September 2, 2010 - TF2 Team
Just a quick heads up: our exhibition match with pros and pubbers is going to begin shortly. If we're being honest, we're 10% excited, 90% terrified. You should also be terrified, because our usual MO is to take notes of everything that happens during a match, then make changes to the game in bitter, small-minded retaliation. If Dave Riller can't kill someone because they're hiding behind a wall? Guess what? That wall's toast in tomorrow's patch. And if I get killed by too many Scouts, then there'll be no more Scouts, in any game, ever. Double jumps will be a fond memory in your grandad's head. Trust us on this. We have connections at Nintendo. Mario will develop a sudden desire to wear lead weighted boots.
Head over to the ETF2L page to see how you can watch the fun.
August 24, 2010 - TF2 Team
Since our recent TF2maps.net Art Pass Contest, our level designers have gone back to their default state at the TF2 offices, which is to say, doing nothing, taking naps, eating lunch, and complaining. This has become a bit of a poison pill for the rest of the TF2 team, all of whom possess strong opinions about working (against it), naps (pro), lunches (very pro) and complaining (big fans).
As part of the fallout, this morning the writing team refused to do their work for the month, which was to write today's blog post and name some hats. At first we weren't terribly concerned—partly because most of the team wasn't even aware the game had writing in it, but mostly because everybody here, unlike the writers, knows how to perform a skill AND write words. (Here's a pro-tip for you youngsters: Build your career on a skill that isn't something five-year-olds can do.)
But then someone pointed out that, even though writing's incredibly easy work, it's still technically work. So we reached into our comprehensive bag of solutions, and pulled out our well-worn one-trick pony: Community Contest Time!
Fans have been mailing us for some time now, asking for a contest that didn't involve modeling or level design. So now they get their wish. That's right: you'll be competing over who can describe hats the best. Introducing the first ever
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You probably thought we were done for the day too, but we've barely started this blog post. The fine folks over at Team 17 are about to release Worms Reloaded this week. Being massive fans of their work, all the way back to the original Alien Breed, we thought it'd be fun to do something with them. So, we approached them and politely asked if we could include an iconic element of their game in TF2. The conversation was going swimmingly until they said that the best item to use would be the Holy Hand Grenade. We shuffled our feet and nervously explained that some soon-to-be-fired idiot had removed all of TF2's grenades.
But luckily, we were saved by our own shoddy workmanship. While we removed grenades from the game during early development, we left two of them dangling on the front of the Soldier as a teasing reminder of what once was. So, to celebrate the release, we're going to give a nifty Soldier visual update to anyone who buys Worms Reloaded before Thursday, September 2nd, allowing him to sport two Holy Hand Grenades and a new Soldier helmet. Here's what it looks like in-game:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Finally, a couple of quick competitive notes:
August 19, 2010 - TF2 Team
- First, we've finally got the TF2 Community Submitted Avatar Gallery up, containing the thousands of avatars that you fine folks have submitted to the TF2 Contribute page. If you find a submission you like, all you need to do is click on the link below it to switch your steam avatar over to it. There's a ridiculous number of great avatars in there, so we're sure you'll find something to your liking.
- Second, we love eXTV's latest video, an Intro to Competitive TF2. It's an awesome primer on competitive TF2's terminology, class usage, and common strategies.
August 10, 2010 - TF2 Team
The fine folks over at ETF2L have launched their Highlander Community Challenge, and we're excited to be a part of it. We'll be giving out in-game medals to everyone who participates, so if you've got some friends who should stop wasting their gaming time and get to the work earning virtual goods (for you), now's the time.
Continued...
August 4, 2010 - TF2 Team
On August 31st WiNGSPANTT and 7 other Golden Wrench owners will commit a nigh unutterable act of brazen item-aggression so egregious that we shudder to think of the implications should the Administrator herself catch wind of it.
On that day 8 Golden Wrenches will be destroyed.
Continued...
July 28, 2010 - Brandon Reinhart
July 16, 2010 - TF2 Team
July 15, 2010 - Robin Walker
July 8, 2010 - TF2 Team
Say you have two things: a perfectly good hand, and a brilliant inventor for a grandfather. One day you stumble across a blueprint for an amazing-as-hell robot hand meant to replace an arm-stump. Wait, you have three things: the hand, the grandfather, and a saw.
Continued...
July 7, 2010 - TF2 Team
Quick: Name someone whose body of work is a testament to the indomitability of the human spirit; whose strength and moral guidance informs your every decision; and who starred in one of the Police Academy movies.
Continued...
July 6, 2010 - TF2 Team
Everyone loves remote control toys. But the problem with most of them is, unless you manage to remote control one directly down someone's throat, they're pretty useless as weapons. But what if we were to tell you that we fixed that obvious design flaw?
Continued...
July 5, 2010 - TF2 Team
Those of you who spent the weekend Tokyo drift-racing your way to a rap battle—or whatever it is people do when they go outside on the weekend—probably feel pretty good about yourselves right now. At the end of the day, though, what do you have to show for it? Vague memories of changing lanes. Twenty-five of the people who wisely chose to stay home and craft items, on the other hand, now have shiny new ultra-rare golden wrenches that they can keep. For a weekend? No. For a lifetime. Eat it, drift-racers. Eat all of it.
Continued...
July 2, 2010 - TF2 Team
Since our announcement of Team Fortress 2 on the Mac, we've received literally thousands of emails from over seven people, curious as to how the Apple comic shown in the update fits into the ongoing TF saga. Did Saxton Hale really buy the Apple company? Can Heavy's gun actually shoot email bullets now? Who was that mysterious figure? And why were Valve's lawyers so insistent that he remain mysterious?
Continued...
July 1, 2010 - TF2 Team
June 30, 2010 - Robin Walker
Do you hear that? That ominous, otherworldly silence? That's what we in the game biz call the calm before a storm. And keep listening... do you hear that distant rumble? We call that thunder. It happens during a storm whenever it's not quiet.
Continued...
Team Fortress, the Team Fortress logo, Opposing Force, Day of Defeat, the Day of Defeat logo, Counter-Strike, the Counter-Strike logo,
Source, the Source logo, Valve Source and Counter-Strike: Condition Zero are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Valve Corporation.
