Hi FMPONE, you have already created two maps which got really popular on CS:GO (cs_museum and de_gwalior), we have heard from some weeks that you are working on a remake of de_cache in collaboration with Volcano, can you tell us more about it ?

FMPONE : Sure thing. How I actually got involved was simply recognizing Cache's popularity, and asking Volcano to work on a totally new, original map together. However, shortly after that, I spoke to someone who encouraged us to polish Cache first, before heading on to new projects.

Cache is a map with a strong foothold in the Counter-Strike competitive community, it gets regular play in tournaments and has received widespread recognition as a solid and serious arena for players of all skill levels. Not unlike Mirage, which has gotten a ton of love from players and most recently from Valve, Cache is a map with the potential to be a classic. In fact, before I had anything to do with it, I saw Cache as being on the verge of induction into the "next generation" of classic Counter-Strike maps.

If Cache has a fatal flaw, however, it's that the environment visuals simply aren't up to modern standards. So we're faced with a basic problem here: a great map, that doesn't look great. It deserves better. So, I've teamed up with Volcano (the creator of Cache) to solve the visual identity issue, but we also saw this project as a way to tidy up a few loose ends that had yet to be addressed with the old Cache.

At the beginning, you published some screenshots on a mapping forum, showing the map is much more elaborated and beautiful than the original one. Could you tell us about the aesthetic choices your made for this map ?

FMPONE : My aesthetic choices represent a big learning experience. I started off knowing that the visuals would need a VERY palpable sense of restraint, so that immediately made me think of a desolate kind of place, something very quiet, such as you will find around Chernobyl, where the Earth has overgrown what was once a bustling little town called Pripyat. This line of thinking was a mistake. I learned -- primarily from Volcano -- that competitive players don't want to spend hour after hour trudging around a barren, dead landscape. So many of the screenshots I originally showed looked great, but they didn't feel great, and that basically sums up the evolution in my thinking. Volcano came up with the idea of shifting the season depicted in the map from Fall (shrivelled trees, dead leaves on the ground) to a thriving and green Summer-time vibe. Still overgrown, still in Russia, still in the shadows of Chernobyl, but NOT depressing. A key lesson for me, and a solid point and good idea from Volcano.

Volcano, you are working on this project in collaboration with FMPONE, did you imposed him strict and specific specifications or is he free to do what he wants on some aspects of the gameplay ?

Volcano : FMPONE and I have been working together closely on this project. We discuss everything to make sure we have the best combination possible between gameplay and aesthetics and we each contribute to both aspects of the design process.

Did you work together on the map or you were leading FMPONE to make the map as great as possible for competitive CS:GO ?

Volcano : We have been working on the map together to ensure it is an improvement upon the previous version of the map. I feel we have been able to do that both in terms of gameplay and the visual quality of the map as well.

The graphics of the remake seem great, but we all know that detailed graphics can ruin the readability et competitiveness of a map. FMPONE, do you pay attention to this? If so, how much?

FMPONE : If a player has any trouble seeing another player because of details, I have failed, and I know that. So I took deliberate steps to prevent that, from top to bottom. It's a day to day process in restraint and good design. You have to think long and hard about what details matter and where. You try to get away with little victories while knowing that the overall presentation is simply not as detailed as it could possibly be. If I made mistakes, Volcano called me out on them. This type of map forces you to make smart decisions, and less decisions, which is of course a difficult challenge. I think we've succeeded in placing details where they will not hurt the gameplay experience.

Volcano, now that the map is released, do you think the map will replace the old de_cache ?

Volcano : The goal is to completely replace the old version of de_cache with the new version.

FMPONE, regarding the quality of your maps, we are not worried about this remake. Do you have advices to give to someone who wants to create a map for CS:GO ?

FMPONE : My advice for making a map for CS:GO is very simple: do not think you know Counter-Strike better than people that play it every day. Ask pros for advice. Get pros or at the very least extremely knowledgeable people involved ASAP, or eavesdrop on their forums, do what it takes...

You probably have seen the last map Valve created, which is a de_mirage remake. What do you think about it ?
 

FMPONE : It's great. It's not what people thought they wanted, which was a direct port with some minor graphical changes (that's kind of what we're doing with Cache), but that's because Valve is a bit bolder and more cunning than that. I think they wanted to evolve on Mirage in bold and intelligent ways, and I think they did just that. Of course it can be a struggle to get everybody on that bandwagon, but I think slowly but surely you'll see more people realizing and acknowledging that they did an excellent job.

Volcano : I think the visuals on the new mirage look great, but it seems that there were a few too many gameplay changes made. Bombsite A in particular may need to be addressed in order to appeal to the competitive community. The rotated nature of the site is a bit distracting and feels odd, especially when compared to the original version of the bombsite. The layout of the cover in addition to the structural changes of adjacent areas such as the spawn ramp and the former electrical box area makes it feel like the dynamic of the bombsite has drastically changed instead of preserving and improving upon the dynamic from the previous map.

Regarding this new Cache, do you feel like you have worked the same way Valve did to improve Mirage graphics?

FMPONE : No, we're not as extreme as the new Mirage. We don't have concept artists or a brilliant cabal of designers at our disposal to examine every detail, which I suspect is a lot of what went on at Valve with Mirage. We have myself, and Volcano. We have to preserve the core of our map more. Mirage is just a beautifully designed map, and I have to be honest about not being able to compete with that level of sheen on a map, it's pristine frankly. So you'll have to see whether you feel the new Cache is actually overly conservative, it may be, I don't know. They just did great.

Two months ago you participated to a Gamebanana-Cevo mapping contest, and your map, de_gwalior, ranked second. First of all, congratulations ! After this, you wrote a comment saying you declined the prize money. Do you want to explain us why you took this decision?

FMPONE : Yeah it's pretty simple, the results of the contest had to be dramatically altered at the last minute due to rampant voting fraud. I personally had no insight into the adjustments that were made, and I don't think there was any bad faith, but by that time the obviousness of the fraud had already left a bad taste in my mouth. For instance, one day I had woken up to find that one of the maps had gotten an insane, clearly fraudulent amount of votes literally overnight. That same map was later dropped from second place to like eighth when the votes were "fixed". So, the results just lost so much legitimacy in my eyes, and I washed my hands of the whole contest. It was a "thanks but no thanks" type of situation, but it's no disrespect to Gamebanana or CEVO, and I'm on good terms with both of them. I'm sure in the future they will tweak their methodology for such contests. Congrats nonetheless to de_sanguinis, the winning map, it seems solid.

Thank you for your time, as usual the last words are up to you.
 

FMPONE : Thanks for the interview, and THANK YOU TO THE COUNTER-STRIKE COMMUNITY!

Volcano : Thanks for the interview. I'd like to thank FMPONE for his hard work on the map. I'd also like to thank penE for his contribution with custom textures and models for the map as well as will2k for his help with FPS optimization. Also, a huge thank you to the community for supporting the relaunch of de_cache for CS:GO and I hope that everyone enjoys the upcoming changes.