Catfood, the creator of Tuscan Rework, tweeted that the map is complete. You can download it from the Workshop and run it yourself. This one is a real treat for the fans, ending ten years of waiting. But what does this mean for CS:GO? CS.MONEY Blog will try to answer.
Tuscan and its place in history
Tuscan takes an honorable place in the history of the Counter-Strike series. In the CS 1.6 days, it was one of the best, if not the best, competitive maps. But it didn’t make it into the competitive map pool of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive either on release or years later. As a result, it gained a little mythology around. People began to name Tuscan the best map, not even playing it once.
Therefore, the release of an updated version of the map, made by catfood, will stir up the game community in any case. However, now it is impossible to predict how popular the map will become. It’s worth noting that without adding it to the official map pool of the game, it will most likely follow the path of Anubis, meaning it will hype a little and sink into oblivion.
Is it good?
We have been following the development of this map since the first news. The project was ambitious because the rework required amendments to new mechanics. For example, in Counter-Strike 1.6, there were no Molotov cocktails, but in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, they are. Therefore, you need to add shelters, expand passages and consider the impact of new gameplay features.
Visually, the new Tuscan looks phenomenal. The map is much better than all other maps of the current competitive set in terms of design and graphics. It’s bright with a bunch of tall colorful painted houses, it has paving stones everywhere and many small details are motivating to explore the map. Moreover, it is easily accessible in the Workshop, just a few clicks away. But don’t become overhyped.
Tuscan is still in beta
Despite the luxuriously great map (catfood did a fantastic job here), Tuscan is still hardly a finished map. Let’s start with the simplest things: to begin with, it’s not yet tested enough. Until hundreds of matches have been played and thousands of players tried it, it is impossible to say how well the amendments to the map design are. Most likely, it will still have to be corrected in the process, as was the case with Train, Nuke, or Ancient. But, in general, it’s a standard process.
Next, the optimization is unignorable. Yes, Tuscan turned out to be bright and full of details. But how well will it get along with readability? Or agent visibility? Isn’t it too heavy in terms of hardware requirements? It is difficult to answer these questions even after running around the map all day. It is quite possible that the map will be polished a lot.
Should Tuscan be at the next Major?
Another tricky question. On the one hand, CS:GO has Mirage and Overpass. Both maps were waiting in the update queue for a long time. All other maps in the pool were either recently released or had already gone through the remake process. So, replacing Mirage with another map looks like the right move. In fact, maybe it’s time to stop running these B plant carpets back and forth.
On the other hand, Valve is now adding its own maps to the game. Vertigo and Ancient were grown in the dungeons of the company’s offices. At the same time, it shows that the company manages to create and then successfully finish the maps. With all the hate that fell on Vertigo during the release, it is now one of the most balanced maps.
Valve may replace Mirage with Tuscan at the next major. It is true. The only problem is that the company may as well not do it. Or change not to Tuscan but Cache. In general, Valve’s plans, as always, are covered in impenetrable darkness. However, a scenario looks pretty likely: Tuscan will be added to the game, and its further fate will be determined later.
In the meantime, we can only congratulate catfood on completing the main development phase. It was a great map with impressive visuals and a big name. It remains to find out what will happen to the map next.
