CS 2 incorporates a faster and more accurate Sub-Tick update mechanism

There have been rumors for several years that CS:GO would switch to the Source 2 engine, and Valve has finally announced CS 2 today, officially confirming the engine upgrade. This brings better game graphics and scene interaction mechanisms, but for hardcore game players, graphics improvements are meaningless. They usually set the graphics to the lowest setting, even using a 4:3 aspect ratio and ultra-low resolution to play CS. The real significant upgrade comes from the Sub-Tick update architecture that Vavle has newly announced.

In first-person shooter games like FPS, the input update rate, i.e. Tick Rate, is a critical server parameter that affects the keyboard and mouse input response of players. For example, if a player presses the left mouse button, but the game just passed the server update cycle, it will cause a firing delay. Some player movements, such as big jumps, sudden stops, and jump peeks, are also easier to perform at higher Tick rates. Currently, the CS:GO official server uses 64 Tick, while Faceit and 5Eplay platforms use 128 Tick. This makes many high-end players choose the latter.

However, in CS 2, Valve aims to go further in Tick Rate because the original Source 1 engine can already achieve 128 Tick, and it is only a matter of server-side reasons. Therefore, the new generation of games introduces the Sub-Tick update architecture. Valve claims that there will be more subtle and decimal-level responses at each frequency point, providing more precise and faster responses. Currently, the game will open an invite-only beta test, and the effect of Sub-Tick remains to be seen from players’ actual combat feedback.

CS 2 will be released this summer. Compared with the slightly speculative title of CS:GO, this is the real Counter-Strike sequel that many veteran CS players have been waiting for.