Counter-Strike BETA 6.5: Round Two

By Justin Jenkins, BetaNews

June 4, 2000, 1:48 AM

We wanted to know more about the 6.5 BETA version of Half-Life's popular mod - Counter-Strike, so once again we asked our friend Cliffe to fill us in on a few things. The latest interview contains such topics as: new details on the smoke grenades, maps, and 'skin-cheating.' The latest version is set to be released tomorrow. It was previously delayed due to a bug found in the Half-Life source update, which will be incorporated in the Counter-Strike beta.

First off Cliffe, a few things about the new 'smoke grenades' in BETA 6.5:

BN: How long does the smoke effect last?

Pretty long -- about 10 seconds or so. Perhaps a tad longer (I've never 
counted).

BN: How does the effect come across? Do things gradually get clearer like it would in reality?

Yes, it looks pretty realistic. Of course, it's a bit tough on your  framerate so you can put in a new console command to get less CPU intense smoke. Of course, it won't look quite as good.

BN: Are there any new levels to correspond with the new guerilla player model you showed off on friday?

Not specifically. However, he should fit in quite well with just about any  map. Speaking of maps, we're really excited about the 6.5 map rotation.  We've added some new ones that we think are going to be very fun to play.  Namely, Narby's new map de_aztec is great -- especially when you get struck by lightning.

BN: Will there be more server-side options? If so, name a few important ones...

There's a bunch of new console commands. The most important ones are those  that will limit the new SDK 2.0 features so you framerate and cpu don't  get bogged down. You'll be able to limit things like smoke puffs, smoke  quality, shell ejections, etc. We've made it a point to be very customizable

BN: What new gun models, if any, will be incorporated into the game?

The weapon models for the Benelli shotgun, m4, USP, and Sig Commando have  been redone. The animations for the AWP and generally how to operate it  have been changed a bit as well.

BN: When you buy sniper-supporting guns in 6.5, such as the Colt Carbine, will it automatically come with a silencer, or do you have to buy it separately?

Yes, it will come with one. Since there's no zoom on it now, the secondary  fire will toggle the silencer on /off.

BN: Has anything been done about so called 'skin-cheating' in 6.5?

Yes indeed! There's a new skin checking device that will validate custom  player models as either valid or invalid. Invalid models are those too big  (ie. Voodoo dolls). This should work out well, since you can still use custom player models "within reason."

BN: And last off... were you planning to edit the arm models (many users think they look kinda weird)?

The guys' ripped -- what can you say?

You will be able to download Counter Strike BETA 6.5 from FileForum as soon as it is released.