Counter-Strike: Source weapon prices to be based on demand

This is really interesting stuff, I think I need to forward this to one of my professors.

Imagine if they were to add a persistent “bank account”, and a limited amount of each type of weapon (Say, 1/3 of the week’s projected amount of players) and add that to the algorithm to calculate the price. You could even make it account for inflation, and “shortages.” However, I digress.

For those of us on the outside of the community, this looks like a breath of fresh air that should be welcomed with open arms by the community… But I sincerely doubt that is how this will be received by the immature community surrounding Counter Strike that is unable to accept any change. It would be prudent to allow server operators the option to turn this new feature off.

By the way, I see one of your header images features Bioshock, did you see the 15 minute walkthrough from TGS?

Yeah, I can’t see it going down well with the community at all. Although there was a time when it was seemingly able to accept frequent changes, like the Day of Defeat community (which is what I was a part of rather than Counter-Strike’s) they’ve grown used to little happening. I guess it comes with stepping out of beta into ‘final release’ status, but still, it’s always good to see a game continue to evolve.

And yeah, I saw the first half of the video. Combined with a long article in this month’s Edge magazine about the game I’m feeling rather excited about it, largely because it’s something a bit different and also because it seems to deviate from the usual FPS formula that’s made the genre rather stangnant during the past couple of years. I will embrace it with open arms when it’s released. :)

I think this is a really good idea, the website is really good and i think the way it works is great, i know a lot of people aren’t going to like it, but they should it will finally sort out the prices on the weapons.

I think this is a good change what im worried about is that guns like the mac 10 or the UMP r not used very much. If guns like that dont get used they will become to cheap. For example i could see the mac10 cost 800$ in the near future and you could buy it first round, this would make a huge t sided advantage. in cal twl and cpl that would be a big problem. otehr then that i feel its a pretty good idea. i need some kind of change, i have been polaying for 4 years and some times the game gets a little old

This is really an interesting move. It’s obviously a good way to balance prices according to weapon usefullness. But it will probably take quite a few months for prices to reach a steady level as players don’t choose weapons only according to usefulness but also due to habit since each weapon requires a different technique and mastering these techniques takes time. This is obviously reflected in the skyrocketing prices of the most popular items: colt, ak47, deagle (and assault suit). In the mean time players like myself who often use a more varied arsenal will be enjoying happy hour. Over time though, others will also learn to start using the less common weapons.

There are a couple of possible issue here though:

Very many of the most popular servers restrict the use of awp and especially the auto snipers, which might tilt the algorithm if it isn’t taken into account.

The huge popularity of dust2 may tilt weapon pricing towards what works best on that map.

Those are two good points, and it’ll definitely be interesting to see how they affect the overall system. I think they do actually add a certain sense of realism too though, since in reality the chances are that similar variables would affect what weaponry is used. For example, is there a lot of insurgent terrorism in Iraq right now? If so, chances are most anti-terrorist units will be carrying weaponry that works best in urban Iraqi village combat, etc.

Similarly, certain units may only kit their people out with a limited selection of weapons (much more so than what’s available in Counter-Strike); you could compare that to Counter-Strike by thinking of each server as a unit.

It makes for interesting thinking anyway. It does however wildly affect the predictable nature of a game, which is something I feel far too many people get used to these days. Multiplayer games have the amazing benefit of being able to evolve continually, so it’s nice to see them taking advantage of it instead of just going stale.

Finally. It’s about freaking time. I’m all for realistic games, but I think to add a touch more realism, they should skew the pricing a little higher for the terrorists side. Think about it. Wouldn’t most weapons purchased by terrorists be black market weapons, making them a bit higher? You can’t get too realistic, otherwise weapons would be inaccessible to players just starting. And counter terrorist squads are usually better equipped at better prices.

Still, it’s a good start to make the game even more realistic. I was amazed by the source engine in the first place; in the original CS a flashbang could potentially blind you even if you were standing behind a wall. The Source engine has fixed that problem for the most part. I just got done playing CS:S and I found this site trying to find the command to ban the damn .50 pistol from my server. I hate that weapon!

I used to be an avid css player then I became to involved in my job to have time to play. I just started playing css again and personally I hate the change. Not only is the pricing different but the hotkeys for buying are different too. Ive decided to not even bother getting back into the game because of it. I dont have the time to learn all the weak weapons and new hotkeys and become competetive again. I rock wth the m4, scout, ak47 and D-eagle and now I can hardly ever afford anything but the scout. I join servers alot of the time with people who have body armor and ak47s and I cant afford a good rifle or body armor for up to 5 rounds sometimes. So I basically get killed till I can afford to spend 10000$ to compare to the other team. Bad change in my opinion. Bye bye CSS

this is a bad move in my opinion, both sides can buy smg’s first time, but due to the high demand of armour, deagle, and cv/m4’s noone can buy them but the weinning team, enusring a one sided game

I’m not sure what to think about it to be honest. I can see pros and cons. Have to see what happens but thanks for sharing

I guess that to receive the loans from creditors you ought to present a good reason. But, once I have received a short term loan, because I wanted to buy a car.