After a short testing period, Valve has officially released Counter-Strike 2 to everyone on PC via Steam.
The developers of Counter-Strike 2 claim the “biggest technological leap in the history of the series” thanks to the Source Engine 2 game engine. Players will be able to appreciate improved graphics and an optimised server side, which should have a positive impact on the gameplay. It is also promised that the engine will provide the game with new features and content for years to come.
It should be noted that Counter-Strike 2 is not a direct sequel to the original game, but rather a major free update to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Players will have access to the familiar maps and modes, but with improved graphics and updated and refined maps. Importantly, Counter-Strike 2 gives players the opportunity to return money for weapons if they accidentally bought the wrong item. It should be noted that the original Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, which was released back in 2012, is no longer available on Steam.
New players of Counter-Strike 2 will be able to undergo a short training with bots, after which they will be able to access the “Normal” and “Battle to the Death” modes. Over time, a selection of competitive matches will also be unlocked. In the advanced premiere mode, you can earn a new CS rating. CSGO 2, like its predecessor, is a huge eSports discipline with developed competitions at the international level.
A huge number of fans are waiting for new championships in 2024. Also, this cyber discipline is well known among fans to bet on their favourite team. Here, you can get acquainted with the best csgo betting sites, which offer the best odds and conditions for players.
Counter-Strike 2 problems that drag the game down
Counter-Strike 2 hasn’t turned out to be quite what Valve promised, and the game has been plagued by problems since the open beta. Just recently, CS2’s online has fallen to its lowest point in 2023, but this is not the only anchor that is dragging the game down.
Although the professional scene gives us positive impressions, and players give feedback to the developers, the shooter still has problems that need to be addressed urgently. Here are some of the main ones:
- VAC-Live, a new AI-based anti-cheat system;
- Weekly drop;
- Rating system;
The system of communication between the game and the servers – the septic.
All of these points systematically drag the game down, reducing the number of players every day and collecting negative feedback. And there is no way out of this situation yet.
Let’s take a look at all of these shortcomings separately to better understand the problem. The first in line is the weekly drop.
After the release of CS2, the developers got rid of the old system, where for every level of experience you took, you got a random case or some kind of weapon skin. Instead, a weekly drop was introduced. Now, once a week, you can choose two of the four slots offered, including one case and three other slots to choose from.
Technically, the probability that you will get something normal is the same as it was in CS:GO, only now it happens once a week. And if sometimes there are crazy drops, like in the first picture, it’s usually something similar to the second.
So why not use the model used by Faceit, where the more you play, the more points you get and the better drops you can afford? Why not create a system that will encourage players to play not only to fill up coloured numbers but also to diversify their equipment? After all, the Workshop is full of interesting ideas from the creators – just choose a few, add them to the season, and start farming. And if a player doesn’t like what they’ve picked out, there’s always the good old marketplace.
Since we have already touched on coloured numbers, let’s talk about the rating system.
At first, it looked surprisingly good and even fun, since the game is new and the titles are also new. More precisely, now the titles indicate the level of play on each individual map, and the overall rating is indicated by a number. And the higher it is, the brighter your colour is (grey, blue, purple, pink, red and gold).
Here’s the problem: there is no stable indicator by which you can track your progress, because no one really understands how the rating works in CS2. You win a match for +100 to the rank, then +220, then +330. “What’s the problem?” you might ask. The fact is that it works both ways, only the minus is not so gentle. First it is -100, then it is -300, and when you catch a losing streak, it is more than 500 points at a time. I saw a case where a lost hand cost a player 3,500 points.
Okay, you couldn’t/wouldn’t implement a healthy person rating, where the rating points at stake depend on who we play with and against (and yes, a similar honest Elo rating has been working on Faceit for a long time). Why not make a simplified system, like in Dota 2, and limit the step for a victory or defeat to a single value? If you win, you get +200, if you lose, you get -200, or something like that. Because now Valve has designed everything in such a way that a high rating can be simply granted.
Every second player in the top rankings uses banned software. Such people are easy to identify – their onboarding rate is about 90%.
He also said that he had met another well-known player under the nickname serbo in matches. In the past, when playing CS:GO, he used to use cheats for a long time.
That is why we are moving on to the next point – the anti-cheat of the VAC-Live system, which does not work at all.
Counter-Strike fans were told by the developers that they needed to teach the system to detect third-party software and stop it from working. The principle of such work was demonstrated at the very beginning of the beta test, but since then, it hasn’t been mentioned.
New technologies are cool, but only when they work. And we’re not talking about VAC-Live or VAC-Net – Valve hasn’t decided on a name yet. Players have to suffer because of the dominance of cheaters at a time when there is a system that has proven its efficiency and is up to 95% effective.
