sincity

One of our goals as we continue to work on Team Fortress is to support a wide variety of play styles. In order to achieve that, it's been vitally important that the weapons in the game are fun not just to use, but to play against. We want players on both the winning and losing sides of an engagement to feel like their skill is being rewarded. In other words, when someone beats you, it's because they played better, either through pure combat skill, or through their strategic choices in selecting their loadout. Consequently, we are always reviewing both real world player sessions and player feedback to hunt down items that aren't meeting this standard. We'll be tweaking the stats on dozens of weapons in this next update—but we thought you might find it interesting if we walked you through the decision-making process on a select few. http://media.steampowered.com/steam/news/11024/backup.jpg To start with, let's look at the "banner" items for the Soldier. The most popular of these by far is The Buff Banner, which provides an offensive buff enabling nearby teammates to do additional burst damage. Conversely, The Battalion's Backup, another Soldier "banner" item, is barely ever equipped. The Backup's owner-equip rate is well below what we'd consider healthy, with less than 15% of players who own it ever equipping it. If this data wasn't enough, the feedback we've gotten from the Backup's owners easily corroborates the lack of interest. Clearly, we needed to bring The Battalion's Backup up to parity with the usefulness of The Buff Banner. Previously, The Battalion's Backup rewarded players for taking additional damage, making it a frustratingly high-risk item. We found that most Soldiers would die well before they were able to build a full charge. When the next update ships, The Battalion's Backup builds up its charge by dealing damage rather than receiving it and provides additional damage resistance while active. http://media.steampowered.com/steam/news/11024/spy_attacked.jpg Let's look at another example with the opposite problem: The Dead Ringer. At roughly 80%, the equip rate for the Dead Ringer is staggeringly high. Given the many other items available in this category, this means that players feel they don't have any other viable option but choosing the Dead Ringer. We've gotten emails from players who describe the item as frustrating to fight against, requiring too little skill from the Spies and too much from their opponents. In our next update, the Dead Ringer will work generally the same way it always has, letting Spies feign death to escape from damage that would have otherwise killed them. However, now any damage the Spy takes after his "death" will decrease the maximum length of time he can spend cloaked. This gives any players chasing the Spy more of an opportunity to catch up and deal a real finishing blow, while also requiring more skill from any Spy trying to make his way to actual safety. http://media.steampowered.com/steam/news/11024/sets.jpg Finally, we'd like to talk about item sets. Historically, item sets have been thematically consistent sets of items that provide a unique gameplay effect when worn together. Unfortunately, these gameplay effects had two negative effects. For one, they limited player choice, making players feel like they would be underpowered if not wearing the complete set. For another, it was a balancing nightmare. An individual item that might be balanced as part of a set could feel underpowered (or overpowered) on its own. One of the main goals of introducing a new weapon is to give players more choices that will help them explore the game in fun new ways. Set bonuses had the opposite effect, making many players feel constrained in their choices. Set bonuses also required players to have full knowledge of other players' loadouts, including currently "invisible" items like melee-slot weapons. For example, the Croc-o-Style Kit set bonus gives any Sniper equipping it immunity to headshots. But there was no way for a Sniper to know whether a targeted Sniper had the bonus simply by looking. And this wasn't an isolated problem. Similar issues cropped up around the Scout's Milkman set bonus (extra health) and the Demo's Expert's Ordnance set bonus (extra fire resistance). http://media.steampowered.com/steam/news/11024/snipers.jpg For all of these reasons, as part of this next update, we've decided to change the way item set bonuses work. Players have traded for, purchased, and crafted these items, many in order to complete the sets and get these bonuses, and we're not abandoning the bonuses outright. Instead, we've moved the gameplay bonuses to specific items within the sets, and introduced new bonuses to these sets that won't affect gameplay balance. We look at this as an ongoing process. We want to provide more choices, more variety, and more clarity—all of which will hopefully result in a game that's even more fun. But more importantly, we want the TF2 community to feel as invested in this as we are. So please, let us know what you think. View the full article

If you'd rather not get spoiled on whether or not there's an update coming soon, you'd better not read the rest of this sentence, and you also might want to skip directly to the last paragraph of this post. Then also don't read it, because SPOILER: This post is allllllll about an upcoming update. First off: this update is going to have a list of patch notes longer than a stalemate on Hydro. Rather than just dropping all of that in your lap with no explanation, we figured we'd spend a few blog posts taking you through some of the soon-to-be-released update content, so you'd get an idea of the process behind some of the changes and additions we're making. Let’s start with maps. TF2 has been evolving since the day we released it back in 2007. Unfortunately, as players' tactics and abilities have grown, so have the bugs and exploits in some of the maps. For example, since Badwater shipped in The Heavy Update, TF2 has added more than 140 weapons to the game, some of which introduced new capabilities: sentry jumping, rocket jumping with no health cost, the ability to pick up and move your buildings. All of these are just a fraction of the many ways players can now turn maps like Badwater upside down. http://media.steampowered.com/steam/news/11023/badwater_1.jpg It didn't take long before clever players discovered how to use sentry jumping to build on roofs, Jumpers to move quickly behind enemy lines and spawn camp, and sneakily place buildings inside of their spawns. While we love players coming up with new and inventive ways to win, let's face it: It's never fun to be gunned down from above and behind. http://media.steampowered.com/steam/news/11023/badwater_2.jpg http://media.steampowered.com/steam/news/11023/badwater_3.jpg And Badwater is just one of the maps with fixes in this update. In fact, the majority of maps in TF2 have gone through the same process. By eliminating these exploits and bugs, players can once again feel like they understand threats and the dangers presented in combat spaces. Secondly: Sure, it’s great to fix the old maps, but we’re also adding two NEW community-created maps by Ian Cuslidge that, and here's another spoiler warning, are fricking awesome. Introducing two all-new Capture Point maps: Process and Standin. Beyond a great polish, both of these maps offer unique and exciting gameplay; Process with its five streamlined Capture Points and Standin with its triple Cap Point free-for-all. http://media.steampowered.com/steam/news/11023/cp_process_1.jpg cp_process http://media.steampowered.com/steam/news/11023/cp_process_2.jpg cp_process These maps were selected by the TF2 team in part for their straightforward and intuitive layouts, and in part because they were a hell of a lot of fun to play. These CP maps were designed with little visual noise, were easy to understand and fun to navigate through. If you're a community map maker and want to see us ship your map, here's another spoiler on how to do that: Make it better than these. http://media.steampowered.com/steam/news/11023/cp_standin_1.jpg cp_standin http://media.steampowered.com/steam/news/11023/cp_standin_2.jpg cp_standin View the full article

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 the Summer Appetizer Crate to the drop list and added the Summer Appetizer Key to the Mann Co. StoreFixed a server crash caused by multiple Spies sapping a building at the same timeFixed a case where a Medic deploying Kritzkrieg on a Spy would sometimes result in permanent crit boost View the full article

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//art/features/Best%20smart%20TV%20platforms/Panasonic%20Viera%20Connect-470-75.jpgWith the Xbox One and PS4 next-gen consoles arriving later this year, retailers are expecting a spike in TV sales. "With the arrival of the Xbox One and PS4 providing potential for true innovation in console gameplay and style, consumers will undoubtedly want the whole experience to be as immersive as possible," John Kempner, head Vision Buyer at John Lewis, tells TechRadar. Hands on: Sony PS4 reviewHands on: Xbox One review"The further innovations in each console's overall entertainment package provides even more of a reason to experience everything each console has to offer through a quality display, from games to movies and further interactive content." Many people, it seems, are planning to marry their new console with a new screen, so what exactly should you be looking for in a good gaming TV? Input lagProbably the most significant factor for determining the performance of a gaming TV is input lag. This is the amount of time it takes a TV to actually render an image after receiving an input from its HDMI source. As you can imagine, TVs that take longer to actually produce their images can severely damage gaming performance with certain types of timing-related games, such as Call of Duty and Guitar Hero. It's easy to imagine the scenario, we've all been there: you encounter an enemy, you swivel and manage to get off a couple of rounds but the other guy is just too quick, and you're dead. If you've hooked your console up to a cheap TV you picked up at the supermarket for 60 shekels last Christmas, you might find this happening to you rather a lot – and it probably isn't your fault. Or at least, some of the time it won't be. Game ModeThe fact is that all modern TVs using video processing to tune an optimal image according to the specifics of the individual electronics. Video processing causes input lag, and it's because of this that almost all TVs carry a Game mode. Generally speaking, Game Mode on a TV should switch off as much of the processing as possible, reducing the lag. Annoyingly, though, some Game modes still leave some processing on, requiring you to turn more of it off yourself, and Samsung bizarrely 'hides' its Game mode away in an obscure submenu rather than putting it with the rest of the picture presets. A good result for a TV is anything around 30ms or less, whereas anything above 60ms will definitely lead to a drop in your gaming performance. The best TV we've tested by far in this respect is Sony's new 55W905, which measured under 10ms of input lag - the lowest figure we've ever tested. This make's the Sony a brilliantly responsive TV for gaming, and as we'll see, that's not the only thing it excels at either. Panasonic's plasmas test quite well in this regard too, at around 35ms, as do Samsung's top-end LEDs. LG LCD TVs (and other passive 3D TVs) tend to test not so well in this respect. PlasmaPlasma's gaming benefits are chiefly its deeper contrast and lack of motion blur compared to most LCD screens, though on the downside you have to be a bit careful about image retention/screen burn as games tend to place images on the screen that don't move throughout the duration of your session. This makes plasma the ideal screen type for games like The Last of Us, which features a lot of dark scenes, moody cityscapes and scary set pieces. Plasma is also excellent for racing games, with the lack of motion blur improving the sharpness of the 3D environment around you. LCDLCD's main gaming benefits are dazzling brightness, bold colours, and the fact that you can get small screen sizes relative to plasma (many gamers still like/have to play on a smaller second screen in the house). But motion tends to blur more, and contrast isn't generally as good. This makes LED TVs great for games like Bioshock Infinite, which features extremely bright colours throughout, as well as pretty much any game made by Nintendo. With all this in mind then, here's 10 2013 TVs we recommend for pairing with a new games console. http://cdn3.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/televisions/Sony/Sony%20KDL-55W905A/Sony%2055W905A-150-100.jpg Sony W905 seriesAs well as looking more chic, the Sony 55W905A uses new Triluminos technology to deliver a much improved colour without compromising the superb contrast performance so beloved on last year's HX853 TVs. The best-ever input lag of just 10ms makes it ideal for gamers, with the incredible brightness of the panel picking out every detail. Read: Sony KDL-55W905A review http://cdn0.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net///art/televisions/Panasonic/Panasonic%20TX-L60ET5/Panasonic_TX-L60ET5-150-100.jpg Panasonic GT60 seriesA couple of steps down from being Panasonic's best range of plasma TVs, the GT60 offers stunning picture performance at a reasonable price. Motion blur is non existent, and contrast is first class – ideal for all the tomb raiding in… what's that game called again? Read more: Panasonic GT60 http://cdn3.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/televisions/Samsung/Samsung%20PS64F8500/Samsung%20PS64F8500%20front-150-100.jpg Samsung F8500The PS64F8500 is easily Samsung's most aggressive assault yet on Panasonic's traditional dominance of the plasma TV market. Particularly remarkable is its brightness, which hits heights never before witnessed from plasma technology. This could make it an ideal choice for gamers, offering as it does the benefits of deep contrast as well as amazing brightness, and decent input lag performance. Read more: Samsung PS64F8500 review http://cdn4.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/televisions/Samsung/Samsung%20UE55F8000/Samsung%20UE55F8000%20b-150-100.jpg Samsung F8000If you want Samsung but prefer to go LCD, Samsung's new flagship LED TV wears its high-end status right out there on its sleeve, courtesy of a mind-blowing design boasting the slimmest bezel we've ever seen. It's extremely well connected too, for both video and multimedia purposes, and its latest on-screen menu system is in some ways revolutionary. Read more: Samsung UE55F8000 review http://cdn1.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/televisions/Finlux/Finlux%2032F8030T/Finlux%2032F8030-T_hero-150-100.jpg Finlux 32F8030-TIf you're on a very tight budget, Finlux is a realiable budget brand and this model is a decent option for gamers looking for a second screen. It's got very low input lag, so it won't let you down with your multiplayer, though of course in other areas it's mostly unspectacular. Read more: Finlux 32F8030-T review http://cdn0.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/televisions/Panasonic/Panasonic%20TX-P50VT65/Panasonic%20TX-P50VT65%20front%20smart-150-100.jpg Panasonic VT65If you're serious about your full-blown home cinema gaming, look no further than the Panasonic VT65. Offering mindblowing contrast, rich colours, silky smooth pictures and low input lag, it's a luxury TV that'll pull you right into your next-gen games. Read more: Panasonic TX-P50VT65 review http://cdn1.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/televisions/Philips/Philips%2042PFL6008/Smart%20TV%206008%20series-150-100.jpg Philips 8008 seriesInput lag on the Philips isn't as good as many of the others in this list, but this TV is still worth consideration. Contrast is great, and the Philips supports dual view gaming, where two gamers can wear 3D glasses and each injoyo full screen gaming instead of split screen. Read more: Philips 8008 series

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//art/other/starwars/starwars_r2d2-470-75.jpgJJ Abrams has insisted that digital should not replace film, with the man signed up to direct the next Star Wars film insisting that celluloid remains the 'best quality' option. Speaking at the PGA Produced by Conference Abrams made it clear that he favours the old ways, despite an industry-wide move towards digital technology. "I have not yet shot a movie digitally," he said. "Film is the thing I am most comfortable with. If film were to go away—and digital is challenging it—than the standard for the highest, best quality would go away." Cutting edgeGiven the involvement in Star Wars, a film series that has been at the cutting edge of technology throughout its history, Abrams comments are particularly interesting. George Lucas was key pioneer for visual effects in the opening trilogy, and has been an advocate for a move to a digital world. Episodes two and three of the prequels were shot digitally rather than on film. Abrams' current film Star Trek: Into Darkness has already illustrated the director's love of effects and Star Wars fans will be keen to see what he can do with Lucas' franchise when he take the reins. But it remains to be seen if he chooses to go down a film route rather than Lucas' favoured digital dream.

http://www.teamfortress.com/images/posts/blog_mechaupdate.jpg That's right, December 25th is almost here, and that means the Smissmas season is once again upon us. Now we know some people will be celebrating a different holiday next Tuesday, and for all of you, let us be the first to say: Happy Constitution Day, China! But regardless of what event you're planning to honor, whether it's Quaid-e-Azam's Day, the 1837 Battle of Okeechobee, or Star Trek: Deep Space Nine producer Rick Berman's sixty-sixth birthday, rest assured that, on the inside, we're all celebrating the same thing. And that thing is Smissmas. Because it's the best holiday. Need proof? Check out all the new stuff we're shipping soon in a joyful, dangerous explosion of Smissmas updating. View the full article

http://www.teamfortress.com/images/posts/adultswimnewitems.jpg What's this? Adult Swim gear for Team Fortress? It's true! Scout sent away for a Monarch Henchboy costume ages ago and we can’t wait to see him die in it. Our bet is that he’ll get his blood punched out of him by Heavy. Heavy’s been begging for a chance to kill someone in his new Tennessee Top Hat. Soon you’ll be able to represent your Adult Swim classics with Team Fortress versions of the Monarch’s Henchmen, Dr. Rockzo, Carl, and Brock Samson. We’re thinking now would be a great time to try out the Source Filmmaker and recreate some of your favorite Adult Swim moments. Check out the page that our friends at Adult Swim put together. View the full article

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) Fixed a hang on start-up with non-scalable bitmap fontsFixed crash on start-up when joysticks are attachedTeam Fortress 2Added a prompt to turn on controller mode when using Big PictureIncreased console font size for the Linux versionFixed some problems caused by disabling controller modeFixed missing HUD sounds for Engineer building status panelFixed the Spy version of the tf_zombie entity not using the correct skinFixed international keyboard chat and console input for the Linux version View the full article

http://media.steampowered.com/apps/tf2/market_blog.jpg As part of our ongoing efforts to gradually phase out all Earth money in favor of Team Fortress hats, we're kicking off the TF2-only beta of our new Steam Community Market! The Market should improve trading in every way: People looking for specific items will be able to locate them faster, folks looking to sell items will find the process a lot more efficient, and best of all, we've made it easier for everybody to translate playing TF2 into buying games on Steam. While the Market is in beta, we're limiting trading, buying and selling to one-time consumable items while we're ironing out the kinks. Also, items you buy will be subject to transaction fees; read more about it in the FAQ. If you'd like to learn more about the Community Market—or even more importantly, give us the feedback we need to make it better—be sure to visit the Steam Community Market group. View the full article

http://media.steampowered.com/steam/news/9574/sniperstatue.jpg?t=1355266186 It probably wouldn't surprise you to learn that a professional assassin like myself tends to be... discrete about things. We keep to the shadows. We avoid the spotlight. We don't host bloody dinner parties, is my point, and we don't make big bloody statues in effigy to our bloody selves. Well, nobody bothered to tell the folks at Gaming Heads, since they only went ahead and turned me into a fourteen-inch-tall embarrassment to professionals everywhere. Two months ago Saxton Hale showed up at my door with a clipboard, a pen, and some girl he claimed was his niece, asking me to pledge five dollars for a charity walk. I wish I'd read the fine print, since Mann Co. now owns my likeness rights until the year 7039. Anyway, the statue's out now, so if your daughter already has dolls that cry and soil themselves, why not buy her one that kills people for money? Give her a career goal. Because I guarantee you wetting your pants is not a paying job. —Sniper View the full article

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) Fixed a client crash related to DirectX8Team Fortress 2Fixed a client crash related to the main menu View the full article

http://www.teamfortress.com/images/posts/vga_tonight.jpg Make sure to check out Spike TV's Video Game Awards pre-show tonight at 8pm EST over here, where we'll be unveiling the winner of the Best Overall category from the 2012 Saxxy Awards! (In case you miss it, go ahead and rewind to the beginning). That not exciting enough for you? Well, Spike TV is also picking the best game of the decade. And guess what game is nominated. Did you guess TF2? Because, no. Believe us, we read the list about twenty times to make sure, and TF's definitely not on there. Why? Our guess is that it's all just a big popularity contest where commitment to you - the best community of the decade - apparently doesn't count for crap. That said, we should all stay calm and put the system on trial next decade, because both Portal and Half Life 2 are nominated, which is a pretty sweet deal for those two games. Sure, voting for one of them isn't the same as voting for TF2, but it's honestly as close as you're gonna get for at least ten more years, so go for it. UPDATE: Click here to see the winner of Best Overall! View the full article

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) Fixed some players not being able to launch the game due to a problem with Mss32.dllFixed a regression in circular progress bars View the full article

http://www.teamfortress.com/images/posts/neca_actionfigure_preview.jpg Valve merchandise licensee NECA has launched a sneak preview of the upcoming Demoman and Pyro action figures that shows off each figure’s sculpt, articulation, and accessories. Each figure will ship with a promotional code to unlock in-game content. The figures are expected to be at retail by the end of January 2013. View the full article

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) Updated to support Big Picture mode View the full article

http://www.teamfortress.com/images/posts/saxxy_2012_c.jpg The Second Annual Saxxy Awards start in just 10 minutes! And to celebrate, everybody who participated in voting is getting a free Saxxy Clapper Badge! Don't forget to watch the Spike Video Game Awards pre-show December 7th, where we'll announce the winner of the "Best Overall" category live! Lastly, due to getting fewer submissions than we'd hoped for the "Best Original Universe" category, we didn't think it was fair to the other finalists to showcase it at the awards site, since they had to battle through stiffer competition to make it this far. But congratulations all the same to TheMike, Black_Stormy, Crazyb2000, Gamerman12, Oggnog, =|NLR|= Narry Gewman and Anton on their winning short "Elements". Your Saxxy's on the way, guys! View the full article

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) Fixed a problem with some materials not being displayed correctlyFixed weapon pickup sounds not being played for some weaponsTeam Fortress 2Added The Tuxxy Added a new promo itemFixed some HUD clipping issues when using cl_hud_minmodeFixed Mann vs. Machine popfiles not properly resetting on changelevelFixed seeing an error model when watching replays with missing modelsFixed missing materials in the control point HUD on attack/defend mapsFixed a problem that would cause Halloween spell effects to appear on some itemsUpdated the Mann Co. StoreCosmetic items purchased in the store moving forward can be used in craftingClass starter bundles now contain a Name Tag instead of a class-specific hat View the full article

The awards are getting polished. The limousines are gassed up. We're even steam-cleaning all the gravy stains out of the red carpet. All those portentous omens can mean just one thing: In just 48 suspense-packed hours, the Second Annual Saxxy Awards presentation will begin—LIVE, on the internet! If you're looking for something to do while you're whiling away those hours, why not visit the awards site and keep time with our handy countdown timer? It's not just fun—it will teach you valuable lessons about the passage of time that you can use in your everyday life! If watching precious seconds subtract themselves from your lifespan isn't your thing, make an appointment with the local Teufort tailor and grab The Tuxxy (available Thursday from Mann Co. Store) so you'll have some dapper duds for the big night. View the full article

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 a new item to the store "Upgrade to Premium Gift"Increased the maximum size of backpacks from 1000 to 2000 View the full article

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) Fixed a client crash in the sound emitterTeam Fortress 2Fixed a dedicated server hang in bot pathfindingFixed the tf_zombie entity crashing some servers View the full article

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) Fixed an audio problem for Mac usersAdded a new ConVar sv_shutdown_timeout_minutesForces a server to shutdown if it has been requested to do so, even if the server is not emptyTeam Fortress 2Added new promo itemsFixed a crash in the class loadout panel for Mac usersFixed a dedicated server memory leak when running Mann vs. Machine modeFixed tf_forced_holiday not properly forcing the holiday modeFixed an Mann vs. Machine exploit that allowed permanent ubercharge/critboost effects on non-Mann-Up servers.Added missing style names for the Plutonidome, Sir Hootsalot, and the Bat Outta HellFixed column header labels being clipped in the scoreboardFixed a dedicated server performance issue related to botsFixed an incorrect texture for the Jumper's JeepcapFixed team colors for the Voodoo JuJu (Slight Return)Updated the localization filesUpdated cp_gullywash_final1Fixed the large curved railing in the Blu Base to mirror the railing in the Red BaseFixed Red Capture Point 2 to prevent capping through a wall behind the point View the full article

http://www.teamfortress.com/images/posts/saxxys_2012_votenow.jpg Voting is now LIVE for the Second Annual Saxxy Awards, from now until midnight GMT, November 27th! Your votes will help our panel of judges make the final call on which entries are the most gut-bustingly hilarious, the most eye-wettingly dramatic, the most pants-crappingly action-packed, and the most heart-tuggingly romantic. We don't want to oversell things here, but this is quite literally the most important thing you will ever cast a vote for. All that Presidential election hooha? Consider that nonsense practice for your voting finger, like the training montage in Rocky IV, except instead of your finger lifting a telephone pole up a mountain on its back, it'll be clicking a mouse button. How to Vote Every video entered in the 2012 Saxxy Awards can be viewed and voted on at the Saxxy Awards voting page. Head over now to vote! We've randomized all the entries to keep things fair; however, you can filter by category if you're more interested in some genres than others. After you've watched an entry, simply upvote it or downvote it and move onto the next one. Vote as much as you like, but remember: you've only got one vote per entry. Also, with such a huge number of entries, it's a challenge to keep on top of entries breaking the contest rules. So if you spot an entry that's longer than five minutes, or that's using copyrighted (i.e. not Valve, and not public domain) material, help us out and report it. The winners of this year's Saxxy Awards will be revealed on November 30th, with the exception of the Best Overall category. Why? Because the winner of the Best Overall category will be announced LIVE on the GTTV Spike Video Game Awards pre-show on December 7th, AND their entry shown on the air. Stay tuned for details! View the full article

Mixup Number Five has been announced giving players an opportunity to both donate to a good cause and a chance to play with the developers and various other community notables. Three lucky donationists will be randomly chosen to fill out the rest of a 9v9 team! If you're curious how it went last time around check out the replays. View the full article

http://www.teamfortress.com/images/posts/saxxys_submit_now.jpg Just a friendly reminder to anybody planning on submitting an entry to the Second Annual Saxxy Awards that the deadline is November 15, 12:00 AM GMT. This means that we won't accept entries after this date. Those of you planning on waiting until there's a single adrenaline-gorged second on the countdown clock, remember: You're not Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker and there's absolutely no need to do this. If you want to ensure your entry gets submitted, do not wait until the last minute. Also, once your entry has been submitted, don't forget to double-check it. (You can find it in the Videos tab of your Steam Community profile.) Note that if you’ve uploaded your video to YouTube before, you may encounter a duplication issue. Learn how to fix it here. One last thing: We've received some questions about using music. Just to clarify: Using royalty-free music in your entry is absolutely okay, but you should submit a source link in your entry's description as proof of the music's royalty-free-ness when possible. View the full article

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) Fixed a bug that was causing intermittent lag spikes for Linux dedicated serversFixed a crash while command-tabing on Mac in fullscreenFixed not running on Mac OSX 10.5.8Team Fortress 2MERASMUS! has leveled up at WizardCon!"The Skull Island Topper" now tracks the highest level of Merasmus the owner has helped defeatIncreased Engineer, Scout, Pyro and Heavy damage against MerasmusIncreased Soldier and Demoman damage against Merasmus while he is in hidingSaxxy Awards submissions are now being accepted for the Replay category via the in-game YouTube™ uploaderFixed the Heavy not playing the correct audio when equipping all of the Grand Duchess itemsFixed the Grand Duchess items not being groupped as an item setFixed a bug that allowed spells to be applied to base itemsAdded zombie character images and a new Halloween background for the main menuBeta version of new item import tool, available in game in the Steam Workshop submission processFixed Mann vs. Machine robots not taunting when they level up while carrying the bombUpdated the health bar for Merasmus and MonoculusAdded more credits to Caliginous Caper, Wave 666 View the full article