Counter-Strike

Counter-Strike

Developer(s)

Valve Corporation
Barking Dog Studios (additional development)
Maverick Developments (training level - removed since 1.5)

Publisher(s)

Sierra Entertainment (retail)
Valve Corporation

Series

Counter-Strike series

Release date(s)

November 9, 2000 

Windows (mod):
June 19, 1999
Windows (standalone):
November 9, 2000
macOS, Linux:
January 24, 2013

Genre(s)

Tactical first-person shooter

Mode(s)

Multiplayer

Platform(s)

Windows, macOS, Linux

Engine

GoldSrc

Steam AppID

10

Written in

C++

Mod support

Yes, drop-in folders

SDK

Half-Life SDK

System requirements

• Win 7 or later
• 800 MHz CPU
• 512 MB RAM
• 4 GB disk space
• 32 MB VRAM video card

Steam Deck compatbility

Playable

Distribution

Retail, Steam

Official website

Official Website (archived)

Links

Steam page
ModDB page

Previous game

N/A

Next game

Counter-Strike (Xbox port)
Counter-Strike: Condition Zero

Play the world's number 1 online action game. Engage in an incredibly realistic brand of terrorist warfare in this wildly-popular team-based game. Ally with teammates to complete strategic missions. Take out enemy sites. Rescue hostages. Your role affects your team's success. Your team's success affects your role.

Counter-Strike (CS for short, retroactively refering to Counter-Strike 1.6) was first released as a Half-Life mod under the name Half-Life: Counter-Strike on June 19th, 1999. The Counter-Strike Mod was developed by Minh "Gooseman" Le and Jess "Cliffe" Cliffe until April 12th, 2000, when Valve announced that the Counter-Strike developers and Valve had teamed up. Since then, Counter-Strike has been available to buy. The latest version of Counter-Strike is 1.6, released on September 15, 2003, a few days after Steam launched, since then, the game continues to receive updates, like many other GoldSrc games. Since the release of later Counter-Strike games, it was commonly and retroactively called Counter-Strike 1.6 (CS 1.6 for short) to distinguish it from other Counter-Strike games.

Counter-Strike later become one of the most popular FPS franchises, and was widely played in tournaments since 2000s. Two new Counter-Strike games were later released in 2004 on PC, titled Counter-Strike: Condition Zero and Counter-Strike: Source respectively.

Dedicated server

Main article:  Half-Life Dedicated Server

Versions

Main article:  Counter-Strike/Versions

The first beta version was released in June 19, 1999, as a Half-Life mod. Counter-Strike was officially launched in November 9, 2000, as version 1.0.

The final major version of Counter-Strike is 1.6, released on September 15, 2003, few days after Steam launched. Since then, Counter-Strike, like many other GoldSrc games, now only receiving minor updates (such as engine and security updates). Previous (WON) versions of Counter-Strike, such as 1.5 are still remains playable online until 2004 when WON master servers were completely closed, forcing user to use direct IP workarounds, patching the game to use WON2 servers, playing LAN/Offline or simply update to 1.6.

Since then, Counter-Strike is available to purchase and does not require Half-Life to be purchased to play (on Steam).

Maps

Official maps

Counter-Strike maps use the following prefixes: de_ for Bomb Defusal, as_ for Assassination, and cs_ for Hostage Rescue. Counter-Strike previously also used to have a Training mode and map (tr_<number>) at launch, before it was removed with the release of CS 1.6.

Version 1.6 of Counter-Strike has the following official maps included:

Hostage scenario: cs_747 - since 10 March 2000 (Beta 6) cs_assault - since July 1999 (Beta 1.1) cs_backalley - since 23 December 1999 (Beta 5) cs_estate - since 8 June 2000 (Beta 6.5) cs_havana - since 24 April 2002 (1.4) cs_italy - since 8 June 2000 (Beta 6.5) cs_militia - since 14 September 1999 (Beta 3) cs_office - since 26 September 2000 (Beta 7) cs_siege - since 19 June 1999 (Beta 1)

Bombing scenario: de_airstrip - since 16 January 2003 de_aztec - since June 8 2000 (Beta 6.5) de_cbble - since June 8 2000 (Beta 6.5) cs_chateau - since April 24 2002 (1.4) de_dust - since 5 December 1999 (Beta 4) de_dust2 - since 13 March 2001 (1.1) de_inferno - since 13 March 2001 (1.1) de_nuke - since 5 December 1999 (Beta 4) de_piranesi - since 12 June 2002 (1.5) de_prodigy - since 5 December 1999 (Beta 4) de_storm - since 21 September 2001 (1.3) de_survivor - since 21 September 2001 (1.3) de_torn - since 21 September 2001 (1.3) de_train - since 23 December 1999 (Beta 5) de_vertigo - since 13 March 2001 (1.1)

Assasination scenario: as_oilrig - since 10 March 2000 (Beta 6)

Limitations/Bugs

Warning:This game is no longer actively updated and only receives engine and security updates. Furthermore, the game is currently bugged due to the Half-Life 25th anniversary update.

Workaround: ReGameDLL_CS may solve some problems but introduce others. This is a server-side mod; clients do not need to modify their installation to connect to servers running ReGameDLL_CS.

Bug:Cycler entities disappear at the start of a new round. Use env_sprite instead, which can be used for MDL or BSP models, despite the name.  [todo tested in?]

Use GitHub in order to prevent duplicate or outdated bug reports at the wiki.

Bots

Warning:There are no bots in the game, unlike some later titles.

Workaround:All Counter-Strike 1.6 maps can be run in Counter-Strike: Condition Zero to use CS_Bot.

Workaround:A third party option can be used:

• zBots had commands like bot_nav_merge https://forums.alliedmods.net/showpost.php?p=268544&postcount=14
• YaPB https://yapb.jeefo.net

and others. See http://www.bots-united.com.

Mods

Main article:  Counter-Strike/Mods

There are a few mods that significantly change the gameplay.

Notes

• Client-side fps_max is capped at 100 (on Steam version), formerly 72 (WON/Retail, like Quake) but can be changed with 3 commands:
  1. gl_vsync 0 // Disable VSync (Vertical Sync) - this options prevents screen tearing at the cost of lower and varied FPS and more input lag.
  2. fps_max 100 // Replace 100 with your desired FPS value.
  3. fps_override 1
• Some sources advocate against setting fps_max above 100, as it can cause player movements to slow down significantly (most noticeable when jumping).
• The server-side tickrate is 60.^[confirm]
• Counter-Strike had built-in voice communication since 1.3.

Trivia

• The pirated copies of 1.6 in Russia, most of Asia and several other countries had a menu theme that is not in the Steam version. The most frequently used track was the main theme made from Condition Zero Deleted Scenes by Zak Belica, as well as a cut-down version which was also played on the Xbox version of Counter-Strike.

Tip:This behavior can be replicated by placing an MP3 file named gamestartup.mp3 in the cstrike/media/ folder.

• The Versions before 1.6 of Counter-Strike were free and non-standalone (meaning you needed to own a base game to play it) mods for Half-Life WON due to Counter-Strike not being owned by Valve yet and still were only operated by Minh "Gooseman" Le and Jess Cliffe. ^{[confirm][Clarify]}
• The font used for the menu title in 1.5 is facelift. The font used for the menu items is Silk Remington Pro Seven.