FPS Tips and Tricks

Ages ago I (Graph) did a bit of a blog on getting an edge in competitive gaming, located here:
http://www.finalvert...news/48-theedge

It’s pretty outdated now but thought some of it might be of interest to you guys so i’ll update a bit & post below;

Your internet:
The first place to start in order to improve your online gaming experience is your internet connection. As a general rule the faster your connection the better, but more importantly you need the lowest ‘latency’ connection possible. You can measure your latency (aka. ping) by using free online services such as http://www.speedtest.com which allow you to ping a variety of servers across Australia/New Zealand (& the world) in order to test both your internet speed & connection latency.
2012 update: this was very true of the old cods; CoD4, [email protected] & MW2, but Black Ops & MW3 changed the game with their ‘lag compensation’. in Black Ops it was quite common for players to intentionally have skype or similar running to really hammer their connection, making it near impossible to hit them. likewise people with low speed internet, around the 1 meg down mark were almost always on the better side of the lag compared to people with high speed net.
Now you’ve checked your latency & am wondering ‘so how can I improve on that?’, well it’s not actually that hard. First step is to ensure your PS3 is hardwired to your modem or router, Wi-Fi works fine for surfing the net but it’s a total fail for online gaming & can dramatically increase your latency. Another step is to forward ports on your modem/router for the PS3 or place the PS3 into a DMZ, both of these can knock tens of milliseconds from your connection latency which can mean the difference between getting a kill & being killed, for instructions on how to DMZ please click here.

Your gaming rig:
Full HD TVs, digital surround sound, gaming headphones & microphones all assist in giving you an edge on the battlefield.
Screen – bigger is not necessarily better in the case of your screen. Anything between 22″ & 40″ are ideal for gaming with some people going far larger. The most common sizes for gaming would have to be 24″, 32″ & 40″ with the 24″ screens being used mainly at a desk (particularly excellent for driving games) & the 32″ & 40″ sets being more of a lounge room type affair. The thing to go for in your screen is resolution, 1920 x 1080, also known commonly as ’1080p’ will give you the greatest picture quality & field of view, providing you with a widescreen 16:9 perspective (just make sure you’re using HDMI or Component Cables). Cost of screens can vary greatly but fortunately there are fantastic screens at all price points with Full HD 1080p 2ms 24″ screens starting around the $250 mark ! One important thing to disable on your screen is any form of motionflow/blur reduction as it introduces screen lag due to the additional processing required by the television, some screens even come with a dedicated ‘GAME’ mode with it already disabled.
2012 Update: 24″ screens start at under $200 & are by far the best option for competitive gaming. also, many games on the PS3 including call of duty run far better/smoother if you set the PS3 to only display 720p (or even standard definition if you’re still retarded enough to play BF3 lol).
Sound – you’re happy with the stereo sound that’s projected from your tv right? Well you’re missing out, digital surround sound systems provide directional sound, allowing you to pinpoint where gunfire is coming from, or the sound of footsteps from someone creeping up behind you. If you don’t have the room to setup an array of speakers around your sitting position all is not lost, there are a range of dedicated gaming headphones on the market designed specifically for isolating sounds in gaming. They don’t provide the same surround affect you’ll get with a 5.1+ system, but by simply turning left & right in game whilst listening you can get a fair idea of what location any sound is being emitted from.
Mics – simple, inexpensive blu-tooth or usb microphones are a great way to communicate in any game that requires team work. They enable you to constantly stay in contact with your team mates & convey critical information as the game plays out & can really make the difference between a win or a loss.
2012 Update: dedicated gaming headphones are the must have accessory these days. if your team doesn’t have them you’ll be at a massive disadvantage before the first shot has even been fired. the best headphones dedicated to gaming are without a doubt the Astro A40s @ about $250 (15% more off to 6A premium members *shameless plug*) which are ‘virtual’ surround sound. they’re followed by the Tritton AX-Pros @ about $180 which are then followed by the best bang for your buck Sharkoons @ about $140 which are near identical to the AX-Pros technology-wise, but just even more ugly lol. note that both the AX-Pros & Sharkoons are true Dolby 5.1 surround sound headphones which include 4 speakers in each ear cup.

Your team:
So you’re getting pretty good at gaming by this point, you’ve got yourself a slick tv, quick net & a 0.8 kdr, so what next? Well it’s time to join or create a clan. Clans are a bunch of mates who’ve teamed up to either just run around & pass the time or to enter comps. Being in, playing with & playing against clans is the best way to improve your gaming skills.
Forming a clan – this takes a lot of work, dedication & responsibility. Clans tend to have more drama in one day than a season of ‘Desperate Housewives’, so if you take this route & succeed then much respect to you!
Joining a clan – the best option for most people by far. The processes involved in joining a clan range from just rocking their clan tag to drawn out trials or even just playing for them on an alt account (if you’re a gun player). Being a regular member of a clan benefits you with almost everything a leader would have, mateship, organised comps & playing in parties, but relieves you of much of the drama & organisation, which the clan leader/s will all be doing on your behalf.

Screen targets:
Like to snipe? Wanna scrape a half second off your aim to fire time? Like to play hardcore but can’t aim your nades? Like to run around with steady aim but want to hit people from further away? Well screen targets may be for you. Screen targets are as they suggest, targets which affix to your screen. They are simple cross hair type patterns, printed onto clear vinyl which statically attach to your screen without the use of adhesive. To use all you need to do is enter a game, aim your gun & place the screen target over your gun sight on the screen & you’re ready to roll. Other crude but still effective targets might be a dot of blue-tac or a sticky taped on target but the clear vinyl type are the best.

2012 Update: Stratting/Tactics
So you know that Monday night you have to play Domination on Fallen (please note this is just hypothetical, i’m not making you play sh!t). So what can you do to ensure your team stands the better chance of winning that mode, on that map, on that day ? You can ‘strat’ it.
You have 2 spawns, top or bottom, 3 flags A, B, C & basically need to hold more flags for a longer period than your opposition. Easy right ? Well it’s easy if you figure out what spawn is the better one & which of the 3 flags are the better/easier to hold & then have all your team on the same page with what you need to do.
So enter stratting …
A few of ways you can strat. One if your clan is large enough you can run some private lobbies against one another & the better spawn & which 2 flags you need to hold will reveal themselves. Two, & this is the best way, you can buddy up with another clan you get along well with & have a ‘friendly’ against them on the map. Whilst playing you’ll learn positions they may know & find out what works & what doesn’t with regard to spawns, positioning & what objectives to hold. Three, you can sulk around the map on your own, theorise what would work & then go head long into a match to test your theories where the metal meets the meat.
Stratting of course applies to every game mode. SnD, TDM, HQ, Demolition, your team will greatly benefit from stratting on any of them. You don’t just strat map layouts either, ensuring your team mates are all using appropriate weapons/classes & even gear that compliments what the others are using (you don’t want 6 guys using EMP now do you ?) will give you a great advantage. Also stratting can enable a relatively weak team to defeat a strong team who come unprepared.

2012 Update: Head Glitching
So in FPS games there are a few compromises made in the game engine. These include you being able to rub up against a wall head on & have your gun go into the wall (when spectated from the third person) or the fact you shoot out of your eyeballs & not actually from your gun barrel. Since you shoot from your eyes you can position yourself behind cover almost as tall as yourself, perhaps even on slightly higher ground than your opposition & shoot over the top of it even though your gun is completely hidden behind. This is called ‘head glitching’. Keep an eye out for barricades & structure on the map that are about the same height as the players, but you can still see over. then at any opportunity get in behind them as odds are it’ll be extremely difficult for the enemy to shoot you, whilst you have an easy & clear view of them.