Painkiller trickjumps
This guide contains a description of movement tricks used in the Painkiller game series based on PainEngine.
Painkiller singleplayer movement mechanics are different from multiplayer mechanics but they both have air control.
- Singleplayer movement is based on Havok 2.0 physics. It is much slower than multiplayer movement but it allows jump climbing. You can combine movement tricks with Taro Cards like Speed, Dexterity, Weapon Modifier, etc. Rocket jumps and any other explosive jumps are disabled in Painkiller singleplayer, except for the Ruins (C3L4) map.
- Multiplayer movement was based on Havok 2.0 physics up to Painkiller v1.3 yet it was still different from singleplayer mechanics. Starting from v1.5, it was replaced by the code partially based on QuakeWorld and independent of Havok. The multiplayer movement is much faster than in singleplayer but the ability to climb was heavily reduced. Rocket jumps and other explosive jumps are allowed.
Note
Painkiller movement is dependent on FPS. The recommended MaxFPS in multiplayer is 125. This limit is set on all current multiplayer servers.
Speedrunners use somewhere between 60-125 FPS in singleplayer depending on tricks.
Type in /setmaxfps 125 in the game console to set MaxFPS in the game for a local game.
Jump mod for multiplayer
No official jump mod for Painkiller Black Edition multiplayer was released but there were a couple of good trickjump maps that could be played in a warmup session.
There was an attempt to implement a RACE mod in PK++ 1.2; it is playable but was never finished. You can try it here. The official GitHub repository.
You can enable speed meter by typing /speedmeter 1 via the in-game console. Use additional HUD scripts to track the movement keys.
The list of the known Painkiller tricks:
Bunny Hopping
This is a well-known mechanic where you gain speed by rapidly jumping in one direction. Ascending ramps and stairs will slow the bunny hopping down.
Note
Bunny Hopping can be disabled on a multiplayer server.
Pre-Jump
When there is no room to make a jump to another platform, make a jump without using any directional keys and jump in the required direction right after that. This pre-jump will give you a bit of a boost.
Changing Directions
Bunny hop in one direction and move the mouse quickly from side to side to watch over an important item.
Quick Turns
Quick turns are the tricks when you can change a movement directions key without losing speed. This is one of the most important tricks in multiplayer. There are 180 and 90-degree turns. Quick turns can be done with or without rocket boost but you need some speed to make those tricks.
Wall Bumping
You use your speed to push you off the wall without turning your mouse (quick turns). Only forward and backward keys are used, so when you are close to touching the wall, you quickly press the opposite key and get a small boost from the wall.
Jump Climbing
Note
Jump climbing is FPS dependent. The minimum FPS should be 120, it can be done on lower like 60 - 120, but it is very hard and you are very likely to just fall off. Recommended would be 200+ even more if possible. Jump climbing with 30-60 FPS is almost impossible, you will fall off all the time. With 0 - 30, you can't do jump wall climbing at all.
This technique is mostly used when you need to reach secret places in singleplayer or for speedruns. It sort of works in multiplayer too but it is very reduced there. You basically need to rapidly press the jump button when you face a steep or curved surface.
A good example is the secrets on the C9L1 Cathedral level from Painkiller Resurrection, especially the fifth one.
Wall Sliding
Singleplayer only. You bunnyhop into surfaces that have a ramp shape and hold the forward key (W) while you keep your view at about 45 degrees from it. The bigger or smaller it is, the less speed you have.
Squeezing
You can squeeze your hitbox between objects. This trick is FPS dependent and only works at 60 FPS and lower.
If you have more than 120 FPS, you won't be able to get out of that secret in C6L2 Loony Park.
Moving Object Speed Preservation
Singleplayer only. When you leave a moving object without jumping off of it (walking off the edge or something), you preserve all the speed the object underneath you had.
Using Jumppads
Jumppads will transfer all your input speed to the jump speed. The faster you be before landing on a jumppad, the longer distance it will push you out.
Jumppad physics is FPS-dependent. The more FPS you have, the smaller jump you get. If you create a multiplayer map, make sure to type in /setmaxfps 125 in the game console to set MaxFPS to test the map locally with the recommended physics setting.
Note
It is worth mentioning that there is air control in Painkiller if you are launched in the air with some horizontal speed. However, if you are launched with zero horizontal speed, the air control does not work. This is the reason for a problem when you can be locked up jumping on a jumppad and can do nothing about it and, unlike in Quake, jumppads in Painkiller do not absorb the fall damage.
PK Jump
PK Jump only works in singleplayer thanks to the Havok 2.0 physics. Kill an enemy, jump on its ragdoll and use the secondary fire (Killer) of a Painkiller weapon and jump. You can also use different moving objects for this purpose. It is somewhat similar to the Half-Life 2 Prop Flying technique.
Another usage example:
Shotgun Jump
Singleplayer only. Jump on a ragdoll or a moving object, shoot using primary fire (Shotgun), and jump.
Bolt Gun Jump
Singleplayer only. This trick is similar to PK Jump and Shotgun Jump. Jump on a ragdoll or a moving object, shoot using primary fire (Bolts), and jump. You can actually boost yourself up that way with any weapon but Bolt Gun gives you the most height.
Electrodriver Jump on fireworks barrels
Singleplayer only. Jump on a fireworks barrel, shoot shurikens into it and jump.
Electrodriver Jump with Weapon Modifier
You can perform an Electrodriver Jump in multiplayer using shurikens. 'Weapon Modifier' powerup is required for this trick. When the modifier is picked up, Electrodriver shurikens will start to explode with some delay so you can shoot 2-3 shurikens below yourself and have a little height boost. This trick is not effective in multiplayer and powerups are usually turned off on servers.
Grenade Jump
Multiplayer only. Your grenade can hit you immediately if it bounced off a surface once so you don't need to wait for the grenade timer to make this trick.
Another variant of this trick when the nade timer is up:
Grenade Jump on a barrel
Multiplayer only. A grenade explodes immediately when hitting a barrel but the default barrel remains intact after the first shot. It means that you can do a grenade jump directly on a barrel. Can be tested on DM_Unseen, DM_Gloomy, DM_Swamp.
Rocket Boost
Multiplayer only. Shoot a rocket into a wall and jump backward. The video shows the combination of rocket boosts and quick turns.
Rocket Jump
Multiplayer only. A well-known technique that gives you acceleration and height when you jump and shoot a rocket below your position. There is also a Rocket Jump key in the Painkiller game Controls settings that can be assigned which is basically a script that combines a jump and shooting a rocket at the same time.
Note
You can gain forward speed by even shooting a rocket in front of you but this was fixed in the PK++ multiplayer mod.
PCF Rocket Jump
Multiplayer only. A standard rocket jump but in the PCF multiplayer game mode which makes those jumps much higher.
Forward Rocket Jump
Multiplayer only. The Forward Rocket Jump key can be assigned in the Painkiller Controls settings. It should also be enabled on the server side. If you press this button, it sends a rocket behind your back and you can do a quick forward rocket jump. It is usually useful for gaining more forward speed than height and you can also hit an enemy right behind your back. This option is mostly used on trickjump maps like DM_Mandra_RUN and DM_JumpMap_01 to gain some forward speed.
Note
Forward Rocket Jump is disabled on most multiplayer servers.
Tele Rocket Jump
Multiplayer only. If you do a rocket jump before entering a teleport, the momentum of your jump will be saved after exiting the teleport.
Grenade + Rocket Jump
Combine a grenade with a rocket jump to increase the jump height.
Jumppad + Rocket Jump
You can jump very high by using a rocket jump right on a jumppad.
Jumppad + Grenade + Rocket Jump
An advanced trick to combine Grenade + Rocket Jump on a jumppad.
Team tricks
There are several team tricks like boosting a teammate in the air with a nade or rocket and keeping them in the air with bullets or pulling your teammate with the Painkiller weapon.
Multiple Rocket Jump Bug (NRJ)
This bug can only be reproduced on weak PC's with bad internet connection. When the game freezes, you can shoot multiple rockets but they will be released at once when the game is unfrozen. This game lag can be caused by pressing the Screenshot button (F12 by default). It's hard to reproduce on a modern PC with a good internet connection. You can see on the video that this bug was used on custom DMPCF maps to make those rocket jumps even higher.
Sticky Wall (Rebounce)
This trick is somewhat similar to the one in Quake 3 Defrag. In Painkiller, you can get stuck inside some corners while rapidly pressing the "jump" key and you'll be able to accumulate speed this way and when you unstuck, the speed will be preserved. It should be noted that Painkiller has a very high fall damage so this trick may crush you on the ground when you are unstuck.
Double Jump
The code with double jumps was present in the alpha release of Painkiller and presumably should have worked similarly to double jumps on ramps and stairs in Quake 2. This feature was bugged and not polished. The developers removed it completely after the game's release.
Stake Combo Jump
This trick is currently only present in the Painkiller Multiplayer remake based on Unreal Engine 4 by dilettante.
In the original Painkiller, you can only do a stake combo with a grenade when a grenade does not bounce off a surface. In the Painkiller Multiplayer remake, you can do those combos even if a grenade bounces off a surface so it allows you to do a stake combo jump trick from the ground.
Painkiller Grapple Hook
Some custom mods use the Painkiller secondary fire (Killer) as a grapple hook. In the original game, the Painkiller secondary fire can only pull moving objects toward you but it is unable to pull your character.
Wall Running
It was either a multiplayer bug or a not-removed tested feature from the first release of Painkiller Resurrection. Wall running worked similarly to jump climbing. It was removed later on.
Additions
You can see in some Painkiller videos that the first Painkiller weapon (the primary fire) is used in reaching heights during jump climbing. In reality, the primary Painkiller fire (Pain) in the default Painkiller Black Edition setup does not give you any boost.