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cs16-mic-not-working/en.md
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| 1 | +--- | |
| 2 | +title: "Fix: Microphone / Voice Chat Not Working in CS 1.6" | |
| 3 | +excerpt: "A step-by-step fix for a dead mic in CS 1.6: the voice_enable cvar, your push-to-talk bind, voice_scale, Windows microphone permissions and the server voice setting." | |
| 4 | +category: "client" | |
| 5 | +tags: "voice, mic" | |
| 6 | +image: "" | |
| 7 | +read_time: "7 min read" | |
| 8 | +--- | |
| 9 | +<p>Voice chat breaking in CS 1.6 is almost always one of a handful of causes: voice is disabled client-side, you have no working push-to-talk bind, Windows is blocking microphone access, or the server has voice turned off. The good news is that each is quick to check. Work through these in order rather than guessing, because the symptoms overlap — "nobody hears me" and "I hear nobody" have different fixes.</p><h2>1. Confirm voice is enabled in the engine</h2><p>Open the console and check the master voice cvar:</p><pre>voice_enable 1</pre><p>If this is <code>0</code>, the entire voice system is off — you neither send nor receive. Set it to <code>1</code>. This is the first thing to rule out because a wiped or copied config can leave it disabled.</p><h2>2. Set a working push-to-talk bind</h2><p>CS 1.6 uses push-to-talk by default: you hold a key to transmit. The command is <code>+voicerecord</code>, and it must be bound to a key you can hold while moving:</p><pre>bind "k" "+voicerecord"</pre><p>Pick a key that does not collide with movement or fire. When you hold it, a small microphone icon should appear near the radar. If you see no icon when holding the key, the bind or the mic itself is the problem, not the server.</p><h2>3. Set the voice volume cvars</h2><p>Two cvars control how loud incoming and your own voice are:</p><pre>voice_scale 1.0 | |
| 10 | +voice_modenable 1</pre><p><code>voice_scale</code> is the playback volume of other players' voices; if it is near zero you will hear nobody even though everything else works. Raise it toward <code>1.0</code>. There is also <code>voice_forcemicrecord</code>, which some setups need set to <code>1</code> so the engine opens the microphone in a compatible mode:</p><pre>voice_forcemicrecord 1</pre><h2>4. Fix Windows microphone permissions and device</h2><p>Modern Windows blocks microphone access per-app by default, and CS 1.6 is old enough that it can be silently denied. Check <strong>Settings > Privacy & security > Microphone</strong> and make sure <strong>Let desktop apps access your microphone</strong> is on. Then confirm the right device is the <strong>default</strong> input in <strong>Sound settings</strong> — if a webcam or virtual device is default, CS records from the wrong source and transmits silence. Speak into the device and watch the input level bar move to prove Windows sees it at all.</p><h2>5. Check the server allows voice</h2><p>The server can disable voice for everyone. Admins control it with:</p><pre>sv_voiceenable 1</pre><p>If the server has <code>sv_voiceenable 0</code>, no client-side setting will restore voice — the server is refusing to relay it. You cannot change this as a player; ask the admin, or accept that this particular server has voice off. Some servers also gag specific players via an admin <a href="/plugins/csb-gag">gag plugin</a>, which mutes only you and looks identical to a broken mic.</p><h2>Common errors</h2><ul><li><strong>Mic icon appears but nobody hears you</strong> — Windows is recording from the wrong device, or the server relays voice but your input is muted at the OS level. Set the correct default input and check the level bar moves.</li><li><strong>No mic icon when holding the key</strong> — the <code>+voicerecord</code> bind is missing or bound to a key you are not pressing. Re-bind it.</li><li><strong>You hear nobody, but your mic works</strong> — <code>voice_scale</code> is near zero or <code>voice_enable 0</code>. Raise the scale and enable voice.</li><li><strong>Nobody has voice on this one server</strong> — <code>sv_voiceenable 0</code> server-side. Nothing you can change fixes it.</li><li><strong>Only you are silenced</strong> — an admin gagged you. It behaves exactly like a broken mic but affects only your voice; ask why.</li></ul><h2>Verification</h2><p>The cleanest test is to hear your own transmission. Enable local loopback so you monitor what you send:</p><pre>voice_loopback 1</pre><p>Hold your <code>+voicerecord</code> key and speak — with loopback on you should hear yourself, which proves the mic, the bind, Windows permissions and the engine are all working end to end. Turn <code>voice_loopback 0</code> off afterward so you are not distracted in a match. If loopback works but a specific server still cannot hear you, the problem is on that server (voice disabled or you are gagged), not on your machine.</p><h2>Bonus: quality cvars worth setting</h2><p>Once voice works, two cvars clean it up. <code>voice_overdrive</code> lowers game sound while someone is talking so you can actually hear callouts over gunfire, and <code>voice_scale</code> lets each player set incoming voice volume to taste:</p><pre>voice_scale 0.8 | |
| 11 | +voice_overdrive 2</pre><p>Keep <code>voice_scale</code> below the point where a loud teammate clips, and remember that these are personal preferences — they do not affect what you transmit. If a whole server sounds harsh, that is the servers's mix and not something you can fix client-side beyond your own playback volume.</p> |
cs16-static-crosshair/en.md
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| 1 | +--- | |
| 2 | +title: "Static Crosshair in CS 1.6 (cl_crosshair Cvars)" | |
| 3 | +excerpt: "How to make the CS 1.6 crosshair static instead of expanding, and how to set its size, colour and translucency with the cl_crosshair cvars." | |
| 4 | +category: "client" | |
| 5 | +tags: "crosshair, settings" | |
| 6 | +image: "" | |
| 7 | +read_time: "6 min read" | |
| 8 | +--- | |
| 9 | +<p>By default the CS 1.6 crosshair breathes — it expands when you move and shoot and shrinks when you stand still. Some players like the movement feedback; many find it distracting and want a fixed reference point that never changes size. A few cvars control every aspect of it, and once set they belong in your config so they survive restarts.</p> | |
| 10 | + | |
| 11 | +<h2>1. Make it static</h2> | |
| 12 | +<p>The single cvar that stops the crosshair from expanding is:</p> | |
| 13 | +<pre>cl_dynamiccrosshair 0</pre> | |
| 14 | +<p>With <code>cl_dynamiccrosshair 0</code> the crosshair is locked at a fixed size regardless of movement or fire. Set it to <code>1</code> to restore the default dynamic behaviour. This is the setting most people are actually looking for when they say "static crosshair."</p> | |
| 15 | + | |
| 16 | +<h2>2. Set the size</h2> | |
| 17 | +<p>Crosshair size is a named setting, not a pixel value:</p> | |
| 18 | +<pre>cl_crosshair_size "small"</pre> | |
| 19 | +<p>Accepted values are <code>auto</code>, <code>small</code>, <code>medium</code>, and <code>large</code>. <code>auto</code> scales with resolution; the named sizes are fixed. On a static crosshair, <code>small</code> gives the tightest aiming point and is the common competitive choice. Type the value in quotes in the console or config.</p> | |
| 20 | + | |
| 21 | +<h2>3. Set the colour</h2> | |
| 22 | +<p>Colour is an RGB triplet, each channel 0–255:</p> | |
| 23 | +<pre>cl_crosshair_color "0 255 0"</pre> | |
| 24 | +<p>The example is the classic green. <code>50 250 50</code> or <code>0 255 255</code> (cyan) stand out against most maps. Pick a colour that contrasts with the environments you play on — a green crosshair vanishes against green foliage, so cyan or a light colour is often more visible.</p> | |
| 25 | + | |
| 26 | +<h2>4. Translucency</h2> | |
| 27 | +<pre>cl_crosshair_translucent 1</pre> | |
| 28 | +<p><code>cl_crosshair_translucent 1</code> makes the crosshair semi-transparent so it blends with the scene instead of a hard opaque cross; <code>0</code> keeps it solid. Try both — translucency reads better against bright backgrounds, solid is easier to track against busy textures.</p> | |
| 29 | + | |
| 30 | +<h2>5. What each cvar controls, at a glance</h2> | |
| 31 | +<p>It is easy to conflate these four, so here is the division of labour. <code>cl_dynamiccrosshair</code> decides <em>movement</em> — whether the cross expands and contracts. <code>cl_crosshair_size</code> decides <em>scale</em> — how big it is when static. <code>cl_crosshair_color</code> decides <em>visibility</em> — the RGB tint. <code>cl_crosshair_translucent</code> decides <em>opacity</em> — how much the scene shows through. Changing one does not touch the others, which is why a "still expanding" crosshair is always <code>cl_dynamiccrosshair</code> and never the size or colour cvar.</p> | |
| 32 | +<p>A practical starting point for aim-focused play is a small, static, high-contrast crosshair: dynamic off, size small, a cyan or bright-green colour, and translucency to taste. From there you only ever adjust colour for a map you find hard to see against, and leave the rest fixed — a crosshair that never changes is one your eyes stop having to re-learn round after round.</p> | |
| 33 | + | |
| 34 | +<h2>6. Put it all together in a config</h2> | |
| 35 | +<p>Set the four cvars once and save them so an update or a server does not wipe them. Create or edit <code>cstrike/userconfig.cfg</code>:</p> | |
| 36 | +<pre>// cstrike/userconfig.cfg | |
| 37 | +cl_dynamiccrosshair 0 | |
| 38 | +cl_crosshair_size "small" | |
| 39 | +cl_crosshair_color "0 255 0" | |
| 40 | +cl_crosshair_translucent 1</pre> | |
| 41 | +<p>Load it with <code>exec userconfig.cfg</code>, or bind a key to it so you can flip between crosshair presets. Keeping these in <code>userconfig.cfg</code> rather than only <code>config.cfg</code> protects them, since the engine rewrites <code>config.cfg</code> on exit and can lose manual edits.</p> | |
| 42 | + | |
| 43 | +<h2>Troubleshooting</h2> | |
| 44 | +<ul> | |
| 45 | +<li><strong>Crosshair still expands when I shoot</strong> — <code>cl_dynamiccrosshair</code> is still 1, or something re-set it. Read it back in the console; a server or a config exec can override it. Put it in <code>userconfig.cfg</code> and re-exec.</li> | |
| 46 | +<li><strong>Size command "does nothing"</strong> — you passed a number instead of a name. <code>cl_crosshair_size</code> takes <code>auto</code>/<code>small</code>/<code>medium</code>/<code>large</code>, not a pixel count.</li> | |
| 47 | +<li><strong>Colour ignored</strong> — the value needs three numbers separated by spaces and in quotes: <code>"0 255 0"</code>. A single number or missing quotes is rejected.</li> | |
| 48 | +<li><strong>Settings reset every launch</strong> — you edited <code>config.cfg</code>, which the game overwrites on exit. Move the block to <code>userconfig.cfg</code> and exec it, or mark the file read-only only as a last resort.</li> | |
| 49 | +<li><strong>Crosshair invisible on some maps</strong> — it matches the background colour. Change <code>cl_crosshair_color</code> to a high-contrast value like cyan.</li> | |
| 50 | +</ul> | |
| 51 | + | |
| 52 | +<h2>Verification</h2> | |
| 53 | +<p>In the console, read the four cvars back:</p> | |
| 54 | +<pre>cl_dynamiccrosshair | |
| 55 | +cl_crosshair_size | |
| 56 | +cl_crosshair_color | |
| 57 | +cl_crosshair_translucent</pre> | |
| 58 | +<p>Each should echo your chosen value. Then jump into a map, move and fire a burst, and confirm the crosshair stays exactly the same size the whole time — that is the proof the dynamic behaviour is off. A locked crosshair pairs naturally with a locked, acceleration-free mouse setup; if your aim still wanders, tune the mouse first with <a href="/tutorials/cs16-sensitivity-dpi">the sensitivity and DPI guide</a>.</p> | |
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