Has anything changed in CS2? You could always just `connect host:port` in the console in Counter-Strike.

Console isn't even enabled by default. The average player would need to:

1. Enable Developer Console in Settings 2. Find a server via a third party website 3. Use said IP + Port to connect. * This results in low dedicated server player counts due to effort and the issues mentioned in the blog above.

Valve has expressed intentions directly and indirectly to remove the console from CS2 and operate almost exclusively out of the in-game Settings menu.

Over the years, this setting menu has increased in options. Although to cover the vast amount of commands is simply impossible.

Yet known the debug or cheat-protected commands.

Nothing changed, you need to know that host:port first, and that's where the problems with the official serverlist being flooded with fake entries become apparent.