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Counter-Strike: Bootman's How To Guide on Making A Playbook

By: Chris Boutté - Published September 28, 2004 at 2:58 AM EDT - Writer Archive
Ever wonder the step it takes to creating a playbook? In this article we go step by step in constructing an accurate playbook to scout out your opponent. We also take a look into a few different theories about the game that can help in the process. Come inside and check it out.

Introduction

 

Here at the gotfrag headquarters we have one simple task, and this is to please the public and we strive to do so. By doing this we bring any and all features we possibly can, whether it be match breakdowns, player profiles, or even the infamous team playbook feature we release around big tournament times.

Aside from the praise we receive from these in depth playbook features, we also get a lot of negative comments on these. From the public we hear a lot of people saying that it is rather cheap, because we are taking the task away from teams to have to actually scout their opponents. From teams we get a lot of the similar response. Teams getting very angry that we pick on them or make the job easier for everyone else.

Well this article is here to stop all of the conflict that surrounds these articles and prove how simple it is to create these scouting reports of your opponents.

In this day and age of the Counter-Strike gaming community it is so simple to get a hold of demos against your opponents it is disgusting. Not only that, but the excuse of teams not having the same lineup now is pretty much moot, many top teams have kept at least a solid 3 for over 6 months and that can easily be enough to scout off of.

How long do you think it takes to sit down and create a playbook on a single team? It seems like it takes hours upon hours and days at a time to construct doesn't it? Wrong. If you know what keys to look for a single in-depth playbook can be created in about 4-5 hours.

In this article I am here to instruct teams on how to create an in-depth as well as effective playbook.

The resources are there. Are you willing to take the time to study your opponent?

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User Comments

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who's this bootman guy :p
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good jorb!
-jNz
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seems pretty good bootman, should we try just doing one map at a time or try doing all the maps at once.
Erin Go Braugh
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Interesting read. gj bootman
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Nice.
[b]GotFrag Features Writer[/b]
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how do you know teams don't already do this for themselves? just because they don't advertise doing their own playbooks doesn't mean they dont :p hare and moto strike me as two people who are likely to do them.

while this article is very handy and compared to some of your earlier ones well written (:P) then i can't see the majority of people having enough demos to work from to make a playbook from. the teams who have lots of demos released of them are top teams (ie cal-p, cal-i, cb eurocup, cpl) whereas the majority of people who read this might not be able to get hold of demos.

sorry if this seems like a flame because i appreciate stuff like this, but i really can't see how it can help most people
I am not cool.
8
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Our stuff is written for the common users, if they are interested in their top team and how they played bootman gave them a way to now break it down. Plus I think its helpful for people to know what they are looking for when watching demos.
9
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Good read, thanks for the movie.cfg I'll d/l it when I get home.

Haven't read it yet, but it's an amazing idea, gj.

So bootman... while doing a playbook for a team, do you watch multiple demos for each maps? or just one?
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i agree with #9 completely .. great job bootman ..
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awesome read, very informative
Rush Theta Chi Fraternity
14
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#4 you can try whatever you want lol. doesn't make much of a difference. but if u mean at the same time, yes one map at a time. i focus on one map and finish it before looking at other demos.

#11 i like to d/l the 2 most recent demos from a team. but remember my jobs easier because top teams have a lot of demos on them.
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#7 you'd be surprised how many teams don't do anything like this ;)
16
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chris, thats a hot picture on the frontpage.
International Business Manager, International E-Sports Group
17
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I agree Brooks
Its a piece of cake to bake a pretty cake.
18
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good article bootman, I think these type of articles should make people realize how easy it is to read another team if you are willing to put some time into it.
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nice font changes BOOTMAN.
Ex-Gotfrag Feature Head (I miss you guys!)
20
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heh maybe i would be surpised ;)

personally i think it's better to pick up habits which a team have over maps to better understand how they're thinking than just where they're playing. i know im in a minority though and do realise that most people prefer to just have something like this.

who's the next playbook gonna be about? ;o
I am not cool.
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Completely worth my prime subscription. Awesome article.
I tip my hat to any entity that could bring so much integrity to evil.
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good read. good job bootman.
#en-clan cal-m retired, now playing #teamrg bf2 cal-o
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SK coming up for wcg :D
24
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ooo cool

and i sorry to seem like im trying to pick at everything you do, but have they even played any matches since they picked up hyper? being as he's their new ingame leader and all things could have changed about a lot.

deffo looking forward to it though should be interesting :D
I am not cool.
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weenus you only say it's a good read because bootman would hurt you if you didn't :D

lots of good ideas bootman, but i agree with #7. this really only applies to the guys higher up in leagues. those in cal-o or cal-im, probably even m, don't really have access to the demos, but this will be good for them when they do get to the more advanced levels.
word word :o
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hawkins makes a good point, i wonder if hyper is making large changes to their play (not that it needs a lot of tweaking but still)
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don't worry this playbook will be specially made due to hype joining ;)
28
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bootman going hyperactive with these playbooks!

SEE WHAT I DID THERE?!
I am not cool.
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i'm sorry for ruining your life #29.

This comment was edited at 09/28/2004 4:57 PM
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possibly the worst article ever.. down with bootman and more from weenus!
32
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bootman sucks fire him
33
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I'm gonna run you out of your job bootman. Now that I have your secrets >:]. Anyways, good stuff worth my prime :D!
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why dont you use viewdemo ?
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i don't trust view demo, cuts off the end of demos sometimes, takes forever to load, sometimes doesnt even work :/
36
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startdemos!
37
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Good job bootman, your hard work is appreciated.
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#25, Bootman wouldn't dream of hurting me. Have you ever been smothered with a pillow in your sleep? Well bootman has and he knows better than to hit me with a closed fist.

#31, Soon!
I tip my hat to any entity that could bring so much integrity to evil.

great article. way to force cpl/wcg teams to really step it up and stop being so lazy.
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nice 1 bootman, smarter than i give you credit for!

This comment was edited at 09/29/2004 2:05 AM
who knows?
41
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agreed #39. this also not only applies to cs but a mure of other games as well.
#cloudnine @ irc.gamesurge.net - [b]Team Cloud Nine[/b] - www.teamcloud9.net
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viewdemo is good it isn't buggy anymore

i wish i had the patience to do this!
[dt]
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only problem is we cant get demos of cal-im/m/p clans :/

the only people this is really useful for are cal-i/cpl/obviously-going-to-play-the-best clans not the average gotfrag user :/
hi2u~
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great read, now I will have to try it :)
45
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Great reading makes a lot of sense. Our teams will def benefit from this. Thanks for sharing
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What's interessing with a playbook is that, even if the team change their tactics (witch they should do b4 any big tournments) it can give you a little idea on how they play (fast paced, slow, are they covering flank, are they flanking a lot) and give you a good idea on where each player love to play on the defensive side (we all have our favorites positions, where we play best)
47
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i dont think he explained anything about using the movie.cfg really, all i took from this article was making a notepad file and a couple of screenshots, 15 minutes tops watching a demo.
48
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I love reading your articals bootman, i like the tutural one's the most. but i need help.
the movie config doesn't work for me. i run the config before the demo. then i play the demo but when i push like he bind keys for you know F8 -F11 all it does is bring up my council :(.
iv try'd running he demo and then the config but still nothing. any idea what i should do?
49
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yea, plz explain the movie config :)
50
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zig-zag, use 'viewdemo' not 'playdemo'

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