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Duke Nukem 3D - Strafe 40 - Strafe 50 - Joystick

I tested this myself many years ago, for more accurate results I have done some new tests.

With autorun on for Duke Nukem 3D/Atomic at all times and steroids off since steroids will just x2 your speed or so: The exact results of Strafe 40 and Strafe 50 are below.

Strafe running known as strafe 40 makes you 41.040462427% faster.

Strafe 50 makes you go an extra 6.5573770491% faster on a non moving floor, totals it to 50.28901734104046% faster.

So with Strafe 50 it makes you go a total of 50.28901734104046% faster.

And with a joystick exploiting the full 90 (units) per axis, you can gain 12.704918032786885% faster speed than a keyboard and mouse user that is only using the most common strafe 40/strafe running movements on their keyboard/mouse etc.

Conclusion - Calculated test results:

How much faster can a joystick user move at compared to a keyboard and mouse player using Strafe 40.
12.704918032786885% faster.

How much faster is a joystick user than a keyboard and mouse player that use strafe 50?
5.769230769230769%% faster.

How much faster is a keyboard / mouse user using strafe 40 when the other player is not using strafe 40 or 50?
41.040462427745666% faster.

How much faster is a keyboard only strafe 50 user when the other keyboard and mouse player is not using strafe 40 or 50?
50.28901734104046% faster.

How much faster can a Joystick user move at than someone that doesn't use str40 or 50 and keyboard/mouse only?
58.95953757225434% faster.

How much faster can a Strafe 50 keyboard/mouse user move at compared to a Strafe 40 keyboard/mouse user?
6.557377049180328% faster.

Also note that no matter what controller you use, even exploiting strafe 40 or 50 and trying to reach the full 90 axis for speed using a Joystick.

The max speed any player can go at compared to a keyboard player just running and not using strafe 40 or 50 is 58.95953757225434% faster, as the game doesn't allow you to go past 90 axis units.

It's easy to tell who is using cheats/hacks as if the player goes past the max 90 (units) per axis allowed in the actual game, then this is how you can tell if someone is using a cheat or just a glitch in the game mechanics.

Also note that a glitch is not the same as cheating, as it's an error made in the programming code, although exploiting glitches can give you an advantage, it is not the same as using hacking tools to cheat, which is what makes it hard to determine if it is cheating between players that don't understand the full concept of differences leading into a huge argument or forms being flamed.

In online video games, there are many different types of players that you will encounter.
It can normally be broken down to those that cheat and those that do not cheat.

It is safe to say that cheating online is unethical and is looked down upon. However, then we come across players who search for and use glitches or bugs in the video game when playing online.

The question now comes, is using video game glitches considered cheating, or just finding more fun in the game. It all depends on how it is used and looked at.

Duke Nukem 3D Strafe 40 is fun and part of the game for many good players that has been used with many old games from the release date and many have adapted to it.

Removing Strafe 40 would just ruin Duke for them period, as it's became part of the game for over a decade and for doom games.

For some people that haven’t played the game as long as they have weather they are noobs or just don't agree with it.

Then they can simply create a private server with their own rules that doesn't allow Strafe 40, so that all players will move at a proper speed as well as not allowing Strafe 50.

The same can go for warps in Duke Nukem 3D, or they can simply play a map without warps in it.

A glitch in a video game can be considered various things but it usually comes down to being a bug in the game, or doing things in the game that you are not supposed to do. Many glitches turn out to be the ability to go through walls, or get access to items or abilities that you should not have. Although exploiting glitches can give you an advantage, it is not the same as using hacking tools to cheat, which is what makes it hard to determine if it is cheating.

Exploiting video game glitches can be fun, however, it is not a good thing to do when other people in the server are trying to play the game legitimately. Those that exploit the game should do so in servers that is designed for this purpose. If there are not any servers available for that, then you should set your own up. Exploiting glitches in games where people are trying to play the game in a way it is supposed to play gives you an advantage, is looked down upon, and is considered cheating to other players if going against their rules on there own server.

However, some people consider exploiting glitches in a private server to also be wrong. Although you are minding your own business, many people will think that you will later use these exploits in public rooms. If this ever happens, then you should try explaining to the other player that you are just having fun and you are not affecting the game for anyone else. If the person enters your game and tries ruining it for you, you can simply try to remove the player from your game or password-protect your server.

Exploiting video game glitches can be fun. However, there is a line that needs to be set that determines whether it is cheating or just having fun. Doing this in public, legitimate games is what is normally considered cheating and doing it on your own in a private server is what should be considered alright or in your own public server allowing them to use Strafe 40 or and Strafe 50 and even a Joystick.

List Of Source Ports That You Can Exploit Strafe 50

xDuke v19.7.1 xDuke v19.8 XITDUKE hDuke rev13c Duke3d DOS Versions EDuke32

Yes No This is a hack/cheat, anyone caught = BAN No - some older versions yes. Yes Yes

Note that you can Strafe 40 in all Duke Nukem 3D games.

However the joystick only was fully functional in the Hybrid version of xDuke v19.7.1 and the DOS Duke and possibly EDuke32 too.

So many players can't use a joystick in xDuke v19.8 and hDuke as well as Strafe 50, as it's been removed or not fully fuctional.

Moving faster can also make you jump further.

Example xDuke "demo1.dmo" of me moving without any of the speed advantages when strafe running.

This is the same speed as running in one direction in the original Duke3d, but I strafe as well matching that speed of just one direction.

If strafe 40 was ever fixed, these are the kind of speeds to expect, except it would match the same speed if just moving in one direction and not increase when strafing also.

Example xDuke demo "strafe50.rar" showing the difference with Strafe 50 just using keyboard and mouse.

Example Joystick speed using a mouse at the same time exploiting it to the full 90 (units) - "joystick.rar".
As seen in demos with Joystick users such as Dorkz~Hollywood DOS demos.

There was quite a few Joystick users back in the day.

Example xDuke demo using just Strafe Running with keyboard and mouse 80 (units) per axis (Strafe 40).

How to perform Strafe 50

Simply you use 4 inputs all at once.

You would set a key configuration like in this example below,

W = Move Forward
S = Move Backwards
A = Strafe Left
D = Strafe right
Q = Turn left + Strafe
E = Turn right + Strafe

Inside the game if you are facing your left side, just strafe run to the left, but you would then be pressing 4 inputs at once.

W+A+Q = Strafe 50 using 4 inputs.

And then don't tell anyone because they probably would hate you for it :-).

And once I was a keyboard only player.

The time I was very new to the game.

Thanks to Joe Miller in his 50's, for teaching me the Strafe 40/Strafe Running tactics and strategy when I first played Duke Nukem 3D as a child on a games network called Wireplay UK.

Most of the other things I picked up on my own.

In the past I found keys moved slightly faster if pushed down more than once, as I could monitor the speed of every player with a program I created for Duke Nukem 3D, to monitor the speed of players and see the live speed of every players movement, displaying the speed on the screen.

This is the same for when I play back demos.

I can monitor the speed of any player.

I found out that pushing down some keys at the same time also increased the player speed. Knowing the keys I pushed down in a test was called Strafe 50 in the past, however I didn't know it was Strafe 50 until I spoke to Hunter/Turrican, then finding out more about it on a doom forum, it made sense, this is what Strafe 50 really is.

Also other people may of told me, however it's easy to forget things over the years.

I thought I would write more about it.

Source ports should have an option at least to turn Strafe 50 on or off.

It can be allot of fun to use Strafe 50 in some maps, to make a jump easier and such.

How to perform Strafe 40

Simply you use 2 inputs all at once, and run at an angle.

You would set a key configuration like in this example below,

W = Move Forward
S = Move Backwards
A = Strafe Left
D = Strafe right

W+A = Strafe 40 using 2 inputs, and then you head in the direction you need to go making you move 41% faster than just running in one direction.

Strafe 40 is what most of us all have been doing for a very long time.

Some not even knowing they have been doing it, since we all have our own configuration's to just play the game with controls that are easiest to use.

How to perform the best speed possible with Joystick

I tested this on the DOS Duke Nukem 3D v1.3D.

Ok since no one really told me how this works, I managed to figure it out on my own.

But due to the help of Turrican a few years ago, he told once that Joystick moves faster than Keyboard when looking at the source code and he tried it himself, I also knew this though that Joystick was faster, due to researching more into it and doing my own tests.

This is true that the Joystick is faster as it's 90 Units and a Keyboard is 80.

So far it seemed that Strafe 50 made no difference cause I was moving just the same speed with or without Strafe 50, you can just use the normal Strafe 40 and usually you would get the exact same speed, most probably because the joystick is fast anyway and max is 90 units per axis, so in some cases, it seems Strafe 50 is not needed for Joystick as you can get the max speed out of just using a Joystick if you are lucky enough.

It is still possible that my Strafe 50 was still on.
It can be a fairly complex test.

But to me it was clearly off.

You also don't need a Joystick to do it since there is a program to create a Virtual Joystick, a fake one as seen in the screenshot below that I used for testing, so it can be proved even without a Joystick if you don't have one or can't afford one, saving you money.

It lets you use your Keyboard using Joystick inputs.

If I just run forward with a joystick, it's "12.138728323699421%" faster than when running forward with just a keyboard.

The speed values as follows

sqrt( 173^2 + 173^2 ) = 244.659
sqrt = quare root

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_root

If the player moves with just a keyboard and runs forward they move at 173^2.

When testing with a Virtual Joystick and just running forward, the speed was 194^2.
Yes that's a huge difference, and it's faster than just Strafe 50 using a keyboard.

When using a joystick with Strafe 50 or without it, just even Strafe 40 worked fine, the max speed was 275^2, I could not go over that speed without roids, however roids is the same speed of 90 (units) per axis, it just multiplys with the item in use.

When using just a keyboard with Strafe 40 the max speed was 244^2.

When using just a keyboard with Strafe 50 the max speed was 260^2.

You can also do it with a real Joystick if you have one.

It might take a while to set up and get it correctly configured though.

And it can be even harder to set it up on some source ports if they don't have a configuration for it.

It's very simple to get the max speed out of your joystick though.

You just have to use the Joystick to move forward and strafe left or right, you may need to use analog strafing and such.

You then can choose to set up some other keys with mapping or what ever you want to perform the turn left/right + strafe if you want to try it or not, so far not really seen the diference when Strafe 40 is good enough hitting the max for me.

Making the Joystick + Strafe 40 or 50 perform the full speed that you can possible go in Duke without cheating which is 12.704918032786885% faster than a Strafe 40 keyboard only user and 5.769230769230769% faster than a keyboard+strafe 50 user.

So I think that sums it up.

These speeds match the same speed values that Zookem moved at and Dorkz~Hollywood.

They were not cheating like some said they were, but simply using the Joystick.

However if you see anyone move faster than the Joystick speed of 90 axis (units) , then it's clear that they are cheating because if the speed of your controller goes past the max value of 90 (Units) per axis.

Not possible without hacking the game.

Well I think that clears allot up and confusion.

It's all very complex until you try it yourself.

My speed monitor program has never been released yet as it's incomplete for public use.

But maybe one day someone else or if I was ever motivated enough, would be able to create my own program that displays the players moving speed on the screen for public use.

Hope you have enjoyed the read.

Replica

If you see any typing errors or such a mistake cause of human error, please contact me @ replica@yang-online.com.

Please don't email me on how to set up your Joystick and such as it's a fairly complex thing to do, and no longer supported in most of the source ports.

You can however try it yourself using DOS Duke3d and EDuke32.

However it seemed easier to do on the DOS Duke3d.

And the Dorkz~Hollywood speed mystery to some is solved and more understood.