GETTING
STARTED WITH COUNTER-STRIKE: SOURCE
I have tried
to outline the basics of CS:Source
in the following tutorial. You will find most of the information you
need to get started in this tut.. The rest, you will have to learn by
playing the game 
Let's start with the out of
game topics - what you need to know before playing the game.
Buying CS:Source
There are two ways of buying
Counter-Strike:Source. I recommend going
for the first option if you have fairly slow broadband (<1Mbps), as
the files could take a while to download. However, option 2 may be more
suitable depending on your situation, especially if you live in a
country where this game is difficult to find (e.g. Belgium).
1.
Look around the game shops in town. One will most probably have a copy
of Counter-Strike:Source, whether it is being sold separately, or being
sold with
Half Life 2. Please
make sure you check on the back of the box to verify that
Counter-Strike:Source is included - but most (if not all) copies of
Half Life 2 bring it anyway.
If the local game shops don't
have it, try looking on an online shop, like Amazon. Amazon sells a copy of
Counter-Strike:Source - here is a copy available from Amazon for
a discounted £15. Not bad!
2.
Go to Steam's homepage and download the Steam Client. Install it on your computer.
Once it has been installed,
start Steam. You can now register your
own Steam account, which you can use to play several different games
and mods, and which holds its own Steam ID.
Once you're in, go to the Games
tab, and look for Counter-Strike:Source.
Make sure you select it and not one of the older versions! From there,
you will be able to purchase a copy, and that will automatically become
available to your new account. Then, it's simply the case of
downloading all the Counter-Strike:Source files (which may take quite a
long time, depending on your connection speed), and then you can play!
Settings
First of all, let's get you the
right settings. It will decrease
the amount of lag, and will allow you to make the most of the server's
resources. Instructions follow.
1.
Make sure Counter-Strike:Source is closed. Exit Steam as well just to
make sure.
2.
Open your favourite text editor (preferably one that DOESN'T add an
extension automatically) and type in the following lines:
cl_updaterate 66
cl_cmdrate 66
rate 20000
3.
Choose 'Save As', call the file 'autoexec.cfg', and save it in the
C:\Program Files\Valve\Steam\SteamApps\~username\counter-strike
source\cstrike\cfg\ directory.
4.
Start CS:Source, and join a server.
Anothing thing you should do is
enable the developer console. To do
this, make sure CS:Source is open (you do not have to be connected to a
server), and do the following:
Options
-> Keyboard tab -> Advanced -> Enable developer console (tick
the box)
XFire
Time's up, get off CS:S! We
need to set up something else.
Run along to XFire and download the XFire client. Also create an account
on the website while it is downloading! Remember the username and
password, as that is what you will be using to log into XFire.
Once you have downloaded and
installed the client, log in using the
details you just registered with. You should be in by now - this is the
master of all game-related chat programs. It will recognise almost
every game you have installed, allow you to browse servers for the
games you have and even place a shortcut to be able to join your
favourite server (*cough*TAZServer) straight from the app. It also
helps you keep tabs with your friends, and will tell you not only what
game they are playing, but how long they have played that game, and who
their own friends are! That is class, my dear friend.
And don't forget to add me. My
username is: lancerr
TeamSpeak
Here is a quick description of
TeamSpeak, quoted from their own website:
| Quote: |
| TeamSpeak is a quality, scalable application which enables people to speak with one another over the Internet. |
And the best thing is that it's perfect to use with CS:Source! What a
coincidence.
Ok, now go over to TeamSpeak's website and download the latest
version of the TeamSpeak 2 Client.
The usual downloading and installing, and you'll end up with a pretty
shortcut on your desktop if -
a. You haven't done anything wrong, or
b. You haven't chosen not to put the shortcut on your desktop.
Now that my small bit of wry humour is over, we can continue with
setting up TeamSpeak. The default settings are good, so all you need to
do is go to 'File -> Quick Connect'
and type in the following details:
Server IP: 195.20.109.78
Port: 9026
Give yourself a funky nickname, and log in. There's a world of things
you can do with TeamSpeak, but I'll leave that to its own documentation
(on the website)! Hehe..
Note: If TeamSpeak is laggy
while you are playing, exit CS:Source and change the codec to 'Wave' in
the Settings
window. Now it should work better! I advise you disable the inbuilt
CS:Source chat feature, or set it to an obscure key, because if not the
situation might get a bit confusing.
Set it to begin transferring via MIC as soon as the volume reaches a
certain level, and check the bar to see if it's at the right level for
your voice.
Oh, and (sadly) having cute babies in the room doesn't help either - if
your poor young one starts crying in the middle of a CS:Source match,
the other TeamSpeakers won't be too happy 
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Now, we move on to the fun stuff. Playing
the game
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Keys
Keys 1 - 9
These keys are your weapons.
The primary weapon is assigned key '1'. A primary weapon is any SMG
(Sub-Machine Gun), rifle, or other large gun. That is, anything which
is not a pistol or an accessory.
The secondary weapon is assigned key '2'. A secondary weapon is a
pistol. You are supplied with one automatically at the beginning of the
round, but with a clip and only 2 extra clips for ammo.
Key '3' is used for your knife. You cannot get rid of the knife - you
are supplied with one automatically.
Key '4' is used for all grenades, which you can purchase.
Key '5' is used for the bomb. Note that this is only available to the
Terrorist team - the Terrorist who picks up the bomb.
Key B
This is the BUY key. By pressing it, you will be taken to a
graphical menu. From this graphical menu, you can purchase every weapon
in the game. However, pressing 'B' and following it by a sequence of
numbers to select your choices is far quicker. You will become more
accustomed to using the numbers the more you use the game.
Key R
The reload key. Use this tactically! You don't want to reload when an
enemy is coming round the corner
Key E
This is the USE key. This key is used to open doors, instruct
hostages to follow you, defuse a bomb (this only applies to the
Counter-Terrorist team), and other things that may need to be 'USEd'.
Keys Z, X and C
These three keys are used to chat to your teammates. This is to say
things like 'Go, go, go!', 'Storm the front', 'Affirmative' and many
other useful commands. Play around with them - that is the best way to
learn what they do.
Key G
This key is used to drop your current weapon. Please note that only
primary and secondary weapons, and the bomb (Terrorists only) can be
dropped. You cannot drop your knife, nor grenades. All your weapons
will automatically be dropped if you die or disconnect from the server.
You can pick up another gun by walking over or near it. So, if you
want to switch from an Uzi to an AK47, all you have to do is look away,
press G, and then run up to the AK47.
Keys , and .
The , key will buy a clip of primary ammo, and the . key will buy a
clip of secondary ammo. This may not be too clear to begin with, but
try them out - you will soon see what I mean.
Key Q
This is the quick switch key. This will switch from your current
weapon to the last one you used if you press it, and back again if you
press it again. When every round starts and I buy a primary weapon, I
always select my secondary one immediately after. This allows me to
switch between my primary and secondary weapons very rapidly.
This key can also be used to help you snipe, because it allows you
to 'skip' the reload (on the awp, this is faster), and it also allows
you to look around to check that nobody is sneaking up behind you. A
valuable skill 
Keys Y and U
Press the Y key to talk to everyone. Press it, then type in your
message (which will be displayed at the bottom-left corner of the
screen) and hit Enter to send it. Hit Escape if you wish to cancel it.
The U key does the same, but you will only say the message to your
teammates. The opposite team will not be able to see your message.
Key F
This is your Flashlight button. Press it once to turn your
flashlight/torch on, press it again to turn it off. Could it be easier?
Key T
Use this key to spray an image. You can set which image to spray by
going to 'Options -> Multiplayer tab' and changing your spray. The
standard image types are all allowed, so you should be able to choose
your favourite image. Beware of the larger images, as they may look
distorted when you resize them! 256x256 pixels is a good spray size.
Oh, and if you're interested in creating a transparent effect (and
you know your way around a powerful imaging tool like Photoshop), then
you can make an even cooler spray by following either of these
tutorials: click here or here.
For more information about sprays, see this tutorial.
Key M
Use this key to change teams, or to become a spectator (if it is
allowed). Try it out - you will soon become familiar with it.
Ctrl key
Use this key to crouch - this will make your firing more accurate, can
protect you if you're hiding behind a box (note that wooden boxes can
be shot through), and makes you more difficult to hit. Try crouching
every time you see an enemy and firing at them - you should notice a
difference.
Spacebar key
Jump. Jump more. Jump a bit more. Jump.
Oh, and to jump higher, use this in conjunction with Ctrl and the key
for the direction of movement. Another valuable skill!
F5 Key
By default, this key is the screenshot key. All screenshots will be
saved to your C:\Program
Files\Valve\Steam\SteamApps\~username\counter-strike
source\cstrike\screenshots folder.
Truth be told, I always change the screenshot key to 'V'. It makes
taking screenshots much easier on the hand.
Key ~ or `
This is the key to bring up the console, which we enabled earlier.
The console can be used to alter settings, remotely administer the
server, and do a myriad of other things. Press the ~ or ` key (this
depends on your keyboard) once to bring up the console, and press it
again to minimise it.
W, A, S, D Keys & Mouse
These are the standard movement keys found in almost every FPS. And
most other games
W = Forwards
A = Left
S = Backwards
D = Right
Move mouse = Look around
Left mouse button = Fire
Right mouse button = Secondary action. E.g. Adding a silencer, looking
down the scope, etc.
Thanks for reading this tutorial. I might make a tactics one later
on... Time will tell
[edit] You can also use an application called SprayR
to convert standard images into CS:Source sprays. However, it isn't
quite perfect yet.. So we will have to wait and see if future releases
fix the problem
Original Tutorial
by J_K9
for TheTAZZone-TAZForum
Originally posted on June 8th, 2006 here
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