Impact & Effects

Controls how straight and rigid the Lightning Gun beam appears. 1.0 draws a perfectly straight line directly from your crosshair (acting as a second pointer for tracking). Values below 1.0 add a swaying delay that makes precise aiming harder.

Enables the bright glowing impact effect at the point where the Lightning Gun beam hits a surface or player. Most pros keep this On for instant visual hit confirmation while tracking, but turn it Off if they find the flash too distracting.

Limits the maximum size of the Lightning Gun impact glow based on distance. Setting this to 0 while keeping cg_lightningImpact On removes the blinding white core of the flash while still providing subtle hit feedback.

Displays a bright flash at the muzzle of your weapon when firing. Most competitive players disable this to eliminate self-induced visual distraction and keep their crosshair area as clean as possible.

Emits physical sparks from enemies and walls when hit by hitscan weapons. Pros often turn this Off to reduce screen clutter, relying instead on audio cues and blood for hit confirmation.

How long (in milliseconds) impact sparks remain visible before fading. Low values provide instant visual feedback without lingering debris that can clutter the screen during fights.

Controls how fast and far impact sparks fly outward from the hit point. Setting to 0 makes sparks hang statically in the air, while higher values create more dynamic particle movement.

Toggles blood splatter effects when players are hit. Most pros keep this On because the visible spray from behind cover provides crucial confirmation when landing blind rockets or grenades.

Controls flying body parts when a player dies from high damage (rockets/rail). Most pros set this to 0 to eliminate massive visual clutter after a frag.

Enables bullet holes and scorch marks on walls and floors. Keeping this On gives useful tactical information about recent fights, while Off slightly improves performance.

How long (in milliseconds) bullet holes and scorch marks remain visible on surfaces. 8000–15000 ms provides good tactical feedback about recent engagements without excessive clutter.

Controls the size of smoke plumes from rocket explosions. Setting to 0 removes lingering smoke that can blind you or obscure enemies during rocket fights.

Controls the size of smoke plumes from grenade explosions. Setting to 0 removes lingering smoke that can blind you or obscure enemies during grenade spam.

Controls the size of smoke plumes from nailgun impacts. Setting to 0 removes lingering smoke that can obscure vision during sustained fire.

Enables smoke puffs at the muzzle when firing the shotgun. Most pros turn this Off to reduce visual noise around their crosshair while tracking.

Controls the size of dust/smoke plumes kicked up from the ground and map surfaces. Setting to 0 removes unnecessary particle clutter.

Controls the trail smoke left by players using the Flight powerup. Setting to 0 removes the trail for cleaner tracking of flying enemies.

Controls the trail smoke left by players using the Haste powerup. Setting to 0 removes the trail for cleaner tracking of hasted enemies.

Controls the visual trail of plasma projectiles. Style 1 (No Trail) is the competitive standard because trails create a blinding wall of sparks that blocks your view of enemies.

Legacy Q3/CPMA command that forces the old blocky plasma style. Superseded by cg_plasmaStyle in modern Quake Live. Pros keep this Off and control style via the Plasma Projectile Style setting above.

Controls the rocket exhaust trail. Style 1 removes the fire plume, making the rocket much thinner and easier to see past when tracking enemies through your own shots.

Legacy Q3/CPMA command that forces the old rocket style. Superseded by cg_rocketStyle in modern Quake Live. Pros keep this Off and control style via the Rocket Trail Style setting above.

Forces the client to render the server’s exact, predictable shotgun pellet pattern instead of a fake randomized spread. On is the competitive standard for accurate visual feedback.

How long (in milliseconds) ejected shell casings from the Machine Gun and Shotgun remain visible and bounce on the floor. Most pros set this to 0 to eliminate distracting moving objects in peripheral vision.

Automatically switches to your next weapon with ammo when you attempt to fire an empty one. Most pros keep this On for smooth combat flow.

Allows you to manually select a weapon even when it has zero ammo. Useful for practicing combos or weapon switching drills without ammo restrictions.

Controls spawn pad animations on items (1 = bounce, 2 = rotate, 4 = pulse glow). Setting to 0 makes items completely static, removing distracting movement that can pull your eye away from enemies.

Controls the red tint overlay that flashes when you take damage. Setting this to fully transparent (0x00000000) prevents your screen from turning red during fights, preserving maximum visibility.

Controls the screen tint when you take friendly fire. Setting this to fully transparent (0x00000000) prevents any visual distraction from teammate damage.

Draws bubble trails behind projectiles that enter water. Setting this to Off greatly improves visibility and target tracking while underwater or near water surfaces.