Ultimate CS:GO Viewmodel Guide

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VIEWMODEL AND FOV?

The Viewmodel is not to be confused with FOV (field of vision) or launch options since they can sound very similar. The Viewmodel can be moved on three axes:

X-axis – Centre of the screen
Y-axis – Player model
Z-axis – Top of the screen
It also controls how much you see of your arm and weapon which take up a portion of the screen.
FOV is the Field of View which is the total observable area in your line of sight. A lower FOV results in ‘tunnel vision’ while a larger one enables you to see more at once. Having a higher one isn’t always useful but it can work well alongside the viewmodel changes.

An improved Viewmodel helps you to see that game better which makes you less likely to miss a player who might be trying to exploit the blind spot in your vision but it will not increase your FPS.

HOW TO CHANGE YOUR VIEWMODEL VIA CONSOLE & COMMANDS

To use any of these Counter Strike Global Offensive Viewmodels then you do need to use the Developer Console. If you haven’t activated this yet then you do need to turn this on.
Here’s how to do that if you haven’t done so yet:

Launch CS GO from Steam
Go to Options
Game Settings
Find the “Enable Developer Console” option
Change it to Yes (if it already says “Yes” then the console is already enabled)
Press the tilde key to open the field where you can enter the command to change your viewmodel

BEST VIEWMODEL COMMANDS

You can create and customize your Viewmodel but starting with a pre-made set of commands is helpful to see what kind of things you can change and to see what changes you do like. Here are some examples of different Viewmodel settings that pro players are using for CS GO.

KENNYS VIEWMODEL SETTINGS

For those who don’t know KennyS is a professional CSGO player currently for G2 Esports and some of his settings have been uploaded for others to use as well. This includes his Crosshair, Config, and the Viewmodel settings.
viewmodel_fov 68; viewmodel_offset_x 2; viewmodel_offset_y 2; viewmodel_offset_z -2; viewmodel_presetpos 0; cl_viewmodel_shift_left_amt 0.5; cl_viewmodel_shift_right_amt 0.25; viewmodel_recoil 1; cl_righthand 0

Looking at this you can immediately see the FOV is set to 68 which means you can see more of the screen but not too much. Changing the “Viewmodel_offset” also changes the positioning of the gun which means you can see more of the screen too. Meanwhile the “Viewmodel_presetops 0” tells the game to not use a preset X/Y/Z Viewmodel that’s built into the game and allows you to set your one.

PASHABICEPS VIEWMODEL SETTINGS

Counter-Strike 1.6 players might remember pashaBiceps who is also part of the Golden Five, one of the most successful pro teams in Counter-Strike. Currently, he’s not with any pro team but he’s still a vastly respected player for his history.
viewmodel_fov 68; viewmodel_offset_x 2.5; viewmodel_offset_y 0; viewmodel_offset_z -1.5; viewmodel_presetpos 3; cl_viewmodel_shift_left_amt 1.5; cl_viewmodel_shift_right_amt 0.75; viewmodel_recoil 0; cl_righthand 1

Taking a closer look at his commands and we can see it’s very similar to what KennyS uses however he has the gun positioned slightly differently. Perhaps the most different line of code here is the fact the viewmodel_presentpos has been set to a value of 3 which is for the “classic” preset option.

HOW TO CHANGE YOUR VIEWMODEL WITH VIEWMODEL GENERATOR MAPS

There are many different Viewmodel Generator Maps available for CS:GO via the Steam Workshop and they all work slightly differently. For example, the one created by Crashz provides preset Viewmodel options then allows players to easily customize them.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=365126929&searchtext
For the crashz’ Viewmodel Generator players can shoot the option(s) they want to select. To select a pre-made Viewmodel the player just needs to shoot the button for it and if the player is happy with that then there’s no need to keep customizing it. You can always return to this Viewmodel Generator Map later to make more changes or to swap Viewmodel if you wish.

How to load into crashz’ Viewmodel Generator:

Go to the crashz’ Viewmodel Generator Map page
Click the Subscribe button
Launch CS GO
Go to Play and launch the custom map

HOW TO CHANGE YOUR VIEWMODEL VIA CFG FILES

It’s also possible to make changes to the Viewmodel via the Config and Autoexec. The config files are where all of the user client-side information is kept including things like graphics, FPS, viewmodel, and more.

An Autoexec is a personal config file created by the user which is put into the game files so it’s automatically loaded as the game launches. The file can also be loaded onto a USB or emailed to yourself so it can be used on a different PC, LAN or to make a backup. This ensures your settings will not get lost and you’ll always have them. Making a backup is always advised!

Here is how to locate your own default CFG File:
Open Finder and locate your Steam Folder
Once on the Steam data path, select “Userdata”
Select the number which equals to your Steam ID3
Select 730 which stands for CSGO’s Game ID
Click on “Local”, where you will find your own CSGO CFG File

In order to change it you simply need to delete the cfg file and replace with another one. This does sound much more complicated than it is but since it sounds complex it can be tricky to understand and easy to do wrong. This is very important for something as sensitive as the Viewmodel or Crosshairs for example.

VIEWMODEL COMMANDS EXPLAINED

The commands we have listed here are for both the viewmodel and FOV since they are interlinked when it comes to improving the visual experience of the game.

CL_RIGHTHAND
The default value is 1 which puts the gun into your right hand on the screen which also means it takes up that side of the screen.

cl_righthand
Changing this value to 0 instead puts the weapons into the left hand so that it takes up that side of the screen instead of the right.

VIEWMODEL_FOV
This is the command that sets the FOV for your screen which is your Field of Vision.

viewmodel_fov
It controls how wide your vision is which is essential. The default for this is 60 but you can change this to 68 or higher if you wish.

VIEWMODEL_OFFSET_X

viewmodel_offset_x
The X Offset refers to how far left or right the camera is on your hand. Using this it’s possible to move the gun closed to the center of the screen. The default value for this is 1 but it can be moved between a maximum of 2.5 and -2.5 as the minimum.

VIEWMODEL_OFFSET_Y

viewmodel_offset_y
Y Offset is how close or far away your character is or more specifically, your hand.

This changes how close or far away the hand looks in the first-person mode. The default value is 1 but this can range between the highest of 2 and -2 are the lowest.

VIEWMODEL_OFFSET_Z

viewmodel_offset_z
Like Z-axis, the Z Offset controls how far up or down the model is and changes how your hand displays in the first-person mode. The default value for this is -1 but it can be set anywhere between 2 and -2 as the minimum.

CL_BOB_LOWER_AMT

CL_BOB_LOWER_AMT
This allows you do disable the gun movement while you are walking.

cl_bob_lower_amt
This comes in handy when you want to focus on the main part of the game and not its visual effects.

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