Why do I always die when I'm in a head-to-head confrontation in Return
to Castle Wolfenstein multiplayer. I play first-person shooters online
via a broadband cable connection (so don't think lag is a problem), 
I'm reasonably experienced and usually know my way round the maps for
the games I play. In Battlefield 1942 for example I usually place in
mid-field, sometimes better, by the end of each map and usually do
pretty well in one-on-one confrontations. Yet in Wolfenstein I suck!
Any idea why?

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Request for Question Clarification by googleexpert-ga on 12 Mar 2003 06:54 PST

Maybe it's because the BF1942 maps give you more room?

Gidday CrocoKoala!

I've found a site, Planet Wolfenstein, that has a wealth of
information regarding Return to Castle Wolfenstein. One particular
page has a lot of general tips on how to survive. Here are a few -
follow the link below for all of them.

Soldiers Front and Center
Let the Soldiers go up front with their heavy weaponry to clear the
way, while others play their supporting roles. This is critical on
servers with friendly fire enabled!

Ph34r My P4nz3rph4ust!
Panzerfausts are wonderful for clearing Axis troops out of bunkers. If
you notice you're getting mowed down, respawn as a Soldier the next
round and blast 'em. Axis Soldiers can use the Panzerfaust to wipe out
Sniper Hill.

Go for the Headshot
Headshots do LOTS of damage. Get into the habit of aiming for the
noggin.

Fire in Bursts
If you can, fire in short bursts. As you continue to fire, your
accuracy suffers. Firing in short bursts helps you hit what you're
aiming at. This is also helpful for keeping weapons like the Sten or
the Venom Gun from overheating.

Crouch
Your accuracy in RTCW varies widely depending on what you're doing
when you fire. If you try to run and gun at the same time, you'll have
a hard time hitting the side of a barn. If there were barns. Standing
still gives you better accuracy, while crouching makes you more
accurate still. Of course, it does make you more vulnerable...

Planet Wolfenstein - Multi-Player General Strategies 
http://www.planetwolfenstein.com/mp/strats.shtml

Planet Wolfenstein
http://www.planetwolfenstein.com


Search strategy
---------------

Game Cheat meta-search
http://searchenginez.com/gamecheats.html


Best wishes and happy killing!
robertskelton-ga

Thanks a lot, great service. I'll have to see if the advice works though!

I used to play Quake 3 online a lot and on a bad day I would blame the
computer or my setup and tweak parameters and my hardware obsessively.
 Perhaps something about your setup just doesn't work well with the
way you play in a particular game - it could be anything at all.  So
my only advice is, if you can, try on a totally different computer and
see if it makes any difference.  If it does you can at least blame
your PC and do something about it OR finally see that, yes, you just
plane suck at that game. ;)

Thanks... I suspect I just suck. Too many blasted synapses. Also
suspect fellow gamers are 22 year old who play for 10 hours at a time
for months, whereas I get half an hour every couple of days

Probably right, googleexpert. And you can hide under rocks in BF1942.
What I'm interested in though is quite particular - head to head
confrontations, say if I enter a room at the same time as an enemy
player, nine times out of 10 I'll die. Are they invariably shooting me
in the head or something? Is there a technique for better aiming? Or
does it just come down to long hours of practice?
thanks

I haven't cranked up my wolfenstein in a bit but there may be an
auto-aim feature in the options. I know Unreal T 2003 has it. In wolf,
try acting spy-like when entering new rooms, assume you will be seen
immediatley, and duck a lot.

I have also had the same problem and it does have a lot to do with
technique BUT while playing Counter Strike I found out that there are
lots of bastards out there who add in cheat modifications. A company
called punkbuster has a verification program that runs alongside the
game and kicks you if you have a known cheat installed. When in these
games I noticed I did a lot better. But a headshot will always win and
here your ping is a big factor.

Kinda weird. I have started playing online First Person Shooters for
the first time, inspired by Wolfenstien: Enemy Territory being a free
standalone download. After a couple of frustrating weeks I am getting
better, because I recalled this question and followed my own tips.
They are all valid, I can now confirm.

If you play Enemy Territory and are playing as a soldier, and failing,
try being a covert op instead. I found it to be much more suited to my
playing style (hide a lot and try not to get killed!) and I improved
greatly.

Now, back to the killing...

When I suck at head to head in a game I'm new at I just use different tactics. 

In Enemy Territory I'm not great at head to head fighting. However I
make plenty of kills with the light machine gun (in the prone position
with the bi-pod down).

Just lie slightly back from the main conflict and wait for the enemy
to walk though a bottle neck into your sights. You'll get plenty of
them. They can't deal with your guys running forward towards them and
a hail of bullets from you light machine gun.

Well.. I've played a lot of FPS games before ET.. but never online.
Playing a stand alone version, after a few games, you can anticipate
the computer moves. This is because they are programmed and unable to
act on tehir own.
Now, playing online is a completely different ball game. YOu will be
facing new opponents every game, every day. But don't foget .. they
are humans too... and most humans have the same tendency ... and
behave kinda programmed. So, as you move into rooms and other areas,
you can expect most people doing the same kind of thing. So, all you
have to do is get ready for them. Similarly while you are entering a
room, try to analyze the enemy's reaction and then you can actually
pull out a surprise on him. All this stuff comes through experience,
and game playing.
Head shots does play an important role. Typically , in ET, with an
SMG, with 2 Headshots you can pull down the enemy's health to around
10-20, and with a normal body shot, he can be killed. So, head shots
does play an important role... and the more you practice the more you
get used to them. For starters I would like to advise to get one head
shot (try to get off the helmet, if he has one) and the remaining body
shots .. may be 3 or 4. This should take care of most of the noobies
in the public servers. When you face clanners you gotto hit head shots
or you will be owned.

SO, for starters, try going medic so that you can heal yourself and
try getting atleast one head shot in every fire fight. Don't worry if
your are killed. THe fire figt is a moral victory for you, if you get
a head shot. This can only improve.
GG

You should try to get some top players to explain their techniques to
you. Always aim for the aim, keep side-strafing while shooting and
don't leave your finger on the fire button are some of the advices you
will get.

And always use good scripts and cfgs. You can find them in 
K1ck Clan Online Gaming Fortress
http://www.k1ck.com/k1ck2005/

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