Release Notes for 6/26/2013

[ WEAPONS ]
- Further adjustments to the AUG/SG553.

[ MAPS ]
- de_mirage: Minor bugfixes.
- de_vertigo: Fixed bombsite naming, other minor bugfixes.

[ OVERWATCH ]
- Improved Overwatch test case distribution system.

[ MISC ]
- Whitelisted convars sv_vote_issue_kick_allowed and sv_vote_kick_ban_duration.
- Added a server concommand "removeallids" to unban all user IDs.
- Keybindings are no longer processed in front end when not connected to a server, fixes unexpected keybindings processing in main menu and when chatting in play with friends lobby.
- Fixed players in invalid Steam purchase regions getting error dialogs during play.
- Fixed votes incorrectly displaying player names with formatting symbols.
- Fixed a rare bug where friendly fire damage could count raw damage inflicted instead of actual health points subtracted towards warning or kicking for too much team damage.
- Official classic competitive matches will always allow players to connect even in rare cases when they were kicked and banned from the same game server instance during a previous classic casual game.
- When a player receives a cooldown for being kicked from too many matches it will show up on their main menu immediately and will not be delayed until the competitive match end.
- Adjusted the competitive cooldown for being kicked from too many matches to correspond to the violator's offense level starting at 30 minutes if it was the first competitive violation and following same cooldown computation rules as other types of cooldowns.
- A player who was matchmaking solo and was kicked by a party of 4 teammates will not receive a competitive cooldown for being kicked from too many matches.
- Exposed cl_interpolate convar, allows to disable entity interpolation during demo playback or on listen servers, interpolation is enabled regardless of client setting when connected to dedicated servers.
- Added grenade trajectories when in spectator mode with glows on. Set sv_grenade_trajectory_time_spectator 1 to turn them on.
- Fixed a crash on OSX 10.6.8 when downloading custom maps resources from community servers.

Release Notes for 6/19/2013

[ WEAPONS ]
- Tuned the AUG and SG553 to function more effectively as a rifle/sniper hybrid.

[ MAPS ]
- de_mirage: Fixed see-through crates at bombsites, various other bugfixes.
- Fixed kv files packaged in workshop maps not loading correctly, which could display incorrect player models and arms.

[ OVERWATCH ]
- Improved interpolation during Overwatch evidence playback.

[ MISC ]
- Added classic competitive map to in-game friends list information text.
- Fixed rare uninitialized text "Target Area" appearing on-screen when watching GOTV.
- Fixed sv_grenade_trajectory linux crash
- Added new sv_grenade_trajectory convars to display a dashed line and to adjust line thickness and duration.

Release Notes for 6/12/2013

[ MAPS ]
- Added de_mirage.
- Added console command to help players plan strategic grenades. Set sv_grenade_trajectory 1 (cheat convar) to see a visual arc in-game.

[ OVERWATCH ]
- Overwatch Investigators are now required to submit more detailed verdict reports after reviewing evidence.
- Fixed interpolation issues during GOTV and Overwatch demo playback which caused the weapon of a shooting player to visually appear several ticks behind the moment a victim was hit.
- Overwatch FAQ updated. http://blog.counter-strike.net/index.php/overwatch/

[ OPERATION PAYBACK ]
- Operation Payback Pass on sale for $0.99 until Monday 6/17.

[ UI ]
- Added links to top streams on the main menu.
- Added an audio option to reduce game music volume when Steam Overlay is activated.

[ MISC ]
- Restored the "retry" console command.
- Players can only submit griefing reports for teammates.

Release Notes for 6/5/2013

[ OVERWATCH ]
- Added more investigators to the Overwatch Beta.

[ MISC ]
- Added an explanation for no binary signature validation for clients running in -insecure mode.
- Fixed an exploit where clients could bypass network convar restrictions using setinfo.
- The crosshair gap size will no longer change when switching weapons while using "Classic Static" (cl_crosshairstyle 4) -- other crosshair styles are unaffected.

Release Notes for 5/29/2013

[ OVERWATCH ]
- Updated Overwatch FAQ (http://blog.counter-strike.net/index.php/overwatch/)
- Overwatch case reviews will highlight kills and assists from The Suspect in kills feed.
- Overwatch case reviews will not record the team name when all five players play with their clan tag.
- Servers running with default setting sv_kick_players_with_cooldown 1 will not allow players convicted by Overwatch to play, setting it to 0 will allow convicted players to join.

[ STEAM BADGES ]
- Updated CS:GO Steam trading card art to their final designs and names

[ MISC ]
- Fixed an exploit with disconnecting and reconnecting players being able to respawn in the same round.
- Network interpolation and update convars can no longer be changed when playing. To configure these convars, players must not be connected to a server or must join the spectators.
- Enforced signature validation of game dlls and plugins. Clients launching with tampered dlls will be informed of the invalid signatures error, and will not be allowed to connect to VAC secure servers to avoid being VAC banned.
- Fixed a problem in the GOTV recorder that could result in some non-delayed data getting written into the recorded stream, causing playback artifacts.

Release Notes for 5/22/2013

[ OVERWATCH ]
- Started the Overwatch beta http://blog.counter-strike.net/index.php/overwatch/.

[ MISC ]
- Added two new convars, cl_crosshair_drawoutline and cl_crosshair_outlinethickness, that will enable a black outline to draw around the classic crosshair pips for better visibility.

Release Notes for 5/15/2013

[ MAPS ]
- de_train: Fixed grenade collision bug, other minor bugs.

[ MISC ]
- Added a convar sv_vote_allow_in_warmup defaulting to off and controlling whether votes are allowed during warmup.
- Shooting through a nodraw surface now doesn't count as a gun penetration (you can always shoot through nodraw).
- Consolidated Map Groups in Classic Casual and Demolition modes.

Release Notes for 5/10/2013

[ MISC ]

- Fixed an exploit of CTs boosting and picking up hostages through thin floors.
- Restored proper grenade interaction with breakable surfaces.

Release Notes for 5/8/2013

[ GAMEPLAY ]
- Mag7 - reduced cost to 1800.
- Mac10 - increased price to 1050.
- XM1014 - reduced damage to 20.
- Body parts penetration code will not register headshot damage when penetrating into the neck hitbox through the chest hitbox, only chest damage will be dealt in this case.

[ MAPS ]
- Updated de_favela to latest version.
- Fixed some bugs in de_inferno where the player could get stuck on geometry, fixed some minor bugs (Thanks Wλve!).

[ MISC ]
- If a player was vote kicked from too many recent competitive games the matchmaking system will assign them a competitive cooldown.
- Added sever command line support for -net_port_try 1 to prevent servers from trying to climb ports if the request port was busy.
- Fixed a rare grenade physics interaction that could cause grenades to spin in place when thrown at certain kinds of physics props or players.
- Adjusted default value of sv_maxusrcmdprocessticks server convar to 16 for community servers with default settings to successfully process all user commands from even lowest tickrate and framerate clients.
- When going to overtime players who survived in the last round will start with empty inventory even though teams don't switch sides.
- Fixed flashbang number not updating on the hud if you had set "close after buy."

<p class="post_date">25 Apr 2013 - <img style='margin-bottom: -1px;' src='http://blog.counter-strike.net/wp-content/themes/counterstrike_launch/images/csgo_blog_tag.png'></p>
<p><a href="http://blog.counter-strike.net/operationpayback"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-6916" alt="Operation Payback" src="http://blog.counter-strike.net/wp-content/uploads//2013/04/Payback.jpg" width="520" height="340" /></a></p>
Since we launched the <a href="http://blog.counter-strike.net/index.php/2013/02/6691/">CS:GO Maps Workshop</a> back in February, over 1,400 maps have been uploaded. The CS team has been consistently blown away by how complex, well thought out, and just plain fun so many of these maps have been.

We really wanted these maps to reach a wider audience, and also get the people making these amazing new gameplay experiences rewarded for their efforts. But how? Luckily, in the time it takes a CT to hold up a flashbang and announce that it’s a flashbang, we hit upon the answer.

“<a href="http://blog.counter-strike.net/operationpayback">Operation Payback</a>” marks the first of an ongoing series of limited-time updates aimed at giving a well-earned financial reward to some of CS:GO’s most popular and prolific mapmakers. For a limited time, you can buy a pass half-priced for $2.99. That’ll get you unlimited access to a Classic Casual map group featuring seven of the highest-voted Workshop Maps. Invite your friends (even if they don’t have a pass) and enjoy uninterrupted low-ping play on official servers—all while rewarding CS:GO’s top-voted virtual mapmakers with real money. Buying a pass also gets you a one-of-a-kind challenge coin, upgradable by playing and viewable wherever your avatar is shown. “Operation Payback” will be live from now until July 31st, and it’s currently half-priced, <a href="http://blog.counter-strike.net/operationpayback">so get in there</a>!

And remember: “Payback” is just the beginning. Future Operations will highlight all-new collections of popular maps. So stay tuned, keep mapmaking, and keep upvoting!