A nice new Counter-Strike: Source update has been released that you can grab by restarting Steam. Here are some of the highlights for you to check out. There are also some updates to the Source engine.

Counter-Strike: Source
Added map: de_prodigy
Improved player movement against walls
Improved choppy player movement when bouncing down slopes
Physics prop avoidance is scaled by the object's mass
Detail prop fade distance can be controlled on a per-map basis with env_detail_controller
Grenades, weapons, etc., splash when they land in water
Fixed viewmodel lag
Added consistency checking player model bounds
Weapon reloads finish when the round restarts
Autobuy and rebuy trigger a reload if you don't buy a primary weapon
Rebuy doesn't drop pistols the player has picked up
Breakable glass is blown outward proportional to the damage recieved
Fixed not being able to attach to ladder tops
Misc fixes to spray import
[snip]

The Steam Powered website notes that a Steam client update has been released, fixing (among other things) problems with foreign language characters, and Half-Life 2 preloading being stuck at 89% for some people.

CS-Nation has a comment from Valve's Erik Johnson, who tells us what to expect update wise when it comes to Counter-Strike: Source. More maps, updated player models, it's all coming.

We're working on porting some more of the classic maps right now, currently de_prodigy is in the works. We'll be releasing this as quickly as they are completed.

We're also working on one original map, which will begin internal playtesting this week. This still means we have a fair amount of work to do on it.

We're also working on two updated player models.

Most of this is scheduled to be released in the December timeframe.

Another Counter-Strike: Source update has been released, fixing some more name exploit bugs. The game will auto-update when you launch.

The Steam Powered website notes that another Counter-Strike: Source updated has been released. This new patch fixes the annoying %n exploit crash, and also takes care of grenade stacking and smoke grenades getting stuck and never detonating.

A small but important update for Counter-Strike: Source has released as noted on the Steam website, fixing the rcon packet exploit. Steam will update itself automatically when you restart, servers will need to be restarted.

As promised Counter-Strike: Source has become available via Steam. Here is the quick announcement from Valve:

The Half-Life 2 Steam offers are now ready for purchase from www.steampowered.com. Details and pricing for these offers are pasted below. Those who purchase via Steam, will receive the final version of Counter-Strike: Source immediately. Half-Life 2 and other games in the Steam offerings will be made available to purchasers upon their release.

ATI/Half-Life 2 bundle owners may redeem their product key for the Bronze offer or apply their key toward the purchase of either the Silver or Gold offers, receiving a credit equal to the price of the Bronze offer.

For you CS fans out there not able to play just yet, we're adding a few CS:Source videos to FileShack:

CSNation is citing a reliable source as saying that we could be seeing Counter-Strike: Source released as early as today. O_o. We havent heard anything from Valve over here but the CSNation guys are generally pretty on top of things like this.

We here at CS-Nation have received information from a reliable source regarding the upcoming release of Counter-Strike: Source. We have heard that CS: Source is due for a release tomorrow, the 4th of October. It should be noted that the source has explained that once the final version of CS: Source is released, the BETA period will come to a close.

We'll let you guys know by the end of the day if this is true!

Another Counter-Strike: Source beta update has been released, with the Steam website offering a list of changes & additions. The DX7 code path has been updated, increasing performance by up to 225%, the reload exploit is fixed and there is now a intermission scoreboard at end of round among other things.

The Steam news page mentions that another update for the Counter-Strike: Source beta has been released. The game should now work on Windows 98 / ME machines and server admins can put up a Message of the Day, among other changes & fixes.

A new Counter-Strike: Source beta update has been released according to the Steam news page, fixing one issue: "Stopped long console commands causing the server to exit".

Another day, another Counter-Strike: Source beta update. Today's patch fixes the skywalking exploit, updates weapon sounds and textures, and also takes care of some DX8 and anti-aliasing rendering issues among other things.

As noted on the Steam news page, a new update for the Counter-Strike: Source beta has been released. It fixes one bug: "Fixed crash (memory exception error) caused by physics props".

As noted on the Steam Powered website, another update for the Counter-Strike: Source beta has been released. People can no longer trigger a screen shake, and there is improved refresh rate selection behavior.

As noted on the Steam Powered website, a new update for the Counter-Strike: Source beta is now available. It fixes several more bugs including the one where multiple terrorists could buy C4.

The Counter-Strike: Source BETA Phase 2 is set to start in just under a couple of hours, and in addition to that Valve is putting out a technology benchmark utility to help give people an idea of performance numbers and to tweak out their system for the best Source engine performance:

Phase 2 of the Counter-Strike: Source beta begins today at 7pm PST, extending the beta to owners of Counter-Strike: Condition Zero and the ATIHL2 bundle. Also included in this portion of the beta is a Valve Source technology benchmark. The benchmark will be available to all beta participants via the main menu. Results will be displayed upon completion, and beta participants will then have the option to send the results to a Valve-hosted public web page tracking the results as done in prior Valve surveys. For more information on the Counter-Strike: Source beta, please visit: http://www.steampowered.com/index.php?area=productnews_CSS" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" class="external.

Folks who own Condition Zero or have the ATI coupon should be getting a chance to check out the Counter-Strike: source BETA today. Just keep an eye on your available games list on Steam. We'll probably have a dedicated thread to this later once the game goes live.

That coupon you got with your ATI card you bought for Half-Life 2 a year ago is going to pay off a little! Steam is preloading the Counter-Strike: Source beta to people with those Half-Life 2 coupons.

Some more Counter-Strike: Source beta screenshots and impressions are available at Telefragged , Game2XS , GamersHell , Computergames.ro , Gengamers , and HomeLAN.

As promised, here are some pics+divx (ok, WMV actually) from the Counter-Strike: Source beta which will be opening to Condition Zero owners and ATI coupon holders soon. You can also read some beta impressions as posted in the comments here.

- DE_Dust fly-through movie.
- DE_Dust Gameplay Movie #1.
- DE_Dust Gameplay Movie #2.
- Screenshots.