The CS 1.6 File Check: Modified Wads, Models and Game DLLs

In CS 1.6 you don't need a running program to cheat. Replace a wall texture with a transparent one, swap player models for bright, oversized ones, or empty the smoke sprite, and the game itself shows you what you shouldn't see. Since version 0.0.15, AACGUARD compares your CS 1.6 files with Valve's original files to find these changes.

Where the originals come from

Steam describes every game file with a fingerprint (SHA-1) and a size in its depot manifests. We read those manifests for the current Steam build of Half-Life and Counter-Strike 1.6, about two thousand files, and the list is built into the app. During a scan, AACGUARD compares your textures (.wad), models (.mdl), sprites (.spr), images, maps and game DLLs with that list. Nothing is downloaded and nothing is uploaded except the names of files that differ.

How changes are weighed (Steam copy)

• Wall textures (.wad) and core game DLLs that differ from Valve's: strong findings. A modified .wad is how see-through walls work.
• Player models and the smoke sprite: medium findings, because they are used for bright models and "no smoke".
• Other DLLs: counted lightly.
• Cosmetic files, such as weapon skins and hand models: listed once as information only. Many players use custom skins and they give no advantage.
• Replacements loaded from a custom content folder rather than over the original count less than files that were overwritten.

When nothing is scored

If your CS 1.6 is a different Steam build from the one we compare with (for example right after a Steam update, before we update the list), or if a large share of files differ at once, the check does not score anything and only notes it. A whole folder of different files means a different build or a repack, not a targeted cheat.

Non-Steam CS 1.6

Non-Steam builds ship with their own files, so only wall textures and player models are compared, and they count a little. If more than half of the textures differ, the build is treated as a repack and nothing is scored. See Non-Steam CS 1.6 and AACGUARD.

Fixing a finding on a Steam copy

1. Close CS 1.6.
2. In your Steam library, right-click Counter-Strike → Properties → Installed Files → Verify integrity of game files. Steam restores the original files.
3. Remove leftover texture or model packs from the game folder.
4. Scan again. If you think the old finding was wrong (for example a map pack you downloaded overwrote a texture), appeal and say where the file came from.

What this check does not cover

Your configs (.cfg files) have their own check for cheat-only commands and are not compared here. Wallhacks that change how the game draws, without changing files, are caught by the OpenGL hook check and the in-game memory checks described in External cheats. The technical side of the file check is in our research article Checking CS 1.6 files against Valve's depot manifests.