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Following a long period of speculation, fans have finally received an official nod from Valve regarding Counter-Strike 2 (CS2). The popular video game developer announced the sequel’s improved features through a series of trailers, one of which was dedicated to all highly anticipated map improvements.
As fans may know, locations or maps are a fundamental ingredient in the tactical first-person shooter’s foundational recipe. In an effort to preserve the 20-year-old legacy’s iconic shooter experience, the developer overhauled and upgraded integral features using the Source 2 engine while retaining classic map elements.
Valve adopted multiple approaches while rebuilding the map system for Counter-Strike 2. The world trailer showcased seven touchstone maps of the franchise, including Dust2, Nuke, Inferno, Ancient, Italy, Mirage, and Overpass.
All these maps feature updated lighting, materials, character read, and reflections. However, they will still offer a familiar experience for veteran fans.
All map improvements fueled by the Source 2 engine that fans will witness in Valve’s Counter-Strike 2
To rebuild the iconic CS locations for Counter-Strike 2, Valve tapped into the power of the brand-new Source 2 engine. As mentioned in the trailer, the developers focused on three things while enhancing the dusty world of CS:
- Touchstone: CS2 offers classic maps with minimal changes. Improvements to lighting and character read only.
- Upgrades: New Source 2 lighting, including a physically-based rendering system that produces realistic lighting, reflections, and materials.
- Overhauls: Maps have been rebuilt from the ground up with powerful Source 2 tools and rendering techniques, leading to changes in lighting, world items, and layouts. These tools will be available for map makers in the community, allowing them to build, experiment, and iterate.
In addition to map changes, the game will also embrace overhauled mechanics, including new “interactive” smokes which react to lighting, grenades, and bullets. The updated smoke grenades expand to fill spaces upon detonation and offer more tactical opportunities.
Counter-Strike 2 will also welcome competitive gunplay changes, beginning with the sub-tick servers. Older CS games depended on tick servers, which didn’t consider the moments between ticks and mouse clicks, leading to inaccurate movement and shooting. Sub-tick servers will fix this deficiency, offering players a latency-free gunplay experience by calculating precise actions between ticks.
Like most new-gen sequels, Counter-Strike 2 will offer an overhauled user interface and a rebalanced in-game sound system. To top it off, players can access all owned gun skins from their CS:GO inventory in CS2 for free.
The Limited Test phase for the highly awaited game is now live. However, it is only available to selective players based on certain factors. Fans can check for invite notifications from their CS:GO menu.
As of now, the test phase is limited to Deathmatch and Unranked Competitive matchmaking on the Dust2 map. More features and maps will be added as the phase progresses.
Counter-Strike 2 is expected to go live in Summer 2023 and will be available to play on Windows PCs via Steam.
