Sure, I've been creating maps for CS1.6, CS Source, Condition-Zero, and now CS:GO on and off for over ten years now. The maps most people remember are de_tuscan (CS 1.6, CS:S, CS:GO), de_russka (CS 1.6, CS:S, CZ), and de_forge (CS 1.6). Other maps I've created that are less notable but have been used in other leagues are de_crete (CEVO), de_crete2 (CEVO), de_core (ESEA originally, never was released), esea_deagle_cairo, de_nel_ware (NEL / UGS), de_czl_freight (Condition-Zero League), de_czl_karnak (Condition-Zero League), de_meer (Mapmaking Contest 2011), de_czl_silo (Condition-Zero League), and de_pg_silo (Proving Grounds Ladder).

Greetings Colin - from all of the CEVO CS:GO community. For those of us not familiar with who you are and your accomplishments, please give us a recap of your contributions to the community.

Recently, CS:GO caster Brandon “c0tton.nz” Miao caught up with famed Counter-Strike map maker Colin “Brute” Volrath to conduct a short interview on the updates to his nearly ready Global Offensive iteration of de_tuscan. Brute’s highly anticipated map is a long awaited and nearly sure-fire lock for competitive play in the community’s competitive map pool. Below is the transcript of their conversation:

You’ve been considered missing in action for quite some time. Internally, we’re very aware of the various transitions you have taken on in the last few months. Share with us the good news and exciting experiences of the last half year.

I prefer to not really discuss my personal life on the internet, but all I can say is between getting married earlier this year, and moving from Maryland to California for a new job opportunity, there just wasn't any time to work on 'de_tuscan'. Could I have relayed this to the community? I guess, but it's honestly none of their business when it's of a personal nature. Those closest to me know all of the details and have been jubilant and elated for the new opportunity that came about, and that's all that needs to be said.



Have you been playing any Counter-Strike lately? The game is changing in leaps and bounds and at rapid pace.

I play matchmaking quite a bit as of late. I get burned out playing too much CS at one time. Gone are the days of playing in CAL and CEVO competitively (no time for that anymore, or time for all the drama :)



Because CS:GO has grown so rapidly lately, there are many out there who are not at all familiar with your work. Let’s start from the real basics: de_tuscan, what is it?

Well I can rewind the clock a bit on this one. 'de_tuscan' is a map that was created to circumvent the previous version of the map known as 'de_cpl_mill' due to the CPL (Cyber-Professional League), and their map restrictions on letting any other league use their copyrighted map (or face paying a royalty fee). Thanks to CEVO, pro players, and a bunch of copyright lawyers we were able to come up with a new layout that still had the flavor hits and familiar pieces that everyone loved from 'de_cpl_mill', but was different enough not to upset CPL (I think?). From there I was given the creative freedom to come up with a new map style and look all on my own. I wanted something that was light and refreshing with bright textures and good lighting as much as possible in the map. How does it compare to its predecessor de_tuscan (from source) or de_cpl_mill (from various versions)?

From a gameplay perspective the CS:GO map is almost identical to the CS:S version of the map. All of the familiar angles and playspots are all still in place. There are a few "creative" changes here and there to enhance the flavor of the map a little bit, but I'm going to do my best to keep the same integrity that the map has always had from CS 1.6 through CS:S. As for 'de_cpl_mill' there are still a lot of similarities from the original version (bombsite A, middle, storage area 1 and storage area 2, etc etc)



Have you taken the time to re-balance to re-address some of any perceived shortcomings of your map in this CS:GO version?

Of all of the maps I've created, this is probably the least scrutinized map I've put together so I can't really think of any shortcomings. I may address bombsite A a little bit to give CT's 1 or 2 very small extra areas to play from as I remember as a CT how frustrating and tough it was to hold down bombsite A. It will be very minimal stuff, and it can easily be removed if the community doesn't like the adjustments.



We’ve been hinting at an imminent release and “leaking” some choice shots. A vocal majority of players are curious about the aesthetic change of de_tuscan. Is the map significantly changed from its sandy, near-tropical look? Or is it that we’ve just not seen the entire map yet?

You haven't seen the entire map, it will still have the same sandy tropical look as much as possible. The map was always meant to be a cross between a hillside vineyard / wine country themed map, and a southern Spanish / north African themed map. Releasing early screenshots is something I almost never do as I prefer to finish the entire map rather than put out early screenshots and listen to players complain or moan before really seeing the final version of the map. Be patient, it will look similar to the old version as much as it possibly can without looking stupid.



Along the same vein of thought, a number of speculators who did not have the fullest picture of what the map looked like immediately chimed in saying that bombsite B looks a bit cluttered with excessive cover for CT’s. They likely have never even touched the map itself, so I ask you: What process do you go through to see that your creative additions to competitive maps are tested thoroughly and are worthwhile in the long run?

In reference to Bombsite B, the amount of cover that CT's have is nearly identical to the CS:S version, any extra areas you see in those screenshots will be blockable areas and unplayable. I generally give an early version of my maps to CEVO so they can have pro players test out the map before releasing a final version of the map. We went through the same process when working on 'de_forge' back in CS1.6 and the map turned out pretty well from there.



You are aware of a community created port of your map ‘de_toscan’. Give us your thoughts on how popular your map is that the community would go out of its way to reproduce it? How do you feel about this port in particular? No comment. Just kidding, it's always flattering to see other mapmakers reproduce your work, but my thoughts on 'de_toscan' are pretty simple. They never approached me or CEVO before undertaking this map creation (well actually they did but it was after they finished it, which isn't really the same). Aesthetically I don't really care for the map, it looks a little dated and more tuned for CS:S than for CS:GO, but there are some really nice areas of the map that I thought were well done. Had the two mapmakers been professionals about wanting to recreate my work from the beginning or approached me in a mature manner I might have considered it, but going behind CEVO and myself's back pretty much tells me what level of maturity we're dealing with here.

Do you browse the CS:GO workshop for new maps entering the space? There are some really really good ones, and subsequently some really talented mapmakers. Do any jump out at you as particularly strong crafters or any maps jump out as potential competitive ready maps? Eh sometimes, I'm busy enough as it is trying to get my own work finished and out to the public. It's hard for me to really gauge mapping talent anymore as the tools are so easy to hack another mapmakers work and recreate something based off of their work. I miss the old days where maps were copyrighted and using the tools was very difficult. In all honesty the majority of the new maps I have played "look good" but the gameplay is atrocious (rotating between sites, angles, etc etc). I judge the maps on game-play almost exclusively, and could care less how shiny the map looks. 'de_castle' comes to mind as it looks really nice, but gameplay-wise it plays terrible. I think most mapmakers of the new generation just spend all of their time trying to make the map look good and totally forget about what makes a great CS map. On a second note, most of the new mapmakers I have spoken with have very large egos for some weird reason, (something new in mapmakers, us older guys never acted like that) and in the professional gaming industry world you immediately learn to check your ego at the door. Gaming industries don't care how many 'de_whatever' you have created, they don't care how many maps Volvo has picked up, and they don't care how many people are playing your maps. Leave the ego at home.

Have you spoken with Valve regarding the possibilities of entering this as a “Operation: X” map? I certainly feel that given the aesthetic upgrades you’ve put into the map, this could be a candidate (considering Valve’s stringent rules regarding visual presentability of maps).

Not yet, but I'll cross that bridge when it gets closer.