OpenArena Message Boards

note: if any players want to correct me on anything I write or give extra advice please do and I can incorporate it in to this main post.

Okay, a little less indepth than my strafe jump/movement tutorial but I'm just going to outline the basics of each game mode for newbies. Remember all this advice is if you really want to get better, if you're just playing for fun and are happy at the level you're currently at fuck it, just go find a server =). Also some of the advice I give here is just common sence, but I want to make sure everyone's aware of it so please don't feel I'm being patronising =).

Firstly I recommend you read my strafe jump tutorial (also in this forum) and try and get to grips with the basic coordination of movement, weapon switching etc. as well as just playing a few games and getting to grips with aiming etc.

Now make sure you have a decent config, as everyone's preferences are different it's best to build your own, but as a starting point here's mine http://www.sendspace.com/file/ace262 (http://www.sendspace.com/file/ace262). Download it and put it in your baseoa file, then when in game bring down the console and type "/exec RAZ3R(baseoa)" then type "/vid_restart". Then from there adjust all the settings as you wish (/r_picmip 0 if you don't want everything looking like clay).

You should also download this bright skin pack from http://www.sendspace.com/file/28fjl6 (http://www.sendspace.com/file/28fjl6) and put it in your baseoa directory. Now when playing on unpure servers or at time of writing also odigo's brutal ctf server all the enemies will have bright green, red or blue (depending on team) skins like here http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/9845/shot0016cr6.jpg (http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/9845/shot0016cr6.jpg) (the other graphics are just my config, this pk3 won't change the look of the actualy levels only the players). Notte for this bright skin pack to work properly from the options menu you should put your character as Sarge(Default) and have force player models on.

Alright, now on to how to approach different game modes:


DM

This is probably the mode you will of mainly played and it's a good starting mode because no one cares how well or badly you do and you can just get aquainted with the game. If you want to win though remember it's a race - check the score board, have identify targets on (so you can see an enemies name when you look at them) and go for the players lower on the score board, they will be easier to kill and get your frag count up higher.

Also remember you're in competition with the other players at the top of the score board, it is as bad to get killed by one of them as it is to commit suicide (you loose a point for that). You want to stop them scoring as much as you want to score yourself, so only attack them if you can help it when you have armour, health and good weapons. Killing them can slow down their fragging as they will now have 100 health and a machine gun, that's it. Also remember to control key point of the map - quad rooms (make sure you get the quad whenever it spawns), rail room etc. and make sure to stay around parts of the map people frequently meet up (just about all maps have them). Really deathmatch is just a fun mode though, for more serious play we move on =).


TDM

Team Deathmatch is where things start to get a little more tacticle. Here being killed you uust avoid AS much as you must try and kill the opposition. If you get killed the other team get a point, if you kill them your team gets a point. You should try and stay in communication with your team here (/say_team) and it is good to have binds, (e.g. /bind t say_team "stick togeather!"), now when you press t you say that message to your team. Really the best way to win in tdm is to stick togeather, and make sure you alll have weapons and armour before engaing the enemy. If they are disorganised and split up they should all be easy to take down. Also from the options menu you should turn on 'draw team overlay', this will put a box on your screen telling you at all times where you team mates are, what weapon they have out and how much health they have.


CTF

To do well in capture the flag you really need to be in contact with the rest of your team mates at all time, and I suggest you set up several say_team binds specificaly for capture the flag, as well as having draw team overlay on. Now CTF is the first mode where it really doesn't matter if you die. You should infact bind /kill to a key (e.g. /bind p kill), now when you press p you will kill yourself, you will loose a point to the score next to your name but that doesn't matter, at the end of the game all that matters if which team captured the eneemies flag more. "But why would you want to kill yourself?" I hear you ask. Well think of it just as a teleportter. If someone has your flag and you're desperate you can kill yourself and end up right at your base where the enemy flag carrier is (obviously with only 100 hp and no weapons though). Also if for example you land in water and it will take you ages to swim out it will often be quicker just to kill yourself and then recollect all the weapons etc. from around you base.

Right, now on to the team tactis - really this is why ctf clans are good, you can have proper games, unlike random public games where half your team run around like headless chickens. You should have half the team working as defence, half working as attack, that way you protect your flag while getting the enemies flag (just like your would do in a football match). Obviously this is flexible, if you are ahead on points and there isn't much time left then everyone just defend or visa versa =).

Now another important point - attackers attack TOGEATHER! you will be stronger that way and have a better chance of getting the flag and getting back out. Also don't all go for the flag at once, also hold off the enemy, and once your team mate has the flag nothing matters except protecting them! If there is armour, let them pick it up, same with health. stand in doorways after the flag carrier has gone past to block the enemy and slow down their persuit... also shoot at your flag carrier from behind, if you rail them for example you will increase their speed a lot. Also if you are infront of your flag carrier don't randomly spam missiles or plasma etc. at the enemy, if they hit your flag carrier they will stop/slow down! and if they're strafing towards you, get out the way or they will stop/slow down!

Okay, on to my next point - don't get in random fire fights with the enemy, it doesn't achieve anything, I actualy think it's best if you're attacking to injur the enemy as you go past them without stopping or killing them, that way they will be weak when they reach your flag and your defence will pick them off, therfore they wasted time. If you kill them they will respanw at their base and you will have to fight them again! Now when you get to the base make sure you have health and armour, get in and go for the flag. Once you have the flag don't hang about, attack the enemy as you're moving to the exit, if you stand there and fight you will never win as the enemy always respawn.

Now if you're in the situation where both flags have been taken (happens a lot) the flag carrier needs to stay hidden, depending on the map you either do this by constantly moving or staying in one place. Just make sure you don't hide in some small dead end where if the enemy find you you're trapped. Also remember your teams flag carrier needs defending, but you ALSO need to get your flag back, else you will never score.


1v1

The most interesting mode imo, where everything comes down just to your skill (it's also the most demanding mode and really the hardest to get in to). You should of been playing a while before starting 1v1 I think, just get practice in the other modes first until you can atleast get in the top 3 of dm games regularaly.

Now 1v1 is ALL about map control, control the map and win the game =). What this means if you shouldn't have all the armour and stop the enemy getting any, same with weapons - when you have 300 health and a rocket launcher, against the enemies 100 and a machinegun it doesn't really matter who's the better shot =).

First you need to learn the maps you're playing on, learn where the armour is, learn where all the weapons are, learn where the teleporters come out, learn where the spawn points are, learn map shortcuts... Now when the game starts you want to rush for the armour (red armour is best!) and mega health, if you don't get the RA (red armour) in time go for YA (yellow armour). Before attacking your opponent you should have atleast 300 health and weapons. If at the beginning of the game you miss all the armour and your opponent gets it, then you should be hiding, waiting for it to respawn, now hiding can be being stationary or moving about away from the enemy, just rememebr to listen for soun, try and hear where your enemy is (same thing goes if you have the advantage in order to track them down), and also if you are at a disadvantage try and keep your own sound to a minimum, e.g. pickup up weapons makes a sound, jumping makes a sound, walking makes a sound (though less than jumping), teleporters make a sound...

Okay, now when playing a game you should ALWAYS be counting the health/armour... RA and YA both respawn after 25 seconds (in settings put the timer on so you can always accuratley count how long till these respawn), MH (mega health) respawns after 25 seconds, and weapons respawn after 5 seconds. When and item respawns, be there and deny your opponent it! Though if you see your opponent is closer to the RA don't still go for it, spam rockets/greneades at the armour, but unless you know they're low on health they will have the upper hand generaly, go for a YA instead. Also don't underestimate armour shards and health orbs, they are very important and all add up also. A good duel ends up like a game of chess for map control =).

Now remember to spam! That doesn't mean standing where the rocket launcher spawns and randomly firing at the same target until your enemy comes at you from the side and kills you :P. You should as you're moving round the map fire at where you believe your opponent could be, or be in a few seconds, use rockets and grenades. And if you just killed your opponent fire rockets at spawn points, there's a chance they will spawn there!

Spawn rape's also important, if you just killed your opponent then you know they will be weak, try and get a few extra free frags in before they get a chance to get health and weapons!

Also remember to always try and predict your opponent, while not being predictable yourself. If the enemy goes through a teleporter don't just follow the mblidnly, it could be a trap for all you know, instead go to where that teleporter comes out and atttack them there. Same goes for not being predictable, don't just choose the obvious routes through a level, or your opponent will work out where you're going and be able to attack you.


Weapons

So now just a general outline of when to use all the weapons:

Gauntlet:
This is qite powerful at close range but (unless for example you are waiting at one end of a teleporter ready to hit someone the second they come through) it's not really good to get out often, you will generaly die trying to use this.

Machinegun:
Not very powerful, but if you don't have a rail gun it's good for long range as it's instant hit, so while not 100% accurate it hits the second you press fire so you can still frag people with it at very long range when they can't really fight back.

Shotgun:
This is very powerful at exxtremely close range but not good at any other time really except for mid range if you have the quad =D. The shotgun fires 11 pelets, each doing 10 damage, so obviously at point blank you can kill most players in either 1 or 2 hits.

Plasmagun:
Good for long range spam, and a fine weapon at any range but the lightning gun, rocket launcher and rail gun all surpass it at their particular ranges so you won't generaly use this once you have these. Be careful though, the plasmagun has a small splash damage radius so firing this againsta wall or at your opponent at point blank will also injur you.

Grenade Launcher:
Obviously not for direct combat, this is a spam weapon - spam corridors where you think the enemy will be, spam spawn points and the entrances to rooms, or exits of teleporters, ues it to take down the enemies health while not in view. This is also good for protecting the flag in ctf.

Lightning Gun:
Often undervalued by newer players, if you can keep the lightning gun on your opponent it is extremly powerful at close to mid range (it won't hit at long range) and also has a knock back effect on your opponent, so you can hold your opponent in lava etc. with it and it generaly prevents your opponent from fighting back effectivley (with lag this weapon becomes pretty useless though).

Rocket Launcher:
One of the most used weapons in the game, gret for spam due to its slow prjectile speed, great for rocket jumps, and very powerful (a direct hit does 100 damage). When using this weapon you should not fire directly at your enemy though, fire at the ground around them, there is a MUCH higher chance of hitting them with the splash damage than with the actualy rocket. If your enemy happens to be above you the rocket launcher isn't the best weapon generaly, use the lightning gun, or plasma (unless you want to rocket jump up to them). Also if the enemy is in the air fire at them witht he rocket still, you might hit them and it's better than waiting over a second for them to land then firing (as I've seen some players do), in that time the rl will of reloaded anyway so you are essentialy wastting a shot in these situations if you don't take it).

Railgun:
Instant hit weapon, works up to any range though generaly not good at close range, does 100 damage on hit - once you learn to aim you will love this weapon. At first you might be reluctant to use it as you can't hit anyone with it, but to get better you need to practice =).

BFG:
Stupidly over powered, it's generaly unfair to use this on maps that have it and you will find players generaly don't pick it up just to be fair.




Now just remember practice makes perfect, the best players have played a lot, everything comes over time. Be polite in servers, watch the better players, you might learn something, and if you have questions generaly you will find the better players helpful (not always though). Hopefuly that covers all the basics of different game modes and when to use what weapon, and like I sai; any questions feel free to ask, and if you think somethign should be added or altered just tell me.

Oh, and if this wasn't really hepful tell me also :/. I can maybe find something more worth while to write next time =).

Excellent article RAZ3R, this will be very helpful (as your strafe jumping tutorial was). big thanks from me!

add to a wiki - so we can redirect people easy ;)

Dude, your doing a great great job..! keep going and if you need a hand you cant count on <<ME>>
Cheers!

Great guide! Can we add this to the openarena release pack?

I'd like to do a Docs folder for game help and such but i think it's a bit too late for this now. Should have plenty of time to do docs for 0.8.0 though which is only 4 months away

Weapon Advice:
Gauntlet is useful for turning corners, as you merely have to hold down the mouse button instead of trusting your reflexes ;). Also, if you just respawned, its good for putting on alot of damage quickly (50 damage)

The machine gun is easily one of the best guns in the game. It is anti-rail, as it deals aim kockback(screws up the enemys aim) making it a very good weapon to use at long range. Dealing 7  damage per shot(in every game mode except tdm, where it does 5) with a high fire rate, if you consistantly hit with it it is devestating. Most importantly it cannot be dodged, and the enemy cant strafe back and forth to make it harder to hit them(that workes on rail users though ;)). It may not deal as much damage as rail, and at close range the aim knockback isnt useful, but the mg is a very situational and useful tool. Defenders in ctf should use this to its maximum potential. Its basicly free damage that will piss of the enemy flag carrier :) Rapid fire gun, low lag start-up and end. Good for propelling a teamate with ff off.

shot gun is very useful is space maps like ctf4ish. lag start up and end is decent. Good for propeling a nearby teamate with ff off.

NOT GOOD FOR LONG RANGE SPAM. It can be easily dodged by anyone paying attention. Maybe in the chaos in dm you can do this, but in a game where its only two oposing sides, no dice. It could be used to distort an enemys rail however, as it does have a good aim knockback, and the plasma bolts are huge and block the enemys view. It is much more useful close range, dealing 20 damage per bolt, it kills quite nicely if you can get the timing right. I would be more rejoysing for the splash damage against wall :), as it allows plasma climbing. not so useful for going up huge hights, such as from the bottom to the flag room in oa_bases3, but useful being that it only takes one bolt to get through the window in oa_bases3. Aim where the floor meets the wall(hitting the wall) and shoot + jump. Hold on the shoot button if you want to go higher. Hold forward if you want to stay against the wall. Thats the basics for plasma climbing. You have to get used to the startup lag, ending lag is pretty much nonexistant. Good for propeling a nearby teamate with ff off.

I dont like the grenade launcher :P but thats just me hehe. It does to 100 damage on a direct hit

The lg is one of the best guns in the game. It deals damage out quickly, and I think of it as an anti rocket. It is most usesful at the longest range it can go, as you will be able to keep the opponent far away enough to dodge rockets/other projectiles. If they try to strafe jump towards you, their ariel time will alow the lg knockback to come into play, if they walk forward, you can walk backward. Also, if some one is strafing to cap the flag, you can lg them and slow down their momentum immensly. Any gun that can be dodged(rockets, nades, plasma) the lg will make quick work of. It is a very defencive weapon. virtually no lag for startup and end. Good for propellng teamates with ff off.

A TERRIBLE GUN FOR SPAM XD. It travels so slow, you wont kill anyone because they will have enough time to go get a drink, have a quick nap, come back and walk two steps out of the way of the incoming rocket. It is your bread and butter weapon, and it is a close range weapon. If they do get launched in the air,  go for a sweet air rocket haha. It can be used for controling ground. Shoot the ground in frount of where your opponent wants to go, and stop them in their tracks. Try to knock them off balence by shooting the ground by thier feet(taking advantage of the rockets huge blast radius) then go for the direct rocket. I personally use this for finishing someone. mg/lg till they get close, then BOOM! Rocket jumps have a surprising amount of depth to them. You will have to shoot behind you at an angle to get maximum distance. Combine with jump to get less self inflicted damage plus more hight, distance, and speed. Useful for getting out of trouble, clearing long gaps(ie water on hydronex/oabases3), Gaining lots of speed, or gaining hight(avoiding the rocket spawn campers in hydronex) Add strafe for even more speed :). decent lag startup and end. If used carefully, it is good for propeling a nearby teammate with friendly fire off.

rail has quite a bit of lag start up, so you will definitly have to get used to that, and lots of end lag obvously. Good for propelling a teamate with ff off.

The bfg is a buffed up rocket launcher haha. I believe it does the same amount of damage, just travels faster and shoots faster. Same hitboxes too I think. The bfg round is deceptively small haha. Its a noob fav ;). Useful for lols.



avoiding weapon advice:
mg- if your at far range, get close or use mg yourself. You also have the option of running and taking advantage of the spray the mg has. At close range, rockets destroy machine gun. Well actually everything destroys it when your close, rockets just do it the fastest.

sg- get far away, dont go for the gaunt kill ;) Rockets arnt that useful, lg would be though.

nades- be far away

pg- dont be predictable, as soon as you commit yourself to a certain direction, they will be able to zap you quite nicely.

lg- be either far away, or really close. approach left and right at a diagonals, zig zag. If you have enough speed to overcome the lg knockback(or if they wernt paying attention when you were at the lgs max range) then full speed ahead :). Rail/mg is good against lg being that it has very little aim knockback. Remember the its short range. If you jump, expect to be flung backwards.

rocket- Be farther away, lg works really well against it. At long range, plasmagun, rail, mg all work good. Plasmagun not so much though. Shotgun is useful for keeping a rocket user at bay. Shoot him when he jumps to take advantage of the ariel knockback. To avoid rockets, jump as much as you can, as they will be trying to rocket your feet.

rail- either switch to mg/pg, or get close. Strafe left and right to make it harder to hit you.

bfg- /callvote kick "bfg user"
just kidding of course :P



Misc. Advice
All weapons have start lag so you will have to learn the timing of each one. If you have high ping, then the start lag will be amplified by quite a bit.
keep in mind that both the rocket and rail do the same amount of damage on a direct hit(100), only the rocket is much quicker in terms of lag, but the rail is much quicker in terms of the enemy dodging it.


strafe jumping. Why do people go fast due to simply jumping? The Answer is that they are not simply jumping, but strafe jumping. It is basicly taking advantage of an approximation error, where the game makes you cover the same horizontal distance in the same amount of time, wether or not you cover the same horizontal distance at a diagonal.(think of a right angle triangle, plus V=d/t) Anyways, how to do it. You jump at a diagonal (ie left + forward, or right + forward) while looking in the same direction you just jumped.
Hold Right + Forward, jump, look slightly right until you land. Immideatly after, hold left + forward, look slightly left, and jump. Watch some defrag people, or watch some good strafe jumpers in ctf to see how its done. Speed is determined by mouse positioning, how fast you get it in that position, and of course how well you hold strafe + forward ;).



If I remember anything more, I will add it :)
Thanks razer, your clearly a much less lazy person than me haha

It is 6 damage on average. The machine gun deals 7 damage in all game types but Team Detchmatch where it only deals 5.

From source code:

ok fix'd
thanks, I never knew that :)

Nice stuff!
Can this be added to the OA Manual in the wiki?
(DO NOT LINK) h t t p s : / / openarena . wikia . com/wiki/Manual

I think that that would be a good idea, would have to wait for the creators opinion though.

iirc grenades do 125 dmg when you eat it :)

Hold Right + Forward, jump, look slightly right until you land. Immideatly after, hold left + forward, look slightly left, and jump. Watch some defrag people, or watch some good strafe jumpers in ctf to see how its done. Speed is determined by mouse positioning, how fast you get it in that position, and of course how well you hold strafe + forward Wink.

^^

I found this way was the only real option on q3 default maps.. now i think most maps are best using slow circular movements with two keys, w+a for eg. I find it easier and you have the option or switching sides or drifting towards objects and stuff. It feels kinda stupid on one of the ctf maps in this big open space and  just moving in an exact straight line.

its also nice to know that if your going at a particular speed and keep jumping that you will NOT loose any speed if you dont hold any keys in. you can turn the mouse in any direction and you will continue on the same path at the same rate of speed. as soon as you touch the direction keys you will almost certainly loose it all.

This means if you are going at a speed over a long jump, and you know you can easily make it, then just lift fingers off direction keys and if your not liable to make bad strafe jumps then you can maintain the same speed, make the jump and turn in mid air to view the area around you. Its really usefull to just shoot at spawn points and if there are lots of players and players have re-spawn protection then you would be suprised at alot of lucky hits :D

you can also keep using the same direction when strafe jumping if you know you are going to have to turn or you have to correct your trajectory. i use it a lot on some ctf maps where you are on a narrow platform and there is a wall or a turn right after, and on some of the smaller DM maps.

on some larger maps its often useful to get a rocket boost before strafing. to do this point your rocket launcher at a shallow angle towards the floor (just enough for the splash to hit you) and do a backwards strafe jump just as the splash hits you (similar timing to a normal rocket jump). while in the air quickly turn around and resume strafe jumping normally. if timed correctly you should have gotten a nice boost of speed that is faster than you normally would have gotten in the start of strafe jumping. you can also use this against a wall, jumping off of a high platform like on some ctf maps, or as a second jump off of a rocket jump. i recommend learning how to do this on the "race" section of xcm_tricks2 on the defrag mod. as always, be sure you have plenty of health and armor before using it.

You get more speed firing off a wall than the floor.

yep, but there isnt always a convenient wall to use, or you are already moving anyway.

I dont think many people will understand whats being said, here's a vid of a defragger I recorded on my server,  map minions-run9 to show as an example of what they're talking about. I don't think it's useful for beginners, I played often enough and still crap at it :)

http://q3eu.com/flash/minions-run9/

definitely better than i can, thats for sure. i usually just use a single shot in ctf if i really need it, multiples are too hard for me to aim atm.
even if a beginner cannot do it right away, an explanation of how it works helps so that they arent like OMG WTF HAX any time someone who can do it blows them away.

RAZ3R & Gerbil:
please record some Demos for the next OA-Release and every new Player can see, what you can be done in OA.

Obviously Gerbil is more used to large open area maps, where as I generaly had the smaller more enclosed 1v1 maps in mind when writing =).

As weaponswitching is so slow it's not good to be getting the gauntlet out for random corners where you don't even know if someone will be imo, and having it running while turning makes a sound and will alert the enemy ahead of time that you are there :/.

Machine gun is better in more open maps, yeah.

Plasma spam can slow down enemy strafing significantly on long straights. And as a side note for plasma (not spamming) remember to aim in front of where your enemy is heading, as there is significant travel time on plasma cells.

The grenade launcher does the same ammount of damage as the rocket launcher, though with a faster rate of fire, it's obviously not a weapon you take in to combat though, it's a weapon you use around corner, on top of powerups etc. Again this weapon is more of a prediction weapon, you run through a level throwing grenades in to corridors, or if trapped in a room you can bounce grenades off walls to try and block an enemies access and injure them.

By spam I ment firing at teleporter exits, ends of corridors etc. so predicting where someone will be in a few seconds. Rocket is great for that. Longer spams can also work though, like in the 2 bases ctf map, I've had a couple of occasions where I've had the flag and the enemy has had our flag - I'm in flag room, and the enemy flag carrier hasn't arrived at their flag room yet, so I fire a couple of rockets at the corridor leading in to enemy flag room from my flag room, and it hits them :D.

Rail gun tip: if you're not great at aim yet use jump pads to your advantage, they all have a set travel path and peak height, so if you see someone about to go on a jump pad and you have the rail gun don't keep aiming at them and fire, aim at a specific point you know they will be in a second and fire once they're there =).


You mean random game play footage, or things like showing shortcuts in the new maps?

yep, I am definitly more used to the open maps hehe :)

I find that the weapon switching can be quite fast, as I myself will switch weapons a minimum of 2 times per enemy, if they are an experienced player, then more times. O.o What does help weapon switching speed, is setting a key for each weapon, and haveing each key easy to reach. Moving your movement to ESDF helps, and using the mouse buttons (have to type bind mouse3 or mouse2) helps too.
I forgot about the gaunt noise lol :( (I am still used to playing a mod where the gaunt made no noise at all) No, In a 1v1 aggressor, its almost useless, only that it can inflict more damage than the mg if you havnt picked up any other close range weapons yet. In a larger map with lots of tight corridors(to the point of it being silly heh) you can use gaunt effectively. I believe the map is czest3ctf, maybe czest2ctf.

It does, but I find that if you move up close enough to make sure you hit them, instead of relying on them not avoiding it(which alot of people do heh)
The plasmagun actually has two things you must compensate when aiming, one is the lag of the weapon itself, and one is the lag of the travel time. If you are really close, you will still have to lead your opponent by a little bit. Every weapon has a lag time, however this becomes much more noticable when you have a higher ping.

The grenade launcher is a weapon used to control ground, wether that ground is behind a corner or not. Its a weapon that can reach otherwise unreachable enemies.

I was thinking along the lines of long range spam haha. Yes, spamming to cover teleporters and corridors is very important, especially in Agressor, where the whole game is based on map control.  For your last sentance, no comment :)

I find that rail guns are ALOT easier to use on space maps, where everyone is bouncing on bounce pads being vunerable targets. This is good practice I found. You just have to remember the bouncepads hieght and speed, then shoot where they are going to be, not where they are.

All things that could be usefull for new players.
Rocket- & Plasmajumps, Strafing Shortcuts and so on.
I know that everyone can spectate the good players, but the Demosection is very empty in OA and this could be a nice idea to fill it with some interesting stuff.

Genisis, the beginning of
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=485602530153341227
It has rocket, plasma, and strafejumping tutorials.
however, it is not oa, but q3, essentially the same stuff though.
Alot of stuff only useful in defrag too (2x rocket jump)

You can explore fun places by using 2x rocket jump, like the the roof of dm4ish. Of course you could also do a standard rocket jump with quad and it is not really an advantage

So some demos like this?

http://www.sendspace.com/file/npx11e (http://www.sendspace.com/file/npx11e)
(new ctf map "oa_spirit3" guide)

I can make similar demos of other maps if this is what you're after, or I can just record a demo next time I'm playing online and upload that =).

This is exactly what i mean!
If OA had more of this demos (e.g. for every map), it could be a good startingpoint for all new players.

Maybe so, but lets see what you got to contribute?

What is your problem?
I do not understand what do you mean.
If you think about something like this
http://openarena.ws/board/index.php?topic=1694.0 (http://openarena.ws/board/index.php?topic=1694.0)
i could help the team. But no one answers me.so i decided to come forward with a new proposal.

On the other hand if you think that i should record a demo for OA you must be silly. RAZ3R or Gerbil are the ones who can play OA. I just play around with the game ;-)

Yes I seen that thread, I didn't see the reply though, I see you clarified that. I just wondered if you wanted content to put up on some nasty commercial site :D

Here's my two cents...

Training your AIM
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I think its a good habit to practice your aim before actually playing the game with others online. I tend to rail practice on single mode/skirmish on a CTF game mode with 3-4 bots on a difficult level. I'll sometimes sit back to shoot them from a stationary location or on the move to adjust my timing and reflexes. I do this for about 10 minutes or until one sides wins (which is them alot of times, bots aim is lethal). This is a good basic warmup before playing. You will definately notice a difference after a few practices.

ok Peter, here is my first time on OA :D Yes its crap and random, but makes me laugh because I am just seeing these models and weapons for the first time and still try to concentrate on my crappy jumps :D I recorded one part at 20 fps and another at 25. I couldnt get the vids to join so I made them both the same fps which affected the play speed on the second half... like i said, noob crap.. then I noticed the audio time was not converted so was totally out of sync, but nothing a random mp3 couldnt sort out :D The last jumps were on q3 and I done the same on OA and there is little difference, but its missing or gets cut for some reason :(

http://q3eu.com/flash/wtf5/flvplayer.swf

Its a good sj Chicken, ur technich is kinda funny but really really good. Keep it going.. :D

Pd: send me a pic of you. XD

i usually play on 1.16.. the movement seems so much better, than the later versions so I guess code must have changed.

http://q3eu.com/flash/wtf/flvplayer.swf

I am an exception to the comments that jumping helps game play. I can't really lie since my stats on CTF say Im in 204 position... out of 206 players :D

Where can I see those stats?

oh i just stumbled accross them one day.. i cant remember.. i just want to forget about them.  :D

"Aside from the standard machine gun you're issued at the beginning of the game and the gauntlet that you carry with you at all times, there are a variety of other weapons scattered around the map. In order to completely own your opponents, you're going to need to grab these weapons and get proficient in their use! Here's a rundown of what's available and what their respective ammo boxes look like."


Gauntlet :

Utility: close combat only (narrow corridors and doorways, turning corners) or last-resort weapon (always available in normals mods), i use too for camper  :p
Damage: direct damage, 50 hp in average (more with speed)
Other: you won a gauntlet medal and send a "humiliation" message (that destroy your enemies morale  :p)
Have to add: avoid using it against rocket launchers, plasma guns or shotguns  :D and straf help lot!
More infos: splash damage : none *, radius damage : none, reload time : 400 msecs, switch time : 450 msecs, holdable ammunition : endlessly, none ammunition.

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Machine Gun :

Utility: long range : maybe the best way to kill a player who running away and are to far for your lightning gun (if you don't have railgun), it deals aim knockback.
Damage: 7 hp per bullet (in team deathmatch only 5hp) with a rate of ten shots per second BUT has small degree of spread (approx. 2 degrees) so you will probabely have some lost shots  :p
More infos: reload time : 100 msecs, switch time : 450 msecs, splash damage : N/A *, splash radius : N/A, holdable ammunition : 200, ammuntion pack contain : 50.

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Shotgun :

Utility: close range combat (because its large spray diminishes damage with distance) [very useful is space maps like ctf4ish]
Damage: shoots 11 pellets that deal 10 damage each (so a concentrated spread can kill an unarmoured player (110 hp) ;))
Other: don't forgot you have one second delay between shots with this weapon!
More info: splash damage : N/A *, splash radius : N/A, reload time : 1000 msecs, switch time : 450 msecs, holdable ammunition : 200, ammunition pack contain : 10.

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Grenade Launcher :

Utility: useful when somebody is hide and you know his position  ;), use to barricade entrances and force enemy to take another route (spam corridors where you think the enemy will be, spawn points and the entrances to rooms, or exits of teleporters, for protecting the flag).
Damage: detonate on contact with another player or 2.5 seconds after being launched, direct damage : 100 hp
Other Fires at a rate of 0.8 seconds
More infos: splash damage : 1 to 99 *, splash radius : 150, reload time : 800 msecs, switch time : 450 msecs, holdable ammunition : 200, ammunition pack contain : 5.

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Rocket Launcher :

Utility: medium to long range weapon (for close combat splash damage will hit you too)
Damage: direct hit deals 100 damage
Other: rocket jumping (good way to get out of the enemies base  ;)), speed of one rocket: 900-1000ups
Have to add: At short range it is best to aim directly at the enemy. At medium or long range, predict the opponent's movements and try and aim at the ground below him or the any walls close to him.
More infos: splash damage : 1 to 99 *, splash radius : 120 (you see that by shooting the ground before foot's ennemies do more damages  :p), reload time : 800 msecs, switch time : 450 msecs, holdable ammunition : 200, ammunition pack contain : 5

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Lightning gun :

Smite your enemies with the hand of Zeus !  :D

Utility: (...) knock back effect on your opponent, so you can hold your opponent in lava, slow down ennemy etc.
Damage: can kill a healthy opponent in less than two seconds because it shoots at 0.05 seconds per pulse, the only requirement is that you need a steady hand to concentrate the ray upon your opponent  ;)
Other: if other shoot you with LG : be either far away (try to escape it with for example rocket jump and then use like mg from distance), or really close, approach left and right at a diagonals and zig zag !
About cg_truelightning <0.0 - 1.0> (default = 0.0) A value of 0.0 is just like the baseq3 version "feel" of the lg.  A value of 1.0 imposes no lag at all (shaft is always rendered on the crosshairs).  A value of 0.5 is a good mix of the two to reduce the wet-noodle effect, while still maintaining consistency of where the server actually sees the shaft.
More infos: switch time : 450 msecs, splash damage : N/A *, splash radius : N/A, holdable ammunition : 200, ammunition pack contain : 60.

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Rail gun :

Utility: long range combat or sniping (weapon of choice for those with careful aim and/or a good connection)
Damage: inflicts 100 direct damage but has a low fire rate (default 1.5 seconds)
Other: you can make your team faster with shooting them (useful for catch flags) and if somebody jump in your head and jump by shooting him you can make him jump hight wall  :zwinkern: ; two consecutive shoot give 'impressive medal'
Other: if other shoot you with RG : either switch to MG/PG, or get close. Strafe left and right to make it harder to hit you!
More infos: splash damage : N/A *, radius damage : N/A, reload time : 1500 msecs, switch time : 450 msecs, holdable ammunition : 200, ammunition pack contain : 10.
Tips: most of time it's easily when you have shoot first rail and the player is still alive (because of armor,...) to change weapon and use machine gun or lightning gun (for example) it take 450 msecs in place of waiting reload (1500 msecs) and not be sure to succeed with second rail  :p

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Plasma gun :

Utility: close to medium range combat, in places where your opponent has limited horizontal movement ability or distracting/confuse opponents with bright and huge plasma balls (block the enemys view) or really good too when enemy doesn't see you  ;).
Damage: direct damage : 20 hp per orb and 10 shoots per second
Other: plasma climbing  :zwinkern:, speed of one plasma orb 2000 ups, only takes one bolt to get through the window in oa_bases3  :D
Have to add: at medium or longer range (doesn't lose its power in long range  :zwinkern:), fire a burst of plasma at a spread area, predicting the movements of the opponent!
More infos: splash damage : 1 to 15 *, splash radius : 15, reload time : 100 msecs, switch time : 450 msecs, holdable ammunition : 200, ammunition pack contain : 30.

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BFG : (overpowered?)

Utility: All ! ! !
Damage: 5 shots per second, which inflict damage and splash damage 100 hp per cell
Other: can also be use to make higher jump  :zwinkern:
More info: splash damage : 1 to 99 *, splash radius 120, reload time: 200 msecs, switch time: 450 msecs, holdable ammunition : 200, ammunition pack contain : 15.

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* Splash damage is damage taken by people near the point of impact

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You normally start with gaunlet (endlessly ammunition) and machine gun (100 munitions).

- Taking shotgun weapon give you too 10 munitions.
- Taking grenade launcher weapon give you too 10 munitions.
- Taking rocket launcher give you too 10 munitions.
- Taking lightning gun give you too 100 munitions.
- Taking rail gun give you too 10 munitions.
- Taking plasma gun give you too 50 munitions.
- Taking BFG give you too 20 munitions.

If you never have had a weapon take munitions do nothing...

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Now you know all you must for switching weapons, never have low weapons, wat cost rocket jumps etc (look the splash damage),...

The rest is question of training, config, reflex,... and luck  :)

Hope that can help you  ;) Happy frags !

"Don't just jump into battle, make sure you are fully equiped. Get a few good weapons, some health and armour."

"Every weapon has its own advantages and therefore to improve your game you must know how and when to use each weapon according to the situation. Gun switching is what separates a good player from a brilliant one."

(correction of errors? ; something to add? ...all other infos are welcome  ;))

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Nail :D
Chain :D
Mines :D

I know nothing about these weapons ^^
BUT if you can say something about this you are welcome :D
(i see you are a nail fan ;))

I am not going to make a nice formatting but the missionpack weapons (based on my experience):

Nail gun:
Utility: Used to block pathways and splitting up enemies (because they have to dodge it). Is comparable to the shotgun like the plasma is comparable to the machine gun. Effective at medium to close range, can spam at large range.
Damage: 11 slow moving projectiles that does 20 damage each. Projectiles are easily dodged but cannot be ignored due to there heavy damage.
Other: Limited usefulness in duals because the projectiles are easy to avoid if you are aware of them. The weapon kill entire groups of enemies in FFA if they are too busy fighting each other to avoid it.
Have to add: Thing like you are facing the plasma gun.

Prox Launcher:
Utility: Used to block parts of the maps.
Damage: 150 per mine (splash). No selfdamage (even if you mine yourself) or teamdamage. People can be mined directly.
Other: Mines expire after 20 seconds. They can be destroyed by any weapon capable of slash damage (plasma, rockets, grenade or mines). Mines placed in a group will detonate each other.

Chain gun:
Utility: Close to medium combat. Spray too large for long distance.
Damage: 7 per bullet (5 in team DM). Massive firerate.
Other: Full ammo last only a few seconds (biggest problem). Spray 3 times larger than the machine gun.

People who play more online than me might have a better idea about the strengths and weaknesses but this provide some technical details you need to survive them.

@GoD|Ston3r and sago007
Excellent weapon guide.
Prox Launcher also can be used for jumps, you can detonate it with RL so your rocket jump will be longer or even plasma can do the trick. Though, worst weapon ever.
Would be nice to see this guide on OA Wiki.

:) So i want copyright, lot of money, some advantages,... :D
(lol, joke of course ;))


I will be Glad (or Dead lol) if we put this in wiki ^^
BUT...can we at least say the source (like i have done in the end of my topic ^^ + sago007 of course ;))

Greetings.

It's not common to post credits on the Wiki, but you always can see contributors to the article on History page. I think it also would be correct to specify link to your posts in this thread as source along with links to another materials used to create this guide.

It's ok no problem ;)



I don't understand really good what you mean.. You will mean say wich materials i use to have these infos? Because i can say it exactely : i have read some things here in forum, some of wiki, some values from a quake 3 guide [AquaQuake3Guide.html] and QL infos where i adapt some value, add my personal knowledge and speak with some players & my mates of course...think it's all...ahh i also read the 'john camarck guide' :D


But i'm ok to put this in wiki! Should i make it myself & how make it? I must delete old and put mine (don't wanna delete work of other...)?



(must add i'm a bit inactive right now cuz of abroad's holiday)

I meant to only provide links so people can access resorces used to create this guide :) Also that part about cg_trueLightning was from OSP docs, available to download from this page http://www.orangesmoothie.org/download.html

You can just register on the wiki and edit current article. Myself, i don't see anything wrong with it if your guide is more detailed and even partially based on previous one. But still possible that there's something missing in your guide that exists in old one, this needs carefully checking and updating. Maybe someone else has different opinion on this point.