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This is a list of tweaks (They are all legal and will not get you in trouble with the VAC) that I will compile for both CS 1.6 and Source, I am more biased for the quality side of things so if I get carried away with quality tweaks rather than performance tweaks, please excuse me for that.

Note that these also work with games running on the same engine version. For instance: 1.6 tweaks will work with the original Half-Life, Opposing Force, Blue Shift, Team Fortress Classic, Deathmatch, Ricochet, Day of Defeat and all others of that era. Whereas the Source tweaks will work with all Source games, such as the Half-Life 2 series, Day of Defeat: Source and all other Source games.

Update: Now featuring "Counter-Strike: Condition Zero" tweaks.

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Most of this will involve cutting and pasting in "autoexec.cfg"

It is a configuration file that is initiated upon start-up of both versions of Counter-Strike.

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For 1.6, it can be located by doing this:

1. Open "My Computer"

2. Click on your hard drive that you use for Steam, this will usually be Drive C.

3. Click on "Program Files"

4. Then look for the "Steam" folder.

5. Click on the "steamapps" folder

6. Then click on your username for Steam.

7. Click on "counter-strike"

8. Then "valve"

9. Right-click anywhere in the folder and create a new text document (not MS word).

10. Right-click on the new text document, rename this text file: autoexec.cfg

11. It should ask you if you really want to rename this file because it will change the file type, select yes. If you do not get this message, follow these steps:

12a. Click on "tools" at the top of the window.

12b. Then "Folder Options".

12c. Then the "View" tab.

12d. Scroll down the list to "Hide extensions for known file types" and uncheck the box and hit Apply/O.K.

12e. The text file should now be called "autoexec.cfg.txt", right-click on it and rename the file to not include .txt

13. You're done! smile


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For Source, "userconfig.cfg" must be created, and here is how to do it:

1. Open "My Computer"

2. Click on your hard drive that you use for Steam, this will usually be Drive C.

3. Click on "Program Files"

4. Then look for the "Steam" folder.

5. Click on the "steamapps" folder

6. Then click on your username for Steam.

7. Click on "counter-strike source"

8. Then "cstrike"

9. Then "cfg"

10. Right-click anywhere in the folder and create a new text document (not MS word).

11. Right-click on the new text document, rename this text file: autoexec.cfg

12. It should ask you if you really want to rename this file because it will change the file type, select yes. If you do not get this message, follow these steps:

12b. Click on "tools" at the top of the window.

12c. Then "Folder Options".

12d. Then the "View" tab.

12e. Scroll down the list to "Hide extensions for known file types" and uncheck the box and hit Apply/O.K.

12f. The text file should now be called "autoexec.cfg.txt", right-click on it and rename the file to not include .txt

13. You're done! smile

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We'll start with one that can help everybody, connection tweaks:

For 1.6, these are the ones that I found:

Connection (Optimal Settings):

rate "25000"
cl_updaterate "100"
cl_cmdrate "100"
cl_lc "1"
cl_lw "1"
ex_interp "0.1"

If you have lag with the optimal settings try these values:
rate "7500-10000"
cl_updaterate "20"
cl_cmdrate "30"

For Source, I found these:


56k
rate 3000
cl_cmdrate 15
cl_updaterate 10
cl_rate 9999
cl_cmdbackup 2

112k
rate 6000
cl_cmdrate 20
cl_updaterate 15
cl_rate 9999
cl_cmdbackup 2

256k
rate 9000
cl_cmdrate 25
cl_updaterate 20
cl_rate 9999
cl_cmdbackup 2

384k
rate 15000
cl_cmdrate 30
cl_updaterate 25
cl_rate 9999 *OR* 15000
cl_cmdbackup 2

512k
rate 17000
cl_cmdrate 35
cl_updaterate 30
cl_rate 9999 *OR* 17000
cl_cmdbackup 2

(I have Comcast cable internet and I use the one below, it gave me very good results but I haven't tried any other connection settings so I guess that's not saying much, I was in a server with 6-8 ping though)

768k
rate 20000
cl_cmdrate 40
cl_updaterate 35
cl_rate 9999 *OR* 20000
cl_cmdbackup 2

1MB+
rate 23000
cl_cmdrate 45
cl_updaterate 40
cl_rate 9999 *OR* 23000
cl_cmdbackup 2

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Now for tweaking the game to run processor instructions, here is what that will do:

What it does is give you a few more FPS (Frames Per Second) by taking some of the load off of the video card and giving it to the processor. Note that this will not work if you have overclocked your processor, as overclocking somehow disables processor instructions.

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For 1.6:

copy

r_mmx "1"

into your autoexec.cfg file

MMX is the only processor instruction the original CS was programmed to use. SSE, SSE2 and 3DNow! were probably not released yet.

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For Source:

copy

r_mmx "1"
r_sse "1"
r_sse2 "1"

3DNow! is exclusively for AMD if you don't know. You can still paste it in if you have an Intel processor but it will not work, and therefore would best be left out. So if you use an AMD processor you can put this one in too:

r_3dnow "1"

This tweak should give you 5-10 more fps.

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That's all I have time for now.

Counter-Strike: Source tweaks

voice_enable "1"

This should be set to 0 if you're not using a microphone, or if you want more ease and stability, this can simply be disabled from the in-game settings.

mat_forcemanagedtextureintohardware "1"

This should only be enabled if you are having stuttering problems, if you are not having problems with stuttering, then keep this disabled or you may experience reduced framerates.

dsp_enhance_stereo "1"

Everyone should enable this, it's free sound quality. This sound quality is only possible by enabling this command and cannot be enabled from in-game. Note that it is not enabled by default and can only be enabled with this command.

cl_c4dynamiclight "1"

Makes the bomb light flash brighter and makes it easier to tell where exactly the bomb is planted. Note that it is not enabled by default and can only be enabled with this command.

cl_ragdoll_collide "1"

Makes it so dead bodies fall on top of each other instead of through each other. This won't affect performance much and is more realistic. Note that it is not enabled by default and can only be enabled with this command.

dsp_slow_cpu "0"

Will reduce quality of sound for a slow CPU if it is enabled. You shouldn't need to do this if you have a sound card.

snd_digital_surround "1"

Enables higher quality sound on all channels if you have a surround sound system (4 or more speakers). I will test this to see if it makes a difference on headphones.

muzzleflash_light "1"

Controls light from muzzle flashes when a weapon is fired. It can be disabled for a performance boost but will probably be much less realistic.

sv_forcepreload "1"

Forces server-side preloading which can improve performance.

cl_forcepreload "1"

Forces client-side preloading which can improve performance. For those that do not know what a client is, it is your computer.

cl_ejectbrass "1"

Controls whether the game shows ejected bullet shells. This can highly affect performance.

mat_dxlevel "90"

Controls what DirectX version the game uses to render with. Choose the version that matches the latest version your graphics card will actually support.

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Contrary to what everybody thinks, the DirectX command are not just for DirectX 7, 8, 8.1, and 9:

-dxlevel 60 For use with DirectX6.0

-dxlevel 70 For use with DirectX7.0

-dxlevel 80 For use with DirectX8.0

-dxlevel 81 For use with DirectX 8.1

-dxlevel 90 For use with DirectX 9.0

-dxlevel 95 For use with DirectX9.0c

This one is the one I use. DirectX9c is actually different from DirectX9 or formally known as DirectX9.0a or DirectX 9.0b depending on the actual version.

DirectX9.0c is in fact so different from 9.0a/b that Battlefield 2 cannot even be played on either of them. But enough of my rambling.

At present I am not sure if there is a DirectX10 command as I only have Windows XP and a DX9 graphics card, though I have tried this command, which set the game to run in DX6 mode(hence how I discovered the game had such a mode).

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jpeg_quality "100"

Sets picture quality to the highest. Recommended.

Counter-Strike: Condition Zero exclusive tweaks:

Don't expect much out of these, they're fairly basic compared to the stuff for 1.6 and Source. Now, I don't have CZ but i'm guessing it can be tweaked by making a userconfig.cfg in the appropriate folder just like the other two. I am also assuming that the number must have a " mark before and after the number.

ah "1"
Toggles Auto-Help (gives player hint messages throught the game) - Setting of 1 = 'on', and 0 = 'off'.

cl_observercrosshair "1"
Set to '1' to enable crosshairs in Observer mode, '0' to disable.

dm "1"
Toggles displaying of map briefings after loading a new map - Setting of 1 = 'on', and 0 = 'off'

cl_hidefrags "0"
Toggles hiding everyone else's scores except your own - Setting of 1 = 'on', and 0 = 'off'

drawradar
This turns the radar on

fastsprites "0"
Sets the complexity of the smoke sprites for the smoke grenade - The range is 0-2, with 0 looking the most like actual smoke

hideradar
This turns the radar off

hud_centerid "0"
Toggles the centering of the auto-ID text - Setting of 1 = 'on', and 0 = 'off'

lefthand "0"
Toggles the use of holding weapons in left hand - Setting of 1 = 'on', and 0 = 'off'

listmaps
Lists the maps available on the server that the client can vote for - the server admin specifies which maps get listed by editing the mapcycle.txt file.

max_shells "300"
Sets the number of shells visible at one time (0-500)

max_smokepuffs "300"
Sets the number of smoke puffs visible at one time (0-500) nightvision
Bind this to a key to toggle the use of the night vision goggles

rate "2500"
Sets how much data/information you receive from the server that you are connected to - for a 14.4 connection, set your rate to 1500 - 33.6k connection use 3000 - 56k modem use 3500 - ISDN should be 5000 - all connections faster than that should be between 5000 and 9999 setinfo

vgui_menus "1"
Toggles the VGUI menu - Setting of 1 = 'on', and 0 = 'off' timeleft
States how much time is left on the particular map

votemap
Allows the client to vote for a particular map Server-Side Commands

These are commands for people running their own Counter-Strike server.

mp_autokick "1"
Toggles automatic team-killer banning and kicking of idle clients - Setting of 1 = 'on', and 0 = 'off'

mp_autoteambalance "1"
Toggles the forcing of clients to join teams to make it balanced - Setting of 1 = 'on', and 0 = 'off'

mp_c4timer "45"
Sets the amount of time in between C4 placement and its explosion - ranges between 15 and 90 seconds.

mp_flashlight "1"
Toggles the use of flashlights by clients - Setting of 1 = 'on', and 0 = 'off'

mp_footsteps "1"
Toggles footstep sounds - Setting of 1 = 'on', and 0 = 'off'

mp_forcechasecam "0"
Toggles the chasecam to follow teammates only - useful for LAN games - Setting of 1 = 'on', and 0 = 'off'

mp_freezetime "6"
Sets the amount of "freeze" time at the beginning of each round to buy weapons and equipment - Use a setting of '0' to disable

mp_friendlyfire "0"
Toggles friendly fire - Setting of 1 = 'on', and 0 = 'off'

mp_hostagepenalty "2"
Sets the number of hostages a player can kill before they are booted from the server - Setting this to '0' turns the function off

mp_limitteams "2"
Sets the maximum number of players that one team can have more than the other team - Use a setting of '0' to completely disable the team limiting.

mp_logmessages "1"
Toggles logging of chat messages in the log files - Setting of 1 = 'on', and 0 = 'off'

mp_mapvoteratio "0.6"
Set the ratio of players required to vote on the same map before a map will change. The default is 0.6 , which means that 60% of the players on a server must vote on the same map in order for the server to change to that map. The range is 0.0-1.0

mp_roundtime "5"
Sets the maximum amount of time for each round - ranges between 3 and 15 minutes

mp_timelimit "0"
Sets the maximum amount of time in minutes between map rotations

mp_tkpunish "1"
Toggles the forcing of a player to sit out the next round if he has just killed a teammate - Setting of 1 = 'on', and 0 = 'off'

sv_restartround "0"
Sets the amount of time before resetting the game, including frags, weapons, money, and scores - Use setting of '0' to disable these restarts.

Sorry if they weren't very helpful but these were all I could find, although I would very much appreciate it if someone could try the processor instruction tweaks I described though.

r_mmx "1"

Test this by typing "r_mmx" (without quotes) into the console and if it responds with "MMX is enabled" or something similiar, then it worked. If it responds with "unrecognized command", then it is not a usable tweak for CZ.

Also try

r_sse "1"
r_sse2 "1"

and if you have an AMD processor, try

r_3dnow "1"

If any of these work, maybe you could try some of the tweaks in the 1.6 section.

What is confusing about it?

it's a lot easier to understand if you've ever been an admin of a server.

I've also got something that might come in handy for those who lag a lot. If you are having troubles with lag, the best thing to do is restart your computer, but some people like me don't wanna take the time do that. So what i do, is i would continiously stay in a crouch/slow walk mode so I don't look like i'm lagging and it makes playing so much easier with lag. But holding down the crouch or slow walk button the whole time could be annoying, so all you have to do is open consol and typle +speed. This will make it so you are always walking slow and you won't have to hold down the button, and to make your speed back to normal, type -speed into consol.

here some for source

cl_backspeed 999

cl_sidespeed 999

cl_forwardspeed 999