CS2 vs CSGO Map Comparison

Can't help but agree about the all maps being sunny part. The different weather in some of the maps is a huge factor for atmosphere.

Is it just me, or does Office looks better in CSGO? The gloomy overcast really was a defining feature of it

The fact you went frame by frame for the office comparison to ensure the flag was in the same animation frame is just a testament to your dedication to detail. thanks

Fun fact: In the CS2 version of Baggage, the labels for the conveyor belts now correctly read "FLIEẞBAND", where in CS:GO it is "FLIESSBAND". The German-language ligature ß, the so-called "sharp s", has not had an uppercase variant until 2008 and wasn't officially adopted until 2017. In all-caps writing, as is the case in this map, you had to use "SS" instead.

Looking at the old 2012 maps (Shoots and Lake and Bank) gives me a warm feeling. The maps made back then have a Left 4 Dead 2 vibe to them where even the sunny maps have this energy vibrating from them which I always liked, coupled with the photorealistic textures of the player models I find it unique, I'll miss it.

I'm still mad that Assault and Dust were removed. Assault was so fun when you wanted a casual experience on competitive matchmaking such a fun map.

As someone who likes overcast weather, I can't help but feel the atmosphere and uniqueness of some maps such as cs_office is lost. Every map has it's vibe so to say. My favorite map from cs.1.6 was de_survivor, really cool map.

The new maps look less artistic somehow. Even though it will be better for gameplay it feels like the maps lost most of their charm. Or rather it's just nostalgia for the older ones.

What an amazing video man. You truly are a vital pilar to the cs community. I would be happy if you made a part 2.

i love cs2 for the most part but im really, really hoping that lake and office wont look like this in the full release. the brighter lighting just looks kind of ugly to me, and kind of ruins the original vibe of the map. office definitely needs a remake, but the weather shouldnt change. lake is just not great looking but, judging by the water, most likely is just unfinished. most of the remakes are great, but there are definitely a lot of things that look different for the sake of being different.

Philip, you’re such a lifesaver for me, I hardly see any news about cs2, and all your hard work recently is very appreciated.

Am I the only one who feels like the "better lit" versions in cs2 just make it so much more bland removing almost all contrast and richness of color? 1:36 as an example

I kinda liked how shortdust kept the old style of dust, even though it is objectively worse I liked how it differentiated the 2 maps

i love office, im so thankful they barely touched it. but i really hope they bring back the overcast and snow, thats part of what made it so special to me

Most of the maps have completely lost their charm, and I while I understand improving lighting for gameplay, it's gone too far in some cases (Lake, Office, Shoots). I'm hoping this is a result of the game still being in a beta phase, with general art and atmosphere improvements coming later. Some CS:GO maps look considerably better than their Source 2 counterpart, which absolutely shouldn't be happening imho. Awesome map overview, Phillip.

congrats on 1mil, much deserved after years of being the goat of CS:GO patch notes

Oh i haven't liked the sun change on Office, it had kinda of a gritty urban feel, now its just yet another Dust2 sunny day

3:35 that Tetris line just made me realize how young games as we know it really are and how far theve came in a short amount of time

Can’t wait to see how they remaster 2fort for new CSGO, it was my favourite map back in the day, even if never made it into comp rotation, and I’d love to see it with source 2 lighting

I'm really interested how the achievements transfer to cs2. Will they be revamped? Or will they be just even more unachievable without some serious file switching?

CS:S office brings back so many fun memories, it wasn't even remotely balanced but I loved the tension of that map, checking every corner for lurking threats as you crept closer and closer to that hostage room.

Could it be possible that some of these maps, like Office for example, might still be getting further changes? Cause in the reveal video they showed what looked like a completely remade inferno, but then the image of inferno going around along with these other ones just looks like a direct port, implying that maybe it's still subject to change. Of course it could alternatively just be that different parts of Inferno will get more changes than others, so we'll see, but it's exciting to think maybe some of the ones that just look like they're directly ported could maybe change more in the future.

I might have a guess as to what's going on with the aerial at 2:50
Source 1 does not apply Anti Aliasing to $alphatest cutout materials. Maybe they fixed this in source 2? So what you are seeing in the screenshot it just $alphatest cutout material but with AA applied to it. (4k with 8xAA means the AA buffer is 17280x30720. Pretty huge.)
Ben Golus has a fantastic article on the topic called "Anti-aliased Alpha Test: The Esoteric Alpha To Coverage"

What I'm really disappointed about is that in the name of multiplayer competitiveness/visibility, Valve totally butchered map's baked indirect shadows(AO), making everything feels like floating in the air. Half-life Alyx showed us that Source 2's GI solution is perfectly fine dealing with these large scale indirect shadows, it's a shame of seeing it got tuned way down to barely existing in CS2.

Please do more of this I really wanna see your thoughts on Nuke and Inferno, they seemed to have changed a lot! Or at least Inferno has

Keep in mind we mind still see a lot of optimizations in CS2 and that the detail level can still be reduced by a lot over distances and in non-visible parts of the map. Currently it doesnt seem really optimized for performance at all.

me and my brothers used to watch you a lot together, i wasn't old enough to have a PC back then but i liked watching them play and watch you, i'm 20 this year and your voice still hasn't changed, your one of the csgo channels i actually enjoy watching

5:11 have to say i really like this bit of music, it always fits so well with your videos and it's beautiful little details going on behind the melody.

I miss snowy maps like Subzero and Austria, even Royal, I hope we can get one of these back. From the maps we've seen so far, I'm very curious about Overpass, Inferno and Italy, these appear to be looking great. Italy, not that most people would care about it, seems to have a change in layout. In the video, there seems to be a passageway from the tunnel to the middle area. Some layout changes in other maps could be refreshing as well (like changing Cobblestone BACK to when it was nice? Valve pls fix).

I’d love to hear more!!! What are your thoughts on the less gritty and more vibrant art style for cs2, especially on maps like overpass?

this is definitely a map comparison

I think the biggest reason they've kept Office pretty much unchanged is because they know most people playing it aren't doing it competitively, they play it for nostalgia.

At 6:10 this is the new vis3(if I remember correctly) they were adding to s2, this was mentioned in the game s&box's development blog using s2 (in case anyone was curious as to how it's working)

It would be great to see more map screenshot comparisons, but I think it's more important for you to release the quality comparison one first

In the CS2 trailers (iirc the one about porting the maps) there is a shot of ancient t-spawn if anyone is desperate to know if the water in motion looks like.

cs_office is gonna be interesting with the new smokes. Since the current meta is to smoke off entrances and wait until the last minute of the match for the cts to push.

I admire the time u spend making these videos with all these details

This was loads of fun, didn't release they were going to be changing so many maps. Keep it up!

Congrats on a mill! I genuinely would not gib two craps if you just talked about differences between the old and c2 maps. Thanks you king.

cs_office has a VERY different game flow due to geometry changes in the various versions. you can feel a huge difference in gameplay because of the minimal amount of powerful positions. this is in each version. css had the best powerful positions.

Very interesting analysis, definitely interested in another one of these !

Please keep campaigning for an Office remake. I love Office so much!

I like the idea of keeping Office like a CS map time capsule

The shiny floors really give away the lack of ssr or RT. Ssr might look messy without TAA (which would be a bad fit for cs anyway) and RT would allow players with good pc's to see round corners which can't happen.
It would be nice if valve used planar reflections more freely for areas with large flat floors though

Please cover more of the images we've been given. I can't get enough of these analysis.

I would definitely like to see more of this

5:48 i dont think that it was a mistake, in Mirage during the trailer it's noticeable too that the crates now have a smooth low resolution texture... maybe they forgot to add the Detail Textures

Ancient bein the last map added is crazy to me bc it feels like it’s been there for forever

I couldn't believe that picture of the Shoots rework when I first saw it, didn't even recognise it. Can't wait to see more maps added to the beta

I think it's interesting that Shoots took the Aztec/Jungle look, because the old "Pirate" T faction present on the map as the default Ts was consolidated into Guerilla Warfare during Riptide.
If you ever want to continue your series on "updated player models" you should know that most if not all factions were actually updated, but instead of changing the default skins they got slight unique variations and sold as agents.
By looking at the ragdolls you spawned I can infer that old 2012 player models are not present in CS2, so they might all finally get their proper update this summer!
Hope this comment finds its way through this sea.

I kinda love that one of the first maps I was playing in CS:S back in 2004 as a 13 year old is basically the same in CS2 now in my 30s haha.
I’m sure they’ll redo it at some point. And i hope that they just do whatever people who play office these days would prefer. But for now, even though I don’t play it, it’s nice having a portal to the past.

i will really miss the gritty feeling the og csgo map versions gave off. the new ones all look so tidied up and colorful.

3:30 Facepunch made their own Office remake in S&box and it looks amazing

I recently had a job interview and I was very nervous, even after the interview. Man, your videos totally bright my day haha, can't wait to see what Valve's gonna do next! Hope you can do a full map comparison when CS2 gets officially released!

cannot give phil enough

In CS:GO (and other Source 1 games) all maps HAD to be enclosed for visibility calculations, which also led to invisible walls above maps where smokes can't be thrown. It appears Source 2 works differently.

I hope they figure out a way to keep the original color theme of the map while improving the visibility. So far every map feels like the same just with different assets.

I hope Valve watches this because you had some very very good points about the lighting being all the same etc

idk why but i love old short dust and the blue dust 1 and 2. they just hit different

As a Lake main I can tell you that the new lake lukes beuatiful. The dark corners in basement are brightened up and you can see through the windows much easier from the outside.

As someone who's 300 hours of playtime in this game is only arms race, I'm excited for all the arms race maps. HOPEFULLY there is still a playerbase on those maps this time.

Would be amazing if they added weather effects like rain, lightning, fog etc

sad about Office losing it's gloom but besides Lake's water I like the new beachier feel with the nice blue skies. The evening/dusk setting was great for a lot of these maps like Baggage but it felt like an excuse to make things unreasonably dark. Office's weather gives it meaning whereas Baggage is dark because industrial, which shouldn't be inherently true.

Most of the maps would look better with a straight port of the new lighting systems but they need to figure out how to align this with the mood of a given map more specifically

I love juicy and nitpicky comparisons. Can’t wait for your future CS2 vids.

Philip changes our life, our perspective, the way we feel about Counter Stirik. His knowledge only empowers us to keep playing and pushing, even if its B. Thank you God

Gotta agree with your take on lake, I want the light to be more orange-y/yelllowish like the old one, kinda like dusk or dawn sunlight

The lighting techniques seem miles better, especially with less overly harsh lighting, but some of the maps have taken a hit to the atmosphere and moodiness of their lighting. I do believe, however, that that could be corrected while still preserving readability and the technical level of the lighting.

Great comparison! I really like the new look but i still feel like it way too cartoony. I understand its for visibility but still

The wood downgrade at 5:48 is a little worrying. It does seem like they are making the game look less photorealistic and more cartoony.

Baggage was done right for sure. Redesigned for visibility, but also made more visually appealing in my mind

Hope that we get to play and explore the reworked overpass soon.

Are we sure every screenshot is really showing the version of the map we will be getting at the release of CS2? There are also screenshots of the current Inferno ported to CS2 and it looks the same as in CSGO, but a new and reworked version was hinted at in the CS2 trailers (hidden in the Italy footage). So maybe they have been working on reworks of older maps like Office as well and the screenshots are just left overs in the gamefiles from older CS2 versions?

Honestly, a lot of the CS:GO shots look a lot better IMO than the CS2 shots. Like a lot of modern games Valve is going for flatter textures than realistic, messy ones with CS2, and so even with the great lighting improvements it has a more "gamey" look to it. Also doesn't help that they seem to be strategically removing any moodiness from the maps, like Office to me looks far cooler to me with the overcast and falling snow.

Fun Fact: The Lake map is actually a flip on Left 4 Dead's Death Toll Map 5 (The Boathouse). Plenty of maps in CSGO are flips on L4D1/2 maps!

What do you use to compare both images? And is there a way (on said program) to compare video?

I cant wait for them to release more maps so I can watch 3kliks finding new cool things on them

Please do the other maps if you can, thank you!

Real question is, do we still have the anarchists in CS2 as they have basically ONLY ever been used for Office in terms of official maps for CS:GO

I love office so much, I really want to see an overhaul of it

I don't play CS:GO at all, and honestly most likely won't play CS2 ever (I usually get demolished playing even in casual, so it makes it hard to wanna get better) but I really enjoy these videos, because I can barely know anything about CS:GO/CS:S etc. and still come out feeling entertained, and like I learned something awesome. Honestly, this is the only CS channel I watch for that reason.

How’d you get the flags to line up so perfectly on the office comparison shots?

From the trailers it looked like they updated CS Italy map with new route from long halls to middle.
Office is untouched but they needed to make some changes in textures and remove some hiding spots

its amazing how you matched the map screenshot at a pixel level

They done ruined Shoots, Lake and Office bro aint no way

The one thing I'm curious about in CS2 is what sort of new anti-cheat solutions will Valve bring ? I totally understand they don't want to be too open about it but I'll remain skeptical until CS2 is actually out and we get some feedback.

The issue that I have with CS2 is that most of the maps will have the same color grading and brightness. I don't know man but CSGO maps have like their own lighting, color grading, etc.
In CS2 every map is too bright for my liking and the overuse of the blueish theme is overkill. Valve wants to improve visibility but there could be another way.

I am surprised you didn't cover the spawn area from baggage. It looked super real to me and i had to pause the video during my reaction just to take it all in.

Philip when you said 'if you are interested in this kind of content' I wanted to reach through the screen and grab you by your collar! 😂 this is exactly the content I love you to do and it seems like you like it too so - yes - please more of this! 💪🏼

this is what I’m excited for phillip to discuss when CS2 came out coz when I saw overpass on the trailer, I thought nothing has changed but when I compared it when I was playing, a lot has been different.

@7:45 That's not blue and orange! It's blue and yellow! Simple test: does it look more like the color of a banana, or an orange? Granted, there's a little rust on there that adds a little reddish/brown but it's definitely lellow, as the small children say. I can't imagine what *yellow* must look like to you!

I am really looking forward to the Community maps thought, it is really exciting for me

Imagine maps with multiple weather conditions instead of a bland blue sky. Now that would be something.

I think with everything being sunny they're focusing way more on the visibility aspect than aestethics.

I appreciate these kind of videos, thank you!!

Ok this is insane. As a casual (1000 hours cs:go) I went on the website and checked out all the new infos we got and instantly thought as well that it feels like stuff just was made brighter but sometimes also has less textures. Getting confirmed by someone who knows nearly everything in and about cs makes me wonder how good the update really will be and how much work valve really put into cs2.

Source 1: everything is blue-greyish
Source 2: everything is bright

completely unrealted to the comparison but these map before and after always give me a sense of nostalgia for spot the difference puzzle i used to do as a kid

Huh...I think I like a lot of the GSGO maps more, visually. I like the grittier look, the more contrast-y lighting. It's more moody and has more atmosphere. And the architecture in the old Short Dust, with the domed rooves and more elaborate decorations looks better imo, new dust looks more generic and bland. But they ARE all more readable...

I want to see valve turn mirage into the first night time map in competitive play. They could use flashlights and super dark areas to show off source 2 lighting in a different way than these hyper bright maps do.