TF2 Official Blog

The Battle Bob and The Bushman's Boonie

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:28:00 +0000

Save 15% when you pre-purchase Jagged Alliance - Back in Action on Steam before February 7th and get three new items in TF2.

Team Fortress 2, Day of Defeat: Source and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch Updates Released

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:03:00 +0000

Updates to Team Fortress 2, Day of Defeat: Source and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include: Source Engine Changes (TF2, DoD:S, HL2:DM)

Adjusted error messages on servers when players drop due to Steam authentication failure to be more clear
Additional important server messages now go to the server log instead of just the console

Team Fortress 2

Added The Conquistador
Added The Map Maker's Medallion
Added new promotional items
Added information about item origins to the WebAPI
Added "DamagedPlayer" animation event for the HUD, fired when the local player damages other players
Fixed The Head Warmer not displaying unusual particle effects correctly
Fixed paint applying incorrectly on Max's Severed Head
Fixed a server crash caused by Holiday Punch critical attacks on physics objects
Updated the Itsy Bitsy Spyer so it can also be equipped by the Sniper
Updated cp_foundry:
- Clip brush collision smoothing by the forward spawn alternate exit
- Fixed Nobuild exploits
- Fixed the teleporter player trap on the roof of the forward spawn alternate exit
- Fixed Nodraw and texturing errors
- Fixed clipping of barrels on final cap points
- Fixed fade distance on props
- Fixed lighting bugs in spytech vistas
- Removed props hidden in geometry
- Removed ability for players to cap the final point by standing on the catwalk behind it

TF2012!

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:08:00 +0000

Medic statue pre-order starts Tuesday

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:37:00 +0000

The next release in the Gaming Heads TF2 12 inch statue line, the Medic, will be available for pre-order on Tuesday, January 31st via the Gaming Heads website.

Team Fortress 2, Day of Defeat: Source and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch Updates Released

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:36:00 +0000

Fixed a demo/replay playback crash
Changed the way bot counts are displayed in the server browser: the bot column is now next to the player column and always visible. Bot count is no longer subtracted from maxplayers.

Team Fortress 2

Added the Aladdin's Private Reserve for the Demo
Fixed a bug where the Medic would lose his healing target's speed when deploying his ÜberCharge while using the Quick-Fix
Fixed a bug that would cause some Team Spirit painted hats to show as black-painted in the Steam Community
Localized the team goal strings for cp_steel and pl_frontier
Added missing level_data strings to kill_eater_score_type elements in the GetSchema WebAPI response
Updated pl_frontier with author-submitted fixes:
- small prop adjustments
- several unsewn/gappy displacements fixed up
- func_push altered below final capture point
Undocumented changes: Updated all localization files

The Vanilla Challenge

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:58:00 +0000

CEVO is host to a new tournament, "The Vanilla Challenge." Teams will compete for cash prizes with first place receiving $1000 and a spot in the main division in their upcoming season nine. Maps have not yet been announced.

eXtravision Every Monday

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 23:29:00 +0000

We're already a few episodes behind but somehow we doubt you'd be surprised by that tidbit. Every Monday eXtv puts together a segment called eXtravision featuring Team Fortress 2 news, tournaments, replays, and much more.

TF2Maps.net Level Design Contest

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 19:26:00 +0000

Payload. New levels. TF2Maps.net. Delicious! This new level design competition focuses around designing a map with an all new dynamic payload element. Not sure what that is? Neither are they because that's up to you! Intrigued? Visit their news posting on TF2Maps.net for details. The contest ends April 30 9:00PM UTC. Submissions will be accepted one week before the deadline.

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:23:00 +0000

An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include:

Added new promo items
Fixed paint preview not working for Mann Co. Store items
Fixed the Lucky Shot not hiding the base Soldier helmet
Did not update the localization files

UGC Highlander Season 6

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:16:00 +0000

United Gaming Clan's season 6 highlander league starts January 23. Teams can sign up until January 30 to compete in the ten week season.

Team Fortress 2, Day of Defeat: Source and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch Updates Released

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 01:44:00 +0000

Limit the effective FOV of players using wide-screen resolutions with aspect ratios wider than 1.85:1. The sv_restrict_aspect_ratio_fov ConVar can be changed to remove the restriction or make the restriction also apply to full-screen players.

Team Fortress 2

Fixed Cp_Foundry not ending the map in the middle of a round when mp_timelimit is hit
Fixed the Spy saying 'Prego' for one of his 'Thanks!' lines
Fixed incorrect player animations for the Buff Banner and the Battalion's Backup
Fixed some cases where strange Ullapool Cabers and wrenches would fail to correctly count kills
Improvements for client stability
Updated the localization files
Crafting changes:
- Added crafting recipes for weapons introduced during the holiday update
- When selecting items for use in crafting, the items selected will show their quality in addition to the item name
- Ellis's Cap can now be used as a crafting reagent
Item changes
- Added The Lucky Shot helmet
- Added The Killer Exclusive to the Mann Co. store
- Added Mask of the Shaman to the item drop list
- Fixed particle display problems for items with multiple effects
- Fixed the Dr. Whoa paint not drawing correctly for the Blue team
- Updated the Desert Marauder and the Villain's Veil so they can be equipped together
- Updated the Fancy Dress Uniform and the Kringle Collection so they can be equipped together
- The Bombinomicon no longer shakes the screen and has a delay before the explosion so that Snipers, Spies, and others can get better feedback on the actual cause of death
- The Bazaar Bargain functionality has changed: only one stored head is lost on a miss or a bodyshot and no heads are gained when missing while crit-boosted

KritzKast Lo-Fi Offclass Cup

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 21:49:00 +0000

Sign ups are still open (Four for the KritzKast Low-Fi Offclass Cup until Saturday 12:00AM EST. Interested in something a little different? Players are limited to no more than two of each: Pyro, Sniper, or Spy and only one Heavy, Engineer, or Medic. There's a few unlocks white listed as well, more details can be found in their announcement. Specific sign up details are available here.

A Smissmas Story... in RUSSIAN and CZECH!

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:49:00 +0000

Thanks to some talented community translators, there's now a Russian version of 'A Smissmas Story' available for you to read here.

Update: Zde je odkaz na českou verzi komiksu, vytvořenou členem komunity SC.

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 21:49:00 +0000

An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include:

Naughty/Nice Winter Crate Keys have been changed to regular MannCo Crate keys.

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 19:17:00 +0000

An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include:

Fixed a Spy-cicle exploit
Fixed the Manmelter idle effects showing on other flareguns

The Australian Christmas Update... UPDATE!

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 00:37:00 +0000

With all the hustle and busty fustle of Australian Christmas, you probably thought we forgot the most important part of it: The gift-giving. Well, we didn't forget. We were hoping you would. But you didn't--you guys are sharp! So get your Gift-Gettin' Pants on, because you are about to get gifts, and we'd prefer you were wearing pants for it.

GIFTED! All the community items previously only available in the Nice Crates are now craftable, droppable, and available in all the ways you're used to getting them!

ALSO THIS GIFT! A free Secret Saxton for every premium account!

DUCK! GIFT COMIN' ATCHA! To acknowledge all you generous souls who've been handing out Secret Saxtons and piles of gifts since the formation of the TF economy, everybody is receiving a Spirit of Giving badge. It's a plate-sized x-ray illustrating to your peers exactly how big your heart is, and consequently, what a good person you are. You—and more importantly, everybody else—will actually be able to see your heart grow over time depending how many gifts you're giving. We strapped an actual decommissioned Soviet-era x-ray machine to several team members' chests, and trust us, the science checks out: The people in our experiment with the biggest hearts were in fact the nicest guys on staff. How do we know? You should have seen how many people showed up at their funerals.

STOCKING STUFFER! In an effort to get the gift-giving juices flowing, we've made every map as Smissmassy as possible by wrapping lights around every rope!

BUT THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL... was inside you all along. It's blood! Turns out you can sell it! See you at the plasma center! Merry Smissmas, everybody!

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 00:19:00 +0000

Updates to Team Fortress 2 have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include:

Added community-created winter items to the drop lists, the craft tables, and the store
Added the Spirit of Giving
Gifts from Secret Saxtons and Piles o' Gifts now have a chance to grant a gift in addition to whatever item they would have granted normally
Fixed hearing the deny sound while rotating a sentry during placement
Manmelter balance tweaks:
- Added particle effect on muzzle that appears when ready to fire
- Increased projectile speed while maintaining the same travel arc
- Increased extinguish range
Added festive lights to all ropes and cables
Fixed a problem that would sometimes allow the detonator projectiles to crit on burning targets
Updated the localization files
Updated the gamehaptics file:
- Added draw/melee swing/melee hit/crit forces for the The Sharp Dresser and the Spy-cicle
- Added draw/recoil/reload/crit forces for the Pomson 6000
- Added draw/recoil/crit forces for the Manmelter
- Added draw/recoil force for the Wrap Assassin
- Added melee hit/world hit force for the Third Degree
- Added crit forces for the Holiday Punch
- Fixed missing forces for Demoman swords
- Refined recoil force for the Sandman

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 00:01:00 +0000

Updates to Team Fortress 2 have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include:

Fixed the Stocking Stuffer candy cane using the incorrect material
Updated the Brown Bomber so it can be painted
Updated the festive weapons so they can be gift-wrapped
Updated the localization files

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 22:56:00 +0000

Updates to Team Fortress 2 have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include:

Fixed the Frontier Justice getting infinite crits
Fixed a problem that would allow Pyro Mmmph to activate in the air without taunting
Fixed Manmelter getting crits from Mmmph
Fixed an exploit with The Eureka Effect and The Phlogistinator where the effects could activate without taunting in high-lag situations
Fixed the Brown Bomber not showing up on the Demoman
Fixed client HUD crash
Fixed colors on Christmas lights for the Blue team Scout weapons
Fixed a bug that would cause minicrits when switching weapons rapidly
Steam Workshop zip file size limit has been increased from 4 MB to 10 MB

The Australian Christmas Update
is HERE!

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 23:37:00 +0000

Board up your chimneys! Bury your milk and cookies in the yard! Load your shotguns and stuff all of your turkeys! Part 2 of the update has been announced and the update is now live. In case you missed out on Part 1 of the announcement, check it out now.

"Wait, which holiday?" you may be wondering. "Australian Christmas? Or Smissmas?" Both! Read this comic to find out what happens when holidays collide! Two special days enter the squared circle! ONLY ONE LEAVES!

In the spirit of Australian Christmas/Smissmas/Your Holiday Here, we'd like to give a few shout-outs to all the hardworking boys and girls who made this update possible. First, a big thanks to all our community holiday item creators. Thanks also to the Dr. Grordbort guys for their cool retro-futuristic Engie and Pyro weapons. If you think they look nice in-game, wait'll you see their real-life equivalents, on sale right now at drgrordborts.com!

Highlight Videos

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 22:03:00 +0000

Couple of videos have crossed our desks here at the office this week. Enjoy! We certainly did.

ETF2L Season Final

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 21:59:00 +0000

ETF2L's 6v6 Season 10 concludes tonight! A best of 3 match between Infused.Tt and Epsilon eSports is scheduled to go down at 21:15 CET (15:15 EST) and will be cast via VanillaTV.

Special offer from Dr. Grordbort's

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 04:25:00 +0000

In celebration of a missing Grordbort's rocket being found, and the subsequent release of two new Dr. Grordbort's Team Fortress 2 packs, our friends at Weta Workshop are offering a special, time and quantity limited deal.

Get in quick, and grab yourself a Miniature Pearce 75 at a discounted price of US$49.99! That’s a saving of US$10. There's only 50 available at this price so act now!

Enter the special offer code TF2EXCLUSIVE during checkout on the WetaNZ website. (Code is case sensitive)

Offer Ends 21 December.

Happy Australian Christmas Eve

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 02:36:00 +0000

As strongly implied in yesterday's educational Australian Christmas comic, Dr. Grordbort has once again landed a steam-powered rocket directly into the gravelly fields of the TF2niverse. Only this time the rocket's a little roomier, and has arrived bearing gifts for two classes, the Engineer and the Pyro.

Click here for Part One of our Australian Christmas Update Announcement, and don’t forget to check back tomorrow for Announcement Part Two and, more importantly, the update itself.

Just because the update’s coming tomorrow doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be playing RIGHT NOW, because guess what: Double drop rates start tonight! They’re only around until next Wednesday, so get in there and take advantage of all the double dropping!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Australian Christmas

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:40:00 +0000

What is the true meaning of Australian Christmas? Some say it is a hamfisted attempt by the Australian government to turn a notorious felon into a beloved folk hero. Others say it's a calculated ploy by the novelty munitions industry to sell guns that shoot mistletoe.

And then there are those who look past all that, and maintain that it is a time to reconnect with friends and loved ones, and to be thankful for the blessings in our lives.

And then there are those who are still licking their emotional wounds from all the reconnecting with friends and loved ones they did at Thanksgiving, and realize that the true true meaning of Australian Christmas is zero human contact, eating candy, and getting as many presents as possible.

And those people are correct—that is the true meaning of Australian Christmas. We looked it up.

But don't take our word for it. Ask the Engineer.

6v6 Newbie Mix Smissmas Cup

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 19:28:00 +0000

The second six on six newbie mix cup is about to be begin with the special moniker, Christmas Cup. The rules are simple; its a double knockout tournament where teams are comprised of five individuals and one experienced mentor, who will then take part in a week long tournament with some great christmas prizes.

No prior TF2 experience is required, although they reccomend you take part in a few matches beforehand to get a feel for it. These can be joined via their Steam community. You can also seek out a mentor via the same source.

To sign up, or see additional rules, visit their Steam community group.

Team Fortress 2, Day of Defeat: Source and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch Updates Released

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 23:04:00 +0000

Added video options UI for Windows Vista / Windows 7 DirectX extensions. Disabling the extensions will increase memory usage, but can improve compatibility with video drivers.

Team Fortress 2

Fixed wearable gibs spawning outside of the map
Fixed some missing strings for the Backwards Ballcap
Updated these items so they can be crafted and traded
- The Dr. Whoa
- The Dashin' Hashshashin
- The Sharp Dresser
- The Point and Shoot
- The War Head
Updated the localization files

Lithuania Pro v Pub Wrap-Up

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:10:00 +0000

The Lithuania Pro v Pub six on nine event has wrapped up and has a few demos and videos to share. VanillaTV has the details along with TF2.lt.

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

Sat, 03 Dec 2011 00:48:00 +0000

Updates to Team Fortress 2 have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include:

Fixed the "Checkout Unavailable" error preventing certain accounts from purchasing items
Improved the framerate stuttering issues some clients were experiencing

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 01:02:00 +0000

Updates to Team Fortress 2 have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include:

Added the Itsy Bitsy Spyer
Added a "Buy Now" feature that allows item purchases on the web
WebAPI changes:
- Moved IEconAssets/GetAssetPrices to ISteamEconomy/GetAssetPrices
- Added new web API ISteamEconomy/GetAssetClassInfo for getting descriptions of items

Mann Co. Spotlight Items

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 19:03:00 +0000

Today, we're introducing a new item from the Steam Workshop, voted on by the community and buyable by everyone. The “Itsy Bitsy Spyer” is a miniature Spy voodoo doll that clips onto the Engineer's belt. It's featured in our Mann Co. Spotlight box at the immediate right of this post!

And for you traders out there, there's a link right underneath the Spotlight item that'll let you buy keys without going into the game. Plus, we’ve removed the three-day trading cooldown for anyone whose first Steam purchase was 30 days ago or more.

All of which brings us to the last new feature we're introducing today: "Buy Now" links that you can create for any item and embed anywhere. Visit the FAQ for more details!

Team Fortress 2, Day of Defeat: Source and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch Updates Released

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 18:49:00 +0000

Fixed a client crash during demo playback

Team Fortress 2, Day of Defeat: Source and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch Updates Released

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 21:58:00 +0000

Dramatically improved the dynamic model loading system's memory usage, performance, and stability
Reduced memory usage on systems running Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7
Improved alt-tab handling under Windows Vista and Windows 7

An Animated Short: Bonk!

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 18:52:00 +0000

Bonk!

Revelations of a Spy

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 19:33:00 +0000

Pre-Purchase Assassin's Creed Revelations and receive two Assassin’s Creed inspired items for Free in Team Fortress 2, The Sharp Dresser and The Dashin' Hashshashin.

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 23:53:00 +0000

Updates to Team Fortress 2 have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include:

Added new promo items
Fixed some visual conflicts with the Dr. Whoa bowtie and other items
Updated the Cold War Luchador, the Mark of the Saint, and the Apoco-Fists so they can be crafted and traded
Updated the localization files

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 01:00:00 +0000

Updates to Team Fortress 2 have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include:

Added the Dr. Whoa bowtie
Added a new taunt for the Heavy when he's wearing the FrankenHeavy set
WebAPI changes:
- Fixed contained_item not always displaying in the web api results
- Added a new API (IEconAssets_440/GetAssetPrices/v0001) for getting item prices
Fixed set bonuses activating outside of the proper holiday for holiday restricted items
Fixed the Loch-n-Load death notice icon not being displayed correctly

The Point and Shoot and The War Head

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 23:22:00 +0000

Pre-Purchase Trine 2 now and receive two Exclusive hats in TF2, plus get access to the 2 Level Trine 2 PC Multiplayer beta.

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 21:52:00 +0000

Updates to Team Fortress 2 have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include:

Added new promo items
Fixed a bug preventing some server-side quickplay filtering from working, causing clients to ping too many servers
Fixed a bug where an item with an empty craft_class (e.g. the Apoco-Fists) could be obtained via crafting
Fixed an exploit that allowed untradable items to be traded with Steam trading
Web API changes:
- Added flag_cannot_craft to GetPlayerItems web API output
- Added description_string and description_format for some hidden attributes in the GetSchema output
Updated Pl_Upward
- Fixed a teleporter griefing position near control point B
Updated Pl_Barnblitz
- Fixed a bug that allowed players to get into the opposing team's respawn room
Updated the localization files

Team Fortress TV

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 18:35:00 +0000

In the world of today yesterday's videos are old hat. Wishful thinkers have put an end to all that and launched Team Fortress TV! Dedicated to live streams of matches from Europe, Asia, and North America you'll never be caught talking about the past.

We want holiday-themed community items!

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:13:00 +0000

It's that special time of mid-November, where nothing is special yet, but you can feel the tingle of impending specialness right around the corner. All the signs are there. When you kill a man, you can actually see his last breath hanging in the chill mid-November pre-specialness air. Turkeys have retreated to their bunkers in a vain attempt to weather the upcoming onslaught of holidays devoted to gleeful turkey slaughter. And are those sleighbells we hear? Because our legal department assures us they aren't. That's right, TFers. It's beginning to look a lot like an upcoming holiday our legal department won't let us mention, but that rhymes with "Smissmas".

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 20:29:00 +0000

Updates to Team Fortress 2 have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include:

Fixed a problem with precaching pumpkin_bomb entities

History Comes Alive!

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 18:14:00 +0000

In honor of the meticulously researched, true-to-life events dramatized in the educational video game Saints Row: The Third, we visited the library and came up with three equally historically accurate Heavy items for those of you who pre-order: a faithful recreation of the ceremonial dress of General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev. Note the dedication to mirroring every historical detail, from Gorbachev's signature diamond-encrusted lucha libra mask to his cartoonishly oversized boxing gloves to the fleur-de-lis badge given to all former heavyweight champions, all of which Gorbachev famously wore to accept the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990.

Team Fortress 2, Day of Defeat: Source and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch Updates Released

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 00:25:00 +0000

Added rate limiting for connections and added the following ConVars to support that:
- sv_max_connects_sec
- sv_max_connects_window
- sv_max_connects_sec_global

Team Fortress 2

Added a full moon background for the main menu
Added new promo items
Fixed a Linux dedicated server crash when using +randommap on the command line
Fixed some bugs with the way items appear in the Steam Community and Steam Trading
Optimized several materials to improve performance
Updated the localization files

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 01:11:00 +0000

Updates to Team Fortress 2 have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include:

Ended the Halloween sale/event
Fixed a client crash in the replay editor
Fixed a client crash in the fullscreen store preview
Updated the localization files

Vote Now! Help Me Beat Up a Doctor!

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 20:46:00 +0000

First order of business: Some DAMNED WEBSITE is asking any know-nothing mope with a keyboard and an opinion the preposterously self-evident question of whether I can BEAT UP A DOCTOR IN A FIGHT. Let's stick to the facts: I have PERSONALLY MANSLAUGHTERED 1,593 physicians in various forms of unarmed and/or unwilling combat, and let me tell you, that statistic carries a lot of weight at the doctor's office. Let's just say a "Beaten to Death in the Head by Fists" can turn into a "Natural Causes" on a coroner's report PRETTY FAST when you're cracking the right knuckles at the right people.

ESEA Season 9 "The Experiment" Highlights

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 19:38:00 +0000

Check out this highlight reel featuring top North American team The Experiment's matches during Season 9 of the ESEA-Invite created by Subtitled of Torn Productions.

Mix-Up Match Numeration the Third

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 19:36:00 +0000

The third mix-up match popped up to the TF2 Mix-Up website today featuring a slew of characters from the community and the Team Fortress team.

Enter... MONOCULUS!... AGAIN!

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 22:46:00 +0000

Team Fortress 2, Day of Defeat: Source and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch Updates Released

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 22:26:00 +0000

Output of status command now includes public IP
Fixed playback for pre-Halloween demo recordings

Team Fortress 2

Output of status command now includes registration status, including any error message causing failure
Update the '_registered' server tag based on whether registration is successful, not whether the registration convars are set
All registration related messages now go to the server log in addition to the console
Fix response from cl_gameserver_reset_identity command to properly format convar config lines
Added a taunt for the Tin Soldier set
Fixed the Soldier’s melee dare response rule
MONOCULUS! HAS GROWN ANGRY
Updated the localization files

Gift Abuse: The Gift That Keeps on Abusing

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 19:17:00 +0000

Merasmus Art Available

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 20:39:00 +0000

Head over to the Artwork section of the website to download the hi-res version of the Bombinomicon comic cover art, featuring Merasmus the Magician.

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

Sat, 29 Oct 2011 00:19:00 +0000

Updates to Team Fortress 2 have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include:

Fixed the randommap command not working when used on the command line
Fixed a client crash that could occur while loading the map if MONOCULUS! is killed or stunned

Scream Fortress Very Scary Halloween Special

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 23:40:00 +0000

Welcome—IF YOU DARE—to the Third Annual Scream Fortress Very Scary Halloween Special!

Let us be frank with you: Last year's special was pretty darn terrifying, even by our impossibly high standard of scary. To cite just one example: Dracula was taken to the hospital after witnessing just the loading screen of last year's update. That's not Terry Dracula your greengrocer, either. This is the Dracula we’re talking about. And if it scared Dracula, who eats ghosts and craps Frankensteins, we shudder to imagine what it must have done to you.

Enter… MONOCULUS!

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 23:00:00 +0000

There are some questions in the TF universe--questions like "Is Pyro a boy or a girl?" or "Who will be the tenth class?"--that get asked so often that they become, in a sense, unanswerable.

Then there are the questions nobody has thought to ask. Questions like, "Every time you explain something supernatural in TF2 you say the Soldier angered a magician. Who is the magician?" Questions like, "If the TF mercs went out trick or treating, what costumes would they wear?"

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 21:48:00 +0000

Updates to Team Fortress 2 have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include:

Fixed a client crash caused by corrupt particle data
The Professor's Peculiarity can now be used as a crafting ingredient
Football Manager 2012 promo items are now tradable and available for purchase
Additional stability/performance work for both clients and servers
Updated localization files

Update on the Halloween Update

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 23:42:00 +0000

Halloween is almost upon us, and for those of you who don't have an irrational fear of Presidents' Day, it's the scariest time of the year. This morning, we were reviewing this year's Third Annual Scream Fortress Halloween Update, and we realized that it is probably too scary. Scratch that - it's definitely too scary. This much concentrated terror would be like throwing you into the deep end of a pool... With no lifeguard on duty! [sound of lightning hitting a bat] But then, oh thank God, here comes a lifeguard. Sayyyy, he looks familiar. OH MY GOD it's Dracula! No wait, it's even worse! It's legendary Hollywood triple threat, Ethan Hawke! Acting! Directing! Writing! But not swimming! Everyone knows he can't swim! What monster would hire Ethan Hawke to be a lifeguard? Does this cursed rec center not have ANY lifeguard hiring oversight committee? IT DOES NOT! AWOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Night of the Living Update

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 21:20:00 +0000

Someone passed a link to us that pointed us to this Night of the Living Update! We really wanted to explore more of the house but were denied by some sort of a haunted multi-day lock mechanism. Dreadful. Suppose we'll just have to wait to see what other treats are unveiled over the next few days.

Boo!

Almost had you.

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 00:30:00 +0000

Required updates for Team Fortress 2 are now available. The specific changes include:

Improvements to client stability related to loading mesh content during gameplay
Fixed an engine error that mentioned CL_CallPostDataUpdates
Fixed "Not Usable in Crafting" text not appearing under certain conditions on item tooltips in the trading UI

ESEA League Season 10 Registration

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 18:43:00 +0000

Last day to register for ESEA League Season 10! This season features $80,000 in cash prizes including a LAN event for all invite division playoffs. There's a whole host of other updates and changes to this year's season so be sure to check out their site for details and sign up.

New Season of Highlander At ETF2L

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 18:36:00 +0000

With the fall comes a new season of Highlander over at ETF2L. Everyone is welcome and teams will be grouped together by region and skill level. In game items are planned to be handed out to all participants who finish their season. Signups are open today until October 30 with the first week of play starting Sunday November 6!

Heavy's Revelation

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 19:15:00 +0000

The Heavy has had his issues in the past but in this hilarious video, he's got a few more items to work through.

Li'l Saxton Wallpaper Now Available

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 01:41:00 +0000

Who wouldn't want to look at a muscular baby with a mustache and chest hair busting through an adult bear while they're checking their email? Get it now in the Artwork section of the website.

Highlander Mix-up Match Replays

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 20:24:00 +0000

A few replays from the Highlander Mix-up Match have surfaced featuring some of the top competitive players, a handful of community contributors, and our own Dave Riller, Jon Lippencott, and Robin Walker.

Match 1: Upward
Match 2: Badwater
Match 3: Viaduct

Surprise Manniversary
Update and Sale

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 19:49:00 +0000

A couple days ago we mentioned a "major project" we were working on that we promised to keep you updated on in the weeks and months ahead. Well, here's an update: It's done! Suck it, Valve Time.

That's right, folks. The Steam Workshop is live! What is it? An improved submission hub for community-created content that makes it easy for you to upload entries, check on their status and get feedback from us at Valve. Also, the TF community will be able to look at, comment on, and rate all item submissions in a single place.

Community MGE Tournament

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 20:14:00 +0000

The Drunken Brawl! (yes, exclamation mark included) has teamed up with eXtv to host their first ever MyGamingEdge mod tournament. They're hosting three 32-man brackets; Soldier, Scout, and Demoman. The event starts Saturday, October 15 at 1PM EST. As if playing the game wasn't reward enough, first place prizes for each bracket is an unusual hat for each class. Very spiffy.

Making of a Skull Hat

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 18:27:00 +0000

If you played the "Halloween Manor" event last year, you may recognize this spine-chilling skull hat. What you probably don't recognize is the terrifying secret process I used to create it. Well, brace yourselves for a Halloween-themed learning nightmare, because this step-by-silent-Dracula-step guide is about to reveal all the gory details of hat making.

Saddle up and kick some ass!

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 01:21:00 +0000

What do the names Brad Paisley, Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw have in common? If you guessed "three people who've delivered my mail," then you know as much about country as we do, because apparently they're all incredibly famous country music stars.

Anyway, check out this awesome new Team Fortress 2 theme song that's had us chuckling all afternoon. It was written and performed by someone called brentalfloss, who we assume is also an incredibly famous country music star, like Garth Yoakum or Miley Cyrus's dad. And if he's not super-famous, he should be.

Highlight Montages

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 18:46:00 +0000

CommunityFortress.com put together their Top 10 Plays of the month for August and number one is sure to put a smile on your face. Unless you're on the receiving end. Looking for more? We also have this highlight reel from the Wolth Pack team from this past season of ESEA-IM.

MyGamingEdge North American Cup

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 18:05:00 +0000

The MyGamingEdge North American Cup is almost here! 64 teams will compete in the open bracket to face a hand picked set of 12 teams based on their ESEA Season 9 rankings. Registration is free and closes October 8 at 5:00PM EST.

Ultiduo Cup Number Three

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 18:22:00 +0000

The third ETF2L Ultiduo Cup has arrived! So far 58 teams have signed up and more are welcome. This cup features a 64/128 single elimination best of three setup with $300 for first and $100 for second. All teams will get a chance to play three matches at a minimum. American teams are encouraged to sign up with the server being hosted in London. Further details are available on the ETF2L website.

ESEA TF2 LAN Playoffs

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 18:30:00 +0000

The ESEA League Season 9 LAN playoffs kick off today at 5PM CST and end Sunday September 25 and will be broadcast live online. This is the LAN playoffs for the invite division of the online regular season which features all the top North American players vying for this season's prize purse of $67,000! The tournament includes not only Team Fortress but Counter-Strike as well.

The LAN playoffs are a best of three double elimination bracket. Here are the official seeds:

eMazing Gaming TF2
The Experiment
Classic Mixup
Area51 Gaming TF2

Maps to be played will be cp_badlands, koth_pro_viaduct_rc2, cp_granary, cp_gravelpit,gullywash_pro, and cp_warmfront. If a third map is required each team will eliminate a map from the regular season map rotation and one will be picked randomly from the remaining maps.

All the demos and scores will be available on ESEA along with photos and videos on ESEAnews.

Be sure to tune in for what is sure to be some great action!

Brother can you spare a health?

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 22:41:00 +0000

Comic Artist Celestial298 shows just how kind a scout can be sometimes.

Killcams Contest Winners

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 17:04:00 +0000

TF2KillCams wrapped up their contest and announced the winners this week. Visit their website for details.

Meet The Sniper's Novel

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 17:30:00 +0000

Books. Psh. Who cares, right? You're probably saying to yourself, "If I wanted to read, I wouldn't have already stopped reading this blog post." But what if we were to tell you that books are like hats for the inside of your head? And then while you're busy pondering that, what if we were to tell you that John Patrick Lowrie - voice of the Sniper and real life husband of the Administrator - has written a book? And that it's a science fiction epic called Dancing With Eternity. And that it's available now on Amazon! GO BUY IT! DON'T WAIT!

Did you buy it? Okay, now wait. Just practice reading by reading this sentence over and over until Dancing With Eternity arrives, and then move on to the next paragraph.

Now that you have your first book, you're probably poking at it with a pen, asking yourself, "what does it do?" Is it sitting there quietly doing absolutely nothing? Because that's what it does! So congratulations book lover, you've entered an exclusive club called literacy whose members include several U.S. Presidents and Margaret Atwood.

And that's not all. Once you're done reading this dystopian page turner (note: it will not actually turn its own pages), shut off your flashlight, climb out from under your bed, and get ready for the best part: This website will teach you how to turn every single one of Dancing With Eternity's 417 (probably sex-filled) pages into an awesome origami ninja hat. It's simple economics: You're trading one piece of paper for nearly 420 pieces of paper! Get in on this Ponzi scheme before John Patrick Lowrie goes to prison!

eXtv's Tournament Kick Off

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 18:50:00 +0000

eXtv's inaugural PugNA tournament kicks off today at 9PM EST/6PM PST and follows up tomorrow, September 14 at 9PM EST/6PM PST.

This unique tournament will feature four of TF2’s top medics of all-time, Casey, Harbleu, Pyyour, and SeanBud as team captains. The captains will be tasked with drafting a winning team from a pool of 25 selected players. The entire 4-team tournament, from the draft process to the finals, will be broadcast live by eXtelevision.

Today's opening matches will played simultaneously and covered via two streams here and here. The four team cup is single elimination and the third place match will immediately follow the opening matches.

ETF2L Season 10 Details

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 18:38:00 +0000

ETF2L has published the latest details, including prizes, regarding their 10th 6v6 season which is starting September 25.

Dead Workers Party Party

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 17:57:00 +0000

Needing some more party in your party? Dead Workers Party is putting on their yearly party. Details are available on their website.

UGC Highlander Season 5

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 18:05:00 +0000

UGC is about to launch the 5th season of their highlander tournament. The official start date is September 12 but sign ups will remain open for the next three weeks. The popular highlander format features a 9v9 format with only one of every class represented.

Inter-Communautaire Results

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 18:02:00 +0000

The Inter-Community Tournament has concluded and posted the results of their tournament. The tournament featured eight of the biggest French communities battling it out in a highlander 9v9 format.

Lo-Fi Offclass Cup

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 17:53:00 +0000

KritzKast has teamed up with PubComp to create the "Lo-Fi Offclass Cup." This rather irregular tournament features a ban on Soldier, Scout, and Demo leaving the rest to compete together for a chance to take home a Lo-Fi Longwave! Full details are available here. Sign ups end September 19.

Steam Trading: Out of Beta and available to everyone!

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 19:27:00 +0000

At any rate, as of today Steam Trading is officially out of beta, in the Steamworks SDK, and available to everyone. Two new games will now have tradable in-game items: Spiral Knights, the cooperative adventure from Three Rings and Sega, and our own Portal 2. And remember, this is just the beginning. We can't wait to see what our fellow gamers and developers are going to come up with to move Steam Trading forward.

To celebrate, items are on sale in the Team Fortress 2, Portal 2, and Spiral Knights in-game stores.

Communities vs Pros II

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 19:01:00 +0000

EndOfReality.net, eXtelevision.com and PubComp.com are putting together "Communties vs Pros II!" The North American team, The Experiment, will pit six players against a hand picked community team of nine. The action starts September 17 2011 at 9PM EST. Need more convincing? Visit the official website for additional details.

Delicious

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 18:08:00 +0000

When we switched the health packs in game to cakes for our birthday, we thought they looked delicious. Someone agreed.

Top 10 Plays of July

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 20:59:00 +0000

CommunityFortress.com proudly presents the Top 10 Plays of TF2 for the month of July 2011. Video produced by LuckyLuke and hosted by eXtine.

Kill Cam Contest

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 20:55:00 +0000

TF2Killcams.com is a website dedicated to things worth a thousand words but only dedicates a few short ones to them. To celebrate their 1000th post they're holding a kill cam contest! Details for the contest are located here. If having a chuckle at the unfortunate demise of the Scout isn't enough they've also upped the ante with prizes!

A Special Offer from our Dr. Grordbort's friends at WETA

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 05:10:00 +0000

Now that you've been vaporizing your compadres Grordbort-style in Team Fortress 2 with your Cow Mangler and your Righteous Bison for a while, perhaps you're ready to handle a REAL Righteous Bison made of REAL atoms.

That's right. We've instructed our retail brethren at Weta to offer you $20 USD off a Righteous Bison (when you flaunt the secret case sensitive code: TF2BISON4REAL during the options phase of the checkout process).

The offer stands for one week at the WETA Raygun Store. Get a Bison - it puts hair on your chest! *

*Metaphorically! Actual hair growth is a rare side-effect experienced mainly among pre-pubescent handlers.

Happy Birthday to Us

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 16:19:00 +0000

This morning Robin Walker threw a birthday party and nobody came. Before you start feeling sorry for him, though, keep in mind he didn't actually invite anybody. He just keeps emailing the TF team pictures of himself in his backyard - jumping around in an inflatable jungle gym he rented, forcing a hired clown to make him balloon animals, and unwrapping gifts he bought himself.

Charitable Deeds

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 01:43:00 +0000

The community continually comes together for great things and this is no exception. A Team Fortress player known as Plumpkins organized a charity drive for Child's Play. Together with several other community members they gathered up a bunch of items from Team Fortress and auctioned them off. When the dust settled, a total of $700 was raised for Child's Play! Our hat is tipped to all of you.

i-Series LAN TF2 Tournament Update

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 18:36:00 +0000

VanillaTF2.org posted an article listing some of the 35 teams making an appearance at Multiplay's i43 TF2 tournament which includes Dignitas, TCM, Epsilon, and Infused.Tt. These teams will be competing for a minimum prize pot of £5,000! Further details are available on the Multiplay website.

The VanillaTV team is also going to be in attendance and will be covering and livecasting as many of the matches as possible from August 26 through 29.

KritzKast Website Re-Launch

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 21:22:00 +0000

KritzKast has relaunched their website today and as an added bonus there's a competition to celebrate! KritzKast will be interviewing Josue Pereira, the creator of the webcomic, NerfNow. KritzKast is asking you to help come up with questions for him to win a Lo-Fi and a chance to get your very own NerfNow comic.

The Manno-Technology Bundle

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 00:46:00 +0000

Younger TF2 fans might not understand the significance of the upcoming game Deus Ex: Human Revolution. For those of you who weren't around during gaming's golden age, it's the long-awaited sequel to the cult classic dystopian shooter Revolution X, starring and programmed by Aerosmith. You'll once again play as Brad "The Deuce" Whitford. Part human Aerosmith bass player. Part robot. ALL trouble.

"Wow! Can you let me play it now?" you ask. Dream On, Aerosmith fan. The game's not due for a week. (Joe Perry's still coding some shaders.)

ETF2L Highlander Challenge Highlights

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 20:21:00 +0000

Boneyard Productions has released their latest movie covering the final 8 teams in the ETFL Highlander Challenge. They had over 800 teams and 10,000 players enter the competition this season and with a new season soon to be announced, hopefully even more will be encouraged to join the fray.

i-Series LAN TF2 Tournament

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 20:15:00 +0000

i-Series (i43 specifically) is expected to draw up to 2700 gamers in the UK for a massive LAN event August 26th - 29th. With what is likely to be the UK's biggest LAN event of the year, they're throwing a Team Fortress 2 tournament into the mix! Check out the i-Series website for further details.

ETF2L Ultiduo Cup Update

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 18:29:00 +0000

The second ETF2L Ultiduo Cup is well into its season. The finals are expected to be played August 24th 19:00 - 12:00 CEST. VanillaTV plans on broadcasting the matches.

Miniaturized Class

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 18:00:00 +0000

Check out this Flickr stream that features some creative use of Lego blocks to represent all the classes of Team Fortress.

CEVO Season 8 6v6

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 23:43:00 +0000

CEVO has announced the opening of registration for the next season of Team Fortress 2. There are two divisions, Open and Main, in 6v6 format. Both divisions are free. For registration information visit their official news posting. Registration ends September 4.

Introducing Steam Trading Beta

Tue, 09 Aug 2011 23:12:00 +0000

As we all know, Jonas Salk invented money in 1955 so he would have a way to earn a living from his polio vaccine. Before that, people just traded things they found for things that other people had found. So you might "sell" somebody a scrap of carpet, say, in exchange for an old bottle. It was a perfect system with only one drawback: people spent their lives bartering for piles of garbage before dying of polio.

6v6 Training

Tue, 09 Aug 2011 01:01:00 +0000

There's a new Steam group for those interested in upping their 6v6 game. They offer a friendly and monitored environment where new players can play alongside experienced players with full voice support. Both North American and European groups are available. Visit their Steam group page for more details.

Plentiful Replay Bounty

Tue, 09 Aug 2011 01:00:00 +0000

Have an insatiable desire for more replays? The aptly named TF2 Replay.com and TF2 Replays.com both focusing on posting your replays strictly from Team Fortress so you can get what you want when you want it.

Sentry Sabotage!

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 20:56:00 +0000

File this under watch immediately. Corridor Digital released an impressive Team Fortress related short called "TF2: Sentry Sabotage."

Free-2-Play Invitational Cup Final

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 18:40:00 +0000

The Free-2-Play Invitational Cup, featuring teams from Counter-Strike Source, Left 4 Dead 2, Brink, and Call of Duty 4, has their final match up on Sunday, August 7th at 19:00 BST / 20:00 CEST / 11:00 PDT / 14:00 EDT. Top team Epsilon Brink will face off against a team of Valve employees and a variety of internet celebrities. Robin Walker and Jon Lippincott of Valve will be joined by Richard 'Gonzo' Lewis and John 'TotalBiscuit' Bain from CynicalBrit.com backing them up. The final two slots are represented by top players Fredrik 'TheSucker' Dahlberg and Magnus 'Macisum' Fiskum. More details and coverage can be found on Cadred.

A History of Violence

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 18:47:00 +0000

It was way back on August 24th, 1996 that the first version of Team Fortress took its first feeble baby steps out into the world. At the time it only had five playable classes, no maps, and--believe it or not--no hats. There wasn't even a concept of teams yet. That's right, we didn't actually get teams into a game called Team Fortress until a couple of releases after the initial launch. (The next time someone says their game isn't ready to release yet because they're missing a core feature, you can helpfully point this out to them.)

What the initial version of TF did have, though, was a Soldier class wielding the original Quake's iconic weapon, the rocket launcher. Now, fifteen years later, thanks to Bethesda and id software you too can wield that same rocket launcher in TF2, original sound effects and all.

It ended up being surprisingly difficult to integrate the Quake rocket launcher into TF2, mainly because any time we started working on it, we'd get sidetracked by hours of reminiscing: about that first Quake game, about its impact on us all personally, and on Valve overall. When Quake celebrated its 15th birthday this past June 22nd, we realized just how damn many of us at Valve are here because of id software. Some of us were inspired by their games' technical prowess, and others by getting their first taste of game development thanks to Doom and Quake's revolutionary approach to user-generated content.

So, thanks id, for... well, everything.

Competitive TF2 Update

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 17:38:00 +0000

Ashkan fired us an email with some info on a couple of upcoming matches:

We've got some exciting matches waiting for you! In the competitive community, there are only a handful of Grand Finals played each year, but this week, we happen to have three of them in two days! As you already know, we had UK and Germany duking it out in the ESL Country Championship Finals yesterday. Today, we have the ESL Finals between team SG-1 and team K1ck. We've got something for everyone though, as you can catch the CommFT European Highlander Finals today as well. Head over to VanillaTF2 for more info on that.

Maybe even more noteworthy, the first Free-2-Play Invitational Cup – challenging top teams from other shooters to battle it out in TF2 – will be played today. We've got competitive teams from Counter-Strike Source, Left 4 Dead 2, Brink and Call of Duty 4, all meeting on the battlefield of Team Fortress 2 to try their luck in an exciting clash. The winner of this cup will go on to play a show match at a later date against a Valve/All-Star team joined by TotalBiscuit himself. Make sure you don’t miss it, check out Cadred for more information.

Since a couple of us at Valve will soon be playing the winners of the Free-2-Play Invitational Cup, we've also started ramping up the amount of time we spend thinking about ways to ~~cheat~~ win creatively. In completely unrelated news, if you see any TF2 updates in the future that have no changelist, don't worry, there's absolutely nothing going on.

Community Medieval Update

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 18:30:00 +0000

A group of 38 talented community members have begun to lift the veil off their fine creation, the most elaborately crafted fake TF2 update we've seen yet: The Medieval Update. With over 70 new custom models you can download and try out in Medieval mode, there's got to be something in there for everyone. In fine TF2 update tradition, they're releasing the details over the next few days, so keep an eye on the page.

Dr Ether's Guide to TF2's Voice Actors

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 18:20:00 +0000

Dr Ether over at Ethercast fired us an email to let us know that he's finished his Meet the TF2 Voice Actors! playlist, containing 35 minutes of amazing footage covering the many roles that TF2's voice actors have held in the past. Note that there's some strong language in there, so you might want to avoid the Scout & Medic videos if that's not your cup of tea.

Cows need guns

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 18:16:00 +0000

Tablecloth and Chaoughkimyero dropped us a line to show us their neat custom made Cow Mangler 5000. Check it out!

Nations Cup Grand Final

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 18:11:00 +0000

The ESL Nations Cup Grand Final will be played this week, with live shoutcasting in four languages. The UK team managed to beat out Spain to win the losers bracket, and are back for a rematch with Germany. Head over here for the details.

Good luck to both teams!

The Soldier Invades Comic-Con

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 01:15:00 +0000

The larger-than-life Victory Pack Soldier has been a major hit so far at the Weta booth during day one of Comic-Con 2011. If you're attending the show, stop by and check out the awesome collection Dr. Grordbort's replica space guns and ask for one of the special coupons that'll get you the Righteous Bison for FREE! Coupons are limited so get them while they last!

Fit For a King

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 00:24:00 +0000

When WETA Workshop first approached us with the idea of partnering some of their IP with ours, we couldn't believe our luck. These were the guys who made In The Name of the King, after all, and since that movie stars Burt Reynolds, there was a pretty good chance they'd introduce us to him. Eager to raise that chance to 100%, we sent them over a contract demanding they produce Burt Reynolds at any partnership meetings.

Their lawyers told us they'd actually made some different movies about kings: Return of the King and King Kong, neither of which feature Burt Reynolds in even a minor role. We got less excited, then briefly more excited again when we remembered that King Kong stars Tony Danza, then into a tailspin of depression when we realized we were thinking of Going Ape.

Luckily Greg Broadmore, WETA Workshop's mastermind behind Dr. Grordbort's Infallible Aether Oscillators, sent us over a bunch of concept art for cool-looking space guns, which cheered us up immediately. We asked if he could redraw the art so Burt Reynolds and Tony Danza were having a gunfight in space over who would be our best friend. He said sure. Then he never did.

But just because Greg Broadmore is a liar, that doesn't mean he didn't invent some nifty-looking guns. Find out more about them here, and read a comic we wrote about the items here. Or you can skip all that and go watch Smokey and the Bandit II here.

Screw hats, help sick children!

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 17:39:00 +0000

The Lo-Fi Owners Group have teamed up with Child's Play to ensure those kids in hospitals around the world get have some fun with video games while they wait their turn to be Ubercharged. They are looking to raise $1000 from your donations. The 30 most generous donators will receive a Lo-Fi Longwave hat from KritzKast, and will be invited to play a few rounds with our very own Robin Walker.

Full details and rules of the event may be found in the forum. The charity match is tomorrow, so you're running out of time. Head over here to chip in some cash for the worthy cause. And please, if you find Robin in your crosshairs, don't hesitate for a second - take him out. Don't worry if you're out of practice, he's crap at TF2.

Airshots for everyone!

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 17:16:00 +0000

Torn Productions dropped us a line to show us their latest work, a frags video from last season's ESEA champions Checksix Gaming, featuring the soldier duo of TLR and Dave__AC. Many Medics & Scouts died to bring you this video, not to mention a large number of enemy soldiers just hanging about in the air.

Meet the Medic: Behind the Scenes

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 19:37:00 +0000

Coming up with a Meet the Team short is a lot like a game of Jenga. 99% of it involves making room for an idea and seeing what happens.

Most of the time what happens is the whole structure collapses. Then you have to figure out why it collapsed and rebuild it, this time making sure to add in some structural support for your idea so it doesn't bring the whole short down.

As you'll find out in this Behind the Scenes blog, though, sometimes you can spend so much time adding all that structural support that it’s not until you step back that you realize your short is now nothing but structural support.

You can spend a lot of time building around an idea, in other words, before it occurs to you that the simplest solution is to get a better one.

The Scout makes a move on Miss Pauling

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 23:58:00 +0000

And who wouldn't? We all got a kick out of this video by MaxOfSD2.

Waiting For Medic!

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 17:06:00 +0000

Kassie N over at Tumblr dropped us a line to show us how she and many others in the Tumblr TF2 community spent their time while waiting for Meet the Medic. From June 10th to June 23rd, they drew and painted Medics of all shapes and sizes, and collected them into a massively Medictastic collage. In the end, they had over 160 images, created by over 50 different artists.

Kassie then sent that massive collage to us, and we promptly brought down the Valve network trying to download it. After that, Kassie took mercy on us and broke it into individual images, and our IT staff took mercy and stopped trying to have us fired.

Go check it out!

Craftier? You decide!

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 15:59:00 +0000

The chaps over at Will it Craft? fired us an email to say their crafting tool is just as crafty as any previously posted crafting helper, so we crafted up this post to let you know.

Tournament Recap

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 18:16:00 +0000

The fine folks over at VanillaTF2 dropped us a line to tell us that one of the best games in competitive TF2 history wrapped up on the weekend, when Team Thermaltake met TCM Gaming in the ETF2L Season 9 Premiership Final. If you haven't seen it already, you're in for a treat. You can watch the shoutcast over here (match starts at the 0:53), or the firstperson view over here (match starts at 0:43:30).

Torden also sent us a this breakdown of various other upcoming events in competitive TF2:

Ozfortress's Capping for a Cause 2: An online charity event, where ingame caps = money donated to fighting cancer. Australia, June 26th - beginning of August.

ESL Nations Cup: The Spain vs England loser bracket final (last before grand final) is scheduled for Thursday July 7th, 21.15cest (eu), 15:15 edt (na), 05:15 est (aus).

Summer Assembly: A TF2 tournament at one of the biggest LAN parties in EU (about 5k participants) - Helsinki (Finland), August 4-7th, 3'650 Euro prize pool.

Insomnia 43: With regards to TF2, the biggest LAN tournament we have, with some 300+ participants for our game, and something similar for CS and a few other games - August 26th-29th, 5000+ Pounds prize pool.

Stagelan: A new tournament, using one of the most prominent esports locations there is - Kiev (Ukraine) November 12-13th, 4-20'000 Dollar prize pool.

Crafty!

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 18:42:00 +0000

If you haven't seen it yet, Thomas 'King2500' Schulz has released his nifty Crafting Advisor, which will analyse your backpack and figure out what you could potentially create out of all the junk you've got lying around in your backpack. Once you select what you want to craft, it'll lay out the set of blueprints you should follow to arrive at it.

Time to Fight!

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 17:10:00 +0000

Yesterday the folks over at Community Fortress opened up registrations for their first ever 6v6 Tournament, sponsored by Zalman. Head over there and check it out.

Summer Sale!

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:40:00 +0000

It's summertime and THINGS ARE ON SALE. If only all our writers weren’t at Writer’s Camp they could tell you HOW AWESOME THIS SALE IS. If they wrote something witty about the Scout's new TOWEL you would probably say "I really want to go out right now and buy a towel for MY scout." If they said something sad and revealing about the character of the Scout's new pair of FLIP-FLOPS you would probably say "I care deeply about Flip-Flops, if only I had a pair to show my deep feelings for Flip-Flops!"

Alas, we have no such writer available. We have no one who can write about how these items ARE ONLY AVAILABLE FOR A LIMITED TIME. We have no one who can reiterate in a slightly annoying, but still somewhat funny way THAT YOU HAVE TO BUY THE NEW ITEMS BEFORE THE SALE ENDS ON JULY 11. Indeed, we don't even have two short sentences that would convey that KEYS ARE NOW ON SALE TO OPEN SUMMER COOLERS! See? That was only one sentence and it wasn't particularly short.

Note: The Scout is shown equipped with TWO miscellaneous slot items. We realize this is currently IMPOSSIBLE. After firing the artist responsible, we are now working on making that artist's vision a reality.

Get on the Control Point, boyos!

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 01:04:00 +0000

The Control Point guys are upto something over here. There's a countdown and everything. We're assuming the universe will end when it hits zero.

And if that don’t work… use more gun

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 18:43:00 +0000

This clever fan-made comic has the Engineer taking matters into his own hands. Nice work, Nik.

1st ETF2L Ultiduo Cup

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 00:39:00 +0000

It starts Sunday July 10th, from 20:00 CEST. The cup itself will run over two Sundays. The first 3 rounds will be played on the first Sunday, while the quarter, semi and grand final will be on Sunday July 17th. Simply create a 2v2 team and you’ll be able to signup. The game server is located in London and playable for American teams. Visit the ETF2L tournament page for complete details.

Don't Stab Me Now

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 00:34:00 +0000

Check out this cool video we came across today.

ESEA Invite live stream - June 27th 8:00pm PDT

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 00:24:00 +0000

Starting out with Classic Mix-Up taking on The Experiment on cp_Snakewater_rc3. Details here. Streaming available on Justin.tv through either eXtv or MGE, also Chris Schetter from Keekerdc.com will be doing a radio shoutcast.

Team Fortress 2 Coaching Society

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 00:17:00 +0000

New to TF2? Well now there's a group of people who are dedicated to helping new players learn and master the game. Stop by the Coaching Society Steam group to find out more.

$1055 Donated to Children's Cancer. All from TF2 hats.

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 00:10:00 +0000

Nice work, once again TF Community for raising over $1,000 for the Cure-Search for Children's Cancer. You can find info about it in a few forum threads here, here and here.

1on1 Scout Whiskas Cup #2 - Win up to $1000

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 00:03:00 +0000

The signups will open on July 10th, 2011 17:00 CET and will stay open for 3 weeks. For more info visit the tourney web page.

The Über Update, Day Five

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 22:47:00 +0000

Welcome to Stuff Friday! Without further adieu, here's some stuff!

The "Meet the Medic" Taunt
Capture a point. Shoot a guy. Walk ten feet. Think about walking ten feet and decide not to. Whatever the occasion, celebrate it with the Meet the Medic, a custom taunt that allows you to punctuate anything you do, no matter how trivial, with god rays, orchestral swells and an explosion of doves.

The "Schadenfreude" Taunt Pack
Science tells us that laughter is the best medicine. Put that theory to the test with the Shadenfreude taunt pack, now available in the Mann Co. store, which gives all nine classes the ability to laugh at a corpse and see if it gets any better. (You could hypothetically also laugh at non-corpse-related objects, we suppose. But what would be the point?)

Put Meet the Medic… On Your Wall!
Let's say you enjoyed Meet the Medic. Let's say you enjoyed it so much--and especially that one scene where the Medic walks out of his lab all cool with a bunch of doves flying around him--that you wanted to put it up on your wall. First you'd have to buy a big-screen TV. Then you'd have to buy a computer, connect it to the internet, and have the TV play Meet the Medic in an endless loop. Then you’d have to hire a butler to tell you every time that one scene comes up so you can go look at it. And don't forget laser eye surgery so you can see the image at museum quality. Total price: $140,000. Per year. What a bunch of crap, right? Now what if we were to tell you that Valve engineers came up with a better solution? Introducing the limited edition Meet the Medic lithograph, available now at the Valve Store. First come, first serve, folks!

Art
Man, is your wallpaper stupid. We're just guessing, because compared to the new hi-res, wallpaper-caliber Über Update art now available in the Artwork section, trust us, it's stupid.

Oh, one more thing...

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 23:16:00 +0000

Almost forgot.

Meet the Medic

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 22:00:00 +0000

Dr. Frankenstein. Dr. Moreau. Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman. Any time a physician starts messing around creating life, trying to improve the species with a giraffe neck or two, or taming a cowboy's heart, you can bet things are going to end badly. The moral of these stories? Play God, and there is a 100% chance you will be mauled to death by leopard men.

To that we say pshht. The real moral of Frankenstein is: If you're going to bring a guy back to life with lightning, maybe don't give him the brain of a serial killer. Try a vegan librarian. If you're stitching together animal-man hybrids, how about not jumping straight to ravenous hyenas? Start with hamsters, see how that goes, and work your way up the food chain.

Never toil in God's domain? Good advice if you're an idiot. If you know what you're doing, though, toil away. Why not give the Demo a couple extra livers? Why not replace Sniper's spine with a giant piece of sheet metal? Why not stitch a mouth onto Scout's backside so he can literally talk out of his ass?

Which brings us to our point. Not every mad doctor lives in a castle surrounded by villagers with pitchforks. Sometimes they live in the trenches, where there's plenty of spare parts flying around and a pressing need to get inventive with them.

Let's Meet the Medic.

The Über Update, Day Three

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 20:19:00 +0000

War. Hunh. Yeah. What is it good for? Up until right this second, absolutely nothing. We'll say it again: Absolutely nothing.

But now Edwin Starr's going to have to rewrite that stupid song of his to something more accurate, because as of this moment, war is good for something. Like what, you ask? Free stuff. March on over to World War Wednesday for all the details—or "SITREP", as we learned when we stole Tom Clancy's mail.

Also, if you weren't eagle-eyed enough to notice, the Scout made a surprise appearance yesterday with a class pack of his own. Why make a class pack an Easter Egg? There's a very good reason. Probably. There's also the real reason, which was that it didn’t fit into our Mobster, Timbuktu or War themes.

The Über Update, Day Two

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 22:47:00 +0000

Ahhhhhh, the desert. Sandy, camel-filled seductress. What secrets does she clutch to her fig-stuffed, wind-swept bosoms?

Lots. Don't believe us? The Sphinx. Bam. That's just one secret, too. We've got so many we just threw that one away and we don't even miss it.

It's probably clear to you by now that we've been doing quite a bit of research about the desert. And why? We're going to write a book about the desert. The great American desert book. We honestly can't believe nobody’s thought of this before. We are going to be billionaires.

Anyway, since you're probably already camped out at a bookstore waiting for our desert book to come out, why not take over one of the computers at the information kiosk and enjoy TimbukTuesday?

The Über Update, Day One

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 22:26:00 +0000

Welcome to Day One of the Über Update--the biggest, most ambitious update in the history of Team Fortress 2.

We've got a lot to announce as we get closer to the update's release this Thursday, June 23rd. We've been holding one of the surprises pretty close to the vest for months now. We don't want to ruin it, but we'll give you four clues to get you guessing:

Let the speculation begin! While you're puzzling that out, why not click over to the first of our class pack announcements: Mobster Monday. To make sure everything was as accurate as possible, we went deep undercover at the most Italian place we could find, The Olive Garden. We asked the Mafia about a million questions, none of which they understood, because our mouths were full of all the free breadsticks the Mafia gives you when you visit them (they're not such bad guys).

All that hanging out with mob guys must have rubbed off on us, because we've decided to celebrate the Über Update by giving you an offer you can't (or at least shouldn't) refuse--an unprecedented WEEK-LONG FREE WEEKEND of Team Fortress 2, starting right now!

Last but not least, today's the day we reveal our all-new website. Want a link to it? Too bad--you're already there!

Happening in YOUR Community

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 22:45:00 +0000

TF2Maps.net is wrapping up their Asymmetry/Symmetry Control Point Map Contest. Authors had a choice of making a symmetrical or asymmetrical control point map and five months to complete it. Head over to their contest page to download and play the collection. There are a couple servers running the collection. When you're done be sure to help them choose a winner!
OZ Fortress wrapped up their 6th Ultiduo with yuki and bonobo taking top prize. More information and demos can be found their summary page.
OZ Fortress also has a highlight video from their Cup 2 season compiled by Kaiza.

The Saxxy Awards Are Here!

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 17:49:00 +0000

Hot damn! We're just minutes away from live-feeding the First Annual Saxxy Awards, and the anticipation is thick here at TF headquarters. Why? Because tonight, we are going to announce a contest winner every five minutes until someone dies! Hold on, there's somebody at the door. Keep rereading this paragraph until we get back.

Saxxy Awards Show - LIVE! Wednesday, June 8th @ 3:00PM PDT

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 22:40:00 +0000

Double Drop Week

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 00:33:00 +0000

Starting tomorrow find twice as many items. Enjoy!

The Saxxy Nominees have been announced!

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 20:52:00 +0000

Much like in the historical documentary 300, we have evaluated all of your movies and thrown the weak ones down a well, keeping only the Gerard Butlers. Now it's up to you, the TF2 community, to select the Gerard Butleriest.

"This is madness!" we hear you say. "No it is not!" we reply, just like in that immortal scene we always fast forward through to get to the fight scenes.

That's right. Unlike at other awards shows, where the winners are necromanced by magicians, the Saxxy Award winners in all twenty categories will be picked by YOU, the discriminating TF2 player, as well as by magicians.

Each player gets one vote per category. You can change your vote right up until the voting ends this Monday, June 6th, at 11:00am PST.

Click here to start judging!

Battle Voting Continues!

Mon, 23 May 2011 20:56:00 +0000

At the close of the submission deadline last Thursday, we'd received tens of thousands of videos—many of them amazing, others less amazing but at least following the rules, and still more of them clips from King of Queens with Linkin Park songs dubbed over them. While we appreciate the passion of that final group, we should remind you that the King of Queens Metal Maelstrom contest isn't until next month.

For the rest of you, this is a reminder to get voting. As of last Thursday the Saxxys entered the all-important Battle Voting stage, with your choices bringing the strongest videos in each category to the top of the heap. Battle Voting ends Thursday, May 26th, so if you've got opinions, vote now while they still matter!

Once Battle Voting's culled the weak, Kevin James-based rap metal entries from the herd, a panel of immortal Valve combat film critics will descend from their monastery at the top of the Space Needle to choose a set of final nominees from each category. They will then bang an important-looking gong, thus re-opening the voting to the community. Each user will get ONE vote per category to help determine who will be taking home Saxxys.

Bonjour amis de cinéma

Fri, 20 May 2011 20:37:00 +0000

Allo, mes amis! Ho ho ho!

Valve took a film class last week so they would be qualified to judge the many great entries in the Saxxy Awards contest! So many unfamiliar terms! Mise en scene! Auteur! Avante-garde! Montage! Even cinéma itself!

What do all of these words have in common? Un: They sound complicated enough that Valve decided they had no business judging cinéma. Deux: These words were all invented by me, Francis the Talking France! And so Valve has spared no expense in flying me tout de suite to the French-sounding town of Bellevue to judge the entries myself! C'est magnifique!

But onh-honh-honh. Why the sad French sounds? Because I see now this is too big a job for one talking France. So I am writing this poste de blog to announce that judging of the Saxxy Awards is now open to tout le monde! Le jugement est fantastique!

Click here to start your voting adventure! À bientôt!

Saxxy Contest FAQ

Tue, 10 May 2011 22:05:00 +0000

You ask? We answer. Eventually. We've updated the Saxxy info page with answers to many of the questions pouring in from all you budding combat filmmakers.

Server admins can find all the info they need about enabling the replay system on their servers.

Additionally, several of you have asked for the Meet the Director comic without the text bubbles. Sure. Download the 22MB zip file here.

In community news: Community vs Pros goes live May 14th with a re-realized format that will select nine players from all corners of the TF2 community to face off against the six invited pros. Check out their promotional video of the event.

That's all for today. Keep those video submissions coming. Remember: The sky’s the limit, but under a minute.

The Replay Update

Fri, 06 May 2011 01:22:00 +0000

Steven Spielberg. Robert Scorcese. Socrates. The guy who made those Old Spice commercials.

What do these names have in common? They are the four best filmmakers in the world. And they all got there the same way: by competing in a filmmaking competition we're just now announcing.

Go pick up the berets that just flew off your shocked heads, filmmakers, directors and auteurs. Because The Replay Update is live, and we're celebrating with the First Annual Saxxy Awards--the most prestigious made-up contest since the "strongman competition" Robin Walker held at his house last year, where it turned out he just wanted help moving his couch.

While you're pondering your next blockbuster, take a minute to read the new comic, Meet the Director, to uncover the controversial circumstances that led to the creation of this major event.

Mounts and Blades and Hats and Fires and Hats and Swords

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 17:54:00 +0000

Pre-purchase the "everything explained in the title" game Mount & Blade With Fire & Sword by May 3rd and you'll receive two new TF2 hats: The Hetman's Headpiece for the Engineer, and the Janissary Ketche for the Spy, pictured above.

What else is up? This: SpaceChem, the game Robin Walker dubbed "pretty much the greatest game ever made," has introduced three new TF2-themed levels. Travel to Australia, solve puzzles and unlock achievements to receive the new craftable element Moustachium in TF2. Use this new element to craft special SpaceChem-themed items, including a fishcake. That's right: this marks the start of a trend we're all for: other developer working their butts off to make a promotion for us. "Put your feet up, Team Fortress Team," SpaceChem seems to be saying. "You let us handle this one." Don't mind if we do, SpaceChem. Don't mind if we do.

Well That Was Close

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 18:19:00 +0000

All of us here on the TF2 team have been asking to play Portal 2 for months now.

"Go away," the Portal guys told us. "You'll just try to put hats in it."

"Whaaattttt?" we said. "That's—psshhhh. If anything, we'll probably tell you to take some hats out of the game."

"There are no hats in the game."

After this, there was an awkward ten-minute silence while all of us on the TF2 team stared at the Portal guys, waiting for them to start laughing. Instead, they just told us to go away again. That's when we realized: with so little time left before release, we couldn't afford to waste any time playing the game. We had to fix it. Now. So late last night we snuck into the Portal 2 source code and copy/pasted some hats into it.

You're welcome, Portal 2 team.

Today, we pass the fruits of our clandestine game-saving labor onto you, the hat-loving public (or as you're more commonly known, the public). If you own any of the following hats in Team Fortress 2, you'll be able to equip them on your Cooperative Testing Initiative robots in Portal 2:

Mann Co. Cap
Prince Tavish's Crown
Pyro's Beanie
Fancy Fedora
Master's Yellow Belt
Tyrant's Helm

If you've been on the fence up until now—and who could blame you—you've finally got a reason to buy Portal 2. Courtesy of Team Fortress 2. The best game that Valve makes with a "2" on the end.

Update on the Hatless Update: Now with 100% More Hat

Sat, 16 Apr 2011 02:06:00 +0000

Against our explicit instructions, Robin "Judas" Walker somehow managed to sneak a hat into the Hatless Update yesterday. According to him, it's not a hat, it's a pin, and so not technically against the hat embargo. Much like the villain in Lethal Weapon 2, he seems to have found a loophole in the system and is untouchable.

Rest assured we're going to spend the weekend at the library looking up the definition of the word "pin," but in the meantime, our hands are tied, and we have no choice but to tell you about this spectacular deal. Pre-order Portal 2, and you'll get this suspiciously hat-like "pin" to wear proudly. It's like a hat for your chest. (No it's not. -Robin)

The Hatless Update

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 02:07:00 +0000

We've slaved over it. We've missed sleep, meals, and loved ones for it. We've been up countless hours perfecting it. And now, finally, we've put it aside for a few minutes to slap together this update.

So here it is, folks: a Team Fortress 2 100% guaranteed Hatless Update! Now if you'll excuse us, we'd like to get back to our years-long quest to design the ultimate hat. "For the game?" you ask. Uhhh, sure. Now pass those sequins.

Charity Results

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 21:10:00 +0000

Nice work, everyone! We're excited to share that, thanks to the generosity of the TF community, in two short weeks we managed to collect $430,543.65 for the Japanese disaster relief fund. It's been inspiring to watch gamers around the world come together for such a worthy cause.

We'd also like to give a special thanks to the good folks over at the Unusual Hats Club for taking it upon themselves to raise an additional $3,000 through their own Hats for Help campaign.

Thanks for taking part in our charity drive, everyone! Wear your hats with pride!

This is Very Good Title to Blog Post

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 21:17:00 +0000

Um. Hello. Is this on? Excuse please. This is first time making blog post. For babies. I am sorry. Before I sell you something, I am supposed to flatter you. So: not baby. You are all not babies. There. Done. Yes?

No? Oh kay.

Usually Soldier has baby job of talking to you through button board. He cannot come to blog today because he tells me he must accept highest honor US government can give: Jury Duty. He could not wait to go deliver his guilty hanging verdict for whatever it is criminal did, but he left seventeen page speech for me to type to you. I am not doing this.

Anyway, hats. They are new and very good for you. There are ten of them. One is bear, not hat. So nine hats and bear. Available through drops, craftings and store. Is good deal, you should buy. Moneys go to TF community members who make hats and bears. Do not wait. Get in line now for hat or bear. Have money ready because line is going to be long.

These are good words. Job is done. Where is Heavy's hat?

What?

I SAID, WHERE IS HEAVY'S HAT?

How does this blog thing work again?

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 18:34:00 +0000

Here's an update of some happenings in the TF2 community:

ChemicalAlia has been working on a female counterpart to the Spy.
Gang Garrison just launched a new classy update with all sorts of new and improved features.
ETF2L finals for the European Highlander Challenge Cup has been completed! SNSD clinched top spot against Colony.
Pubbers vs Pros has also concluded with the pubbers grabbing the win against the pros.
Replays of both the Highlander Challenge and Pubbers vs Pros mentioned tournaments are available here complete with commentary.
Turkeydoesnotwantplz made this sweet minigun to tromp around his neighborhood with. Looks like he needs a couple more sandviches though.
TF2TV is holding a competition for people to create a TF2TV themed poster or wallpaper. Details on their page.

Hats For Help

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 21:39:00 +0000

Wow. Seriously, people, WOW. We knew you had it in you, but we're still amazed you've raised over $300,000 so far.

Take a BOW, TF2 community -- because that is an incredible, frankly astounding, amount of money from a dedicated number of gamers, to one heck of a lot of people in some real need right now. Anytime someone gives you guff about something negative in gaming, you go ahead and point them to this post, because here's some late-breaking damn news: they are wrong and gamers are generous and awesome.

Thanks again, and don't forget, these items are available until April 6.

If We Could Be Serious For a Moment...

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 23:05:00 +0000

Here at Valve, we've always been consistently blown away by the creativity and generosity of the TF2 community -- through art contests, map making, item creating, or any one of the hundreds of other ways that you manage to impress us every day.

Today, we'd like to offer a chance to help out at a time when that help matters most. To support the relief efforts currently underway in Japan, we're introducing three limited edition hats and two special noisemakers to the Mann Co. store. The "Humanitarian's Hachimaki" ($7.99), the "Benefactor's Kanmuri" ($19.99) and the most prestigious "Magnanimous Monarch" ($99.99) will be available from now through April 6. All proceeds (net of applicable taxes) will go directly towards the Japanese disaster relief fund that the American Red Cross has set up. The hats can be equipped by all classes; however, they cannot be traded or used for crafting.

The First-Ever Three-Way Pack Update!

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 20:48:00 +0000

Cower, peasants! Flee, terrified ronin! Crap in your ancient Japanese bamboo underpants, feudal warlords! For something approaches unlike anything you have ever seen! The Shogun Pack -- a collaboration between Team Fortress 2, the TF community, and Total War: Shogun 2 -- descends upon you like a rising sun! (But in reverse.)

Community Map Pack!

Fri, 25 Feb 2011 00:11:00 +0000

We've been listening to our community's famished cries for content, and damn it, we decided to do something about it. Unfortunately, the button that bans everybody in the community at once doesn't seem to be working (every time we press it we just get sparks and the smell of burnt fur). So we went with our tried-and-true Plan B: an all-new map pack, featuring some community favorites including a new map from the guy behind cp_mountainlab, the winner of TF2Maps.net's Art Pass Contest.

It's Monday.

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 01:00:00 +0000

As if we could keep this from you. We tried to but then quickly realized we're not very good at keeping secrets. Case in point, this whole sing along episode. On with the community updates:

United Kingdom Community Servers is running a Knockout Cup in the Highlander format. Rules can be found here. Spectators should head over to TF2 TV to check out the action. Live. That's right. Live. As in when it happens. Like a news cast. Except better. There's rockets.
ESL is doing a 128 slot 1 on 1 Scout Cup. Two weeks left for signups! As if that wasn't enough, there's prizes for the top three! Be sure to grab the custom map for the contest as well.
SlienceMaster's username suddenly becomes forgivable once you realize he's made this fancy hat. It certainly looks like the Voodoo Juju. Probably will need to confiscate it to be sure. Perhaps we could setup a donation drive for him to buy a spellchecker.

From Hell

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 21:26:00 +0000

Any time we have a tie-in promotion with another game, we'll send the TF mercs a package with all the new items in it (except Heavy, who lives in some remote log mansion in the Dzhugdzhur Mountains. We just mail it to the nearest Siberian town, and they dogsled it up to him eventually). This gives them a chance to get acquainted with the new weaponry, so they're not surprised when they show up back to work.

But when we sent out our latest promotion--Rift, the upcoming MMO from Trion Worlds--we were puzzled when Scout sent it back, unopened. We gave him a call.

"Hey, man," we said. "We were wondering why you hadn't opened--"

It Is Me, But Smaller!

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 00:32:00 +0000

Eyes forward, you damp sacks of wet pants! In stark contrast to the usual garbage masquerading as news on this website, I am pleased to announce something actually noteworthy: I AM NOW AVAILABLE IN STATUE FORM.

Hello. This paragraph is a cool-down period so you can collect yourself before I continue.

Monday Night Combat

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 21:10:00 +0000

If you buy a copy of Monday Night Combat on Steam up until 10AM PST, February 1st, 2011, you'll get two batches of exclusive items. In MNC, you'll receive class-specific mods to make your classes look a bit more TF2-y. And over at Team Fortress, you'll get an MNC-branded hat that any class can wear, as well as a custom hat and outfit for the Scout.

Look at me! Look at me!

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 19:12:00 +0000

As if we'd let you languish without some updates from the community!

Wireplay is about to launch Season 8 with some new unlocks allowed. Check out their site for the full list.
TF2Maps.net has released a completely new theme pack this week dubbed the construction theme. Additionally there's a new arena map, "Hard Hat" that goes along with it showcasing the new assets. They also have an Asymmetry vs Symmetry control point mapping contest going on for good measure. Hopefully they don't take up blogging anytime, because that'd be really embarrassing for us.

Have at 'em, lads!

Thu, 06 Jan 2011 23:18:00 +0000

Couple of quick community updates:

The Pubs vs Pros Winter Wasteland is almost upon us. Once again, 6 pro TF2 players will take on a team of 9 pub players. With TGBF.tv doing the shoutcasting, it's sure to be an entertaining match. Head over to the event page to find out when and how you can catch it. You can also find more info in this forum thread. Good luck to all the players!
eXtelevision has also posted its coverage of ETF2L's Highlander Mix-up. If you haven't already, make sure you check out the Badwater and Granary matches.

Back to the drawing board, genius!

Mon, 03 Jan 2011 22:06:00 +0000

One of the requests we've gotten from community item contributors has been for an easier way to test their creations. We're pleased to announce that last friday's update included a beta version of our new item testing system. Some folks over at the Official TF2 Wiki have already found it and started documenting the system, but we wanted to provide some more information on what's there, and where we're going with it.

Additional time has been awarded

Wed, 22 Dec 2010 23:36:00 +0000

How I do love the holiday season. A time of year that makes the sweet things in life seem so much the sweeter. A time when ignoring the mournful cries of a litter of famished puppies provides the deep satisfaction of labored accomplishment. A time when delivering a sharp kick to the exposed shin of a desperate beggar takes on a certain character of charity. A time when sending one's witless minions repeatedly to their deaths at the hands of their equally witless enemies provides an unrivaled and noble joy.

So it is that in a fit of holiday induced discomposure I requested that Mr. Hale increase his shipments of weapons and equipment for exactly one week. Do not, my dear reader, interpret this as a sign of approval. Do not mistake me for thinking you worthy of this gift. I am merely attempting to ensure that you are properly equipped for the duties that you are required to fulfill as detailed in the contract that each of you signed. There are control points that need capturing, intelligence that needs recovering, and hats to be secured.

Aye! Me bottle o'scrumpy! Anon!

Fri, 17 Dec 2010 23:59:00 +0000

You demanded a Holiday update, and by gad, you're going to get it and like it, pal. We've cooked up a fine feast of new weapons, garnished it with more headgear than you have heads, and left it simmering overnight in a new game mode. What are you waiting for?! Get over to the Update Page and chow down!

Need a Sentry Here!

Fri, 10 Dec 2010 19:27:00 +0000

Prepare for your examination!

Thu, 02 Dec 2010 20:29:00 +0000

As you've probably seen by now, we like to change things in Team Fortress 2. A lot. And while we're perfect most of the time, we occasionally get something wrong. One reason for this is we just don't get enough data from internal play testing, and another is that we spend too much time watching Tom Bui serenades on Youtube (Hint: Search for "Tom Bui" on Youtube) (Another Hint: Click here). So to help us change TF2 even more frequently, we're pleased to announce the Team Fortress 2 (public) Beta.

Let's try that again!

Wed, 24 Nov 2010 19:47:00 +0000

Our first attempt to play the ETF2L Highlander Exhibition match ran into some technical difficulties. This time around, we've been assured that the appropriate number of chickens have been sacrificed to the dark lord of the internet. You can find out all the details on how you can watch the match here. If you don't feel like firing up SourceTV, this time there are live streams as well.

While we're here, yesterday we forgot to link to the first productive use of TF2. Check it out!

Who wants some a this?

Tue, 23 Nov 2010 19:47:00 +0000

We're getting a little slack around here on the blog posting front. In our defense, we've just had our second day of snow in Seattle, and that means civilization has pretty much broken down entirely. We were about to eat our last intern when we realized we wouldn't have anyone who knew how to operate the blog posting tool/machine/software/doohickey. Luckily the intern, bless his little proactive (and tasty) heart, wrote a detailed description of how to use it on the company wiki. Around here, we call that a Career Limiting Move.

TF2 Maintenance - November 9 - 1pm PST

Sat, 06 Nov 2010 00:59:00 +0000

This coming Tuesday November 9th, 2010 the TF2 item system will be down for maintenance starting at 1pm PST and ending at approximately 2:30PST. We are significantly increasing the amount of database horsepower behind TF2 to accommodate all the recent additions to the system. During this maintenance the following TF2 features will be unavailable:

Backpacks
Crafting
Trading
The MannCo store
Loadouts

The game itself will continue to work. All players will have their default appearance and weapons.

To keep abreast of the status of this and future TF2 item maintenance, subscribe to this thread in the TF2 forum.

Note to developers using the TF2 Item Web API: As part of this maintenance all item IDs will change to eliminate negative IDs. We will be shifting all item IDs forward by 2100000. Depending on what data you store in your database, you may need to do the same.

Shh. Sascha is asleep.

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 23:28:00 +0000

Poker Night at the Inventory is now available for pre-order. If you move fast, not only will you save 10% off the already low price, but you'll also pick yourself up a sweet pre-order bonus of this spiffy Poker Visor for your favorite Heavy. Once the game is released, you'll also be able to unlock new TF2 items by beating The Heavy, Max, Tycho, or Strong Bad at high stakes games of poker.

This is pretty exciting to us - it's the first time a game made by someone other than us allows you to find TF2 items by playing it. If you'd asked us, as we slaved away on TF2 back in '63, whether one day you'd be able to get the Heavy's first minigun off him by playing poker, we'd think you were nuts. Then we'd have hired you, because you had a vision for the future.

If you're curious, here's the set of items that you'll be able to collect inside Poker Night at the Inventory:

The Enthusiast's Timepiece - Tycho's favorite timepiece (equippable by the Spy)
License to Maim - Max's Badge (equippable by all classes)
The Lugermorph - A second chance at Max's personal armament (equippable by the Scout and the Engineer)
The Iron Curtain - The Heavy's first love (equippable by the Heavy, obviously)
Dangeresque, Too? - Strong Bad's styling glasses (equippable by the Demoman)

Here, have some art.

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 21:06:00 +0000

Sound of Blog Post Being Posted

Thu, 28 Oct 2010 00:14:00 +0000

Two blog posts in two days? Your eyes don't deceive you. We're blog-writing machines this week, and there's plenty of gas in the tank.

Today's update includes both of the Art Pass Contest Winners' maps: Mountain Lab by Valentin "3Dnj" Levillain, and Mann's Manor by Tim "YM" Johnson and Alex Kreeger.

Also included in this update: You being scared! [sound of bat wings] That's right, it's the Second Annual Team Fortress Halloween Special. Will there be ghosts? Quite possibly. Will there be exploding pumpkins? You never know. Will you wet your pants in terror? If you're anything like us, emphatically yes.

And what more perfect holiday than Halloween to add the scariest feature yet to the Mann Co. Store: Gift wrapping! If someone decides to trick or treat on your server, wrap up that spare bottle of Jarate and give them the gift a thousand words could never describe, and a thousand therapist appointments will never undo.

Also added to the store: new community items themed for Halloween and a few scary hats of our own dark design. Some of these new holiday items are only available to purchase during the holiday, but will remain wearable all year round, so grab 'em while they're grabbable.

Couldn't ya see the bloody bombs?

Wed, 27 Oct 2010 01:05:00 +0000

We've been fairly busy around the office this week after it was mandated that browsing International Stately Hats of Nationals was not a good use of time and there was work to be done on the next update.

Are you prepared to make your mother proud? We've joined up with Kritzkast to determine what the Demoman really said during his diatribe in Meet the Demoman. Our sensitive ears are incapable of determining exactly what was said so it's best left to the experts. The funniest clean entry, funniest not so clean entry, and most accurate will all receive prizes. Recording your brother being dominated in Dustbowl is not a valid entry.

Sandwich and I are coming for you!

Thu, 14 Oct 2010 18:43:00 +0000

After days of deliberation, a moderate amount of yelling, and an M&M inexplicably up Drew Wolf's nose again, we're happy to announce the winners of the art pass contest. That's right, winners. Multiple. There were so many good-looking and fun maps that it was incredibly tough to narrow them all down to a single entry. So much so that we didn't bother.

Congratulations to Valentin "3DNJ" Levillain and Timothy "YM" Johnson. TF2Maps.net has a page up where you can view the winners of the contest, along with many of the other fantastic entries.

Free Hats!

Wed, 06 Oct 2010 21:34:00 +0000

Hello there, Team Fortress people. Now that I got your attention, the name's Whitaker, from Left 4 Dead 2. Nice little setup y'all got here. Now, I'm told y'all are hired killers. Also, I wanna make it clear that this is ALL I've been told. Ol' Whitaker don't pass judgment, and he don't take sides. RED, BLU -- your money's all green here.

Now, to business. I have once again been asked to try and clarify the essence of some sales paraphernalia.

Mann-Conomy F.A.Q.

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 18:57:00 +0000

We've been getting some emails asking a lot of the same questions answered on the Mann-Conomy F.A.Q., so we thought we'd go ahead and send the link around again for those who missed it.

Probably not a big deal, but...

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 18:09:00 +0000

One of the interesting side effects of shipping free updates for Team Fortress 2 over the years has been a large and devoted group of people who write us asking if they can simply buy game items directly. We also get regular feedback from the bean counters on our fourth floor, who -- after watching with tooth-grinding irritation as we shipped over 120 free updates to a three-year-old game -- gently suggested that we "make some f$*&ing money already."

Then it hit us: it'd make everybody happy if we really DID let players buy items directly. Players'd be happy because we actually listened to them for once, and the bean counters would be happy because in-game stores are the future of everything, including making some f$*&ing money already.

Flash forward a few months, and we're proud to introduce the in-game Mann Co. Store. And, because we'd hate to satisfy the bean counters completely, we've decided community item contributors will get paid based on the sales of their items. So you can make some f$*&ing money already too. Now, I'm sure you have dozens of questions, so just this once we put together a nifty F.A.Q. Of course the best way to find out more is to fire up the game yourself and check out the new Mann Co. Store for yourselves!

Bidwell's Big Plan

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 17:38:00 +0000

The Highlander Mix-Up Match is HERE!

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:44:00 +0000

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.

The healing is not as rewarding as the hurting!

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 20:09:00 +0000

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).

Two Quick Notes

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 23:19:00 +0000

Sorry to pop in unannounced

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 20:06:00 +0000

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.

Golden Wrench Destruction for Charity

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 00:57:00 +0000

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.

Is that an Equalizer in your pocket?

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 23:59:00 +0000

RUN! RUUUUUN! I AM COMING FOR YOU!

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 17:15:00 +0000

Aye, that's tha way ya do it!

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 18:23:00 +0000

Engineer Update is Here!

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 23:53:36 +0000

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.

Engineer Update: Day Three

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 21:15:04 +0000

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.

Engineer Update: Day Two

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 22:39:05 +0000

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?

Engineer Update: Day One

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 21:09:53 +0000

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.

Loose Canon

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 15:52:00 +0000

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?

Steam Web APIs

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 21:18:00 +0000

Listen!

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 23:13:05 +0000

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.

Three Maps. Two Teams. One Victor.

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 16:52:57 +0000

So you've been taking advantage of Training Mode and Offline Practice Mode all week, and you think you're pretty hot stuff. What better way to find out how wrong you are than to watch some pros in action at The Steam Powered User Forums' "Battle of Both Worlds" match this week? Also known as the "Pros vs Pubbers" event, the match features a team of competitive players versus a team of highly skilled public-server players. It's a perfect opportunity to see a whole bunch of truly great TF2 players have some truly great fun. Check it out.

Wow, you guys are GOOD

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 19:07:40 +0000

We'd originally planned to tease out today's update over the course of 19 deviously brain-twisting blog posts, each containing a mercurially complex riddle hinting at the nature of the update. Unfortunately, everybody seems to have cracked the subtle rhyming codex embedded in our first blog post, which was actually supposed to be the most unsolvable of the 19.

So anyway. Team Fortress 2's available on the Mac now.

Tomorrow.

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 21:07:03 +0000

Big things are happening RIGHT NOW at Valve. Things involving cultivated tree-fruit. BIG things. Things that rhyme with "grapple." Things that rhyme with "Speem Gortress zmavailable on the Babac." Not today. But tomorrow. BIG THINGS. Stay tuned...

Danke, my hard-hatted friend!

Mon, 24 May 2010 17:59:16 +0000

After slaving away for over a year, the fine folks at Polycount have unveiled their new community site for video game artwork. Given that a year is roughly the time it takes for us to post a blog update, you can imagine our immediate and deeply-held suspicion that they probably used magic. Possibly black magic. I won't bore you with the details, but long story short, we immediately raced to their office, armed with holy water and fire, to confront them. Several police officers informed us that we were mistaken, and then made us apologize to the wizards, and then made us stop calling them wizards.

All I can tell you about this next procedure is that it will be excruciating.

Tue, 18 May 2010 22:43:03 +0000

We're going to ship an update with another small set of Pyro changes this week. Like our previous update, our goal is to increase the degree to which skill can make a difference between two Pyro players. We received a bunch of useful feedback after the last update, and we think we've managed to address most of it, without removing the skill-based additions. As always, play with it for a bit, and then let us know what you think.

Gotta move that gear up!

Thu, 13 May 2010 23:10:09 +0000

In between obsessing over hats, we've been trying to keep up with all the neat things the community is doing.

A Week in the Life of the TF2 Team

Thu, 13 May 2010 20:45:00 +0000

It's been a busy week for the Team Fortress team. That's right: the police are here again. We're on a first name basis with them, the fire department and the nasal extraction emergency response team at Overlake Hospital by now, so it was like meeting with old friends.

Imagine if I hadn't been drunk

Wed, 05 May 2010 18:18:33 +0000

We're shipping a quick update to clean up some of the confusion around the 119th Update badges. We initially chose to calculate which badge to give players based on the beta release of TF2, because that was the date that customers could first play TF2. This turns out to have been a mistake, largely because many players did the math and thought they were getting something other than what they ended up with. So to remove that confusion, this new update moves that date forward to the official retail release of TF2, the 10th October 2007, and reissues updated badges to anyone who would be affected by that date shift.

119

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 00:59:03 +0000

Today marks the 119th (or so) update to Team Fortress 2.

We think that calls for a celebration.

Thanks for standin still, wanker.

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 20:19:36 +0000

Today we're shipping some significant changes to the item drop system.

Previously, we rolled randomly at intervals to see if you got an item drop. Now we roll to determine when your next item drop will occur. So you're guaranteed to find items at fairly regular intervals. The bulk of drop complaints we've received in the past have been from players having unlucky streaks, where they didn't find any items for weeks. That won't be possible now.
We've significantly increased the rate at which item drops occur, compared to the previous average interval.
There's now a maximum amount of playtime per week in which you get item drops. Playing beyond that amount won't find any more items. The amount varies, but if you play an hour or so a day you're good. Some of your unused time will rollover to the following week, so if you're an intermittent player you'll also be fine.

It is a good day to be giant man

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 19:00:29 +0000

At Valve, we like to play games made by other people, mainly because a) we don't have to make them, and b) they're generally more fun than ours anyway. In particular, games made by other people don't have Pyros named Eric Smith, who makes our collective lives miserable on a daily basis in playtests. (If you ever wonder why features like "Pyro now gets assists for airblasting enemies into environmental hazards" keep getting added to the game, thank Eric. Not content with killing us by just holding down W+M1, he persists in finding bold new ways to get points by any means necessary.)

Gotta move that gear up!

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 17:50:18 +0000

Just a quick update to point out some of the fantastic community activity out there that gets emailed to us every so often. Hopefully you're aware of some of it already. If not, you're in for a treat.

Nice goin', pardner

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:55:29 +0000

In the past we've shipped features that came from community suggestions. Now we've taken it one step further: we're shipping game content that was directly built by the community.

Your Mac Questions Answered

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:30:13 +0000

Yesterday, we announced that Steam and all our Source engine games will be coming to the Mac. Sound too good to be true? Well, guess what: It is true! There are no catches! Sometimes life actually works like that. The bad news is that we've just truth bombed your hard-earned lie detector back to the stone age, and you'll probably lose all your money to the next international lottery scam that sneaks through your spam filter. Still, Steam on the Mac!

Dammit dammit dammit dammit!

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:55:33 +0000

We're plugging away at the Engineer update. He's an interesting class to work on, because he creates a larger footprint in the game than any other class. This means we have a lot of options to work with, and the resulting set of ideas is truly daunting. Since we've already built and playtested some things that haven't worked out (with no false modesty, I think we've mastered the art of rapidly making things that aren't fun), we thought it might be interesting to give you some of our failed experiments.

Propaganda Contest Runners-Up!

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 01:00:00 +0000

As the Administrator mentioned last week, we've sorted through the 11,000 submissions to the Propaganda contest and picked some of our favorites from the frankly jaw-dropping number of first-rate entries. Scroll and enjoy!

Cheaters, Winners and Busybodies

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 01:20:04 +0000

Firstly, as should come as no surprise to anyone, it is my sad duty to reprimand the various con artists and charlatans in our community who insist on making a mockery of the hard work of others by cheating to win. The following is a list of the top twenty kill counts of the recent Demo/Soldier competition:

Better Late Than Never

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 22:19:41 +0000

In the latest update, we've finally fixed the Double Crouch Jump bug—a longstanding issue involving Scout not being able to double crouch jump without looking like his legs are made of raw bacon strips held up in a wind tunnel:

Yo, a little help here?

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 19:54:47 +0000

Today we're unveiling the TF2 Contribution site. This nifty site will allow anyone who's made a custom piece of TF2 content to submit it to us, with a view to it appearing in-game. Many of you have been building fantastic TF2 work for a while now, and we wanted a way for you to get it in front of all TF2 players, and for everyone to see that you were the one that built it.

Erectin a dispenser

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 01:27:07 +0000

With the success of the AI systems of Left 4 Dead, we've been continuing to develop these technologies to create new kinds of game experiences. Team Fortress 2 is an excellent "sandbox" for explorations of this sort, and we've been quietly doing so for much of this last year. Some of the results of these explorations are TF "bots" — AI-driven player proxies with simulated humanlike senses, reaction times, and tactics. Although the TFBots are not yet complete, they play a pretty decent game of King of the Hill.

We thought you might enjoy testing your skill against these work-in-progress digital killing machines.

Update Update

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 01:15:39 +0000

We've got one more update to go out to our backend item system. After that, we'll be granting all the missing items that weren't granted properly when you finished achievements.

And the Winner is...

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:31:26 +0000

...the Soldier!

VI DAY!

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 20:23:05 +0000

Victory on the Internet Day has been declared! The war is over! Who won? We don't know! Yet!

Luckily, I, Robin Walker, was up all night building a kill-calculating machine for just such an eventuality. We turned it on, the building filled with smoke, and right now a fireman is yelling at me to leave the building with everyone else. I'll leave when they pry this tiny netbook out of my cold dead hands. Or when an angry fireman fireman-carries me out of the office, which is what is happening right now. Anyway, once all the firemen calm down, we'll announce the War results with today's huge update. To pass the time, go get yourself a fresh mouse and start reloading this page as fast as you possibly can.

Countdown: War ends in less than an hour

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:00:43 +0000

You heard right As of noon PST today, the Demoman/Soldier WAR! is over. The score is, as of this writing:

Demoman Killed: 6,323,921

Dead Soldiers: 6,298,465

It all comes down to this. I'd give you a motivational speech right now, but the time you wasted reading it would be less time you spent making a difference on the battlefield. Go ahead and break the bad news to your grandfather: YOU are officially now the greatest generation.

It's Close: 5,727,928 Soldiers, 5,742,720 Demos

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 06:59:24 +0000

Adding in the points awarded to our recent Propaganda Contest winners—60,000 frags added to the Killed Demomen score and 25,000 added to the Killed Soldier score—the war currently stands neck-and-neck at 5,727,928 Killed Soldiers to 5,742,720 Killed Demos. We need to stress to you that we have not gamed these numbers in any way: After a solid week of gut-grinding combat and an astonishing 11,470,648 total kills, the Demomen and Soldiers are separated by a mere 14,792 points.

Propaganda contest winners!

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 02:34:32 +0000

The Big Red One

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 03:08:58 +0000

Soldiers continue to hold the lead in the war—but like an M&M lodged up their collective noses, the Demoman refuses to melt away quietly. In other M&M-Stuck-Up-Drew-Wolf's-Nose metaphor news, the Soldier's lead remains thin as a candy coating. In fact, judging from our most recent numbers (4923531 Soldiers killed to 5056134 Demomen killed), the Demo actually seems to be closing the gap as the War hurtles to a close.

Casualties of War

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 05:25:17 +0000

If there is a tragedy in war (besides all the killing), it is that there must be a loser. Currently, we all know who that loser is.

Weekend Update

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 03:35:00 +0000

The Soldier/Demo war has generated more email than any event in Team Fortress history. The number one question I'm being asked is "are you going to publish any new information over the weekend?" Absolutely we are. In fact, here's some news right now: As of THIS MOMENT, there is still an M&M lodged up TF artist Drew Wolf's nose. Drew's in the hospital, and the entire team's thoughts and prayers go out to that brave little peanut M&M. Well, have a great weekend everyone!

War, Day 2

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 03:33:35 +0000

A day later, the war rages on—the kill tally is, quite literally, in the millions, and the forums are alive with the sounds of people having good, friendly fun while hurling bitter, teary-eyed recrimination at one another.

It's a Bloodbath!

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 20:34:27 +0000

In the sixteen hours since war was declared between the Demoman and the Soldier, a whopping 2,681,005 kills (and counting) have been tallied. That's bloody astonishing! And it's all thanks to you! You should all be proud of yourselves!

The War Update

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 01:16:28 +0000

So: how is the War update different from our other class updates?

In many ways, it's not. Like any other class update, the War update will reveal three new weapons each for the Demoman and Soldier throughout the week, as well as some maps, achievements, and surprises, right up until the day of release, when everything we've been teasing goes live.

Attention Employees...

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:27:53 +0000

Friendship ends in one day.

Team Fortress News Roundup

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:46:17 +0000

TF2maps.net's Payload Race & A/D CTF Contest

What happens when you give some TF2 mappers six months to make a map? What happens if that map is payload race or a resurrected Team Fortress Classic game mode, Attack/Defend CTF? TF2maps.net decided to find out. Take 'em for a spin and place your votes!

Pre-Order Giveaway Madness!

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:48:33 +0000

Those of you who pre-ordered Left 4 Dead 2 (PC)on Steam or at participating retailers now have exclusive access to the momentous event they said would never happen. For the first time in history, two separate Valve universes collide. That's right: it's a Left 4 Dead/Team Fortress crossover! This is not fan fiction! This is not a dream sequence! The characters from Team Fortress 2 will team-up with Bill's hat from Left 4 Dead 1!

The Final Countdown

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:14:49 +0000

The good news is that yesterday's $2.50 sale saved the company. The bad news for our bean counters is that, as a "thank you" from all of us on the TF team, we're rolling back prices like it's Thursday. That's right — Team Fortress 2 is BACK ON SALE at its original, company-busting Thursday Super Sale of the Century price of just $2.49! But only until 1:00pm PDT! And this is the last time we're doing this! There will be no more sales!

Important Financial Report

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:11:43 +0000

Remember yesterday when Team Fortress 2 was on sale for the ridiculous, mathematically-basically-zero price of $2.49? According to the bean counters, we're now broke. Man, what were we thinking? Anyway, in a desperate attempt to move some units, make up the shortfall, and save the company, TEAM FORTRESS 2 IS ON SALE FOR $2.50 UNTIL 7PM PDT! Pennies from Heaven!

How to Get a Ghostly Gibus Hat

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:54:09 +0000

The Powers That Be have instructed me to pen another dispatch for you unfortunates. How many goddamn words do you people need? In my day you wrote just enough words to convey meaning: "Secure that damn hill." "I will have more sausages." "This man spoke trash and I strangled him." Today's writing is complicated and has to mean two things at the same time, or it won't win writing awards. Double intendreys. Metafores. If I meet the Billy Shakespeare who came up with that nancy-assed garbage, I will bury my war-foot so far up his ass it will be a foot and a half up his ass.

We're Practically (But Not Actually) GIVING the Game Away!

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:40:21 +0000

From now until 2:00pm PDT, Team Fortress will be available on Steam for the horrifyingly (to our accountants) low price of $2.49! What else can you buy for that price? That's not a rhetorical question, we're interested in all the things we can buy once those $2.49s start rolling in.

Robin "Twofortyninenaire" Walker Get Team Fortress 2 for yourself or treat a friend.

Drop And Give Me Terror!

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:32:26 +0000

At ease, you wastes of skin. The Powers That Be have commanded me to write another short missive—I'm told it will be broadcast on some manner of punch-card tube machine and read by the thin, stupid youth of today, who evidently ignored my past instructions to stop wasting their lives and do more push-ups.

Meet the Sniper's Assets

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:29:42 +0000

With work on Left 4 Dead 2 calming down for us a bit, we were able to finish up something we promised you a while back—gathering up all the source files for the character models and getting them online. This'll hopefully let you guys get a lot more creative out there with your fan-made content. (We can't wait to see it.)

Patent Pending: #1308 - "GUARD DOG"

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 01:22:15 +0000

Patent Pending: #1308 - "GUARD DOG"

Did that hurt? Sorry!!!

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:22:29 +0000

As with the first Left 4 Dead game, most of the TF2 team has moved over to help out Left 4 Dead 2 get through its final shipping steps. This time around, though, we've improved our process a little to ensure we can keep some people on TF2, enabling us to continue doing TF2 updates. We've been a bit slow on updating here, and there's plenty of stuff to talk about, so we might as well jump right in.

Incoming!

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 19:22:56 +0000

Over the next few days we'll be removing all TF2 items that were earned using external idling applications. We're going to adopt a zero tolerance policy for external applications used to manipulate the persistent item system. Due to us not having a policy in place prior to today, this time we're only removing the items earned through cheating the system. Going forward, if we find users using external applications, we'll remove all of their items. If you're interested, only about 4.5% of the players in TF2's community will be affected by this cleansing process. Going forward, if we find users using external applications, we'll remove all of their items.

This point ain't gonna cap itself!

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 21:26:42 +0000

We thought you might be interested in seeing some of the "behind the scenes" work that goes on in Team Fortress 2. The process usually starts with a team discussion: This helps us determine the goals of the map we're going to build. In this case, we wanted a game mode that had an intense, centralized experience with quick player turnaround. We liked some of the facets of Arena mode, but it was clear that many players don't like to wait for the next round to play.

The final day of the First Ever* Classless Update is upon us!

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 22:45:03 +0000

Go check it out, and keep your eyes peeled for goodies!

*Has probably already been done by someone in the TF2 community. Please don’t sue us.

Theft is a Dish Best Served Cold

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 01:38:15 +0000

I would like to thank you for emailing us to point out that Viaduct is not the first TF2 map to feature snow. More importantly, I would like to thank you for stopping.

Immediately.

Classless Update - Day 2

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:01:11 +0000

The Classless Update continues to class up the joint with some previews, including a brand new game mode and some retooled classic maps. Check it out, then fire back on the forums.

This one's ours now!

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 20:19:54 +0000

After setting a new standard for Lack of Class in an FPS with the addition of Jarate (the jar-based Karate), we've raised the bar on lowering the tone even further with the first ever Classless Update!

We have you surrounded, at least from this side.

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 23:45:03 +0000

We've been shirking our updating duties here, so we thought it'd be a good time to do some quick housekeeping:

We recieved a bunch of positive responses to the release of the .vmf source behind our official TF2 maps. As a result, we've decided to go ahead and release the source behind all the player character models, as well as associated animations. We hope this will make it much easier for custom modellers to design new character models, and for machinima makers to have more control over how characters animate in their movies. Look for that SDK update in the next week or so.

More dot-commy mumbo jumbo for you bunch of women

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:10:27 +0000

At ease, you worthless sons of mothers!

I've been asked to present our internet blog-reading public with this handsome collection of avatars, which I'm told you can use on Steam. I don't mind telling you I have no idea what any of the words in that last sentence meant. This is the problem with the youth of today: too much time inventing nonsense words, not enough time taking a bullet in the lung defending a hill. I don't have to know what the hell twitters and texting and body sprays are to understand that they're not the sort of thing men should be engaged in. Like conversations, or painting things that aren't a house.

Get 'em, boyos!

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:05:12 +0000

Today we're releasing an update to the Source SDK that includes the .vmf source files for many of the official TF2 maps. This is something we've wanted to do for a while, especially as we've been growing the range of game modes in TF. Here's the list of maps that are included in the update: Lumberyard, Ravine, Badlands, Dustbowl, Granary, Gravelpit, 2Fort, Badwater, Goldrush, and Hydro.

Some Manner of Grid-based Cipher Code

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 22:25:43 +0000

The men at TF2maps.net have devised some sort of box puzzle that they thought you'd enjoy. Let me clear this up right now: They are incorrect in this thinking. I have stared at this blasted thing all morning and I can't make heads or tails of it. This is the problem with today's youth, if you ask me. Spending all their time devising clever boxy word puzzles instead of doing something constructive, like pushups, or jumping on a live grenade, or sitting in a foxhole cradling a man in your arms and watching the blood run out of him and the life drain from his eyes, or sit-ups.

Every one of you deserves a medal!

Fri, 22 May 2009 22:22:09 +0000

First off, a quick note: We put so much stuff into this update that we didn't manage to cover it all on the internets before the update went live, so we made a special Bonus page. In addition, our merchandising crew had as much fun coming up with Spy & Sniper themed merchandise as we did making the update, so make sure you go and check it all out.

The Sniper vs. Spy Update

Thu, 21 May 2009 22:59:20 +0000

...is live. What are you waiting for? Go play!

Sniper vs. Spy Update, Day 7

Wed, 20 May 2009 23:47:04 +0000

Oi! You! On the internet! Click this link!

But wait. First, is your boss around? No? Well get him over here! He is going to love this! Your fiancée's parents too. Heck, gather everyone around your computer right now, then read them this prepared statement:

Day 6 Spy Update Hooray!

Tue, 19 May 2009 21:00:31 +0000

Hello to you! My name is Stavros. I am now Vice President of Valve game company! Is very exciting! But much work. I am now head programmer, animator and game designer, plus I am washing Robin's clothes. (So many beef stains!)

Case closed

Tue, 19 May 2009 02:57:26 +0000

"Marianne, send in someone please. Anyone at all. Oi! Send in someone with one eyebrow! That'd be marvelous."
"Sir, you've fired everyone."
"Already? But it's not even eight o'clock."
"You've outdone yourself, sir."

At the W's

Tue, 19 May 2009 02:51:14 +0000

I think I've found my man. Valve's staff is now down to two employees: me and our Greek intern Stavros Xanthis. We're sitting in the main board room, staring at each other from across the table. I turned up the thermostat as far as it will go. It's hard to make him out behind the waves of heat coming out of the vents, but I think he looks guilty.

Overheard: Robin Walker gets results

Tue, 19 May 2009 02:29:55 +0000

"Alden, you have three seconds to tell me why you're fired."
"Wait, what? I—"
"You're fired."

Getting warmer

Tue, 19 May 2009 00:40:34 +0000

Valve's head of HR, Kathy, just came to talk to me. I'd been lining up employees in a row against the wall so I could run past and fire them faster.

Getting to the bottom of things

Tue, 19 May 2009 00:32:38 +0000

As many of you know, the Meet the Spy video was leaked this weekend. Some of you on the forum have wondered if Valve leaked it on purpose. And until we find the clown who did leak it, the answer to that is yes.

Sniper/Spy Update, Day 5

Mon, 18 May 2009 17:14:24 +0000

You've met the Scout, the Soldier, the Demoman, the Heavy, the Engineer, and the Sniper. Then, for some reason, a sandwich. But now it's time to meet the stealthiest, shiftiest, most secretive, suit-wearing TF team member of all...

Sniper Update, Day 4

Fri, 15 May 2009 20:11:13 +0000

Day 4 of the Sniper update brings us…uh… hold on, that’s not…

Holy hell. All those conspiracy theorists on the TF forum couldn’t have been right all along, could they? Pyro's going to be inconsolable now.

Sniper Update, Day 3

Thu, 14 May 2009 21:17:31 +0000

Sniper shows off the latest addition to his arsenal: the Razorback, a beautiful hand-carved tribal shield with a shocking modification.

TF2 - Super Smash Brothers 64 Intro

Thu, 14 May 2009 20:09:20 +0000

If you haven’t seen it yet, check out the spiffy TF2 video made by AyesDyef over here and check out how spot he really is here. It was his birthday earlier this month, so if you see him on a Goldrush out there, wish him a happy birthday before you shoot him!

Sniper Update, Day 2

Wed, 13 May 2009 22:48:22 +0000

Day 2 of our Sniper Update is live, this time with a rundown on a new game mode and two new arena maps. Plus a postcard from Sniper, who likes to keep his parents updated on his exciting, legal, not-being-a-crazed-gunman job.

The arrow, the wall and you.

Wed, 13 May 2009 00:08:31 +0000

No, the Huntsman doesn’t stun. It pins dead/dying players.

G'Day!

Tue, 12 May 2009 20:09:14 +0000

The Sniper Update is upon us.

I'm gonna be all over ya like shingles

Tue, 05 May 2009 22:27:57 +0000

Also, a quick note: The fine fellows at Gang Garrison have just released version 2.1 on their webpage. We played a bunch of 2.0, and can't wait to spend some time with the new update. There's a ton of new additions, from Control Point mode to Killcams to Manviches, so even if you've played it before, you should head over there and check it out!

You better hold onto your head, mate

Tue, 05 May 2009 20:48:21 +0000

The Sniper has been a tricky class to update. In particular, designing an alternative to the Sniper Rifle has been a challenge. To understand why, we need to go back, way back, into the mists of time, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, and we started working on TF2. If it helps, you can listen to the Doctor Who Theme while you read.

Wave goodbye to yer head, wanker

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 22:22:21 +0000

A sneak preview of the next class update!

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 20:38:27 +0000

And that's what ye git fer toochin that!

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 19:29:03 +0000

One of the things we've been thinking about for a while now is how to improve the player experience around finding a server to play on. It's a tricky problem because our master servers need to ask a game server for its details, and that server can lie to us if it wants to. We decided we needed to find a way of scoring servers, with a goal of finding and delisting ones we considered "bad". The scoring system had to penalize lying without penalizing custom game rules, because some players like custom game rules. Best case, the system needed to work entirely from data that didn't come from the servers themselves, so they couldn't lie to us in any way to affect it.

I Can't Take My Eyes Off You for Five Minutes

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 23:38:25 +0000

Honestly.

Please, do take a cursory glance at the missive directly below this one. Take care to notice its author, and the dismally recent date of its posting.

You Have Failed Me

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 00:44:18 +0000

It saddens me that despite my best efforts to instruct and better you, some of you insist on finding new ways to fail.

Ya appear to have trodden on a mine!

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 23:49:19 +0000

The news you've all been waiting for: The Scout Update!

Also, we released an update yesterday with a change that needs some clarification. The update notes said this:

Sticky bombs now get a reduced close range damage ramp up (like Rocket Launcher & Syringe Gun)

Take your lumps like a man, Private Twinkle Toes!

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 23:08:15 +0000

On Tuesday we shipped an update that added a bunch of features / bugfixes / balancing tweaks that came out of the community's feedback. In particular, it made some changes to the underlying TF damage system, and as part of that, it modified the way critical hits are determined. We thought it might be interesting to dig a little into the change, and hopefully give you some insight into our thinking.

Okay, this does not look good here. Umm...

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 22:01:09 +0000

The Scout was one of the first TF2 classes we worked on when we decided to try out a more stylized approach to the game. As a result, his concept art is further afield, and in the eyes of our artists, much more embarrassing. This might be exacerbated by their desire to not have people looking at a piece of their artwork and not liking it, from an artistic point of view. Concept art has a different purpose than that, and so the effort to make it look great is usually unnecessary. In short, there's a special place in hell that all our artists hope we'll go to for showing you their concept art.

That's what I'm talking about!

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 01:33:35 +0000

We're just about done with the Scout pack, and our design and coding has already moved on to the next pack. The weapons and achievements are all nailed down, and we just have to finish up the final artwork on them. We like to do the final art as late as possible to ensure that we don't waste any work, which turned out to be a good decision this time around due to the large number of unlockables we tried out as alternatives to the Scattergun. Balancing his replacement weapon has been very tricky due to large threat difference of the Scout between skilled and non-skilled hands. More on that soon.

Hey good job, there, hardhat

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:39:20 +0000

We've been pretty quiet lately, but thankfully, that's about to end. In the next few days we'll have an update out that has a couple of new features for the Engineer and Spy, and a variety of other smaller fixes.

Finding the Time to Bleed

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 07:18:09 +0000

Since the release of Meet the Sandvich in August, several people have asked us how something we'd boasted would be "our magnum opus," "over four hours long" and "make Citizen Kane look like something dumb a complete idiot would make," ended up being one un-dramatic minute spent inside a refrigerator.

Git along there, little doggies

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 17:09:31 +0000

Work on the next class pack is gearing up, a little slower than we'd like. In the meantime, I thought I'd post some answers to the common email questions we receive.

How do respawn waves work? Is my respawn time affected by my performance? Why do they exist at all?

Gentlemen,

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 00:49:24 +0000

Well, it's been a couple of weeks since we updated the blog, and we thought it was time to let you know why we've been so quiet. The last couple of weeks we've actually been moonlighting on Left 4 Dead. While the L4D team has been focusing on finishing up the core cooperative gameplay, we've been helping them by working on their Versus mode. Versus is the recently-announced competitive mode where one team plays the Survivors and one team plays the Infected. We've learned a lot while working on TF2 in the last year, and we were able to apply some of those lessons to Versus mode. As a result, we've just finished adding critical hits, respawn waves, flawless auto-team balancing, and facestabs to L4D, while removing anything that looked remotely like a grenade. I kid, I kid.

A Grim Bloody Fable

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:12:18 +0000

The path to arriving at a final design for a character is sometimes a long and winding one. This was especially the case for the Demoman and we thought it would be interesting to step through that process and shed a little light on how we arrive at our final designs. Early on in the process, soon after we decided that we were going to start a new, more stylized direction for TF2 it opened up a whole range of possibilities in terms of what that meant visually. One of the first (albeit short-lived) ideas that was being thrown around was to try to recreate a look of claymation for our game. The idea was to make the world look like a miniature set built for clay figures which animated and gibbed into chunks of clay.

Alpine Art Style

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:55:16 +0000

We decided to create a new TF environment after sensing some desert-fatigue, both internally and externally. The new theme had to be a departure from the current look without being so different that the characters felt out of place in it. We also wanted to leverage some content from our existing environments, since crafting every asset from scratch would mean we'd be moving the release beyond Valve time and into the realm of geologic time.

Incoming Heavy!

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 02:21:36 +0000

We've been a little quiet for the last week as we've put the finishing touches on the Heavy update. We thought the Pyro pack was the biggest we'd be doing for a while, due to the large changes to the Pyro, but the Heavy update has turned out to be even bigger. In addition to the three unlockable weapons and thirty-five achievements for the Heavy, we've got a new game mode with five new arenas for it, a new Payload map focusing on more open spaces than Goldrush, and another popular community-made map. Throughout the rest of the week we'll be giving you the details on all this, and if all goes well, you'll have your hands on it shortly afterwards.

TF2 Environments

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 21:24:04 +0000

One of the things we're looking at for the next update is the creation of a new type of environment for our levels to be built in. We're pretty happy with the way our environments have turned out so far, but as we create more and more maps with these achievement packs, we want our level designers to have more to work with in terms of giving their settings a unique look.

TF2 Trading Cards - Part 3

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:32:15 +0000

For this week's update, we've got another set of trading card images to take a look at. The focus of our most recent achievement update, the Pyro is a character that players may have seeing a lot of lately - making life a nightmare inferno for both the Spy and Medic.

Neat Community Creations

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 23:57:26 +0000

One of the things we hope to do on this blog is to point out the creative things that members of the TF2 community are up to. The Steampowered TF2 forum members have been collecting links ever since TF2 was released, and you can take a look at the list (and its accompanying 46-pages-so-far (!) forum thread)here.

So much blood!

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 19:49:10 +0000

Well, we were expecting some response to A Heavy Problem, but we severely underestimated just how much interest everyone had in contributing. If you're one of the many folks who emailed us proposals and haven't received a response, please accept our apologies, because there's just too many for us to reply to all of them. From the large amount of feedback and forum activity, it's clear that many of you found this interesting, so we'll definitely be posting more design goals. For those of you still thinking about it, here are some more tools to use in evaluating ideas:

TF2 Trading Cards - Part 2

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 20:16:42 +0000

To continue from the previous week, today we have some additional finished trading card images for you to take a look at - the Heavy and the Medic.

A Heavy Problem

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 01:11:47 +0000

As Gabe mentioned in his lengthy response to an email recently, the next class pack will focus on the Heavy. For the Medic and Pyro packs we kept our goals for the pack pretty close to our chest, but for the Heavy we've decided to open up the process a little.

TF2 Trading Cards - Part 1

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:10:59 +0000

During the development process with most of our games, we end up creating content that, for a variety of reasons, may never see the light of day. Sometimes we may not have the time to bring the content to finish, sometimes we use them as a company-only experiment, and sometimes the content just isn't in line with what we're doing at the time. Needless to say, there's a fair bit of cool stuff that we've never been able to share with our fans. We're happy to say that this blog has now given us a unique format in which to share some of the unused artwork with you.

The Medigun Healing Ramp

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 22:03:25 +0000

In any game there's often a bunch of hidden complexity behind some of the simplest looking features, and TF2 is no exception. One example is that of the Medic's medigun. From a player perspective, it appears simple enough: point it at a team mate, press the button, and it'll heal them. After playing with a bit, most players notice that they have to stay near their target and maintain line-of-sight to their target. After playing with it a lot, some players notice that there's some variability in the rate at which they heal their targets. I thought it might be interesting for Medics to explain what's going on here, and why.

The Flare Gun

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 03:32:42 +0000

When producing concept art, our artists believe in providing a variety of options for any given subject. A single concept rendering would place too strict a constraint on the resulting game design.

Welcome to the TF2 blog

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 17:26:43 +0000

Now that we've settled into regular releases of content, we've found ourselves wanting a better way to talk directly to the TF2 community about the state of the game and some of the reasoning behind the choices we're making. Our hope is that this blog will accomplish that, and give everyone some better insight into our development process as well.

TF2 Official Blog

The Battle Bob and The Bushman's Boonie

Team Fortress 2, Day of Defeat: Source and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch Updates Released

TF2012!

Medic statue pre-order starts Tuesday

Team Fortress 2, Day of Defeat: Source and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch Updates Released

The Vanilla Challenge

eXtravision Every Monday

TF2Maps.net Level Design Contest

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

UGC Highlander Season 6

Team Fortress 2, Day of Defeat: Source and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch Updates Released

KritzKast Lo-Fi Offclass Cup

A Smissmas Story... in RUSSIAN and CZECH!

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

The Australian Christmas Update... UPDATE!

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

The Australian Christmas Updateis HERE!

Highlight Videos

ETF2L Season Final

Special offer from Dr. Grordbort's

Happy Australian Christmas Eve

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Australian Christmas

6v6 Newbie Mix Smissmas Cup

Team Fortress 2, Day of Defeat: Source and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch Updates Released

Lithuania Pro v Pub Wrap-Up

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

Mann Co. Spotlight Items

Team Fortress 2, Day of Defeat: Source and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch Updates Released

Team Fortress 2, Day of Defeat: Source and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch Updates Released

An Animated Short: Bonk!

Revelations of a Spy

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

The Point and Shoot and The War Head

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

Team Fortress TV

We want holiday-themed community items!

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

History Comes Alive!

Team Fortress 2, Day of Defeat: Source and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch Updates Released

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

Vote Now! Help Me Beat Up a Doctor!

ESEA Season 9 "The Experiment" Highlights

Mix-Up Match Numeration the Third

Enter... MONOCULUS!... AGAIN!

Team Fortress 2, Day of Defeat: Source and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch Updates Released

Gift Abuse: The Gift That Keeps on Abusing

Merasmus Art Available

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

Scream Fortress Very Scary Halloween Special

Enter… MONOCULUS!

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

Update on the Halloween Update

Night of the Living Update

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

ESEA League Season 10 Registration

New Season of Highlander At ETF2L

Heavy's Revelation

Li'l Saxton Wallpaper Now Available

Highlander Mix-up Match Replays

Surprise ManniversaryUpdate and Sale

Community MGE Tournament

Making of a Skull Hat

Saddle up and kick some ass!

Highlight Montages

MyGamingEdge North American Cup

Ultiduo Cup Number Three

ESEA TF2 LAN Playoffs

Brother can you spare a health?

Killcams Contest Winners

Meet The Sniper's Novel

eXtv's Tournament Kick Off

ETF2L Season 10 Details

Dead Workers Party Party

UGC Highlander Season 5

The Australian Christmas Update
is HERE!

Surprise Manniversary
Update and Sale