One Change at a Time: Testing a New Crosshair After an Update
A new crosshair looks like a harmless experiment. You change a colour or a thickness, play a few rounds, and decide. The trouble is timing. If you try it on the same evening a game update arrives, you will never know whether the crosshair helped, whether the update changed something, or whether you were simply in a different mood.
Why I separate them
Two changes on one evening make one result. If my aim feels worse, I have two suspects and no way to question either. If I move only one of them, the answer is almost always visible within a few sessions.
My schedule
• Update night: nothing changes. I play my usual block and write down what felt different.
• A few days later: once the game feels familiar again, I try the new crosshair, and only that.
• After a week: I compare notes and keep whichever setting made the early rounds calmer.
Counter-Strike 2 screenshot — © Valve, official Steam store page.
How I judge the result
Not by feeling alone. I count how often I misjudge the first shot of a duel in a short drill, and I do the same count with the old crosshair on another evening. If the difference is small, I keep the one that looks less distracting.
Save the old one
Before I try anything new, I copy my current crosshair code into a text file with the date. It takes a few seconds and makes going back painless. If I dislike the new one, I paste the old code and carry on.
The principle
The reasoning is the same as in a short note about how keep the practice routine unchanged on update night: change the game or change yourself, but not both on the same evening. Once you accept that, small experiments become cheap and honest.