Your crosshair can be pretty important. I read somewhere that cyan is more easily seen most of the time than most other colours, but I'm not really sure this is true. I think it works pretty well for me, though.
Here is my crosshair: [
link]
I think the only important cvars I use are:
cl_crosshairsize 1.32
cl_dynamiccrosshair 0
cl_crosshairthickness 0
cl_crosshairscale 6000 (though I don't think it affects the crosshair's appearance with my crosshairsize and crosshairthickness set how they are)
I recommend using a smaller crosshair. Obviously, if you use something like
this, you're going to have a bad time.
I also recommend using
cl_dynamiccrosshair 0 to keep the crosshair from changing as you fire, at least once you get used to the game. The dynamic crosshair changes (if I remember correctly, the points around the center dot change length, as well as distance from the center dot) as you move and fire in order to represent the accuracy of your fire. This may be useful for a beginner as you get used to what your fire accuracy is when you're running/jumping etc., in relation to the crosshair, but I don't think it is as useful for someone who has played CS:S for a while, who has probably learned, for the most part, how your accuracy changes based on your actions.
Obviously, the longer you continuously shoot, the more your accuracy decreases, and the more difficult it is to control where your bullets go. Shift walking slightly decreases your accuracy, running or jumping decreases it a lot, and crouching improves your accuracy slightly.
Never attempt to shoot an enemy, especially from long distances, while you are on a ladder. Even if you're not moving, your accuracy while on a ladder is horrible.
Crouching while in fire not only, again, increases your accuracy a bit, but it also gives enemies a smaller area in which they can hit you.
Remember: Shotgun fire doesn't pass through hardly anything, if anything at all. You can try to shoot a guy that you know is on the other side of a door, but you're just going to have a bad time and further give away your position.
Always buy a kevlar and helmet, and always buy a defuse kit if you're a CT (this lets you defuse the bomb much more quickly).
Also know that there are many more maps than those that come with Counter-Strike, and there are more game modes than just hostage rescue and bomb/defuse. Playing other maps greatly varies and increases what you get out of Counter-Strike. Here are just a few map types (click
here for more; some are available with TF2 as well, so I'm not sure which ones you've heard of or played on):
- Climb (xc_): There are basically blocks that you jump to and from to get higher up or to a different area.
- Deathrun (deathrun_): Generally, there are usually one or two players on the T team, and the rest of the players are on the CT team. CTs try to run a course filled with a wide range of traps, which the Ts set off to try to kill the CTs. Traps can entail breakable floors, floors that ignite, fans that push players off a platform, spinning platforms, and everything in between. If any CT gets to the end of the course, there is usually a game mode for them to pick to kill the Ts with.
- Mini games (mg_): There are varied, so it can be hard to describe them in general. They're mini games. You might battle the other team using cannons on a pirate ship or shoot them in jets you can fly. Some maps also have a selection of mini games that is chosen from at the beginning of each round.
- Obstacle course (mg_, usually with the word "course" somewhere in the map name): These are kind of like deathrun maps, except all of the traps/obstacles are usually automated.
- Surf (surf_): You use your strafe keys to glide on ramps. I think it's a physics bug in the Source engine that causes this to happen. Surfing often takes a lot of practice. There are generally two types of surf maps: ones where you "skill surf," or just strafe around from ramp to ramp, and ones where you pick up guns and kill enemies in a surf setting.
- Bunnyhop (bhop_): You quickly jump from platform to platform, picking up speed by strafing around in the air. Hopping is necessary, as standing on a platform for too long usually sends you back to the beginning of a section, or you need speed to get to a platform, which you can only get by strafing.
- Also be able to join our jail server and try it out. 184.173.227.125:27015
When buying weapons, click the "Save" buttons on the right side of the buy menu after you've bought what you want. This allows you to quickly re-buy a certain loadout by pressing B S, B D, B G, or B F, instead of pressing 30 keys to buy all of your stuff.
The quieter you are, the less likely enemies will be able to figure out where you might be. Enemies can only hear your footsteps if you are running (jumping or landing on a surface often also creates a noise). Enemies can hear you switch weapons or open doors, as well.
Those are some of my tips; sorry my post if all disorganized
