Learning the Game Inside Out by Daniel Dallmann
Furthering the Blog
How To Get Known (http://www.sk-gaming.com/blog/97/)
by Michael 'Mitcha' Williams (http://www.sk-gaming.com/member/512419/)
I've been playing Counter-Strike for just over two years and I have been obsessed with understanding everything about what I enjoy, Counter-Strike.
This game needs no introduction and it's been around for many years and many changes have come through out its existance. It is now a new sort of profession where players of teams battle it out for thousands of dollars in massive tournaments we have grown to love, to watch and strive to be a part of.
My goal is to familiarize everything i've learned and come to know about CS and share this with you and now to get to my point.
Counter-Strike Commands
You can find at least a thousand or more posts on these commands concerning rates, viewsize, zoom_sensitivity_ratio, ex_interp, fps_max, sensitivity and the on going list of other various commands where it has felt to be that the sky is the limit.
Rates
The following commands have had kids litterally running around to learn all that they can about them; cl_updaterate, cl_cmdrate, rate and ex_interp.
Generally the questions come in a certain form "Who is using what?" and "How should I set these commands for my computer or my connection". I believe at least ninety percent of people that play CS have searched forums of large multigaming communities (http://www.gotfrag.com, http://www.sk-gaming.net) for the answers directly or indirectly.
The rates most professional players are using is found in the CPL GUI (ftp://ftp.thecpl.com/CPL_16gui.zip) which come along with a nice background and some advanced options easily acessible to those who install it.
cl_updaterate 101
cl_cmdrate 101
rate 25000
ex_interp 0.01
These rates are chosen by the CyberAthlete Professional League. (http://www.thecpl.com)
cl_updaterate the amount of updates you demand at one time. Download Rate
cl_cmdrate is the amount of updates you send at one time. Upload Rate
rate sets the client data rate.
ex_interp is one of the most talked about commands. Default with installation without userconfig.cfg forcing it is ex_interp "0.1", ex_interp is a clientside command allowing us to tighten or give slack to the hitbox/model alignment.
By Setting it to ZERO ex_interp "0" it performs a calculation to provide the best alignment.
The formula for ex_interp is 1/cl_updaterate #
examples with help of Andy "liquid" Lawson helping me to find exact interpoliation for my theory states in another blog:
cl_updaterate "101" = ex_interp 0.009
cl_updaterate "100" = ex_interp 0.01
cl_updaterate "83.33" = ex_interp 0.012
cl_updaterate "50" = ex_interp 0.02
cl_updaterate "40" = ex_interp 0.025
cl_updaterate "33.33" = ex_interp 0.03 * found to not be completely exact because we rounded off the updaterate
cl_updaterate "25" = ex_interp 0.04
cl_updaterate "20" = ex_interp 0.05
cl_updaterate "16.67" = ex_interp 0.06 * found to not be completely exact because we rounded off the updaterate
If you do not use an ex_interp of "0" you can find yourself shooting people but blood apearing behind them to where the hitboxes should be.
ex_interp being set to ".1" can give you a big advantage in some situations.
If you choose to pick mid double door on de_dust2 with an awp with ex_interp 0.1 you can aim at the left side of the opening and clearly hit someone directly if it hits when they cross. You can do this because the hitbox is behind the model slightly making you seem like you have super reflexes, yes it is possible to do with ex_interp 0.01 but it would have to be prefired or someone to do it with really great reflexes and timing.
What you need to know is that different tournaments use different configurations for example:
ESWC (http://www.esworldcup.com)
*The userconfig.cfg is a file found in your cstrike directory that automatically executes commands when counter-strike has opened to re-ensure we have things just the way we want.
(C:\ProgramFiles\Steam\SteamApps\USERNAME\counter-strike\cstrike or C:\ProgramFiles\Valve\Steam\SteamApps\USERNAME\counter-strike\cstrike)
ESWC uses similar commands within their userconfig compared to the CPLGUI.
I have taken them both and uploaded them for you to compare yourselfs, renamed to clarify the comparison.
http://www.pickupgamers.com/ESWC.cfg
http://www.pickupgamers.com/CPL.cfg
Both userconfig.cfg provided by the GUIs use
cl_updaterate "101", cl_cmdrate "101", ex_interp "0.01" but use rate differently.
ESWC uses rate 20000
CPL uses rate 25000
I believe that both rates are adequit for lan play, it is to demonstrate that people have their preference.
If you have a lower connection use lower rates but if you have a 2mb+ line you should be able to achieve full rates without getting loss or choke. To see if you are receiving choke or loss use net_graph 3 in console and lower your rates if you are receiving either.
You can begin with rates
cl_updaterate 101
cl_cmdrate 101
ex_interp 0 should always be set to zero
rate 25000
if you are receiving 0-5 choke quite consistently, lower your updaterate and possibly your rate like this.
cl_updaterate 80
cl_cmdrate 101 (try lowering your cmdrate with your updaterate so both are 80 it gives a different feel)
rate 20000-25000
lower your cmd/updaterate's by 10's or 20's until your choke or loss has disapeared and lower your rate if you feel it's necessary.
When you have made a choice with certain rates stick with them if you feel they're not consistent enough raise or lower them. If you do play competatively being consistent is very important, being comfortable and to play at a good level more often.
To Be Continued
The key to success is consistency
The key to consistency is repetition.