Trying to understand the obsession with CS:S

I just got the game about a month ago because everyone has it and everybody plays it on NBR.

So i popped it in played a few games and I feel like if i threw the game away tomorrow i wouldn't lose any sleep. I play cod2 a lot online as well as fear, and i love half life 2 but this just seems way different from those fps games. Granted I'm not that good at CS:S since i just got it, so i die within the first few minutes of a round and have to sit through the rest.

But it seems i started too late with this game as everybody knows all the maps as well as where to wait for people and what cracks to look through while scoping. Don't feel like sitting through hours of dying to learn the maps and little tricks to the game.

This is not fun for me. So i was just wondering if im missing something here because i love FPS games or if it's just not for me? (I do very very well on cod2 and fear, so its not that im terrible at FPS).

 

It's a great game. I read at least half a dosen weapon and map guides before starting. Its best to stick to one map to enjoy the game the most. Also, its best to start playing on DeathMatch servers, in which you dont have to wait around if your character dies.

And the Source engine does an excellent job of conforming to old hardware and still giving good graphical gameplay. Each weapon is unique, and has its own properties of recoil and damage.

 

Well, I don't know much about it, but I have heard the obsession comes from the ability to use sniper rifle...

 

It's fun but alot of shots are so "gimme" rather than precisely layed out. And that AWP or whatever is a cheap weapon. I prefer to play BF2 when I want realism with fast paced action or for real insanity I play Call of Duty or Call of Duty 2

 

I'm not obsessed with regular CS but i am obsessed with the zombie mod,

 

I understand.

When I first started playing CSS I was blown away by how difficult it was compared to other FPS. And I'd like to think I'm pretty good -- played Roque Spear for years, Quake's, COD2 -- etc. Never had too much difficulty being in the top 2-3 of any server. CSS was very different...

But I got better. And I play death-match servers only -- I find these servers much more enjoyable. Getting shot and waiting 20 minutes is NOT fun.

Check out the servers in my sig -- the first one is the one I play mostly.

Stay away from AWP if you can -- it is a very cheap gun that a lot of noobs use. Anyone can outshoot someone 300 yards away with a scope.

I find that the FAMAS or AK47 is a very good primary gun, especially the first one (at least for me). 25 rounds of powerful goodness -- plus the recoil is very little.

Also the Stery Aug (awesome because you can zoom).

..and for pistol I always get the Deagle. 1-2 shots will kill anyone.

Edit: Also -- If you are sick of AWP-noobs who think they're god's, check out server#2-3 for the types of maps that are not good for AWP. If you use a scoped rifle on these maps you'll end up loosing.

 

I hate the fact that you can't lean or fall flat, the player's moves are too limited for true skilled killers. And don't start calling me leaner if you ever played BHD or RO agains me, I ain't one of them...

 

I don't play with AWP. I don't mind any other weapon in the game. If you get on a no AWP server you will have a better time. Also, I would not play on a server with more than 20 people (10/team) so the rounds are more organized and get over quicker.

I like Counter-Strike because the graphics are good, the weapons are great (except for AWP), a lot of people use Mics, you must use teamwork to win, and there's an objective.

 

Psh, whining about the AWP, you all know nothing!

My suggestion, plan office and use the tmp. When you can ace the other team with the tmp then you're ready for every other gun. I admit I'm biased because I've been playing CS since...I have no idea but back in the days of WON before Steam and can actually ace a team on office with the tmp.

Learn to aim for the head, teach yourself to hide when you reload and not reflexively reload after one shot, don't run around looking at the ground, and get a good headset to listen for footsteps.

The learning curve on CS is different than any other game which is why I love it. Battlefield is all about taking and holding points and each individual kill doesn't really mean much. R6 games are more intense but all the eight million guns in the game shoot pretty much the same way: inaccurate and under powered and the net code sucks so online play is a chore. It takes a long time to become really good at any CS game and even then there will always be someone better.

That being said I played Rogue Spear until my fingers bled (not literally) and that game had more quality custom maps than CS will ever have. Ravenshield definitely didn't wow me unless you like sitting around reading for 90% of each game while campers let the play clock run out. Also, I have played MOH:AA, BF:1942/2142, CoD 1 and 2, TFC, Unreal Tournament, Quake (various versions) and who knows how many other first person shooters online so I certainly didn't let it take over my gaming life.

 

I share your feelings. I'm a huge FPS fan in general, but CS or CSS just never did it for me.

 

I have to second the motion. I think its a pretty ´cheap´game. But my fav. online FPS is Red Orchestra so that might also explain my angle.

 

I used to hate source when I first started and almost quit. Then I figured to give t another shot and I joined a clan. I then started to play more because it was fun to frag and joke around. The more we scrimmed the better I got until I slowly made playing the game as a source of income (student income that is) and I stuck with it. Just try to find some nice people to play with it and you will enjoy it and if you get any good start playing in cevo because winning it means big bux.

 

I wish I could make money playing a game online. I kick serious @$$ in Call of Duty

 

I don't even know how to join a clan in CSS.

 

im not sure if i will play it anymore. probably stick with the call of duty's and fear.

i just got oblivion today to see what the hype is about... not really enjoying it after about 2 hours of gameplay.

not sure what is going on and all this potion, magic, eat/sleep, dragonslayer nonsense is kind of dorky if you ask me. i guess i'll just stick to my jock fps and strategy games.

 

I'm not used to games like Oblivion at all.

Honestly I don't like it...

I just enjoy listening to the music (once you get out of the caves).

And the graphics are beautiful to look at.

I'm not sure if I'll ever finish it...

 

1.6 FTW. Too bad the learning curve on that is probably bigger than Source. Source has always seemed the noobier of the two to me, and the spray headshot with just about every gun is incredibly annoying. I hate Source hitboxes. If you can headshot someone with the pump shotty on the other side of the map, something's wrong there.

 

yeah i dont like any RPG's one bit.... played some more oblivion and i can't seem to get the hang of it. i mean you gotta bribe people with bribing skills, you have to charm people with your personality level?

graphics are pretty nice though... my aging 9800 pro handles it nicely at 1024x768 @ medium AA off all sliders at 1/3.

 

I think you'll find the addictiveness of CSS comes from the fact that you can just pick it up and drop it without worrying about how much time you put into it. Unlike MMORPGs, CSS requires no long term requirement to play it to the fullest extent. A few rounds after joining a CSS server and you can buy the top end guns and go to town. That and its free.

That, and consider the game it was based on. The original CS spawned from half life - one of the best games ever made. And with god knows how many millions of copies sold and CS starting out as a free download... it has a huge player base going into it's retail version. Hence the hype.

It's also similar to Half Life in that both continue to be popular is because they are easily moddable. In that I mean players can turn around and make their own maps, their own gun models, player models... in a sense its highly customizable.

 

The first time you outflank the opposing team and run them through with a C90 semiautomatic like hot knife through butter, getting 6 hs kills at close range while the custom sound effects proclaim you to be "Unstoppable!!!", you'll see the appeal of CS:S.

Also, the AWP is pretty cheap, but you do need skill with it on an AWP map to be successful. A lot of new players try to move a little bit while firing it, or haven't mastered the jump n' shoot, and get pwned pretty easily. 'Course you always have the occasional player camping in T spawn on dust2 with it, just waiting the entire round for you to round a particular corner.

If you're new to CS:S, I'd recommend some Gun Games first, very quick, no wait, and you'll pick up on the basics as well as gun characteristics very quickly.

EDIT: Finally, do not play on servers with DWP (dynamic weapon pricing), Valve can be retarded sometimes, and if you're new and play on those servers you will never be able to afford certain weapons. Finally, notice that nightvision goggles are $1. ::laugh::

 

Picking up 1.6 isn't hard at all after you been playing source for a while. I switched from CS:S to 1.6 because there was more competition and I easily fit in with the diehards that played when people were repping WONIDS.
Like gator mentioned avoid dynamic weapon pricing servers because they are probably the worst idea vavle has put out. I blame that choice 100% on the whining noobs on the steam forum complaining about the AK kills in 1 shot OMG MAKE PRICES HIgher and stuff like that. Then valve decides to go through with it without considering the effect it would have on the competitve side of the game. Overall its an addicting game because all you have to pay for is the interent your on and the game no monthly subscription.

 

I've been playing CS:S for 3 months now (heck I only been playing PC fames for ~6months) and theres a world of difference between it and more conventional FPS. I was watching my mates play Gears of War the other day and it takes a lot less skill than CS, although I'll probably suck at that now since I've fully converted to mouse and keyboard. My advice is to find a map you like, find a server with low latency and has restricted AWPs (and auto-snipers imo). Keep at it for a while and you should improve. I'm not brilliant but got invited into clan so anyone can be half decent at CS.

 

Great advice there Best Foot Forward. Without people using the AWP (I don't mind auto but it's not exactly a good weapon and I certainly don't complain when it is blocked ) I am able to play more comfortably and maintain a better kill/death ratio.

To get better at CS:S you can also target practice; create a server with a number of bots on the other team (equip bots with knives only) and learn the traits of certain guns, etc. dust2 is an ideal map to target shoot on. I'll usually play a bot game before going into a real server to "warm up."

 

Chaz put forward a good idea; learn patten especially spray patterns. I have gone into too many servers when people don't know how to control there gun and you could set up a picnic waiting for a stray bullet to hit you. Try creating your own server and start spraying a wall and watch where the bullets go. then on your next clip pull down slightly and to the right and you will notice that the bullets become closer together. Shooting in burst helps out a lot and make sure you know your maps so you can get into cover if and when a flash is thrown. Aiming for the upper chest is also the best bet because an uncontrolled shot from standing usually will hit the head by the 3rd bullet. Just practice on your own for a bit and get a good understanding of the maps and guns and you will find the game moer then enjoyable.

 

A few tips for if you didnt know.

Crouch makes the croshair tiny so u can shoot more accurate.
Listen to the sounds of the game! If you hear footsteps and you look at the map top left and you dont see your blue dot (if counter terorist) then you know its a enemy and line up and shoot once he pops out. I usually have flashbangs ready.

Dont run out like a fool, it aint quake 3. I try to play like if i was in a real world .
Its my favorite game and i love the feeling of the game.

There is loads of awsome maps that makes the game more fun. Like zombie ones. Man imagine one person out of a team of 20 turns into a zombie then we all try and get as high as possible and shoot it cause its health regenerates. Awsome fun game. Gona play it now .

 

Play on the "gg_ " (gun game) maps or "zm_" (zombie) maps. Its wreckless fun

 

In regards to the first post thats exactly where I stand. I got DSL in 2004 so thats when I actually tried to play a little CS. Dunno when Source came out but I got it when the ATI 9800 series came out. So compared to my friends who have played at those internet cafes for hours, joined clans, played at those CS tournaments... I am most definitely behind.

I run around, see the enemy, click when the cross hair is on them... and I die. I hit ` and I find out that they hit me in the chest and head while I gave them 0 damage.

Although I never get the gratification of going on a killing spree to KNOW that someone out there is going NOOOOOOOO I was killed by awdark (people never see it as a.w. dark its always awwdark >_<) occasionally killing someone is just a really nice thing to hope for.
I like it though... last summer I was dedicated to getting a bit better at it. I was soo happy when I got 1 kill to 2 deaths.

What I don't understand is the obsession people have with CS 1.6! Its OLD CSS at least looks nice!

 

Honestly, most of the reason CS is so popular is.... that many of the people who play it don't know many alternatives. It became a huge hit when it first appeared, which among other things meant that it pulled in a lot of people who didn't previously play FPS games... And so they don't know what other FPS games have to offer.

Because CS is not as unique as some of its fans (zealots) believe. It's good fun, especially when playing with a few friends, but it also has its weaknesses, and there are a lot of reasons why I'd rather play other game types... (Nothing beats Team Fortress imo)

 

The reason why the game is popular is because it is where all the money is and it is a much faster game then source. People have grown accustomed to playing it and when they load up source they find it not as fluent as its predecessor. Another that holds people back from the game is there computers people use. CS 1.6 is not a demanding game at all but to play CS:S at a reasonable quality you need a newer desktop/notebook. There is more of a challenge in the game to due to the fact that people have 6+ years of experience playing it. To get to the point people would rather have better gameplay then graphics.

 

While I agree TFC is a fantastic game which I would play over CS if it was a bit more active, I don't think CS people play it because they don't know anything else. I've played practically every FPS out there which you can play online and I always end up back at CS because it's just fun. It's instant action, fun weapons, plenty of custom maps, a great community, mods out the wazoo, and so on.

I do miss my 2Forts concing and rocket jumping all over the place, though.

 

I love unreal 2004! especially instagib with lowgrafity is very funny if you have the skills to own. I have more than 2 years the demo of ut2004 and i play that game almost every day 20 to 40 minutes.

 

I've played Counter-strike since beta 3. Any of you old school gamers will probably know that that was like in 2001. Needless to say, to me, Counter-strike is no longer fun at all. I played it a bit 3-4 months ago when I stopped playing WoW, but I haven't played CS at all lately. The gameplay is just so mundane and boring nowadays, the most I manage to play is like for 15-30 minutes before I call it quits.

 

yeah that's the reason i made this thread

CS:S just seems so mundane. nothing to offer that is any different or exciting from other fps

 

Well I finally figured out how to play well after 4 months.

1. Keep moving all the time
2. Rather than hold down the trigger every time, click your mouse as if it were semi.
3. Rush the enemy hard so they don't see you coming.