Run options
Run the hl.exe with
these optional parameters:-
-console
Besides disabling the annoying intro movies, it allows you to
access the console from the main menu and from in single player mode. After enabling this, you can open the console in-game
using the ~ key
-32bpp
Enables 32-bit color. (If you're VGA card supports this). I don't
actually think CS supports this so enabling this drops fps in 1/2 without and visual quality increase
-numericping
This
option allows you to see actual ping times to servers instead of stupid dot ratings.
-nojoy
This disables joystick support in the Half-Life engine. It shaves
a little bit off the memory footprint of Half-Life, thus might increase your fps v.v.v.v.slightly in fire fights. Worth doing
as most ppl tend to use the keyboard mouse setup anyway.
-noipx
This disabled IPX support in the Half-Life engine, and like nojoy,
it reduces memory use slightly. If you don't use IPX in your network you may as well add this to your command line.
+XXXXX
This nifty trick allows you to issue console commands right in
the shortcut command line for Half-Life. This can have dozens of uses. For example, you could add +connect zzz.zzz.zzz.zzz:27015
(where zzz... is a server's IP address), it's great for making direct shortcuts to your favorite servers!
hud_centerid 1 or 0
Although
this can be annoying for some, its very usefull. When someone is in view it shows the name in the center of the screen (sometimes
just before) so you have a little more time to shoot before the shoot you. Very usefull when enemy is hiddin in a dark place,
name pops up on screen you pop them full of lead :)
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Increasing Frames per Second (FPS)
Adding/editing
these commands to your config.cfg file can help:
Vertical Sync (v-sync)
TURN OFF THAT VERTICAL SYNC. V-sync limits your
FPS to whatever the refresh rate on your monitor is. Go to control panel/ display properties/ settings/ advanced/ "videocard
name" / additional properties then go to the Direct3D & OpenGL tabs, and look for v-sync somewhere and turn it to always
off. Then run CounterStrike and check your FPS (Type cl_showfps 1 into the console. Type 0 instead of 1 to turn it off).
Also make sure that windows is running your monitor at the max speed. Go to control
panel/ display properties/ settings/ advanced/ monitor and change your refresh frequency to the highest supported. Then switch
to OpenGL mode. Do this in your configuration section of Counter-Strike. Direct3D looks better, but OpenGL is faster.
fps_max
Sets the maximum fps your video card will render. Try setting this
to the refresh rate of your monitor for the resolution you run while in the game plus 5. So if your monitor's refresh rate
is 85, set the fps_max 90
fps_modem
Similar to fps_max also set this to refresh rate + 5. So if
your monitor's refresh rate is 85, set the fps_modem 90
cl_giblife
Determines how long a dead person will show on the ground.
The default is 25 and lower values may increase FPS since CounterStrike doesn't have to render the object.
mp_decals
Maximum number of decals to display in multiplayer mode. I default
is 300, but set it lower to increase FPS. The decals, blast marks, and bullet holes will disappear quicker but your FPS will
improve a bit.
max_smokepuffs 0
max_shells 0
r_shadows 0
r_drawviewmodel 0
turns weapon model off, recommended
gl_cull 0
(renders viewable objects only
cl_himodels 0
low quality player models
gl_picmip X
where X is 0-4, 4 poor quality high fps
gl_playermip X
X is 0-2, 2 extremely poor quality high fps
gl_round_down X
X is 0-3, 3 poor quality high fps
s_a3d 1
enables A3D sound support, if you have this use it, you can hear
alot further
s_eax 1
enables EAX sound support
fastsprites 0
lowest smoke compleity
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Improving your connection and reducing lagg
cl_updaterate
Controls the number of network updates it requests per second
from the server. Defaults to 20. With broadband connections 30-40 should be ok, but in larger games, 25 or less is recommended.
Modem users should find the best mix of bandwidth usage/smoothness at 20, but if you are joining large games with a 33.6 or
worse connection, setting this to 15 will cut your bandwidth use enough to keep you in the game. For those of you gaming on
a LAN, 50 is an optimal setting.
cl_cmdrate
Similar to cl_updaterate, but instead of updates from the server,
this controls updates to the server. The separation of these two allows you to adjust them individually for your up/downstream
bandwidth. This defaults to 30. Due to the fact that your outgoing bandwidth doesn't change as much as your incoming bandwidth
in large games, modem users can get away with keeping this set to 30. Broadband users will want this set to 40-50. 50 for
LAN gamers.
rate
Rate determines the level of data transmission between you and the
game server. The rate is unique to your setup and you should experiment with it to get the optimal setting. Also, try values
like 6540 rather than even 500 or 1000. To find the optimal rate:
1. Set the rate to the lowest value for your connection. See table below
2. Connect to a game server and look at your ping.
3. Bring down the console and type 'rate' to see what your rate is.
4. Type 'rate x' where x is your current rate + 100. Play for a few minutes and increase
your rate again by 100. Keep incrementing the rate until your ping value goes up. Your optimal rate setting is the one just
before your ping started to go up.
- 14.4 Modem Hmm chuck it in the bin
28.8 Modem New modem needed
33.6 Modem
2900 to 3900 Update as soon as you can
56k Modem/1 Channel ISDN 3600 to 5300
2 Channel ISDN 5000 to 7000
Cable
Modem 5600 to 10000
xDSL, T1+ 7500 to 20000
LAN (10MBps or 100MBps) 20000
Most connections are rarely consistent enough to be able to download at a constant
speed. You will frequently have to adjust this in game. These settings are only a guide Use netgraph to find a setting that
works well for you. If your rate is set too high, you'll experience unstable ping and packet loss. If it's too low, your machine
will begin dropping net updates to reduce bandwidth use. It's much better to be a little conservative. pushlatency Set the
pushlatency to a negative number where the absolute value is either equal to your ping or half of your ping. For example,
if your average ping is 100, set the pushlatency to -100 or -50. Play around with it and even try adjusting it if your ping
changes when you switch to a new server.
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Windows XP only tweaks
Mouse speed
Some people do not like the mouse acceleration option in Windows
XP so there is 2 things you can do to remove/fix your situation:
- Open up the registry edit (regedit) in the windows directory goto th follow place:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Control Panel/Mouse, and change the following settings: Mousespeed (1) MouseThreshold1 (0) MouseThreshold2
(0) Reboot and changes should take effect
- Run the hl.exe with these optional parameters: -noforcemaccel -noforcemparms
