Valve finally announced Counter Strike New after weeks of speculation. It's an update to CS:GO that will put the game on the Source 2 engine and make some significant visual changes.
It also comes with responsive smoke grenades as well as sub-tick updates for servers. It's got a lot of gamers who are a bit naive but it looks like an enormous upgrade for regular players.
Smokes
Counter Strike New is getting a major update that will fundamentally alter the way smokes are used in the game. These changes, known as responsive smokes, are an important game changer. Smokes will expand to fill in spaces and move across the map in a variety of ways. They will also respond to the lighting in 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 possibilities. For instance, bullets can push smoke to briefly make clear sightlines, while Hex grenade explosions will disperse smoke occlusion.
The biggest change to smokes is that they will now become a more active part of the game. Smokes in previous versions were fixed-shaped objects with a limited scope of movement and blocking. The new smokes will fill the space in which they are located and make it harder for players to see vision when they are there. This is a significant improvement that will make the game more exciting and will give both teams the same visibility.
Smokes will also react to the lighting, weapons, and environment in the world space. This makes smoke more realistic and offer players to use it to gain an advantage over their opponents. This will especially be useful during the chaotic 5v5 battles that are sure to happen on every map.
Smokes will also no longer be one-way which was a major issue in CS:GO, and allowed players to see their opponents' locations from behind the smoke. Twistzz is a popular CS:GO professional who claims that the new system makes CS2 more fair for both teams.
Other minor improvements include adjusting the vertical position of smoke particles to prevent seeing through edges and updating spectators' smoke overlay visuals to match their camera's position. Finally, the expiration of smokes was updated to be more in line with the visuals of how they fade on the screen.
Loadouts
The CS:GO players can now alter their weapon choices prior to the start of every match. The updated loadout system lets players to choose the weapons that best match their playstyle and team strategy. The new system also adds new tactical depth to the game because players must balance power and utility.
In addition to the new loadouts, the CS: GO update includes many other improvements and changes. The buy menu was completely redesigned. The old buy wheel was replaced by a customizable grid which shows all purchase options simultaneously. The grid has been filled with five pistols, five "mid-tier" weapons like submachine guns and shotguns, and five carbines and rifles.
The new system will be simple to use, and give players greater control over their weapon selection. It will let them choose the weapons that best fit their playstyle, team strategy and play around with various combinations. They can also compare their loadouts with other players and observe how they stack up.
While many players are pleased with the flexibility it offers, some have complained about it deviating from the fundamental premise of Counter-Strike. They also expressed concern over how it would impact map-specific loadsouts and agent's skins that are based on visibility.
Despite these criticisms, the new loadout system will be tested more extensively in the coming months. It is possible that some of these issues will be addressed in future updates, so it is vital to keep an eye out for further information.
In addition to the new CS: GO features, the update also comes with Workshop Tools that can be enabled in the game's settings menu and allow community contributors to design weapon finishes, stickers, and maps. The update will also ban players who violate the VAC rules in matches.
The latest CS: GO update is scheduled to launch later in the summer. Players can look over the complete list of updates and features by visiting the official CS: GO website.
Sub-Tick Updates
The server updates the world of Counter-Strike in short intervals of time referred to as ticks. The smallest gap between a tick's time and the mouse click of a player can influence the accuracy of a shot, and Valve is working to ensure that CS: GO is fluid and responsive. A new video reveals one of the biggest improvements under the hood, referred to as sub-tick updates.
Rather than a 64-tick update every millisecond, CS: GO will now be able utilize sub-ticks (or as Valve calls them, "micro-ticks") to communicate with the server. Each of these small increments of time will be recorded by the client, and then transmitted to the server, which then send back the latest game state to players. The servers will know exactly when you fired a shot or jumped or peeked.
The video doesn't provide all the information. However it does state that each piece of data sent by the client has a timestamp and that the server will gather all information in chronological order from all players before sending it back. According to the video, a CS: GO server will now be able to send more than twice the data as a 64-tick server.
This means that even when the game's tick rate increases to 128 Hz, it'll be able to respond to your commands instantly and continuously. Micro-tick updates also decrease input lag by making sure that the server responds to your actions without delays or glitches.
https://clash.gg/casescs2 to the game are only the beginning. Valve uses particles and dynamic smoke to improve how smoke interacts with the environment. It's also updating all maps with high-resolution lighting, textures, and models. All CS: GO cosmetics and weapons will be updated with Source 2 tools and features.
Maps
The next update for Counter Strike New brings new maps as well as some classics with facelifts. These updates are being tested in an unspecified beta. The first set of maps includes touchstone and upgrade maps that will see no major changes to gameplay, whereas others have been completely revamped or rebuilt using the new Source 2 tools.
Of these, Overpass has been reworked to make use of the new engine's unified lighting system. The underpass of the map has been filled with daylight which makes the area more spacious and less congested. In addition smoke grenades are now able to expand dynamically to fill spaces and interact with the new light.
Italy is a different map that has been reworked. Its texture, lighting and structure have all been significantly improved. The new version is more balanced than its predecessor which was heavily CT-oriented. In the future fans can anticipate seeing classics like Aztec and Militia redesigned.
These maps will not be added to the map pool for competitive play despite the fact that they are still playable. The exception is Train which has been removed from Active Duty and will continue to be played in tournaments. Valve hasn't yet announced if the other maps that were taken will be reintroduced to the pool.
Helsingin Sanomat is the national newspaper of Finland. The change has been criticized as controversial. The news organization has been a vocal critic of Russia's actions in Ukraine, and the map draws inspiration from the city devastated by war, Donetsk. The map is called de_voyna, and it contains a number of references to the conflict.
In the near future, the developer will be releasing a set of Source 2 tools for community map makers to use in their own creations. This will include features like improved lighting and character reading, as well as physically-based rendering that produces realistic materials and textures. It will also help in the implementation of real-world objects like windows and doors. The update is expected to launch sometime in the summer.
