"Ooooooh, it's like a moooovie"
Greetings, I, TheWarOwl greets you. As I so *presciently* predicted, Valve has released our first look at the new Panorama UI
inside of the Counter-Strike beta build.
Panorama is a Valve-created user interface system to replace what Counter-Strike currently has.
It's far easier to scale,
it provides a seamless transition between game and user interface, and it's a lot more modular.
I think this provides a lot of potential for the future development of Counter-Strike.
For example, what you're looking at right now is NOT edited.
This is legit, raw in-game footage, and it was really easy to do.
The old Flash-based CS:GO user interface was slow, clunky, and now...
obsolete. With the introduction of Panorama, Valve took the opportunity to completely redo their entire user interface.
Every game menu, every HUD element - even the scoreboard.
This is what they've been working on all this time.
This is more than just the visual and audio assets that you see - the Panorama UI makes these things possible.
We even have seamless interaction of 3D game assets. Want to view one of your items? Boom! It's there.
Want to see what it looks like held by Moustache Man? Boom! There you go.
I like this guy better though, cause he kind of looks like me. It's representation for vain-bearded people.
They even took the time to create new animations for everything - don't think that the details here have gone unnoticed.
Remember how the game used to stutter and freeze every time you hit Escape to open the menu?
Now there's virtually zero transition between game and user interface.
The game itself is completely the same; It's the wrapping on top of the game that's different.
Same old gal, sexy new outfit.
As some of you know, I used to be a web developer, and I see the Panorama UI and how its implemented as very similar to web development.
I also think it's going to be a lot easier to integrate things.
You see this news panel here? Think of the possibilities of different panels that could be added.
For example, a FACEIT integration right into the game, or...
a WarOwl Companion app that shows you different smoke throws that you could throw. If Valve decides to go for an open system,
the possibilities are really exciting. I'm not gonna be covering the bugs in this video,
but I will offer some suggestions based on the intended functionality.
The scoreboard blur effect is very strong. It was better transparent, so you weren't taken completely out of the game.
I have a bad habit of hitting Tab a lot, and this really messes up how I play.
There's no feature for launching Workshop maps from the menu. We need this back!
Most people use aim training maps and access them from here. Make it save our Prime or Trust Factor preference.
If I click the Prime checkbox, next time I return to the menu,
it should still be checked. The in-game chat text seems more difficult to read against brighter in-game areas.
It's a bit difficult to follow the maps that you've selected when queueing for competitive.
I recommend using a more distinct green outline for selected items instead of white.
Also, the focal point is the map icon.
I don't think of a map as the map icon, and I don't think other players do as well.
The text name of the map should be in an easier to read font, it should be the focal point,
it should be bigger, it- so that we can immediately identify
the map that we want. The text here is just difficult to make out, probably because it's so small and somewhat transparent.
The mini-map looks like *censored*!
The lines are jagged and the new map graphic just doesn't pop - it's too dark and tough to follow.
I'm also not a fan of these mouse-over expanded panel thingies.
Yeah, I'm sure there's a fancy word for it and some UX nerds are cringing at me.
Look, I know Counter-Strike is a precision game,
but I always hit these things on accident and then cover up what I'm trying to click on.
Some observations: New scoreboard statistics, cool!
Shows your wingman rank, finally!
You can now inspect and try out items from cases before you open them.
If you don't like the bright backdrop because you live in a cave and play in the dark, don't worry,
they're most likely gonna let you customize this. Just please, please, don't make it an item you gotta pay for, for crying out loud.
You can see your teammates' equipment when in the buy menu. This is a great, great change.
You can now move backwards in demos without major time delays.
This makes me want to make Counter-Strike videos again.
Is this the booster shots that Counter-Strike needs to compete in an ever-evolving market, Fortnite?
The game is the same.
The gameplay is at the core of what makes Counter-Strike Counter-Strike. If people no longer enjoy the gameplay,
then Counter-Strike will die. This update's not about "oh we got to save Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike dead game".
This is a much overdue change that they've been working on for some time now,
that I think opens up the door for future development as well.
"Oh and it looks really pretty."
Here's hoping they work on a... update to the demo viewer. That certainly make my job a lot easier.
Thank you very much for watching,
I am TheWarOwl, and I still... Have no closure
"Cloud9 will be starting on the T- *garbled noise*"
