Archive for the ‘Valve’ Category
Valve is more than happy to oblige
It’s as though the voices of thousands of AWPers cried out all at once, and were suddenly silenced—the C-Zed has been brought low from it’s mighty perch. While the community was previously rife with dissidents who despised the initial form of the almighty pistol, they have since been replaced by a chorus lamenting how ineffectual the gun has become. There seems to be no middle ground, as far as Valve is concerned—either the CZ-75 is to be the best eco weapon Counter-Strike has ever seen, or it is to be forgotten for lack of situational uses.
Is this what we asked for?
From the top to the bottom
To be certain, it continues to pack a punch. The fire rate means that it’s still a force to be reckoned with, but the reduced magazine size and slower reload animation means that you have to be more cautious with your sprays. Thankfully Valve saw fit to maintain the total ammo count for the CZ, which means that you now have three clips instead of two, for the same total of 24 shots. The animation for drawing it has been slowed as well, which means that its use as a “pocket rifle” for AWPers to defend themselves with in close quarters is no more.
The nerf is nearly two weeks old as of this writing. The metagame has had plenty of time to shift in response to the change, and as for me personally, the CZ-75 has gone from a common feature of every match to a mythological beast. Sightings are few and far between, with only a few blurry photos remaining which claim to be proof of it’s existence.
Oh, there’s one right up there. You saw it here first, folks!
But seriously, as often as I found myself at the wrong end of a CZ-75 rush that completely decimated my fully equipped stack of teammates, I’m still a little disappointed. The Desolation of AUG was an entirely separate matter, but the end result of that debacle was that a formerly underutilized gun was given new life. The CZ nerf means that there are really no winners, except for those profoundly frustrated by it’s presence.
Professional players like JW and the members of team LDLC are going to have to rethink key strategic purchases without the CZ-75 to fall back on. Props to Valve for keeping a finger on the pulse of the community, but unless the CZ emerges from this cocoon with a few more tweaks under its belt, then the nerf may ultimately prove to be a step backward in balancing.
Come back next Monday for another editorial on e-sports!
Articles posted every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
Until next time, keep fragging!
Grab the pizza and Dr. Pepper, LAN party tonight!
When compared to the lengthy history of traditional sports like football and baseball, any game that falls under the e-sports banner is still clearly in it’s infancy by comparison. But for as long as people have come together in the spirit of healthy competition, there has always been that special group of competitors who are unwilling to settle for anything less than mastery of their art.
Video games have long been a social tool, bringing friends together, both old and new, in the same fashion that a mutual appreciation for sports has fostered conversation for centuries. Many of us today grew up in a world where a fresh gaming console was released every few years, and summer weekends would be spent either flocking to our friend’s homes or welcoming crowds into our own to share in the unrivaled excitement of a new game. Multiplayer games, like Goldeneye and Super Smash Brothers for the Nintendo 64, provided the opportunity for throwing down the gauntlet, and challenging others to test your skills. The soda and junk food would flow freely, as the dawn would break to find many still clutching their controllers—their friends of lesser stamina sleeping around them.
The good old days
Computers would come to lead the charge for e-sports as we know it today, with the introduction of the LAN party. Congregations of eager gamers would descend on the chosen location for a day or more, grappling with countless networking issues to play a few matches of Age of Empires or Unreal Tournament.
Simple as it was, it was a glorious time to be a gamer.
If something is worth doing, it is worth doing in a big way. LAN parties increased in size and complexity, until events like DreamHack began to spring up worldwide, fostering the growing movement. Money began to change hands, both for event fees and tournament prize pools, and the gamers who sought to become acknowledged masters of their craft began showing up to the biggest arenas, eager to showcase their talent.
One thing led to another, and DreamHack Winter 2014 saw over an estimated 500,000 viewers for the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive finals.
The History of E-sports is being continually written, every day. We all have a role to play in shaping the next step of it’s long journey, so shoulder that responsibility with pride—and remember . . .
It’s all fun and games until somebody wins six figures.
Come back next Wednesday for the beginning of a new series!
Articles posted every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
Until next time, keep fragging!
It’s about sending a message
Since Counter-Strike: Global Offensive went live to the public in August of 2012, Valve has adopted their usual stance of radio silence on all future updates. This has proven to be both as blessing and a curse, as it results in fewer unmet expectations, while ensuring that each new patch arrives as a pleasant surprise to the legions of fans. But some fans don’t want surprises- they want results.
Especially when the integrity of the game is on the line.
It wasn’t long after launch that the many heads of the hydra-like hacking subculture reared forth from the dark abyss where they reside. Where there is money or acclaim to be had, there will inevitably be ne’er-do-wells searching for the easy route to the top of the pack. The community would cry out to Valve for respite from the waves of blatant cheaters that crashed around the genuine players, but Valve continued to keep mum on the issue. All we wanted was to know that we had been heard, and that Gabe Newell would ride in at dawn on the fifth day to rescue us from our peril.
Valve shouldered the criticism that the desperate public levied against them and continued to work against the malefactors in the shadows. Hindsight is 20/20, and Valve eventually explained the lack of communication: the more obscure their efforts, the better.
Always watching
Tell me, who’s watching- who’s watching me
Behind the scenes, Valve pushed out several “silent” updates, which is to say they changed how the game is run server-side. Baby steps- but any news is good news in the battle for fair play. Like I said last week, e-sports is still struggling to be taken seriously by the mainstream, but Valve is taking the occasionally difficult but necessary steps to earn credibility.
We still have a long uphill climb ahead of us as a community. Coming up in January, X Games Aspen has teamed with Major League Gaming in a major play for bringing e-sports into the spotlight. Lots of eyes will be watching, and it will certainly prove to be a litmus test for bigger and better events down the road. Tune in, and show future sponsors that the viewership exists- if we don’t take our majors seriously, how can we expect others to?
Report the suspicious while matchmaking, and let Overwatch sort them out. Rampant public accusations could prove more toxic than they’re worth, and we have many tools at our disposal for reviewing match demos and self-policing.
Above all, don’t stop playing.
Valve will continue to stand sentry, waiting for the opportune moment to strike at the heart of those developing and using hacks. In the meantime, we have a responsibility to continue to support these tentative steps toward a brighter future for gaming.
Come back next Monday for another editorial on e-sports!
Articles posted every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
Until next time, keep fragging!
Let’s party like it’s 2004!
Heading into the holidays, Valve had a lot on their plate. Fans of both Half-Life and Counter-Strike had reasons to be especially thankful during the winter season of 2004, as the shiny new Source engine ushered in a new era of graphical fidelity, interactivity, and realism for gaming. Leading the charge were two games that whipped legions of enthusiastic gamers into a frenzy: Half-Life 2, bundled with Counter-Strike: Source.
Though it was certainly a step in the right direction, Counter-Strike: Source struggled to find acceptance within the professional gaming scene. It would see only a fraction of the success, major tournaments, and prize money that testifies to Counter-Strike‘s popularity in the realm of e-sports. Many gamers saw it as the awkward middle child of the series- endearing once you came to know him, but somewhat lacking in focus and without the driven attitude of his brothers. Nonetheless, it was beloved by many, and alongside the launch of Steam secured Valve’s position as the figurehead of the “PC Master Race“.
Still fun, ten years on
While the e-sports community wavered between the latest iteration and the classic, Valve soldiered on. Innovation was what Valve did best, and so they sought to bring the Counter-Strike world to consoles during early stages of development on the next title, encouraged by their experience with console ports of their other games and controller support for their PC titles. However, a member of the development team saw the potential for a full installment rather than a simple port of Counter-Strike: Source, and the focus changed to include the hopes and dreams of both casual and competitive gamers alike.
The result became a Global phenomenon, the history of which is still being written.
After almost a year in beta and an impressive cinematic trailer, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive was released across all platforms on August 21st, 2012.
Come back next Wednesday for part 3 of my series on “The History of E-Sports and Counter-Strike” – Part 1 can be found here
Articles posted every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
Until next time, keep fragging!
Hello, and welcome to the Sneaky Beaky Blog!
My name is Mitch “supersoup” Gentry, and I will be your personal guide into the wonderful world of Counter-Strike!
Come back regularly to get your fill of news, commentary, tips, and tricks! There will be something for people with all levels of interest in Counter-Strike- from those who struggle to believe that “e-sports” is a real thing, to those who would like some insight into the complex scene of their favorite Multiplayer FPS.
For the former, let’s dive in with a brief overview of the game.
Take a moment to bring yourself back to November of 1998. Where were you, and what were you doing? Maybe the specifics were lost to the fog of time, but one thing is certain: if you were a gamer, you were going crazy over a little game called Half-Life, by Valve Software.
Raising the bar for video games, and especially the First-Person Shooter (or FPS) genre, Half-Life took the gaming world by storm. It was met with overwhelming critical acclaim, holding a score of 96 on Metacritic.com and rave reviews from players. The single-player campaign was only the beginning of a beautiful friendship, as Half-Life shipped with a strong multiplayer component that provided hours of entertainment at LAN parties and congested fledgling broadband networks the world over.
However, Valve recognized that the longevity of its brainchild would rest in the hands of its biggest fans.
Included with the files for Half-Life was a little program called Worldcraft, which was a powerful design studio for building your own encounters to play through and arenas to wage war in. For many, it served as their first exposure to the art of modding, or using the existing ingredients of a game to create delicious new servings of pulse-pounding gameplay. When combined with other digital artists, code monkeys, and aspiring game designers, the result would be a full-fledged modification of the original game. New sounds, weapons, situations, and rules governing the chaos of multiplayer engagements would give rise to entirely new games in their own right, all built upon the foundation that Valve Software had so thoughtfully provided for use to the masses.
Some of these mods would see more success than others, but Counter-Strike was something special from the words “Go, Go, Go!“.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Counter-Strike first saw the light of CRT monitors with the launch of beta version 1.0 on June 19th, 1999. Though the initial beta had only a fraction of the guns and levels that Counter-Strike fans have come to know and love, it had potential, which captured the hearts and adrenal glands of players everywhere. The following year saw the addition of iconic maps such as de_dust and cs_office, along with dozen of tweaks and gallons of polish, until the mod developers were hired by Valve Software and the retail release- known as Counter-Strike 1.6– was presented to thousands of eager gamers on November 8th, 2000.
Easy to understand and challenging to master- Counter-Strike set the standard for multiplayer First Person Shooters. Whether you were trying to secure bombsites or hostages, the thrill of pitting terrorists vs. counter-terrorists had a lasting influence on the gaming industry moving forward, inspiring like-minded modes in contemporary games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Battlefield.
Come back next Wednesday for part 2 of my series on “The History of E-Sports and Counter-Strike”
Articles posted every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
Until next time, keep fragging!
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