LagMasterSam's UT2004 Trick Jumping Guide

My online name is LagMasterSam, but my real name is Samuel Newhouse. Even though I played both UT99 and UT2003 I did not become seriously interested in trick jumping until after UT2004 was released. I messed around with trick jumping a little bit in UT99 when I learned about tricks that allowed players to finish assault maps in amazingly fast times. However, this period of trick jumping was very short because UT2003 was on its way. Unfortunately I did not play UT2003 very much and therefore missed out on the trick jumping opportunities that UT2003 offered.

But everything changed when UT2004 came along. I was very enthusiastic about assault being in UT2004 and I quickly realized that tricks jumps would be very useful for playing assault. I found as many trick jumps in AS-Convoy as I could, and I practiced those tricks day after day until I was able to make a flawless run of tricks though the whole map.

Eventually I found a website called UTSkills.com. A trick jumping contest was held on this site and I decided to participate. My interest and knowledge in trick jumping increased greatly after I watched the demos from this trick jumping contest. This is also when I also first learned some of the basic weapon tricks in UT2004. Then a mod known as DodgeProMod was hosted on this site. After I tried this mod I was absolutely hooked on it. A few months later I became a member of the DodgeProMod development team. When Masta, the founder of DodgeProMod, became too busy to work on the mod I became the only active development team member.

I'm writing this trick jumping guide because I realize that many people have a strong desire to learn about UT2004 trick jumping. However, I have yet to find a definitive resource that explains UT2004 trick jumping in sufficient detail. The trick jumping guide that Masta wrote was very good. However, I believe that a far more detailed trick jumping guide is needed to explain all of the intricacies of UT2004 trick jumping.

You may wonder why I'm writing a trick jumping guide for UT2004 when UT2007 will be released relatively soon. From what I understand about UT2007 the fundamental aspects of trick jumping will remain the same. It's true that the player velocity for each maneuver as well as the gravity will change. However, these things should only affect the timing, maximum height, and maximum distance of the tricks mentioned in this guide. If you are already looking forward to UT2007, I still recommend mastering the trick jumps in UT2004 because I believe that doing so will enable you to master trick jumping in UT2007 more quickly.

This guide can be used as either a reference or a complete tutorial on how to trick jump in UT2004. I strongly recommend that you carefully read this entire guide, from start to finish, at least once before using it as a reference. You should do this even if you think you are a great UT2004 trick jumper for the following reasons...

1. The information presented in the early tricks in vitally important for successfully performing the more complex tricks mentioned later in this guide.
2. The guide is written in such a fashion that each trick jump presented assumes you understand everything disclosed earlier in the guide.
3. The terminology and abbreviations I use in this guide may be different from what you are used to. Much of the terminology and abbreviations are presented one trick at a time.

You should also practice and master the trick jumps in the order they are presented. The skills learned by mastering one trick jump are often needed just to perform a trick jump that is presented later in the guide.

Learning to trick jump in UT2004 can be a slow and frustrating process. Ultimately, if you want to be a good trick jumper you must practice often. You will never be a good trick jumper if you do not spend time practicing. You must also be patient. Missing the same jump over and over again can be frustrating. If you become frustrated you should probably take a break and try again later. You can learn much faster when you are not frustrated because you will be able to think more clearly.

Experimentation is often the best way to learn trick jumps. You can read and memorize this entire guide, but that does not mean you will be a good trick jumper. You must experiment with each trick jump so you can learn how to perform it in various situations. The more you experiment with a trick jump, the better you will understand it. Experimentation is also necessary because a trick jump that works in one place may have to be executed differently to work in another place.

A good trick jumper is not just someone who is capable of performing every trick jump in this guide. A good trick jumper has practiced trick jumps so much that he can perform multiple trick jumps in sequence without pausing between them. He is able to perform most trick jumps without having to think about what buttons to press and when to press them. The trick jumps are so automatic to him that performing them is effortless. The only obstacle to the good trick jumper is how fast he can go. In fact, the primary reason he misses any jumps is because he is pressing the limits of how fast a sequence of tricks can be performed. Good trick jumpers are always looking for the fastest way to get from one point to another.

Terminology

Maneuver - A method or technique that is used to change a player's position and/or rotation.

Trick Jump - A maneuver that causes the player to travel through the air with the purpose of reaching a destination as quickly as possible.

Trick - See Trick jump.

Jump - (1) A generic name for any trick jump. (2) A specific type of maneuver in UT2004.

Inclination angle - The angle of a surface relative to the xy plane. This angle is always positive and its range is 0-180 degrees. 0 = perfectly level floor, 180 = perfectly level ceiling, 90 = perfectly level wall.

Floor - Any surface a player can stand on without sliding. The maximum inclination angle for a floor is approximately 45 degrees.

Ceiling - A surface with an inclination angle from 135-180 degrees.

Wall - Any non-ceiling surface that a player will slide on. The angle of inclination ranges from 45-135 degrees.

Slope - special type of wall. The angle of inclination ranges from 45-90 degrees.

Ramp - See slope.

Take off - A take off occurs when the player's feet leave a floor. A take off will often signify the start of a trick jump, but not always.

Landing - A landing occurs when the player's feet touch a floor after the player has been in the air. A landing will always signify the end of a trick jump.

Flight - The period of time from the take off to the landing. Both the take off and the landing are considered part of the flight.

Z-Axis - The vertical (up and down) axis in UT2004.

uu - Unreal Units. How distance is measured in UT2004.

s - Seconds.

uu/s - Unreal Units per second. How speed is measured in UT2004.

Max Distance - Maximum horizontal distance.

Max Height - Maximum vertical distance.

Initial H Speed - Starting horizontal speed.

Initial V Speed - Starting vertical speed.

Hang Time - The amount of time a player will be in the air while performing a trick.

Landing Delays - Delays that prevent a trick from being performed immediately after a landing.

Landing Deceleration - How much the player will be slowed down when the landing for a trick occurs.

Trick Jump Format

All of the tricks mentioned in this guide will follow the following format.

Trick Name (Abbreviation) [Key Sequence] {Trick Sequence}

example...

Jump Shield Wall Dodge Jump (JSgWDJ) [Jump, Dir, Dir + Sgr, Jump] {J, SgWD, AJ}

Any other words/abbreviations used in the key sequence will be explained at the appropriate time.

The Basic Jumps

In this section I will discuss the basic jumps for UT2004 trick jumping. Virtually every trick jump possible in UT2004 will contain at least one basic jump. You should study this section very carefully, because much of the information presented here is vital for performing any other trick in UT2004.

The only tricks that you need to practice in the Basic Jumps section are the Jump, Edge Jump, and the Dodge. The Air Jump and Wall Dodge can not be practically practiced without combining them with another trick. You should wait until you reach the Combined Basic Jumps section before you seriously practice the Air Jump or Wall Dodge.

Jump (J) [Jump] {J}

Contact time - How long the player is touching an object.

Bunny hopping - Repeatedly jumping in such a way that contact time with the ground is minimized.

The simplest trick in UT2004 is the Jump. A Jump is performed by pressing the Jump key on your keyboard while you are touching a floor. It is possible to perform a Jump immediately after a landing. Therefore, it is possible to bunny hop by repeatedly jumping. However, you will not be able to attain high velocities by bunny hoping in UT2004. You cannot increase your speed by bunny hopping, because any time you are in contact with a floor your speed cannot exceed 440uu/s. However, there is one situation where bunny hoping is useful. If you are ascending a steep floor, bunny hoping can improve your climbing speed.

Air Jump (AJ) [Jump] {AJ}

Air Jump Window - The portion of a flight path where it is possible to perform an Air Jump.

AJ window - Air Jump window

The Air Jump is a vital part of UT2004 trick jumping. The Air Jump is performed by pressing the jump key while you are in the air. However, there are limitations on when you can perform an air jump. An Air Jump can only be performed when your Z-Axis velocity is between -100uu/s and +100uu/s. This gives you a 0.210 seconds window of opportunity to perform an Air Jump (if your flight path is unimpeded). This window of opportunity is called the AJ window. Furthermore, you can only perform one Air Jump in a single flight.

You should NOT try to perform an Air Jump by pressing the jump key as fast as you can. If you want to have any trick jumping skills, you must learn to time your key presses so that performing an Air Jump maximizes either your height or your distance. To maximize the height of a trick jump you should perform an Air Jump when your Z-Axis velocity is zero (exactly at the apex). Under most circumstances you must perform an Air Jump when your Z-Axis velocity is -99uu/s (just beyond the apex) to maximize the distance. You will see how this affect tricks jumps more clearly when I discuss the Double Jump and Dodge Jump.

An Air Jump is rarely performed by itself because other tricks will normally precede an Air Jump. However, there is a situation where an Air Jump can be performed by itself that is particularly important. This special execution of an Air Jump is called an Edge Jump because of the nature of the trick.

Edge Jump (EJ) [Jump] {EJ}

An Edge Jump is performed by pressing the jump key immediately after you have run just beyond the edge of a platform. The Edge Jump is actually just an Air Jump. It is an Air Jump because you run beyond the edge of platform which causes you to be in the air when you press the jump key. UT2004 correctly registers this maneuver as an Air Jump. This also means that you have used up the one Air Jump that you are allowed per flight. Therefore you can not perform an Air Jump after an Edge Jump.

This is a cause of much grief for many novice trick jumpers. A novice trick jumper will often attempt a regular Jump, near the edge of a platform, and unknowingly perform an Edge Jump instead. Because the trick jumper did not realize he performed an Edge Jump, he becomes frustrated when his Air Jump attempt fails. Fortunately, there is an easy way to tell if you have performed an Edge Jump instead of a regular Jump. If you listen very carefully to the grunt sounds that your player makes when jumping, you will notice that a regular Jump produces a lower pitched grunt sound than an Air Jump. Since the Edge Jump is technically an Air Jump, you should listen for the Air Jump sound to make sure you don't accidentally perform an Edge Jump when you really want to perform a regular Jump.

If you compare the jump stats of the Jump and Edge Jump, you will see that the Edge Jump actually yields a greater height and distance than a Jump. This is because Air Jumps and Edge Jumps give a slightly higher Z-Axis velocity than regular Jumps. This extra height and distance can be useful for speed runs in some rare circumstances.

Dodge (D) [Dir, Dir] {D}

Dodge double-click time limit (DDCTL) - The amount of time, in seconds, the player is given to perform a dodge after pressing a movement key.

Leftward Dodge - A Dodge that is performed using the left movement key.

Rightward Dodge - A Dodge that is performed using the right movement key.

Forward Dodge - A Dodge that is performed using the forward movement key.

Backward Dodge - A Dodge that is performed using the backward movement key.

A Dodge is performed by pressing the same movement key twice within the dodge double-click time limit while standing or running on a floor. By default, the dodge double-click time limit is set to 0.25 seconds. You can change it by following these steps...

1. Open UT2004.
2. Click on the "Settings" option from the main menu.
3. From the setting page, select the "Input" tab.
4. Look for the "Dodge Double-Click Time" label.
5. Adjust the value as needed.

I recommend setting the DDCTL as low as possible (0.25 or lower). Being able to perform a dodge quickly will make performing the more complicated tricks much easier. A high DDCTL may also cause you to dodge accidentally. I recommend that you set the DDCTL no higher than 0.35. If you struggle to dodge consistently with the DDCTL set to 0.35, you should start with a setting that you are comfortable with and slowly decrease the DDCTL as you practice. I have my DDCTL set to 0.18 seconds. This setting is low enough to prevent me from dodging accidentally and I have no trouble performing a dodge. You do not have to set your DDCTL as low as mine, but I strongly recommend that you practice until you are able to dodge consistently with your DDCTL set below 0.35.

A Dodge can be performed either while standing or while running. A standing Dodge is easier to perform than a running Dodge. However, a running Dodge will allow you to travel much further than a standing Dodge.

1. Press and hold a movement key
2. Execute a Dodge by using a movement key perpendicular to the one you are holding down.

The above procedure allows you to travel further than a standing Dodge will allow. However, aiming a running Dodge is much harder than aiming a standing Dodge. This is where the continuation Dodge comes in handy. The continuation Dodge is a special type of running Dodge that makes aiming as well as smooth continuous dodging much easier. I call it a continuation Dodge because your initial direction is the same as your final direction and you continue in that direction throughout most of the trick.

1. Press and hold the forward movement key
2. Rotate approximately 56.3 degrees to either the left or right
3. If you rotated left, you should dodge using the right movement key. If you rotated right, you should dodge using the left movement key
4. Immediately rotate back to the direction you were facing in step 1

The above diagram shows how a Continuation Dodge works if you rotate to the left. You can also see the result of a Continuation Dodge if it is executed properly. The result is that your final direction is the same as your initial direction and your final speed is higher than your initial speed. Before you continue with this guide, you MUST be able to easily perform both a leftward and a rightward continuation Dodge while running forward.

A truly good trick jumper can perform a continuation Dodge while running or strafing in any direction. For example, it is also possible to perform a continuation Dodge while running backwards, strafing left, and strafing right. However, I will not explain these other continuation dodges in this guide because it would be too redundant. A little bit of careful thinking will reveal how to perform these other continuation Dodges.

Dodges also have landing delays. This means that under some circumstances you cannot Dodge immediately after landing. You can not dodge immediately after landing if the previous trick contained a Dodge or a Wall Dodge. Instead, you must wait 0.35 seconds before you can perform another Dodge.

The instant a landing occurs, after performing a trick that contained a Dodge, your horizontal velocity will be decreased by 90%. This decrease in speed is almost unnoticeable because players in UT2004 can accelerate so fast. However, this decrease in speed becomes very apparent if you try to Jump or Edge Jump immediately after landing from a trick that included a Dodge. Your initial Jump/Edge Jump horizontal speed will be very slow.

Wall Dodge (WD) [Dir, Dir] {WD}

Wall rotation angle (wra) - The angle the player's line of site makes with the wall. This angle ranges from -90 to +90. A negative angle means the player is looking toward the wall. A positive angle means the player is looking away from the wall. An angle of 0 indicates that the player is looking parallel to the wall.

Wall Dodge angle (WDa)- The angle that the player's WD direction makes with the wall. This angle is always positive and ranges from 26 to 90 degrees.

The Wall Dodge is very similar to the Dodge. In fact, the only difference between a Dodge and a Wall Dodge is that one is performed in the air while the other is performed on the ground. Therefore, you should keep in mind everything I said about a Dodge when practicing a Wall Dodge.

You must press the same movement key twice within the DDCTL while you are in the air and close to a wall to perform a Wall Dodge. You must also use a movement key that points away from the wall. In other words, if the wall is to your left you cannot wall dodge using the left movement key. You can not perform a Wall Dodge and a Dodge in the same flight. Unlike the Air Jump, there are no Z-Axis velocity limitations for when a WD can be performed.

You do not have to be touching a wall to perform a Wall Dodge. However, the more extreme your Wall Dodge angle the closer you must be to the Wall. If your WD angle is 90 degrees you must be within 32uu of the wall. If your WD angle is 26 degrees you must be touching the wall. The following image demonstrates this using a left handed WD.

The wall rotation angle and the WD angle are always perpendicular to each other when performing either a left of right handed WD. If you perform a forward WD, the wall rotation angle and the WD angle will be identical. If you perform a backward WD, the two angles will be opposite each other and add up to 0 degrees.

A Wall Dodge is normally preceded by other tricks. However, you can perform a Wall Dodge as the first trick by running off the edge of a platform and executing a Wall Dodge while falling. This is often called a Fall Dodge or a falling Wall Dodge.

The Combined Basic Jumps

Now it is time to learn how to combine all of the basic jumps into more powerful and useful tricks. It's very important to remember everything I said about each basic jump when reading this section, because all of the rules and concepts for each basic jump will still apply when they are combined. If you have trouble with a combined trick jump, you should look back to the first section covering the basic jumps and study each of the individual jumps that comprise the combined jump.

Double Jump (2J, JJ) [Jump, Jump] {J, AJ}

1. Stand or run on a floor
2. Perform a Jump
3. When you reach the apex of the Jump, perform an Air Jump

The Double Jump is performed by executing both a Jump and an Air Jump within a single flight. Remember that an Air Jump can only be executed when your z-axis velocity is between -100uu/s and +100uu/s. This may seem trivial at first. However, if you look at the following chart you will see that the timing of an Air Jump greatly affects the final outcome of a trick jump.

The chart shows that performing an AJ as soon as possible (+99uu/s) results in less distance than performing an AJ as late as possible (-99uu/s). Air Jump timing is the single most important technique to master in UT2004 trick jumping. When you can consistently time your Air Jumps well, you will be better than most players at trick jumping.

The best way to practice Air Jump timing is to perform a trick repeatedly. Each time you perform the trick you should be trying to execute the Air Jump as late as possible (if you want to maximize distance).

Dodge Jump (DJ) [Dir, Dir, Jump] {D, AJ}

1. Stand or run on a floor
2. Perform a Dodge
3. When you reach the apex of the dodge, perform an Air Jump.

The Dodge Jump is the most popular trick jump in UT2004. Even players who have a limited knowledge of trick jumping are likely to be proficient at Dodge Jumping because of its usefulness. The Dodge Jump is performed by executing a Dodge and an Air Jump in the same flight. The following chart shows how the timing of an Air Jump affects the outcome of a running Dodge Jump.

This chart shows that performing an Air Jump as late as possible results in about 22% more distance than performing an Air Jump as early as possible. That is a significant amount of difference when performing trick jumps. It's critical that you learn to time your Air Jumps properly when Dodge Jumping. Also remember to apply the continuation Dodge technique to the Dodge Jump for the best results.

1. Press and hold the forward movement key.
2. Rotate approximately 56.3 degrees to either the left or right.
3. If you rotated left, you should dodge using the right movement key. If you rotated right, you should dodge using the left movement key.
4. Immediately rotate back to the direction you were facing in step 1.
5. When you reach the apex of the Dodge, perform an Air Jump.

Wall Dodge Jump (WDJ) [Dir, Dir, Jump] {WD, AJ}

1. When you are airborne and near a wall perform a Wall Dodge
2. When you reach the apex of the Wall Dodge, perform an Air Jump

To perform a Wall Dodge Jump you must execute a Wall Dodge and an Air Jump in the same flight. The Wall Dodge Jump is almost always preceded by another trick. However, it can be performed by itself if you run off the edge of a platform and then perform it while falling. This is often called a Fall Dodge Jump or a falling Wall Dodge Jump.

The Air Jump timing for a Wall Dodge Jump is identical to the Air Jump timing for a Dodge Jump. If you can master the AJ timing for one, you will have the other mastered as well.

Jump Wall Dodge (JWD) [Jump, Dir, Dir] {J, WD}

1. Stand or run on a floor
2. Perform a Jump
3. Perform a Wall Dodge before landing

The Jump Wall Dodge by itself is a very rare trick because any place that can be reached with it can also be reached with a number of other jumps. However, a situation could occur in which a JWD is faster than any other jump. When I cover speed run techniques you will see that greater height/distance is not necessarily better.

Even though the Jump Wall Dodge is rare, I'm going to use it as an example of how WD angles work. Please understand that everything I'm about to say about WD angles applies to any jump that contains a WD, not just the JWD. The following diagram illustrates what happens when you use a WD angle of 26 degrees.

Notice in the above diagram that there is a blue arrow that corresponds to something called the "Odd Velocity". The odd velocity is derived from your current velocity and WD angle. Here is a rough description of how UT2004 determines the odd velocity.

1. UT2004 compares your WD angle with your current velocity.
2. It determines how much your WD angle has in common with your velocity direction.
3. The more similar your WD angle is to your velocity direction, the lower the odd velocity will be. The magnitude of the odd velocity is based on the current velocity and will never exceed the current velocity.
4. The odd velocity direction will always be perpendicular to the WD angle.

The odd velocity will not necessarily point in the direction of your wall rotation angle because it depends only on your Wall Dodge angle and your current velocity. That is why I left the wall rotation angle out of the diagram.

Now take a look at a running JWD with a 45 degree WD angle.

If you compare the 45 degree WD with the 26 degree WD, you will notice that the odd velocity and final velocity are higher for the 45 degree WD. The odd velocity is higher because the WD angle is more different than the velocity direction. The final velocity is higher because the odd velocity is higher.

If you recall, a running Dodge Jump results in a speed of 793.22uu/s. Both a 26 and a 45 degree WD result in less speed than a running Dodge Jump. This means it is faster to Dodge Jump beside a wall than to JWD or even JWDJ along it. This is counterintuitive, but it is the truth. The only running JWD that result in the same speed as a running DJ is the 90 degree WD.

Since the 90 degree WD angle has nothing in common with the current velocity, the odd velocity will equal the current velocity in both magnitude and direction. A 90 degree WD angle always results in the most speed. This does not mean you should always use a 90 degree WD angle though.

Parallel Wall Dodge

If you need to travel along a wall, an angle ranging from 26 to 45 degrees should be used. This is often called a parallel WD because you are trying to fly parallel to the wall. Here is the most common method for performing a parallel Jump Wall Dodge.

1. Aim yourself parallel to the wall
2. Hold down the forward movement key
3. Perform a Jump
4. Rotate toward the wall 45-64 degrees
5. If you rotated left, perform a rightward WD before landing. If you rotated right, perform a leftward WD before landing.
6. Rotate back to your original direction.

To maximize the distance of parallel Wall Dodge, you should perform the WD when you have passed just beyond the AJ window. Performing the WD right at the apex will result in the most height.

Perpendicular Wall Dodge

If you need to travel directly away from a wall, you will need to use a perpendicular Wall Dodge. Here are 2 common methods for performing a perpendicular WD.

1. Stand next to a wall
2. Perform a Jump
3. Perform a WD using a WD angle of 90 degrees before landing

1. Aim yourself parallel to a wall
2. Press and hold the forward movement key
3. Perform a Jump
4. Rotate about 30 degrees away from the wall
5. If you rotated left, perform a leftward WD before landing. If you rotated right, perform a rightward WD before landing.
6. Rotate to the necessary direction.

To maximize the height as well as the distance of a perpendicular WD, you should perform the Wall Dodge right at the apex of the Jump.

Method 1 is much easier to perform but method 2 results in more velocity and distance. The running perpendicular JWD also brings up another important aspect of WDs. None of the other JWD diagrams show what happens when your Wall Dodge angle opposes your velocity direction.

When your Wall Dodge angle opposes your velocity direction, the odd velocity points away from the wall instead of towards it. This is what allows a running Perpendicular JWD to be more effective than a standing Perpendicular JWD.

Even though I have used the JWD to explain how wall Dodge angles affect trick jumps, you should keep this information about Wall Dodge angles in mind for any trick jump that contains a WD.

Jump Wall Dodge Jump (JWDJ) [Jump, Dir, Dir, Jump] {J, WD, AJ}

1. Stand or run on a floor
2. Perform a Jump
3. Perform a Wall Dodge before landing
4. When you reach the apex of the Wall Dodge, perform an AJ

The Jump Wall Dodge Jump is the most powerful combined basic jump in UT2004. This jump can provide more distance than any other basic trick jump and it is tied with the JJWD for the most height. You should practice this jump as often as possible using both perpendicular and parallel WDs.

Double Jump Wall Dodge (JJWD, 2JWD) [Jump, Jump, Dir, Dir] {J, AJ, WD}

1. Stand or run on a floor
2. Perform a Jump
3. When you reach the apex of the Jump, perform an AJ
4. Perform a Wall Dodge before landing

The Double Jump Wall Dodge will occasionally come in handy. Just keep in mind that this trick is tied with the JWDJ for providing the most height for a combined basic jump.

Edge Jump Wall Dodge (EJWD) [Jump, Dir, Dir] {EJ, WD}

1. Perform an Edge Jump
2. Perform a Wall Dodge before landing

While I have never intentionally used this trick in any circumstance, I have listed it in the guide for the sake of completeness. This is a trick that could be used in the case of jump that is just slightly too high or far away for a JWD. Of course, there would also have to be an edge nearby for the trick to be performed.

Conclusion of Part 1

That is all for part 1 of my trick jumping guide. It may be a while before I release part 2 because I'm trying to improve the DPM mod and website. However, mastering the information presented in part 1 will make future learning much easier. I hope this will at least get some people started with UT2004 trick jumping. I also challenge everyone who was mastered part 1 to compete in the worldwide DodgeProMod competition on www.dodgepromod.com. Playing the DPM mod is a good way to increase your trick jumping skills.

About Part 2

Part 2 will probably cover...