Valve radically changed the graphics in the new version of Counter Strike, so it is understandable interest of the gamer community about how skins look like in CS 2. And for some players it is not idle curiosity, but also an opportunity to earn excellent money. To do this, you need to know which skins will look more colorful and brighter than in CS:GO, which coloring will be changed for the better, to buy them in advance before the release of the final version, then resell on the hype and raise a good margin.
Changes for the better
Of course, quality graphics is most noticeable on the redesigned for the new engine maps, but skins were not neglected by the developers. Next we will talk about 3 categories of innovations, as well as understand how the most improved skins in CS 2 differ from their counterparts in CS:GO and give examples of such coloring, say a few words about the disadvantages of new skins and tell a couple of funny stories.
3 categories of innovations for skins
The first thing that draws the attention of most Kaesers in the beta of the new Counter Strike is the cool effects, including on skins. In CS GO, the coloring looked dull and didn't shimmer depending on the intensity of the lighting. In CS 2 this flaw was fixed, skins now look like stickers with holographic effects. This is probably the main reason why skins both expensive and cheap could go up in price in the summer of 2023, right after the launch of CS 2. They'll just look cooler than before.
The second trick is scuffs, which generally passed the Kaesers' eyes. In fact, quality effects outshine the other improvements skins in CS 2, however, this does not mean that they are absent.
If you remember, in the old Counter Strike coloring as «Battle-hardened» usually looked useless, in some places even ugly. Because of which the cost of such skins could be skirting the plinth compared to the quality «Straight from the factory». Now there is an opinion among analysts that in the new Contra coloring low quality will be valued higher and cost, accordingly, more expensive.
The third change - details. This is especially noticeable in the appearance of coloring on AWP sights.
Transferring Skins to CS 2
Perhaps this issue in the Kaeser community was definitely at the top of the list. The reason for this is quite clear. Put yourself in the shoes of an avid gamer who invested a lot of time and money on skins and then was told the terrible unpleasant news: Valve is making new colors for CS 2, the old ones will be thrown in the trash along with your money. Do you think you'd be happy with that outcome? Of course not. Here and the guys from Valve have perfectly realized that there is no need to anger kaesers and spoil the release of the long-awaited second part of Counter Strike.
So skins in CS 2 will be transferred without options completely. After all, Valve is not in the hand to destroy the huge market of coloring, formed over the past few years and spoil relations with skinmakers, earning impressive sums on the coloring adopted in the game.
And now let's talk about the skins that have become better in the new version of Contra.
Improved skins (part 1)
Let's start with the most popular weapon - AWP
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You may have heard of the Sun in Leo coloring book, which was prized in the old Counter Strike purely for its rarity. Other than that, she was, to put it mildly, not very good. Unbright color, drawing without contrasts.But in CS 2 skin literally blossomed. The new engine gave it a chance, adding saturation of purple color, metallic glow and clarity in the pattern.
Fans of golden hues can also rejoice, because there is evidence that their favorite color looks just great in the new Contra. We will show it on the example of Gold Brick for MAC-10.
It is interesting that Valve in the frequently asked questions (FAQ) for skinmakers separately notes the unnecessary gold coloring, but sometimes still accepts them, despite their own prohibitions.
Gold Brick was lucky to get in CS:GO and lucky twice in CS 2, because of the cool graphics skin in CS 2 became cool shimmer in the sun and looked like a real gold bar.
Improved skins (part 2)
And now the good old Kalash. Of his skins carried over to the new Counter Strike, the one that stands out the most is Legion of Anubis, an Egyptian-style coloring book featuring the god Ra, representing life, and the god Anubis, symbolizing death. The creator of the skin put into it an interesting meaning: the owner of the Kalashnikov machine gun keeps alive, killing the enemy and bringing him death.
This coloring was not very expensive, beautiful and therefore popular among gamers. It attracts attention to a lot of small details and patterns.
Now with the updated graphics in CS 2 skin although not changed, but still looked better, the color on it became more saturated. So Legion of Anubis is still a great option for the AK-47.
The one who really hit the jackpot in the new Counter Strike is Twilight Galaxy on Glock-18. Previously, in CS:GO, in our opinion, the skin in general was useless: a blue stripe with turquoise fuzzy flecks of stars. With the help of Source 2 engine developers managed to tweak the brightness of the skin, make the stars on it more visible and shiny and give the unsightly skin in CS 2, in fact, a second chance.
Improved skins (part 3)
We can't help but notice a cool change in Hot Rod for MP9. Yes, the skin is simple, there's nothing wrong with it, but that's a deceptive impression. If you were to see carefully every corner of this coloring, see how the rays of the sun flow from one part of the skin to another, you would say goodbye to your old opinion. When we admired this skin in CS 2, we thought about how Kaesers would play with it. After all, this skin with its shimmers can distract from the game. Anyway, admire him, but not in matchmaking. We warned you!
Another wow-effect skin that you can easily get stuck on is Imperial Dragon on P2000. Very bright and colorful skin, where the muzzle of the gun depicts a fire-breathing dragon. Evaluate what he has become in CS 2. It's a blast! Clearly drawn scales, contrast, the transition of gradients from dark to light: Imperial Dragon in the new Counter Strike has good opportunities to become even more popular than in CS:GO.
Improved Skins (Part 4)
Of the budget skin options in CS 2
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Magnesium for the M4A4 stands out strongly. This skin:Simple in appearance;
Unobtrusive;
Gray color with silver inserts.
It is clear that its design is the most ordinary. However, the dull gray color, which dominated the graphics of CS:GO, in the new Counter Strike played quite differently because of the addition of brightness. So there is every reason to expect at least a slight increase in the price of this skin.
Another skin, which did not stand out in CS:GO, is Bronze Deco for Digil. The original bronze, as a metal, is itself quite dull. Here's the coloring on the Diggle in the old version of Contra wasn't any better. Now, after the update the skin in CS 2 has been transformed, the bronze is more visible, textures are clearer and brighter. An old commercial from the 90's comes to mind: «Invite, just add water». The same situation with this skin: «Bronze Deco, just add clarity and brightness of color», - and we get an excellent coloring for the Digil.
Disadvantages of skins according to the communityTypical
situation: some gamers believe that skins in the new Counter Strike changed for the better, other players, on the contrary, noticed a lot of minuses.
First, cartoonish coloring
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Reduced color sharpness compared to CS GO, but at the same time increased brightness. There were opinions that Valve made CS 2 a child shooter.Secondly, the loss of volume. In some cases, the skin in CS 2 becomes simply impossible to distinguish from the sticker. Thin engravings with bulges turn into flat drawings.
Third, some skins do not implement the wear fixing mechanism. I.e. it looks like this: skin with quality «Straight from the factory» indistinguishable from quality «After field testing». Both colorings are perfect and scuff free. Valve, of course, is aware of this, the community has repeatedly talked about it, so the developers promise to solve the issue with wear and tear by release.
A bit of humor
In the Network once ran a funny April Fool's joke that skins in CS 2 will be shoe. Even allegedly screenshots of the case for shoe skins were posted and showed what shoes could fall out of them, such as shoes, sneakers, boots, cleats, and even women's high stiletto shoes. It would be fun to see a female character from the game running around with an assault rifle to crush special forces in louboutins. We think we should give Valve this idea, maybe they will make shoe skins for fun.
There were also rumors that some dataminer managed to get to the source code of Counter Strike, where he found hints about changing the models of agents. I.e. supposedly in the future it is planned to give Kaesers the opportunity to customize the agent completely under their vision: put on/remove glasses, hats, change clothes and shoes.
To this we can only say one thing: follow the official news from Valve, all the changes in the game will be reported by the developers themselves, and to everything else treat skeptically or with humor
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