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Counter-Strike 2 is out now with Linux support

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Counter-Strike 2 from Valve is now officially out and comes with Native Linux support, so it's time to say goodbye to Global Offensive as it has been replaced.

"A free upgrade to CS:GO, Counter-Strike 2 marks the largest technical leap in Counter-Strike’s history. Built on the Source 2 engine, Counter-Strike 2 is modernized with realistic physically-based rendering, state of the art networking, and upgraded Community Workshop tools." — Valve

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Features:

  • All-new CS Ratings with the updated Premier mode.
  • Global and Regional leaderboards.
  • Upgraded and overhauled maps.
  • Game-changing dynamic smoke grenades.
  • Tick-rate-independent gameplay.
  • Redesigned visual effects and audio.
  • All items from CS:GO moving forward to CS2.

The updated Linux system requirements:

  • OS: Ubuntu 20.04
  • Processor: 4 hardware CPU threads - Intel® Core™ i5 750 or higher
  • Memory: 8 GB RAM
  • Graphics: AMD GCN+ or NVIDIA Kepler+ with up-to-date Vulkan drivers. Support for VK_EXT_graphics_pipeline_library highly recommended.
  • Storage: 85 GB available space
  • Sound Card: Highly recommended

Like the earlier upgrade to the Linux version of Dota 2, Valve also bumped it up to their latest "Steam Linux Runtime 3.0 (Sniper)", which should provide a big improvement to compatibility on modern Linux systems. From what developer Timothee "TTimo" Besset said on Mastodon, the Windows version has been thoroughly tested but significantly less on the Linux version so be sure to report any bugs you find.

Note: If you find you don't have any sound there's already a bug report with some suggestions to try.

Be sure to pop along to our Discord to chat about it, and be sure to leave a comment for those not on Discord.

Play for free on Steam.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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About the author -
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I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly.
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42 comments
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MekaDragon Sep 27, 2023
Amazing news. Sadly, for some reason, I don't get audio at all if there's some voice recording application active in the background. I've tried with Discord and Steam Voice and both makes CS2 have no audio at all.
Chuckaluphagus Sep 27, 2023
I'm not into Counter-Strike, but I am extremely curious how well it plays on an i5-750, a processor that came on the market 14 years ago.
Calinou Sep 27, 2023
Quoting: GuestLinux version on day one, let's go!

Sad to see CS:GO being completely replaced this time rather than being a separate game, though. Just imagine all the community servers having close to no players now...

There's a CS:GO demo viewer branch which should remain usable to connect to community servers (via `/connect` commands). I suppose people will be developing web-based server browsers eventually.
Mountain Man Sep 27, 2023
Third Counter Strike game in the franchise.

Valve names it Counter Strike 2.

Classic.
Kithop Sep 27, 2023
...really, the sound issue is because it's trying to hit ALSA natively? PulseAudio is... *checks notes*... 19 years old at this point. (GitHub issue link )

Though at least later on it sounds like it's from people using the Flatpak version instead of native - and yeah, that's the first thing I'd say for almost anyone: don't use Flatpaks for this. Use your distro's native Steam package as your first choice, and then move down the line to like, getting it direct from Valve or whatnot if they don't have one. Running Steam in Flatpak or Snap just sounds like a Bad Time. But hey, at least there's validation that the sandbox is, uh, sandboxing things!

...like your own app from a decent audio API... ;p
MekaDragon Sep 27, 2023
I was able to get sound after adding "-sdlaudiodriver pipewire" (without quotes) to the commandline.


Last edited by MekaDragon on 27 September 2023 at 10:29 pm UTC
Mershl Sep 27, 2023
Explicitly choosing an audio device in the Audio settings "fixed" the no audio issue for me on Fedora 38.

It seems AMDGPU+mesa is affected by colorful outlines for the smoke grenades. While AMD APUs+mesa (and some AMDGPUs...) do not render the smoke at all with enemies being fully rendered behind the "invisible" smoke... that's a complete No Go for a competitive shooter. https://github.com/ValveSoftware/csgo-osx-linux/issues/3258#issuecomment-1738151926


Last edited by Mershl on 27 September 2023 at 11:46 pm UTC
rea987 Sep 27, 2023
Quoting: Mountain ManThird Counter Strike game in the franchise.

Valve names it Counter Strike 2.

Classic.

5th*


Last edited by rea987 on 27 September 2023 at 11:05 pm UTC
Peffse Sep 27, 2023
Quoting: rea9875th*
I made an account just to say this was at least the 5th, possibly the 7th, or even 9th if you count some of the overseas stuff.
stealing_society Sep 27, 2023
Tested audio with pipewire-pulse - seems like virtual sinks are a no-go for the foreseeable future. I suppose we're stuck with onboard audio.. thanks, Valve?
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