Counter-Strike Source: Valve squeezed for info

Is there actually a games player out there who hasn't heard of Counter-Strike? Appearing back in the summer of 1999, from humble beginnings the Half-Life mod went on to become the most-played online first-person shooter in the world, utterly dominating the competition. Five years down the line and the game is soon to be released revamped, powered by Valve Software's Source technology.

Valve's Doug Lombardi and Jess Cliffe were recently on hand to chat about what's simply been named Counter-Strike Source. First off, a bit of clarification...

Is Counter-Strike Source actually Counter-Strike 2, or is there still a further iteration of the game that you're working on based on the Source technology?

Lombardi: During the development of the Source engine technology, we wanted to make sure we didn't make the path from Half-Life 1-based MODs to Source exceedingly difficult for those who wanted to bring their games forward. To test this, we had a few people take on the task of bringing Half-Life 1 single-player forward to Source. The process proved to be fairly manageable, and we obviously identified a few things we could do to help make this even more so for others who tried it.

Once the experiment was run, we decided to run the test on one of our multiplayer games, and CS was the natural choice. However, unlike the HL1 Source project, the CS: Source work extended to the creation of new player and weapon models, new world models, new sounds, and more.

So that's a quick take on the evolution of CS: Source, which is not CS2.

The engine change is big bananas, but outside of that what fundamental changes, if any, are you making to the core Counter-Strike experience with Counter-Strike Source?

Cliffe: The engine upgrade is very exciting for us since it's not just big bananas; it's big bananas that react with other bananas, split apart in a realistic way, obey the laws of physics, and indeed look like real bananas. These are big bananas that you can trip and fall on. For the initial release of Counter-Strike Source, we want to keep the CS experience intact. This means that at first we just want to make the engine leap and then we can go from there in terms of new gameplay and features.

You showed the Aztec level at E3 this year - what other classic Counter-Strike maps are being "Source-d" for the initial release?

Cliffe: So far we have upgraded Dust, Dust II, Italy, Havana, Piranesi, Chateau, and Office. More classic maps and new ones will be added to this list over time.

What sorts of cool things has Source allowed you to add to the levels?

Cliffe: Source has allowed us to add things like the 3D skybox - so it looks as though your level can span miles. No more arenas - most mappers will agree that's a good thing. The texture resolution has doubled, making your world all the more vivid. Physics and static props are littered throughout the maps in order to give them that lived-in feel. We can also take advantage of DirectX features such as bump-mapping and specularity - giving textures extra depth and reflectivity where appropriate.

We've seen how physics implementation impacts the game on an aesthetic level, but what examples can you give where physics directly impacts core gameplay?

Cliffe: We're still finalizing how physics props will affect gameplay. There are a number of balances that have to be carefully worked out, both in terms of networking and game flow. The plan is to include larger physics objects that aren't just eye candy - objects that you can drag and drop as barricades and obstacles.

Are driveable vehicles going to feature in Counter-Strike Source?

Lombardi: At launch, CS: Source will only contain the weapons and items currently available in CS.

Can you tell us about anti-cheat measures for CS Source?

Cliffe: Being vigilant against online cheating has been one of our top priorities for quite a while. Our VAC (Valve Anti-Cheat) system has been extremely effective in banning hackers and getting the message out to the community that we take cheating very seriously. We want cheating to be a non-issue for our customers and will work to ensure that happens.

Have you finalised how CS Source will be distributed?

Lombardi: It will be included with all versions of Half-Life 2, and made available as a stand alone purchase.

Anything else we should definitely know about CS Source?

Cliffe: We're running a CS Source beta for subscribers of the Valve Cyber Café Program and Counter-Strike: Condition Zero owners this month. We can't wait to roll it out to the community. Suffice to say that things are buzzing around here [with the rollout of the beta and] in anticipation and preparation of the eventual full rollout.

Finally, can you tell us any more about your plans to give the entire Half-Life range - e.g. HL 1, TFC, HLDMC, Ricochet, Opposing Force etc - a Source makeover?

Lombardi: HL1 Source and CS: Source will be made available at the same time as HL2. Most of the others you mention and more (DoD) [Day of Defeat], will come a bit later. Please stay tuned for more.

PC Zone Staff