TGDB.net - Game news, cheats, solutions, walkthroughs, trainers, saved games and much more!

Desert Crisis 1.5 Guide
Guide Version 0.61 by Andrew Cretella (bbobb, bbobb[sKs], theREALbbobb)
kornrage83@hotmail.com
Copyright 2003-2004

Please do not reproduce this without my express permission.

==============================================
Index
==============================================

A - General Desert Crisis Info
A1 - What is Desert Crisis(DC)?
A2 - Does anybody actually play this game? What's the server situation?
A3 - Why am I writing this guide?
B - Gameplay basics
B1 - Accuracy
B2 - Reloading
B3 - Damage System
B4 - Adrenaline, dashing, flips, and walljumps
B5 - Objectives
B6 - Time limits and Rounds
B7 - Character Selection Screen(CSS)
C - Armor
C1 - No Armor
C2 - Light Armor
C3 - Medium Armor
C4 - Heavy Armor
D - Melee weapons
D1 - Akimbo Machetes
D2 - Katana
D3 - Sledge Hammer
D4 - Throwing Knives
D5 - Big Hit Knife
D6 - Empty Fist
E - Guns
E1 - Sig P226 + akimbo
E2 - Desert Eagle .357 + akimbo
E3 - Laser Pistol + akimbo
E4 - HK Silenced USP Match + akimbo
E5 - Raging Bull + akimbo
E6 - HK MP5k + akimbo
E7 - Remington 1100 + akimbo
E8 - HK MP5/10
E9 - Franchi Spas 12
E10 - HK 33KA2
E11 - M79 Grenade Launcher
E12 - M61A1 Vulcan Chaingun
E13 - C22 Pulse Rifle
E14 - C37 Plasma Cannon
E15 - Flamethrower
E16 - C24 EM Sniper Rifle
E17 - Laser Assault Rifle
F - Extra Equipment
F1 - Fragmentation Grenades
F2 - Alarms
F3 - Extra Ammunition
F4 - Akimbo Pistols
F5 - C4
F6 - Flare Gun
F7 - Infrared Goggles
F8 - SMAW
F9 - Throwing Knives
G - Perks
G1 - Bio-Regeneration
G2 - Extra Speed
G3 - Kung Fu
G4 - Sharpshooter
G5 - Stealth
G6 - Tech
G7 - Wootastic
G8 - Shield (USA only)
G9 - Anti-Gravity(UPKO only)
H - Maps
I - Other Stuff
I1 - Version History
I2 - Acknowledgements

==============================================
A - General Desert Crisis Info
==============================================


----------------------------------------------
A1 - What is Desert Crisis(DC)?
----------------------------------------------
Desert Crisis is yet another multiplayer modification for Half Life, one of the less popular ones.
DC is an objective based teamplay mod, but it doesn't aim for realism. It pits two factions,
the United Peace Keeping Organization (UPKO) and United States of America (USA) against each other.
The goal of each team varies with each map. However, for the most part it requires capturing all
points in a map. It is set in the near future, so both modern and futuristic weapons are available.
Finally, you will need either Half Life, Counter Strike retail, or perhaps Day of Defeat retail, to
play it. Also note that the mod itself is free. Go to http://www.chaosdawn.com/dcdownload/ for a
list of mirrors.

----------------------------------------------
A2 - Does anybody actually play this game? What's the server situation?
----------------------------------------------
Unfortunately the server situation at this point is abysmal. There's usually a server with
people playing on WON, but almost never on Steam. The remnants of the Desert Crisis community
that's struggling to keep it alive can be found at http://dcrisis.future-x.net

----------------------------------------------
A3 - Why am I writing this guide?
----------------------------------------------
To put it simply, I love Desert Crisis. Some people find Desert Crisis very hard to get used to,
while others feel it to be exceedingly easy. I found it very hard at first, but I just kept on
playing because it was so much fun. Despite what people may think, Desert Crisis actually has a
respectable amount of depth, when you consider all the different combinations and styles of play.
Hopefully, with this guide, I can help those people who have as much trouble with it as I had.



==============================================
B - Gameplay
==============================================

----------------------------------------------
B1 - Accuracy
----------------------------------------------
The accuracy system in Desert Crisis is far less predictable than those in other games. Some of the
same rules apply in that the more stationary you are, the more accuracy you'll have. You get
the best accuracy when crouching, then standing still, then walking, then jogging, and then jumping,
flipping, and walljumping are last. Since DC is a rather fast paced, hectic action mod, you'll
probably be shooting while running and doing stunts. It's best to crouch when you really need
the precision. Generally, you'll probably only be crouching at medium to long range. In close
range it's better to flip around your opponent while shooting at them instead of crouching.
Desert Crisis also uses guns with multiple weapon modes. In some cases, pecking at the trigger will
be rewarding. However for certain guns, you can simply change firing modes.

----------------------------------------------
B2 - Reloading
----------------------------------------------
Desert Crisis has realistic reloading. Whether your clip still has 10 bullets left in it or
it's completely empty, you must reload manually. For clip fed weapons, if you don't use up
all of the bullets in the clip, you will lose them when you reload. Clip fed weapons will not
display how many rounds you have in reserve. Instead, you will see how many clips you have in
reserve. For a weapon that accepts one (or two in the case of the akimbo 1100s) round at a time,
you will not lose the rounds still in the magazine. However these guns usually take even longer to
reload. These weapons will display the number of rounds in reserve. You will also not be able to see
how many rounds you currently have in the clip or magazine of your weapon. Certain weapons, do not
require reloading at all. They either run off of one huge supply of ammunition or do not use any
ammunition.

----------------------------------------------
B3 - Damage System
----------------------------------------------
While Desert Crisis is indeed more of a death match type of game, you may sometimes find yourself
feeling rather fragile. Some weapons simply happen to be very strong. Desert Crisis also has a
locational damage system. So body shots will do more damage than limb shots (although it's not
incredibly significant), and headshots will do the most damage (this IS incredibly significant).
Headshots are easily the most effective way of taking out just about anyone, especially people with
a lot of armor. It does about four times the amount of damage that a shot to the body would do.
However, note that fully automatic weapons and shotguns can absolutely, never, ever get headshots.
Occasionally, you may see someone's head pop off when using such a weapon, but there was no
actual damage bonus. For the most part, only semi automatic and burst weapons can get headshots. I
believe that occasionally flamethrowers, M79s, and Plasma Cannons can get headshots, but these
instances are extremely rare (or perhaps I'm just imagining things).

----------------------------------------------
B4 - Adrenaline, Dashing, flips, and walljumps
----------------------------------------------
Desert Crisis isn't the first modification to include acrobatic stunts, but it has done the
best job implementing them. The Adrenaline bar on your HUD, will drain as you do various stunts. It
will regenerate over time, but not incredibly quickly, so you must watch it carefully. Jumping,
dashing, flipping, and walljumping will all drain the Adrenaline bar. Jumping is not particularly
useful for combat, but rather for getting on top of a ledge.

Dashing is done by holding down your dash key, giving you a noticeable speed boost, at the cost of
Adrenaline. Previous versions of Desert Crisis only allowed you to move forward while dashing. 1.5
allows you to move in any direction, but you only get the actual speed boost while moving forward.
You cannot shoot while dashing. This is useful for escaping a dangerous situation, rushing toward a
point to stop someone from capturing, or closing the distance between yourself and other players.
Unless you're using a melee weapon, dashing is primarily for evasive maneuvers.

Flipping may seem intimidating and gimmicky, but in actuality, it's easy to pull off, and
incredibly useful. It's basically, Half-Life long jump. However you can do it in all
directions, and there is a flipping animation for each one. Flipping is done merely by pressing your
crouch and jump button simultaneously, exactly as you would do with Half Life's long jump. If
you've played the original Half-Life, then this shouldn't be much of a problem. It's
excellent both for evasive and offensive maneuvers. While a flip isn't as fast as dashing, it
makes you harder to hit, and you can fire while doing it. Your screen's orientation
doesn't change as you move, making it easy for you to shoot while flipping. Front flips are
excellent when you want to get close to someone. Side flips are the best for direct conflicts.
Backflips are best for when you've been ambushed or caught off guard, allowing you to retreat
and fight back at the same time.

Walljumping is slightly more difficult to perform than flipping, and it's not as useful.
Walljumping is done by jumping toward a wall (normal jump, not flip), then pressing your jump button
again when you get close to it, allowing you to jump even higher. In a tight spot, you can keep
walljumping until the point where there is no more wall, or you run out of adrenaline. Walljumping
is best used for getting to places that cannot be reached by a standard jump or flip, however it can
be used in combat as well. It is however, much harder to pull off a walljump in the middle of a
fight. However, if you can manage it, chances are that you'll throw off your opponent.
It's actually more effective in a direct conflict than flipping, so long as you make sure that
you're shooting at you're enemy on the way down. It's a little harder to aim while
walljumping, so if you plan to use it on combat, automatics, shotguns, and splash damage weapons
will probably serve the best.

----------------------------------------------
B5 - Objectives
----------------------------------------------
Desert Crisis is said to include a modular objective system, and personally, I don't know what
that actually means. It gives mappers a great deal of freedom for the design of their maps however.
Objectives vary from map to map. However just about all of them will include point capturing. Points
are captured by going up to the laptop that it is marked by, and hacking (holding down your use
button) it. This process however, takes some time, and you cannot fire or move while doing it. This
is when you really need your teammates. It's very easy to stop someone from capturing a point,
so you'll need your teammates to cover you by killing or distracting opposing players. Some
points may take more time to capture than others. Some maps also require you to destroy a certain
object, or retrieve a certain object. Two maps, velocity, and village, eschew objectives almost
entirely, require you to do nothing but kill the other team.

----------------------------------------------
B6 - Time Limits and Rounds
----------------------------------------------
You'll notice a timer on your HUD when you play Desert Crisis. What the timer displays varies
from map to map, like the objectives. Some maps are played in rounds, but with continuous respawns
(with the exception of village and velocity). On maps that require both teams to try to capture
points, the time limit will usually either be long, or as run until the server changes map. Maps
that require one team to attack, and the other to defend, usually require the attacking team to
complete objectives within a certain amount of time. Rounds end when either the timer runs out, or
all objectives are completed. At this point, the objectives and timer are reset, and a new round is
started.

----------------------------------------------
B7 - Character Selection Screen (CSS)
----------------------------------------------
Whenever you join a game, you'll be brought to the Character Selection Screen (CSS), after
choosing a team. You get to choose an armor class, a melee weapon, a perk, a primary weapon, a
secondary weapon, and an extra piece of equipment. Note that certain perks restrict the types of
weapons and perks you can use. A common question heard in servers is "how come I can only use
pistols?", which would be due to the fact that the Wootastic perk, only allows pistols. You can
change your equipment at any time during gameplay, and the changes will be effected after you die.
Some maps also restrict the use of certain weapons. Certain combinations will work better than
others, but there are a ton of fun, viable ones to experiment with. If you can't think of
anything, just click the random button for a random setup.

==============================================
C - Armor
==============================================

----------------------------------------------
C1 - No Armor
----------------------------------------------
No armor is probably the most enjoyable armor class to choose. There is nothing standing between a
bullet and your own body if you choose this. Your character will be extremely fragile. However this
is offset by how fast you can move. Even the difference in speed between using no armor and light
armor is enormous. In many ways, it is the best choice of armor in the game. It's not however,
well suited for players who don't move well. However for a player who can shoot and flip well
at the same time, that player can't go wrong by choosing no armor.

----------------------------------------------
C2 - Light Armor
----------------------------------------------
Light armor gives you 25 points of armor, but at the cost of some mobility. The speed difference
between none and light is very noticeable if you try out both. However, you can still move very
smoothly with light armor, as it is pretty fast. While 25 points of armor may not seem like much, it
can very easily be the difference between life and death. This is especially true if someone's
using a weapon that does just over 100 damage. Light armor players are noticeably easier to hit than
no armor players, but a good light armor player can still be very troublesome.

----------------------------------------------
C3 - Medium Armor
----------------------------------------------
Medium armor gives you 50 points of armor, obviously at the cost of even more mobility. This is when
you'll begin to feel rather slow. Medium armor players can still flip and do walljumps, but
hitting them isn't particularly difficult. If you're not too big on movement, but heavy is
too slow for you, then give Medium armor a shot. I've never liked it, but it's a valid
choice, and some players do use it. As it is sluggish in comparison to the lower armor classes, but
not incredibly firm like heavy armor, you'll have to rely on your aim a lot.

----------------------------------------------
C4 - Heavy Armor
----------------------------------------------
Heavy armor gives you 100 points of armor. In addition to simply making you slower, heavy armor does
not allow you to perform flips or walljumps. Don't plan on running from a situation once you
get into them, you'll have to fight every time. Fortunately the excessive armor can give you
some advantages. If you pick heavy armor, expect someone to shout "noob" or
"lamer," but don't listen to them. Heavy armor certainly isn't useless, but
it's nowhere near as bad as some players make it out to be. In fact, in practice, it's
worse than the other classes in many ways.

==============================================
D - Melee Weapons
==============================================

----------------------------------------------
D1 - Akimbo Machetes
----------------------------------------------

The Akimbo Machetes were introduced in version 1.1, and replaced the Gurkha Kukri. They're not
quite as good as the katana or sledge, but a good choice for a melee weapon nonetheless. Unlike the
aforementioned melee weapons however, you generally won't be able to rely on a single decisive
shot for a kill.

While a single hit is relatively weak and you must be very close, the almost nonexistent delay
between slashes makes the machetes lethal. Ideally, you should aim for the head when going for
machete kills. A few body shots may be effective against weaker opponents, where as a heavily
armored player may require more than one headshot. It's also possible that a body shot can
propel a player in the opposite direction, so don't let them take advantage of that opportunity
to shoot you.

----------------------------------------------
D2 - Katana
----------------------------------------------

The katana has always been the most commonly used melee weapon, and probably always will be. I will
never understand the obsession with Samurai (Ninjas never used katanas), but regardless the katana
is ultimately the most well-rounded melee weapon. It has an excellent combination of speed, range,
and power.

The primary fire is a slash. There are various slashing animations, but they all work exactly the
same. It hits instantly and does a substantial amount of damage to unarmored or lightly armored
players. There's not much time in between slashes, and the first slash tends to disorient
players, so following up with a second, or even a third slash, if necessary, isn't too
difficult.

A single slash to the body won't even kill an unarmored player at full health in one hit, but a
slash to the head will kill anyone. Constant swinging is supposed to lessen the amount of damage the
katana does, but whatever difference there is doesn't seem to be too significant. If
you're good at getting headshots, the katana is most certainly the best melee weapon for you,
and great for taking on multiple opponents.

The alternate fire throws the katana. This is very impractical and gravity does affect it. Thrown
katana kills are extremely rare. If you miss (and you most likely will), you can retrieve your
katana from the ground.

----------------------------------------------
D3 - Sledge Hammer
----------------------------------------------

The sledge hammer is the most powerful melee weapon, so of course, there's some sort of catch.
The sledge hammer is exceedingly slow and it does not hit instantaneously. It's the most
commonly used melee weapon besides the katana. It's arguably better, and in the right hands,
devilishly effective.

With Kung Fu, a single hit does upward of one hundred points of damage to the body. A headshot will
kill anyone. When you press the fire button, you will first raise the hammer, then bring it down on
your opponent. Because it doesn't hit instantly and has a long delay between swings, timing is
critical for effective sledging, basically unlike the rest of the melee weapons. Timing can easily
make the difference between another frag, and your own death. The result from successfully hitting
someone is very rewarding however, and if you have a knack for timing, hammering your way through
even a band of heavily armored opponents is a breeze. It's also an excellent weapon for maps
that require you to destroy certain objects.

The alternate fire throws the sledge. Like the katana throw, this is very impractical and kills with
a thrown sledge are very rare. You can retrieve it if you miss though.

----------------------------------------------
D4 - Throwing Knives
----------------------------------------------

Throwing knives are quite commonly used, despite how difficult they are to use. Players probably
feel inclined to use them merely because they often find themselves having it in their setup. There
are three ways to acquire throwing knives through the character selection screen. You can choose it
under the melee section, choose it under the extra equipment section, or choose Kung Fu as your
perk. A combination of two of these, or all three, will simply give you more knives. A single knife
does just over one hundred points of damage. Unlike the other melee weapons however, using kung fu
has no effect on the power.


The throwing knives give you the option of throwing one knife at a time, or three. You can toggle
between the two using your change mode button. Throwing one is actually more effective and cost
efficient. The trajectory is hard to get used to, so trying to hit a moving target can be very
difficult and will take practice. However, if you do manage to get a hit, the results make it quite
worth the effort.

The triple knife throw won't go nearly as far and has a longer delay between throws. While not
awful, this mode isn't nearly as good as the other. It may sound like it's much easier,
and that it would allow you to get multiple kills. However, in practice, it's much harder to
get even one kill at a time in this mode.

----------------------------------------------
D5 - Big Hit Knife
----------------------------------------------

The Big Hit Knife is easily the worst melee weapon in the game, so therefore, it is the ultimate
weapon of humiliation. It's weak, it has almost no range of which to speak, and the fast slash
rate just doesn't make up for its shortcomings. Melee in general isn't incredibly
practical, but it would be a stretch to even label the knife as being viable. A BHK kill is however,
generally something to be proud of.

The Big Hit Knife is very weak, but that's not what makes it so hard to use. Merely getting a
hit on a moving target is an art that will take a lot of practice or lot of luck.

The alternate fire throws the knife. It works pretty much like a standard throwing knife, even
damage-wise. However you only get one, so throwing it isn't a particularly fantastic idea. You
can pick it up if you miss however, assuming it's not in an unreachable place.

----------------------------------------------
D6 - Fists
----------------------------------------------

Although there's an empty fish option under the melee section, there's absolutely no
reason to take it. You have them regardless of what you choose, and there's no extra incentive
to select it. While fists may seem like the most tame melee weapon, they're actually superior
to the Big Hit Knife. They're basically like slightly downgraded machetes, which means that
they can still be pretty effective.

Fists are weak, have very short range, and unlike every other melee weapon, they can't get
headshots. However you can also punch very quickly, so merely hitting someone isn't incredibly
difficult. It's actually quite effective against lower armor classes if you're persistent
enough. It isn't really recommended for taking on heavily armored players however, unless you
know they're already low on health.

==============================================
E - Guns
==============================================

----------------------------------------------
E1 - Sig P226 + Akimbo
----------------------------------------------
Clip size (single): 9
Clip size (akimbo): 18

In previous versions of Desert Crisis, the Sig was always the most commonly used pistol by far. 1.5
has brought more balance, and while all of the pistols are very appealing right now, the Sig is
still a fantastic choice. Funnily enough, it has neither the incredible power of the Desert Eagle or
the Raging Bull, nor the large clip size of the USP Match. However, it is perhaps because of this
that it is the most reliable pistol in the game. While the game describes the Sig as having
"medium" damage, it's actually a bit closer on the weak side. It's generally
preferable to get headshots instead of body shots, but even body shots are still reasonably
effective.

A single Sig will have pinpoint accuracy while crouching still. It fires very rapidly and
doesn't lose much accuracy after each shot. If you have a steady hand, the fast rate of fire
makes this an excellent weapon for close quarters. It's also commonly used for sniping, because
its accuracy makes it good for long ranges. The reload time is moderately fast.

Akimbo sigs double the amount of shots you have, but aren't quite as accurate. They're
still relatively accurate, especially for an akimbo weapon. Primary fire shoots one shot at a time,
alternating between each pistol very rapidly. Alternate fire shoots both guns at the same time. This
is not even half as fast, but provides a bit more accuracy. Ultimately, which one you choose is
probably a matter of preference. I usually see the primary fire more often by other players, but the
alternate fire has always worked better for me. Changing modes when you have akimbo sigs allows you
to switch back and forth between wielding each individual pistol, and both pistols at the same time.
The akimbo sigs reload almost instantly, so you don't have to worry about being caught with
empty guns.

----------------------------------------------
E2 - Desert Eagle .357 + Akimbo