Soldat Movement Tutorial

[Bistoufly]

[...]
Learn Soldat's movement system below.

This is the in depth tutorial. Have a look here if you're seeking for a shorter tutorial.

[Bistoufly]

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Basic Technique: Jump

Aborted Jump                    Half Jump                    Full Jump

       

   

Half Jump

The half jump is a variation of the jump command in which the jump is half the height.

Fake Jump

The fake jump has the beginning animation of any regular jump, however the feet never leaves the ground.

Performed by first pressing the jump key, then pressing a directional key, and finally releasing both keys when animation has completed.

Glide Jump

Jump immediately after releasing a directional key.

Side Jump

While holding a directional key, tap the jump button. By adding jets to your Side Jump you can reach higher and further.

Depending on how long you hold the jump key, you'll reach different heights and distances.

 

Mini Side Jump                       Medium Side Jump                        High Side Jump

   

Held Side Jump

Performed by holding the jump key for the entire duration of the Side jump.

We'll see later how this can be used to perform certain moves, such as the Late Backflip and the Late Cannonball.

Kick Jumping

Hold a directional key, and tap the jump key (default: w) every time you touch the ground. Tapping the jump key at the right time allows you to build momentum. For a given slope, there will be a certain tapping rhythm that you must judge,

but your judgment will become intuitive with practice. In general, the steeper the slope is, the faster your tapping rhythm will be. The flatter the slope is, the more time there should relatively be between each tap.

Flat Slope                                                                             Steep Slope

 

Mini Kick Jumps

Mini kick jumps are a variation of the kick jump. The mini kick jump is executed with the same key commands, but the timing is executed earlier.

Lightly and quickly tap a directional key and the jump key almost simultaneously, and experiment with your fingers to get it just right!

Normal Kick Jumps                                                            Mini Kick Jumps

 

As a variation to the Side Jump, the backjump, which is a Side Jump itself, counteracts existing momentum (by jumping in the opposite direction--hence the name) to momentarily levitate the gostek off the ground.

The height of elevation is determined by the angle of the slope on which the backjump is performed, as well as the initial speed with which the player is moving.

The Backjump can also be performed after a series of Kick Jumps.

 

Half Side Jump

*In tight tunnels, you can use the ceiling as a means to shorten the height and hence trajectory of your jumps: as a result of shorter jumps, you will accelerate faster in these tight tunnels.

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Basic Technique: Roll

Roll

Pressing the crouch key during horizontal movement allows a player to roll, making him/her momentarily faster than walking speed.

Adding a little jet at the end of rolls is generally beneficial, as the rolls can sometimes abruptly halt your momentum.

Jet Roll

The jet roll is a very useful roll that has several functions.
To perform: During the gostek’s rolling animation, press or hold jet.
This helps your gostek to avoid getting stuck to the ground and may also help with getting to different places in a short and precise manner.

 

Glide roll

How to do (facing right): Upon the immediate release of the A key (moving left), roll towards the right.
This is useful for cutting corners very quickly. The glide roll is best utilized in confined or tight areas or near edges.
Note: Can be done facing both directions, and no cursor crossing should occur.

Forward Glide Roll                                          Backward Glide Roll

 

Inverse Roll

Performed by switching the cursor to the opposite side of your gostek during a roll.
The movement of the cursor across the gostek is called cursor crossing.
For efficiency purposes, cursor crossing should occur earlier in the roll when nearer to an edge, and visa versa.
These rolls are great to cut corners in tightly packed spaces, like in the top-right tunnels of Kampf.

 

Hard Roll

Hard Rolling is when your momentum is taking you one way but you come to a very abrupt halt, allowing you to roll in the other direction. To perform, first press and hold the crouch button, then press a directional key, and then click the jet key
Normally, your momentum would cause you to slide along the ground while rolling; however, with hard rolling...

This looks wrong

And this looks right

 

Incline Roll

Incline rolling is when you perform a roll into a very steep, inclined surface.
This has proven to give your player a burst of speed up the surface, especially if chained together with a backflip. If you’re going to chain an incline roll with a backflip, make sure to perform the incline roll first because it’s the move that puts a halt to all the gravitational momentum applied on the player, no matter how great the momentum is or the type of surface on which your gostek lands.
Note: The timing will be harder without jets and also on steep, icy surfaces.

 

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Backflip

While facing backward (relative to your Side Jump direction) and holding the jump key mid-air during the jump, click the jet button.
Important: Do not release the jump key before the jet key has been clicked...
Holding jet during the backflip will increase the upward momentum.
By timing the release of the jump key relative to the click of the jet key, you can vary the height of your backflip.

   

Low Backflip             Medium Backflip               Full Backflip

If you need extra height, you can start your backflip with a backjump.

You can chain several backflips on a slope.

Variations of backflip

Reverse Backflip

To perform a reverse backflip: begin by kick jumping in one direction,
then switching directional keys with your different fingers while mid-air.
and, finally, clicking the jet key to initiate the backflip.
Remember: you must be facing backward for a backflip to perform, but because the backflip direction is reversed (relative to the kick jump) face forward (relative to the kickjump) for this technique.

Late/Delayed Backflip

A late backflip is performed the same way as a regular backflip, however the pressing of the jet key is delayed as you please. Try experimenting!

Late Backflip                                                                     Late Reverse Backflip

 

Inverse Backflip

To perform an inverse backflip, begin the jump by facing forward.
Proceed with a cursor cross then follow up with pressing the opposite directional key.
Now all that’s left is to jet.

By combining these techniques you can get some pretty interesting trajectories.
For example, this is a Backjumped Late Reverse Backflip which happens to be inversed as well. Are you still following?

Crossing with the mouse

By changing the direction you face during the animation of the backflip, you can fine tune your trajectory.
This can be done one or several times.

 

Spin-Backflip

You can Backflip against a curve to build up horizontal momentum.

 

Wall-Backflip

By backfliping against a vertical wall, you’ll get more vertical momentum.

Mini-flip

A mini-flip develops like a backflip; however, the jet key is pressed at the very beginning of the jump animation.
As a result, no initial momentum is given to the flip, which keeps the gostek much closer to the ground.

Note: There is an alternative way to mini-flip that doesn’t involve pressing jet, however it’s much more difficult.
To perform it, while holding the direction key and facing backwards, crouch then jump immediately after.

Mini-flipping is one of the fastest ways to get onto a platform that is slightly higher than you, as you can see.

 

Micro-flip

Using the “no jet” mini-flip technique, you can adjust the timing of the jump relative to the
roll to produce a whole range of smaller flips.

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Advanced Technique: The Cannonball

Cannonball
Cannonball is one of the fastest horizontal motions in Soldat.

The cannonball is a derivation of the backflip, and it uses the same basic button sequence, with exception to W and jet.

The best way to understand the mechanics of the relationship between backflips and cannonballs is by imagining your gostek in a slingshot. Think of the W key as the trigger: by holding W, you keep the sling tense, whereas releasing W lets go of the sling. Because all flips are initiated by the jet key, consider the jet key to be the firepower of the slingshot. With this in mind, you can begin to visualize how the ignition of firepower immediately after the release of the sling (W) would produce a strong accelerating force. In short, the timing of the jet key, in relation to the release of W, determines the angle and velocity of the cannon.

If performed correctly, your player will accelerate in the given direction during the flipping animation.
Chaining multiple successful cannonballs can maximize speed.
Real Cannonball                                      Fake Cannonball
 
Fake cannonballing is an alternate way to cannonballing. Watch VinceBros easy-to-follow step-by-step video tutorial on how to fake cannonball. The timing is easier to learn, thus rendering it more consistent than the real cannonball for beginners.
Inverse Cannonball                                    Regular Cannonball
 
Due to the way collision works in Soldat, jumping upon landing facing forward is faster than facing backwards:
It's a small difference of momentum (~5% increase on average.)
Taking advantage of this in the context of cannonballing is called inverse cannon balling.
Notice how the cursor is in front immediately before and after the landing.

The following are all practical applications of the cannonball.
Reverse Cannonball
The same method is applied to the reverse cannon as to the reverse backflip.
It is a useful move to cut corners in a very sharp and precise manner.
It can substitute for the glide roll in the case where there is more open space.
*Make sure the flipping animation is done before cursor crossing into the next motion.
 

Delayed Cornergrab Cannonball
The button sequence to perform this move is identical to that of a regular or reverse cannonball (depending on the direction you face); however, its use and application is entirely different. The Backjump first slows down your player’s momentum, and then the cannonball reverses the momentum by accelerating the player in the opposite direction. This is a good move for switching routes.
 
Backjump Cannonball
This move has the same use as the mini-flip. To perform, simply do a backjump followed by a cannonball.
The backjump cannon keeps you closer to the ground than a mini-flip.


Semi-Cannonball
The semi-cannonball is performed by intentionally letting the release of the W key drag in relation to the jet button. Depending on the timing you can fine tune the height of the semi-cannonball. Judging the desired angle beforehand helps the mind approximate timing. With practice, you can develop a sense of familiarity for certain angles and increase your success rate.
 
Semi-cannonballing should be used when there is a platform that is too high to cannonball on to and would consume too much time to backflip on to or when achieving a specific angle of acceleration.
Too high for a Cannon Ball                                           Too low for a Backflip
 
-Correct way-

Reverse Semi-Cannonball
In the same fashion as cannonballs, semi-cannonballs can be reversed as well.



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Advanced Technique: Prone Cancel

Prone Cancel
Ahh... Finally we get to the prone cancel, the move that ties every movement in Soldat together.
What prone cancel does is it reduces the time it takes for your player to get out of prone.
Literally, you are cancelling out of prone instantly, which allows you to skip the time-wasting animation of standing up.

Unproning                                                         Prone-Cancelling
 
There are three ways which one can prone cancel:
Punching/Stabbing

Nade Cancel                                                       Forward Cancel
 
The least commonly used pc out of these three in the context of running is the forward prone cancel, it is harder to get consistant and you won't get it as instant and fast as the other style of prone cancels.
Yet the forward prone cancel is very useful when in combat as it allows you to keep your mouse steady while performing it. It is therefore especially beneficial with automatic weapons and for dodging while in air.
While you can prone cancel using punch or stab, if you're using a weapon, our suggestion is to nade cancel.


Inverse Prone Cancel
Inverse prone cancel is performed by bringing the mouse forward immediately after the prone cancel and before the next jump.
It is the same idea as the inverse cannon ball. Taking advantage of soldat collision pohysics for a small increase in momentum due to jumping from a landing facing forward rather than facing backward.
 
Backward Superman
It is sometimes beneficial to use the superman as a means of slowing down.


Cannonball----------CHAIN--------->Superman
Combining the two fastest movements in the game results in the fastest combination in the game.
Once again, best used when cannonballing off a ramp into a superman prone cancel.
 

Prone Gliding
Prone gliding is a movement that lets your player slide around on the ground in prone position using jet.
Prone gliding is triggered by holding nade or switch weapon button, left or right key, and prone button at the same time while jetting. An alternative method is to hold the jet, punch, and prone keys all together.
If you tap the switch weapon key or nade key repeatedly while doing this, you may go faster depending on the rhythm.

  ~Tapping E~> 


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Advanced Technique: Ice Slides

Slide Jump

blah

Slide Glide Jump

Blah

Slide Backflip

blah

Slide Late Backflip

blah

Slide Late Reverse Backflip

Blah

Slide Cannon Ball

Blah

Slide Superman

Blah

Slide Roll

Blah

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Advanced Techniques: Spas Boosting

Spas Boosting

The spas boost is a great way to speed up your gostek while running. Each shot from a spas boosts your gostek and adds momentum going to the opposite direction of which the shot was fired.

Spas Boost Cannon Ball

Blah

 

Spas Boost Surfing

Blah

Spas Boost Combination

Blah

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[Bistoufly]

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Advanced Techniques: Miscellaneous

Poly Catching

Poly catching is when you catch (with a kickjump) the corners of polies with enough momentum to jump off of the corner to increase your player's velocity as well as speed.
Extremely hard to master but one of the most helpful techniques in Soldat.

 

It's also possible to catch corner polies on the way down with a roll or cannonball.

 

You can get a poly boost by barely hitting the corner of a poly (skimming past it) This generally works better with obtuse polies along a flat horizontal plane.

 

You can grab many poly corners. Be creative!

Wall Climbing

Some walls can be grabbed as well.

 

Parachutes

Parachutes automatically activate in maps where the spawn point is well above the ground. Parachutes cannot be summoned. Parachute movement is controlled left and right with left and right movement keys. Remember you are still falling while wearing a parachute, and you can disengage parachute at any time by pressing the jet key.

 

Instant Prone

Performed by taping the nade key before the prone animation ends. Requires you to be in contact with the ground.

Instant-Prone                                      Regular Prone

*Instant-Prone is broken since 1.6.4. Mantis Ticket: http://bugs.soldat.pl/view.php?id=426

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[As de Espada]

the sidejumps need a reference point. either use texture or color
there should be at least one example of ice slide without prone cancel
missing: nade boosting and m79 boosting

really nice work!

[Mighty]

Good work Haste. I'm pretty sure every one of us learned something new.

I've always though doing a backflip and crossing your mouse makes you jump slightly higher. Is that true?

Off-topic: what do you use to create those GIFs?

[iAmBullet]

Good work Haste. I'm pretty sure every one of us learned something new.

I've always though doing a backflip and crossing your mouse makes you jump slightly higher. Is that true?

Off-topic: what do you use to create those GIFs?

That is true, I'm pretty sure it got covered in the section but it's also referred to as a Boomerang Backflip.
The program used is Camtasia Studio 8.

[mtk]

wow, awesome job, I'd help with nade boosts only if my PCU were able to carry recording program..

[Bistoufly]

Added Instant-Prone move in miscellaneous section.

Instant Prone
Performed by taping the nade key before the prone animation ends. Requires you to be in contact with the ground.

Instant-Prone                                                         Regular Prone

*Instant-Prone is broken since 1.6.4. Mantis Ticket: http://bugs.soldat.pl/view.php?id=426



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[Ygrek Starmagedon]

You need to mention also that you can roll from prone as 1.7 came, so this is the easiest way to prone cancel now. Also maybe add smth about m79 and nade boosting (and friendly boosting), too. Great tutorial! And checking if some advanced "animation breaking" techniques works would be also nice.

[firildak]

hey put the gifs back please
 

[nosejj]

hey put the gifs back please
 

They are working fine for me. However I already downloaded all of them in the past, so if you cannot see them you can use: LINK.

[nosejj]

Implemented to wiki.soldat.pl (link) together with Mutilator.NZ's pool of movement knowledge.