The Unfixable Maps of CSGO - Dust and Aztec 

One thing I feel you didn’t touch on is how much of the map can change before it loses its identity as that map. Vertigo never had a storied history that gave it it’s identity so the community embraced changes much easier. When maps like Dust II change (notably the blocked view from T spawn) they seem drastic and are harder to accept. Changing the layouts of Dust and Aztec may have worked in getting them viable, but the changes would probably would have to have been great enough to alter the map such that it wouldn’t be recognizable as the original map to those who had played it so many times before.

8:30 I remember kliksphillip talking about this and used an extreme example to separate balance from playability. He made a 1v1 test map where the T and CT spawn on opposite sides of a wall that can't be shot through, and that was the entire map. It's perfectly competitive, sure, but it's probably the least fun map you could play.

My problem with the removal of these two maps is, that yes for highly skilled players the maps are bad but being in a lower rank and playing the game more casually i loved these maps. So many interesting strategies that you could try (that would never work against high skilled players). All the other maps are kinda just the same thing in a different colour

Aztec was fun back in the day when csgo was released. I played csgo so casually, ranked silver 1 on csgo, and loved Aztec. Everything was so easy back in the days!

aztec on 1.6 was amazing and even better on 1.5, good old days man

HEY YES I MIXED UP COBBLE AND AZTEC. AZTEC WAS MADE BY CHRIS AUTY NOT DAVE JOHNSTON! don’t mean to misattribute anyones work, that is my bad. Discrepancy occurs right when i first mention Aztec.

its a shame valve didn't succeed in remaking Aztec. instead of another 3lane map, which isn't even that good, we could have had a return of a classic, reinvigorated. i think the problem was they wanted it to ship with broken fang which didn't give them enough time, and not that Aztec was not fixable. valve in general does not get enough credit for how capable they are with map remakes. although the point made in the video about maps being viable but not fun (to watch) is a possible problem

As an old timer who stopped playing CS decades ago I miss my de_dust, cs_siege, cs_mansion and cs_militia so much.

I like Aztec but dislike Ancient. I understand why Aztec has the issues it does, but I wish they would have used a few familiar elements of Aztec in Ancient and called it Aztec 2. Like how you mentioned in the video that parts of Dust 1 feel like proto versions of Dust 2 elements. Ancient doesn't really feel like a followup to Aztec at all which is what I wanted out of it.

There's a fan remake of de_dust called de_dust_suncsm, playable in 1.6 or Condition Zero. IMO it fixes lots of the problems typically associated with de_dust

There was a time in 2016 where you could queue up a game of matchmaking on italy, assault, militia, aztec. . . old times dude, I miss those maps. I guess they were removed because a lot of people didn't play them? But there were active communities on those maps. I remember when they actually reworked militia and it became much more balanced, it was incredible. You had a lot of fun on these maps, cause most hardcore players didn't know them so you had parties where people had no idea how to move about or what spots to check. It made for a very enjoyable experience. Office just doesn't click as much with me, and of the new additions only vertigo really stands out as a "fun" map. I wish they added these maps back in a specific hostage playlist with separate ranking, so you could still play them in matchmaking.

vertigo was an experimental type map in its first iteration, but after the big valve refresh they effectively turned it into a 3 lane map.

Very good video, but It's important to remember that at that time the 5x5 was not that common. An 16x16 Aztec map was very fun and the T could (not easily, thus the fun of Aztec) run over any choke point with not enough CTs. It was one of the most fun and playable maps. I believe that E-sports was not in anyones mind and fun took over fairness. Today these maps are unplayable.

I find it odd how nobody talks about cs_compound, a map with a unique aesthetic that was also lost when moving to CSGO.

I wish there were still some more unconventional maps that weren't entirely balanced for pro-play. The hyper emphasis on pro-play is fine, but a few non-rotation competitive maps would be nice. That feeling of "everybody is new" is the best and is something the older maps sorely lack and will never get back.

I loved Aztec. They need to bring Aztec back

Great video as always! Keep up the good work!

Great video! Editing was really smooth and the info and delivery is great! Subbed and looking forward to new content :)

I think Vertigo is the most fun map to watch.BTW i would love a video about Prodigy, i really like your content and the weekly uploaded videos, keep it up, almost 1k!

PENGY UPLOADDDDDD!!!

I actually really enjoy your videos man. you deserve more popularity, thank you

Very well super in-depth video!!! i love the topics you cover too great stuff :D

This video reminds me of the great works of 3klikphilip, for example the video series he did about the history and changes of maps. Great video man!

Wow, I've never seen any csgo youtuber with such a distinctive style. Great choice of music and engaging commentary. This type of video essay is what csgo youtube needs right now.

Giving you like and sub for the quality of the video and the amount of information. You're criminally underrated. Good job

I loved Aztec, always wondered what happened to this map.

Just discovered this channel. Your videos are amazing, keep up the good work.

I played Aztec a lot! It had it's own learning curve, I loved it.

Found your channel today and I love your videos so much man, hope you get more recognition soon :)

I've recently found your channel! I find it very well-made scripts and I love the "story" telling style. Really well done. You've earned a sub!

i got this video recommended to me and it made me go on a binge of all your vids. i was very impressed with the quality. subscribed!

Wow. You did this high quality, highly detailed work and only now got 1K. Congratulations and respect, you're the most underrated youtuber I've ever seen it's almost criminal

i got this video in my recommended and i assumed it was by a massive content creator but you only have 1.3k subs? you'll go far with this sorta stuff, i dont even play cs very often and its still enjoyable. keep it up

I miss de_dust a lot.

This is fantastic content. Love these deep explorations. Looking forward to more!

Damn I'm really happy that your videos got suggested to me! Great content man!

Nice vids man, I subbed. Keep it up! I think your conclusion is right on the money. Aztec and Dust require such major overhauls that the end product would be unrecognisable. Better off starting from scratch.

Aztec is such a beautiful map

Just found your channel today. As a fellow creator I wanted to say that your content is great, keep it up!

Brother, I saw a video of yours some hours ago and you had 14k subs, now 20k. WOW! Fully deserved!

just discovered your channel, and I love the vids! I'll be a long time supporter surely

I hate that valve caters to their E-sports crowd. There's so many of us who don't care about balanced and just want to have fun. Bring the maps back and let us just enjoy.

this was the first video i've watched from you and i really liked, +1 sub

Gratz on your first thousand subs, hope more people find this channel.

The original layout of each map in the game is what defines a lot of the rounds that are played on them. I occasionally go back to playing a bit of 1.6 and I notice how some of the maps have been improved (changed). Inferno and Cbble also had some issues, mainly useless areas and/or obstacles that had more of a negative impact on the flow of the game. Inferno being closer to a 3-lane map had an easier time throughout the years. Cbble was extremely experimental and it felt more like an adventure game map than a competitive shooter map, and it was the most unreconizeable when it moved over to CSGO. Prodigy almost felt like what Breach was in 2019. I've tried theorizing what changes could make Aztec and Dust better, but without losing their identities in a complete overhaul it's pretty much an impossible task.

These is the quality content i was waiting to be conducted to, nice videos.

happy i got this in my recommendeds. ur channel has a bright future and this comment boosts early engagements making it technically a self-fulfilling prophecy. been subbed for a couple now. good luck

mfw penguin uploads another high quality video

your vids are amazing man. no way you have under 1k subs

First video ive Seen of you First video ive seen on this topic Great Vid, great idea gotta like and sub

I'm glad Valve introduce new maps instead of always updating old ones to fit the modern playstyle. It's okay for things to go, and having entirely new maps grants new experiences, all-new ideas, and keeps the game feeling fresh.

great freaking channel my friend

Hi Penguin, is there any plan on a video about CS_assault since it was quite popular on CS 1.6? Thank you for your hard work, love this channel.

Rewatching this, I think I have a number of ideas for how Aztec could potentially be fixed. 1. Shrinking the entire mid section on a horizontal axis. The idea is to make the bridge shorter and apply the same change to the overpass section and the bombsite B. This reduces the combat range of the overpass to something more mid range, reduces the time span during which players are exposed on the bridge, and combined with other changes to bombsite B, makes bombsite B more compact. 2. Connecting the side hall from CT spawn to bombsite B with the sewer exit below bombsite B as opposed to the bombsite itself. This turns bombsite B's stretch towards CT spawn into a dead end and makes it slower for the CT side to gain sniper control of the center of the map, since they'll have to take one of the ramps first. 3. Establishing a faster terrorist route from T-spawn down to the water, to replace the version seen in Source (CS:GO's final version didn't even have that at all). This could be as simple as to turn the shallow ramp into a steeper staircase that directly connects not from the side of T-spawn but from the front of T-spawn right down to the water. 4. Removing the connector between south and middle that was added to side hall at some point during CS:GO. It was never a good idea to begin with. 5. Removing the double doors in the middle of the map when approaching bombsite B from T-spawn in favor of a different obstacle that can serve to block the view for the CTs while allowing the Terrorists to pass around it on both sides as opposed to funneling them through a single opening with doors that can even be shot through. 6. Slightly increasing the verticality of bombsite A and adding another approach to it from the back. Hard to describe what I mean here. You can see it in my mockup though. 7. Turning the room between the bridge and bombsite A into a T shape and moving the CT access from behind the boxes to a more northern position. The boxes now serve as cover that needs to be run behind from somewhere visible, as opposed to completely undetected. 8. Rotating the large stairs/ramp leading up to bombsite B by 45 degrees to allow CTs to use it as cover when emerging from the sewers if need be, and also allowing them to make it to the ramp quicker. Position may be overpowered for sniping though, so the corner created would probably need to be shrinked so the CTs even when taking cover there would always at least be a bit exposed. I have created a mockup here on Imgur: a/nGovIfG

Reminding my old days of playing condition zero I really enjoyed playing tides , estate , 747 , survivor , havana , assault , italy . God I miss those old days

I miss the old Vertigo strat of CTs rushing the ladder with P90s, dropping down near Tspawn and blastibg everyone in the back 10sec into the round. Or those ballsy suicide plays where you jumped off CT spawn and try to land on Tspawn at start of the round

Good to see this channel blowing up, deserved

Man your content has been top notch the last weeks.

you record high quality videos, keep up the grind man

Man, I first got CSGO in Sept 2016 and vividly remember playing these maps so much on casual and comp, i almost thought i dreamt them up and was hallucinating. This video made me hella nostalgic for these maps, they should re utilize them and update them

You have some really interesting videos. I hope you keep uploading.

Ah yes, finally some good recommendations from youtube. Just started watching your channel, top quality stuff. No I mean it 😊

All these maps are but a fever dream to me nowadays; was nice to get more insight on it all.

Balancing wasnt a concern back then, it was trying to make the map fun to play, and the focus wasnt 100% competitive gameplay. I wish Valve laid back a little on the eSports, hell they even didnt put arms race and damger zone on cs2. If only they tweaked dust 1 and aztec to casual gamemode

Fantastic vid dude. Cool insights and observations

i dont know where you came from but i thank you for the welcome addition of csgo content on yt. see ya around

the unothodox maps in cs are some of my favorites. nuke and train are genuinely joys to play for me.

I remember there being tweaked versions of both maps back in the 1.6 days. The maps share the same flaw, the T spawn is too far away and the T’s have way too limited options. The tweaked versions removed the T spawn and had them spawning in the back of the “hub” areas and added a 3rd wrap around lane, kinda like with long in overpass. I remember those versions being both fun and fair, but cant remember the names. Sad that those versions have been forgotten, because both maps are very fixable.

It’s the map where all began for me I was playing on a cracked version of cs 1.5 and I was playing Aztec all the day with bots I loved the ambient and the space that the map provide

You deserve all the views brother. Amazing work, please please keep making great content man.

3:03 you consider Overpass an experimental map, not a 3-lane map? That's odd, I consider it 3-lane. I look at lower park/toilets as middle, Long as Long A, and the connector going to B leading into Short B, and Monster being Long B. It's pretty much 3-lane, and certainly more 3-lane than Train, Nuke and Vertigo are. The only weird thing is that middle and short A pretty much the same thing, but taking middle and taking short A are different challenges (taking toilets is basically taking short A, but taking fountain/party is taking middle) I'm curious to know what you think about this

I cant describe how enjoyable your videos are❤️

Great work! Good job on getting 1k

My friends and I only play vertigo, and that’s actually due to years ago, one of them loved the way the ct agent said “flashbang” and told us all “we’re learning vertigo no questions”

I think for nostalgia sake they should include all of the maps. Competitive esports doesnt need to use them if they dont want to, but i did like these maps

Penguin bro your content quality is A tier

Keep posting bro This is the come up

Ok so whenever i see your subscriber count its always 1k ahead... Yt algorithm's blessings are with you xD

babe wake up, Penguin uploaded again

What was the map called where you were the size of a mouse? This was also fun. Also iceworld. Why remove it?

I don't know why but he reminds me summoning salt don't know why. Great videos tho keep it up

good well written content. I'll follow your career with great interest

So much nostalgia! Loving the upload. PS you say inherently Alot lol

Aztec and dust still play just fine in pubs that dont exist anymore but back then, I loved playing on 16vs16 servees

ur content is really cool bro keep it up

I'm getting 3kliksphilip vibe from ur videos! :D Good video tho, keep it up!

i loved de_piranesi

My top 5 maps in CSS were - Aztec - Dust 1 - Assault - Office - Italy so…me sad

Very informative video, great job!

ooooffff. what a discovery your channel has been. I love historical insights into esports because not many people care (no one wants to watch Thorin). Thanks for bringing this genre back.

The algorithm has blessed this channel

Love this video, good stuff!

Aztec is and forever will be my earliest and best memories of CSGO. So saddening it was completely abandoned

Awesome vid keep it up !!

Most people don't play competitive anyway, the vast majority of the player base is on casual. Those maps are pretty, nostalgic and fun to play in. They deserve to be appraised for what they are and be on the casual pool. Playing casual is not a shame, if you play casual is because you want to have not, not to ecounter some sweaty kids that don't study nor have a job.

One common aspect of the "experimental" maps (Overpass, Nuke, Vertigo) is verticality, where one bomb site is situated higher than the other, or the T spawn is on a lower level from CT spawn. That being said, Aztec and Dust 1 fall neither into the 2 map categories, and so any map changes that would render them playable (by today's competitive standards) require their overall layout to be changed. For Dust 1, trying to "fix it" inevitably leads into reinventing the wheel that is Dust 2 with its 3-lane layout. Unless if, say, the Dust 1 tunnels serve as mid and B site is moved nearer to the T underpass

We need to bring back casual gameplay with more maps.

dust, prodigy, cbble and italy ffa w 15 players would be so awesome to have back. with lower levels and casual play, those were a lot of fun back in the day

Um... Why do you have a clip from War0wl's channel at the end when talking about subscribing? 😅

Man dust and aztec drive me nuts now I was wondering what it is about them... Thanks for the video explanation 😂