An update to the Rogue's Counter-Strike Canned? thanks to the guys at CGW. Yes, Rogue's Counter-Strike has been cancellled, instead development will take place at Valve Software. Counter-Strike: Condition Zero will be a stand-alone Counter-Strike game and the July issue of Computer Gaming World will feature a "exclusive first look" at this title

Counter-Strike, the tactical-sim lite that's popped a cap in the gaming world's ass, is getting ready for it's next big stand-alone update. We're talking new weapons, a new player class, new skins and sixteen new maps for you and your terrorist (or counter-terrorist) pals to enjoy round after round of fast-paced run-and-gun action

Caught wind of this one last week but havent heard anything official until now. Rogue Software which we revealed a while back had their project being published by EA canned a while back had picked up another project. A Counter-Strike title working in cooperation with Valve Software. Well not-so-good news guys.. the Counter-Strike title just got the plug pulled too. The plug was pulled following the departure of Jim Molinets one of Rogue's founders for a job elsewhere. Considering the project was never announced I doubt we'll get much in the way of public statements. I didnt expect screenshots either but EvilAvatar somehow dug up a batch of shots of the game that may never be.

Now that email is working reliably again we've gotten a few submissions concerning a recent article in PCGamer magazine which quotes the creator of Counter-Strike Gooseman aka Minh Le as stating that states pretty broadly but interestingly this simple fact:

"New plans for Counter-Strike 1 that will be revealed and demonstrated at E3"

Thanks JCal for the exact quote. Given that print magazines are kind of behind on stuff like this I wouldnt be surprised if Gooseman is just talking about more plans for the spectator software. Counter-Strike does have a tendency to change quite a bit with every release which keeps it interesting. Hopefully they change some of this.

So the first really big CPL Counter-Strike event is happening right now. (Coverage on ShackES) and the question of if Counter-Strike is an equal or better spectator friendly game is hopefully being answered. I havent decided yet myself. I do think the whole suspense building up to key moments is interesting, and having the game broken down into rounds is a good thing though. There needs to be more visual feedback for spectators when players get killed and when one team wins a round but that can be done pretty easily. I think the round system and the great significance of player deaths etc after watching things works pretty well. It's certainly slower paced than Q3 tourneys from a spectator standpoint but if we're trying to get people outside of the hardcore gaming community to try and follow this stuff that is probably a good thing.

The Valve spectator software has proven to be quite a hit and even my fiancee who doesnt watch this stuff much has said that she finds it much easier to follow now. She thought Aztec was ugly though. hehe.

Who knows how long the Counter-Strike 'hit box' problems have been around, seems like forever. But they are finally fixing it! Counter-Strike.net has a server side patch to fix the "invincible legs" bug.

We've released a 1.1c Server Side only patch for server admins to grab and install. This is mainly a fix for the "invincible legs" bug when using certain weapons. There are a few lingering hitbox issues that will have to be addressed in a client side patch or upgrade (probably 1.2).

Additionally a the same thread on ShackES that I spotted the word on the new Counter-Strike describes another bug that you're able to flashbang everyone on the map from a single spot. Doh. Instead of discreetly notifying the CS team of the bug though XSR felt it was necessary to post a demo demonstrating for everyone how to take advantage of the exploit. (yes I realize Maarten mentioned this yesterday but I thought it was a bigger deal)

A server only fix for Counter-Strike has been released, 1.1c. This release fixes the "invinsible legs" bug. Other lingering hitbox issues will be fixed later.

Late yesterday evening I posted a story about bugs in Counter-Strike that basically had players not having shots go where they thought they were going causing a good amount of unrest among the competitive players. Of course the accusations of being 'whiners' etc came up but guess what, it's true. I've gotten confirmations from both the CS team and CPL who are working with them. Firstly here is quick quote from cliffe from Counter-Strike.net:

We are aware of the issue and are investigating it to resolve it

Also, Angel Munoz of the CPL had this to say:

Valve is committed to supporting the online gaming community and professional gaming, and the CPL knows that Valve is working to correct the reported software flaws in Counter-Strike before the upcoming SPEAKEASY.net $30,000 Counter-Strike Tournament.

Also earlier this morning there was a PR from CPL announcing that Valve has developed some new spectating software that will be shown at the event

Counter-Strike has moved full force into the 'professional gaming' circuits now and guess what that means? People tearing apart the game and looking at exactly what makes it tick. There have been a number of documented quirks about Counter-Strike and just how random the results can be when two people do the exact same thing can and often do get different results. (I touched on this in one of my own articles a little while ago) The stink is about to really kick up though now that there is tens of thousands of dollars on the line. A CPL tournament next week is giving away $25,000 actually. Here's a bit from the latest XSR article (Thanks ShackES for the link, do I have to thank Matt? heh)

There have been numerous threads about the hitbox errors in the Counter-Strike.net forums, it's a well known problem in the community, and still no word from Cliffe or Gooseman as to how they plan to fix it.

If anyone wants to point the way to a couple of those documented analysis of CS weapons behavior I'll be happy to link it here. (Summerblue , FiringSquad)I cant seem to dig them up right now. update: Here was a quick comment from ShackES made by Frank from the CPL:

The CPL has informed Valve of these bugs and they are being taken care of.

ShackES has posted word from the CPL president talking about the decision to drop Quake3 in favor of Counter-Strike for their year-end spectacular $150,000 event. They also have some reactions from before Angel's statement.

As I promised this morning (and since I guess the next 2 days are like, Counter-Strike extravaganza) I grabbed the Linux release and went through the pak to take some screenshots of the new maps. The new maps are de_rotterdam, de_dust2, de_inferno, de_vertigo, and cs_thunder. Also these maps have been tweaked: de_vegas, cs_office, cs_siege, de_aztec, cs_italy, and de_cbble. Here are 50 snapshots of the 5 new maps. Many of them arent meant to look all that pretty but to just give you an idea of the layouts.

[more screenshots of v1.1]

It looks like tomorrow is the big day for Counter-Strike v1.1 to be released. The Counter-Strike.net page has an update announcing that the Linux server will be released this afternoon which means the client will probably follow late tonight or possibly tomorrow. They also have a new image of the higher-res textures that will be on the player models. Whats gonna be in the big v1.1 release?

- AWM (AWP) shot to legs no longer a kill, & no unzoomed crosshair
- Weapon accuracy while jumping further randomized for SMG's
- Player models now have higher resolution skins
- New maps including de_rotterdam and de_dust2.
- Fakelag removed
- More stuff I'm probably forgetting

Once the Linux pack is released this afternoon I'll hax0r into there and grab the new maps and get a bunch of images of them for you guys.

The CPL has announced a couple of changes to their upcoming Counter-Strike tournament. Firstly SPEAKEASY has decided to up the prize money from $25,000 to $30,000. Even if you're only top16 you score $500 now. Secondly the cutoff date for registration is March 19

The Counter-Strike.net page has a small update worth noting for server admins. Counter-Strike v1.1 is of course in the works and word is that there will be 'more options' for CS server operators. No release date though.

Sounds like a QTV style interface for Counter-Strike is in the works by a couple of parties. Amazing that a project like this hasnt come up sooner but check out the interview.

The Thursday editorial today focuses on something we're all familiar with, Counter-Strike. More specifically what circumstances have contributed the success of the game outside of the obvious "its fun" factor. I get all analytical or something and try to take an objective look at the game I'm currently addicted to:

... When there is such a huge diversity in skills that can be practiced and applied to the game to make a player feel good it will most almost certainly broaden the appeal to a more diverse set of gamers who may excel in different areas. The larger you make your potential market, chances are the larger your customer base will turn out to be. [snip]

There are a bunch of reasons, check em out and tell me what you think. If this floated your boat check out my past editorials: The Gun I Hate To Love , and The CPU Holdout

For those of you still looking for a few tips on playing Counter-Strike, Gamespot has a new game guide. It features a breakdown of the weapons, and offers general and individual map strategies.

A number of people have been writing in about an open source Counter-Strike clone that is detailed as being in development and 80% complete according to QER and LinuxGames. As most people know the source code for Quake was made available a while back by John Carmack and of course Counter-Strike is freely available on the web to download. So the authors decided to combine two free products, right? Well here are some more details from one of the authors who judging from his email address works at Endor Productions.  Here are the results so far:

Obviously something like this wouldnt sit well with Valve, according to LinuxGames they have already expressed some concern. The code is 80% done, will not be 100% compatible with CS. (Copyright issues) , and will be a source code only release, no DLLs

To follow-up on the Half-Life server patch release (and a list of changes, thanks TheNefariousOne), Counter-Strike.net has a patch that can be applied to existing servers now. The changes are just the bug fixes that are included in the Half-Life server patch though, no new maps or anything.

Being responsible for the most popular FPS mod in the world and all, Gooseman gets a few interview requests. The Goosey guy is interviewed at Stratos Group as well as over at FiringSquad today. Topics include the regular stuff about his background, but what we are all wondering about is Counter-Strike v1.1 yes?

Strictly bug fixes and cheat fixes and new maps.. No new weapons.

I think the updates won't be major but will address the bugs and cheats that have cropped up. I know it's taken a long time but we're almost ready for CS 1.1. Personally, I'd like to move on to more exciting projects after CS 1.1.

New maps are always a good thing.

The official Counter-Strike website has been updated with two screenshots from a new map to be included with 1.1, de_inferno. Thanks Norulez.