Train, one of Counter-Strike’s oldest and bestest maps, has received a sweeping update. Valve’s given the fairly nondescript trainyard a “full visual overhaul” in Counter-Strike 2, making it “60% cloudier” and changing its layout to encourage more tactical play besides just whipping out the AWP and looking down long, narrow corridors.
Train has historically been a fairly bright, bland map that takes place in a derelict trainyard. And Valve, in presumably an effort to mix things up a bit, have given it a brand new look. First off, it’s raining, which means lots of nice puddles and reflections and an ambience that’s different to most other CS2 maps. There’s graffiti on large tankers and visible rust. Cracks in the concrete. And just a little bit more flavour, giving it the feel of somewhere that’s been inhabited by aerosol-wielding youths in its downtime between shootouts.
One of the key differences between old and new Train, though, is the widening of sightlines. Old Train had lots of narrow spaces between train carts, which would mostly cater to snipers or make gunfights a bit one note. Now those sightlines have been opened up a bit, meaning it should make for more varied encounters.
It’s still early days for the map, so I’ve seen some debate over whether Train is “competitive ready” just yet. Mostly it’s a “no”, given some issues with spawns for both teams that don’t necessarily encourage fair pushes or defences.
Otherwise, Valve have also updated Overpass a bit, “based on community feedback”. And four new community maps have been added: Basalt, Edin, Palais, and Whistle.
Here’s the complete patch notes if you’re after them.