Counter Strike 2's New Molotov Inspired By CS:GO Fan Request

thegamer.com:

Counter-Strike 2 is real and it's coming faster than we thought. After a month of leaks and trademarks, Valve dropped three videos showcasing the new features coming in the sequel to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. One of them was a really cool smoke grenade that's persistent across everyone's game so the cloud you see is the same as the cloud everyone else sees. And on the CS2 website, a new molotov grenade was revealed using the same liquid shader as found in Half-Life: Alyx.

This new molotov seems largely inspired by a CS:GO fan project from three years ago. As noted by GamesRadar+, the Molotov Rework V2 from Zool gave CS:GO's firebomb better glass-shattering sound effects, better Zippo sound and particle effects, and the rag way more fire than in the base game. It looks a lot like what we see in the gif on the CS2 website, but for one thing suggested by a fan: "the Half-Life: Alyx liquid shader just to have the sexiest molotov."

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Three years later, that fan got their wish. Half-Life: Alyx visual effects developer Matthew Wilde shared a clip of the new CS2 molotov with Half-Life: Alyx's liquid bottle shader. Now the molotov really looks like it's full of gas sloshing hither and yawn depending on how the player moves. "That's for you" wrote Wilde to the duly impressed fan.

There's a lot more than just liquid-filled bottles coming in Counter-Strike 2. Blood spatter is now directional, with patches of red on walls revealing at what angle either you or a teammate were shot. Better fires and explosions are all thanks to Source 2's improved lighting, and a total UI overhaul will bring CS2 into the modern age.

It all looks incredible, which explains why