CS2 was announced Wednesday, March 22nd. Select streamers broadcasted the limited beta and we as an audience got to see how it played compared to CS:GO. This thread will try to get everyone on the same page about what it means for MoonShade.
What is CS2?
Essentially, it’s just CS:GO using an updated UI, the Source 2 engine, along with rebranding. But Source 2 changes everything behind the scenes. Highlights of it are its 64-bit nature allowing the game to utilize modern features like multithreading and using more than 4 GB of your RAM. There are also new gameplay features such as shooting through smoke to clear it, new fire effects, etc. Here's the CS2 splash page: https://www.counter-strike.net/cs2
What will happen to CS:GO?
Sometime this summer, CS:GO will be “upgraded” into CS2. CS:GO will be going away. The old game will be merged into the new one, similar to how DOTA 2 did their engine upgrade. At the time of writing, the old CS:GO blog still exists via https://blog.counter-strike.net/index.php but a new Counter-Strike website has already been published: https://counter-strike.net
And what about Community Servers?
We don't know, but it's a hot topic right now. Nobody knows when or even if community servers will be supported on CS2. Currently on CS:GO, there are some seriously bad problems going on with the server browser right now. See: https://escorenews.com/en/csgo/news/45066-cs-go-exploit-reportedly-has-been-ruining-community-server-browser-for-two-months
Tangent alert: Addressing rumors:
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Tangent alert: Addressing rumors:
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There's currently a rumor that community servers will be sunsetted entirely. If that were the case, it would be truly the end of an era; The end of over twenty years of community servers.
Yes, there are big issues present with community servers:
- The server browser is old and outdated
- Inconsistent rules and experiences across different servers
- How YMMV where staff of a server can be ranging from good to unprofessional
- Drama is also is rampant, etc...
But are these worth ditching the community server concept entirely? People need a way of playing custom game modes and maps without dealing with the matchmaking system. Look at Fortnite, Epic Games just released an incredibly powerful tool called UEFN, which allows people to create their own gamemodes. Yes, creative is not community servers and never will be, but it's the same concept when you go past the details: New game experiences. That's how battle royale was born.
Community servers are the heart of Counter-Strike and if the CS team decides to phase them out, that would suck. But we would have to accept it and move on.
And server plugins? How will that work in CS2?
It’s still too early to tell. We will either have a seamless way of porting them over, or they'll have to be recreated from scratch (meaning lots of work!). Server-side modding is like cheating and has been made especially difficult over the years. But there are people actively working to get plugins functional again.
What if everything goes wrong?
We've thought it out. We have backup plans just in case. But we should focus on making a strong attempt at CS2. There are many of us who wish for the community to be active again. This is the way to do it, I think.
CS2 Limited Test Steam FAQ: https://steamcommunity.com/faqs/steam-help/view/5ED2-ED8E-81F4-0C18
