Counter-Strike
DevilhackPLayBravely


If gaming can sometimes seem like a solitary experience, Spela Modigt // Play Bravely shows what happens when a group of players finds the chemistry and will to succeed as a unit. The new documentary follows professional Counter-Strike: GO player Jonatan "Devilwalk" Lundberg and his Fnatic team as it attempts to win the Dreamhack Winter 2013 tournament.

A support player in the Fnatic Counter-Strike squad, Lundberg likens himself to a psychologist or "shrink," as he puts it, in that a big part of achieving any goal is keeping people together and focused on a single objective.

"We are a team that doesn't really change," Lundberg says in the film. "We've had the same core players since the start of the year and that's really, really unique. People quit, people change lineups because they get in fights, can't resolve their issues. So they just start over, which is the wrong way to go I think."

As well as offering polished insight into some of the personalities behind a top eSports team, director Zacharias Dyrborg's film features some great play-by-play action of competitive Counter-Strike and works to explain the mindset of the Fnatic team before and after each match. For me, it showed that while skill will almost always show itself in highly stressful situations, success can also depend just as much on understanding how to take advantage of the emotional side of competition.
Counter-Strike 2 - CS:GO Official
Release Notes for 2/13/2014

[MISC]
- Aug and SG 553 scope modes now correctly respect players' zoomed mouse sensitivity settings.
- Fixed game client unexpectedly loading installed plugins. -LoadPluginsForClient is now required if client needs to load plugins, however with plugins client will start in insecure mode.
- Added buymenu localization tokens for the CZ75-Auto.
- Player teammate colors now stay consistent throughout a match in both Competitive MM and most third party services.
- Adjusted the teammate colors a bit based on feedback.
- Fixed miniscoreboard causing hitches by refreshing the avatars too often.
- Fixed the chat on Macs showing hex colors instead of names.
- Fixed Scar-20 icon not being visible in the in-game weapon inventory.
- Fixed NameTag text field not taking input.

[Shipped yesterday]
- Fixed Classic Static (crosshairstyle 4) not being static.
- Fixed player color arrows being bot colored in casual.
- Fixed letter label showing up over player dots in radar when spectating / watching a demo.
Counter-Strike 2 - CS:GO OFFICIAL
Release Notes for 2/13/2014

[MISC]
- Aug and SG 553 scope modes now correctly respect players' zoomed mouse sensitivity settings.
- Fixed game client unexpectedly loading installed plugins. -LoadPluginsForClient is now required if client needs to load plugins, however with plugins client will start in insecure mode.
- Added buymenu localization tokens for the CZ75-Auto.
- Player teammate colors now stay consistent throughout a match in both Competitive MM and most third party services.
- Adjusted the teammate colors a bit based on feedback.
- Fixed miniscoreboard causing hitches by refreshing the avatars too often.
- Fixed the chat on Macs showing hex colors instead of names.
- Fixed Scar-20 icon not being visible in the in-game weapon inventory.
- Fixed NameTag text field not taking input.

[Shipped yesterday]
- Fixed Classic Static (crosshairstyle 4) not being static.
- Fixed player color arrows being bot colored in casual.
- Fixed letter label showing up over player dots in radar when spectating / watching a demo.
Counter-Strike 2
CS GO


There's been a new update for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, which, according to Steam's not at all ridiculous new tagging system, is a Competitive Tactical Multiplayer Shooter. And a CoD-Like. Whatever Steam users think about the game, the community now has access to a new weapon type. Alongisde highly important features like "added diagnostic info to debug video config reset", the most recent patch has introduced the CZ75-Auto, a fully automatic pistol.

"When you load CS:GO today, you ll get a new stock weapon in your inventory," write Valve. "The fully-automatic CZ75-Auto is available for both teams, and can be equipped as a loadout alternative to the P250.

"An inexpensive option against armored opponents, the CZ s stats are identical to the P250 with two important exceptions: the pistol is fully-automatic, and comes with far less ammo. Accurate and deadly, the CZ75-Auto demands precise timing and trigger discipline."

That pistol can also be skinned in a variety of ways through the finishes contained in the new CSGO Weapons Case 3. That case is now dropping in-game because, as the tags themselves say, "Marketable Items".
Counter-Strike 2 - CS:GO Official
Release Notes for 2/12/2014

[ CZ75-Auto]
- Added the CZ75-Auto as a new stock pistol that is a loadout alternative to the P250. Its stats are identical to the P250's with the exception of being fully automatic and having only two magazines.
http://blog.counter-strike.net/index.php/2014/02/8644/

[ CS:GO Weapon Case #3 ]
- Introducing the CS:GO Weapon Case #3, comprised entirely of pistol finishes, including finishes for the new CZ75-Auto.


[ GAMEPLAY ]
- Weapon adjustments based on data collected:
-- Increased Aug recoil
-- Reduced Aug rate of fire
-- Reduced Aug and Sg553 scoped run speeds
-- Increased Desert Eagle accuracy recovery by 2.5%
- Improved scope visuals for Aug and Sg553.
- Aug now has a new firing sound.
- Pressing the walk key while running now properly decelerates your speed to walking instead of instantly capping it.
- Fixed regression that broke environment fog not being reduced when zoomed with a scoped weapon.

[ UI ]
- Added text filter to loadout.
- Added peel animation when player cycles position.
- Fixed enemies on the square radar not rotating to match their view.
- Fixed teammate colors sometimes shuffling on some panels when a player disconnected in Competitive Mode.
- Crosshair style 2 (Classic) has been changed to accurately show weapon accuracy.
- Added some ConVars to be used with crosshairstyle 2 (Classic) to allow users to further customize how they want it to display. (cl_crosshair_dynamic_splitdist, cl_crosshair_dynamic_splitalpha_innermod, cl_crosshair_dynamic_splitalpha_outermod, cl_crosshair_dynamic_maxdist_splitratio)


[ MAPS ]
- Overpass
-- Improved visibility.
-- Removed small cover on CT side of Bombsite B.
-- Drastically reduced the number of trashcans.
-- Widened tunnel near T spawn.
-- Widened lower door in park connector.
-- Widened corridor near CT sniper room.

[ MISC ]
- Fixes to improve game stability during startup.
- Added diagnostic info to debug video config reset.
- Fixed dedicated server to write steam_appid.txt
- Fixed several game server memory leaks.
- Fixed a bug causing certain workshop maps to re-download every time the game is launched.
Counter-Strike 2 - CS:GO OFFICIAL
Release Notes for 2/12/2014

[ CZ75-Auto]
- Added the CZ75-Auto as a new stock pistol that is a loadout alternative to the P250. Its stats are identical to the P250's with the exception of being fully automatic and having only two magazines.
http://blog.counter-strike.net/index.php/2014/02/8644/

[ CS:GO Weapon Case #3 ]
- Introducing the CS:GO Weapon Case #3, comprised entirely of pistol finishes, including finishes for the new CZ75-Auto.


[ GAMEPLAY ]
- Weapon adjustments based on data collected:
-- Increased Aug recoil
-- Reduced Aug rate of fire
-- Reduced Aug and Sg553 scoped run speeds
-- Increased Desert Eagle accuracy recovery by 2.5%
- Improved scope visuals for Aug and Sg553.
- Aug now has a new firing sound.
- Pressing the walk key while running now properly decelerates your speed to walking instead of instantly capping it.
- Fixed regression that broke environment fog not being reduced when zoomed with a scoped weapon.

[ UI ]
- Added text filter to loadout.
- Added peel animation when player cycles position.
- Fixed enemies on the square radar not rotating to match their view.
- Fixed teammate colors sometimes shuffling on some panels when a player disconnected in Competitive Mode.
- Crosshair style 2 (Classic) has been changed to accurately show weapon accuracy.
- Added some ConVars to be used with crosshairstyle 2 (Classic) to allow users to further customize how they want it to display. (cl_crosshair_dynamic_splitdist, cl_crosshair_dynamic_splitalpha_innermod, cl_crosshair_dynamic_splitalpha_outermod, cl_crosshair_dynamic_maxdist_splitratio)


[ MAPS ]
- Overpass
-- Improved visibility.
-- Removed small cover on CT side of Bombsite B.
-- Drastically reduced the number of trashcans.
-- Widened tunnel near T spawn.
-- Widened lower door in park connector.
-- Widened corridor near CT sniper room.

[ MISC ]
- Fixes to improve game stability during startup.
- Added diagnostic info to debug video config reset.
- Fixed dedicated server to write steam_appid.txt
- Fixed several game server memory leaks.
- Fixed a bug causing certain workshop maps to re-download every time the game is launched.
Counter-Strike 2
CS GO


Valve's official Operations for CS:GO have proven to be remarkably popular among CT's and T's alike. Naturally, Valve are readying for the game's third major Operation, and have been holding a vote to determine which community maps would get the official server treatment. While, according to Valve, those votes are still being counted (what, are they doing it by hand?), some maps have proved popular enough to have already secured a place. In a post on the CS:GO blog, Cache is announced as the operation's first confirmed battleground.

Cache is a bomb defusal map, set in Chernobyl of all places. Unlike other video game representations of the city, this one isn't inhabited by mutants, but instead by terrorists who are attempting to destroy a weapons cache. It's already available through the Steam Workshop, albeit not on the pristine pings of an official Valve server.

If there was any doubt about the popularity of the map, an infographic accompanying the post reveals that 11,753 hours are played in Cache every day. That and other incidental facts can be found over at the CS:GO blog.
Counter-Strike 2



Evan surprises the group with a game of tabletop Counter-Strike can the crack team of podcasting terrorists successfully plant the bomb, or will they all roll 1s and throw their guns at the other team? The shocking conclusion to Table Offensive is followed up with some critical talk about two giant MMOs, starting with The Elder Scrolls Online, which Cory and Evan spent the weekend with, followed by EverQuest Next Landmark, which is Tyler's first MMO obsession since the original EverQuest, despite being nothing like it. Later, Wes gives us his take on The Wolf Among Us Episode Two and the group discusses episodic storytelling games, and everyone wants to play Jazzpunk.

Roll a 20 for initiative and click the link to listen to PC Gamer Podcast #371 - Roll for Headshot.

Have a question, comment, complaint, or observation? Send an MP3 to pcgamerpodcast@gmail.com or call us toll-free at 877-404-1337 x724.

Subscribe to the podcast RSS feed.

Follow us on Twitter:

@ELahti (Evan Lahti)
@wesleyfenlon (Wes Fenlon)
@tyler_wilde (Tyler Wilde)
@demiurge (Cory Banks)

Counter-Strike 2 - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Graham Smith)

Wouldn't this look more fun if there were stickers?

Counter-Strike is a lot like high school. There are a lot of cliques. Fights break out in the hallways. Everybody is concerned with looking cool. And now, with Global Offensive’s latest update, people are able to decorate the covers of their books (guns) with stickers.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive now has stickers. This is a good thing. This is a very good thing. … [visit site to read more]

Counter-Strike 2
CSStickers


Released yesterday, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive's latest update adds Sticker Capsules to the game. Each capsule contains one sticker out of a series of sticker designs. The Sticker Capsules are dropped at the end of matches, and are opened with a Sticker Capsule key. The stickers can be applied to any gun in the game. You can also apply multiple stickers to a single weapon. They're a little like Team Fortress 2 hats, only for your guns. Gun hats!

In addition to the new stickers and some under-the-hood performance improvements, CS:GO's devs have tweaked the UI and weapon balancing. The UI highlights:

Added player teammate colors in Competitive Mode that displays a unique color per teammate in the radar, playercount panel, scoreboard and the arrow over their head (can be toggled offline with cl_cmm_showteamplayercolors).
Enemies icons on radar are now a different shape than teammates.
Added sort method 'Equipped' to the Inventory.

The biggest addition is the ability to use alternate fire to throw grenades underhand a short distance. Throw strength can be finely controlled by combining secondary and alternate fire.

In weapon balance news, the AUG and SG553 have received improved rates of fire and scoped control. Across the board, automatic weapons have seen a 50 percent increase in movement inaccuracy, but movement inaccuracy when walking is now being calculated differently for all guns, improving overall movement accuracy.

In terms of new content, the latest update also rolled out the Overpass and Cobblestone maps to all players.

While stickers are an interesting addition, cosmetic upgrades, a marketplace and Team Fortress 2-style random drops are not new to CS:GO. Last year, Valve introduced weapon skins to the game in the Arms Deal update, which function similarly to stickers.

Check out the full patch notes for minor fixes and tweaks to several of CS:GO's maps.
...