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Reminder: TF2 Pyro update now available, free to play this weekend
A new update Team Fortress 2 is now available via Steam and includes major updates to the Pyro class. The basic flamethrower has alternate fire compression blast, the hadouken taunt now kills people and, most importantly, three new weapons have been added, to be unlocked by conquering the 35 new Pyro achievements.The update also adds two community maps (cp_fastlane and ctf_turbine). Don't forget, Team Fortress 2 is free to play all weekend starting tomorrow. You can pre-load the game now.
Boom, headshot! Meet the Team Fortress 2 Sniper
The game may be ancient by our warped internet standards of time, but we're more than happy to make a mini-tub of popcorn and watch another one of Valve's Team Fortress 2 vignettes. Although Pyro is getting an upgrade this Thursday in the game, it's the Sniper who gets the mini-film treatment above. Now we just need Pyro, Spy and Medic to get their episodes and this whole affair can come to an end ... although we wouldn't mind future clips featuring the whole cast in hilariously psychotic situations. Just saying, Valve, we really wouldn't mind.
Readers pick best webcomic: Team Fortress Pooh
This week's webcomic wrapup was over before it started. There's something ever-so beautiful about Christopher Robin's fantasy being played out through our fantasy of capturing intelligence, building sentry guns, and using a flamethrower in a virtual, carefree environment. Our hats are officially off to you, Fanboys-Online.Second and third place go to 2P Start and Penny Arcade, respectively. Thanks to everyone who voted, and be sure to let us know of any game-realted webcomics you stumble upon this week!
Team Fortress 2 update nearly complete, Sniper getting intro, Pyro getting axe
Don't misinterpret that headline -- the much anticipated update for Valve's cartoony multiplayer run-and-gunner, Team Fortress 2, will not see the dismissal of the game's most burninating class. No, we simply mean that Valve has revealed one of the unlockable weapons for the Pyro: the mighty Axtinguisher. Well, the sometimes mighty Axtinguisher -- Valve explained in a recent Steam blog post that the weapon only deals half as much damage as the standard fire axe, unless used against engulfed opponents, in which case it deals a guaranteed critical hit.We've yet to learn the achievements required to unlock this powerful armament, or the other equipment that will be made available to the flame-obsessed archetype -- though in the same news post, Valve confirmed the Pyro-centric update will be accompanied by one of their popular video introductions for the most steady-handed TF2 character, titled "Meet The Sniper". Also, Valve confirmed that they've "almost completely wrapped up" the update. Arsonists, rejoice![Via Evil Avatar]
Team Fortress 2 Pyro class next in line for upgrade
Following the generous upgrades given to Team Fortress 2 Medics earlier this year, it now appears that the Pyro class is next to be doused in flame-retardant achievements and fiery, unlockable weapons. Citing the latest issue of PC Gamer, CVG also reports that Valve plans similar additions for the game's remaining classes, though the timing of these future updates has not yet been revealed.Likewise a mystery is what Pyro players can expect from the new achievement-fueled equipment roll out, though we expect it to mirror what was given to Medics, only with less healing and more toasting anything that moves.[Via Big Download]
Team Fortress 2 DLC coming to Xbox 360, maybe not PS3
While PC owners have been gushing over the new Medic achievements and weapons upgrades in Team Fortress 2, patrons of the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 Orange Box have gone without any non-technical updates. Valve Software marketing director Doug Lombardi told Shacknews that information on the downloadable content for Xbox 360 is forthcoming."How and when is still sort of being determined, on pricing and that kind of stuff. On the PC it's sort of wide open, you can release stuff whenever you want. On the console there's a little bit more of a pathway," he said, later adding, "Unfortunately I don't know that any of that will make it to the PS3." Valve did not port Orange Box to the PS3 in-house, instead giving it to EA UK – trust us, that's a good story to read up on.%Gallery-20705%
Valve releases Team Fortress 2 Gold Rush update, new Medic weapons [update]
The Team Fortress 2 Gold Rush update is now available for free download via Steam. The update includes the Gold Rush map with its own gameplay style dubbed Payload. Perhaps more important than the map, this update marks the first set of new achievements and unlockable weapons. The first class to receive the update is the Medic, who can earn three new weapons -- Blutsauger, Kritzkrieg and Ubersaw -- obtained by earning 12, 24 or all 36 new medic achievements, respectively. All the new achievements, including a complete Medic icon set (PNG files) can be found at the Gold Rush site.Update: It's also worth noting that this weekend, May 2 - 4, Steam users can play Team Fortress 2 for free. That includes the Gold Rush update. You can pre-load the game now.%Gallery-20705%
Meet the Team Fortress 2 Scout ... again
We absolutely loved the short vignettes put together by Valve to advertise the different classes featured in The Orange Box's online multiplayer offering, Team Fortress 2. The scotch-slurping demoman, the six-string pluckin' engineer -- not only did they get us hyped up for one of our favorite first person shooters of last year, they brightened our otherwise dreary existences. Now, we know that most of you are familiar with the whole crew since the release of Orange Box, but in honor of last week's release of a standalone version of TF2 for the PC, Valve released what we assume will be the last of their advertisements for the game -- introducing the Scout, who apparently has the social graces and equipoise of a Real World cast member. Enjoy!
Team Fortress 2 Goldrush screenshots and video
click to enlarge Want to see what the latest railroad-covered map to hit Team Fortress 2 looks like? Valve shared four screenshots and a video (embedded after the break) to give y'all a peek of their latest handiwork. We're still anxious to get our hands on the latest gametype – Payload – but this oughta do for now.%Gallery-20705%
Team Fortress 2 unlockable Medic weapons detailed
Team Fortress 2 took center stage at a Valve-sponsored pizza party in San Francisco last night. Well, to be precise, the team-based shooter's new Goldrush map and unlockable Medic weapons took center stage, and the pizza provided just the right ambiance. ShackNews got their pizza-stained hands on the new offerings, and also had a chance to talk with Valve's Robin Walker about plans for unlockable weapons for the other classes (they should be coming "faster"), difficulty in balancing new weapons (there's a "trade-off"), and plans for other news maps with the Payload gameplay like Goldrush ("you have a moving fortress"). The medic is the first class to get the new weapons – unlock a series of class-based achievements to earn each of the three new toys, including the Blutsaugher ("a new syringe gun" that draws health from enemies), the Critzcrieg (a "new medigun" that switches up the ubercharge), and the Ubersaw (melee attacks charge your medigun). The update should hit sometime in April; still no word on whether any TF2 downloadable content will make it to the consoles. [image credit] Read – Valve Reveals Final Team Fortress 2 Medic WeaponsRead – Robin Walker on New TF2 Content, Future Maps, and AwesomeballRead – Team Fortress 2 Goldrush and Unlockable Weapon Hands-on Impressions
Valve wants to keep it free, with Team Fortress 2 DLC
There's no such thing as a free lunch, but Valve's Doug Lombardi figures you already paid your meal ticket when you purchased Team Fortress 2 on the PS3 or Xbox 360. That's why he wants all future downloadable content for the console versions to be completely free of charge. Of course, it's not entirely up to him, but Lombardi hopes to get at least some content -- like the upcoming map packs -- over to players at no additional charge. According to him, DLC isn't about earning increased return on games, but rather about "keeping the customer happy." He sees the work as being an investment in future projects, as it builds consumer trust with the Valve label.No official date has been set for the first TF2 console DLC. Let's just hope that Valve's admirable philosophy wins out in the end.[Via Game|Life]
Valve hopes to release upcoming TF2 DLC for free
More news on the Team Fortress 2 front as Valve busily plans the release of a new set of DLC and how they are planning on offering the content for freeSpeaking with Eurogamer, Valve's VP of marketing Doug Lombardi mentioned that their development team is hard at work on new TF2 multiplayer maps for the 360 version and that their plan is to offer the content for free. Lombardi tells Eurogamer that "free is the way to go. The gamers play the game, they want to keep playing the game, so we've collected their fifty bucks at the start, and once they're in the park, they can ride any ride they want in the park. So, for us that's been the philosophy." And a DLC philosophy we whole-heartily agree with. But nothing is set in stone just yet as Microsoft has certain rules pertaining to free content and we all know how much Orange Box publisher EA loves to make a quick buck off of DLC. In a perfect world we would see TF2 DLC for free, but we have a feeling we're in for another Hidden Fronts disagreement either between Valve and Microsoft or between Valve and EA.
Team Fortress 2 for Xbox 360 patched, no class changes
An update for Team Fortress 2 has come to the Xbox Live. Unlike the PC patch from over the weekend, there are no balance changes to the classes themselves. Instead, a number of glitches have been fixed, as well as the inclusion of rumble for weapons and the addition of 10- and 14-player team sizes. No indication of a PlayStation 3 patch, so if you've gotten an update, let us know in the comments below. Full details (via Steam forums) after the break.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Valve gives us Team Fortress 2 update specifics
Yesterday, we mentioned that a new Team Fortress 2 title update was released via Xbox Live but that we were in the dark pertaining to any of the specifics. We went as far as to call out Valve on their lack of information support surrounding the Orange Box for consoles. But today, we eat our words. Valve developer Kerry hopped onto the Xbox.com forums to inform the masses about the TF2 update and tell us exactly what it fixes. We've posted Kerry's complete list of changes after the break as we're sure our fellow TF2 exploiters are ever so curious to know which exploits in their vast exploit arsenal are no longer effective. Anyway, check out the update list as we go on to officially retract out "evil Valve" comment that we made yesterday. We acknowledge that our name calling was a bit much, but we still stand behind our request at having some sort of Valve supported news hub for getting Orange Box updates. We still cool?[Thanks, Will]
Latest Team Fortress 2 update is now live [update]
Update: We're now more informed about the changes that went into effect with this latest update. Check out all the details here.Recently, Valve's magical Orange Box received a title update with its sole purpose being fixification of Team Fortress 2. Though, sadly, we don't know exactly what changes the update made seeing that Valve has no central news hub for Xbox 360 Orange Box owners. All we get are PC centric updates like this. Evil Valve. But we're guessing the update has something to do with changes that were mentioned a few months back. We're also hearing from our oh so reliable X3F tipsters that the TF2 update adds the option for 14 player games, auto-balance management and other general class enhancements. Again, we can't be exactly sure what modifications were made seeing that Valve doesn't have a central news hub. Did we get that point across yet? Ahem, Valve, we need you to update us on things like this. Mmkay? And until they do, if while surfing the internets you spot a list or breakdown of what changes were put in place with the latest auto-update, please drop us a line. Thanks much.[Thanks, to everyone who sent this in]
Team Fortress 2 PC update balances classes, introduces tournament mode
We've been hearing a lot less about Valve's cel-shaded, humor-tinged multiplayer shooter since the release of another wildly popular FPS of a more serious nature. Thankfully, Valve isn't using their lighter server load as an excuse to let Team Fortress 2 go to the dogs -- they just released a patch upon an unsuspecting populous of TF2 junkies, adding a number of new matchmaking features and tweaking a few minor gameplay quirks.We've got a complete list of changes after the jump, but here's a few highlights: A Tournament mode has been added, complete with a team creation UI and win/loss tracker. Sorting through custom games is now easier, as server hosts can now add searchable description tags to their rooms. Most importantly, players who tire of being on the receiving end of high explosive weaponry will be pleased to hear that the maximum ammo capacities for the Soldier and Demoman classes have been sharply reduced (much to the chagrin of rocket-jumpers and Scotsmen, no doubt).
Team Fortress 2 Valentine's Day cards
Whaddyaknow? We weren't the only ones to get floating pink hearts in our eyes thinking of Team Fortress 2 on Valentine's Day. It's not enough that Valve dropped a major update for the shooter on us today, but Alexandria Neonakis has whipped up five incredible Valentine's Day cards for your special someone (and if they'd appreciate a TF2 Valentine, they're a keeper!). We've covered her other amazing Valentine's before, so you've got a nice selection to choose from if shooting cartoons in the face isn't their idea of romantic.[Thanks, Kunikos]
Major Team Fortress 2 update adds Badlands tomorrow
The romantic Lotharios at Valve have a certain something special planned for you on Valentine's Day, tomorrow. No, not cake you silly goose, this is way more romantic. They want to take you on a trip, to an exotic map called "Badlands." But it won't be just you; they've invited 9 of your friends (pictured above) so you can all spend a wonderful V-Day together, in Team Fortress 2, fragging the night away. Tomorrow's update isn't simply a new map though. They're also updating the Dustbowl, Granary, and CTF Well maps with various tweaks as well as improvements to the Source Engine and SourceTV, all in what they're saying is the "largest update" since the game's launch last Fall. It's still unknown if the updates (and new map!) will make their way to the console versions, so we've asked Valve to weigh in on it. Give them some time to get back to us, and we'll let you know what they say, deal?
Team Fortress 2 updated for PC, 'Well' map goes CTF
Valve Software has updated Team Fortress 2, introducing a new (sort of) official map for the game, a capture the flag variant of Well (currently available as a control point game mode). The update also provides fixes for SourceTV demo recording and various Gravel Pit exploits, among other patchwork.The updated is currently for PC users only via Steam; we've sent Valve an email asking when it expects the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of TF2 to receive the update. We're still awaiting the upcoming Badlands map remake and the unlockable weapons coming first to the medic class. [Via Primotech]
Team Fortress 2 to get unlockable weapons, new game mode
The PC Gamer blog has shed some light on the changes Valve has planned for Team Fortress 2. The "large scale modification" is actually quite big -- new weapons unlocked via achievements earned in the game. The arsenal can be swapped out via a new Loadout menu, though we're not sure if that means configuration can be done mid-game, between rounds, or only from the main menu.As previously stated, the medic will be first to receive the upgrades. The first earned weapons is the Overhealer. Unlocked by earning 35 achievements, the "gun" can permanently raise an ally's health to 200% (the current medic tool temporarily boosts health to 150%). Citing balance concerns, Valve said they may remove the invulnerability-granting Ubercharge from the Overhealer. The second unlockable weapon is also a healing ray (what? No shotgun?), but no details were given except that you have to earn all medic class achievements to unlock it.A new game mode will be introduced with the map Goldrush, the second map due out (alongside the Badlands remake). In Goldrush, the blue team must escort a mining cart through tunnels. The cart moves faster with more blue team members nearby, but stops completely if a red player gets near. According to previous statements from Valve, the maps and medic updates are due out within the next two months.[Image credit; thanks, Fortyseven]
