Matchmaking, Overwatch updated

Although the latest update to CS:GO may feature no gameplay changes, it has shipped with a number of tweaks that will impact the daily experience of most players.

Overwatch, the previously much-maligned service which allowed players to monitor the demos of reported players and judge them for cheating or game infractions, has been taken out of beta and will now award XP to players who award accurate verdicts.

Matchmaking now requires an in-game "rank 3" in order to play, which is similar to the concept behind ranked play in Valve's Dota 2.

In addition, the snapshotrate for GOTV and demo viewing has been doubled to 32, which will hopefully improve the spectating experience overall.

A number of other important changes have been introduced to the game, which can be found in the patch notes below:

[OVERWATCH OUT OF BETA]

• Added an XP reward for accurate Overwatch verdicts. The reward is proportional to the investigator’s Overwatch Score, is delivered after a sufficient number of accurate cases have been resolved, and can be collected by completing matches on official servers.
• Added a message to users when they have reported a user that was banned by VAC or Overwatch.
• Added a message to users when they have lost XP, competitive wins, Profile Rank, and Skill Group due to partying with a cheater.
• Updated the Overwatch F.A.Q.: http://blog.counter-strike.net/index.php/overwatch/

[SOUND]

• Weapon fire sounds no longer prevented from playing due to the Potentially Audible Set.
• Fixed bug where dormant players could emit bullet impact sounds.
• New ladder footstep sounds.
• Inspecting a weapon from loadout screen now plays cage opening sound.
• Adjusted weapon fire sound falloff to be more noticeable at near range distances.

[UI]

• Added Leadership, Teaching, and Friendliness commendations to the scoreboard. The team member with the best score in each category will display the relevant icon.
• CS:GO Profile Ranks now display like Skill Groups in the scoreboard: always for friends and party members, and at the end of the match for everyone else.

[MISC]

• Doubled GOTV broadcasting and recording snapshot rate ( to 32 ) on official servers.
• Fixed a bug that allowed players to commend themselves and removed all such commendations.
• Update rates enforced for players can now be configured higher than GOTV master tv_snapshotrate.
• Tickrates for players on official servers are now enforced to match server tickrate.
• Players must now be at least Rank 3 to play Competitive Matchmaking.