Why???????? Anyone!! pLZ!!!

[satira]

I want to know is there only bots playing all the time... always the same...  Sergei, Arachna, etc....
What is a Low Ping Server..
Why some players have powerfull weapons... seems to have more health and they can jump 3 times higher than we regular players...
Do they have privileges???
I have face this guys... yo shoot and shoot... they just shoot you once and you are dead...  not fair.

[HelloKitty!]

I want to know is there only bots playing all the time... always the same...  Sergei, Arachna, etc....

some of the servers tend to be empty. Make sure to switch off empty servers in the browser (after you click on "Multiplayer"), and to not show the bots. Both options are visible in the menu.

Then pick a server with many human players, something that says players: 7/12, not something that says 0/12

What is a Low Ping Server.

It is a server where you have low ping. Low ping means that the game is smoother and it's easier to move and aim. When you pick a server through the game (click on "Multiplayer"), the servers are sorted according to the ping. In general, the lower the ping, the better your experience will be. Look for servers with ping smaller than 100 and avoid servers with ping >150.

Why some players have powerfull weapons... seems to have more health and they can jump 3 times higher than we regular players...
Do they have privileges???

No, they don't. If you're new to the game, you have to understand that some people have been playing games very similar to this one for about 15 years now. They are very good, and have extremely good aim, and rarely miss.

Also, there are tricks which you can learn, like strafe jumping, rocket jumping and circle jumping. They tend to be used by the more experienced players because they take time to master, but then they can move really fast. Some more skills that one can get through practicing. Google these three things to see explanations and tutorials.

Just keep playing and keep some simple things in mind:

- learn the map so you know where things are
- get good weapons as often as you can
- get armour and health because the good players will (so it's harder to kill them)
- you'll get better with experience, so try to have fun. You can't beat the top guys out there, most of us can't.

Also, look for the "For beginner players" CTF server. You'll have to set the game mode to "Capture the Flag" and look for that server.  People are instructed to take it easy over there, so less experienced players can get some practice and have more fun. Give it a shot.

If it gets too frustrating, you can go into spectator mode and watch a pro kick ass. It can be really entertaining. Then copy their strategy and try to apply it next time you play.

[Bane]

If I may add to hello kitty’s advice I would have to say learn to time items it is important and can often mean the different between winning and losing. I myself still have trouble timing stuff like armor and mega health but things like quad and the other powers I can time pretty good the times for the item spawn are below and the command to enter in your console to get the in game clock..

/cg_drawtimer 1

Health 35 seconds
Weapons ammo 40
Armor 25
Personal Teleport and Medkit 1 minute
Major power ups 2 minute

Also if there is more than one power up on the map get it because the more power ups you have the hard you are to kill and the more frags you can get.

And finally one thing I found help is not to get nervous when someone is shooting at you. I know that this is hard to do but just focus on aiming and moving you will often get the kill or at the very lease weaken them so the next time you spawn and get a weapon you can kill them easy.

[vindimy]

One other big difference between newcomers and pro's is game configuration - pro's have it all figured out to have the game perform best for kills (not for looks).

So, if you're new, I suggest you edit your game's configuration and make it less pretty and more playable Here's where you can find example configuration files:

http://oa.thedimi.net/configs/

See vindimy.cfg.txt for my config which I've used for over a year now. Here's how to find configuration file for OpenArena:

On Windows: Start -> Run, type "%APPDATA%\OpenArena", press Enter. Go to EACH subfolder (baseoa, etc) and replace contents of the file q3config.cfg.

On Linux: same deal as in Windows, but located at "~/.openarena" (hidden in your home directory).

On Mac, I don't remember :/

[HelloKitty!]

If there's a pro on the map, you won't be timing anything

[sago007]

There is really only one command that gives a benefit. Most servers allows players that set com_maxfps to 125 to jump 20% higher and move 30% faster. Players that set com_maxfps 333 can jump 35% higher and move 25% faster but is slightly easier to hit midair.

This is a classic problem for Quake 3 Arena. It is one of the few games there "it is the game's fault" is a valid excuse.

[RMF]

A good tutorial for moving faster is 'genesis the beginning of' on youtube. When you search that one of the first results
By the way, many players don't mind helping a bit ingame. Maybe you know already but you can chat by pressing T, then type something and hit enter To read chat history press ~ or shift+escape. You can also enter commands there when players tell you any (always start with a / ). On busy servers a nice tip is that you also can scroll to look further back and 'lock' the view on that position (not working between map change though, use ctrl+end instead of scrolling minutes to the bottom again).

@previous tip about timing items, it is important of course but at the beginning not the most important to focus on. Also when you become better you actually notice yourself that it is important to do

[satira]

OMG I Am New at this...
All I can Say is that you have been very kind in answear my post.
And I will follow all this little details that you have pointed but will make a big difference...
Thanks a lot to all you guys!!!!!

You are really good... as I can see...
dam right!
I hope not ran into you in one game yet.... lol
mm No I don´t think so... because of my Low Ping stuff I guess... but it´s ok... I will keep practicing...
My nickname is Ares when I´m playing...

[...]

I agree with RMF players are very kind that help in game. Me being one of them. I have offered to help various players in game but they just didn't seem interested and turned it down I am always willing to help a new player.

[RMF]

Same as for dots ^^

Will take it calm when i see you Ares My name is as in my signature, but dont worry i don't expect you to remember it

[vindimy]

One more thing, check out this page for some sweet videos of OpenArena pro's nailing everyone in their sight They're quite educational.

[WaspKiller]

...Why some players have powerfull weapons... seems to have more health and they can jump 3 times higher than we regular players...
Do they have privileges???
I have face this guys... yo shoot and shoot... they just shoot you once and you are dead...  not fair.

In addition to what others have written, please note that not all of the server you have visited have been Regular OpenArena Servers.  I can see that you have visited some Excessive Plus servers and for all I know you may have also visited other Mods like Defrag.

Many Excessive Plus Servers are instantagib servers where weapons like the Rail Gun, BFG, etc., will frag you or freeze you in one shot.  Also, one of the two E+ Servers that you visited has multi-jumps enabled (the ability to jump several times without landing).  Furthermore, pros in E+ mostly use their weapons to move around the map at speeds that can exceed 7,000 units per second (ups).

You currently rank 85th at THE LAGGERS CTF:

You currently rank 400th at TOTAL RAIL MADNESS CTF:

[Falkland]

There is really only one command that gives a benefit. Most servers allows players that set com_maxfps to 125 to jump 20% higher and move 30% faster. Players that set com_maxfps 333 can jump 35% higher and move 25% faster but is slightly easier to hit midair.

And the percentage can be still a bit variable between the CPUs because pmove calculations are subjected to the rounding error from float to integer which can be different between x86s and PPCs and x86_64 , expecially if using a 32 bit binary in a 64 processor running in 32 bit compatibility.

pmove_float is the final solution for this kind of problems because even if there still could be differences if using i387 or sse fpu , 32 bit or 64 bit precision , the rounding error is almost insignificant.

[Martian]

I made a map and a demo just for players like you, new to world of OA.

It teach you how to strafejump in easy and straightforward way.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/prv8o2

just put it in baseoa folder and fire the demo from menu.

For who already have it, it's the same tr_beta_demo, just repacked with
map.

Martian,   zz  in the game.

[vindimy]

I have just made a tutorial for newcomers to OpenArena. See it here (and feedback is always welcomed): http://thedimi.net/wiki/openarena:optimizing-openarena-play-like-a-pro

[HITMAN]

I have just made a tutorial for newcomers to OpenArena. See it here (and feedback is always welcomed): http://thedimi.net/wiki/openarena:optimizing-openarena-play-like-a-pro

Excellent Tutorial Vind!

This is perfect for beginners. I will be referring this link to anyone I know that wants to learn the game. Did you create a topic dedicated to the subject of this tutorial?