Should I buy the Counterstrike pack at Steam? [issue of noobness, not money\]

[laesperanzapaz]

Ok so the following:


 Counter-Strike Complete
Includes: Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike: Condition Zero, Counter-Strike: Source


is at temporary discount for 15 bux, and I'm almost certainly gonna buy it.  The thing is,

- i heard it's noob-unfriendly
- the spawn times are so long, once you're dead, you can only watch until everyone dies

is this true?  the issue is not money [it's only 15 bux], but whether  i am gonna be shot down all the time by the good players [the game is older than most things i own, for petes sakes], and spend 80% of the time just sitting there, watching others play after i'm dead....

[Vizzys]

get team fortress 2 instead

[laesperanzapaz]

get team fortress 2 instead

bitch i already got that

[Vizzys]

get team fortress 2 instead

bitch i already got that

good

[Joe Molotov]

I used to play it a lot and I sucked at it so I think I'm qualified to answer your questions. 

Yes, it's not very noob-friendly. Counter-Strike: Source is more noob-friendly vanilla CS, but it's still no cakewalk (BTW, if you're new to series, just skip CS and go straight to CS:S. Vanilla CS is full of hardcore CS enthusiasts, and is for masochists only.) No one's going to want to help you learn the ropes, and there are a lot of people that are really good at it and they will shoot the top of your head off before you even see them, and they will call you a distinguished mentally-challenged Jew monkey distinguished effete fellow when you fail. If you tough it out through your first few matches, it's not really that hard to figure out the basics, and there are always a few other awful players in public servers for you to get kills from. Just find whoever seems to be the best guy on your team, and then follow him around and see what he does.

Yes, if you die you have to wait until the end of the match to respawn. Matches usually don't last very long though. If you die right off the bat, you might have to wait a few minutes to respawn depending on the map, but after a while you learn to be more cautious, use cover better, and not get killed so easily. If you're a n00b, you should probably just hang back at the back of a group. You might be tempted to rush in Quake-style and get some frags, but that's the quickest way to get yourself killed. If you're defending, you should just find something to guard. If you're attacking, just hang behind a group of your comrades and wait for them to attack first. You'll learn the game soon enough, although you may never master it. Either way, it's worth $10.

[JustinP]

i still can't stand CS:S.  it just feels wrong in terms of movement and how the weapons fire.  CS is a brilliant game though. 

not respawning is a key game mechanic--it puts so much more importance on your health and life because you don't get a second chance.  it also promotes teamwork because having your teamates die means you're all alone.  it's such a simple, yet effective way to create super tense moments in gaming.  and the bomb planting/defusing mechanic was genius. 

very few games, even today, offer such a perfect balance in dynamic objective based multiplayer. 

[Joe Molotov]

Slightly off-topic, but has anyone played Counter-Strike: Condition Zero? I'm thinking about buying it just to complete my Valve collection. It's only $5, but I don't really want it for any reason other than competition purposes. If someone can vouch for it even being half-way decent, I might not feel so guilty about buying it.

[JustinP]

i played CZ but didn't finish it.  i mainly played the deleted scenes (aka, ritual's contribution before the game was handed to turtlerock and turned into CS v.bots).  it's kinda weird.  and i hate the CZ models that replace cs1.6 models. 

[laesperanzapaz]

I used to play it a lot and I sucked at it so I think I'm qualified to answer your questions. 

Yes, it's not very noob-friendly. Counter-Strike: Source is more noob-friendly vanilla CS, but it's still no cakewalk (BTW, if you're new to series, just skip CS and go straight to CS:S. Vanilla CS is full of hardcore CS enthusiasts, and is for masochists only.) No one's going to want to help you learn the ropes, and there are a lot of people that are really good at it and they will shoot the top of your head off before you even see them, and they will call you a distinguished mentally-challenged Jew monkey distinguished effete fellow when you fail. If you tough it out through your first few matches, it's not really that hard to figure out the basics, and there are always a few other awful players in public servers for you to get kills from. Just find whoever seems to be the best guy on your team, and then follow him around and see what he does.

Yes, if you die you have to wait until the end of the match to respawn. Matches usually don't last very long though. If you die right off the bat, you might have to wait a few minutes to respawn depending on the map, but after a while you learn to be more cautious, use cover better, and not get killed so easily. If you're a n00b, you should probably just hang back at the back of a group. You might be tempted to rush in Quake-style and get some frags, but that's the quickest way to get yourself killed. If you're defending, you should just find something to guard. If you're attacking, just hang behind a group of your comrades and wait for them to attack first. You'll learn the game soon enough, although you may never master it. Either way, it's worth $10.

can you at least Spectate?  also, is Friendly Fire on all the time?

[JustinP]

can you at least Spectate?  also, is Friendly Fire on all the time?

you can spectate, but there may be limits on what views or what players you can spectate.  the most severe limits, used in clan matches, are that you can only spectate teamates and only in first person.  but most public servers let you spectate anyone and even fly around the level freely. 

FF is an option. 

[laesperanzapaz]

btw, i found from another forum that you can play deathmatch, which is fast respawn, and weapon chosen by you.  thus, being teh best starting point for newbs

is this true?

[JustinP]

there is a custom server mod that lets you play deathmatch.  dunno if i'd say it's better for noobs.  just play the game FFS and stop worrying about being a noob. 

[laesperanzapaz]

[Joe Molotov]

Reverse Gungame is probably the best flavor of CS for noobs, since the more you suck, the better guns you have, until everyone else is running around with knives and you still have an AWP. 

Gungame in general though is pretty fun. I played that most of the time back when I still played a lot.

[MyNameIsMethodis]

Gungame with the McDonalds map is awesome.

The best way to play CS as a noob is at a lan party.

[JustinP]

being good at CS is more than about aiming and shooting.  you need to learn the maps--more specifically, the chokepoints and first engagement points.  you need to learn the patterns the other team will run.  you need to learn where good places to defend a planted bomb are--and where the terrorists will most likely be planting the bomb so you can defuse it.  you need to learn how players move and act with the weapons they'll have.  you need to learn how to manage your money and do well in the pistol round.  

playing deathmatch and gungame (a variance on deathmatch) won't teach you any of that, really.