The wait is finally over. It’s real. Yesterday, all of a sudden, Valve — right in the middle of the ESL Pro League, just in case you forgot, this tournament is live at the moment — released the announcement of Counter-Strike 2. We’re going to witness a “historical” update, according to the developers, which will turn the whole game upside down. Answering your question: no, this is not a separate new game. Just a little rebranding and technical update of the good old CS:GO. CS.MONEY Blog collected everything currently known about CS 2: grenades, tickrate (subtick), graphics, skins, UI menus, gameplay, and much more! Fasten your seat belts; we’re taking off!
Counter-Strike 2 is already available to some players, so go ahead to CS:GO and check if you can access CS:GO Source 2! Many famous personalities and pro players have already tested CS:GO 2, and we have gathered all the most important things in one place. Briefly about the update:
- How do new graphics look in CS 2? Valve boosted it significantly: overall, the game looks a little brighter, lighter, and more colourful when compared with CS:GO.
- How did grenades change in CS 2? This is the most biggest change on CS:GO Source 2. Smoke grenades are now more physically realistic, so to speak. They look better, fill space, and respond to light and physics.
- What will happen to skins in CS2? Calm down; they will remain the same. Valve will only update the client, so your inventory and everything will remain. In addition, there will be new weapon models.
- What is a subtick in CS 2? It’s a new tickrate system for CS2, which we will discuss in more detail below. It looks very promising!
- New sounds in CS2 and nade training feature.
- How will CS 2 affect FPS?
- VAC bans, binds, skyboxes, new UI and more!
What s1mple thinks about CS 2
Let’s start with an opinion of the world’s best CS:GO player, s1mple:
“Actually, nothing has changed. It’s all the same. Grenades only became more interesting, and also graphics. We need more maps and sound fixes. Also, aim when right-clicking 2 times to open zoom. But, well, this is a great beta test. Just recall what happened in the days of CS:GO release. It was much more of a ‘beta’ than we have now. There may be many more updates to come. By the way, it looks like Zeus will have skins since now you can inspect it.”
Grenades in CS 2: How smokes work and look; black-coloured flashbangs; and the new Molotov
Let’s start with perhaps the most important and significant gameplay update in Counter-Strike 2. How do new smokes work in CS 2? Simply said, the smoke fills the space around it, it’s fluid, and they look all the same for all players on the server, so no more bugs and one-ways.
Smoke grenades
Now you can remove smoke partially with explosions of nades or shooting through it (the more you shoot, the bigger the hole; each weapon has its own smoke dispersion geometry). That is, if you throw a grenade into a smoke, you’ll be able to see everything around for a quick moment. On the one hand, this completely changes the meaning of smokes, but on the other hand, it’s a new mechanic that turns the game upside down. Remember Molotovs at the beginning of CS:GO? Everyone hated them. Moreover, in the first versions of CS:GO, it was impossible to deny Molotovs with smokes!
Based on the trailer and gameplay, smoke is affected by the environment, lights, and physical objects. The smoke has become streamlined: it fills space, can go down and up the stairs, mix with other smokes, and spread. Of course, at first glance, this should cause many bugs and problems, but do not forget: this is just a beta version with only Dust 2 available. Apparently, smoke behaviour on other maps is still being processed and finalised. For example, it is unclear how this will all work in vents on Nuke.
Other cool things:
- CT and T smokes have different colours: Defence smoke is grey-blue, and Attack smoke is more yellow-brown.
- The more you shoot, the bigger the hole in the smoke. Shotguns and machine guns will finally be in demand?
- One bullet through the smoke doesn’t affect its physics much.
- Smokes are like living beings; they move and fill space.
Flashbangs
There is not much here, but it is super important: you can now switch flashbang’s blinding light from white to black! No more eye-piercing explosions that damage your sight.
Molotovs
Many didn’t like the new Molotov and incendiary grenades. Although, apparently, the idea of physics and visuals was taken from Half-Life: Alyx.
How will CS 2 affect FPS?
In general, judging by streams and the experience of players already trying Counter-Strike 2, things are pretty okay with FPS. The RTX 3070 + i7 combo could hit a solid 300+ FPS on Ultra, which means lesser PCs will do just fine, too. In addition, we have already said earlier that according to Dota 2 Source 2 experience, CS:GO Source 2 players would likely see an increase in FPS of 10-15%. Of course, at a distance, while the overall graphics and skins will be improving, frames per second will most likely return to normal.
Surely, sharp FPS drops and bugs are always there in CS:GO 2.
Tickrate in CS2 is called subtick. What is it?
This is the most crucial technical update and ingenious creation of Valve. Seattle decided to get rid of 64s and 128s, and developed a completely new system: the subtick. What is it? In short: intra-server calculation of alleged events and comparison with what really happened. Sounds difficult? Let us explain.
Valve promise: your shots, throws and moves will always work as you planned. No misses, bugs, mistimings, stutters, and so on. All thanks to the subtick. As we know, the server in CS:GO compares every fragment of every frame of every player in the match. But if the Internet lags, FPS is too low, or frequencies differ (60 and 144)? Now the server will calculate the possible options within itself and then compare them with what it receives from the players and return the result. It sounds bulky but in fact, these are particles of milliseconds that you won’t even notice. How will FACEIT respond to this?
Will my VAC ban be removed in CS 2?
Yeah, nah. VAC bans will not be removed. Here’s a screenshot from the official website FAQ:
Do binds work in CS 2?
The developers decided to unload the game engine from many binds and changed the old ones in some places. In addition, some console commands will also not work or receive altered versions. Important points:
- Grenade jump, the Jumpthrow, will remain in the game as a mechanic but will be used by normal buttons without pre-recording binds.
- There will be a separate button to remove the Silencer on various guns so that the players no longer accidentally misclick.
- The bind to remove bloodstains no longer works, as they will become an essential part of the gameplay.
Skins in Counter-Strike 2: what will happen to skins from CS:GO?
The main question that interests everyone: what will happen to skins from CS:GO in CS 2? Everything is fine, breathe, breathe. Valve promised to transfer all items from CS:GO inventory to Counter-Strike 2, as well as visually improve some of them.
By the way, in addition to transferring weapon finishes from CS:GO to CS2, Valve seems to be using slightly different weapon models! In the screenshots above you can see slight differences between the guns.
New knives?
Perhaps Valve will add two new knives. These two beauties were found in the game files.
By the way, if you want to update your skins right before you get to Counter-Strike 2, jump to CS.MONEY! We have quick deals and a vast amount of options!
Sounds and radar
The Sound Update is the most obscure thing in the CSGO 2 announcement. First, the developers have vaguely indicated what we are waiting for in a new sound system. Second, in fact, according to what we see on streams, CS 2 have new sounds for some weapons, and they also sound differently depending on the environment. This will add precision to understanding where the sound was coming from. By the way, here is a fragment from the stream, in which one of the beta testers told what happened in Valve’s development department when they were working on the new sound engine:
In addition, Valve updated the radar. Now it shows visually how far you can be heard. There is a similar feature in VALORANT, by the way. Looks useful.
Movement and agents’ body physics
The developers tweaked movement physics a little. First, it just feels different. Nicer, smoother, but is it better? Second, now the agents will move a little more realistically, tilting in different directions, not like puppets with only one set of animations attached. By the way, the player models will lean slightly in the direction of movement so you can understand the directions.
New maps on CS 2: graphics and textures
As insiders predicted, some maps have been significantly reworked. Right now, the only map available for playing is Dust 2, but we’ve seen Overpass and Ancient in trailers. In addition, in the video announcement, Valve promised to add reimagined old classics, like, for example, Italy!
But don’t start hating it: in terms of gameplay, all the maps would stay exactly the same. Judging by Dust 2, everything plays precisely as before. The only differences are updated textures, tons of details, and new lighting since Source 2 allows exposing a lot more light sources.
Important! Because of how Valve has reworked textures and lighting, CS:GO Source 2 agent models will now look better due to their specific glow, which means they will become more noticeable!
New UI and nade throw UI
Valve will update the CS:GO user interface in CS 2. The weapon wheel will stay the same, but other things will become even more minimalistic and modern. There’s also a new console and visuals (intros) before and after the match. What’s cool:
- When you invite friends to the lobby, they will appear with agent models and skins
- At the end of each match, you will be able to get cards with achievements such as, for example, The Firefighter and so on.
- You can see what your teammates bought at the top of your screen.
- Valve added a new crosshair that follows your recoil spray, but it can be disabled.
Also, the developers added an brand new UI to practice and train grenade throws. Just launch a personal server, and now you can train any grenade using a special window at the bottom left, which indicates where your grenade will drop.
Other stuff
Among other things, here is a list of Counter-Strike 2 innovations that are slightly smaller, but still very important and interesting:
- No skyboxes. Valve has removed them on all maps, so grenades can be easily thrown.
- The developers also stated they will not add the ability to quickly change M4A4 to M4A1-S.
- Added new blood effects: bloodstains can dry out, and now there are a lot more splash animations, so you can tell where you got hit from.
- You can see your feet! Isn’t that wonderful?
How to download CS 2? Counter-Strike 2 Release Date
There’s a couple of important things remaining: how to play CS 2? And also, when will the new CS come out? The answers are simple: you can play CS 2 right now if you have been provided access; and the game itself will be released this summer, according to Valve, but with no exact release date. How to download CS 2? If you’ve got a beta key, just launch CS:GO, click on the pop-up and download the game!
For example, all pro players got this opportunity. Also, Valve give access to completely different people: with various trust factors numbers, good and bad hardware, tens and thousand of hours in the game, and so on. It is very difficult to determine this beta-access-distribution system, but Valve promises to give access to everyone pretty soon.
