How To Play Surf Maps In CSGO 2022. Who says Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is just about two teams shooting each other with guns decked out in extravagant skins? Surprisingly, Counter-Strike Global Offensive has a lot more to offer than simply shooting the other team’s bad guys outside of competitive tournaments. Hardcore Counter-Strike fans will delighted to learn that the Surf Maps do exist in CS:GO, and that surfing in them is quite simple!
At its heart, Surf Maps devoted to a dedicated “mode” in which players avoid shooting each other and instead “surf” around the map at breakneck speeds. As a result, Surf Maps devolve into a navigation and speed challenge – something that proves more difficult than it appears. However, how precisely could players participate in Surf Maps?
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What Even Is Surfing?
At its heart, surfing a modification of the slide mechanic found in first-person shooter games. Rather than the game’s physics preventing a player from sliding after a certain distance, Surfing partially disables these physics. As a result, players will strafe on surfaces at a much faster rate in Surfing.
Surfing best utilised in Surf Maps that have specifically designed for surfing. These maps frequently include slanted walls or ramps that allow players to “strafe” or “surf” their way in and gradually increase their velocity. As a result of this movement, the following actions occur:
- Players launched off the ramp at a constant velocity. This results in extremely high jumps that not supported by standard maps.
- Due to the fact that players retain their velocity, they theoretically have the ability to change direction in mid-air. This enables them to land on new ramps and repeat the process.
Due to this straightforward mechanism, Surf Maps frequently include a variety of ramps of varying degrees of difficulty. Additionally, if players become bored, some Surf Maps include combat elements that attempt to integrate the map’s somewhat chaotic environment.
How Does Surfing Work In CS:GO?
While CS:GO is the modern iteration of the Surfing concept, it borrows heavily from its predecessors. These include the majority of the controls and the game’s fundamental mechanics. Here’s a quick tutorial on how to navigate CS:Surf GO’s Maps:
Strafing Is The Key
Surfing is fundamentally based on a modification of the game’s strafe mechanic. As fans may recall, players can strafe or walk left or right in the game by pressing the A and D keys, respectively. Pressing W and either the A or D keys would cause the player to walk diagonally in the core gameplay. Along with strafing, this movement is a fundamental Surfing mechanic. How to strafe properly is as follows:
- When players spawn in a Surf Map, they must walk to the first visible edge and jump. This should take them directly to the first ramp.
- They must make contact with the ramp’s edge. While falling downward, players should feel a sliding motion.
- Strafing should done in an upward motion. Where to strafe determined by the ramp’s orientation. A ramp on the left requires the D Key (rightward counter-move) to keep players afloat.
- When players approach an incline, they should flick their mouse upward to assist in strafing upward. This should require players to leap off the ramp without losing their momentum.
Turning Is Essential Mid-Air
At first glance, the majority of initial ramps on any Surf Map are straightforward to navigate. However, the middle sections of any Surf Map may feature ramps that are further apart, creating head scratchers for the majority of amateur Surfers. The thing is, these “impossible” distances can traversed using another Surfing principle: turning.
Turning mid-air essentially allows players to maintain momentum while steering their way to another ramp. To accomplish this, they must develop a rhythm for pressing the strafe key and turning the crosshair in the desired direction. Consider the following:
- Pressing the right strafe key as players turn in the same direction is crucial to maintain momentum.
- Pressing this combination wrong can halt the player’s movement and force them to miss the ramp.
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Bunnyhop Gives A Slight Edge
Players who have spent enough time in Counter-Strike Source and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive are likely familiar with the term bunnyhopping. Bunnyhopping is a technique that entails jumping while strafing to gain a slight speed boost that can provide a significant advantage in close combat encounters.
Bunnyhopping, it turns out, is a lifesaver in Surf Maps. Although this is a more advanced technique, timing a bunnyhop can provide players with the necessary boost for their jumps and assist them in reaching tighter ramps.
Where To Find Surf Maps In CS:GO?
While Surfing has developed into a niche mode in CS:GO, players who know where to look may find Surf Maps quite accessible. The most frequently used method of accessing Surf Maps in the game is as follows:
Joining A Community Server
The best way to access multiplayer Surfing in CS:GO is to locate a Surf Map via a Surf Server. Fortunately, accessing Surf Servers is quite straightforward:
- When launching the game, select “Play CS:GO.”
- In the drop-down menu, select “Community Server Browser.”
- In the search bar, type “Surf” and select a server from the list that will appear.
Joining An Offline Map
Players interested in honing their surfing skills may wish to join an offline surf map instead. However, players may need to adjust the game’s physics settings manually in order to achieve optimal surfing quality. To gain access to offline maps, players must complete the following steps:
How Did Surfing Come To Life?
Before CS:GO players rush to the Surf Maps, it’s worth noting where the concept originated. All evidence points to Reddit user u/mariowned, who appears to have invented the concept of “surfing” in an attempt to pass the time. As u/mariowned or Charlie Joyce explained in separate Reddit threads, he had a hobby of creating Counter-Strike maps for his friends to play in.
One map, dubbed “ka kilbox,” featured a large number of houses with slanted but dangerously slippery roofs. Chris eventually landed on a ladder after hours of sliding. He transformed this particular roof into one of the first ramps in what would become known as “surf the-gap” and thus birthed the minigame.
How Does CS:GO Surfing Fare Against Source?
Counter-Strike: Source’s predecessor, Counter-Strike: Source, also allowed players to create their own Surf Maps. Due to Source’s enhancements to the game’s graphics and the addition of more customizable settings, a large number of Surf Maps remained compatible with Source. Surf in Source gained a new level of excitement with the addition of classic options such as gimped surfing and bunnyhopping.
Unsurprisingly, as Surf Maps gained popularity in CS:GO, older Surf fans compared several prominent elements between the Source and CS:GO variations. In terms of overall differences, it appears that surfing in Source is significantly smoother due to the increased customization options. Specifics:
- Source made use of smaller models than the previous iteration, which resulted in much smoother and faster movement.
- Sliding is a critical distinction between the two games. When you land in Source, there is a slight sliding animation that adds momentum to Surfing. In comparison, CS:GO completely halts movement upon landing.
- Prestrafing is non-existent in vanilla Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Pre-strafing essentially allows players to accelerate by holding down the strafe buttons while running – useful for gaining momentum in Surf. This removed from the vanilla game due to the competitive nature of CS:GO.
Other Games Have Surf Too
Since the inception of the first Surf Maps, a small community of casual players has developed into quite the devotees of the concept. The concept of Surf Maps carried over from Counter-Strike 1.6 to other games. Several games feature Surf Mods, including the following:
- Team Fortress 2: It’s unsurprising that another Valve game, Team Fortress 2, would have its fair share of Surf Mods. Due to the fact that TF2 is a 2007 game, the Surf Maps are arguably smoother and more organised. In comparison to the more carefree 1.6 Surf Maps, the TF2 Surf Maps included a variety of additional sub-types, including Death-Match Surfs, pure Skill Surfs, and obstacle-enhanced Trick Surfs.
- Apex Legends: Surprisingly, even Apex Legends’ battle royale mode has a Surf Map Mod that accommodates the hero shooter. Skeptation, a modder, has transformed an area on the World’s Edge Map into his very own Surfing Map. When combined with the movement abilities of a mobile Legend, surfing in Apex Legends can quickly become insane.
