CVARs Documentation

CLIENT SIDE CVARs

Input/Control CVARs

in_mouse: BOOL (default: 1)

Enable/disable mouse input processing.

in_poll_rate: BOOL (default: 0)

Mouse poll frequency. 0=packet rate only (~62 Hz), 1=render rate (uncapped, highest responsiveness).

in_dgamouse: BOOL (default: 1)

Use DGA mouse on Linux for raw input (improved precision).

m_direct: BOOL (default: 0)

Direct mouse delta mode. 0=delta from center, 1=delta from last position (lower latency).

m_accel: BOOL (default: 1)

Enable mouse acceleration.

sensitivity: FLOAT (default: 3)

Mouse sensitivity multiplier for aiming.

menu_sensitivity: FLOAT (default: 3)

Mouse sensitivity in menu interface.

m_pitch: FLOAT (default: 0.022)

Mouse pitch (vertical look) sensitivity.

m_yaw: FLOAT (default: 0.022)

Mouse yaw (horizontal look) sensitivity.

m_forward: FLOAT (default: 1)

Mouse forward/backward movement multiplier.

m_side: FLOAT (default: 1)

Mouse strafe (left/right) movement multiplier.

in_joystick: BOOL (default: 0)

Enable joystick/gamepad input.

joy_forwardthreshold: FLOAT (default: 0.15)

Joystick forward/back dead zone threshold.

joy_sidethreshold: FLOAT (default: 0.15)

Joystick strafe dead zone threshold.

joy_upthreshold: FLOAT (default: 0.15)

Joystick vertical movement dead zone threshold.

Movement CVARs

cl_upspeed: INT (default: 200)

Up/down movement speed.

cl_forwardspeed: INT (default: 200)

Forward movement speed.

cl_sidespeed: INT (default: 200)

Strafe (left/right) movement speed.

cl_yawspeed: INT (default: 140)

Rotation speed when using keyboard.

cl_pitchspeed: INT (default: 150)

Look up/down speed when using keyboard.

cl_anglespeedkey: FLOAT (default: 1.5)

Multiplier for angle speed when holding speed key.

cl_run: BOOL (default: 0)

Always run (toggle behavior).

freelook: BOOL (default: 0)

Enable free look mode without aiming.

lookspring: BOOL (default: 0)

Auto-center view when releasing look keys.

lookstrafe: BOOL (default: 0)

Use mouse for strafing instead of looking.

Display/Graphics CVARs

cl_maxfps: INT (default: 60)

Limit frames drawn per second using a busy-wait loop. Higher values = more responsive input.

cl_drawfps: BOOL (default: 0)

Draw FPS counter on screen.

cl_blend: BOOL (default: 1)

Enable color blending effects (pain flash, powerup effects).

cl_lights: BOOL (default: 1)

Render dynamic lighting (CPU intensive).

cl_particles: BOOL (default: 1)

Render particle effects (explosions, tracers).

cl_entities: BOOL (default: 1)

Render entity models (players, items, monsters).

cl_gun: BOOL (default: 1)

Render first-person weapon model.

cl_flicker: BOOL (default: 1)

Enable flickering light effects.

cl_simpleitems: BOOL (default: 0)

Use flat item icons instead of 3D models.

cl_centerprint: BOOL (default: 1)

Show center-screen messages (kills, pickups).

cl_vwep: BOOL (default: 1)

Show weapon models held by other players.

cl_noblood: BOOL (default: 0)

Disable blood effects for gore-sensitive players.

cl_brass: BOOL (default: 1)

Render shell casings from weapons.

cl_noskins: BOOL (default: 0)

Use default model instead of custom player skins.

Network/Rate Control CVARs

rate: INT (default: 25000, clamped to max 15000)

Bandwidth limit in bytes/second. Server enforces maximum of 15000.

cl_timeout: INT (default: 120)

Disconnect if no server response for this many seconds.

cl_shownet: INT (default: 0)

Show network traffic debug info. Higher values = more detail.

User Info CVARs

name: STRING (default: "unnamed")

Player name (sent to server, case-sensitive when choosing servers).

skin: STRING (default: "male/grunt")

Character model and skin selection.

hand: INT (default: 0)

Weapon hand: 0=right, 1=center, 2=left.

gender: STRING (default: "male")

Player gender for announcements ("male", "female", "neutral").

fov: INT (default: 90)

Field of view in degrees (max 160). Higher = wider view but more distortion.

password: STRING (default: "")

Password for joining password-protected servers.

spectator: BOOL (default: 0)

Enable spectator mode.

spectator_password: STRING (default: "")

Password for spectator mode on servers requiring it.

msg: INT (default: 1)

Message filter level for server broadcasts.

Game Client CVARs

cl_predict: BOOL (default: 1)

Predict own movement locally for lower perceived latency.

cl_autoskins: BOOL (default: 0)

Automatically download player skins when joining servers.

cl_precachecustom: BOOL (default: 0)

Precache custom models on startup (uses more memory/time).

cl_playtaunts: BOOL (default: 1)

Play taunt sounds when players use them.

cl_footsteps: BOOL (default: 1)

Play footstep sounds when players move.

cl_test: BOOL (default: 0)

Enable test features/debug mode.

cl_timedemo: BOOL (default: 0)

Benchmark mode - runs demo at maximum speed and prints timing stats.

cl_demoquit: BOOL (default: 0)

Auto-quit after running a demo.

cl_showplayernames: INT (default: 0)

Display player names: 0=off, 1=teammates, 2=all players.

cl_paindist: INT (default: 0)

Sound distance for pain sounds.

cl_explosiondist: INT (default: 0)

Sound distance for explosion sounds.

cl_raindist: INT (default: 1)

Sound distance for rain/ambient sounds.

cl_dm_lights: BOOL (default: 0)

Enable Deathmatch-specific dynamic lighting optimizations.

cl_disbeamclr: INT (default: 0)

Disable specific beam color effects (0-7).

cl_showspeedometer: BOOL (default: 0)

Display real-time player speed (movement units/sec).

cl_showaccelerometer: BOOL (default: 0)

Display acceleration magnitude in real-time.

Server Interaction CVARs

rcon_password: STRING (default: "")

Password for remote console (rcon) commands on servers.

rcon_address: STRING (default: "")

IP address for sending rcon commands.

cl_master: STRING (default: "master.alienarena.org")

Primary master server for getting server list.

cl_master2: STRING (default: "master2.alienarena.org")

Secondary master server for redundancy.

cl_show_active_servers_only: BOOL (default: 0)

Filter server list to show only active servers.

cl_stats_server: STRING (default: "http://martianbackup.com")

Stats collection server URL for player rankings.

cl_latest_game_version_url: STRING (default: "http://invader.alienarena.org/version/crx_version")

URL for checking latest game version updates.

cl_speedrecord: INT (default: 450)

Personal speed run record (set by player).

cl_alltimespeedrecord: INT (default: 450)

All-time speed run record (persistent).

Audio CVARs

background_music: BOOL (default: 1)

Enable background music in menus and during gameplay.

background_music_vol: FLOAT (default: 0.5)

Background music volume level (0.0 to 1.0).

HUD/Display Image CVARs

cl_hudimage1: STRING (default: "pics/i_health.tga")

Custom HUD image 1 (health display).

cl_hudimage2: STRING (default: "pics/i_score.tga")

Custom HUD image 2 (score display).

cl_hudimage3: STRING (default: "pics/i_ammo.tga")

Custom HUD image 3 (ammo display).

Font CVARs

fnt_game: STRING (default: "orbitron")

Font face for in-game text.

fnt_game_size: INT (default: 0)

Game font size (0 = auto).

fnt_console: STRING (default: "freemono")

Font for console text.

fnt_console_size: INT (default: 0)

Console font size (0 = auto).

fnt_menu: STRING (default: "freesans")

Font for menu text.

fnt_menu_size: INT (default: 0)

Menu font size (0 = auto).


SERVER SIDE CVARs

Server Connection CVARs

hostname: STRING (default: "noname")

Server name displayed to players and master server.

maxclients: INT (default: 1)

Maximum number of player slots on the server.

timeout: INT (default: 125)

Disconnect clients after this many seconds of inactivity.

sv_iplimit: INT (default: 3)

Maximum connections allowed per IP address (anti-spam).

sv_reconnect_limit: INT (default: 3)

Maximum number of reconnect attempts from same client.

sv_public: BOOL (default: 1)

List this server on master servers (0 = private/LAN only).

Download CVARs

allow_download: BOOL (default: 1)

Enable file downloads from server for clients.

allow_download_players: BOOL (default: 0)

Allow downloading player model files.

allow_download_models: BOOL (default: 1)

Allow downloading map model files.

allow_download_sounds: BOOL (default: 1)

Allow downloading sound files.

allow_download_maps: BOOL (default: 1)

Allow downloading map files.

sv_downloadurl: STRING (default: "http://invader.alienarena.org/sv_downloadurl")

HTTP URL for alternative download location (avoids server bandwidth).

auto_installmap: BOOL (default: 1)

Automatically install downloaded maps without player confirmation.

allow_overwrite_maps: BOOL (default: 0)

Allow download to overwrite existing map files.

Game Mode CVARs

deathmatch: INT (default: 0)

Enable Deathmatch mode (free-for-all). 0=off, 1=on.

ctf: INT (default: 0)

Enable Capture the Flag mode.

skill: INT (default: 1)

Difficulty level for bots (0=easy, 1=medium, 2=hard, 3=nightmare).

fraglimit: INT (default: 0)

End game when player reaches this score (0 = unlimited).

timelimit: INT (default: 0)

End game after this many minutes (0 = unlimited).

dmflags: INT

Deathmatch flags bitmask controlling game rules (instant items, falling damage, etc).

cheats: BOOL (default: 0)

Enable cheat commands (powerful admin-only commands).

Antilag CVARs

g_antilag_oneway: BOOL (default: 0)

Use one-way ping estimation for antilag (fairer to low-ping players).

g_antilag_oneway_factor: FLOAT (default: 0.5)

Antilag compensation multiplier (0.5 = 50% of Round Trip Time).

g_antilag_low_ping_threshold: INT (default: 50)

Minimum ping (ms) for lag compensation.

g_antilag_high_ping_threshold: INT (default: 250)

Ping threshold (ms) where diminishing returns start for antilag compensation.

g_antilag_max_ping: INT (default: 300)

Maximum effective ping (ms) for lag compensation. Pings above this capped at this value.

g_antilagdebug: INT (default: 0)

Debug antilag system. 0=off, 1=normal, 2=verbose.

g_antilagprojectiles: BOOL (default: 1)

Apply antilag compensation to projectile weapons.

Special Game Modes

sv_joustmode: BOOL (default: 0)

Enable Joust mode (mid-air combat with unlimited jumping).

g_tactical: BOOL (default: 0)

Enable Tactical Ops mode (objective-based).

excessive: BOOL (default: 0)

Enable Excessive mode (high damage/fast-paced).

sv_airaccelerate: BOOL (default: 0)

Use alternative air movement physics (faster air strafing).

Physics/Game Balance CVARs

sv_gravity: INT (default: 800)

World gravity acceleration (standard units). Higher = heavier gravity.

sv_friction: FLOAT (default: 6.0)

Ground friction multiplier. Higher = more friction, slower sliding.

Server Tickrate CVARs

sv_tickrate: INT (default: 10)

Server frame rate (ticks per second). Higher = more server updates but more CPU usage.

Bot CVARs

sv_botphysics: BOOL (default: 1)

Enable custom bot physics and movement.

Special Features

g_dm_lights: BOOL (default: 1)

Enable Deathmatch-specific dynamic lighting optimizations.

Statistics CVARs

sv_ratelimit_status: INT (default: 15)

Rate limit threshold for connection flood protection.

Sound DVARs

sv_soundfilter: INT (default: 0)

Filter mode for server sounds (cosmetic/gameplay sounds).


Network Rate Information

Server-side rate clamping: The server clamps all client rate values to a maximum of 15000 bytes/sec, even if clients report higher values. The minimum is 100 bytes/sec.

Recommended rate settings: