[strafe jumping] What is strafe jumping? What is not strafe jumping? You are about to find out. Contained in this page, will be the following: bunnyhopping, strafe jumping, and circle strafe jumping (CSJ). I will break them up into categories as mentioned above, there will be some demos to follow demonstrating each. Now lets hop on over (haw haw!) to the section on bunnyhopping. bunny hopping Bunny hopping is a technique used by newcomers to the game who notice everyone playing online jumping around like they got ants in their pants. Bunny hopping is not a very useful technique nor does it have any advantages for you in the arena. This is NOT strafe jumping. I'm going to describe to you what Bunny hopping is first. In the quake 3 engine, you don't necessarily have to hit the jump key 'on time' when you hit the ground to jump again. Theories vary on whether which is better, but we're not going to get into that yet. But I'm going to recommend learning the timing of your jumps. (Note: So, lets say you tap your jump key, and while you are still in the air, release, then press and hold the jump key again before you land. What this will do is make you jump immediately when you land. Repeat as necessary. No timing required. This is just how jumping in the quake3 game works.. other games you HAVE to hit jump while on the ground to jump.) The only way to learn the rhythm of jumping, is to practice and practice alot and get used to the timing. So sit there and figure out your timing, whether you want to hold the jump key in the air (again, not recommended), or whether you want to time it, get used to the timing, the rhythm, or the beat. Now add in the forward key and continue to jump or "bunny hop". DO NOT SPEND A LOT OF TIME ON THIS EXERCISE!!! I'm merely showing you what NOT to do. Now what I jsut showed you is a beginners way of strafe jumping dubbed as Bunny hopping. So what is strafe jumping? Good question!!! strafe jumping Strafe jumping is going to take a bit more coordination. Now all those years of past that had you playing atari, intellivision, nintendo and doom2 will come into play here. Strafe jumping is going to require a decent config setup. A standard for most first person shooters (FPS) are the arrow keys, WASD or ESDF keys for movement. If you look at the W, A, S, and D keys, you'll notice they sort of form a shape similar to the arrow keys. The same goes with E, S, D, and F keys. That's a pretty standard setup for most FPS games. Your MOUSE1 button (left button) is usually your fire/shoot button, and MOUSE2 (right button) is for jumping. I personally use ESDF just because of having a typing background, the little notch on the F key lets me know that my hand is where it needs to be, and I know what keys are around it. Feel free to use WASD or the arrow keys. The arrow keys being slightly more limited for other game binds such as chat binds, weapon binds and other stuff (things not discussed on this version of help arena, unless enough people demand it). If you've got one of the setups stated above, lets move on. If you do not, keep reading and see if your setup will work. It's going to require several keys being pressed, and timing jumps at the same time. Ok, so we know bunny hopping is moving in a linear fashion (straight line) and timing jumps accordingly. Bunny hopping doesn't give you much freedom for turning, nor does it gain you any speed whatsoever. Strafe jumping, on the other hand, does. Strafe jumping will make your path less linear (though still somewhat straight, depending on the map) and you will gain some speed with each consecutive jump, if timed correctly. Let's get on with it. To strafe jump at it's basic level, merely add, or hold a strafe key with the forward key (hey it didn't get the name strafe jumping at random!). So at any time during a jump, you will be pressing and holding forward and a strafe key, left or right. Don't forget to time your jumps (or bunny hops!). Strafe jumping in its most basic form, is the same as bunny hopping, just with the strafe key added in. Now if you aim your mouse/crosshair slightly in the same direction of the strafe key you are holding, you'll notice that with each jump, you'll slightly move in that direction. Now reverse it!!! Aim and hold the opposite direction strafe key while keeping your jumps timed one after another! With practice, you'll develop a slightly zig-zag pattern to your run. If you are running the OSP mod with the ups turned on, you'll notice that with each jump, you'll gain some speed. Usually 20-40ups per jump.. though a good strafer can get 50-100ups at times. But that will be covered in the speed running section of help arena. Don't worry, you're almost there! So here is what should be happening: (starting with left) Holding forward, hold left strafe and jump (continue holdig forward and left strafe); Now you can switch strafe keys, but make the switch fast! When you switch is up to you. Whether you switch every jump every other jump (left, left, right, right) or every 3 jumps, or 2 this way, 4 that way, 1 this way etc. It will depend on the limits of the map you are in. Now that you've got the basics of strafe jumping, lets add some mouse movement to it. (No, not because you want to shake your groove thing in the arena, but because you want to be more agile!) This will be a precursor to circle strafe jumping (CSJ for short) which is just a few sentences below. Let's pretend that your basic strafe jumping technique is 2 jumps per strafe key. Such as left, left, right, right, repeat. (Did you remember to hold forward AND strafe keys AND time your jumps??) So if we're starting with a left strafe jump, when you are in the air aim your mouse roughly 45 degrees to the left of your where center would be. Now on that second left strafe jump, move the mouse to the left SLIGHTLY. But wait! I'm going to a right strafe jump next! Help!! Now what happens at that jump between left and right, and vice versa? By god! Don't look forward! Swing that mouse smoothly, but fairly quickly, into the opposite direction. So now after that second left strafe jump, jump with the right strafe key AND NOW swing the mouse to about 45 degrees to the right of center, and then again slightly more to the right after the first right strafe jump. There are different methods to swing that mouse... I come from old school quake 3 and I was taught a curved swing. This is one of the hardest things to describe, so years back, I made a diagram showcasing a good exercise on mouse swings. The diagram is below as well as a demo: Now what this diagram shows is how I was taught strafe jumping and circle strafe jumping (sorry for the crappy MS paint diagram). It's an infinity symbol or sideways figure eight. And although not to any scale, it shows the basic movement that I still use today. We'll start from our first left strafe jump which is shown as the green arrows on the left of the image. Now after I switch to the right strafe key, I swing the mouse to that 45 degree angle to the right representing the blue arrow. Again, the green arrows on the right represent my right strafe jumps, slightly moving the mouse with each consecutive jump. Then swinging to the left AFTER I switched my strafe keys (represented by the red arrow). The method I use follows that pattern, but is much flatter. But call it old school quake, or call it a "legato" for you music people out there, it's a very smooth movement and smooth transition. After a while, you'll get the hang of not using the method above, as I have, in my demos presented on this. But What ever works best for you, use it. Here's a demo showcasing bunnyhopping, basic strafe jumping, strafe jumping with mouse movements, and using CSJ (next topic) to start off and to cut corners: «Click Here for the Demo!» demo name: RMRjumping; map used: q3dm4 Bare with me! We are almost done! Now get that infinity pattern or sideways 8 pattern into the switch from left to right, and right to left. You're going to need it! Now all that swinging and flailing of the mouse isn't for looks, it can aid in giving you speed bursts. Don't believe me? Go load up quake3arena, skirmish, no bots, on map q3tourney4 (anarki's map). Now go to where the accel pad takes you up to the rail gun.. but don't step on it. See the 25 health icons on both sides of that middle level? Try running and jumping across that gap... go on, I'll wait here. Back that fast?? Ya didn't make it did ya? Well I can show you how to make that jump from a stand still! That's right, I said a standing jump! .... Circle Strafe Jumping Circle Strafe Jumping (CSJ)... a term coined back in the early days of quake3. This technique is also just called a circle jump. Now if you'll look back up at the poorly drawn MS paint diagram, those arrows are needed to perform a CSJ. Things you MUST do to do this trick: -MUST hold forward -MUST hold a strafe key (depending on which direction you are jumping) -MUST swing that mouse, baby! -MUST stand 90 degrees, or perpendicular to your destination or landing spot. If you are standing and looking straight ahead, your landing spot would be if you were to look over your left or right shoulder (not turning your body). In one quick coordinated event, press and hold forward and the strafe key in the direction you are jumping to, swing that mouse quickly and fluidly, jump, and never let go of forward AND strafe. You can run up to the spot and jump as well, but lets see it in action first. «Click Here for the Demo!» demo name: RMRt4strafe; map used: q3tourney4 Now what did I tell ya? You were all worried I was lying weren't you? It happens. But that's it. That is a CSJ and it is used alot. CSJ aren't just for show, as you can see, they can be very useful as you will see in the demos below. It can cover a huge gap in one jump... can get you up around 400-450ups in one jump if done correctly. It can also make you fast. CSJ's are great for starting off a run, and are PERFECT for turning tight turns. Also, when done consecutively, and that speed builds up, you can cover alot of ground (or jump large gaps) in no time at all. Below are some more demos for you to view and see CSJ in action. «Click Here for the Demo!» demo name: RMRdm7gap; map used: q3dm7 «Click Here for the Demo!» demo name: RMRctf1strafe; map used: q3ctf1 «Click Here for the Demo!» demo name: RMRdm6strafe; map used: q3dm6 Now this next demo, kind of covers topics from the tips page and this page. In it I try to jump a gap using default settings, then with 'tricking' settings. Don't mind the screwups, but here's the demo in text form: Default settings (notice the walk up the stairs is smooth), I miss the jump a couple of times. Next I try the jump, but at the same time I jump, I press and hold a strafe key. I make the gap! (then I miss) then I make it a couple more times. Now I press my bind key to set 'tricking' settings (notice the walk up the stairs is not smooth and ignore that first miss :P) But now I can make the gap without the strafe key. And with the strafe key it's much easier... and then I show clearing the gap with CSJumps.. notice I can start way back and still land it. Demo below. «Click Here for the Demo!» demo name: RMRdifference; map used: q3dm4 Ok, that's all for now... come back tomorrow, and we'll continue from where we left off. Class dismissed!