Counter-Strike 2 is coming this winter, Valve announced Wednesday, promising an “overhaul to every system, every piece of content, and every part of the [Counter-Strike] experience.” The announcement comes with three videos of Counter-Strike 2 in action, showing off newly updated maps, dynamic smoke grenades, and “sub-tick updates,” which Valve says offers even more precise server updates.
A limited test is playable starting today for select Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players. Valve also published an FAQ about the limited test for CS2, and how to get in.
The new Counter-Strike will run on Valve’s Source 2 engine. Valve calls it “the largest technical leap forward in Counter-Strike’s history,” In part, that means a visual overhaul for Counter-Strike’s classic maps — some of which players have been battling on for 20-plus years. Those maps will be “cleaner, brighter, [and] better,” Valve says, thanks to “upgrades and overhauls which leverage all of the new Source 2 tools and rendering features.”
Here’s a look at what Counter-Strike 2 will mean for classic maps like Dust 2:
Cleaner, brighter, better. Maps in Counter-Strike 2 are receiving upgrades and overhauls which leverage all of the new Source 2 tools and rendering features.
Smoke Grenades are now dynamic volumetric objects that interact with the environment, and react to lighting, gunfire, and explosions.
Tick rate no longer matters for moving, shooting, or throwing.
Sub-tick updates are the heart of Counter-Strike 2. Previously, the server only evaluated the world in discrete time intervals (called ticks). Thanks to Counter-Strike 2’s sub-tick update architecture, servers know the exact instant that motion starts, a shot is fired, or a ‘nade is thrown.
As a result, regardless of tick rate, your moving and shooting will be equally responsive and your grenades will always land the same way.
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