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Counter-Strike is a modification (MOD) to Valve Software’s hit game Half-Life. It modifies the multiplayer aspects of Half-Life to provide the player with an experience that a trained counter-terrorist unit or terrorist unit might have. Players will join either a terrorist or a counter-terrorist force and play in one of the four types of scenarios. These are:
Hostage Rescue, where the counter-terrorists must rescue hostages.
Bomb / Defuse, where terrorists must plant a bomb in a critical area and counter-terrorists must defuse the bomb.
Escape, where the terrorists must escape from the counter-terrorists.
Assassination, Where the VIP must be escorted by the counter-terrorists to an escape point.
Weapons and other pieces of equipment are available at a cost, and players can earn money in a variety of different ways while playing the game. Players may also lose money for inappropriate actions. E.g. killing a hostage or a teammate.
Getting Started
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After installing Counter-Strike, you will want to activate it through the Half-Life menu. To do this, choose ‘custom game’ from the initial Half-Life menu, then select Counter-Strike from the list that appears. Choose ‘activate’ and you should notice that the appearance of the menus has changed. The next thing you will want to do is familiarize yourself with the mapping of the game controls on your keyboard/mouse. Choose ‘configuration->controls’ and look over the default keyboard configuration. To change any of the default mappings, double-click on the key/button field in the window. You will then be able to enter your desired key for that function. (A warning; if the new key/button was previously mapped to another function, you will need to select a new key for that function, as it will no longer have a key mapping). If you have no previous experience with Half-Life, it is strongly recommended that you play the excellent tutorial included with that game. See the ‘Controls’ section below for a description of what each game control does.
The Scenarios
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Hostage Rescue
As a terrorist, your role in a hostage rescue level is to prevent counter-terrorists (CTs) from leading the hostages from where they are being held to the hostage rescue zone. Terrorists win hostage rescue rounds by eliminating the counter-terrorist force while preventing them from rescuing hostages. CTs win a round by finding the hostages and leading more than half of them to freedom. CTs can get the attention of a hostage by moving near him then pressing their ‘Use’ key (see Controls, Use). The hostage will now follow the CT back to the rescue zone. If a CT wants the hostage to stop following, they need to press ‘Use’ again and the hostage will stay put. Sometimes when you have a group of hostages following you, they may block you into an area; you can push them out of the way by simply walking into them. CTs can also win a round by eliminating the terrorists.
Bomb/Defuse
In a bomb/defuse map, the goal of the terrorist is to plant a C4 bomb in the designated area then prevent the CTs from defusing the bomb. Players must remember to stay well clear of the bomb when it explodes, as it has a large and deadly blast radius. The bomb is randomly assigned to a terrorist at the start of the round. Team members can identify the bomb carrier by the backpack they are wearing and the player with the bomb will see an icon on their Heads Up Display (see HUD, bomb carrier). To plant the bomb, the carrier must be in the vicinity of the bombing target. While having the bomb as their currently selected item, the player must then press and hold their fire key (see Controls, Fire) for three seconds for the bomb to be planted. The bomb will go off after a set period of time has passed (45 seconds by default). The level is won by the terrorists when the bomb explodes (maximum payoff) or if the CT team is eliminated (smaller payoff). CTs can win a defuse map in two ways: by defusing the bomb or by eliminating the Terrorists (if the Terrorists managed to plant the bomb before being eliminated, CTs must still defuse the bomb to win the round). To defuse the bomb, CTs must stand near the bomb, target it then press and hold their ‘use’ key until the bomb is defused. Buying a defuse kit will halve the time required to defuse a bomb.
Escape
The terrorist team starts out in a fortified location and must "escape" to one of the pre-defined escape points. The CT's must exterminate them before they can escape. The Terrorists win the round once 50% of the team has successfully escaped. They can also break into the armory to steal weapons, or just get out of there. The two teams will switch roles after every 8 rounds of play. Both sides can also win the scenario if they manage to wipe the opposition team out.
Assassination
One member of the CT team will serve as the VIP. The object is to get the VIP safely to the pre-defined escape points. If he dies, the CT's lose the round. If he makes it safely, the CT's win. The VIP has a unique skin, only carries a knife and pistol, and has ample body armor.
The terrorist job is to assassinate the VIP, but with the other CT's guarding the VIP it is never an easy task.
Certain weapons cannot be purchased by each team in this gameplay scenario, and these will be grayed out on the weapon selection screen.
Money
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Various events in the course of a Counter-Strike game can earn you money (to a maximum of $16000) or cost you money. This money can be used to buy better equipment. The following is a summary of these events and their associated cost:
Action
Payoff / Fine
Rescuing a Hostage
$1000 for individual, $150 for team mates (awarded at end of round)
Kill a Hostage
-$1500 for individual
‘Use’ a Hostage
$150 for individual, $100 for team mates
Kill Opponent
$300 for individual
Kill Team Mate
-$3300 for individual
Terrorists Win by Bombing Target
$2750 for team members
Win by Elemination Hostage map
$2000 for team members
Win by Elemination Bomb map
$2500 for team members
CTs Defuse Bomb
$2750 for team members
CTs Win by Rescuing Hostages
$2000 for team members + Hostage bonuses
Surviving Hostage Bonus
$150 per hostage for team members
Hostages Rescued Bonus
$250 per hostage for CT team members
Either Team Loses Round
$1400 for team members
Either Team Loses over 2 Consecutive Rounds
$1400 + $500 per round over 2 (to maximum $2900)
for team members
Money can be spent on weapons whenever the player is standing in a buy zone. This is indicated by the presence of the buy icon on the Heads Up Display (see HUD below).
Game Flow
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prior to the round starting, there is a variable grace period (the server can change this, but it defaults to five seconds) during which players cannot move but may buy equipment and weapons. Each round of Counter-Strike lasts for five minutes. If neither team has won after this time the round is considered a win depending on the scenario:
- Hostage: If after the round ends and there is at least 1 player left on both teams, and not all the hostages have been rescued then the game will be a win for the terrorists.
- Bomb / Defuse: If the round ends, with the bomb having not blown up a target, and there is still at least 1 player left on both sides the CT's will win.
- Escape: If the round ends, with at least 1 player alive on both teams, and less than 50% of the terrorists have escape, the CT's will win.
- Assassination: If the round ends, with players left on both teams and the VIP has not reached the escape point, the terrorists win.
When a player is killed during a round they will enter an observer mode until the next round. While in observer mode, they can fly around the level and watch the action. There are three types of observer modes. The first is ghost mode, where the player can freely fly around the level unobstructed by anything. The second is locked chasecam. While in locked chasecam you will be locked behind the player you are observing. The third is freelook chasecam, in this mode you can freely swing the camera around the player you are observing. While in the observer modes you can use the jump key (see Controls, Jump) to switch between the three modes and the fire button (see Controls, Fire) to switch from one player to the next. If a player joins into a game when a round is already in progress, they will be immediately placed into observer mode until the current round ends.
Hostage Rescue, where the counter-terrorists must rescue hostages.
Bomb / Defuse, where terrorists must plant a bomb in a critical area and counter-terrorists must defuse the bomb.
Escape, where the terrorists must escape from the counter-terrorists.
Assassination, Where the VIP must be escorted by the counter-terrorists to an escape point.
Weapons and other pieces of equipment are available at a cost, and players can earn money in a variety of different ways while playing the game. Players may also lose money for inappropriate actions. E.g. killing a hostage or a teammate.
Getting Started
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After installing Counter-Strike, you will want to activate it through the Half-Life menu. To do this, choose ‘custom game’ from the initial Half-Life menu, then select Counter-Strike from the list that appears. Choose ‘activate’ and you should notice that the appearance of the menus has changed. The next thing you will want to do is familiarize yourself with the mapping of the game controls on your keyboard/mouse. Choose ‘configuration->controls’ and look over the default keyboard configuration. To change any of the default mappings, double-click on the key/button field in the window. You will then be able to enter your desired key for that function. (A warning; if the new key/button was previously mapped to another function, you will need to select a new key for that function, as it will no longer have a key mapping). If you have no previous experience with Half-Life, it is strongly recommended that you play the excellent tutorial included with that game. See the ‘Controls’ section below for a description of what each game control does.
The Scenarios
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hostage Rescue
As a terrorist, your role in a hostage rescue level is to prevent counter-terrorists (CTs) from leading the hostages from where they are being held to the hostage rescue zone. Terrorists win hostage rescue rounds by eliminating the counter-terrorist force while preventing them from rescuing hostages. CTs win a round by finding the hostages and leading more than half of them to freedom. CTs can get the attention of a hostage by moving near him then pressing their ‘Use’ key (see Controls, Use). The hostage will now follow the CT back to the rescue zone. If a CT wants the hostage to stop following, they need to press ‘Use’ again and the hostage will stay put. Sometimes when you have a group of hostages following you, they may block you into an area; you can push them out of the way by simply walking into them. CTs can also win a round by eliminating the terrorists.
Bomb/Defuse
In a bomb/defuse map, the goal of the terrorist is to plant a C4 bomb in the designated area then prevent the CTs from defusing the bomb. Players must remember to stay well clear of the bomb when it explodes, as it has a large and deadly blast radius. The bomb is randomly assigned to a terrorist at the start of the round. Team members can identify the bomb carrier by the backpack they are wearing and the player with the bomb will see an icon on their Heads Up Display (see HUD, bomb carrier). To plant the bomb, the carrier must be in the vicinity of the bombing target. While having the bomb as their currently selected item, the player must then press and hold their fire key (see Controls, Fire) for three seconds for the bomb to be planted. The bomb will go off after a set period of time has passed (45 seconds by default). The level is won by the terrorists when the bomb explodes (maximum payoff) or if the CT team is eliminated (smaller payoff). CTs can win a defuse map in two ways: by defusing the bomb or by eliminating the Terrorists (if the Terrorists managed to plant the bomb before being eliminated, CTs must still defuse the bomb to win the round). To defuse the bomb, CTs must stand near the bomb, target it then press and hold their ‘use’ key until the bomb is defused. Buying a defuse kit will halve the time required to defuse a bomb.
Escape
The terrorist team starts out in a fortified location and must "escape" to one of the pre-defined escape points. The CT's must exterminate them before they can escape. The Terrorists win the round once 50% of the team has successfully escaped. They can also break into the armory to steal weapons, or just get out of there. The two teams will switch roles after every 8 rounds of play. Both sides can also win the scenario if they manage to wipe the opposition team out.
Assassination
One member of the CT team will serve as the VIP. The object is to get the VIP safely to the pre-defined escape points. If he dies, the CT's lose the round. If he makes it safely, the CT's win. The VIP has a unique skin, only carries a knife and pistol, and has ample body armor.
The terrorist job is to assassinate the VIP, but with the other CT's guarding the VIP it is never an easy task.
Certain weapons cannot be purchased by each team in this gameplay scenario, and these will be grayed out on the weapon selection screen.
Money
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Various events in the course of a Counter-Strike game can earn you money (to a maximum of $16000) or cost you money. This money can be used to buy better equipment. The following is a summary of these events and their associated cost:
Action
Payoff / Fine
Rescuing a Hostage
$1000 for individual, $150 for team mates (awarded at end of round)
Kill a Hostage
-$1500 for individual
‘Use’ a Hostage
$150 for individual, $100 for team mates
Kill Opponent
$300 for individual
Kill Team Mate
-$3300 for individual
Terrorists Win by Bombing Target
$2750 for team members
Win by Elemination Hostage map
$2000 for team members
Win by Elemination Bomb map
$2500 for team members
CTs Defuse Bomb
$2750 for team members
CTs Win by Rescuing Hostages
$2000 for team members + Hostage bonuses
Surviving Hostage Bonus
$150 per hostage for team members
Hostages Rescued Bonus
$250 per hostage for CT team members
Either Team Loses Round
$1400 for team members
Either Team Loses over 2 Consecutive Rounds
$1400 + $500 per round over 2 (to maximum $2900)
for team members
Money can be spent on weapons whenever the player is standing in a buy zone. This is indicated by the presence of the buy icon on the Heads Up Display (see HUD below).
Game Flow
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prior to the round starting, there is a variable grace period (the server can change this, but it defaults to five seconds) during which players cannot move but may buy equipment and weapons. Each round of Counter-Strike lasts for five minutes. If neither team has won after this time the round is considered a win depending on the scenario:
- Hostage: If after the round ends and there is at least 1 player left on both teams, and not all the hostages have been rescued then the game will be a win for the terrorists.
- Bomb / Defuse: If the round ends, with the bomb having not blown up a target, and there is still at least 1 player left on both sides the CT's will win.
- Escape: If the round ends, with at least 1 player alive on both teams, and less than 50% of the terrorists have escape, the CT's will win.
- Assassination: If the round ends, with players left on both teams and the VIP has not reached the escape point, the terrorists win.
When a player is killed during a round they will enter an observer mode until the next round. While in observer mode, they can fly around the level and watch the action. There are three types of observer modes. The first is ghost mode, where the player can freely fly around the level unobstructed by anything. The second is locked chasecam. While in locked chasecam you will be locked behind the player you are observing. The third is freelook chasecam, in this mode you can freely swing the camera around the player you are observing. While in the observer modes you can use the jump key (see Controls, Jump) to switch between the three modes and the fire button (see Controls, Fire) to switch from one player to the next. If a player joins into a game when a round is already in progress, they will be immediately placed into observer mode until the current round ends.