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Counter-Strike

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
Revision as of 02:06, 20 April 2022 by SirYodaJedi (talk | contribs) (→‎OpenGL overbright lighting: Extension limit breaks the game's built-in MSAA)
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike cover
Developers
Valve Corporation
Barking Dog Studios[1]
Publishers
1999-2005 Sierra Studios
2005-present Valve Corporation
Engines
GoldSrc
Release dates
Windows November 8, 2000
macOS (OS X) January 25, 2013
Linux January 25, 2013
Reception
Metacritic 88
Taxonomy
Modes Multiplayer
Pacing Real-time
Perspectives First-person
Controls Direct control
Genres Shooter
Art styles Realistic
Themes Contemporary
Series Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike on IGDB
Counter-Strike guide on StrategyWiki
Counter-Strike on MobyGames
Counter-Strike on Wikipedia
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike 2000
Counter-Strike: Condition Zero 2004
Counter-Strike: Source 2004
Counter-Strike NEO -White Memories- 2005
Counter-Strike Online (series)
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 2012
Counter-Strike 2 2023

Warnings

The macOS (OS X) version of this game does not work on macOS Catalina (version 10.15) or later due to the removal of support for 32-bit-only apps.

General information

GitHub Issue Tracker for Counter-Strike and other GoldSrc-based games
Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
Disc check (requires the CD/DVD in the drive to play)
CD key
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Retail
Icon overlay.png
Counter-Strike 1 Anthology.
Windows
Steam
Icon overlay.png
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
All non-Steam releases can be redeemed on Steam.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System Location
Windows <path-to-game>\Half-Life\cstrike\[Note 1]
macOS (OS X) <path-to-game>/Half-Life/cstrike/
Linux <path-to-game>/Half-Life/cstrike/
*.cfg store the configuration.
This game does not follow the XDG Base Directory Specification on Linux.

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
Steam Cloud

Video

In-game video settings.
In-game video settings.

Graphics feature State WSGF Notes
Widescreen resolution
Vert-, does not properly adjust FOV and you are unable to change it.
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen
Use DxWnd.[citation needed]
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)
Fixed 90° horizontal.
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed
Use the -window -noborder command line arguments
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
gl_ansio 16
Anti-aliasing (AA)
MSAA, use the -nomsaa command line argument to disable.
Vertical sync (Vsync)
Can be disabled using the console command gl_vsync 0
60 FPS
120+ FPS
See Frame rate limit.
High dynamic range display (HDR)
See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Frame rate limit

Set FPS limit[citation needed]
  1. Go to <path-to-game> (you can alternatively type the commands below in the console)
  2. Create a new file called userconfig.cfg
  3. Add the following lines:
gl_vsync 0 // turn off Vsync
fps_max "desired FPS value"
fps_override 1

Notes

By default the game is capped at 72 FPS (without Vsync).
The fps_override 1 command disables GoldSrc's arbitrary 100 FPS limit.
Using certain values, especially high values will cause slow movement.

OpenGL texture filtering

Disable OpenGL texture filtering[2][3]
By default the filtering is enabled (not in Software rendering mode).
  1. Go to <path-to-game>.
  2. Create a file called autoexec.cfg.
  3. Add new line gl_texturemode gl_nearest_mipmap_linear.
  4. Save the file.

OpenGL overbright lighting

Overbright lighting increases the rendering dynamic range, resulting brighter and more colorful visuals.
Overbright lighting normally only works on the Direct3D and software renderers.[4][5]
Nvidia cards: Enable the GL extension limiter[6]
  1. Download and run Nvidia Profile Inspector.
  2. On the Half Life profile, set Extension limit to On. Apply changes.
  3. Go to <path-to-game>.
  4. Create a file called autoexec.cfg.
  5. Add new line gl_overbright "1".
  6. Save the file.

Notes

Doing this will disable multi-texturing, which has the side-effect of disabling detail textures, which may effect the appearance of other games and mods that share hl1.exe, including Counter-Strike: Condition Zero and Day of Defeat.
Doing this disables the Steam version's built-in MSAA. On the Half Life profile, change Antialiasing - Mode to Override any application setting and Antialiasing - Setting to the desired level of antialiasing (such as 4x [4x Multisampling] for a vanilla look, or 32xS [Combined: 2x2 SS + 8x MS] for maximum antialiasing).

Input

In-game key map settings.
In-game key map settings.
In-game mouse/joystick settings.
In-game mouse/joystick settings.

Audio

In-game audio settings.
In-game audio settings.
In-game voice settings.
In-game voice settings.

Audio feature State Notes
Separate volume controls
Music and sfx volume sliders, can be fine tuned with console commands
Surround sound
true for retail.
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
EAX support
Lost with Steampipe. EAX1, A3D 2.0

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
French
German
Indonesian
Fan translation by IGTC Team for version 1.6, download.
Italian
Korean
Brazilian Portuguese
Fan translation, download.
Russian
Available but not shown on Steam.
Spanish
Ukrainian
Fan translation and full dubbing by TSF, download.

Network

In-game general multiplayer settings.
In-game general multiplayer settings.
In-game advanced multiplayer settings.
In-game advanced multiplayer settings.
For more information, see the "Half-Life Dedicated Server" section of our GoldSrc article.

Multiplayer types

Type Native Players Notes
LAN play
32
Online play
32

Connection types

Type Native Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting
Direct IP
Use connect IP:port;password in the console.

Ports

Protocol Port(s) and/or port range(s)
UDP 6003, 7002, 27010, 27015, 27025
Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.

Issues fixed

Shooting sound and fire animation not synchronized

Use console commands: cl_lc 1, cl_lw 1"[citation needed]

Unable to switch from left-handed to right-handed weapon

Change to OpenGL or use console command "cl_righthand 1"[citation needed]

Unable to move diagonally

Use console commands: cl_upspeed 320, cl_backspeed 400, cl_sidespeed 400 and cl_forwardspeed 400"[citation needed]

Prevent admin slow-hacking

Use console command "cl_filterstuffcmd 1"[7]

Low performance on laptops with a Nvidia graphics cards

Opening Nvidia control panel and forcing game to run on dedicated card won't work on laptops. If the game is it's blocked or grayed out, you can do the same operation with an external program such as Nvidia Inspector[8]

Low frame rate on old hardware

Use theses console commands[citation needed]
cl_minmodels 1
gl_texturemode GL_NEAREST_MIPMAP_NEAREST
fastsprites 0 //
cl_shadows 0
cl_corpsestay 0
gl_picmip 3
cl_weather 0
r_decals 0
mp_decals 0

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
Direct3D 7 Lost with Linux update.[10]
OpenGL 2.1
Software renderer
Executable 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)
[9]
Linux
[9]

Middleware

Middleware Notes
Audio Miles Sound System EAX 1.0 and A3D 2.0 support lost with Steampipe updates. Still present in retail.
Input SDL
Multiplayer WON, Steamworks WON for retail, Steamworks for Steam.

Console commands

An exhaustive list of all Goldsrc console commands
Games running on the GoldSrc engine can utilize GoldSrc Engine Console Commands for various tasks.
The console is enabled by default in GoldSrc games, press ~ to open it.

Disable Echos

Use console command "room_off 1"[citation needed]

Disable Voice Chat

Use console command "voice_enable 0"[citation needed]

Disable Radio Commands

Use console command "ignorerad"[citation needed]

Disable Commentator Voice Overs

Use console command "speak_enabled 0"[citation needed]

Mods

The game has lots of modifications available, most of them available on GameBanana. Three of the most beloved are:

  • Original Models - When Condition Zero was released, the new player models that came with it have also replaced the original ones in the original Counter-Strike, by mistake. This fixes it.
  • Detailed (HD) textures - Makes the textures on maps HD.
  • Bots - Adds bots & bot menu for Counter-Strike, giving you the option to play singleplayer.

System requirements

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) XP
Processor (CPU) 500 MHz
System memory (RAM) 96 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 4 GB
Video card (GPU) 16 MB of VRAM
macOS (OS X)
Minimum
Operating system (OS) Snow Leopard 10.6.3
Processor (CPU) 500 MHz
System memory (RAM) 1 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 4 GB
Video card (GPU) Nvidia GeForce 8
ATI Radeon X1600
Intel HD 3000
Linux
Minimum
Operating system (OS) Ubuntu 12.04
Processor (CPU) Dual-core from Intel at 2.8 GHz
Dual-core from AMD at 2.8 GHz
System memory (RAM) 1 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 4 GB
Video card (GPU) Nvidia GeForce 8600/9600GT
ATI/AMD Radeon HD2600/3600
OpenGL 2.1 compatible
Sound (audio device) OpenAL Compatible Sound Card
Other (Graphic Drivers: Nvidia 310, AMD 12.11)


Notes

  1. When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below %PROGRAMFILES%, %PROGRAMDATA%, or %WINDIR% might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore on Windows Vista and later (more details).

References