Demo controls
CS2 Demo Controls: Ticks, Rounds, Speed, and POV
Demo controls are built for replay navigation, but highlight creation only needs a small subset: identify the round, locate the event tick, choose the player POV, and set a safe start and end.
Updated
Ticks are the reliable timeline unit
A tick identifies a position in the demo timeline. Seconds are convenient for display, but exact clip boundaries should be stored as ticks with the demo tick rate so the selection stays consistent throughout parsing and rendering.
Controls that matter
- Pause and resume playback near the target event.
- Change playback speed when reviewing long setup periods.
- Switch to the correct player's point of view.
- Jump by round or event instead of repeatedly dragging the timeline.
Set useful clip boundaries
- 01Start before the first action so the viewer understands the situation.
- 02Align the range with the relevant kill or round events.
- 03End after the result is clear, without carrying long freeze time.
- 04Validate that start is before end and both stay inside demo duration.
Frequently asked questions
Why use ticks instead of milliseconds?
Demo events are recorded against the game timeline. Using ticks avoids repeated conversions and keeps parser events, manual ranges, and render instructions aligned.
Do I need to edit automatic sub-segments?
No. MVP manual editing only needs a simple start and end range; internal automatic trims can remain an implementation detail.