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Demo playback

The camera doesn't focus on the player​

The camera focus relies on the CS2 command spec_lock_to_accountid that was added to the game in the 14/02/2024 update and used by CS:DM since version 3.3.0.
It means you must use a CS2 branch released after this date and use CS:DM version 3.3.0 or later.

CS2 demo playback doesn't start or crashes​

  1. Steam must be running without admin rights.
  2. The demo's path must contains only Basic Latin characters. Counter-Strike can't play demos with non-Basic Latin characters in the path.
    The solution is to move your demos in a folder with only Basic Latin characters in its path.
  3. Close any anticheat software (FaceIt, ESEA, etc.).
  4. CS2 updates may break playback for demos generated from previous CS2 versions, leading to playback not starting or the game crashing.
    To detect if it's a CS2 or CS:DM issue, you should try to play the demo from the game rather than CS:DM and check if the playback starts and the game doesn't crash during the playback (it can happen).
    If it doesn't work in the game either, that's probably because the demo was recorded with an older CS2 version and is incompatible with the latest version.
    Valve sometimes creates a "branch" (available from the game properties in Steam) to allow playing on a previous game version.
    As a last resort, you can try to find a compatible CS2 branch by selecting it from the CS2 properties in Steam and then try to play the demo again.
    CS:DM starts the currently installed version of CS2 so if it doesn't work in the game, it won't work in CS:DM either.
    If the issue happens only when playing the demo from CS:DM, please create a new issue.

Counter-Strike executable not found​

It can happen if you have multiple drives on Steam (where games are installed) and CS installed or partially installed on different drives. It has been reported here.

  1. Right-click on CS2 in your Steam library, go to Manage and click on Browse local files.
  2. Note the path where CS is installed (example: D:\games\steamapps\common\Counter-Strike Global Offensive).
  3. Open the Steam settings and go to the Storage tab.
  4. For each drive except the one where CS is installed, check if a folder steamapps\common\Counter-Strike Global Offensive exists and delete it.

Example:

  • You have 4 Steam drives D:\, E:\, F:\ and G:\
  • CS is installed on D:\games\steamapps\common\Counter-Strike Global Offensive
  • The G:\ drive contains a G:\steamapps\common\Counter-Strike Global Offensive folder
  • You have to delete the G:\steamapps\common\Counter-Strike Global Offensive folder
warning

On Linux this can happen if Steam has been installed using Flatpak.
It's not supported yet, so please install Steam using the native installer.

Can I watch CSGO demos?​

Yes, please follow this documentation.

What are VDM/JSON files next to my demo?​

VDM and JSON files are generated by CS:DM when starting the game to control the demo playback (camera focus, fast forward, etc.).

VDM files are used only for CS:GO demos as they are not supported by CS2.
JSON files mimic VDM files for CS2 and are read by the CS:DM server plugin when playing a CS2 demo.

Those files should be deleted automatically when the game is closed and can also be safely deleted manually.

Watching CSGO demos​

In order to watch CSGO demos, you have to select the csgo_legacy branch.
To do so, follow these steps:

  1. Right click on CS2 in your Steam library and click on Properties.
  2. Go to the Betas tab.
  3. Select csgo_legacy from the dropdown menu.
  4. Close the window and wait for the game to be updated.
  5. You can now watch CSGO and CS2 demos from the application
tip

You can watch both CSGO and CS2 demos from CS:DM when the csgo_legacy beta is selected while keeping CS2 up to date.