THE SITE Main Page News Archive Submit News Search Site Discussion Rules IRC Chat Contact Staff Poll Archive  FEATURES Articles Interviews Mailbags Comics  HL2 GUIDE Walkthrough Secrets & Cheats General Strategy Story Characters Enemies Weapons HL2: Deathmatch  HL2 RESOURCES Overview Media FAQ Review List Press Links Purchase Options Site Links  EPISODIC CONTENT Episode One Screenshots Videos  CS:Source @ CS-Nation Overview FAQ  HOSTED  AFFILIATES Link to us   Home » Features » HL2 Guide » Singleplayer Strategy » Pages: 1 - 2 - 3 HL2 Guide: Singleplayer Strategy Authors: n30n & DaveZ0R Feedback: Comments/Discussion Date Added: December 8th, 2004 Print: Printable B&W Version Single Player Tips New to first person shooters? Looking for some new tricks to try on your favourite game? Look no further. Here at Half-Life Fallout, we've compiled a list of the best tricks, tips and miscellaneous information that you, the avid Half-Life 2 player, should know. In these pages we will be covering three main areas: Movement Weapons use City-17 Movement Movement in Half-Life 2 is very fluid, much like in the original Half-Life. Half-Life 2's Source engine maintains the fluid feel of movement of the original game. This is a good thing for all of you familiar with the original (or Counter-Strike). For those who are new to gaming however there may be a few things to get used to. Basic Movement As with all modern First Person Shooters, aiming is done with the mouse. This also means that you will need to use the mouse to turn unless you have configured a more personal setup. The W, S, A and D keys are your primary movement keys by default, W and S allow you to move forward and backwards and A and D allow you to strafe left and right respectively. Strafing is a term used to describe movement sideways to the direction you are aiming. It is particularly useful for dodging enemy fire. Getting used to this movement system will allow you to survive longer in firefights than just running straight in and getting shot to pieces. Auxiliary Power Being Gordon Freeman, you are outfitted with a HEV (Hazardous Environments) suit. In Half-Life 2 you now get the Mark V, which is an upgrade from the Mark IV that you became acquainted with back in Black Mesa. Of the most notable differences is the new HUD, and your suit's Auxiliary Power. This is used to power your flashlight, supply you with air while you are underwater, and to allow you to boost your speed for a temporary sprint away from danger. Your Flashlight Essential for making your way around the dark areas of Half-Life 2, your flashlight can be toggled on and off by pressing the associated flashlight key, the default is 'f'. As mentioned before, your flashlight runs off Auxiliary Power, which runs out a little bit faster than was previously implemented in the original game, so it's best to keep your flashlight off unless you really need it to find your way about or spot some hidden goodies. Underwater Movement Swimming in Half-Life 2 is much the same as any other game, movement is based around aiming where you want to go and moving forward. If you get disoriented, jumping will help return you to the surface, where you can start again. Remember also that being underwater requires the use of your suit's Auxiliary Power. This drains rather quickly, so try to get what you need done as rapidly as possible so you don't start to lose health and start drowning. Sprinting Useful for getting out of a hairy situation quickly, sprint uses up your Auxiliary Power rather quickly. The default sprint key is 'Shift'. Crouching Useful for getting into vents and hidden areas, crouching is also a simple way to get behind cover when you reload. Crouching also prevents you from making footstep noises, so it can be quite handy for sneaking around (doubly so in a game of Half-Life 2 deathmatch). The default key for crouch is 'Control'. Jumping As Half-Life 2 retains much of the same movement style of its predecessor, jumping is little different. There are three main ways to do a jump: Standard Jump: The standard jump is useful for bridging small gaps, or to get up on a small object for a higher vantage point or to get to some hidden objects. Simply hit your jump key, the default is 'Spacebar'. You can jump while moving to cross gaps. Crouch Jump: Similar to a standard jump (and the same as the crouch jump from the original game), this type of jump allows you to get up onto higher objects by bringing your feet up while in the air. To perform this jump, simply jump normally and press and hold the crouch button while in the air. Sprint Jump Useful for crossing larger gaps, a sprint jump is just a regular jump with a sprinting head-start to get you just a little further than normal. Vehicles Half-Life 2 includes 2 driveable vehicles — the airboat and the buggy. Both of these vehicles work in largely the same way, however there are handling differences and limitations of each vehicle. The airboat is designed to run both on water and land, and therefore is able to be driven over water whereas the buggy will need to be pushed back onto land with your manipulator if it ventures into water too deep. To enter a vehicle, just press your 'use' key (default is E) then you can use your forward and backward keys to accelerate and decelerate/reverse while using your strafe keys to turn the vehicle, your mouse is still used to aim and shoot while you drive.   Next Page »   HEADLINES Another Team Fort.. Portal: First Sli.. 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