scripts etc.
You may occasionally see a ghost appear in CS, the image of the man seen occasionally in single-player Half-Life. This is rare, but can be seen quite frequently on de_vegas in the window overlooking and to the left of the sphinx.

The Console in General

People alive cannot hear what dead people are saying and vice versa. When alive, you CAN find out what people are saying about you by pressing the key just above tab (by default). This brings up the console, to get rid of it press the key again. If the console is not appearing, go to your key settings, click Use Default and then re-enter your keys (the console key was probably assigned to something else.)

· To change gravity settings, bring down the console (using the key above tab) and type sv_gravity (value). Don’t include the brackets. You can use negative values, high values to kill people going down slopes and values around 50 to make people float. 800 is the ‘normal’ value. To change friction settings, type sv_friction [value], without the square brackets. The normal value is 4, lower values = lower friction and this determines how quickly you can climb steep inclines and the gradient of the inclines climbable (I’m sure some of these words don’t exist).

· To create a key binding, go into the console and type bind "key you wish to bind" "say_team type message here", for example. Include the speech marks. Note that in the second set of speech marks, you can use any console command you wish. One can also bind keys by going into the cstrike directory of Half-Life and loading the file ‘config.cfg’ into Notepad, then editing the key binds there.

· Binding a key to change the crosshair colour can be useful depending on the general colour of the map or if you are colour-blind. The crosshair can be invisible on some backgrounds – and binding a key to change the colour can save your life occasionally. To do this, go into the console and type bind “J” “adjust_crosshair” (include speechmarks).

· Any key can be bound to buy a certain type of armour, grenade or one specific weapon and a desired amount of ammunition, for example. This makes buying at the start of a round very fast and helps during rushes. To buy a Navy and full ammo using only the key F1, for example, bind the following, including the speechmarks:

bind “F1” “buy; menuselect 3; menuselect 1; buyammo1; buyammo1; buyammo1; buyammo1”

The Navy is in menu 3 (sub-machine guns) and then selection 1 (think about the numbers you would normally press to buy this weapon). Replace the numbers after menuselect in the line above with the appropriate number to buy the item you want. If you are buying a pistol, replace buyammo1 with buyammo2 (to buy secondary ammo).

Binding keys to do very specific things, i.e. to give set order to your own team when using tactics or to give a ruse, are sometimes very useful. The keypad is a good place to put these assigned functions, and the keys are referred to as follows.

1= kp_end

2=kp_downarrow

3=kp_pgdn

4=kp_leftarrow

5=kp_5

6=kp_rightarrow

7=kp_home

8=kp_uparrow

9=kp_pgup

0=kp_ins

.=kp_del

· Type kill in the console to kill yourself.

· Type speak “sentence” in the console to actually speak over the intercom (only to yourself). Only a limited number of words can be spoken, any of those spoken over the intercom on Half-Life single-player, although sentences such as ‘Now you are going to die’ can be constructed. Include the speech marks.

· To record the game of CS you are playing, so that you can play it back to yourself later, type record [demoname] in the console. To stop recording type stop, to play the demo back to you type playdemo [demoname] and to play it back to you at the fastest possible speed type timedemo [demoname]. I have keys bound to do this, and the process for binding keys to do this is just the same as for any console command, type bind [letter you wish to bind to] record [demoname] OR stop. Don’t include the square brackets for any of these.

· Type a command without a value following it to find out the current setting. For more information on the console and console commands visit: http://www.planethalflife.com/counter-script/

I’m not telling you all my tricks, just how to find them, otherwise you’ll find me and beat me, and we can’t have that! But if anyone wants me to come to their house and pay £20 pounds an hour to teach them to play CS then I will lol. Don’t forget travel expenses though!

If anybody has any queries, problems, questions or suggestions or if there is anything you think I should include on this site, then please e-mail me at:

dimenteep@hotmail.com