The CS2 update we have been waiting for is finally here. Valve has created a Beta branch for animgraph2 for third person animations.
This is NOT an April fools joke.
While everyone was watching the launch of Artemis II, Valve suddenly released what they've been working on for the past couple of years.
What this means is that the entire animation system for third person models has been completely redone. No longer does it use the unoptimized Half-Life: Alyx system. This significantly reduces packet size.
You can now tell when someone is counter-strafing, and properly predict their movements based on visual feedback.
Another massive change here is that the player's view now is accurate to the player model, meaning that we have a variable player height of +-4 units. You'll immediately notice that the player seems shorter.
This completely changes many many angles, as well as many utility lineups, particularly when standing on slopes. Notice in my video example how you can no longer see over the Dust2 A site boxes from A ramp.
The change is currently in Beta, so it's all subject to change. I will be testing it out extensively and making a video about my thoughts.
First impressions: I am VERY excited about this, more so than the Artemis II rocket taking humans back to the moon for the first time in forever.