Christmas is coming, and through de_dust, not a creature is stirring, except the Tangos taking bomb site B. CS servers haven’t stopped for ten years, and unless Santa’s sack contains considerably more firepower than previously suspected Christmas won’t even make a dent. Whether you’re in for the action as per usual, or escaping the truly terrifying family dinner with some relaxing machine gun fire, we’ve got a some seasonal server ideas to spruce up your Yuletide battles.

1. Christmas Maps

Map makers have brought the eternal terrorist struggle to every location on Earth, and a few more places besides, so the season is no exception. There are a selection of Yuletide maps for insertion into your rotation – from the single snowy level of cs_xmas to the full server-stuffing selection boxes of these themed mappacks. If you’re uploading more than one new map you’ll want to make sure an admin’s on hand, or that you have mapvote enabled, to avoid any unpopular entries from emptying the server.

2. Santa Skins

Ah, Christmas eve: when an eagerly anticipated visitor sneaks into the most sensitive locations to leave expensive presents behind. And now that terrorist can dress up as Santa! The terrorist skins created by an FPSBanana team lend a jolly feel to insurgent behaviour, although the bright red clothes might hamper their ability to move undetected. This Counter-Strike 1.6 skin is a present for even the oldest-school shooter, beating out even the birthday mod for festive fun.

3. Remember your server

If you’re part of a clan or regularly return to the same server, one of the greatest gifts you can give is help with upkeep. Counter-strike servers aren’t very expensive, but when only one person is picking up the tab for fifty players it can feel a little unfair. Most clan websites contain paypal information for easy access, and if not don’t be shy about offering to help.

4. de_dust snow

A fun diversion while you wait for the turkey to dissolve – you’ve finished eating, but the food coma slows your reactions too much for true CS server play. Counter-Strike 2D is an odd little pastime, but entertaining in the short term – especially to see how your beloved maps look from above. de_dust snow is a seasonal variation on the most famous map in the world, and well worth checking out for a few minutes. 2D de_dust snow

5. The Story Of Scrooge

Dickens in digital form, and proof that anything will happen if you leave the internet turned on long enough. Here we have the Christmas Carol, Counter-Strike style, and there isn’t a Tiny Tim to be seen. Instead we see a Terrorist-terminating Scr00gE who learns the errors of his noob-baiting ways. Truly the real message of Christmas: we should all join to repeatedly shoot each other through the head in brotherhood.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 24th, 2009 at 10:31 am and is filed under Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike Source. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.