Counter-Strike surfing

A modded game mode where players surf on inclined planes.

Counter-Strike surfing is a modded game mode in the Counter-Strike series of first-person shooter games. Players navigate custom obstacle course levels called surf maps by exploiting a physics glitch to slide along inclined planes at high speed, resembling surfing. The mode was accidentally invented by Charles "Mariowned" Joyce and has been praised for its casual, relaxing nature.

Quick Facts

Inventor: Charles "Mariowned" Joyce
First map: surf_the-gap (2004)
Game series: Counter-Strike
Key setting: airaccelerate (changed from 10 to 100)

Facts from the source article.

Did You Know?

Surf dedicated servers are accessed from the game's built-in server browser.
Maps are separated into difficulty tiers, with Tier 1 being the easiest.
Nathan Grayson of Kotaku compared Overwatch hero Lúcio's wall-riding to Counter-Strike surfing.

History

Sliding game modes existed in Quake II but did not become popular. In 2004, Charles "Mariowned" Joyce, while testing his custom map "Killbox" (ka_killbox), slid off a roof and jumped to safety, finding the movement enjoyable. He created the first dedicated surf map, "The Gap" (surf_the-gap), which contained a single ramp leading to a platform with a button that destroyed the level. He later made more complex maps such as "Egypt", "Christmas", and "Ninja".

Initially, the mode struggled to gain traction; Joyce left dedicated servers open and sometimes faced criticism from players unable to perform the tricks. After he discovered that increasing the "airaccelerate" setting from 10 to 100 made movement easier, the mode became popular. It expanded into other multiplayer games, including Team Fortress 2. Joyce phased out of the community around 2008 but later revealed his role in an AskReddit post, receiving emotional praise from fans who said his maps helped them with depression or suicidal thoughts. He continued creating maps, releasing "surf_eventide" in 2020.

Reception

Luke Plunkett of Kotaku described surfing as a "strange little quirk" that made the game faster and more chaotic. Steven T. Wright of Eurogamer called it a "fun palate-cleanser at the end of a long night of gaming", though difficult to learn initially. Emma Matthews of Rock Paper Shotgun found surfing fun and noted the satisfaction of a perfect run, adding that it could improve skills like bunny hopping. Alice O'Connor of the same publication said she loved watching surfing and regretted being bad at it, calling newer surf maps graphically "amazing". Gökhan Çakır of Dot Esports called it "one of the more enjoyable casual experiences" in Counter-Strike, also noting it could improve jump timing. Professional esports team Fnatic sponsored the creation of the surf map "surf_summer" in 2017.