After endless leaks and rumors for weeks, Valve finally surprised the entire CS:GO community with the official announcement of Counter-Strike 2 on March 22.
On the day of the official announcement, the game developers released some videos; these videos showed different details that would be coming to the new version of Valve’s shooter. In addition, a blog was also published, where the entire CS:GO community could learn more details about CS2.
The new version of Valve’s shooter is designed to work with the Source 2 engine, which allows the game developers to improve many features of CS:GO that players have been asking for a long time. In addition, in CS2, players will enjoy new maps, a revamped smoke system, and a new sub-tick rate.
The developers of CS2, in the videos announcing the new game, have explained the three approaches they have taken to the game’s maps. The three approaches to CS2 maps are Upgrades, Touchstones and Overhauls.
Improvements in CS2 maps compared to CS:GO maps
Classic maps such as Mirage and Dust II receive a new look, mainly focused on character readout and lighting. However, the changes to these maps will not be very significant per se, so CS:GO players, in general, will be able to employ CS:GO strategies on these CS2 maps.
However, the maps that fall into the “Upgrades” category will use the updated Source 2 lighting. This new lighting incorporates a rendering system based on the physics of the materials produced with realistic reflections. According to what could be seen in the videos published by Valve, these maps will look better compared to CS:GO maps.
Finally, other CS2 maps fall into the “Overhauls” category and are the maps that have had some revisions. Using the overhaul approach, the game developers have implemented the new Source 2 engine to rebuild older maps from the franchise.
List of Counter-Strike 2 maps
Currently, the game developers have not provided an official list with the names of the maps coming to Counter-Strike 2. However, it is known that Mirage and Dust II will be in the game’s new version; these two maps have been tested in the closed test.
On the other hand, the game’s announcement videos included some maps, and data miners have reviewed some possible maps coming to CS2. These maps are likely to be in CS2 and the approaches the game developers have given to make the updates.
Touchstones
- Mirage
- Dust II
- Train
Upgrades
- Ancient
- Nuke
- Overpass
- Italy
Unknown
- Shoots
- Baggage
- Office
- Lake
- Canals
- Shortdust
- Inferno