Source 101: Getting Started

The first thing to do after you install CS:Source is start it up and configure you options. Before that however, right click on Counter-Strike: Source from the Steam Games menu and select properties.

From there select the Set Launch Options tab. Here you can set up some different things. One of these is heapsize. You want to set this to half of your RAM, for example if you have 1 GB of ram, you would enter -heapsize 524288 . The next option I like to use is -condebug. This creates a log of your console in your cstrike directory. I also use several mouse commands here in addition to the CPL Mouse Fix, which takes out all mouse acceleration. These commands are -noforcemspd -noforcemaccel -noforcemparms. Put it all together and this is what my Lauch commands are:
-heapsize 524288 -condebug -noforcemspd -noforcemaccel -noforcemparms

Other options to use in the launch options are:

-autoconfig

Restores video and performance settings to default for the current hardware detected. Ignores settings inside any .cfg files until this parameter is removed.

-dev

Enables developer mode. Also disables the automatic loading of menu background maps and stops the quit dialog from appearing on exit.

-condebug

Logs all console output into the console.log text file.

-console

Starts the game with the developer console enabled.

-toconsole

Starts the engine directly in the console, unless a map is specified with +map.

-dxlevel

Forces a specific DirectX version when launching the engine. 50, 60, 70, 80, 81, 90 or 95

-32bit

Forces the engine to start in 32-bit mode. Only useful on 64-bit Operating Systems.

-fullscreen

Forces the engine to start in fullscreen mode.

-windowed or -sw

Forces the engine to start in windowed mode.

-w

Forces the engine to start with resolution set to .

-h

Forces the engine to start with resolution set to .

-refresh

Force a specific refresh rate.

-heapsize

Specifies the heapsize (in kilobytes) the game will use.

-nocrashdialog

Suppresses some ‘memory could not be read’ unhandled errors.

-novid or -novideo

When loading a game with this parameter, the Valve intro video will not play.

-nosound

Forces the specific game to not use the sound card.

-nosync

Forces the specific game to not use VSync.

-low

Forces the specific game to launch in a LOW process priority.

-high

Forces the specific game to launch in a HIGH process priority.

-noforcemparms

Disable the forcing of mouse parameters on startup.

-noforcemspd

Disable the forcing of mouse speed on startup.

-noforcemaccel

Disable the forcing of mouse acceleration on startup.

Once you have added any launch options to Source, start up Source and selct Options from the main menu.

From here you can set your name, the spray you wish to use in game, and your crosshair options. One thing to note is the Translucent checkbox is backwards. Selecting the box turns off Translucent crosshair and makes it dark. When it is unselected, then your crosshair is translucent. Everytime you enter the options menu, it will uncheck the box. I think this has been fixed in the latest update, but you might want to double check.

Selecting the Advanced tab brings you to more settings, however I have a custom menu GUI, so I’m not 100% sure what options are in the default GUI.

From this menu you can select your weapon alignment, either left or right-handed. It is all personal preference as to which one you use, personally I use left handed weapons. You can also choose where player names will show up, either in the center of the screen or the bottom left. The biggest reason to go into the Advanced menu is the Automatically switch to picked up weapons. If you only have a pistol and run over a primary weapon it will switch to it, same for any weapons that are more powerful than the weapon you currently have. For me, I always have this off, as do most of the players I know. The reason for this is because if you are in a fire fight, you do not want to switch to another weapon until you want to. If this option is on, you may be shooting at someone then all of a sudden find yourself switching to an empty MP5 instead of continuing to fire your deagle. Most of the time it should’t affect you, but the times it does will be enough to turn it off.

After you modify any options in the Multiplayer tab, switch to the Keyboard tab to change any setting you like.

After you have set up your controls how you like them, select the Advanced tab again. This allows you to enable the console and fast weapon switch.

Turning the console on allows you to check the damage stats after you have been killed, as well as enter in CVARs to change settings. Fast weapon switch allows you to switch between weapons using only 1 key. With it off you press 1, then must left click to select your primary weapon. When it is enabled, pressing 1 will bring out your primary weapon right away, allowing you a little more time to frag.

The Mouse tab is where you can change your sensitivity. This is all personal preference, and depends on a lot of different factors including resolution, refresh rate, windows mouse settings, mouse driver settings, mouse DPI, and mouse polling rate. So comparing different players sensitivity will never be exact. The best way to compare your sensitivity with others is to go ingame and turn 180 degrees, then measure how far it takes you. For example, my sensitivity is at .56 and it takes me about 20 inches to do a 180 degree turn.

The Video tab allows you to change your resolution as well as your graphic settings.

Personally I use 800×600 with all settings on High except for Reflections and HDR, or High Dynamic Range lighting. Reflections have no influence on gameplay, so I lower them to save a few frames. HDR on the other hand changes gameplay a lot for the maps that are HDR enabled. It also destroys framerates so I turn it off.

The Audio and Voice tabs are mostly self-explanitory, so I won’t go into those here. There are some important CVARs to use for you config file though.

Once you have changed all your settings hit OK to save them, then go ingame and test them out, as well as having the game create your config file. Next up – creating your autoexec.

Using an autoexec config is a great way to make sure all your setting stay the same. Some updates may reset your config, or an abusive admin could change it via an admin mod (just another reason to play on the sR servers, n
o admins will do that to you!). Either way, an autoexec is a great idea. Any settings you always want to be the same when you start up Source should be in there.

To get started with your autoexec open up a text editor such as Notepad. Below is a copy of my autoexec with explainations of all the commands.

//-----------
// NETCODE
//-----------
cl_cmdrate 100 //Changes the amount of packets you send to the server
cl_interp 0.01 //The interpolation value, default for CAL/CEVO
cl_interpolate 1 //Interpolate 0 is best, although most leagues lock it at 1. Will be very choppy on lower tick servers.
cl_timeout 30 //You will timeout after this long, I lower it from default.
cl_updaterate 100 //Changes the amount of packets you get from the server.rate 25000
//-----------
// OTHER
//-----------
cl_autowepswitch 0 //Disables auto-switching to picked up weapons.
cl_crosshairalpha 999 //Sets crosshair alpha - 99 is the darkest
cl_crosshairusealpha 1 //Whether to use the crosshair alpha
cl_crosshairscale 1680 //Crosshair scale. Bigger value = smaller crosshair
cl_downloadfilter "nosounds" //Will not download all those crappy sounds from a server. Using "none" will not download anything.
cl_dynamiccrosshair 0 //Whether your crosshair will expand while ducking/moving.
cl_logofile "materials/vgui/logos/strafeRight.vtf" //The spray file you use.
cl_minmodels 0 //Uses only 1 model per team
cl_min_ct 1 //Specifies the model used for minmodels
cl_min_t 2 //Specifies the model used for minmodels
cl_righthand 0 //Weapon alignment - I use lefthanded
con_enable 1 //enables console
jpeg_quality 100 //Quality of screenshots
hud_fastswitch 1 //Allows you to switch to weapons only using 1 key
name "sR -> Username" //My ingame name
net_graph 3 //The netgraph, shows FPS and netcode information
net_scale 4 //The netgraph scale
net_graphpos 2 //The netgraph position, 2 is the bottom center
sensitivity .56 //The sensitivity I use ingame
violence_ablood 1 //Makes blood show up better
violence_agibs 1 //Makes blood show up better
violence_hblood 1 //Makes blood show up better
violence_hgibs 1 //Makes blood show up better
zoom_sensitivity_ratio .75 //The sensitiviy when you are zoomed in, expressed as a ratio.
//-----------
// GRAPHICS
//-----------
cl_phys_props_enable 0 //Gets rid of all the little garbage
cl_phys_props_max 0
cl_ragdoll_collide 1 //Ragdolls collide with each other
cl_ragdoll_physics_enable 0 //Ragdolls are not shown - bodies disapear when dead
cl_show_splashes 0 //Does not show splashes in water
fps_max 101 //Caps my FPS at 100
mat_hdr_enabled 0 //Disables HDR
mat_vsync 0 // Disables VSync
r_drawdetailprops 0 //Gets rid of detail props
//-----------
// AUDIO
//-----------
snd_mixahead .1 //Synchs the audio
//-----------
// BINDS
//-----------
bind "TAB" "+showscores"
bind "ESCAPE" "cancelselect"
bind "SPACE" "+jump"
bind "'" "+moveup"
bind "*" "buy hegrenade"
bind "0" "slot10"
bind "1" "slot1"
bind "2" "slot2"
bind "3" "slot3"
bind "4" "slot4"
bind "5" "slot5"
bind "6" "slot6"
bind "7" "slot7"
bind "8" "slot8"
bind "9" "slot9"
bind "`" "toggleconsole"
bind "a" "+moveleft"
bind "b" "buymenu"
bind "c" "+duck"
bind "d" "+moveright"
bind "e" "+use"
bind "f" "impulse 100"
bind "g" "drop"
bind "CTRL" "+voicerecord"
bind "m" "chooseteam"
bind "n" "nightvision"
bind "o" "buyequip"
bind "q" "lastinv"
bind "r" "+reload"
bind "s" "+back"
bind "t" "impulse 201"
bind "u" "messagemode2"
bind "v" "radio3"
bind "w" "+forward"
bind "x" "radio2"
bind "y" "messagemode"
bind "z" "radio1"
bind "~" "toggleconsole"
bind "SHIFT" "+speed"
bind "F1" "autobuy"
bind "F2" "rebuy"
bind "F5" "jpeg"
bind "F10" "demo"
bind "DEL" "buy defuser"
bind "KP_HOME" "buy scout"
bind "KP_UPARROW" "buy_autosniper"
bind "KP_PGUP" "buy awp"
bind "KP_LEFTARROW" "buy_rifle1"
bind "KP_5" "buy_rifle2"
bind "KP_RIGHTARROW" "buy_rifle3"
bind "KP_END" "buy_ammo"
bind "KP_DOWNARROW" "buy deagle"
bind "KP_PGDN" "buy mp5"
bind "KP_ENTER" "buyammo1"
bind "KP_INS" "buy vesthelm"
bind "KP_DEL" "buy vest"
bind "KP_SLASH" "buy flashbang"
bind "KP_MINUS" "buy smokegrenade"
bind "KP_PLUS" "buyammo2"
bind "MWHEELDOWN" "invnext"
bind "MWHEELUP" "invprev"
bind "MOUSE1" "+attack"
bind "MOUSE2" "+attack2"
bind "MOUSE4" "use_primary"
bind "MOUSE5" "use_secondary"echo "Autoexec Loaded"

To save your autoexec go to File… Save As… and be sure to select All File Types, otherwise you will end up with a text file. Save it as autoexec.cfg. The autoexec file is stored in C:/Program Files/Steam/SteamApps/USERNAME/counter-strike source/cstrike/cfg depending on where you installed Steam. After you have saved it, head ingame and all your setting will be the way you want them. If for any reason while playing something gets changed, simply go in console and type exec autoexec and the autoexec will be reloaded.

That’s all I have for right now, if you have any questions on this or anything else about Source that you would like to see in the next Source 101, either email me at yankeedeuce ^@ straferight ^dot com or PM me on the sR forums with your question. In addition to anything the community has questions about, I’ll be going over other basics – weapons, maps, strats, etc. as well.