Cache is back!

Long time fans of Counter-Strike rejoice around the world, Cache is back. Shawn "FMPONE" Snelling, famous artist, has announced and released what is the first iteration of Cache on CS2 specifically.

A little bit of history

Cache was first created by Salvatore "Volcano" Garozzo, a well-known map designer in the Counter-Strike community, in 2004. It was originally designed as a custom map for CS:Source. In 2012, as CS:GO is released, the map was not included in the official map pool quite yet. We had to wait 2013 for FMPONE to port the map to CS:GO, with the help of its original creator Volcano. In 2014, Cache was included in the Active Duty Map pool, primarly due to the growing popularity in the community, and replaced Train. It's first appereance at a major CS:GO tournament happened at ESL One Cologne 2014.

In 2019, a complete design overhaul and remaster was presented. Famously, the greener spectrum of colors overtook the map. You could find a couple of structural adjustement such as a slight rework of the A bomb site but what really made the difference was the aesthetic outlook. The map never made its way to the Active Duty Pool again. As CS2 saw the light of day, FMPONE teased on a few occasions the return of Cache but nobody knew exactly what to expect.

New cleaner design

If you're expecting some profound organizational change, you're in for a slight disappointment. What's most striking is the return of the color palatte to a more balanced status. Visually, one has to admit the precedent version of change wasn't exactly easy on the eye. Granted, there's no accounting for taste, but the visual theme this time around is more pleasing.

A return to the more grey-based atmosphere was preferred by FMPONE. Historically representing a post Chernobyl-incident city, Cache maintains its soviet roots in the neutral tones all around. Structurally, the map remains faithful to its winning formula from the early days. Nothing has changed. The bombsites and their access are identical to the memories one might have of playing the map in 2014.

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Connector (also referred to as "Z") is one of the only part of the map that saw a slight reworking from a tactical standpoint. In the 2019 version, CT's could access the "window/hole" and use it as a defensive position to punish agression towards middle. This access has been removed and the only utility of that gap, at this point in time, will be to throw utilities through it. This represents a moderate nerf to the defensive side and we will have to see, if and when the map makes its way into the Active Duty Map pool, how teams adapt to this curveball.

s1mple's graffiti missing?!

Esports fan quickly realised that a historical piece was missing in this new version of the map. Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev's graffiti, earned at the ESL One Cologne 2016 Major, celebrating his mindblowing 1 versus 2 clutch on the B site. Two no-scope shots that became part of the legend of Counter-Strike have seemingly vanished. At this point in time, we cannot say whether this was an oversight and the memorabilia shall be added again, or if a page really turned for Cache and its lore.

Live images from cache

If you're looking for more information and a direct feel for the new map, the Youtuber Ozzny has put together a video showing some of the most recent leaks and an introduction to the gameplay of how Cache looks like right now. Bear in mind, there could be more changes made to Cache before the map finds its way to a possible Active Duty Map pool.

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