Team Fortress 2 - Heavy Update, New Maps, New Mode are all live now!

[Geese_Pants]

Update time for TF2 PC…

Team Fortress 2

Updated versions of CP_Dustbowl, CP_Badlands, and CTF_Well with several exploit fixes

Fixed Linux build not handling FCVAR_REPLICATED and FCVAR_NOTIFY cvars correctly

Plugged an exploit where the server could send executable code to the client

Fix client crash on exit while processing game stats

Updated the Stats Summary screen to remember your previous selections each time you open the menu and while changing levels

Added mp_stalemate_at_timelimit ConVar for server admin to allow SuddenDeath when mp_timelimit hits on non-Valve maps

Updated CTF mode to remember the player who stole the intelligence from the enemy base and reward that player if the flag is captured by someone else

Replace underscores in map names with spaces so custom maps with names like cp_gravel_pit will show as “GRAVEL PIT”

Hitting F4 while the tournament mode “Ready” countdown is active won’t automatically set a team to “Not Ready”

Fixed auto-screenshots not being taken at the end of the map during tournament mode

Fixed gates being closed during the pre-round time during tournament mode

Fixed GetDynamicBaseline crash

Fixed rare animation triggered sound crash

[Reazen]

Updated CTF mode to remember the player who stole the intelligence from the enemy base and reward that player if the flag is captured by someone else

Way past due.

[AcEtUrNeDjOkEr]

Anyone play TF on 360? If so, hit me up. I picked up the game, but don’t want to get into any games and be “that guy”

[Geese_Pants]

Rocket-bump.

The big update is now upon us PC players, and I am very hyped for it…and medic rules.

Dustbowl is now my favorite map in this game…and yes, I still hate spies.

[kev_the_bev]

don’t hate on the spies, yo.

[Sasmasta]

Lotta PC players up in here?

I may have to pick this game up.

[Geese_Pants]

don’t hate on the spies, yo.

After last night…my hate for spies has grown.

Trying to defend Dustbowl, the BLU team went ALL FUCKIN SPY, and fucked us up with backstabs and sappers.

Spy’s sappin mah Sentries…
Spy’s sappin mah Dispensers…
Spy’s sappin mah Teleporters…
Spy’s sappin mah fuckin PATIENCE!!!

We lost horribly…yet it’s just a game.

:mad:

[ChairHome]

Rocket-bump.

The big update is now upon us PC players, and I am very hyped for it…and medic rules.

Dustbowl is now my favorite map in this game…and yes, I still hate spies.

Is there a specific date for the update?

[Geese_Pants]

Is there a specific date for the update?

Not that I know of, but here is the article…

Massive Team Fortress 2 Update Coming Next Month, Get ready for some exciting new features.
by Jimmy Thang
March 26, 2008 - According to Shacknews, Team Fortress 2 will see new map Goldrush, and new unlockable weapons mid-April. To top it off, Valve will be releasing the new Meet the Scout video, a feature that humorously showcases a particular TF2 class.

Goldrush is described by Valve’s designer and programmer, Robin Walker, as “the first map in a new game mode we’re calling “Payload”, where the Blue team escorts a cart loaded with explosives into a Red base. The cart moves faster the more Blue players are near it, and contains a handy dispenser to heal and re-supply them as they escort it. The Red team wins if they can keep the cart from reaching their base.”

Although Valve hasn’t released in-depth plans for new weapon types, it is reported that the company wants players to stick to their guns, literally. Gamers must utilize a new load out menu in order to switch weapons, this should make gamers think more about their weapons at the start of the onslaught.

Q&A with Robin Walker…

Team Fortress 2 Q & A: Robin Walker on future updates.
by Charles Onyett
US, March 25, 2008 - The months that lead up to the release of Valve’s Orange Box were met with much anticipation. The game package included Half-Life 2: Episode 2, which offered fans the opportunity to again gun down aliens as iconic crowbar-wielding Gordon Freeman, as well as check out an at the time curious and unknown puzzle game called Portal. Arguably one of the most anticipated pieces of the Box was Team Fortress 2, which had been in development for years and undergone several facelifts.

Upon release, the Orange Box and Team Fortress 2 were met with heaps of praise from the gaming press and community alike, and both have kept a close watch on Valve’s updates over the past few months. We had the opportunity to send a few questions to Valve designer and programmer Robin Walker about what to expect in Team Fortress 2’s future. The exchange was conducted through email.

IGN: When might we start seeing the unlockable item updates mentioned a while back? What classes are being focused on right now? Is the Medic still planned as the first update to roll out?

Robin Walker: We’re almost done. The Medic is still planned as the first update, but we’ll be pushing into the other classes pretty quickly. Much of the time we’ve been taking has been on the backend work, so we won’t have to do that work again.

IGN: What types of items can players expect to unlock with the Medic and other classes? Can you give a few specific examples?

Robin Walker: We’ll be shipping an unlockable version of each Medic weapon. Our focus has been to produce weapons which have both pros and cons, so they’re not a straight win when equipped. Much like the TF classes are aimed at different players, where the “best” class varies depending on the player’s skill, we want the “best” weapon to vary based on the player’s playing style. So we want players thinking about what kind of player they are, and what strategies they like to use, and trying out different weapon loadouts to see what works best. As an example of these tradeoffs, the unlockable medigun we’re play testing right now switches out the 10 second invulnerability effect for 10 seconds of 100% chance of critical hits. It’s the source of much debate internally as to whether it’s better or worse than invulnerability, and under what circumstances it’s better or worse. This is the kind of weapon we’re aiming for, where you can think of many cases where it’s better, and many cases where it’s worse. It also affects the play of the Medic and his partner a lot, which is another goal for us. If the unlockable weapons don’t significantly impact player’s play style, they’re not worth doing.

IGN: How do you actually unlock the items?

Robin Walker: They’re tied to achievement progress. So you unlock the first Medic unlockable when you complete 12 of the 36 Medic achievements, the second at 24, and the third at 36. We’re also looking at other ways to unlock weapons too, so that everyone gets to be involved in the weapon selection process.

IGN: Why was it decided to include unlockable items in the game? Was it something the player base wanted or something that was always planned to be included but wasn’t polished / balanced enough for launch?

Robin Walker: The additional weaponry is part of a set of additional gameplay pieces we’ve been planning to add to the TF2 core from the beginning. We’ve learned many things over the years of shipping multiplayer titles, and one of them is that players want new content. TF2 is the first multiplayer game we’ve shipped where we outlined our future content plans some time before we shipped, which allowed us to lay the groundwork in the initial release.

IGN: If some players are running around with unlocked items and some aren’t, how are you taking steps to assure the gameplay remains balanced between classes?

Robin Walker: One of the core design philosophies in TF2 is that of tradeoffs. When you’re making a choice about what class you’d like to play, you’re making a tradeoff between the abilities you’d like, and the penalties you pay to get them. So you can have the Heavy’s big minigun, but you’ll pay for it with a slow movement speed. These tradeoffs are made more interesting by focusing different abilities & penalties around different play styles, which ensures that the “right” class choice varies based on the skill set of the player making the choice. This approach to class design is the same approach we’ve taken to the new weapon designs. Each of the new weapons forces players to make tradeoffs between its pros and cons, which we’ve used to make each weapon relatively self-balancing. Looking at the previous example of the new medigun that grants 100% critical hits, you can see that approach at work. Sure, you can kill a lot of enemies when you’re firing nothing but crits, but you can also get killed yourself, unlike the invulnerability charge. Is this weapon better than the base invulnerability medigun? The answer varies dramatically across games, depending a lot on the skills of the player being charged, the skills of the Medic doing the charging, and the skills and makeup of the enemies they’re fighting.

IGN: When might we see Goldrush release? Can you briefly describe the type of gameplay mode players should expect to see on this map?

Robin Walker: Goldrush is looking like it’ll come out along with the Medic achievements and unlockable weaponry. It’s the first map in a new game mode we’re calling “Payload”, where the Blu team escorts a cart loaded with explosives into a Red base. The cart moves faster the more Blu players are near it, and contains a handy dispenser to heal and resupply them as they escort it. The Red team wins if they can keep the cart from reaching their base. Goldrush is also the first map where we’ve used the cinematic physics technology from Half-Life 2: Episode 2 in a multiplayer environment, and we’re really happy with the results.

IGN: Will the console versions ever see these updates? If not, why? If so, when?

Robin Walker: We’re still trying to figure that out. Right now we’re working on a map pack that we hope will contain Goldrush and the rest of the maps we’ve shipped to the PC customers so far.

IGN: Thank you for your time.

[FallingEdge]

I hope this comes out for the 360…

[w1r3d]

Playing Medic is a lot of fun. Been playing Medic and Soldier mostly.
Only problem with medic is when playing with not-so-good people. They’ll be requesting heal all the time even when they only lost like 5 health points, and they’ll request uber even when they know other players would make better use of them. Or they’ll be asking for medic on the mic, instead of using the actual medic call. sigh

It was funny. The other day we were playing dustbowl (iirc) and a Heavy player was like “hey lets go through this door with uber” and I said alright (it was one of those doors that only the other team can open) so we went in, I busted out the uber, and immediately I hear the “click, click” from his gun and he said “crap ran out of ammo”. -______- I was like are you serious? Of course I still had uber so I just ran away and left him there lol.

My steam id is elpedro64 [at] hotmail [dot] com (email address format, of course) if anyone wants to get some games in.

[Geese_Pants]

I play Medic almost all the time on poit capture maps…and I’ve been through the same situations.

I was a Medic, and a Heavy was calling me for uber. I told him beforehand to go after the sentries gaurding the point. Dude is like, “okay man…just uber me”. We go to the point, I hit uber, and what does he do…go after a couple of soldiers, and he didn’t even kill then. The sentries killed us both right when the uber ended.

I only heal players that actually battle…

[CrouchingTiger]

Dustbowl has been my favorite level for some time now. It’s all I play heh. I think Dustbowl is everybody’s favorite.

[bear]

Badlands is my current favorite, but I like every map excluding 2fort. Fuck 2fort. The games drag forever, and always resort to death match.

[w1r3d]

^agreed. I don’t like 2fort at all.

Geese Pants: haha, that must’ve sucked. Usually if something like that happens, I let the guy know I’m running out of uber and get out of there (regardless if he leaves with me or not). I know it might be wrong, but unless it’s to capture a point or something, I’m not exposing myself to death with someone like that.

[Geese_Pants]

Aprill Fools update…

Added Custom Tab explanation dialog to be shown the first time the server browser is opened

# Changed Medigun Ubercharge meter to drain faster for each target that still has Ubercharge beyond your current target. This means there is a penalty for having multiple people being Ubercharged at one time

Fixed crouch-jump exploit that allowed players to get outside of the world

Fixed bad characters in the chat string when achievements are announced in languages other than English

Fixed a few instances of truncated text in the menus and dialogs for languages other than English

Fixed problem that was preventing some dedicated servers from uploading gamestats

Fixed scoring bug during Sudden Death when the map timelimit is triggered

Added the string “(extra slot was added for SourceTV)” when maxplayers is increased for SourceTV

Ummm…what the fuck?

[JAMMAR]

We just finished a league match with that update. As far as April Fool’s joking goes… it really does drain your uber twice as fast.

[Geese_Pants]

^
I know…I tried it out yesterday, and felt like garbage.
12-man Uber Rush are going to suck now…it means either I stick with one player, or there will be more medic, and in most games I play, I’m most likely the ONLY MEDIC!!!

I hope the big update and new Medic unlockables make up for it.

[Geese_Pants]

I take it back…this “nerf” may not be as worrysome as I first thought, and playing one game shouldn’t be the verdict.

Infact, I don’t think this will change my gameplay as a Medic…

[irioku]

Playing engineer is so boring, but when you’re on 2fort and there are 0 engineers, you have to. My sentry dies so often just because I get bored and run around, looking for fun places to put my teleporter exit.