A lot of fans were disappointed by the recent release of CS2, and had been hoping for more features, game modes and content. One "feature" a lot of players are missing is the left-hand model...
There was one feature from CS:GO that was so good it found its way into Valorant: the left-hand model command. Beloved by a lot, hated by none. And why would you? It changes nothing server-wise, it's just the player having a weapon in their left instead of their right hand. But, this command didn't find its way into CS2 at the time of release. Another disappointment for some in the community.
Another CS2 Disappointment: Players Upset About Missing Left-Hand Model
With Counter-Strike 2, a lot of new features found their way into the game. The buy wheel is a thing of the past and Jump Throw Binds are no longer a necessity. Additionally, the player models finally have legs, that you can see from the first-person perspective. But all of this comes with some sacrifices. There is no left-hand model in CS2.
The community was wondering why this feature wasn't shipped over to CS2. Famous content creator "Houngoungagne" (I will refer to him as Jeff from now on) made a Twitter post asking this question and proposing his thesis, why the heft-hand model isn't available for CS2.
What could be the reason for not allowing left hand view-model at release? Any idea?
— Yeff (@HOUNGOUNGAGNE) September 28, 2023
My guess is that since we see our own shadows, if we had left handed models, the client shadow would be different from the server shadow?
Jeff thinks that due to the model having legs to see in first-person now, the shadows will be the problem. Since the change for the viewmodel was only client-side in CS:GO, the gun was still in the right hand for others. Now, with the shadow in place for first-person, the consistency might not be there. If you had a gun in your left hand, the shadow needs to be cast to the left of your body as well. But, the shadow for other players would still need to be on the right side, since the server doesn't know the weapon is in the other hand.
I think Valve knows how much the community loves the left-hand model. And I think that Valve has the ability to fix all the problems occurring with a left-hand model in CS2. But once more, the game feels prematurely released. Valve set themselves a release window, pressured themselves into releasing the game with a lot of functions, modes, and features missing. Yes, the left-hand model is nothing essential for CS2, but for a lot in the community it compounds the overall disappointment of release.