Ancient (de_ancient) is an official Bomb Defusal map for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, released as part of Operation Broken Fang on the December 3, 2020 update. Initially released as part of the Reserves Group, the May 3, 2021 update moved Ancient to the Active Duty map group, replacing Train.
Overview[]
Ancient appears to take place in an archaeological site in the middle of a rainforest (likely in central America). Across the map there are plenty of artefacts such as pots, artworks and monuments which resemble those from the Aztec empire. Each bombsite is referred to as a 'plaza' in the signage and has a distinct theme color. Bombsite A is colored orange, with tarps, paint and signs and Bombsite B is a pale blue color.
Locations[]
Callouts[]
Bombsite A[]
Bombsite A is located to the right of Counter-Terrorist Spawn and is set between two temples. It has one entrance directly from Terrorist spawn. This entrance (otherwise known as A Main), is split between 2 corridors and funnels to the left of the bombsite. The other entrance for the terrorists links through mid. The corridor feeds directly onto the bombsite and this area is known as "Donut"[1]. Counter-Terrorists can hold the A bombsite from many places. This includes places like the boost by A Main, Donut, Temple, the boxes on the Bombsite and the plateau opposite A Main which was opened up on the May 27, 2021 update.
Bombsite B[]
Bombsite B is located to the left of the Counter-Terrorist Spawn and is situated around a pillar. Terrorists have two entrances - one through B ramp and the second through "Cheetah" which leads "Vent" and then onto the bombsite. Counter-Terrorists have two pathways to retake the bombsite from. These approach the bombsite to the left and the right of the pillar and double up as areas to defend the bombsite from. Counter-Terrorists can still retake the bombsite through the terrorist entrances by either flanking through their spawn or from mid.
Reception[]
Ancient is the third original Valve created map for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive after Overpass in 2013 and Canals in 2017. Whilst both of the aforementioned maps had immediate layout concerns from casual and professional players alike, the concerns regarding the structure of Ancient were considered much more tame. Ancient follows a typical "4 leaf clover layout"[2] like Mirage and Dust II. This is very different to Vertigo - the next most recent addition to the Active Duty map group - which follows a much more unique layout.
Some of the major concerns voiced by players were Agent skins added in Operation Shattered Web. Some believe certain skins may blend in with the brown/green environment, making certain angles harder to clear, giving certain skins an advantage.
Another concern is the lack of a "safe" plant on the A bombsite. This is because the plant area runs between two areas where Counter-Terrorists can easily defend from if Terrorists don't take control of the area. An attempt to rectify this issue was made in the September 21, 2021 update.
Other concerns included an excess of foliage blocking player visibility [3], performance issues [4], being too Counter-Terrorist sided and Counter-Terrorists being given too much map control for free. However, despite the early issues, Ancient does fare well with pick rate in both professional[5] and casual[6] play, though is still dwarfed in comparison to maps like Dust II, Mirage and Inferno.
Update History
- Counter-Strike 2
- February 8, 2024
-
- Fixed pixel gap looking into bombsite B from T Side
- February 6, 2024
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- Adjusted grenade collision on bombsite B ground to make grenade bounces more predictable
- January 4, 2024
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- Added simplified grenade collisions to corner trims and central pillar on B site
- December 13, 2023
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- Adjusted grenade clipping volume at cave entrance
- November 30, 2023
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- Fixed various gaps in the world
- Fixed various texture seams
- Closed gap that looks into Jaguar area
- Adjusted clipping along fence near A-site
- Adjusted clipping around tree base on A-site boost
- Adjusted position of stone near B-site that player could crouch in
- Added clipping to the top of the map to help minimize player exploits
- November 20, 2023
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- Various fixes and improvements
- November 16, 2023
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- More player and grenade clips adjustments
- Closed various holes and cracks in the world
- October 25, 2023
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- Made fog adjustments to improve player readability
- Fixed micro-cracks in crate models
- Fixed multiple holes and cracks in the world
- Made visibility adjustments to donut area
- Fixed bullet penetration issues through wood panels near bombsite B
- Fixed material properties on some tarp models
- Overall clipping / movement polish
- October 12, 2023
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- Added Inferno and Ancient preview maps (workshop_preview_inferno and workshop_preview_ancient)
- October 4, 2023
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- Various bug fixes and tweaks
- September 29, 2023
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- Various bug fixes and tweaks
- September 13, 2023
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- Various bug fixes and tweaks
- September 7, 2023
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- Various bug fixes and tweaks
- September 5, 2023
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- Fixed CT spawn area shape in minimap
- August 31, 2023
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- Various bug fixes and tweaks
- August 7, 2023
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- Added to Competitive mode
- Various adjustments to lighting
- Added missing collision detection to some debris
- August 3, 2023
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- Improved water clarity at T spawn
- Adjustments to jumpable locations
- Adjustments to collision around corners
- Various adjustments to lighting
- August 2, 2023
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- Added Ancient to Deathmatch and Casual game modes
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
- December 16, 2022
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- Increased bomb radius to 650 from 500
- Flattened out cubbies in red house top of mid
- Pushed back CT spawn 256 units, delaying CTs ~1 sec
- Compressed blocky things on B site, to create longer sightlines and more space to move around
- October 26, 2022
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- Fixed some boost exploits
- Fixed some minor graphical bugs
- June 15, 2022
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- Remove cratestack outside of “cave” location.
- Fixed pixelgap from inside “cave” towards T mid.
- Fixed ground clipping bugs in mid causing players to go slightly airborne.
- Smoothed out ground outside of “cave” down towards B ramp.
- Blocked archeological dig inside of “cave”.
- Smoothed out corners in “donut” room.
- Added additional cover near pillar on B.
- Blocked one sidepath exit towards A site, widened remaining exit.
- Fixed some visual glitches when looking out towards mid from “donut” room.
- Reduced wallbang damage through scaffolding at B site.
- Boosted light emitted from candles/lanterns.
- October 15, 2021
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- Fixed pixel gap through scaffolding near B
- September 21, 2021
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- Increased size of plantable area in both bombsites
- Fixed bullet penetration on plywood surfaces
- Further optimizations
- Added 1v1 arenas
- May 27, 2021
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- Art-revision on bombsite B and surrounding area
- Higher contrast base textures at B for better player reads
- Fixed random missing micro-polygons in bomb B totem/sculpture
- Recolored plywood throughout the map for better contrast
- Straightened out broken-wall passage to bombsite B
- Tweaked spawnpoint placement for both teams
- May 13, 2021
-
- Implemented Cubby 2.0 in mid connector to A, to remove cheap shoulder angle towards site
- Slimmed down the fancy rock, also in mid connector to A
- Sparsed foliage and improved clipping on boost planter near A main
- Quieted down soundscape birds
- Removed clipping from top of bombsite sign in A site, allowing you to self-boost to planter by T main
- Added vphysics clip to T spawn water so guns don’t fully submerge
- So many clip brush tweaks
- Blocked grenades from entering inaccessible building by T entrance to mid
- Blocked pixelgaps through scaffolding near B site
- Blocked pixelgaps through doorway trim in new CT path to A site
- Simplified grenade collision on rooftops
- General optimizations
- May 6, 2021
-
- Updated minimap image
- May 3, 2021
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- New route from CT spawn to A site
- Widened T entrance to left side of mid
- Opened up skylight in T tunnel to A site
- Extended plantable bomb zone in B site
- Opened up ledge in A site
- Various minor bugfixes
- January 7, 2021
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- Further optimizations
- Fixed some clipping bugs
- December 9, 2020
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- Reduced soundscape volume.
- Tweaked ambient light levels in some locations.
- Added additional lights to dark corners.
- Removed metal pillars by backdoor entrance to B site.
- Scaffolding by B site can now be shot through.
- Blocked visibility between boxes on A site.
- Tweaked blending for better player reads in some locations.
- Redid visual language of ledges around mid, more obvious what is/isnt pathable.
- Marked additional props for low end CPU/GPU culling.
- Mossy walls no longer surface type ‘grass’.
- Fixed invisible pottery.
- Removed some visual clutter around backdoor to B.
- General optimizations.
- General clipping fixes.
- Added de_ancient_zoo VMF to SDK for community map makers.
- December 3, 2020
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- Map added to the game with the Operation Broken Fang update.
Trivia[]
- Because of its similarity to the map Aztec and because the textures, props and sounds were named "hr_aztec", it is theorised that Ancient begun as a remake to the map.
See Also[]
References
- ↑ | @CSGO on Twitter - Poll to name the area of the map
- ↑ | WarOwl on YouTube - What Makes a Great CSGO Map?
- ↑ | @vooCSGO on Twitter - the 1 way angle works
- ↑ | u/Juvero07 on Reddit - ancient extremely low fps
- ↑ | HLTV.org - Map statistics for 2021 past May 3
- ↑ | SteamDB - Currently played maps on official Valve matchmaking servers
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