The upcoming release of Counter-Strike 2 has its many concerns with it, as the game completely updated its engine. This is known as Source 2, introducing a wide variety of improvements that its predecessor lacks. Unfortunately, one of these might be a double-edged sword since it directly impacts CS2 community servers. The new engine altered how tick rates behave in matches, meaning anything in-game is quicker and instant. This may sound good at first, but when it comes to servers this changes everything. There’s also some backend altercations from Source 2 that add onto this situation. Yup, community servers in Counter-Strike 2 may take a hit from this massive update. Can players still host them in CS2 or is this the end? We’ll answer this question and provide you everything you need to know about these servers. Let’s begin!
Source 2 Impact on Servers
There could be a substantial amount of changes for CS2 servers, with ticks and software being the main ones. At the time of writing, the community does not know for certain what will happen. Keep this in mind as we explore the impact Source 2 has on our beloved servers. Besides this, almost everyone knows that these changes will force every hoster to update. It’s almost like an entirely second game that’s replacing its older version, CSGO. This may make server owners switch management softwares, among how their systems handle in-game behaviors.
Wait a minute, how would anyone know this if it’s not officially released yet?
Community Rumors
Recent rumors have gone around the Counter-Strike community, as it possibly impacts servers. In early February, Vitaliy Genkin, Valve’s Principal Software Architect, sent an email to large organizations like FACEIT regarding these effects. There was nothing specifically mentioned about Source 2, but he did say “…we are planning to update our Linux compiler toolchain for dedicated servers with more recent libraries.” This combined with the tick changes basically meant that these organizations will have to change their systems and management to have everything sustainable for future updates. This is incredibly important, as it came directly from an employee at Valve.
Additionally, Source 2 maps are formatted differently than in the older engine. In the past it was using BSP formats, but now it’s VMAP. This means that anything in the CSGO Workshop cannot be used in CS2, in theory. However, Valve knows that backwards compatibility is possible with their technology and may decide to implement it. Doing this will save lots of heartache for map creators, as they’d be allowed to still use it in the new game. Remember, we don’t know for certain, but can safely say older formats will still be viable in Source 2. Sadly, these changes will bring down lots of surfing and other servers since they’ll need to update.
What’s in the Future?
The future of community servers in Counter-Strike 2 seems gloomy at first, but fret not! Despite possible changes owners have to implement, they will not die off. A different way of saying this is community servers will be safe and playable once CS2 releases. However, this doesn’t mean everything is gonna work out of the box. Server owners will need to take some time for this update, as it’s no walk in the park to completely overhaul your system. In any case, the future of CS2 servers looks great!
Conclusion
Counter-Strike 2 is going to change everything, including how community servers work. We don’t know for certain, but hopefully it’ll be a smooth transition. Although we can easily say that any server owner will have some downtime to ensure all the updates go nicely. Keep in mind that older map formatting isn’t promised in Source 2, but may be backwards compatible. The only way to know is when CS2 officially releases this summer. Besides all that, we hope this blog helped you understand a bit more about community servers in the new engine. Have a good one, gamers!
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