A few frames of crouch before the jump, without making it feel laggy

A crouch before leaving the ground gives a jump weight, but players who tap the button briefly can end up with the wrong jump, or with a delay they notice and hate. Here is how short the crouch must be and what the tap and the direction should do during it.

Why this works

A short crouch tells the eye a jump is coming and gives the body weight. It works because the player is still in control during it: their choice of tap or hold is read when the leap starts, so the delay feels like part of the motion, not a lag.

When not to use it

Skip it in fast, twitchy games where every moment counts, like a precise platformer with enemies right at the edge, or where the player should jump the instant they press. There, show the weight with stretch and landing, not with waiting.

In the full entry

• What to build, step by step
• Starting values and the reason for each
• 3 common mistakes and the fix
• A diagram of every state
• 43 lines of example code with 4 checks that pass
• How your AI shows you that it works

Say this to your AI

Use the Spielerando entry "A few frames of crouch before the jump, without making it feel laggy" (read_entry jump-squat-anticipation-delay) in my game. Build it step by step, and show me how you checked that it works.

Or skip this and connect the MCP: your AI then finds all of this by itself.Connect the MCP