This article was originally published on GameSpot's sister site onGamers.com, which was dedicated to esports coverage.

　　

Front End Changes

Changelog

GAMEPLAY

　　- Reduced fade to black time to 0.3s to better hide enemy movement when playing with "mp_forcecamera 2".

　　- Buy Time now lasts the entire Warmup period.

　　- Fixed the Defuse Kit making a pickup sound that everyone could hear when walking over it.

　　- In official competitive mode players now accumulate end of round money even if they are disconnected at the moment when end of round money is awarded to their teammates.

　　- In official competitive mode players who disconnect from the game server while alive are treated as having committed suicide and don't receive end of round money for that round.

　　MAPS

　　- Mirage improvements based on pro feedback

　　-- Raised skybox ceiling around T spawn

　　-- Rebuilt red building in T spawn to give more room for grenade throws

　　-- Fixed a bug where Ts could see into Bombsite A without exposing themselves

　　-- Added collision on tall box near CT stairs to prevent players getting onto it

　　-- Fixed a bug where a player could get onto boxes near ladder room alone

　　-- Added wider cover in mid, T side

　　-- Made CT sniper window in mid taller

　　-- Removed gaps where players could see through scaffolding in Bombsite A

　　-- Fixed various spots where you could see through crates in Bombsite A

　　-- Made it possible to shoot through a crate in Bombsite A

　　-- Smoothed out movement inside Palace

　　-- Added wider windows in Bombsite B apartment

　　-- Fixed a bug where a player could stand on the wall outside B apartment

　　-- Removed dark door underneath Bombsite B apartment

　　-- Added pretty flowers

　　- Nuke

　　-- Fixed invisible I-beam collision in hut/lobby

　　- Inferno

　　-- Made railings on balcony near Bombsite A and CT spawn easier to see through

　　UI

　　- Fixed the overhead Freeze Time icons not updating frequently enough to catch certain equipment changes.

　　- Fixed the Freeze/Invuln Time color correction being wrong if the Invuln Time was shorter than the Freeze Time length.

　　- Fixed Achievement icons not appearing when it displayed Achievements earned in the previous round.

　　- Fixed map selection button becoming inactive when Workshop maps are being updated.

　　- Added Inventory error message when Steam cannot access your items.

　　- Added item image to Delete Item confirmation.

　　- Contracts

　　-- Fixed not auto-scrolling away from a blank item list.

　　-- Fixed being able to submit without signing.

　　-- Fixed signatures being offset from the mouse cursor.

　　SPECTATING

　　- Reduced duration of red player damage effect.

　　- In GOTV the kill camera now orients so both the killer and victim are visible.

　　- Fixed spectator navtext no longer wrapping.

　　DEMOS

　　- Work in progress improvements to demoui & demoplayer:

　　-- Menus, Overview Map, Graphs, etc. now work when the demo is paused.

　　-- Improved seeking with less particle effect, sound, and HUD spew.

　　-- Demo Timescale slider now goes up to 10x.

　　-- Added buttons to directly set demo timescale to 1/4x, 1/2x, 1x, 2x, 4x speeds.

　　-- Fixed Stats Graph round columns not resetting correctly when rewinding a demo.

　　-- Removed demoui2.

　　- Fixed color of weapon names not matching the actual rarity of the weapon.

　　COMMUNITY

　　- Added server convar sv_matchend_drops_enabled for suppressing item drops at the end of tournament matches, play time is still accumulated by players and items will be awarded at the next opportunity.

　　- Using the game_round_end to force a specific winner now consistently increments the round number (you must still use the game_score entity to set the appropriate team score).

　　- Fixed a case where CT coaches would get locked into 3rd person.

　　MISC

　　- Cached inventory icons are regenerated if Texture/Shader Detail is increased using the Options menu.

　　LINUX DEDICATED SERVERS

　　- Updated the version of libstdc .so.6 for Linux dedicated servers to require Glibc 2.11.

　　- Linux dedicated servers now upload core dumps out-of-process and more reliably.

　　

Map Updates

Mirage

Below are the changes to the map that you can visually see.

　　Rebuilt red building in T spawn to give more room for grenade throwsNew Layout

　　Old Layout

　　Added wider cover in mid, T sideNew Cover

　　Old Cover

　　Made CT sniper window in mid tallerNew Window

　　Old Window

　　Added wider windows in Bombsite B apartmentNew Windows

　　Old Windows

　　Removed dark door underneath Bombsite B apartmentNew Apartment

　　Old Apartment

　　Bombsite A Tweaks

　　New

　　Old

　　Added pretty flowersPretty Flowers

　　No Pretty Flowers

　　

Inferno

Made railings on balcony near Bombsite A and CT spawn easier to see throughNew Railings Bombsite A

　　Old Railings Bombsite A

　　New Railings CT Spawn

　　Old Railings CT Spawn

　　

UI Updates

Inventory UI

The inventory UI's delete function will now display the weapon image icon on the warning message.

　　

Demo UI

The Demo UI tool has been updated to include quick access buttons for setting the timescale along with an increase in the max timescale.

　　

Back End Changes

Updated Strings

The Tournament item rarity is now known as "Souvenir".

　　"tournament" "Souvenir"

　　Tournament items dropped from an event will be tagged with the match details similar to how Dota 2's Tournament items are tagged with the teams/tournament.

　　"CSGO_Event_Desc" "This item commemorates %s1."

　　"CSGO_Event_Details_Desc" "It was dropped during the %s1 match between %s2 and %s3."

　　Event strings for Dreamhack Winter, will be used by the Tournament items.

　　// Events strings

　　"CSGO_Tournament_Event_Name_1" "The 2013 DreamHack SteelSeries CS:GO Championship"

　　"CSGO_Tournament_Event_Stage_1" "Exhibition"

　　"CSGO_Tournament_Event_Stage_2" "Group Stage"

　　"CSGO_Tournament_Event_Stage_3" "BYOC"

　　"CSGO_Tournament_Event_Stage_4" "TBA"

　　"CSGO_Tournament_Event_Stage_5" "TBA"

　　"CSGO_Tournament_Event_Stage_6" "TBA"

　　"CSGO_Tournament_Event_Stage_7" "TBA"

　　"CSGO_Tournament_Event_Stage_8" "TBA"

　　"CSGO_Tournament_Event_Stage_9" "TBA"

　　"CSGO_Tournament_Event_Stage_10" "TBA"

　　"CSGO_Tournament_Event_Stage_11" "TBA"

　　"CSGO_Tournament_Event_Stage_12" "TBA"

　　"CSGO_Tournament_Event_Stage_13" "TBA"

　　"CSGO_Tournament_Event_Stage_14" "TBA"

　　"CSGO_Tournament_Event_Stage_15" "TBA"

　　"CSGO_Tournament_Event_Stage_16" "TBA"

　　"CSGO_Tournament_Event_Stage_17" "TBA"

　　"CSGO_Tournament_Event_Stage_18" "TBA"

　　"CSGO_Tournament_Event_Stage_19" "TBA"

　　"CSGO_Tournament_Event_Stage_20" "TBA"

　　// http://www.dreamhack.se/dhw13/esport/csgo/

　　"CSGO_Tournament_Event_TeamName_1" "Ninjas in Pyjamas"

　　"CSGO_Tournament_Event_TeamName_2" "Astana Dragons"

　　"CSGO_Tournament_Event_TeamName_3" "compLexity"

　　"CSGO_Tournament_Event_TeamName_4" "VeryGames"

　　"CSGO_Tournament_Event_TeamName_5" "iBUYPOWER"

　　"CSGO_Tournament_Event_TeamName_6" "Fnatic"

　　"CSGO_Tournament_Event_TeamName_7" "Clan-Mystik"

　　"CSGO_Tournament_Event_TeamName_8" "TBA"

　　"CSGO_Tournament_Event_TeamName_9" "TBA"

　　"CSGO_Tournament_Event_TeamName_10" "Copenhagen Wolves"

　　"CSGO_Tournament_Event_TeamName_11" "Universal Soldiers"

　　"CSGO_Tournament_Event_TeamName_12" "TBA"

　　"CSGO_Tournament_Event_TeamName_13" "n!faculty"

　　"CSGO_Tournament_Event_TeamName_14" "Lemondogs"

　　"CSGO_Tournament_Event_TeamName_15" "TBA"

　　"CSGO_Tournament_Event_TeamName_16" "TBA"

　　Strings for the new Sticker Kit system (The "permanently" typo on the description sticker's desc string is Valve's not mine :P).

　　"CSGO_Tool_Sticker" "Sticker"

　　"CSGO_Tool_Sticker_Desc" "This is a weapon sticker decal. It will be permenantly visible on the first-person weapon and viewable in game."

　　"StickerKit_Default" "Sticker Name"

　　"StickerKit_Desc_Default" "Sticker Description"

　　"StickerKit_dh_gologo1" "DH2013 Shooter"

　　"StickerKit_desc_dh_gologo1" "StickerKit_desc_dh_gologo1"

　　"StickerKit_dh_gologo1_holo" "DH2013 Shooter Hologram"

　　"StickerKit_desc_dh_gologo1_holo" "StickerKit_desc_dh_gologo1_holo"

　　"StickerKit_dh_gologo2" "DH2013 Shooter Closeup"

　　"StickerKit_desc_dh_gologo2" "StickerKit_desc_dh_gologo2"

　　"StickerKit_dh_gologo2_holo" "DH2013 Shooter Closeup Hologram"

　　"StickerKit_desc_dh_gologo2_holo" "StickerKit_desc_dh_gologo2_holo"

　　"StickerKit_dh_snowflake2" "DH2013 Snowflake 1"

　　"StickerKit_desc_dh_snowflake2" "StickerKit_desc_dh_snowflake2"

　　"StickerKit_dh_snowflake3" "DH2013 Snowflake 2 Hologram"

　　"StickerKit_desc_dh_snowflake3" "StickerKit_desc_dh_snowflake3"

　　"StickerKit_dh_bears" "DH2013 Two Bears"

　　"StickerKit_desc_dh_bears" "StickerKit_desc_dh_bears"

　　"StickerKit_dh_bears_holo" "DH2013 Two Bears Hologram"

　　"StickerKit_desc_dh_bears_holo" "StickerKit_desc_dh_bears_holo"

　　"StickerKit_dh_mountain" "DH2013 Mountain"

　　"StickerKit_desc_dh_mountain" "StickerKit_desc_dh_mountain"

　　"StickerKit_dh_mountain_holo" "DH2013 Mountain Hologram"

　　"StickerKit_desc_dh_mountain_holo" "StickerKit_desc_dh_mountain_holo"

　　"StickerKit_dh_snowman" "DH2013 Frosty the Hitman"

　　"StickerKit_desc_dh_snowman" "StickerKit_desc_dh_snowman"

　　"StickerKit_dh_snowman_holo" "DH2013 Frosty the Hitman Hologram"

　　"StickerKit_desc_dh_snowman_holo" "StickerKit_desc_dh_snowman_holo"

　　To avoid clashing with the new Tournament item rarity known as Souvenir the description tags on the paint kits has been updated to "Memento".

　　"PaintKit_cu_fireserpent_ak47_bravo" "This memento from Ruins has been painted with a fire serpent motif."

　　The main menu will have a new notification system for showing when a tournament is live. (One step closer to a fully integrated Tournament system that matches Dota 2's Dota TV setup).

　　"SFUI_MainMenu_Live_Tournament_Alert" "Tournament Match Live!"

　　The Dreamhack Souvenir packages won't require a key so we now have new tooltip strings to reflect this addition.

　　"SFUI_InvTooltip_Keyless_Case" "This package does not require a key to open"

　　"SFUI_InvContextMenu_open_package" "Open Package"

　　"SFUI_InvError_Open_Package" "Are you sure you want to open n<b><font color='#FFFFFF'>%s1 ?</b></font>"

　　"SFUI_InvError_InvValid_Error" "Failed to retrieve your items from the server. Please try to access your Inventory at a later time."

　　Tournament pick strings.

　　"SFUI_Tournament_Stage" "Pick Stage"

　　"SFUI_Tournament_CT" "Pick CT Team"

　　"SFUI_Tournament_T" "Pick T Team"

　　"SFUI_Tournament_vs" "-VS-"

　　

Unused Map Props

Dust

There is a new prop model for de_dust, a larger window frame that is currently unused suggesting that some updates to the map may be on the way.

　　du_window_88x80.mdl (Previous max size was 88x56)

　　

The 2013 DreamHack SteelSeries CS:GO Championship

As a reward to spectators who watch Dreamhack Winter 2013 live either via CSGO TV or Twitch (With your Steam account linked) will give you the chance of earning one of the new Dreamhack Souvenir Packages. Inside these packages will be one of the new weapon stickers which can be applied to any weapon of your choice and will be seen by everyone in game when they watch from your point of view.

　　

Weapon Stickers

"This is a weapon sticker decal. It will be permanently visible on the first-person weapon and viewable in game."

　　The Dreamhack Winter tournament will introduce the first series of weapon stickers and will consist of six different base decals with each one having a special rarer Hologram version of the sticker.

　　DH2013 Shooter

　　DH2013 Shooter Hologram

　　DH2013 Shooter Closeup

　　DH2013 Shooter Closeup Hologram

　　DH2013 Snowflake 1

　　DH2013 Snowflake 2 Hologram

　　DH2013 Two Bears

　　DH2013 Two Bears Hologram

　　DH2013 Mountain

　　DH2013 Mountain Hologram

　　DH2013 Frosty the Hitman

　　DH2013 Frosty the Hitman Hologram

Unreleased UI Updates

Tournament UI

Progress continues behind the scenes on the updated watch panel and specifically the Tournament UI. We now have evidence that Valve have been testing the system internally with a test tournament in preparation for Dreamhack.

　　Some new assets found inside the watch panel:

　　A number of new functions were added to the watch panel that reference directly to a tournament system being setup for Dreamhack.