A turning point in the CS2 cheating problem?
2024-08-27 - 5 min read
By Skinflow
The long anticipated dream of every Counter Strike player might be becoming a reality with the recent VACNET 3.0 update from Valve for CS2.
What does the update look like?
Automation of movement and shooting:
Certain types of movement/shooting input automation such as hardware-assisted counter strafing will now be detected on Valve official servers, resulting in a kick from the match.
Multi-input ignoring:
Input binds that include more than one of the following commands will now be ignored by default. Support can be re-enabled using the cheat-protected convar `cl_allow_multi_input_binds 1`: sprint, reload, attack, attack2, turnleft, turnright, turnup, turndown, forward, back, left, right, moveup, movedown, klook, use, jump, duck, strafe, zoom, yaw, pitch, forwardback, rightleft.
And the update that could influence gameplay drastically being: The jump-throw confirmation grunt sound can now be heard by other players nearby.
An amazing reality or ambitious delusion? Let’s talk about it.
Cheating has always hovered like a dark shadow over the community in the dynamic world of competitive gaming, where skill meets strategy and milliseconds can decide the outcome of matches.
Now that we're approaching the late summer of 2024, Valve has released VACNET 3.0 for Counter-Strike 2, which may be their most ambitious update to date (CS2). With the latest update, which started testing on August 20, 2024, Valve's strategy for preserving the integrity of CS2 has advanced significantly. Targeting subtle forms of automation, such as hardware-assisted counter-strafing, which up until now blurred the lines between skill and software assistance, is part of this proactive stance against cheating.
However, not all may seem as bright as presented by Valve. Many influential supporters within the Counter-Strike scene are still skeptical on the execution of this new update as seen in discussions around new bugs or potential exploits, like the one highlighted by @cs2newsupdate on X, where certain launch options could allegedly allow players to see through walls and smoke on official servers.
Like all updates, it will take time for us to see the actual results of these changes.
VACNET evolution in Counter-Strike
Launched six years ago, VACNET has learned a lot from the evolution of CounterStrike itself. From internal analysis, Overwatch games to general feedback from the community, the anti-cheat system has shaped itself to be an important part of a fun and enjoyable gameplay experience.
Our personal opinion
I personally like to reflect on the practical execution and its results of any major update or patch. From what we’ve all seen, videos of cheaters getting banned and matches getting canceled, it is safe to say that the beta testing of this update can comfortably be called an accomplishment.
As compared to past updates, this anti-cheating update is definitely the most requested update of any gaming community. We are seeing the new VACNET 3.0 operate in real time therefore giving us a bright future when it comes to facing cheaters in Counter-Strike 2 games.