Shaun Savage
Story Highlights
- The latest update for Counter-Strike 2 introduces a Casual game mode.
- Audio improvements, including distance effects and an overhaul of 3D sound processing, enrich the game’s sound design.
- Map modifications include the addition of ‘Nuke’ to Deathmatch, Casual, and Competitive game modes, and ‘Office’ to Deathmatch and Casual modes, while ‘Mirage’ has been removed.
The recent update for Counter-Strike 2 brings a slew of modifications aimed at refining gameplay, improving audio and visual elements, and fixing pre-existing issues. Foremost among these enhancements is the addition of a Casual game mode, extending the gameplay options for players.
Gameplay and Map Enhancements
The Casual game mode is not the only significant change in this update. Tweaks have also been made to shooting mechanics, addressing infrequent instances where bullets would not adhere to spray patterns. Meanwhile, map adjustments have seen ‘Nuke’ added to Deathmatch, Casual, and Competitive game modes, and ‘Office’ introduced to Deathmatch and Casual modes. ‘Mirage’, however, has been removed from the game.
Audio and Animation Improvements
A series of updates have been applied to audio processing, including the addition of distance effects to all positional sound sources, along with a general rework of 3D sound processing. These alterations are intended to improve the realism and immersion of in-game sound. Moreover, issues have been fixed where sounds would not respect the occlusion values of surrounding geometry, or where low frequencies were missing at certain distances from sound sources. Further, music cues have been added to Match Accept and Loading screens, and a unique audio occlusion layer has been introduced to aid with vertical sound positioning in ‘Nuke’.
Animation modifications in this update enable grenades to be inspected, and improvements have been made to healthshot animations as well as various weapon inspect behaviors.
Movement, Networking, and Miscellaneous Adjustments
The update also addresses movement issues, rectifying situations of unintended slow crouch/uncrouch and refining the bunny hopping feel to match that of CS:GO running at 128 tick. Networking enhancements include the asynchronous sending of game delta frames to reduce dedicated server main thread CPU usage, thereby decreasing the likelihood of dropped ticks.
Among miscellaneous changes are fixes to cases where a holstered weapon would be rendered on a deceased player, the addition of a team-agnostic equip icon for inventory/loadout item tiles, and adjustments to spectator mode transition and default settings. Loading screen tweaks include centered game mode text and the removal of the “Best out of X rounds” message.
Source: Steam Blog
