Counter Strike New Revealed
Valve finally revealed Counter Strike New after weeks of speculation. It's a major update to CS:GO that will be bringing it on the Source 2 engine.
It also introduces sub-tick server updates as well as smoking grenades that are responsive. It's made many armchair gamers go crazy, but it looks like an upgrade for the average player.
Smokes
Counter Strike New has a major update that will alter the way smokes work in the game. The changes, which are dubbed responsive smokes, will be an important game changer. Smokes will now expand to fill in spaces naturally and move around different objects on the map. They will also react to the lighting of the games, making them appear more realistic. In addition to these new features, smokes will be capable of interfacing with gameplay events and will offer new tactical opportunities. For instance, bullets could force smoke to briefly make clear sightlines, while explosions from hex grenades will disperse smoke obstruction.
The biggest change to smokes is that they'll be a more dynamic part of the game. clash.gg in previous versions were a fixed shape and was limited in the distance they could be pushed and how much vision they blocked. The new smokes will fill the space they are located and make it harder for players to see vision when they are in place. This is a major improvement that will make the game more dynamic and give both teams the same level of visibility.
In addition smokes will also react to the surroundings weapons, lighting, and environment in the world space. This makes the smoke appear more realistic and allow players to use it in different ways to gain an advantage over their opponents. This is particularly beneficial in the chaotic 5v5 matches which are bound to occur on every map.
Smokes won't be one-way which was a major issue in CS:GO, and allowed players to view their opponents' positions behind the smoke. Twistzz, a popular CS:GO pro, says that the new system is an enormous improvement for competitive CS2 and makes it more fair for both teams.
Other minor enhancements include adjusting the vertical location of smoke particles to reduce the visibility of edges and updating the smoke overlay visuals to match their camera's position. Finally, the expiration of smokes has been revised to be more in with the visuals of how they fade on the screen.
Loadouts
Players of CSGO can now customize their weapon choice before the start of every match. The new loadout system allows the players to choose weapons that fit their style of play and team strategies. The new system also adds new tactical depth to the game because players must balance power and utility.
The CS: GO Update includes several other improvements and changes in addition to the new loadouts. The buy menu was completely redesigned. The old buy wheel has been replaced by a customizable grid which shows all options for purchase all at once. The grid is comprised of five pistols and five "mid-tier weapons" such a submachine guns, shotguns, and rifles.
The new system is easy to use and will give players greater control over their weapon selection. It will let them choose the weapon that best fits their style of play, team tactics and try out different combinations. They can also compare their loadouts to other players and see how they compare.
Many players have praised the added flexibility, while some have criticized it for deviating away from the fundamental premise of Counter-Strike. They have also raised concerns about how it could affect the specific loadouts for maps and skins for agents that are based on visibility.
Despite these criticisms however, it is important to keep in mind that the new loadout system is in its infancy, and will undergo more thorough testing in the coming months. Certain of these issues may be addressed in future updates. It is important to stay updated for more details.
In addition to the brand new CS: GO features, the new update also includes Workshop Tools which can be enabled through the game's settings menu. They allow community contributors to design weapons' finishes, stickers and maps. Additionally, the update will now live ban players who violate VAC guidelines during matches.
The new CS: GO update is scheduled to launch later in the summer. Players can now check out the full list of new features and upgrades by visiting the official CS: GO site.
Sub-Tick Updates
The world of Counter-Strike is updated by the server in discrete time increments called ticks. Valve hopes to ensure that CS: GO is fast and smooth. The smallest delay could affect the accuracy of an attack. A new video reveals one of the game's most significant improvements under the hood, referred to as sub-tick updates.
Instead of a 64-tick-update every millisecond CS:GO can now use sub-ticks, or as Valve calls them, "micro ticks", to communicate with the servers. The client will keep track of each of tiny increments and then send them to the server. The server will transmit the updated game state back to players. The servers will know the moment you fired a shot or jumped or peeked.
While a one-minute video is not enough to fully explain everything the video explains that every piece of information sent by clients has a time stamp, and that the server will collect all the information from all players in chronological order before sending it back. According to the video a CS: GO will be capable of sending twice as much data than 64-tick CS: GO.
This means that even if the tick rate of the game is increased to 128 Hz it will still be able handle your commands immediately. It's not just about increasing the tick rate, either; micro-tick updates can reduce input lag and latency by guaranteeing that the server responds to your actions without delays or glitches.
Valve's technical improvements to the game are only beginning. The company is working on dynamic smoke and particle systems to improve how smoke interacts with the environment and is upgrading all of the maps with high-resolution lighting, textures and models. All CS: GO cosmetics and weapons will get a makeover using Source 2 tools and features.
Maps
The next update for Counter Strike New brings new maps, as well as a few classics with facelifts. The updates are currently being tested as part of a limited test beta. The first set includes an upgrade and touchstone map which will not undergo significant changes to gameplay, while other maps have been completely renovated or redesigned with the help of the new Source 2 Tools.
One of them is Overpass has been revamped to make use of the new engine's unified lighting system. The underpass on the map's dark and eerie scene has been flooded with daylight, making the space more spacious and less congested. Smoke grenades are now expanding dynamically to fill spaces, and interact with the light.
Italy is a second map that has been reworked. Its lighting, texture and structure have all been greatly improved. The new version is more balanced than the predecessor, which was heavily CT-sided. Fans can expect more classics, such as Aztec and Militia which will be updated in the future.
While many of these maps remain available in other modes, they're not being added to the competitive map pool. Train is an exception since it was removed from Active Duty but will still be played in tournaments. Valve hasn't yet confirmed whether the other maps that were removed will be added back to the pool.
One of the more controversial updates is one that was created by Helsingin Sanomat, Finland's national newspaper. The newspaper has been open in its critique of Russia's actions in Ukraine. The map is based off of the war-ravaged Donetsk. The map is called de_voyna and includes a number references to the conflict.
In the future the developer will soon be releasing a collection of Source 2 tools for community map makers to use in their own creations. This will include features like improved lighting and character read and physical-based rendering that creates realistic materials, textures and reflections. It will also make real-world objects, such as doors and windows, simpler to implement. The update is expected to be released sometime in the summer.