Counter-Strike: Global Offensive patch nerfs bots, pre-order access detailed, open beta teased

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has received a plump post-E3 patch today. The unerringly accurate bots have been stupidified a little to make things a little easier, the UI has been reshuffled to make things clearer, disappearing props have been bolted down, holes in reality plastered over, grenade arcs tuned and "hostage pain reaction voice overs" adjusted. This patch is laying the groundwork for some bigger patches further down the line, according to the latest post on the Counter-Strike blog. "Over the next few weeks we will be releasing a major audio update, play with friends, new characters, and of course more beta keys."

The devs also say pre-order customers will be able to get into CS:GO "about a month before release" and confirm that there will be an open beta period for everyone to try "sometime between the pre-orders and release." At E3 Valve announced that CS:GO will be coming out on August 21 at the budget price of $15, which is nice. Here are the patch notes in full from Steam .

Gameplay

• Bot difficulty has been adjusted. They should be a bit easier now.

Dedicated Servers:

• Added support for overriding values in gamemodes.txt via gamemodes_server.txt - See csgo/gamemodes_server.txt.example for instructions on how to modify it and define your own map groups.

• Added support for map sidecar files, which allow mappers to distribute map-specific gamemodes.txt variables in a separate file - See csgo/maps/de_dust_se.kv as an example.

• Fixed mp_timelimit not working properly when mp_maxrounds was set to 0.

UI

• net_graph has several changes that will allow players to better see values they (or the server operator) have configured incorrectly.

  • The most important difference is that the game tick rate is now shown in the bottom left, which is where “sv:” (server fps) used to be. Server fps is not really a useful metric for players except when it is below the tick rate (indicating the server is overloaded). Server FPS above the tick rate is meaningless.

  • The cl_updaterate and cl_cmdrate rate are now labeled as “up:” and “cmd:”, respectively. There is now color coding added to some of the values to indicate out of band values. If cmdrate or updaterate are set above the tick rate (requires a server operator to override the sv_maxcmdrate and sv_maxupdaterate), these values are shown in red. For optimal play experience, these values should match the server tick rate, which is the default behavior unless a server operator has overridden convars.

  • Fixed formatting so that the right aligned values are correctly aligned and text doesn't shift and jump as displayed values change.

• A banner element has been added to the Match Scoreboard to better convey Win, Lose, and Draw match results.

• Hint text has been added to the bottom of the Loading screen.

• Updated the Armor icon next to the Armor meter to include the Helmet when purchased.

• Updated the dominated/dominating/revenge icons for freeze panel, mini-scoreboard, and death notices.

• Updates to the Arms Race UI:

  • Now when someone reaches the Gold Knife level, the HUD shows a message in the chat text, displays an alert, and plays a sound effect.

  • The scoreboard now displays the winner of the Arms Race match.

  • The Arms Race weapon progression HUD element in the lower right now properly displays the data for the person you are spectating.

• In Casual and Competitive modes, the weapon inventory in the lower right of the HUD displays the spectated player's information now.

• Voting UI updates:

  • Fixed the panel going away right after you cast a vote or saw a vote be cast as a client.

  • The vote panel has been made smaller and positioned so it doesn't cover other UI elements.

  • After you cast a vote, the game no longer shows the text instructing you to press F1/F2 to vote.

  • The Vote to Surrender option has been removed. Voting to Restart serves the same purpose.

  • When an attempt to vote fails because it had already failed recently, the error message is now more descriptive about what's going on.

  • If a player casts a vote when another vote is already in progress, they get a message letting them know.

  • If there are no players or maps that can be voted on when you try to cast a vote, those categories are disabled in the UI.

  • The vote panel now animates.

  • Added the proper sounds to the voting events.

  • A fix was made to a vote you cast in a single player game automatically failing.

  • Fixed the map you are currently playing displaying in the vote UI as "undefined".

  • Updated the size, look and translucency of the vote panel.

  • Added the ability to change the next map in the map list which overrides the next map in the mapgroup.

  • Changed the text, "Restart the map?" to "Restart the match?"

  • Voting for the same map you are playing as the next map will extend it and just restart the map instead of loading.

  • Fixed voting panel displaying during the freeze cam screenshot.

  • Fixed votes for a certain category failing if they had failed previously but had a different subcategory (for example, a vote failed for kicking player A wouldn't let anyone vote to kick player B)

• Added a slider to the options menus that allow user to see and edit the numeric value directly.

• Removed the Random mapgroup choice from multiplayer Find a Game screen.

• Various improvements have been made to the loading screen to improve the layout.

• Changed the default bot difficulty option in the Offline with Bots screen to be "Easy" instead of "No Bots".

Maps

• Shoots

  • Fixed some vphysics console error spew by turning off collision on static props that don't have or don't need collision.

• Baggage

  • Moved some fill lights out a bit from the wall to reduce highlight intensity.

  • Fixed some prop fading glitches.

• Dust

  • Adjusted the Buy Zone edges to make sure all of the spawn points are completely inside the zones now.

  • Set static props with no physics hull to non-solid.

• Dust 2

  • Added clip brush to a crate at B that fixes an issue with the player getting stuck and dying.

  • Fixed the misaligned Humvee windows near CT spawn.

• Inferno

  • Adjusted the Buy Zone edges to make sure all of the spawn points are completely inside the zones now.

  • Fixed some red console spew with static props without physics.

• Train

  • Fixed a spawn point at T spawn that was intersecting a pillar.

• Lake

  • Fixed a number of lighting issues.

• Office

  • Fixed an error message regarding the slide show projection.

• Safehouse

  • Fixed hard to see into entry way from back porch on the T side.

  • The bush prop is now placed against the wall on the T side of the house.

  • Fixed a hole that went through to the skybox creating a bright blue spot under the CT side porch next to the stairs.

• St Marc

  • Removed certain phys props.

  • Fixed a number of bad fade distances for cover props.

  • Turned some phys props to static props.

  • Fixed some bad fades on overlays.

  • Fixed z-fighting in fence.

• Nuke

  • Moved the forklift and added clip brushes to prevent collision issues.

  • Added clips to the blue beams in lobby room.

• Sugarcane

  • Turned a number of phys props to static.

  • Deleted certain phys props.

  • Fixed a few bad fade distances.

Audio

• Fix for the ding sound not playing consistently when a new weapon is earned in Arms Race.

• Updated the bomb planting sounds.

• Updated the helmet hit sounds.

• Adjusted hostage pain reaction voice overs.

Effects

• Some minor optimizations to the explosion effects that may help sorting a little bit.

• A few more minor optimizations for the explosions.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a bug in initializing a dedicated server.

• Fixed a bug with the 'Expert Marksman' achievement.

• Fixed the 'Primer' achievement not awarding properly.

• Adjusted the weapon achievements award criteria to more suitable kill counts.

• Changed Game Mode based achievement restrictions. All achievements can now be earned in Arms Race game mode and Arms Race-specific achievements are restricted in other game modes.

• Fixed 'Cold War' achievement only being awarded to the Terrorist team.

• Fixed 'Wild Gooseman' Chase achievement.

• Fixed incorrect description for 'Street Fighter' achievement.

• Fixed 'Dead Shepherd' achievement not getting awarded.

• Fix for spectating your killer by default after freezecam/deathcam – camera will now follow a controllable bot first if applicable.

• Fixed 'Magic Bullet' achievement.

• Felicitous Fun Fact Fixes

  • Fixed "A former player" shown occasionally.

  • Adjusted requirements for many fun facts so they no longer show when inappropriate (e.g. "most kills with 1 kills")

  • Tweaked parameters in order to provide more interesting funfacts.

  • Require team elimination for fun facts mentioning eliminating the enemy team.

• Fixed a case where a bot damages a victim and then a player takes over that bot and kills the victim and the death message shows the bot controlling player as the assister and the killer.

• Fix for the hitch just before the Gold Knife kill in Arms Race matches.

• Removed the display of the crosshair when the C4 is equipped.

• Fixed error in grenade throw angle calculation.

• Fixed main menu medals disappearing after returning to menu from a game.

• Fix for losing mouse cursor after joining a game with Community server browser.

• Fixed crashes/errors related to more than 10 players.

• Fixed a bug where the taser had no reticule.

• Fixed a rare crash in the weapon selection UI.

• Fixed some weapons in the UI not showing properly when you were the first player to join a server and it immediately restarted.

• Fixed not being able to pick up the C4 if you have a grenade in your inventory.

• Fix for the defuse kit icon displaying on the HUD of a T.

• Fixed the Warmup panel showing '%s1' at the start of a match.

• Fixed medal ranks on the scoreboard not going away in a player slot when that bot or player has left the game.

• Fixed the "next weapon" element showing if you were spectating at the end of a round in a non-Arms Race match.