Counter Strike 2

Gameplay:

Counter-Strike is a team-based FPS in which players join either the Terrorists (Ts) or the Counter-Terrorists (CTs). Server settings may automatically balance teams when one team has more players than the other. Each round starts with the two teams spawning simultaneously, as one of eight different default character models (four to choose from for both Counter-Terrorist and Terrorist. Counter-Strike: Condition Zero added two extra models, bringing the total to ten). Each player generally starts with $800, two magazines of ammunition, a knife, and a pistol: a Heckler & Koch USP .45 Tactical for CTs or a GLOCK 18c for Ts. Players are generally given a few seconds before the round begins (known as Freeze Time) to buy equipment, during which time they cannot move but jump on the spot. Players may buy equipment whenever they are in a buy zone for their team (some zones can be for both teams) provided the round has not been in session for longer than a specified time (90 seconds is default). Surviving players retain their equipment for use in the next round; those who have died begin the next round with the default pistol and knife.

Standard bonuses in the game are:

Win a round: $3500
Lose a round: $2500
Kill an enemy: $300
Talk to a hostage: $150
Rescue a hostage: $2000
Plant the bomb: $1800

The scoreboard shows team scores plus data for each player: name, score, deaths, and ping/latency (in milliseconds) on the map. The scoreboard also shows whether each player is dead, carrying the bomb (in bomb defusal maps), or the VIP (in assassination maps), although the player must be dead during the round to obtain this information about players on the opposing team.

Players killed become "ghosts" for the duration of the round; they cannot change their names, nor can their chat/voice messages be received by the live players (unless the cvar sv_alltalk is set to 1). They are generally able to watch the rest of the round from multiple selectable views, although some servers disable some of these views to prevent dead players from relaying information about living players to their teammates through alternative media (most notably voice in case of Internet cafes and players in the same rooms of their own homes, playing on the same server). This technique, known as "ghosting", is considered cheating in many tactical shooters.

Counter-Strike is meant to be more realistic than futuristic FPSs such as Quake III Arena and Unreal Tournament, but is also built to keep the action flowing faster than more realistic tactical shooters such as the Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon series. For example, relatively few shots will kill a player, and shots to different parts of the body inflict varying amounts of damage, but damage has no permanent bearing on ability to run or jump, allowing a player with just a few hit points remaining to keep fighting just as well as any other player. Movement, however, is restricted while taking damage from gunfire, and a player cannot run at full speed whilst taking damage.

There are several game types in Counter-Strike which define the objectives of each team in the game, and rules which determine which team wins. Each map is of a single game type.

Bomb Defusal:

One randomly selected Terrorist begins the round carrying a bomb of plastic explosives (C4). The Terrorists' objective is to plant the bomb at a bomb site (of which there usually are two in a map, Bombsite-A or Bombsite-B, also known as B1 and B2), and ensure its detonation. If the bomb has not been planted, and if all the members of one team have been eliminated, then the surviving team wins. If the bomb has been planted and proceeds to explode, the Terrorists win, but if a Counter-Terrorist defuses the bomb (Counter-Terrorists can purchase an optional kit to speed up defusal times), the Counter-Terrorists win. When the round time expires without the bomb being successfully planted and detonating, the Counter-Terrorists win (Not applicable to Counter-Strike: Source, when the bomb is planted, the round time disappears). Deaths due to the detonation of the bomb do not increment the player's death count. Maps of this type are prefixed with de_ (e.g. de dust and de inferno). Professional tournaments are normally only played in Bomb Defusal maps. Usually, the time for the bomb to explode is about 35 seconds.

Hostage Rescue:

The map has hostages (usually four) generally placed near the Terrorist base. The Counter-Terrorists' objective is to escort the hostages to a hostage rescue point on the map. If all the members of a team have been eliminated, the prevailing team wins. If all the surviving hostages have been rescued, and that number is at least half of the initial hostage count, then the Counter-Terrorists win, and each Counter-Terrorist is awarded $2400. When round time expires, Terrorists win. Therefore, the game may effectively become a 'Terrorist hunt' game if enough hostages are killed, although server settings may be such that players are disconnected (kicked) from the server after killing a certain number of hostages (5 is default). When a Counter-Terrorist 'uses' a hostage (i.e. begins to rescue them), the Counter-Terrorist is awarded $150. Upon successfully escorting a hostage to a rescue point, $2000 is awarded and each of your teammates gets an additional $1000 at the start of the next round. Killing or injuring a hostage incurs a penalty of $2250 times the fraction of the hostage's health that was taken away, up to a maximum of 1. Maps of this type are prefixed with cs_ (e.g. cs office).

Assassination:

In this mission, one Counter-Terrorist member becomes a VIP, a player with 150HP, 200 units of Kevlar and nothing more than the Counter-Terrorist standard-issue USP pistol with one extra magazine. The VIP may not pick up dropped weapons other than the VIP's own pistol. The VIP's objective is to reach an extraction zone (one, normally), in which case the Counter-Terrorists win. If the VIP dies, the Terrorists win. As usual, if all Terrorists die, the Counter-Terrorists win. When time expires, Terrorists win. The lack of ammunition for the pistol means that a VIP should not expect to escape without the team's assistance; however, the pistol in conjunction with the special armour provides adequate protection. Maps of this type are prefixed with as_. Assassination maps are the least played of the three types of Counter-Strike. There are several assasination maps for Counter-Strike: Source, and a VIP mod has been produced by the community. Members of the community who dislike the scenario argue that the Terrorists would just camp at the VIP's escape destination, shooting the VIP dead as he attempted the run to the exit. For this reason, autosnipers are often banned on VIP maps.

Escape:

Discontinued in the late-beta releases of Counter-Strike, this gameplay style put Terrorists against Counter-Terrorists in an escape-before-the-clock-expired mission. The Terrorists started in a position relatively far away from the Counter-Terrorists, armed with only knives and Glocks and unable to purchase additional weaponry/equipment. Weapons, armour, and grenades were placed in hidden locations near or around the spawn point of the Terrorists; the objective was for the Terrorists to secure weapons at the hidden location and then have all living members of the team reach an escape point before the clock ran out; eliminating all Counter-Terrorists would not complete the mission by itself. The Counter-Terrorists' objective was to prevent the escape of the Terrorists. Escape was discontinued because such maps gave an edge towards Counter-Terrorists. Maps of this type are prefixed with es_. While not included in the current Counter-Strike distribution, this mode can still be played. The most popular maps of this type are es_jail, es_riverside, es_frantic, and es_trinity. This mode is not found in Counter-Strike: Source

History:

The Counter-Strike team was formed by Minh Le ("Gooseman") and Jess Cliffe ("Cliffe") in 1999. Prior to CS "Goose" had gained a lot of experience with modelling and textures while working on the 1997 Quake1 mod Navy Seals the earliest precursor to CS, it featured modern day weapons, body-armour and tactical gameplay. When Quake II was released he worked on another highly successful mod called Action Quake2, again with modern weapons and tactical gameplay, this time set in a world of SWAT vs. gangsters. However, the time wasn't right for global internet gaming just yet, the online community was still relatively small. No cost-effective broadband and in most countries paying for access by the minute limited the audience somewhat. With the massive global success of Half-Life, the premature death of the large Quakeworld and Quakeworld Team Fortress scenes and the widespread adoption of "unmetered" internet access, Counter-Strike's timing was perfect. Beta 1.0 was released in June 1999, followed by a relatively quick succession of the beta releases (by the end of 1999, beta 5.0 had been released). CS gained in popularity just as rapidly. The Counter-Strike team was acquired by Valve to turn the fan-created mod into an official mod for Half-Life. In November 2000, Counter-Strike 1.0 — the first non-beta, official retail version of the game — was released. The retail version was a standalone alternative that does not include or require Half-Life; alternatively, existing Half-Life owners can download the Counter-Strike mod free. Later, Counter-Strike was bundled with Half-Life and several other expansions in the Platinum Pack. The newest version of CS was labeled Source, released in November 2004 through Valve's new distribution platform called Steam. Counter Strike: Source was developed using the new Half Life 2 enhanced graphics and physics engine (Source).

Valve has also been attempting to cash in on the game's popularity by producing more Counter-Strike games. Valve released a version ported to the Xbox game console in November 2003. It features basic single-player gameplay against bots, but it focuses on multiplayer online play like the original. However, the Xbox version of the game (playable on Microsoft's Xbox Live online game service) has proved less successful than its PC counterpart for obvious reasons; the online Counter-Strike audience for Xbox is well outnumbered by the existing Counter-Strike PC community, a subscription cost required to play online on Live (playing the PC version online is free), and mediocre graphics (only texture upgrades to original CS models) which are below what is expected for the Xbox. For similar reasons, Valve may have made no attempt to have Counter-Strike ported to the PlayStation 2.

Listen Carefully
Sound is a big part of FPSes these days, giving players hints as to where shots are coming from, or if someone is walking up behind them. Try to learn the different weapon types by sound. It always helps to know whether you're going into a pistol fight or an AK-47 battle. A good sound system can make a difference here. Since version 1.3 it has become possible to use voice communication with Counter-Strike, which can change the gameplay experience quite dramatically and simplify team organization.

Plan Grenade Use
Grenades in Counter-Strike are limited in supply and should be used wisely. A common approach is to soften the enemy up with a few grenades before going in for the final assault. Flashbang grenades, for example, will temporarily blind those caught in the blast radius, making them vulnerable to attack. Of course, a grenade can also come in handy if you need to buy some time to make a quick retreat, or create a distraction.

Crouching and Walking
Crouching will not only steady your weapon, it will lower your profile a little and make you a smaller target. Remember that walking is silent in Counter-Strike, and by default you run all the time, so get to know those controls. Crouching and moving at the same time, while slow, also allows you to move silently. These techniques are critical if you want to sneak up on the enemy without being heard.

Take Cover
Use crates and other objects to partially conceal and protect you. It helps to have a convenient spot where you can completely disappear to reload if necessary. Keep in mind that some of the more powerful weapons in Counter-Strike can penetrate right through certain walls and objects. When you do find yourself in the unfortunate situation of having a grenade lobbed at you, turning away from it will often lessen the impact.

Try to Work as a Team
Rambo looks good in the movies, but it rarely pays off to abandon your teammates and go Kamikaze in Counter-Strike. Typically you run straight into the gunfire (and laughter) of a group of enemy players. In many cases it's nearly impossible to accomplish the game objectives in Counter-Strike without a coordinated effort, assuming that the enemy team isn't asleep at the switch. A team is usually most effective if they are carrying a variety of weaponry, since weapons in most games are designed to have strengths and weaknesses. It isn't every day that a plan comes together in an online action game, but there are rare moments when the whole thing somehow doesn't deteriorate into complete chaos, and that's what it's all about.

Practice, Practice, Practice
Like almost any game, the best way to get better is to practice. This may seem daunting when you first get into a game with a bunch of experienced players, but with a little patience you will find yourself surviving longer and even scoring a few frags.

That covers the basics of becoming a good Counter-Strike player. Naturally, there are a number of strategies and techniques specific to certain classes, weapons, and maps that go beyond the scope of this article, so you might want to browse some of the other guides in our Counter-Strike section. May the frags be with you!

Burst Fire and Reloading

Despite having been around for several years now, Counter-Strike continues to dominate the world of multiplayer first-person shooters. In fact, this free modification for Half-Life still has more online players than the other top FPS games combined, making it the envy of many commercial releases. Some editions of Half-Life now include the Counter-Strike mod, and a stand-alone Counter-Strike is in the works. Here are a few tips that should improve your game, most of which are applicable to Quake and other shooters as well as Counter-Strike.

Burst Fire
Because Counter-Strike tries to simulate the recoil of actual guns, the longer you hold down the trigger the less accurate your rounds become. Unless you are at point blank range, after the first few shots you will likely just be blasting ammunition into the wild blue yonder, well over the heads of the enemy. To prevent this, and make your ammo count for something, it is a common practice in Counter-Strike to fire in short bursts of only two or three rounds, giving you a chance steady up for the next shot.

Compensate for Recoil
It may seem like common sense, but if you know that your weapon is going to recoil, it helps to compensate for it as best you can, typically by aiming down a little. Of course, the longer you press the trigger, the more difficult it will become to compensate adequately, so this is most effective when combined with burst fire as described above.

Plan Your Reloads
Reloading is one of the elements that differentiates Counter-Strike from some of the earlier FPSes. When your gun runs out of ammo, you must replace the clip, and although this can be done quite quickly, it often makes the difference between life and death. Try not to jump into an O.K. Corral style shoot-out without a fully loaded weapon, and when the time comes to reload, it's nice to have somewhere that you're not a sitting duck to do it.

Keep Your Pistol Handy
On a similar note, since you can switch weapons faster than you can reload in most FPSes, a quick weapon change at a critical moment can turn around the confrontation. We've all seen two players empty their guns into (or near) each other and almost simultaneously run out of ammo. Sometimes a good Counter-Strike player will finish the enemy off with his pistol or even his knife rather than wait for a reload.

Customize Your Controls
Making fast weapon changes and pulling off more complex maneuvers swiftly is greatly facilitated by customizing game controls and using scripts. Every player seems to have a personal preference when it comes to key combinations, and having the commands you need at your fingertips will speed up your gameplay considerably, although you will have to experiment with different configurations. Many experts have a custom configuration for each different class that they play.

Strategic Jumping
When you're in an open area or you know there are snipers targeting you, it's important to move around as much and as unpredictably as possible. Jumping, but not too regularly, can force the enemy to aim vertically as well as horizontally, or it can, if you're lucky, turn what would have been a head shot into something a little less damaging. That said, some players are prone to jumping continuously, even when out of harm's way, which can make you look like an idiot.