The beauty, the genius and the horrors of new Counter-strike 2 - How this game can be a Masterpiece or Destroyed - Will it alienate older, loyal players?

[Ladra e Morde]

First of all I would like to congratulate the team that made Counter-strike 2. The game is still in Beta but has a lot of potential. Valve seems to be catering to younger players with this update since the new UI and graphics look way more "New age" and not as gloomy, compared to the current state. Valve is also introducing many quality of life for casual players. The new version of the game is clearly aimed at captivating new players and that's great.

But to captivate new players the Anti-cheat needs an update. It doesn't matter how much graphics, quality of life, movement, shooting, etc changes if the Anti-cheat is not updated. The Anti-Cheat is the most Important feature that needs and update and that is a huge deterrent to new players. Even to current players. Nothing is worse than start playing a new game and finding that you are playing to lose against a cheater. In valorant there are no cheaters on a daily base. Maybe even some of the new features are unecessary and will upset current players. There are rumours that they are updating VAC. Good.

But will it be too casual for the hardcore fans of the franchise? What players wanted was 3 things: updated visuals, better anti-cheat and 128 tick. That's it. They kinda did it, but are also introduced new features and changed some stuff.

Let's discuss about some of the new features. The good , the ok, the BAD.

The movement, gameplay and shooting (wich are the core of CS) are the last topics.



Visuals:

-The good

-The new visuals are good, way better than in CSGO. The game needed it. The saturation is very welcome! I think we all like clarity and knowing what is what.

-New grenades are a huge improvement, both in visuals and clarity.

-Bomb has a stronger light. Good news, it's easier to see when it's dropped or planted.

-Legs. I like them, they should be in game. I understand who doesn't like. Should be Optional, mostly to surf and to people who have those super perfect utility line ups, or just don't like them.

-Hitting someone with taser. Not my cup of tea, but now we have visual confirmation. Better than a scream.

-The Ok

-Ground textures are more cartonish. In D2 A BombSite the bricks seem to be made of plastic. Edit: Probably because new engine, lighting and saturation, graphics are a bit more cartonish. If you stop on D2 A BS and look to the bricks on the floor and look to that X mark, you will notice that is not as gloomy, it is not as "real", it's more cartony. The X is redder and the bricks have a grayer tone.

-The guns classic models (without skins) don't look as dark, they are more greyish. That also makes it look like it's made of plastic. Some skins shine way more now and are prettier (most will like this).

-Molotov needs some work. The fire is not good, and the black area after they burn needs some work. It is still better than in CSGO.

-Both smokes and molotovs need a little more realistic art.

-Now smokes CT and T smokes have different colours. Good for new players but makes no difference overall.

-The bad:

-The "edges" of the smoke are weird, they look like a cloud that is there randomly instead of being smoke produced by the center, where the smoke grenade was thrown. After a grenade destroys the smoke, the smoke fills randomly, instead of filling from the center, wich is where the smoke grenade is producing the smoke, IMO needs a fix.

-Some maps, like the office will lose their mystic atmosphere.

Sound:

-The good:

-The new gun sounds are better. Yes including scopes.

-Smoke visual is delayed when comparing to the sound. Good, takes somewhat 0,5 sec after the sound to have a complete smoke.

-The Ok:

-There is still some work to do. I find it harder to understand where someone is in CS2. I can't describe better, but it is not ideal.

-The bad:

-The headshot sound is delayed to when i shoot. It seems to have lag , like 0,2 ms. It's weird. I shoot , shoot again, and then i hear the HS sound from the 1st shot after i shot the 2nd shot.

UI:

-The good:

-Maps load way faster.

-The menu, and the fact that you can see what your graphic options do immediately is great.

-At the start of the round, your teammates avatar display the money, what they bought, kit or not. GREAT. Maybe Add the same feature for the Bomb.

-Frist half and Second half displaying the characters. Good. After match. We all like too see those juicy stats and the characters. It's a good way to make buying agents more "worth it". (Some say it doesn't match the "tone of CS". Maybe i agree, but it's fine, people play to shoot heads.)

-When dead and spectating teammates, it seems that we are playing. Good change, makes players more into the game.

-The Ok:

In game, it does not make much of a difference where the money, bullets, hp are. It's an habbit. The cards when you kill someone are meh. Makes no difference.

-The UI tells you the time to defuse, tells you what weapon you picked up, the skin, etc. I think new and casual players will like that, but experienced players don't need it. That is for casual and new players, please make it Optional.

Movement:

The bad:

-It doesn't feel as good as CSGO. Sometimes feels clunky, sometimes my character seems to be ice skating.

-Characters accel is slower for sure. I feel heavier. This is NOT good. It's changing a core game mechanic that makes or breaks the game. Valve made it slower. Lowering the skill floor and lowering the gap between players to atract new players, but it does not feel good. Feels slower like in Valorant, although not so much. But still it's a complete downgrade from the current experience. Shots are easier to hit, because the enemies don't move like they are supposed to + sub-tick+bigger heads. It's a No No.

-When I get tagged it does not feel the same. It's harder to fight back. Probably because slower Accel. (maybe remove armoured aimpunch? Those 5%??)

The gameplay

-The good:

-The new flash. I like it. It's louder and i can't hear much if I get hit. It seems to make the character number, it's good. In csgo I need to do a perfect flash, in CS2 not so much and it will still do it's job. Goes both ways. This lowers the skill floor of the game and the skill gap between players.

-The new smoke. 1-No more one ways. 2-I think it's a huge change for the good, no more m4a1-s invisible spams. It gives a way to counter-spam and shoot them. About the grenade trick on smoke, its fine, i just think the re-smoke should be faster 20-30%. It is supposed to be a way to kill 1-2 players or get info. No one should be able to empty a whole magazine before the smoke is formed again.

-They seem to have fixed hitboxes for every agent. All of them have the same area now.

-New smart smokes that fills gap. They lower the skill floor of the game and the skill gap between players, but it's fine. In my opinion the skill is in knowing what the best smoke is and when to use it. It's not about practicing in a server 20 minutes to learn a pixel perfect line up.

-Jump bind removed. This is good for the game. No more console commands or cfgs just to throw a piece of utility. This lowers the skill floor of the game and the skill gap between players, but it's fine.

-Jump throw confirmation, i think it is a good addition. This lowers the skill floor of the game and the skill gap between players, but it's fine. (how does it lower the skill floor? before you had to be sure your smoke would hit, and if it did not hit, someone in your team would die and possibly lose the round just because of your bad smoke. Now you know if it lands or not without someone sacrifing.

-Removed skybox. It great, it opens the map to fake strats, to new ways of helping teammates, etc. Increases skill ceilling.

-The Ok:

-Molotov spreads more. No difference, goes both ways.

-The sound in the background you hear when killing someone (the bass). I don't mind it being in the game, as long as I can remove it. Optional. I don't want to hear that. It's a valorant feature, but if it brings new players and they like it, its fine. But don't force others to hear it too.

-Head hitboxes are larger. Yes. larger. All of the agents have the same hitbox but larger. How much? They gave the largest head hitbox in CSGO for everyone in CS2 +3,94%. From CSGO agents with smaller heads like the professionals to CS2 it's an increase of 19,73%. HUGE difference. Neck hitboxes are smaller. You can see that here if you want: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1CpLmnkbZo&ab_channel=CAZEGAMING . This lowers the skill floor of the game and the skill gap between players. But is it bad? How many times do you feel you should have it that sweet HS only to find out that it did not register because pay to win agents or big necks? Imo it's a net positive, but i just think that they should have used the average head size, not the biggest +3,94%.

-The circle where enemies will hear you on minimap. It is a feature that should be added to ALL game modes but NOT Competitive*.* It is supposed to help new and casual players, but when you play Competive you want a competitive experience. The players can train and see their circle in other game modes, but when playing competitive they should not. This lowers the skill floor and lowers the gap between players.

-The bad:

-As I said the headshot sound is delayed to when i shoot. It seems to have lag , like 0,2 ms.

- When i kill someone the kill seems to be delayed aswell. I peek a corner, shoot, I go back and then when I am almost completely gone, I hear the sound of the HS and the character falling. Maybe it's because Sub-tick?. Needs to be corrected.

-Removing cl_righthand 0 and multiple key binds. I use weapon on right side and i have no multiple key binds, but, there are millions of players that do. Please re-introduce it to the game. Make the right-left hand client side, idk. From what I see they want to eliminate console commands, but that was never a problem for newer and older cs players. Let people have their 20+ year old configs.

Shooting:

-The good:

-When spraying the screen seems to shake more. It's ok. Just get used to it.

-The ok:

-New sniper tracers that stay make the game more casual , as you can see where you where shot. It reveals their location. An example where this makes difference is when I am CT spawn/ mid doors and someone uses AWP/scout on Car. Now i can see that i was being shot from car and not long or ramp. Riffle and SMG tracers are easier to see, if you look at them when shooting mid-close range, they make SMGS easier to run and gun, and Riffle sprays are easier after you get used to the new game. This lowers the skill floor of the game and the skill gap between players. Some players don't use tracers in CSGO , but it makes a lot of sense to use them in CS2.

-The bad:

-Follow recoil. This is not COD. It is not a feature that belongs to this game. It is another feature to help new and casual players to get a feel of the mechanics. If Valve insists in having this feature, make it only for casual play, since it is a feature aimed for new and casual players to get a feel of the mechanics. Must not be in competitive IMO. It doesn't make much of a difference in the first few bullets, but where i used to counter-strafe and reset, now i just keep going and look at the Aim. When I use it SMGS become run and gun headshot machines. Spray transfers with rifles are easier than ever and aim corrections after failing the first shots are easier. It does make a difference because i have new information on the screen that i did not use to have. Now i know precisely where i am shooting my 27th shot spraying with ak. Not even pros know that! They know somewhat, but not precisely. Get an average DMG player and make him spray with follow recoil against a wall for 2 days. Get any pro you want. I bet the DMG with follow recoil will do a better spray pattern at mid and long range. Lowers the skill floor and lowering the gap between players IMMENSELY.

-(Edit: Spraying in a match is different than spraying against the wall. Against a wall you are focused on the spray, static and have time, in a match there are many things going on and it's easy to lose track of your spray, making transfers harder, with this feature not anymore, you know where you are shooting, always. For those who say "you are wrong pros would do better" , ok instead of 2 days to practice , make it 4, 6 or 8 days. Before it would require an an absurd amount of hours. Now it's a few days. The question is how much this feature reduces skill ceiling. It will make long range spray transfers mundane, as they will become much easier and frequent).(Edit2: For those who say it's distracting. Get a new player, they will play mostly with follow recoil on. Why ? It's easier to hit, that's why. It's about being noob friendly but also better to hit at high level as you have info displayed while you shoot your shots.). Reduces skill floor and ceiling. Reduces the complexity of shooting).

-Jump scout viable again. This was nerfed for a reason. No need to introduce a bad idea again. Jump scouting right now in CSGO requires skill and should be that way. Stop Lowering the skill floor and lowering the gap between players.



Not good or bad: This one is a feel I have. Here it goes-Deagle is better, much better, registers better. Subtick+slow accel+ bigger heads.

TLDR:

-The new version of the game is aimed at captivating new players and that's great. I believe that as long as the mechanics don't change much, and the feel of the game stays the same, older players will put up with almost any new changes. Make the guns shoot lasers, and make team humans vs team aliens in Mars. If the game feels the same, they will play. But what if the gameplay is not the same? They certainly lowered the skill floor, skill gap and in some changes even the skill ceiling. Changing core mechanics, movement and shooting of the game (making them more noob friendly) just to captivate new players does not seem to be the best path. Getting an anti-cheat that works and better server are. Changing visuals, better UI and some other gamplaye changes are great for the game. I am all in for features that captivate new players, as long as the shooting, movement and gameplay stays the identical. (Some gameplay changes are very good, but others can ruin the experience for some). Trying to captivate new players, and lowering the skill floor so much, will make them "average" in a "couple" hours, but what about the current average players (90%) that play the game casualy, that learned the hard way the sprays, sounds, etc? Should new players get so much just to play the game? I feel like it's unrewarding to the amount of hours that many players spent to get a feel of the mechanics, sprays on the walls, etc.

-The game is not for everyone, but for the ones that it is, they will always come back to play more, and will keep comming as long as they feel welcome home to the mother of FPS. What makes CS , CS is the fact that it does not change much. You can go work abroad and 6 months later when you come back to play you know the sprays, you know that there is not a new superpower, you know that there is not a new character that has a special skill. Maybe a new map, and an update at most. The game is easy to understand, but it's very hard to master. The sucess of the game is in the journey to mastery. If it becomes too easy to master, lowering the skill floor and reducing the skill gap between players because "we want new players" will it still have sucess? I don't think so. Having too many forced features aimed to casuals, will make many come try to play and will make the game easier, but most will leave, because the game is not as addictive as it used to be, because it's easier, there is no real challenge, there is no journey to mastery. The ceilling gets a bit lowered, but with the floor so lowered aswell, the distance between floor and ceiling decreases. It becomes a shallow game with no mastery. And the loyal ones that are already playing? I guess they will get something that suits their interests better.

My theory for CS2 Beta being already dead is because the players don't find it as enjoyable, heck even I don't, although i really want to. It's not just because D2. I am mostly fine and welcome those changes. Most are very good. Some are new and fresh. All I am saying is that they are introducing a ton of new features, to captivate new players, wich is good. But the main deterrents for new players are cheaters that ruin experience (this is the biggest factor imo), the bad visuals, and the lack of quality of life. Maybe would be a good idea to improve those first. I am just saying that they can catter to the new audience, without changing movement, shooting and gameplay, those 3 are the core of CS and should be tampered last, IMO. (Again, some gameplay changes are very good, but others can ruin the experience for some). In the Beta at the moment, even though there are many new good features, the movement, shooting and gameplay still falls short of CSGO, and those 3 trump over everything.

But CS2 is still in beta so I expect that they will improve it until full release.

This is my assessment. I am looking forward to CS2 full release.

Cheers

[76561197963519852]

Excellent write up. Thank you.

Do you think SMGs with the recoil tracking will become a new meta?

I'm kind of ready for it. Rifle meta has been too strong for too long IMO.

[Nelex5000]

lots of bad opinions in here overall i have to say you sound like a wannabe tryhard (not in an offensive way if you know what i mean)
however there's also some things that i agree with
I could list them for you but i cant be bothered right now as it's 4 am

I'll say this one thing though:

Please, in the future, if you've never been at a certain lvl, don't speak for those who are.
Removing the need of personalization of the game (cfgs) or noob friendly features aren't going to attract new players, at all.

The #1 reason people could never get into the damn game was because of the lack of an anticheat if you were playing for free.
Literally every friend i tried to introduce to the game had to quit because it was unplayable.

Despite their lack of skill in the game, that was not holding them back. If it wasn't for the cheaters they would have stayed.

They made SO many damn changes to "QoL", but it legit would make no sense whatsoever if the game is riddled with cheaters. I dare you to boot up valorant right now as a newcomer and encounter 1 cheater in 50 hours of playtime.

You won't. Simple as.

It's not the noob friendly features that will attract new players.
Many of these are completely unnecessary and will upset many many parts of the community.

I can tell you at least the most impactful will be the fact that we'll have no more customization anymore. no personality or character to our own config. everything will look the same for everyone. hud, viewmodel, etc etc... no more personal configs. because the game is losing personality, character, just so that these delusional devs think that they did all they could to bring in new players.

But they are clueless to the fact that cheaters are a bigger factor instead of the childish new visuals or the colored smokes.

[Nelex5000]

Also, shooting in general feels SUPER off. in CSGO it's instant (or maybe because im playing 128 tick faceit, instead of staring at my monitor like a zombie learning nothing all day with 64 tick braincells-killing official matchmaking). in CS2 it feels delayed, and the spray transfers feel ridiculously awful and misleading.

spraying in general is awful. idk how people havent catched up to that.

[Nelex5000]

https://twitter.com/Nelex5000/status/1639424639175720961
Here's what I mean by weird sprays, before you jump to the conclusion that I'm some sort of casual. Just in case.

[Ladra e Morde]

Originally posted by redacted:

Excellent write up. Thank you.

Do you think SMGs with the recoil tracking will become a new meta?

I'm kind of ready for it. Rifle meta has been too strong for too long IMO.

In close range maps like vertigo and Inferno i can see it being bought more often. It will make force rounds more exciting and winnable. Some cheesy strats such as D2 lower tunnels rush as CT will be stronger. If it is enough to overthrow riffles and change meta? I don't think so. M249 will be fun to use though

[Ladra e Morde]

Originally posted by Nelex:

Also, shooting in general feels SUPER off. in CSGO it's instant (or maybe because im playing 128 tick faceit, instead of staring at my monitor like a zombie learning nothing all day with 64 tick braincells-killing official matchmaking). in CS2 it feels delayed, and the spray transfers feel ridiculously awful and misleading.

spraying in general is awful. idk how people havent catched up to that.

Agree 100%

[Ladra e Morde]

Originally posted by Nelex:

lots of bad opinions in here overall i have to say you sound like a wannabe tryhard
however there's also some things that i agree with
I could list them for you but i cant be bothered right now as it's 4 am

I'll say this one thing though:

Please, in the future, if you've never been at a certain lvl, don't speak for those who are.
Removing the need of personalization of the game (cfgs) or noob friendly features aren't going to attract new players, at all.

The #1 reason people could never get into the damn game was because of the lack of an anticheat if you were playing for free.
Literally every friend i tried to introduce to the game had to quit because it was unplayable.

Despite their lack of skill in the game, that was not holding them back. If it wasn't for the cheaters they would have stayed.

They made SO many damn changes to "QoL", but it legit would make no sense whatsoever if the game is riddled with cheaters. I dare you to boot up valorant right now as a newcomer and encounter 1 cheater in 50 hours of playtime.

You won't. Simple as.

It's not the noob friendly features that will attract new players.
Many of these are completely unnecessary and will upset many many parts of the community.

I can tell you at least the most impactful will be the fact that we'll have no more customization anymore. no personality or character to our own config. everything will look the same for everyone. hud, viewmodel, etc etc... no more personal configs. because the game is losing personality, character, just so that these delusional devs think that they did all they could to bring in new players.

But they are clueless to the fact that cheaters are a bigger factor instead of the childish new visuals or the colored smokes.

Hard agree. Even though it seems someone owes you money. Call down.
Skill ceilling and skill floor were both lowered. Many stupid changes. Movement, shooting and gameplay should never be tampered. Anything else we don't care, go ahead valve.

[ediotr ⇄]

give this guy some awards cuz whatever he wrote boi spent a ton of time on it

[Ladra e Morde]

Originally posted by Jack:

Originally posted by Senor vac:

First of all I would like to congratulate the team that made Counter-strike 2. The game is still in Beta but has a lot of potential. Valve seems to be catering to younger players with this update since the new UI and graphics look way more "New age" and not as gloomy, compared to the current state. Valve is also introducing many quality of life for casual players. The new version of the game is clearly aimed at captivating new players and that's great.

But will it be too casual for the hardcore fans of the franchise? What players wanted was 3 things: updated visuals, better anti-cheat and 128 tick. That's it. They kinda did it, but are also introduced new features and changed some stuff.

Let's discuss about some of the new features. The good , the ok, the BAD.

The gameplay and movement (wich are the core of CS) is the last topic


Visuals:

-The good

-The new visuals are good, way better than in CSGO. The game needed it. The saturation is very welcome! I think we all like clarity and knowing what is what.

-New grenades are a huge improvement, both in visuals and clarity.

-Bomb has a stronger light. Good news, it's easier to see when it's dropped or planted.

-Legs. I like them, they should be in game. I understand who doesn't like. Should be Optional, mostly to surf and to people who have those super perfect utility line ups, or just don't like them.

-Hitting someone with taser. Not my cup of tea, but now we have visual confirmation. Better than a scream.

-The Ok

-Probably because new engine, lighting and saturation, graphics are a bit more cartonish. If you stop on D2 A BS and look to the bricks on the floor and look to that X mark, you will notice that is not as gloomy, it is not as "real", it's more cartony. The X is redder and the bricks have a grayer tone.

-The guns classic models (without skins) don't look as dark, they are more greyish. That also makes it look like it's made of plastic. Some skins shine way more now and are prettier (most will like this).

-Molotov needs some work. The fire is not good, and the black area after they burn needs some work. It is still better than in CSGO.

-Both smokes and grenades need a little more realistic art.

-Now smokes CT and T smokes have different colours. Good for new players but makes no difference overall.

-The bad:

-The "edges" of the smoke are weird, they look like a cloud that is there randomly instead of being smoke produced by the center, where the smoke grenade was thrown. After a grenade destroys the smoke, the smoke fills randomly, instead of filling from the center, wich is where the smoke grenade is producing the smoke, IMO needs a fix.

-Some maps, like the office will lose their mystic atmosphere.

Sound:

-The good:

-The new gun sounds are better. Yes including scopes.

-Smoke visual is delayed when comparing to the sound. Good, takes somewhat 1 sec after the sound to expand.

-The Ok:

-There is still some work to do. I find it harder to understand where someone is in CS2. I can't describe better, but it is not ideal.

-The bad:

-The headshot sound is delayed to when i shoot. It seems to have lag , like 0,2 ms. It's weird. I shoot , shoot again, and then i hear the HS sound from the 1st shot after i shot the 2nd shot.

UI:

-The good:

-Maps load way faster.

-The menu, and the fact that you can see what your graphic options do immediately is great.

-At the start of the round, your teammates avatar display the money, what they bought, kit or not. GREAT. Maybe Add the same feature for the Bomb.

-Frist half and Second half displaying the characters. Good. After match. We all like too see those juicy stats and the characters. It's a good way to make buying agents more "worth it".

-The Ok:

In game, it does not make much of a difference where the money, bullets, hp are. It's an habbit. The cards when you kill someone are meh. Makes no difference.-The UI tells you the time to defuse, tells you what weapon you picked up, the skin, etc.I think new and casual players will like that, but experienced players don't need it. That is for casual and new players, please make it Optional.

Movement:

The bad:

-It doesn't feel as good as CSGO. Sometimes feels clunky, sometimes my character seems to be ice skating.

-Characters accel is slower for sure. This is NOT good. It's changing a core game mechanic that makes or breaks the game. Valve made it slower Lowering the skill floor and lowering the gap between players to atract new players, but it does not feel good. Feels slower like in Valorant, although not so much. But still it's a complete downgrade from the current experience. Shots are easier to hit, because the enemies don't move like they are supposed to + sub-tick. It's a No No.

-When I get tagged it does not feel the same. It's harder to fight back. Probably because slower Accel.

The gameplay

-The good:

-The new flash. I like it. It's louder and i can't hear much if I get hit. It seems to make the character number, it's good. In csgo I need to do a perfect flash, in CS2 not so much and it will still do it's job. Goes both ways. This lowers the skill floor of the game and the skill gap between players.

-The new smoke. 1-No more one ways. 2-I think it's a huge change for the good, no more m4a1-s invisible spams. It gives a way to counter-spam and shoot them. About the grenade trick on smoke, its fine, i just think the re-smoke should be faster 20-30%. It is supposed to be a way to kill 1-2 players or get info. No one should be able to empty a whole magazine before the smoke is formed again.

-New smart smokes that fills gap. They lower the skill floor of the game and the skill gap between players, but it's fine. In my opinion the skill is in knowing what the best smoke is, and not being in a server 20 minutes to learn a pixel perfect line up.

-Jump bind removed. This is good for the game. No more console commands or cfgs just to throw a piece of utility. This lowers the skill floor of the game and the skill gap between players, but it's fine.

-Jump throw confirmation, i think it is a good addition. This lowers the skill floor of the game and the skill gap between players, but it's fine. (how does it lower the skill floor? before you had to be sure your smoke would hit, and if it did not hit, someone in your team would die and possibly lose the round just because of your bad smoke. Now you know if it lands or not without someone sacrifing.

-Removed skybox. It great, it opens the map to fake strats, to new ways of helping teammates, etc.

-The Ok:

-New sniper tracers that stay make the game more casual , as you can see where you where shot. It reveals their location. An example where this makes difference is when I am CT spawn/ mid doors and someone uses AWP on Car. Now i can see that i was being shot from car and not long or ramp. Riffle and SMG tracers are easier to see, if you look at them when shooting mid-close range, they make SMGS easier to run and gun, and Riffle sprays are easier after you get used to the new game. This lowers the skill floor of the game and the skill gap between players. Some players don't use tracers in CSGO , but it makes a lot of sense to use them in CS2.

-Molotov spreads more. No difference, goes both ways.

-When spraying the screen seems to shake more. It's ok. Just get used to it.

-The sound in the background you hear when killing someone. I don't mind it being in the game, as long as I can remove it. Optional. I don't want to hear that. It's a valorant feature, but if it brings new players and they like it, its fine. But don't force others to hear it too.

-The bad:

-The circle where enemies will hear you on minimap. It is a feature that should be added to ALL game modes but NOT Competitive. It is supposed to help new and casual players, but when you play Competive you want a competitive experience. The players can train and see their circle in other game modes, but when playing competitive they should not. This lowers the skill floor and lowers the gap between players.

-Follow recoil. This is not COD. It is not a feature that belongs to this game. It is another feature to help new and casual players to get a feel of the mechanics. If Valve insists in having this feature, make it only for casual play, since it is a feature aimed for new and casual players to get a feel of the mechanics. Must not be in competitive IMO. It doesn't make much of a difference in the first few bullets, but where i used to counter-strafe and reset, now i just keep going and look at the Aim. When I use it SMGS become run and gun headshot machines. Spray transfers with rifles are easier than ever and aim corrections after failing the first shots are easier. It does make a difference because i have new information on the screen that i did not use to have. Now i know precisely where i am shooting my 27th shot spraying with ak. Not even pros know that! They know somewhat, but not precisely. Get an average DMG player and make him spray with follow recoil against a wall for 2 days. Get any pro you want. I bet the DMG with follow recoil will do a better spray pattern at mid and long range. Lowers the skill floor and lowering the gap between players IMMENSELY.

-(Edit: Spraying in a match is different than spraying against the wall. Against a wall you are focused on the spray, static and have time, in a match there are many things going on and it's easy to lose track of your spray, making transfers harder, with this feature not anymore, you know where you are shooting, always. For those who say "you are wrong pros would do better" , ok instead of 2 days to practice , make it 4, 6 or 8 days. Before it would require an an absurd amount of hours. Now it's a few days. The question is how much this feature reduces skill ceiling. It will make long range spray transfers mundane, as they will become much easier and frequent).(Edit2: For those who say it's distracting. Get a new player, they will play mostly with follow recoil on. Why ? It's easier to hit, that's why. It's about being noob friendly but also better to hit at high level as you have info displayed while you shoot your shots.). Reduces skill floor and ceiling. Reduces the complexity of shooting).

-Jump scout viable again. This was nerfed for a reason. No need to introduce a bad idea again. Jump scouting right now in CSGO requires skill and should be that way. Stop Lowering the skill floor and lowering the gap between players.

-As I said the headshot sound is delayed to when i shoot. It seems to have lag , like 0,2 ms.

- When i kill someone the kill seems to be delayed aswell. I peek a corner, shoot, I go back and then when I am almost completely gone, I hear the sound of the HS and the character falling. Maybe it's because Sub-tick?. Needs to be corrected.

-Removing cl_righthand 0 and multiple key binds. I use weapon on right side and i have no multiple key binds, but, there are millions of players that do. Please re-introduce it to the game. Make the right-left hand client side, idk.

This one is a feel I have. Here it goes-Deagle is better, much better, registers better. Seems like HS are easier to hit , probably because sub-tick and slow accel.

TLDR:

-The new version of the game is aimed at captivating new players and that's great. I believe that as long as the gameplay doesn't change much, and the feel of the game stays the same, older players will put up with almost any new changes. Make the guns shoot lasers, and make team humans vs team aliens in Mars. If the game feels the same, they will play. But what if the gameplay is not the same? They certainly lowered the skill floor, skill gap and in some changes even the skill ceiling. Changing core mechanics and movement of the game (making them more noob friendly) just to captivate new players does not seem to be the best path. Changing visuals, better UI and some other changes are great for the game. I am all in for features that captivate new players, as long as the shooting, movement and gameplay stays the identical. Trying to captivate new players, and lowering the skill floor so much, will make them "average" in a couple hours, but what about the current average players (90%) that play the game casualy, that learned the hard way the sprays, sounds, etc? Should new players get so much just to play the game? I feel like it's unrewarding to the amount of hours that many players spent to get a feel of the mechanics, sprays on the walls, etc.

Satirical (They want to be inclusive for everyone, next logical step is to give players an option to enable audible-only WH (yes this is a thing and it's pretty OP) because the game is that much inaccessible for deaf players and aimbot for people with hand Impairments.)

-The game is not for everyone, but for the ones that it is, they will always come back to play more, and will keep comming as long as they feel welcome home to the mother of FPS. What makes CS , CS is the fact that it does not change much. You can go work abroad and 6 months later when you come back to play you know the sprays, you know that there is not a new superpower, you know that there is not a new character that has a special skill. Maybe a new map, and an update at most. The game is easy to understand, but it's very hard to master. The sucess of the game is in the journey to mastery. If it becomes too easy to master, lowers the skill floor and reduces the skill gap between players because "we want new players" will it still have sucess? I don't think so. Having too many forced features aimed to casuals, will make many come try to play and will make the game easier, but most will leave, because the game is not as addictive as it used to be, there is not journey to mastery. And the loyal ones that are already playing? I guess they will get something that suits their interests better.

My theory for CS2 Beta being already dead is because the players don't find it as enjoyable, heck even I don't although i really want to. It's not just because D2. In the end, even though there are many new good features, the movement, shooting and gameplay still falls short of CSGO, and those 3 trump over everything. But CS2 is still in beta so I expect that they will improve it until full release.

This is my assessment. I am not a gatekeeper, and will never be. I am looking forward to CS2 full release.

Cheers

you have WAY to much spare time lol

why are you telling us all this

Because Valve is about to kill this game and no one says anything. Everyone is pretending that it's a perfect game when it's not. Many changes are good, but somehow the game is not going to the right direction.

[Ladra e Morde]

Originally posted by not a cutie:

give this guy some awards cuz whatever he wrote boi spent a ton of time on it

2,5 hours. Thanks!

[76561197963519852]

This truly is a beta tho. I am surprised they haven't rolled out a second map.

[Moo]

If follow recoil is to stay, then they really need to remove armoured aimpunch as that was only in the game to assist new people netting kills, it was never a thing in the previous CS games even CS:source. Screw it, just remove it anyway. :)

[Ɑ͞ ̶͞ ̶͞ ̶̶͞ ﻝﮞ]

This was a very good review of the game. My opinion. The minimap is not "bad" it's not good either, it's a "ok" feature. But i stand with you. Why add follow recoil? The game just needs a better VAC to get new players, and visuals, and QoL will help aswell. We older players wanted VAC, 128 tick and source 2 engine. Movement and shooting was not needing a change. They can change smokes and stuff but movement and shooting is sacred.

[rad]

balls

[tupadre]

what? they removed cl_righthand 0?

bro if i cant customize my viewmodel im gonna be mad af, what the hell