[tips & tricks] Recommendations Below will be my recommendations on how to approach tricking in quake 3. These are just my conventions and may not apply to you, but I hope that it will get you started on the right path. First I'm going to give you a list of "must haves" that will make your life easier: DemoShowCreator (DSC): This is a quake 3 demo viewing program/tool that is just awesome. DSC will load and play any demos from any point release (granted it's up to date along with the latest quake 3 point release) and even recognize OSP (we'll get to that in a minute) demos. It's a very easy program to use and setup, and once setup, all you have to do is double click the demo and it will load quake 3 and play the demo. DSC can be found «Here» The Latest Point Release: These are updates to the basic quake 3 arena game. Staying up to date is crucial if you want to continue playing this game be it fragging or tricking. The updates can be found almost anywhere, and at idsoftware's site as well. If you are running quake 3 version 1.30 or later, it should have an update feature also. OrangeSmoothieProductions (OSP): OSP is a modification (or mod for short) that enhances the basic quake 3 game. Improved HUD settings, more features, and most servers will be running OSP, so again this is a must have download. OSP will also play a HUGE part in determining your speed. The OSP mod can be found «Here» Now that you have the essentials to the core game, lets move on to YOU, the player. As in any learning situation, it will take time and patience. Everyone was a newbie at one point, but those with patience and the time to learn, will succeed. It will be frustrating at first, second, and even third... but don't give up! Take things slow (baby steps), learn the basics, learn the movements, learn the rhythm, then combine it all once you're comfortable. And if you still can't get it, take a break, and come back later. The worst thing about tricking is it can take 30-60 minutes before you complete your trick the first time. It can take 300 tries to land that one trick, but if you stay focused and calm... it WILL come to you. The next mental mode is to be creative. Explore every inch (or pixel) of the map. A thing I do when I come across a new map is to load it up and just run around it for a while. Get familiar with where things are placed, how the map layout flows, and keep an eye peeled anything you think could be used in a trick. So let's say you've ran around the map for a while, and have a feel for the map, and have visually tricked the map in your head. There's a trick I learned back in the early days on exploring maps even further... enter "spectate" mode and 'free-float' around the map. You may find ledges or other spots you may have missed while running around on foot. Tricking isn't all about jumping this gap, or rocketjumping from platform A, over platform B, and landing on platform C. "Freestyle", or creative tricking is something that can be fun in multiple ways. If you managed to rocket jump from one place to another... you've done a trick... but why not find other ways to do what you just did but this time, without the rocket launcher. Oh wait, I see a ledge up there. Well try to get on it!!! That is where the fun and creative parts come in. The only bounds you have in tricking are walls in the game, and physics programmed by the creators (and sometimes you can avoid both!). Even if you see a trick someone else do... find a way to do it differently and creatively. In short, BE CREATIVE! Now that we have the correct mind set to approach tricking... let's approach it! Shortly, I will give you a list of console commands (or you may bind them to keys if you so desire) that will aid you in tricking. But first the approach that I used, and I think it will help others. Read the tutorials contained within HelpArena here, and read them carefully. While it's hard to describe tricking in words, sometimes the point comes across fairly well. If you are unsure, move on to the next step in my approach. Look at the screenshots! Screenshots may be still images, but if I refer to a ledge or an item, it may be easier to follow with a picture. Next, we'll watch the demo, and watch it many times if you need to. Some tricks can be 'tricky', and the smallest and most subtle mouse movement may be the difference to success and failure. After you've watched the demo.. it's time to try it yourself! So remember: Read -> Look -> Watch -> Do! Now if you're still unsure of what's going on... review the approach, but this time you'll have a better understanding of what the text tutorial is trying to say, and with the screenshots and the demo in your memory, it may make more sense and you may know what you did wrong. If you're still having trouble, try timescaling (see command below) the demo. If the demo or trick is using weapons (plasma/rockets) another good thing is to turn on "marks on walls" either through the in game setup (Setup/Game Options/Marks on Walls) or through the console [/cg_marks "1" ("0" being off)]. If the trick is a speed run, then fire up the OSP mod from the in game menu (Modifications/OSP...) and set this command either in the console or in your config file: ch_drawspeed "1" (upper right corner of the HUD) or "2" (below your crosshair). This command only works in the OSP mod. But I am getting ahead of myself a bit. Let us set up the game for you to trick in and get the optimum performance, shall we? Commands baseq3 (or standard quake 3) commands are as follows: /sv_fps "125" this will set the 'server' frames per second to 125, which will give you the 'best' physics in the game for tricking (more acceleration and higher jumps) /g_synchronousclients "1" this will undo the choppy feeling you get with sv_fps set to 125. This is also required to be at "1" to record a demo.. very handy eh? /god god mode.. no explanation needed ;) /give all all weapons.. wooohooo!! /give grappling hook this will give you the default idsoftware grappling hook (To use the hook, you will have to bind a key or button to use it. In baseq3 the command would be as follows: /bind x "weapon 11" In OSP it would be /bind x "+button5". A good idea is to put this in your config: /bind x "weapon 11; +button5" that way, either way you'll have it set. Just replace the "x" with any key or button you wish.) /timescale "x" (where "x" is any number value) This is the quake 3 world 'time'. Default is 1 (1.0). For viewing demos in slow-mo, I recommend a setting of .6 or .7 /cg_marks "1" This, again, being the command to turn the marks on walls from when a weapon projectile hits the wall. OSP specific commands: /callvote pmove 1 This will make player movement enhanced; The reason for the callvote is because if you're on a server, you WILL have to callvote it. If you're running a single player OSP map, it will enable no problem. Setting this to 1, will change the values of pmove_fixed to 1, and pmove_msec to 8. This basically does the same thing that the first two commands in baseq3 do. /ch_drawspeed "x" Described above, 0 is off, 1 is upper right corner, and 2 is under your crosshair. This will display your speed in (quake) units per second (ups). A good tool to have when you're learning speed running. Now what's all this talk about faster acceleration, higher jumps, and player movement? Confusing I'm sure... but quake 3 arena is HEAVILY dependent upon your computer specs. For 'optimum' movement, a player should be running quake 3 at a consistent 125 frames per second (fps). Two commands to help you out in this department are: /com_maxfps "125" which will cap your frames per second at a maximum of 125fps. The other command is /cg_drawfps "1" which will display your fps in the upper right corner. So you're thinking.. I'm not getting a consistent 125fps.. that's where the commands in the lists above help. They ensure that your movement in the game is at the 'optimum'. Changing these settings will make later sections much easier, such as plasma climbing. It also makes every player on the server react the same way, so that someone with an old Pentium 2 and someone with a Pentium 4 have the same in game physics. So there you have it! You are now mentally ready, and quake 3 has been set up properly for you to trick in... so what are you still doing here? Go run some maps! (Note: As of this 3/31/03, all demos were made in either .dm_68 or .dm_67, and using standard id maps and threewave maps contained in v1.6. Some browsers require you to right click; "save target as..." in order to download the demos. If you have trouble viewing demos on the q3dm6 map, try searching for and downloading the q3dm6tmp map. If you cannot find it, feel free to email me and I'll get the map out to you.)