Dust II to Dust II: How Valve rebuilt a classic Counter-Strike map

The classic Counter-Strike: Global Offensive map Dust II has been given a facelift by Valve. The revamped playground bears the same name as its original form, but comes with a fresh coat of paint in an effort to capture the essence of the original while 'buffing away the jagged edges.'

While that's great news for CS:GO players, what's more interesting for developers is the way Valve went about reimagining the quintessential map. 

The studio has posted a lengthy explainer detailing the method behind its madness, and it's an interesting read for anybody curious about level design. 

For instance, Valve has attempted to improve the flow of gameplay by removing cars from certain section of the map so players can maneuver more easily. 

Other little touches, like the removal of pesky drain pipes and the simplification of scaffolding, will also improve combat by making it easier for players to peek around corners and toss frags. 

Of course, those are just a few of the tweaks Valve has implemented. The studio has been hard at work touching up the visuals and playing around with other features like lighting and cover. 

Head on over to the official Counter-Strike website for the full breakdown, which is packed with side-by-side comparison sliders -- just for you. 

Update: The original version of this article incorrectly stated that the changes involved reworking Dust into the current Dust II. It has since been updated to correct this error.