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Info: A lot of things about Counter-Strike 1.6's latest BETA remind me about the days when every version was BETA. We'd get new weapons and maps every major release, which helped change the dynamics of Counter-Strike time and time again. When the final version of CS 1.6 is released we can expect some pretty heavy balance changes due to the addition of a Counter-Terrorist riot shield, a Terrorist assault rifle with 35 rounds, and a CT rifle with the ability to burst. It's an exciting time for Counter-Strikers around the world.

Steam 2.0
To play the BETA version of Counter-Strike 1.6, you will have to download and install Steam 2.0. Steam 2.0 is scheduled to be released this Thursday (January 16th, 2003), so it's not that far off. It's important to note that due to how Steam 2.0 works, it will only be available to those on broadband connections. CS 1.6 final will work with a 56k modem, though.

Steam is a way for VALVe to circumvent the publisher and the retailer. On the publisher side, VALVe can instantly "push" patches onto clients, meaning that Sierra (the publisher of Half-Life and CS Retail) doesn't have to give approval for patches that go through Steam. For the retailer, VALVe will be able to sell games through Steam, thus taking in more profits. VALVe, of course, doesn't want to keep this boon to themselves: seemingly any game developer can make their product compatible with Steam, bypassing any publisher and retailer restrictions. By that I mean money that goes to publishers and retailers can now either be saved by you or, more likely, be given straight to the developer.

Shield on.

Shield off.

Counter-Strike 1.6 will be the last "traditional update" to Counter-Strike. We previously believed (and stated, based on older interviews) that 1.6 would see the integration of Steam and CS/HL, but that will happen for CS 1.7.

Installing Steam is a simple process. Like Steam 1.0, this new version uses a non-standard GUI but acts like a normal Windows program. Double clicking Steam's taskbar icon (in the "notification area") opens a Steam menu. This menu's functionality can also be accessed by right clicking on the Steam icon. The three main functions are "Friends," "Games" and "Servers"

Friends, formerly known as Tracker, is a nice instant message program that lets you chat with friends and join whatever game they're playing at the moment. You can even chat while you're playing the game! Friends is really one of the cooler parts of Steam, but I can't write much about it. The program does what it does very well.

Games downloads and launches a game. The download will take a few minutes. This is a good way to download CS initially and change some settings around. Servers is a server browser. This is the same browser that is used in-game.

So, how does this all fit into the gaming experience? Continue on to find out!

VGUI 2.0
VGUI 2.0 is an update to the "VALVe Graphical User Interface" that has been made popular by the CS buy and command menus. VGUI 2.0 doesn't seem to update either of these aspects, but instead updates Half-Life's aging launcher program. The program now launches in the games resolution. There are two buttons that act like Start buttons on the main launcher page. After you select an item, a new window will launch. It all feels a lot like your normal Windows OS with some gaming twists.

You can access all these functions while playing the game. In fact, the new console acts like a window too, complete with drop-down auto complete. This updated VGUI means that losing focus of the game when someone instant messages you isn't that big of a deal: you won't lose sound anymore!

There seem to be two issues with this new launcher. First of all, it doesn't "steal" focus on my PC so other programs over-lap CS until I alt-tab and do all that business. Second, the background is hideous on a high resolution. VALVe's artists are very talented and I'm sure they could spit out a nice, anti-aliased, 1600x1200 drawing that looks attractive. The point of this update is to make Half-Life seem more modern and the ugly background image does not help that effort at all. These two issues aren't that huge of a concern and, in all honesty, it's just a really cool launcher interface. It's not going to make anyone love the game more or less.

That was a really short page, but for good reason. On the next page we learn about the best stuff in CS 1.6.

The New Stuff
The real new treats are the two new weapons and the new tactical riot shield.

The Galil is a Terrorist only weapon that holds 35 rounds. This weapon is fairly accurate and powerful. In fact, it's a little too accurate and powerful for such a cheap rifle, costing only $2,000. This is a very strong weapon and if it remains in its current state will be very popular. Of course, I doubt it'll remain this good of a weapon but if it's anywhere close it should be useful.

The FAMAS is a Counter-Terrorist only assault rifle that holds 25 rounds. It's fairly powerful. It costs $2250 and isn't as nearly as well-rounded as the Galil. It's still a pretty good weapon. While it won't overthrow the M4A1, it can certainly compete with it. The FAMAS has a three-round burst capability. This can be toggled using the secondary fire key, just like with the Glock. The three-round burst is very accurate, but there is a pause between bursts that will make the burst mode fairly useless unless you switch back and forth quickly. The burst may actually be better for medium range fights, contrary to what common sense might dictate.

Both weapons have pretty cheesy sound effects; maybe I'm just not used to them.

The coolest new thing is the Tactical Riot Shield, which is for Counter-Terrorists only. By using secondary fire, you prop the shield in front of you. Nothing penetrates the shield besides the blast of an HE Grenade.. If you duck, you will completely cover the front of your body from any bullet-related danger. If you move, however, much of your body will be out of the shield's cover leaving you open to attack. You buy the shield under the equipment menu for $1,000. It will work with any pistol (although I didn't try it with the Dual Berettas) In the press test I was invited to, the shield wasn't used that often. It still has a lot of potential, though. We'll see how popular it is once the BETA begins on Thursday.

The Map Changes
Narby's latest map, de_airstrip, is the only new map included in the BETA. For more information on the map, check out our interview with narby from last week.

The map is easy to learn, just like most of narby's work. It's pretty small and some design decisions seem to indicate that it's only suitable for smaller servers. For example, the sewer in the map is really only wide enough for one person and even then he may get stuck on the sharp turns and whatnot.

The map plays pretty well but there are some issues. For one, the second bombsite is literally the CT spawn. This wouldn't be that huge of a deal if there was any way to get to that site without going through the entire CT team. For that reason, bombsite B is almost never used. In fact, the entire right side of the map from a terrorist's perspective should be avoided. There are two main chokepoints before the bomb has been planted. One is an area leading to bombsite A's hangars and the other is a bridge over-looking a small sewer that leads to bombsite B.

Further limiting bombsite B's appeal is that the bridge rush is very difficult for the Terrorist team. The only way the Terrorists are going to get to B is if the CT's all head to A since that's where the bomb is always planted. Personally I don't think the gameplay should revolve around reverse psychology and narby should look at this issue. There is plenty of time for him to "fix" the map.

It would be a shame for this great map to go to waste, but if it isn't repaired it will play the same almost every single round.

Aztec and Inferno have both had cosemetic updates which you can read about here. The only real change in Aztec is that it's harder to see Terrorists in the water if you're at bombsite A.

What else has changed? Find out, next.

The Misc. Changes

Sparks dance.

The Glock has a barrel?

Console auto-complete with the new viewdemo demo player in the background.

The Smoke Grenade now lets out a huge cloud of smoke as its initial blast, and then continues to leak out gas for about 30 seconds. This makes the Smoke Grenade far more useful, but since it still uses sprites and not particles it is highly taxing on performance. We were told that CS 1.6 would feature new smoke and fire effects, so hopefully they'll be added during the course of the BETA.

The Glock now does more damage, an update I've been waiting to see forever. The updated damage didn't seem like that big of a deal in the limited testing, but who knows what will happen when all the Glock fans get their hands on it.. Speaking of the Glock, the model now has a barrel and looks much better because of it.

Several weapon models were re-skinned to improve memory consumption. I couldn't see a difference but I wasn't really looking for one. In addition to that, there are new hand models for all of the weapon and equipment models. No big deal, but at least all the hands look the same now.

The scoreboard no longer shows dead enemies if you're alive. This can be annoying at times, but it does add a layer of tension to the mix. The biggest problem is not being able to tell if a player is away from the keyboard or not.

ChangeLog
Changes/Additions:

New Variables:

Bug Fixes:

Thanks, sTeve!

Counter-Strike 1.6 BETA played pretty well, but I cannot really judge the gameplay. The playtest was filled with people who didn't use Voice Comm, didn't know how to plant the bomb, or ran away from their spawn for 10 seconds and then read TV Guide for the remainder of the round.

I can't wait to try out this big update with my friends under more ideal playing conditions so I can really judge the new stuff. I won't have to wait long since everything looks ideal for a Thursday release.

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