On October 5, 2014, CS:GO welcomed an updated version of De_season. People predicted that it would make it to the official competitive map pool before the Major. But today, Season is not even in the game. CS.MONEY Blog tells about this map, why it disappeared from the game six years ago, and whether it had any chance to become a pro’s favourite.
De_season
Season is not among the legendary or at least classic maps of the Counter-Strike series. Unlike Inferno and Dust 2, it origins not from Counter-Strike 1.6 times but Counter-Strike Source. Still, Season wasn’t just another CS map, it was the map. Season was played at CPL, CEVO and CAL tournaments, which can’t be called a low tier. Back in CS 1.6, CPL tournaments used de_cpl_strike and de_cpl_mill maps, which are now widely known as Mirage and Tuscan.
So, De_season was an integral part of tournament matches for the Counter-Strike Source community. Considering how the series’ fans hate any additions and updates, the fact that Season was so popular says a lot about the map. Moreover, it’s not Valve’s self-made map: Ted McIlwain made it years ago, and now he’s a full-time level designer at Ubisoft. Impressive.
Transition to CS:GO
Fun fact: Season tried to settle in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive twice with different iterations. At first, it was a Counter-Strike Source map version simply ported to a new game. Next time, FMPONE took the map to update it severely and only after hours spent did it get re-released. You may know this map maker for Cache and Sub-Zero maps.
The ported version even managed to appear at Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournaments. And not just appear: Season has been inscribed in the esports history annals thanks to the iBUYPOWER scandal. It was at Season where these fellows lost 4:16 in a match against NetcodeGuides.com. This defeat sparked a wave of suspicion, and an investigation revealed that the match had been fixed. As a result, all the iBUYPOWER players got banned, and the tag disappeared from the CS:GO scene (The first part of the promo code: LZI).
Valve, however, remained conservative. During the first Major, DreamHack Winter 2013, the official map pool included Nuke, Dust II, Inferno, Train and Mirage. At ESL One: Cologne 2014, it was expanded with Overpass and Cobblestone, while Train gave way to Cache. Valve clarified that there is no place for Season in the game. Or was there?
Reborn In Operation
Although Season couldn’t reach the list of Major maps, the map still got into the game. And not just like that, but in a new guise: FMPONE made a complete remaster. They moved covers, changed the level design entirely in some places and, most importantly, made the map incredibly beautiful. Once full of obscure hangars, Season became a high-tech research complex in the middle of Japan.
Rusty garage doors, sloppy tarpaulin and barrels (those from the times of Half-Life 1) were replaced by sterile walls and glass, spiced with lots of greenery. Even today, Season looks great and can easily compete with updated versions of Dust 2, Nuke and Inferno. Colour coding is worth a separate mention. While Dust 2 has its walls brushed with the same shade, khaki, Season was clearly divided into colour zones, which greatly simplified navigation.
Another feature of the updated version is… space. FMPONE removed all the unnecessary details and elements scrupulously. Not only does the map feel empty, as a sterile research facility should, but it also feels empty as a competitive arena should.
The updated Season entered CS:GO twice: during Operation Vanguard and Operation Bloodhound. In 2016, the map was removed entirely from the game and has not returned since. Another important thing is that the map is 100% ready. The last time the Workshop version was updated was back in 2015, and since then, Valve can add Season to the map pool whenever they like.
Current Status & Overall Review
Today, anyone can play Season by downloading it from the Workshop and finding a group of people who want to play a full-fledged match. Season is not available on third-party platforms or in Valve’s matchmaking system. There has been no hype around the map itself for eternity. Still, from time to time, people start asking why it’s not in the game on the map’s Workshop page, but it happens pretty rarely. Most likely, it’s a complete farewell to Season.
Has Season ever had a chance to make it? Let’s see what the community says about the map since it’s the best way to learn its pros and cons.
The biggest issue players have about Season is that it seems to be really enormous and you’ll need to spend a lot of time running around. Still, simple measurements showed that the map’s size is about the same as Mirage’s. Yeah, Season can be reworked a little, but here’s a thing. Season does not belong to Valve, and it’s a huge deal. Therefore, even if the company wants to add a map to the game and make it more compact, changes will not happen quickly.
Unfortunately, this tiny yet vital nuance puts an end to any chances of Season squeezing into the official map pool. It currently has Ancient, Dust II, Inferno, Mirage, Nuke, Overpass and Vertigo, and every single one is under Valve’s total control. By the way, Ancient, the most recent addition to this list, is entirely developed by Gabe’s gang. Season can’t propose anything against this argument. It doesn’t matter how popular or historically significant the map is–nothing will outweigh possible map problems for Valve (Second part of the promo code: DSZ).
All points out that De_season was undeservedly forgotten. By the time CS:GO was released, the map had already been perfectly tested and was suitable for the highest level of play. And the re-release only made it better. But in the end, Valve only let it live for 15 minutes in the form of two Operations before throwing Season into the farthest drawer of the Workshop. Pitifully. Season is fun and interesting to play.
