CS. Just Add Water
Once, I was a big fan of Reallite Labs. I love such cozy communities. The guys, at least back then, were true fans of CS. I became their admirer after downloading the brilliant voiceover for bots (which can be downloaded here). This work perfectly reflects the spirit and coziness of this game, an unparalleled spirit, I must note. So, if you missed those times, give it a try (especially since there are no issues with versions. For 1.6, you need to install Zbot; for CZZ and CSS, everything is fine. Just remember to use radio commands).
Why unparalleled? Because even Valve can't replicate it, as seen in the GO interface. And so, after a few days of its announcement, the intake of dozens of liters of valerian, and several hours with a psychotherapist...
**(What niggas! What right bolts! What bolt actions with the left hand! What boards on dust! What molotovs! What circular menus!)**
Watching the disputes between Call of Duty and Battlefield fans, my heart bleeds because one critical fact is overlooked: ‘CS was created by non-professionals among two people’, which cannot be said about those aforementioned trendsetters.
An interesting observation: just as after the success of Doom, both Johns parted ways, likewise after CS, Cliffe and Gooseman (who is now engaged in the Korean tactical intervention) went their separate ways.
The success of the subject of discussion isn't explained by time. Everything new is well-forgotten old. Right now, for example, we are witnessing a repeat of the success story of independent development, but in the guise of Minecraft.
So, CS is the product of the creativity of two people, former Quake players, who didn’t know what they were doing; they just wanted to make a soldiers' Quake. They failed — the first version of the game was buggy, unbalanced, and ugly.
But it was a time of no fish (I remember the Firearms modification, but unfortunately it came out later, and despite its elaborateness, it didn’t achieve success), and the game had a huge community, which influenced the purchase of the mod by Valve.
By the way, many still think that 1.6 is a polished version of 1.5 but for money, not a complete overhaul. Moreover, it was a rework because there were many disputes over the first version of 1.6 that it had to be redone (at least, if my memory serves me right).
The further, the funnier. Do you think 1.6 is the orthodox version? So many disputes have arisen about the ‘Shield’, Steam.
Players were forcibly moved to 1.6 by shutting down the 1.5 servers.
Any innovations, not just regarding 1.6, were accompanied by tons of *shit, such as:
Shields;
Steam;
The port of CS to the original Xbox (but back then everyone didn’t care);
The release of CZZ with a lousy single campaign and just slightly modified graphics;
The release of Source with its blurred main menu, a bug from the German version where models wouldn’t die but would instead be taken hostage, a small number of maps, one player model per team, barrels on dust, chickens on Italy, interpolation (network code);
Then the dynamic pricing system, the new radar, banned utilization of third-party materials, the updated engine, achievements;
Once the blurred menu was removed, it turned out, the CT was cross-eyed.
However, there were no disputes regarding the CSS PRO MOD, even though the mod didn’t live long.
Korean Counter-Strike Online, but again nobody cared;
Now we have GO with its console roots and everything, everything, everything;
From this paragraph, three conclusions can be drawn:
1) Not only the client part is dying but also the admin part.
After all, before, no matchmaking systems, anti-cheats, stats, or achievements were needed. It was enough to have just adequate admins who loved to play CS.
2) The phenomenon of divided players, which we also saw in BF, CoD, Arma.
A new installment comes out, and many servers die. Part continues to play the previous version; part, the new one. But gathering together again, they can no longer do.
As a result, players are few there and here. The settled cozy servers turn into dumb public matches. Nowadays, the most popular servers have DeathMatch mode for 32 players, as the absence of communication is replaced by excessive shooting. And it was this communication that spawned tactics, skill, clans, community. That’s why I mentioned the bots’ voiceover at the very beginning of the post. Playing with it is more interesting than with a silent, albeit living player.
3) Arguments, arguments, arguments...
Do you know what’s the matter? Notice that before version 1.5, there were no indignations, the discussion of CSSPROMO was also not accompanied by mass instances of violence.
What’s the secret? It’s simple: disputes arise when changes were made to the game without consulting the community. The problem isn’t that changes exist at all, as each patch before version 1.5 added new guns and other good/bad things, but no one was bothered by it.
Hence the conclusion: ‘It’s all about the fact, that they didn’t ask me!’
This is how the genius of this game emerges. BF, CoD players get another installment every year, but no one cares. They just ‘accept’ it and that’s it, although no one asked them if a new installment was needed or what it should be like. All patches are based on complaints, not suggestions. But with CS, this doesn’t fly; the slightest change triggers petitions, raids on forums, hundreds of modifications, etc.
What does this tell? That CS is not just some product for these people. It is important to them, this game matters to them.
Remembering this, CS:GO evokes sad feelings. Because, as I mentioned above, those cozy evening gatherings have long died out. No matter how much I wandered through servers, I found no consistency. Although twice I stumbled upon such servers, but there were Zombie (BioHazard) and JailBreak (a good pastime, by the way) mods installed.
Prisoners appear in cells. They can either follow the commands of the Head Guard, play his games and be obedient, or they can revolt, try to kill guards.
At the very beginning of the round, the guards choose the Head Guard, after which they open the bars (ideally, this is done by the Head Guard or another guard at his command). Then Simon commands the prisoners and plays games with them, gradually killing those who don’t obey or lose.
If prisoners do not follow the Head Guard’s orders, only Simon can kill them (if Simon hasn’t specified otherwise).
Any guards are forbidden to kill prisoners without reason. If this happens accidentally, the guard must, at the first desire of the killed prisoner, either kill themselves (kill in console) or grant the victim a free day in the next round.
After each command, Simon must count down from N to zero. (for example: ‘Everyone go to the main cell. 3 2 1 0). The guards can kill those who don’t complete the command in the allotted time.
If a prisoner attacks a guard, the guard can (and must) kill him. The last prisoner has a menu of desires. If as a result of a ‘glitch’ such a menu did not appear, and the last prisoner does not mind, he is killed and in the next round granted a free day.
One of the last prisoner’s wishes is a duel. During the duel, with any weapon except fists, firing can be done ONLY in turns! The prisoner (T) shoots first, then the guard (CT). During the duel with AWP/Scout, shooting is ONLY without a scope!
The essence of modern CS
That is, skill was not needed there, just communication. Again, it’s interesting to see that the most popular servers are either dumb meat DM or completely non-gaming modes.
Against this backdrop, all the complaints about the new CS:GO resemble not ‘taking away rights’, but something… forgotten, something atrophied. People complain, but don’t know why. After all, they got used to the fact that it’s not up to them to decide what the next change should be, but they remember, even if vaguely, that this isn’t right.
This means that for people it’s not just a game, but something that unites. If you are to search for ‘gaming truth’, it can only be found in this game. For it is a phenomenon, an exception, very illustrative, although sad.
To make sense of anything, I need to return to where it all began. The classics of CS – its maps. There are many nuances here, but more on those later.
Launching ‘Source SDK’, I remembered why I often abandoned it. This crooked interface in four windows, these blocks, these grids, fittings, millimeter adjustments, compilation, heavy visual assessment of proportions, the stupid entitiy browser, textures, props, and much, much more that Karak’s legacy brings.
At first, I wanted to create a map of the ‘as in real life’ type, but no matter how beautiful ideas flitted through my mind, it was impossible. Such a concept implies detailing, creating textures, models, blueprints, and a good grasp of already existing content.
But then I remembered that I hate, namely: a) Modern commercial game dev (CoD, BF); b) Reinventing the wheel. In the first instance, all maps for the network mode are made precisely based on ‘how it would look in reality’; in the second, I forgot two fundamental truths.
First. Source SDK, as mentioned above, is a legacy of Carmack, i.e., Doom and Quake, and this editor was created for these games, for their type of maps. Second. Cliff and Gooseman were quake players, and this could not but reflect on their maps (not just theirs but also their followers). No, can you imagine the de_dust1-2 maps in real life? What are these rooms, bridges, ledges, openings for? On the de_train map, trains have ‘nowhere’ to go; such railroad stations simply don’t exist in real life. The de_aztec map is meaningless. An excavation site wouldn’t look like this; the Aztec cities were not built this way. What’s the point of a wooden bridge connecting two cubic rooms already joined by a ground passage? We put the bomb but don’t blow anything up!
In CS, there are many maps, but let’s take the most popular one. And here we encounter the first confusion. It’s no secret that the game is designed for 5v5 play. Although the word ‘designed’ seems unnecessary here. Firstly, 5v5 is caused by technical difficulties, as with a larger number of people, terrible lags begin (we are talking about old hardware). Secondly, this is purely theoretical. In Q3 Arena, players ran fast, jumped high, and mostly were lone wolves. In CS; however, players are sluggish and don't fly, and they die fast. So, 5 versus 5 is also the ‘lol, tactics’.
So, the de_dust2 map is regarded as the most popular (I realize that there are many maps and all differ). In reality, it is popular only in public matches, 32 player meats. And if we are to judge the gameplay, it seems to me that judgment should be based on it because it accounts for all possible variants of round development. It’s like an aerodynamic pipe.
You can play with ten players. But what does this gameplay represent? Firstly, it’s guessing ‘where the terrorists went’ with a small number of players. The walls are opaque, and you often go to B while your opponents went to A. In that case, there is no room for tactics because the timer ticks, and everything devolves into ‘who shoots who first’.
Whether this was the original intention is hard to say. Personally, I believe that several planting points are meant not for alternative routes but rather to diversify the situation. We rarely see, even in tournaments, that after choosing the B point, terrorists go to A, since when they approach there, they see the CT. Of course, there’s reconnaissance. But besides the narrow opening in the door, there’s really nothing. Also, it’s a two-way channel. I.e., the lottery’s probability is quite high here. On the other hand, there’s the de_dust map, where there is no guessing, but you either know for sure that the T’s went to A or that it won’t even reach B because the gut is arranged in such a way that it’s hard for the CT to reach the respawn alive.
But this paragraph has become a bit intentionally small because I believe that developers just didn’t think about such things. Most likely, the map creators just reasoned ‘stream-wise’, limiting themselves to pure theory. Here are the T’s and CT’s met; here’s the shootout. My job is to bring them together. Just take a look at the map designs of de_dust:
It's just embarrassingly simple. Ordinary branches, alternative routes ‘for show’ that theoretically serve as bypass routes but in practice are unnecessary.
From the above, we can note the following:
First. The lottery should be reduced. I emphasize the word ‘reduce’, not eliminate entirely. Make it so that plans are visible, but not their details. Of course, in that case, CT will wait for T, making it harder to reach the bomb planting spot.
I think a small gridded window wouldn’t hurt here. At least it wouldn’t give grounds to rush the narrow opening with the whole horde.
From this follows the second thing: Narrow passages. Those who have played a lot know about this imbalance. Of course, there are flashes, there’s smoke. But who stops you from blinding the enemy in return? Who prevents you from firing point-blank at the passage with all guns or throwing a grenade? I believe it’s necessary not only to get rid of narrow passages but also to draw more paths to the planting spots. Specifically to the planting spots, not throughout the entire map. For instance, on dust2, you can approach point ‘B’ using only three routes. The door and a hole, and to get through the dark, you have to make a big circle. Ultimately, there are no alternatives; you need to fight your way through. There’s no tactic ‘you cover that opening, and I’ll cover this one’.
It's amusing to observe the mapper's work in adapting maps for 32 players, where the number of branches increases, but across the whole map, rather than focusing on the planting site. Consequently, the map resembles a labyrinth. Yet the issue of 32 players lies simply in narrow passages and their small number. We don’t attack all together, but in turns.
By the way, in this post, while talking about sketches, I forgot to mention OrangeBrush.
Third. CS isn’t Quake; here not only ‘branches’ and ‘flows’ matter but also minor details. Boxes, walls, props, etc. That is why everyone hates the barrels in the dark CSS.
Again, not many have thought about this topic because of a known bug in CS1.6, whereby you can shoot from behind a corner while your head will be concealed.
But it’s not just that. Let’s imagine that two players meet each other head-on. At a sharp angle, they meet closely, after which chaos begins about ‘whose ping is less’. If cut down, there will be more room for skill.
There’s more. Let’s recall those narrow passages. They were not created as ‘we will fight our way through’ but for one person. And the narrow passage also served as cover. But they forgot that a player dies from one bullet in the head and that there won’t be time to escape from a grenade. So, instead of tense shootouts, it resulted in ‘who’s faster’. Here, unlike in Quake, you can’t quickly escape and regain health. If you meet, fight until the end. Although at greater distances, there isn’t such a problem, as is the drive.
What constitutes an ideal prop-cover? I do not know. This is precisely why there are no good lone mapper extraordinaires. As I stated previously, it is impossible to sit down with paper and devise the perfect solution. Testing, observing, and correcting is necessary.
And here opens the fourth truth. All these shortcomings, oversights have one positive aspect: ‘They infuriate’. And that is also an emotion, a useful emotion. It’s this irritating feeling that prompts you to sharpen your skills, study the game, become a ‘father’.
Recently I wrote about Killing Floor. A regular mod created in 2004. Now it’s a standalone game and quite popular, even though it is full of A LOT of absurdity and idiocy. I even consider it a contemporary successor to CS. Seriously, I play it and feel as if it's the early 2000s again.
And it’s these ‘devils’ that the kids call: ‘lolololo, old school, hardcore, youth!’. This imperfection, these flaws, and oversights are dying out in our time. After all, we have designers, we have experience, and hardware limitations are becoming fewer and fewer.
As a result, it becomes boring to play in what is all accounted for. And where is the ideal balance?
The takeaway from the post is that meeting the need leads to mass appeal, and mass appeal leads to boredom. Modern game design is very far from perfection. Interesting games are in single digits, and it’s not about age, but that’s a discussion for another time. It will be fascinating to observe that period when design becomes perfect. Will games then become boring, and will we have to reinvent the wheel again? A kind of life cycle is emerging from enthusiast-innovator to dull professional.
In any case, Valve is losing its uniqueness. First with non-standard weapons in TF2, leading to bored players. Then puzzles in Portal 2, which were ‘calibrated’ to a perfect balance of interesting and easy. Then the announcement that Portal 2 is the last game with a single-player campaign. And now a new CS and DotA with ‘ideal’ balance.
Games for all - are dull for everyone, in other words.
What can I say here, once I argued that ‘thin’ cheaters were actually always loved in CS because you feel genuine pleasure from dominating over them if you play fair. Now tell anyone that cheating moderately is good, and a bucket of foam will spill from their mouth.
We are so often and vehemently convinced of the correctness of how things should be that we forget the reason for our love of the game.