Why Movement Purists Are Angry with CS2

Ever since Counter-Strike: Global Offensive was replaced by CS2, the community has been divided, with mixed opinions on the numerous changes introduced in the new game. While there was no shortage of topics for the players to debate, one area stood out, and that was the Mechanics of movement.

Movement is a key aspect of CS2, and it takes players decades to master. Precise movement is criminally underrated. Not only does it look pleasing, but it also gives a player an edge in the overall gameplay. Players during the CS:GO era squeezed every inch they could have gotten out of having precise movement, and with the introduction of CS2, decades of mastering the little areas were discarded.

It goes without saying that the majority of the complaints is coming from the seasoned veterans of the game, while the more freshly minted players are yet to master the mechanics to the same degree. It is being repeatedly pointed out that the new game has lost the essence of CS:GO.

These so-called masters of movement, or what they are commonly referred to as the Movement Purists, have turned every stone to make their concerns heard, so in this article, we take a deep dive into how the change in mechanics is truly affecting the game.

The Legacy of the CS Movement: A Brief History

Before we go into the analysis of how CS2 has changed the movement mechanics, it is important that we understand how it has evolved over several iterations of the game and why it is so important for players to have certain aspects remain unchanged.

• CS 1.6 brought special aspects of movement like bunny hopping, air strafing, counter-strafing, and KZ movement maps, which became the gold standard for skill-based mobility. Not only did they take hours to master, but they also offered a slight competitive edge in the game, given the faster speed during bunny hopping or reaching areas with air strafing that would otherwise not be possible.
• CS:GO was the first game where players maximised the potential of bunny hopping, air strafing, and counter-strafing, and they became a crucial part of the game that required time, effort, and skill to master.
• As such, movements required extreme effort and skills to be able to pull off, giving rise to a subculture where the ability was master surfing, jumping puzzles, or simply taking pride in smooth, calculated positioning was rewarded with respect.

In essence, smooth, skilled, and purposeful movement became a language of skill, whose mastery severely increased the skill gap even among the elites of the game.

What Changed in CS2?

The biggest expectation from CS2 was for the game to come with a new engine that would optimise the game for the new generation of hardware, make the game more responsive and smooth, and would holistically improve the experience.

• Instead of feeling smoother, the movements became jittery and unappealing.
• Major inconsistencies in counter-strafing imposed a re-learning curve for those who mastered the previous generation of the game.
• Movements like bunny-hopping were silently killed with the new mechanics, leading to the death of the KZ community, and smooth movement that would often help players in matches was no longer a part of the game.
• The highlight of the update, the subtick system, often presented gamers with a disconnect between the screen and the server, resulting in different times for implementing the steps logged by the server.

Skill Gap Shrinking? Why Movement Matters for Competitive Integrity

Movement in CS is far from getting from one point to another. Seasoned players often judge the skill of an unknown player by their movement. Smooth, sharp, and purposeful movement is the sign of a mechanically gifted player. Not only does it add verticality, surprise, and tempo to gameplay, but the effort required to master it speaks to the dedication of a player. For the top 1%, taking these aspects of movement out of the game would translate to a reduced skill gap, and while it makes the game more competitive, it puts years’ worth of grind by the Movement Purists down the drain.

The Visual Overhaul Made It Worse

CS2 brought in several visual changes to the game that were aimed at bringing a feeling of refreshment to the game. While it has some animations that were appreciated by the community, a majority of them posed several challenges that players would not like to have.

• Movement animations feel heavier and are unlike those in CS:GO.
• Visual feedback, such as footsteps, strafing stops, and crouch transitions get delayed due to the new sub-tick system.

The annoying clunkiness cannot be defined objectively; however, it is a feeling that every player would like the developers to put some effort into. This clunkiness not only affects movement, but it ruins the holistic feel of the game.

The Role of Subtick: Savior or Saboteur?

The traditional tick system made sure that the game server was updated at a frequency of 64/128 with CS:GO, but the new subtick system took a different approach by assigning a timestamp to every action, which gets updated together in the server and as a result players notice improved hit registration, smoother movement, and a more responsive feel of the game or at least, that was the intention.

Unfortunately, subtick has resulted in input variance that affects movement, creating a visual discrepancy.

• Jumps are visually inaccurate, resulting in improper movement.
• Relearning curve for jump throws.
• Microstutters and lagged animations.

Is It Intentional? A Theory About Design Philosophy

While many believe the new system intentionally subtly nerfed the game, the intention behind the subtick system was to give players a better experience, and that did not work out. The changes brought by the update can be summarised with the following points:

• Reduction of skill gap, resulting in more competitive matches.
• Introduction of a relearning curve for the veterans.
• Focus gameplay around gunplay and utility rather than mobility.

While the game has been competitive, CS2 has completely reset the overall powerscale of the game. While many suffered with the reset, several players saw a rise in their power rankings. One can argue it is good to have a reset with the introduction of a new game, but getting rid of legacy mechanics should have been done in a more controlled way.