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Counter-Strike: A billion-dollar game built in a dorm room

nytimes.com

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Re: Counter-Strike: A billion-dollar game built in a dorm room

#171

Post by Melatonic »

ToDougie wrote: post #85
Melatonic wrote: post #25

1.5 was peak CS in my opinion. No shield bullshit and massive amounts of customization and maps and servers. as_oilrig ftw

Used to play CS1.6 for 30-40 hours a week in a DFW-based server called A Better Place to Play. Every time as_oilrig showed up in the rotation, people would scramble to join me on the CTs. We had so many great strategies, we could win almost every round. (And mind you this was a 32-person pub.) Greatest of times, and only possible because the server had a dedicated community and our clan was meticulous. Also there wer…

The AS and CS game modes were a bit janky and I believe included in the very first versions (or early on). I started playing way before 1.0 and I think they just fell out of favor because of that. A solid VIP game though was a blast !

Re: Counter-Strike: A billion-dollar game built in a dorm room

#172

Post by ethan_smith »

hvgenrbrbdh wrote: post #100

I feel like a modern CS1.6 clone that is open-source, community run servers (only), no match-making, modable by design, could actually work. Even in 2025. Just needs some internet meme magic and a few dedicated devs

Check out "CS2D" - it's exactly what you're describing and has been running successfully for years with an active community and regular updates.

Re: Counter-Strike: A billion-dollar game built in a dorm room

#173

Post by scotty79 »

TheAceOfHearts wrote: post #47

Something that wasn't mentioned in the article is that Counter-Strike spawned the creation of the most iconic FPS map ever: de_dust2. If an FPS supports custom maps, it's inevitable that de_dust2 will get ported to it. There's actually a mini-documentary about the creation of de_dust2 [0] which I think will be of interest to FPS fans. I wonder if de_dust2 is the most played FPS map or if it has been dethroned by some…

I really don't like how modern games are played on just a handful of fixed maps where players go through the same memorized motions thousands of times. The way we used to play Quake back in the day was that we had hundreds of maps and played one after the other maybe for few rounds at most. We were coming back only to very few bizarre and fun ones. Game involved finding yourself out in your new environment. It engaged spatial intelligence.

Give me any team vs team games that are played on procedurally generated maps.

Re: Counter-Strike: A billion-dollar game built in a dorm room

#174

Post by shoo »

echelon_musk wrote: post #111
simlevesque wrote: post #32

Heads up to those who played CS:GO years ago and like money. I was a pretty active player from 2012 to 2014. Back then I got dozens of crates that I didn't open, now worth as high as 31$CAD each. I looked it up last week and it's worth over a thousand dollars in Steam. I cashed in on almost half of it and now I have some cash to buy games for my family and friends.

Did this a few years ago and made close to $350. However, if I reflect on how much time I spent in the game in order to receive that much money it's laughable as it was easily 2 thousand hours of game play. I have two tips: Sell hardware and then you can get real cash. For example, use the Steam Wallet balance to buy Steam Deck Docks which you ship directly from Steam to your customer on eBay. Secondly, use Steam Eco…

> However, if I reflect on how much time I spent in the game in order to receive that much money it's laughable as it was easily 2 thousand hours of game play.

but, you weren't playing the game as a job to make money, you were playing to have fun (hopefully?) so arguably the extra surprise money is a bonus.

for me, playing a game in order to make real world money would turn it into an awful grind and sap all the joy out of it

Re: Counter-Strike: A billion-dollar game built in a dorm room

#175

Post by jaimex2 »

Spooky23 wrote: post #167
epolanski wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I legit miss early 2000s gaming. 1) People interacted, they truly did. Dramas, friendship, everything. Where? Quakenet, Forums. Every clan had their channel, some easily reached 1000+ people. 2) People genuinely played together in teams: CS, Day of Defeat, you name it. You had your clan and spammed #5on5 on quakenet. 3) Those clans actually met in lan! At Smau Italian Lan Party 2002 there were more than 60 Counter St…

That was an innocent and wonderful time for many of us, but there was a dark side to it, especially as this haven for nerds went mainstream. I have a good friend who was basically groomed/seduced in ann online game and raped by a 35 year old man when she was 13. It just sucks on so many levels that we can’t have nice things because many among us are beasts.

That is some crazy mental gymnastics.

Re: Counter-Strike: A billion-dollar game built in a dorm room

#176

Post by anonwebguy »

rimunroe wrote: post #72

I will forever mourn the general demise of server browsers. Too many games require you to use matchmaking systems, which means it's very hard to build up a small community in-game anymore. You either have to rely on forming small parties with people you've stumbled upon one by one, or you have to seek out people from some much larger area like Reddit or Discord. It takes a lot of the serendipity out of the experience…

I use to help run Quick Gaming and was a mod on Allied Modders. Great times, taught me a lot.

Re: Counter-Strike: A billion-dollar game built in a dorm room

#177

Post by EamonnMR »

andrepd wrote: post #137
ManlyBread wrote: post #34

I was looking forward towards the Classic Offensive mod but then Valve DMCA'd it just a few days before the release. Awful move considering that not only they've okayed it before but also completely ignored the developers when they were trying to contact them. 8 years of development for nothing.

Valve gets away with murder for some reason even though the "gAMeR" community loves to get the pitchforks out for several minor controversies per month.

Gotta be a sunk cost thing right?

Re: Counter-Strike: A billion-dollar game built in a dorm room

#178

Post by doublerabbit »

Lammy wrote: post #156
jokoon wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Toxicity is what killed the game for me. I was really involved in how serious cs was being played in 2002 or 2003, but valve did not seize the opportunity. 5v5 is the best format. Even today, the matchmaking is horrendous and toxic teammates ruin the fun. When you solo queue, individual performance is ignored, so you must carry your whole team if you want to gain rank. The game is great but generates too much frustra…

> toxic teammates ruin the fun Relevant myg0t: https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/171762 (2004, NSFW) This Flash was my introduction to Refused though so that's cool

Vintage.

Re: Counter-Strike: A billion-dollar game built in a dorm room

#179

Post by jldugger »

zingababba wrote: post #98
TheAceOfHearts wrote: post #47

Something that wasn't mentioned in the article is that Counter-Strike spawned the creation of the most iconic FPS map ever: de_dust2. If an FPS supports custom maps, it's inevitable that de_dust2 will get ported to it. There's actually a mini-documentary about the creation of de_dust2 [0] which I think will be of interest to FPS fans. I wonder if de_dust2 is the most played FPS map or if it has been dethroned by some…

I still don't get how dust2 became more popular than the original dust.

Sniper battles from spawn, and no nade hallway of doom?

Re: Counter-Strike: A billion-dollar game built in a dorm room

#180

Post by 0xDEAFBEAD »

epolanski wrote: post #142
rimunroe wrote: post #72

I will forever mourn the general demise of server browsers. Too many games require you to use matchmaking systems, which means it's very hard to build up a small community in-game anymore. You either have to rely on forming small parties with people you've stumbled upon one by one, or you have to seek out people from some much larger area like Reddit or Discord. It takes a lot of the serendipity out of the experience…

I legit miss early 2000s gaming. 1) People interacted, they truly did. Dramas, friendship, everything. Where? Quakenet, Forums. Every clan had their channel, some easily reached 1000+ people. 2) People genuinely played together in teams: CS, Day of Defeat, you name it. You had your clan and spammed #5on5 on quakenet. 3) Those clans actually met in lan! At Smau Italian Lan Party 2002 there were more than 60 Counter St…

All the like/share/upvote stuff makes the internet much less authentic. Imagine going to a party where everyone offers a thumbs up/thumbs down whenever you finish a sentence. Do you anticipate making any close friends at this party?
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