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Movement, Awareness and Speed

Movement

1. Learn The Maps !!!

There are quite a lot of maps in Quake 3, 19 in fact. Practise them all thoroughly offline to make sure you know the maps inside out. Personally I load them up from the console using the "/devmap q3dm6" command so that I have access to the cheats for practising rocket jumps, etc. In Quake 2 there are only eight maps, but there are an awful lot of tricks to learn, including jumps and secret areas. Load these up with the "map q2dm1" command from the console. I usually enable cheats first ("cheats 1") so I can give myself maximum weapons and armour ("give all") and even invulnerability for practising jumps ("god").

It's well worth taking the time to learn shortcuts and distances that can be jumped, for example. As soon as you respawn after dying, you need to know where the nearest/best weapon is and where the threats are likely to be. During the game you'll also need to know where the nearest ammo/health packs are if you're to stay alive long. One way that Quake 3 is a lot different to Quake 2 is the fact that ammo is scarcer. This was a deliberate design goal in order to make players use a wider variety of weapons rather than just sticking to the railgun or rocket launcher all the time. This means it's even more vital to know where everything is.

2. Strafing

Strafing is the best way to avoid enemy fire. Keep side-stepping around your opponent and his shots will go straight past you while you can still fire at him. Be wary though of strafing in one direction for too long. It doesn't take much for your opponent to adjust his aim to compensate if you move too obviously in one direction. A lot of players do very small movements from left to right. This is better than standing still but really the best way is to make irregular movements, one long to the left, one short to the right, etc. Combining strafing from side to side with moving forwards and backwards is also useful if faced with an opponent who is higher up than you because it will force them to adjust their aim in all the 360 degrees.

Imagine having one player to the side and one in front. By strafing in a circle clockwise and anticlockwise you will be avoiding both of their shots at the same time. In theory ;).

3. Circle-Strafing

An extension of strafing is circle strafing. Whilst strafing in either direction, move your mouse gradually in the other direction. This will let you rotate around an opponent whilst constantly keeping your crosshair fixed on him. I often strafe in a figure of eight, strafing from left to right and moving forwards and backwards. The best way is to practice these manoeuvres offline then return to the battlefield and put them to use. The aim is to fire at people while not getting hit yourself :)

4. Straight Lines aren't Clever

Even when walking forward, strafe from side to side in case someone is following you. You should get into the habit of never walking in a straight line as it's too easy to be picked off. This is the beauty of the WSAD/EDSF key set-up. Another technique I use is to stand still briefly when running perpendicular to an enemy. It will throw his timing right off.

5. Jump

Whenever you enter a combat situation (i.e. constantly) you need to make yourself as hard a target as possible. The best way to do this is to jump frequently. Combining this with strafes to the left and right and even forwards and backwards movement will make you even harder to hit. Ok, you'll look like a nutter but let him/her try to rail you :) Another aspect of this is not just the physical difficulty for your enemy of placing his target on you, but there's also a psychological advantage to be gained. Faced with a hopping jumping maniac opponent most people's natural reaction is to panic. Him panicking should reduce the quality of his aim. Unfortunately, for every rule there's an exception. A very skilled railer will actually find it easier to pick you off if you jump! This is because they know where you're going to land. You will need to assess the skill of your opponent before deciding whether to jump or not.

6. Unpredictability

Whatever you do, don't be predictable in your movements. Any intermediate player or above will be trying to guess your movements to place their shots. For example, say you're jumping to the railgun on Q3DM15. You've just jumped to the platform with the rockets and the railgun but you see an enemy up on the ledge near the grenade launcher. In all probability he or she will be tracking you and expecting you to collect the railgun. Some players will have their cursor on the rail already and will just wait for you to walk under the cursor. Don't just grab it and hope, pause for a second or even skip it and jump pad to him if you feel you're about to be railed.

You're never more vulnerable than when the enemy is sure of your destination. This is the same for when you desperately need health. Running for the nearest health pack is the first instinct but your pursuer will know this and it may be worth running further to try to trick him, or even doubling back. From the sounds you make when you're hurt he *will* know what's in your mind. You get the picture. Move about, jump, stop still for a second, just don't single-mindedly head for things in a straight line or you'll be shot down.

You can also use his surety to your advantage. You know he'll be following you intently trying to get a frag, so litter the ground with grenades as you run, knowing he'll continue walking over them, or in Quake 3 a common tactic is to switch to the gauntlet and turn around and charge. He'll be expecting you to keep running, and the surprise gives you an advantage.

7. Crouching

A lot of new players get into crouching at the first sign of trouble. This isn't always a bad thing but you make yourself into very easy target because your movement is so restricted. Generally speaking I never crouch unless I'm suddenly faced with a player after turning a corner and it's your only way to avoid his first couple of shots. Occasional rapid crouching can be useful, however, when faced with a player with a railgun or even the shotgun. For the most part, jumping is better than crouching.

8. Rocket-Jumping

This is a very useful manoeuvre, essential for reaching high objects like the BFG on Q3DM15 and also for getting out of trouble quickly. To rocket-jump, look down then fire and jump in rapid succession. It's not difficult to master the basics, but practice will enable you to rocket-jump whilst suffering less and less damage. Rocket-jumping in Quake 2 wasn't all that popular but in Quake 3, as it was in Quakeworld, it's very common. Death From Above (the maneouve where you rocket jump in the air then rain death down upon your opponent is one of the most skillful manoeuvres in the game and one you'll get a lot of satisfaction from).

9. Use the Scenery

Remember to actually use the features of the map to your advantage. Hide behind walls or crates or statues. If you're weak then try to keep objects between him and you. Expertise at this comes with experience of the maps.

Awareness

1. Empathy

Every player on the battlefield is after the same thing as you, i.e. the top slot on the score board. Realise that, because of this, most players do the same things. They respawn, head for the best weapon they can find, head for the busiest area, fire off some shots, maybe retreat if they get hurt, die, respawn and start again. Knowing this, it's pretty easy to predict other players' movements. If they're hurt, they'll try to get away to the nearest health packs. If they've got a gauntlet or machinegun they'll run to the nearest weapon. If they've got a BFG they'll run to the nearest busy area. Understanding how other players think and appreciating what you yourself do is one of the best ways to begin to out-think your opponents. Because everyone's doing the same thing there are clear hotspots of activity on each map which you'll learn very quickly. Generally speaking they'll be crowded round the good weapons :).

2. Field-of-Vision

Using the basic configuration, you can see 90° when you look forward. Using the "/cg_fov" (Q3) or "fov" (Q2) commands you can increase your field of vision so that you'll be able to see more out of the corner of your eyes, which will let you find opponents and avoid attacks more easily. It also "feels" as if you're running more quickly around the map. I personally find that this "affects" me and adds adrenaline. The disadvantage of a higher fov is that distant objects look further away so it can more more difficult to aim. For many months I used an fov of 120 in Quake 2 but was then advised by a top player to lower it. Most players rush to increase their fov when they discover this command for the first time and it certainly does help when you're newer and don't move around as fast or know where people are. But the disadvantage of a high fov is that railing is made very difficult. In Quake 3 it's difficult enough to see your opponents, without making them seem further away. I was advised to lower it to around 100/110. I now use 105 in both Quake 2 and Quake 3. Experiment with it.

3. Sound

In-game sounds are very important and is one reason why I hardly ever play to music like many players do. Sounds will tell you if your opponent is hurt, and how badly. You may have noticed that there are are different pain sounds depending on the severity of the enemy's injuries. This should help you to decide whether to pursue to the death or retreat.

In duels, sounds are of paramount importance. Since you only have one opponent, you can tell where he is from the sounds he makes. The armour shards make a very distinctive sound for example. Water/slime or even lava (yeah!) is a dead giveaway. The jump-pads are also very distinctive and you need to remember sequences of sounds that are made when you collect items. For example on Q3Tourney4 you might hear your enemy spring up from the ground to the top floor, then grab the single rocket pack. A couple of seconds later you might hear the shotgun being collected. The doors sliding open are also a big help.

There are many examples and it will take practice to get good. So vital is sound that it is the intention of top players to try to trick you with it - collecting things they don't need or letting doors open without going through, with the sole purpose of deceiving you. Watch some of the duels on my demo pages and you'll see top players using these tricks, which you should copy.

Speed

1. Jumping

Jumping is key to many shortcuts in the game. Stairs, for example, are slow to climb but you can cut out some of the distance by jumping up to the third step, then running on. You should jump to the fifth or sixth step on every set of stairs you find.

Cut corners by jumping frequently. For example on Q3DM5 there's a platform to the red armour which starts all the way back by the plasma gun. All the corners can be cut as you run along this.

A rocket-jump on a Quake 3 jump-pad will also propel you up into the air. Running up slopes and jumping is another way to jump further.

I've prepared a Quake 2 demo showing just how fast you can get around a level. Check it out in my demos section (Q2 Archive).

2. Turbo-jumping

Most non-newbie players turbo-jump their way around the maps. This is very easy to accomplish. All you do is strafe and run forwards at the same time, whilst simultaneously jumping repeatedly. Because you're strafing, you need to angle yourself slightly to avoid the sideways movement. Turbo-jumping is a great way to get around maps quickly. Another technique most players use is to do a little jerk in direction as they do the first jump. This seems to give you an extra push forward in speed.

I prepared a turbo-jumping demo some time ago. Check it out in my demos section (Q2 Archive).

3. Strafe-jumping

If you jump whilst strafing you will jump further than normal.

4. Circular-jumping

Using this type of jump you can jump even further than the strafe jump. To do one you need to be turning the mouse before jumping and then continue to turn it after you take off.

There's a Quake 2 demo of how to circle jump in the demos archive page.

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