First: Confusion

When I came back it was hell. I missed some keys, got damn slow with reaction times, I was spamming too much and I got angry quickly. Urban Terror is really focused on fast paced fights and reflexes are a must. Playing often will make you a better player and it will help develop your aiming skills as well as your reflexes.. however it will make you stop thinking about what you are doing, and you will just mindlessly repeat the same actions every time.

Bad habits

Everybody has bad habits, mostly related to your aim. Coming back after one or two weeks away from UrT will make a good chance to overwrite your mind schemes. Don wrote a great post about aiming, which however requires great commitment.. most of all if you play everyday with the same old habits. It’s a good occasion to stop spamming, stop whining at bad hits and stop circle jumping the wrong way.

Predictability

Usually when you play often, you cycle through the same 10 to 15 maps.. unless you’re a fan of some obscure servers. You will come to know this map like the palm of your hand, and you will unconsciously record 3 or 4 paths in your mind that you will follow.. mostly related to the opening of the game. Coming back after a while will make you see the map like never before. You certainly know it but maybe you forgot about some spots that now seems pretty nice, or some jumps that you never tried. Experiment and evolve from there.

New weapons

Well.. you just came back, why don’t you try some new weapons? Get rid of that LR-300/M4 and start playing with an AK107, it’s a great weapon! And did you know that the PSG-1 is great for CTF or Team Deathmatch? Or why don’t you pick the Beretta instead of a DE?

New servers

As everybody you will probably have 2 to 3 servers where you always play. The same good old people that you know very well and that you play every night. Well.. you might know them so well that you actually can predict what they are going to do and they can predict what you are going to do. Playing with the same people every time is fun, but you will become naturally lazy in trying to find new way of killing them because you already know them. Jump on new servers, play with new people that you never met in maps that you never played. You might find new tactics, strategies and maybe some new friends!

New Settings

This is the right moment to change your aim settings, gear or binds. Most of this stuff relies on habits.. two different configs can work equally well with the right amount of playtime. If you always wanted to change your sensitivity or raise your DPI but you always feared to loose your accuracy.. well this is the right time to do it.

Conclusion

In conclusion.. taking a rest is totally worth it. It will empty your mind from bad habits and will force you to do better. What do you think? Ever stopped for a long time? What did you do when you came back? Tell us in the comments!

Decoy, media manager at Frozen Sand, described it as “loud, accurate, and lots of power”.

However.. seriously guys.. how many sidearms and secondary weapons can you possibly add? Well.. apparently tons and tons. Oh and by the way.. still no release date.. which seems far, far away (Q3 2010 hopefully).

I’ve always been a fan all Razer products, despite the fact that it’s damn expensive. My first gaming mouse was a Razer Copperhead, but its sensor started to fail about one year after I bought it. To replace it, the first mouse I thought to was the Lachesis. But at the store, they only had Mamba’s, and for a price way lower than the official price displayed on the razer website ($120 + shipping costs)… and you know how it feels… You want a new mouse, you can have a Mamba, you don’t think about it too much. You just take one in the department and just go to the checkout.

A revolution in the little gaming mice world ?

So, the Mamba is one of the newest mice brought by Razer. There were few new mice released after the Mamba (the Imperator, the Naga, the Abyssus or the Orochi) but the Mamba is still today the most powerful mouse (in terms of DPI, sensor quality…).
The most notable point of this mouse is that it’s wireless. In fact, it’s the first wireless mouse designed only for gamers. Razer was aware of reluctance of the gamers community about a mouse without a wire, because of the fact that the wireless transmission can be less reliable than the wired one, the fact that a wireless mouse needs a battery, etc.
Let’s be straight : the Mamba completely fits these objectives and there is no need to worry about this lack of wire. Indeed, if most of the time you’ll use the Mamba in wireless mode, you can still plug it with the wire and… you get a wired mouse.  You just need to unplug the wire from the docking station and plug it directly on the mouse. About the wireless tranmission, it’s a 2.4GHz transmission rate, so again, nothing to worry about. Furthermore, the mouse uses its own channels system, the Mamba automatically checks for a free channel with its dock, so you can have several Mamba’s in the same room without any problem (in a LAN instance for exemple).
In an esthetic point of view, the less we can say is that the Mamba is just beautiful. The blue lighting on the wheel is eye-catchy, there is also the same lighting all around the corner of the charging dock that slowly pulses like a heart beating when the battery is charging. It’s amazing. Notice that the famous snaky Razer logo on the top of the mouse is just an engraving, there is no lighting here (personnally I think it’s better this way).
The docking station is the transmitter, and it’s also where you have to put your Mamba down to recharge the battery (on it, the mouse looks like a queen on her throne).

And aside this wireless thing ?

In a technical point of view, the Razer Mamba has no reason to be jealous of other gaming mice. You have a 5600 DPI sensor, a 1ms polling rate, combined with the 2.4Ghz wireless technology, making the Razer Mamba the current fastest mouse on the market. Like any other recent razer mouse, there is a firmware inside the mouse (the famous Synapse system), so you can set it up according to you wishes, and the mouse will still have these settings even if you use it on another computer.
Of course, you can modify the DPI or the polling rate frequency through the driver software. One can think than 5600 DPI is too much and way useless, but I’d answer to this that you can still use all these 5600 DPI and proportionnaly decresase your in-game sensivity, you’ll have a very, very precise mouse.
About the general aspect of the mouse, it’s almost perfect. The mouse is palmed-designed, which means that you’ll need all your hand and your palm to move it. If you like mice like the Copperhead that are meant to be used only with fingertips, maybe you should forget the Mamba. There are of course 3 principal buttons (left, right and the scroll wheel), plus 2 other big buttons on the left side of the mouse, and 2 other little buttons in the left corner of the left button (basically meant to adjust DPI, you can bind it with others commands thanks to the driver). Yes, this means that the Mamba can only be used by right-handers (and the ergonomy is only for the right hand as well). The two lateral buttons are perfect, at least in my point of view, because I was really disappointed about the lateral buttons of the Copperhead that I really found too tiny. The scroll wheel has been improved too, with the Mamba it responds perfectly to the finger without being too sensitive either.
You can also notice a LED on the left side of the mouse that displays the battery status and the DPI stage when you switch it.
Last but not least, the mouse is possessed of 4 teflon feet, for a perfect slithering, on all surfaces (even if a proper gaming mousepad is highly recommanded).

About the driver

Of course, like any other gaming mice, you have a driver software that allows you to set almost everything up.
You can change the assignation of the buttons, define new DPI stages (especially on X and Y axis), create up to 5 profiles, create macros… The software can be a little bit too complicated at the beginning, but no worry, you’ll get over it easily.

Conclusion

In all respects, the Razer Mamba is a high-end gaming mouse, maybe for hard gamers only (more than few hours a week if you want to secure a return on your purchase). Below, some positive and negative points about the Razer Mamba.

Positive points :
- Huge specs
- The scroll wheel
- The amazing ergonomy
- The woven wire (no memory)
- The wired/wireless thing
- The insane packaging (even if you gonna have a hard time when you’ll unpack your Mamba the first time ah ah)

Negative points :
- The price (maybe the most expensive mouse on the market, except if you find a golden one)
- The driver software maybe still a bit temperamental
- Right-handed mouse

I hope you’ll think to the Mamba for your next mouse, if you don’t mind about the price it costs. But… anyway… gaming love is priceless, isn’t it ?

Check it out !

The Video

A new weapon?

In addition to see dual sidearms, we can notice a Uzi from a screenshot of the video, which might be introduced in Urban Terror 4.2.
This would probably mean ANOTHER (unneeded?) secondary weapon.

How they will work?

We still haven’t official news about how they will work. They likely going to be used with Left/Right mouse buttons. My guess is that they will be a pickable equipment like Laser or Silencer that will double the number of sidearms (2 berettas, glocks or DEs) and possibly secondaries (this could mean that the Uzi is a new secondary weapon). We don’t know if accuracy will lower but probably it will, however this might seem the only downturn for now.

How will they affect the release?

The concerns goes to the release of Urban Terror 4.2. Adding new stuff always means more time to test it and balance it. We can agree that 4.2 it’s already late and should be released asap, that’s why many suggested that this featured could slip to the next release (4.3?).

What do you think about akimbo weapons? How do you think they will affect the gameplay? Tell us in the comments!

UPDATE

Looks like the DE will have 14 bullets instead of 7. If it keeps the same damage, rate of fire and accuracy it will become devastating.

Positioning

While carrying an automatic you usually run around searching for enemies. While carrying the SR-8 you should instead wait for enemies and ambush them, at least in the round opening.
Knowledge of the map is essential. Circle jump to the closest sniping spot (or the one that you should cover) and wait there for enemies.

While zooming

Stand still and don’t move. I see players moving like they had their butt on fire. I usually prefer to not crouch, but it depends on the situation. If you run while zooming, the penalty movement will lend the shot to rely too much on luck which isn’t good. You can walk while zooming which has a very low penalty movement, but you should do that only if enemies are somewhere nearby and you can’t stop to aim. Aim right next to the corner where you think that enemies will show up. This will help you against sniper that might pop up. If somebody jumps in the way, just quickly move your crosshair and shoot out of instinct. This is very important and with time you will gain enough muscle memory to get 90% of the shots.

Shooting through cracks

A good sniper is the one that can shoot without exposing himself too much. To expose yourself less you have to shoot trough cracks and if there are no cracks just stand right next to a corner. Never stand in open wide areas. As you progress and gain reflexes you can narrow the cracks and become almost invisible.

After shooting

Either if you hit or miss, you are now standing in a dangerous spot and you should leave to another sniping spot. If you miss,  run away and aim right where you were standing because probably your opponent will look for you there. If your enemy is smart though he will move to flank so keep an eye on your six.

Quickzoom

Quickzoom shots are crucial. From long distances to point blank you must kniw how to zoom and shoot in a blink of an eye. This is very important if you don’t carry a secondary weapon (like I do).

Be like a fluid

The key is moving smoothly like a fluid. Circle jump then walk for a bit. Never run if not needed. Our previous article will help you a lot about moving.

Watch this video

If you haven’t watched it yet I suggest you to watch this video by Tarquin.

I hope you will understand what I mean by “Zen” way. Let me know what you think in the comments. Do you play the SR-8 like an auto? If yes, why?

Principles of stamina

Stamina depends on your current health. Whenever it gets under the 50% of your current health your character will start to emit a breathing sound that will likely give away your position to nearby enemies. Jumping, sprinting and even crouching will lower your stamina and with a kevlar it will  lower twice as fast. You recover stamina while you stand still or while you run but it will increase significantly more slowly.

Optimize stamina use

Depending on your role you will use a lot of stamina during a round. Optimize stamina use means adjusting movements and behaviors to spend the least amount of stamina possible and still be fast and effective. You should always have at least 50% or more of stamina. This value increases as your health lowers.

1. Movement principles

You must switch between super fast movements and pauses. This means, for example, circle jumping to destination and then stopping or walking for a while.

2. Circle jump correctly

You should always circle jump… unless there is no room to do so. By slightly turning your mouse you can circle jump without gaining too
much speed. You will cover longer distances with less stamina than by simply sprinting or jumping in straight line.

3. Walk to recover

To keep moving while you recover stamina: walk. By walking you will be more silent while saving stamina. This is extremely useful while
sniping as you can still aim with an acceptable movement penalty. Don’t crouch as crouching will drain a bit of stamina.

4. Stop to recover

When your stamina is under 30% you should stop to recover. Find a good, quiet corner and sit there for a while. If you are wearing a
kevlar vest, drop it. Don’t move while recovering as it kills the purpose. When it gets back over 80% you can pick up your vest and get
back to action.

5. Limit movements when low on health

If you’re left with 20% or so of health there’s no point in sprinting or jumping like an idiot when nobody is around. Just run or walk.
Giving away your positions by breathing means death in these situations.

Do you care about stamina as much as I do? Share your thoughts by commenting!

Weapons variety

Modern Warfare 2 has a LOT of weapons.. Assault rifles, sniper rifles, sub-machine guns, pistols.. you name it. Every weapon behaves and reacts differently and it’s not that easy to find THE most powerful weapon or loadout. It’s hard to find two players with the exact same loadout in the server. On the other hand Urban Terror has a low number of primary weapons and 4.2 will bring just 2 secondaries and a sidearm. Also the way that UrT handles the damage calculation lends to similarities within the weapons (the M4 is an LR-300 with a different sound) and weird situations where a weapon completely overwhelms another. For instance… in 4.2 there will be a new sidearm: the Glock. In real life a Glock has 15 bullets per magazine while the Beretta has only 12.
If the Glock will have the same damage as the Beretta.. why would I choose the Beretta?
On the other hand, the Beretta itself is the less powerful weapon in the game, besides the MP5, so the Glock can’t deal less damage than the Beretta unless it would be unplayable. And you can’t play that much with rate of fire since it’s a semi-automatic weapon..
See? Something needs a change in the damage calculation.

Assists

Every modern shooter rewards assists and I don’t see why UrT shouldn’t. By assist we mean when a player participates in killing an opponent by dealing him half or more damage. This will help players to stand out in the scores even if they are pretty unlucky with the kills.

Friendlist, Groups & VoIP

UrT 4.2 will probably include VoIP between its features. It’s very useful to have all in one place so you don’t have to mess around with multiple applications or pay for multiple services like Mumble or Teamspeak.
Friendlists are useful to hang out with your friends between servers and groups helps to stay in the same team during matches. These are all features common in modern shooters.

Gamemodes

Modern Warfare 2 proved that Capture&Hold and King of the Hill are still funny (at least in pubs). UrT sticks with the same old Gamemodes and sometimes you just want something new. The point is that UrT already has other Gamemodes like Follow the Leader but only very few maps and servers supports them.

Perks

To add a little bit more of customization to the character, Modern Warfare 2 uses Perks, which are abilities that you can choose at the beginning of each game to somewhat create a customized class.
I think that they can fit perfectly in the Urban Terror environment. They could translate, for example, into extra stamina, extra life, increased accuracy, increased damage, increased speed, one more equipment slot and so on.

These are a few suggestions for an already great game. I’m sure you will disagree with some of them and you will likely disagree if you’re an old school player. Tell us what you think in the comments!

10. H&K Grenade Launcher

The potato launcher is a pretty weak weapon. While in other games like Modern Warfare 2 a grenade launcher is overpowered, here it is almost useless in most situations… mostly because of the delay of the explosion. However in some situations it might come in handy to keep pressure on the enemy spawn especially in TDM or CTF. Very good players can pull out good ratios from it.

9. MP5K

Often left behind from the UMP, the MP5k can be a good weapon, especially in tough situations where every hit is important.

8. M4

Everybody seems to use the LR-300 and nobody knows that is exactly the same as the M4. I prefer the M4 because it sounds like it shoots more bullets than it really does, so I tend to spam less.

7. PSG1

Even if it seems almost useless in Team Survivor, the PSG1 can be deadly in CTF and against a team with few kevlars.

6. UMP45

The UMP is an incredibly powerful weapon. Every now and then I use it also as a primary (with laser). While in Auto it seems like a tuned down LR-300, in spam mode can take down an enemy with just a burst. You have to be pretty accurate though.

5. HE Grenade

In the hands of a good player, Grenades means at least 1 kill if not 2 per round. The key is not wasting them if you don’t hear or see anybody.

4. G36

The G36 is considered to bee a noob weapon. However in some situations is almost a must. Don’t spam with it.

3. Beretta

The Beretta is often forgotten, but against a team with few helmets is awesome. Discharge it quickly and aim for the head.

2. SPAS

Even if it has been tuned down since previous iterations of Urban Terror, is still a very powerful secondary weapon. When sniping use the DE for medium range fights and then charge forward with the SPAS. With some luck you can get even around 75% of damage with just a single shot.

1. Negev

I can’t stress on how much is it good. If only Frozen Sand would give it a liiiiitle damage boost in 4.2 it would be used a lot more.

What do you think? Do you agree? Do you disagree? Tell us in the comments!

Check this list to see if you are making this 5 common mistakes. Remember: admitting that there’s a problem is the first step for solving it.

1 – Wasting Stamina

I could write an entire post on it (and I probably will). People just waste too much stamina resulting in characters that can be heard from a mile away and that don’t have enough stamina to run away in sticky situations. Main reasons are:

• You have always the sprint button pressed.
• You don’t walk and/or crouch when you should.
• Unnecessary jumps (most common error)
• You don’t know how to circle jump correctly.

A great way to save stamina is mixing powerslides with walking. I’ve never heard my character breath again since I started to use this technique which to me is very important. There should be a post about this very soon.

2 – Lack of patience

Sometimes you should just step back and wait. The most common error is in a 1v1 situation when your opponent runs away to reload or to medic himself and you just try to finish him with your sidearm. It’s a big error when you try to do so while bleeding or with low stamina.
Depending on the number of hits that you’ve taken and also the number of hits that you dealt to your opponent you should decide if it is convenient to finish the fight quickly. I try always to bandage if an opponent runs away and also with the help of a good pair of headphones I can hear what he’s doing (bandaging or running away).

3 – Challenging the sniper

This is a very common mistake among good players.. the reason is they got pissed because they got killed by a sniper usually in the opening of the round. Normally a good sniper runs to take position and aim towards doors or cracks where he thinks that enemies will show up. A good example is aiming from the spawn to the plaza (oasis) in Algiers 0r Casa’s Narrow (spawning from New Alley). For a sniper it is a very easy kill since his opponent just doesn’t have the time to spot him and eventually shoot him down. This lends to serious discussions on pubs usually (“You’re a frakkin’ camper!” etc..) and eventually players gets pissed and try over and over to kill the sniper from the same position with poor results. If a players has a natural position advantage you shouldn’t even try. The solution is very simple: flanking. Is very easy to kill the sniper at the spawn in Algiers by flanking him from the left.

4 – Not using the knife

I can’t tell you how important the knife is in sticky situations. You should pull it out whenever an enemy comes too close to you. The reason is that models overlap and you miss him even if you shouldn’t due to bad hits recognition (caused by ping, server, bugs etc..). You should always have your knife ready in slash mode and if you feel that you are going to use it (example if you’re trying to finish your opponent with the DE) try running towards them instead of running away from them.

5 – Reloading

There are two problems about reloading. Reloading too often (reloading with 23/30 is a waste imho) or not reloading at all (for example not reloading the sidearm). It’s a common issue especially when you want to finish off a fight quickly and you forgot to reload. Every bullet is important.

Tell us if you are making other mistakes and if you found yourself in these 5.

You can download the video at: http://own-age.com/vids/video.aspx?id=14947