[CS:GO] Zen

Zen (Bomb Defusal) - Released!

It's taken a little over 5 years of development, but after numerous tests and changes I can finally present Zen in a satisfactory state.

Workshop link: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/fi…/?id=2954659602

Zen takes place in a medieval Japanese castle, where terrorists want to destroy the historical sites and monuments within the castle boundaries. As restoration is already underway, they see an opportunity to halt the process. It's up to the Counter-Terrorists to stop them!

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Credits

• Joris Ceoen (Artwork & Level Design)
• Shawn Olson (Technical assistance on 3DS Max & Wall Worm Model Tools)

Used assets, creditted according to their license

• Monument to Hijikata Toshizo (by 3Dystopia (Sketchfab))
• Buddha Statue (by AliceVision (Sketchfab))

Additional assets were used under a bought license

• Pindola Bharaddvaja (by 3Dystopia (Sketchfab))

Testing and assistance

• Mapcore testing hub
  
  • Spoiler
    
    • Radu
    • Vaya
    • Bl1ndyyy
    • Exodus
    • Rebze
    • Tears of Pirates
    • T-R3xer
    • Sprunk
    • Fnugz
    • zOrn
    • Sir Thomas
    • Our Lord and Saviour Jesus
    • zombi
    • Umbrella_v1
    • Xander
• Roald for in-game showcase of numerous problems
• Rebze for testing guidance and impossible amounts of patience (literally years)

Final note

It's been a long journey, and the map has undergone a lot of changes since it's original concept. While it's been quite simplified from its roots, it finally has some polish regarding the gameplay and basic detailing.

The map still requires some touching up, such as further optimization and improved artwork (and preferrably also some thematic colouring). However, with the release of Source 2 in sight, I will await the new techniques and tools in order to continue the next iterations of Zen.

Quote from Serialmapper

On 3/30/2023 at 11:39 PM, Serialmapper said: It looks wonderful. The theme, as I see from your other maps, has a special place in your heart. Looking forward for The source 2 versión 😉.

Ps

I know that everybody in the CS community has a hard-on about the new CS2, but come on guyz, give this man some love!

Thanks man! Yea, well the map is going to be ported to CS2 as soon as the tools are available. It would be a waste to have worked on this level for so long only to be unplayable.

I've updated the map today, biggest changes include an improved skybox and overal lighting balances.

The map has been updated today, as matches on Faceit have showed a problem with players reconnecting on the CT-side (they basically spawned in the middle of the map due to only having 5 spawnpoints).