By: Jason ‘Durden’ Gilfoil



Counter-Strike: Source - An Unstoppable Force

The Views of the author do not necessarily reflect the views of Gotfrag or its staff

I am writing this article in response to the community’s shunning of Counter-Strike: Source. With the release of Counter-Strike, we saw the initial rush of opposition that is seen with any new release of the game. The competitive community, as a whole, is always there to dissect and complain about every detail of the new releases. While this version offers the most visually drastic change for the game since its initial release, the mechanics of the game remain intact. I feel that the visual enhancements even offer some major benefits to the competitive community as a whole.

Initially, the “feel” of the game is what people seem to jump on top of. Recoil has been blamed for much of this “feeling” difference. The recoil on the guns has proven to be nearly identical to that of CS 1.6. The only change is that it takes slightly longer for the crosshairs to come back to their original size; it takes just over a second for the crosshairs to return to normal when standing still. Strafe shooting is also still just as effective in CS: S as it was in 1.6. The next big complaint people use is that there is no more ridiculous walling in CS: S. To me, this comes as a welcomed change - it takes some of the randomness out of the game. While it may change some tactics slightly, not being able to wall people has few adverse affects on game play. It simply means that you must be able to see the person you’re shooting in most cases - which doesn’t seem like such a bad thing to me. The fact is that, if you were good in 1.6, after several weeks of playing you will be just as good in CS: S.

Many in the CS scene are now predicting the end of competitive CS if CS: S becomes the platform. It seems to me that many have forgotten how CS started out: no one had constant 100 fps when CS was first introduced. 30 fps was considered fair to play with, and people managed just fine. Over time, more and more people got better computers, and the number of people playing CS increased. People did not play older games because they could not play at 100 fps, as is supposed by many. The community will indeed not die, but perhaps stagnate or take a small dip for a short period of time as people adjust and upgrade. In a year or two, most people will be able to play CS: S at reasonable frame rates. Most parents will buy new computers for those kids that are just starting out with CS, just as it has happened in the past. The rest of the community is maturing and aging and more of us will eventually have jobs and expendable income. This leads me to my next point.

This seemingly dire pitfall of CS: S is, however, also its greatest advantage. As I stated before, I feel that CS: S offers some major benefits to the community. With better visuals comes the edge CS has been lacking over other games at the CPL for some time. The CPL and other tournaments will have a much easier time acquiring sponsorships for CS: S tournaments. The demand by the majority of the community to upgrade is a drawing point for any hardware company, and could potentially draw the biggest prize purse to CS yet. The return for the investments from hardware vendors sponsoring large CS: S tournaments will be larger then ever, due to increasing age and income of the community, and big companies will respond by pouring their money into these tournaments in order to lasso a bigger market share for their product. Along with better visuals comes more interest from mainstream audiences. The better game graphics become, the easier people will find it to sit down and watch a game with no prior knowledge or interest. As graphics in games evolve to movie quality, people will increasingly see video games as an alternative to movies and T.V. Stagnating graphics to please the hardcore players in the scene will not propel E-sports forward.

True, the game is only just released and still in its infancy, but the only major issues holding CS: S back at the moment are lack of maps and PC requirements, both of which will be solved in the coming months and years. Once Valve gets a few more competitive maps out the door (or map-makers port with the release of the SDK), CAL and CPL will pick up on CS: S in a heartbeat. The simple reason is because CS: S offers what CPL needs to exist: sponsorship opportunities. Hardware companies like Intel and AMD will be falling all over themselves to sponsor tournaments for CS: S because of its hefty hardware requirements. Once CPL picks up the game, 1.6 will slowly begin to fade out as a competitive platform. The pros will immediately switch to CS: S, and those that choose to quit will be replaced, with new stars taking their places. The community of CS may take a dip at first, but eventually it will grow beyond what it is now. Counter-Strike: Source is the future of Counter-Strike, and no one in the world can stop it, save Valve. All the whining and moaning from within the community will do nothing but serve to make this inevitable transition more difficult for the competitive community as a whole.

The Views of the author do not necessarily reflect the views of Gotfrag or its staff