As the game progressed from its humble beginnings, so did those who played it. Those original gamers who kept playing grew in skill and gradually learned the intricacies of the CS play-style and learned the changing maps. They shaped the first unique CS experiences.

CS: You're Famous!

As CS progressed through the "timely" BETA stages, it grew in fame as the game play became better balanced, new features were added or perfected and better maps were made. It wasn't until the later BETA's, with the added public exposure CS was getting, that there came along a new type of player. Compared to those who had been playing for some months at this point, these new players were so pathetic, so unbelievably uncoordinated and often so annoying that they could only be described as... n00bs, newbs, or just plain newbies.

These are the players that both made the game a huge success and, at the same time, hamper it with poor players and super-cheats.

With the growth in popularity of the game and the release of the retail version of CS, these "newbie" players arrived in droves -- players who were not necessarily experienced at FPS games or, in fact, any computer game. They were the first ones to walk around drunkenly as they struggled to come to grips with ‘walking' with a mouse and keyboard. They were the ones who took 30 seconds to line up the crosshairs with a still target and forgot the jump key mid-game. They were the first to not know how to plant a bomb, defuse one, and rescue the hostges. They were the first true "n00bs" to CS. Some of these new gamers went on to become experienced players and also added much to CS in the way of tactics and community.

This growth in fan base has continued throughout the last two-plus years. Coming three years of constant growth, the way CS is played and those who play it are very different. So, after all this "progress", is CS being played at a higher level everywhere than ever before? Is team-work more widespread?

As a direct result of this soaring popularity: currently, on average, CS players are worse than ever before. "What!? Worse than ever before?!? How can everyone be getting worse?!"

This drop in overall skill has nothing to do with a lack of skilled players -- in fact there are more skilled and experienced players than ever before. Clan and tournament play are at a higher standard than ever as many train (too!) many hours a day. Rather, this situation is a result of the huge influx of new players in response to the continuing popularity of CS. These new players may arrive with limited gaming skills and may not stay playing for long, yet they form a large proportion of the CS community.

Despite this, many "CS veterans" will argue that the game has lost something -- and in some ways it has. Flooded with cheaters and newbies, many long-time players see the current state of play as a shadow of what it was before it was "infected" with popularity. Although online CS game play has weathered the test of time resiliently, it could not remain exactly the same. Online play is not what it used to be on most public servers - however, if you put enough time and effort into finding a good server or clan to play with, online-CS is better than ever.

So has this drop in overall skill badly affected Counter-Strike and its players? Not disastrously. It definitely has had an impact on many public servers but there are still many good games to be had. In the face of the increase in the percentage of new gamers, the proportion of good players in the community has held up remarkably. Experienced CS players that keep playing and remain part of the community are what keep the game alive. This can be largely attributed to the long learning curve CS has managed to attain: it is easy to learn yet difficult to master. That, as well as the broad CS community (That we all know and love! Well, sometimes...) keep CS running solidly.

The bottom line is that although the average skill level of CS players may have dropped (and the state of play on many public servers makes me shudder) -- rest assured, good game play is still available aplenty. You just need to know where to look.

The Future

CS: CZ will renew CS popularity. Again.
Looking forward into the next few months to the release of CS 1.4/HL 1.1.0.8 and CS:CZ and the rekindled popularity they will bring CS, will we see another outbreak of "newbies?" Most certainly. Will this spell the end to CS as we know it? Going on we have seen up till now, no.

Up to this point, online CS game play has managed to survive the test of popularity and time. Inevitably, with popularity, the online CS state of play has been transformed from what it originally was into a different experience yet it has maintained that core "Counter-Strike essence" that makes us keep coming back. It will be a tribute to the makers and players of the game if it can continue to be a potent online force.