We knew this day would come. The day when we could finally paint our pistols pink and point them at a porcelain firing range. Counter-Strike’s gone full mod friendly. (That’s hyperbole: you can now reskin the game’s guns, not, say, turn them into floating livers.)
Valve have created both a workshop for players to share and upload their creations and a guide to teach modders how to go about designing facelifts for weaponry.
Rather than call these skins ‘skins’, Valve are calling the new textures ‘finishes’. Every finish can have, either, a factory new appearance or the look of a well worn weapon.
“CS:GO is a realistic game, so we researched real-world finishing techniques,” write Valve. “We reproduced spray-painted camouflaging, hydro-dipping, patinas, and more. We also wanted to represent what happens to weapon finishes in the field. Even the most durable finish gets chipped with heavy use, so every finish is available in a variety of states of wear.”
Valve also claim that the highest rated finishes will be considered to be included with the game officially in future updates.