As promised, Valve has made what they call “Panorama” the default user interface in Counter-Strike by the end of July. It may not be the end of July exactly, as the update came out on August 3, but boy was it worth the wait. Four brand new knives and a new case, named the Horizon Case, have shipped alongside the UI update. On top of that, some interesting gameplay changes have been implemented in the game.
Panorama
The most expected update of them all. Panorama is now the default UI, meaning all players logging in will have it set automatically. However, players can still revert to the old UI for a limited time by typing “-scaleform” in the launch options. The new UI definitely brings a fresh look to Counter-Strike. The old UI was antiquated, looked horrible, and wasn’t very enticing for new players. Panorama is definitely a very welcome update by the majority of CS:GO players.
Horizon Case
One of the most exciting new features to come out in this update is the four new knives. With the game featuring the Ursus, Stiletto, Navaja, and Talon knives, a lot of players and traders will be looking to get their hands on those brand new knife skins. You can check out the knives with their animations in the video below (in the order mentioned before).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk3-yjX7IvY
Apart from new knives, players can obtain 17 new skins from the Horizon Case. Naturally, they are all community-made skins, and some of them look fantastic. Below is a picture of all weapon skins that can be dropped from the Horizon Case.
Surely, the most sought-after skins will be the Ak-47, M4A1-S, and AWP skins. Nevertheless, it’s nice to see Valve including skins for weapons that players use most, as was the case with the few previous cases.
Gameplay and features
Apart from a massive list of Panorama UI changes, Valve has implemented two interesting features. The first is a different sound of bomb plant depending on the site it’s planted on. More specifically, there is a new sound when the bomb gets planted on B bombsite. Although quite a peculiar update, this makes sense on a map such as Nuke, where players often have no idea where the bomb has been planted due to the two sites’ proximity. However, this plays quite a lot in favor of the Counter-Terrorist side on all maps.
On the top level of Counter-Strike, fakes towards a certain bombsite occur on the regular, with the CT side occasionally guessing where the bomb has been planted. This update eliminates doubt entirely and allows for a fast rotation with no hesitation.
Another interesting feature is a new rare Desert Eagle animation. While not anything necessary, it certainly adds to the appeal of the weapon. Hitting the secret Desert Eagle animation after getting a “One Deag” must feel 100 times more satisfying now.
With the update being one of the biggest ever, will a fresh user interface, more unique skins from the Horizon case, and new gameplay features be enough to retain a dwindling amateur player-base? Let’s definitely hope so.
You can find the full patch notes here. And as always, catch all the latest CS:GO news and developments right here at Daily Esports.
