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Over the last week we've taken you through some of our thinking around maps, weapons and items. We thought you might find it interesting if we walked you through the process we use to ship an update to TF2. There we go, update shipped. http://media.steampowered.com/steam/news/11070/demo_n_heavy.jpg 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: General: Added over 60 Gold Star community-submitted Workshop itemsSummer Claim Checks can now be redeemed for Summer CoolersSummer Cooler Keys are now available in the Mann Co. StoreMap Stamps and Strange Filters for the new community maps cp_standin and cp_process are now available in the Mann Co. StoreReduced intensity of Bleed and Jarate screen effects under DX8Added text search functionality to the backpack and the storeAdded tf_hud_show_servertimelimit to display the server’s per-map time limit on the in-game HUDIn MvM, if all team members unready, the pre-round countdown will stopIn MvM, when robots are killed by sniper headshots or explosive headshot upgrade, they will drop ‘red’ money that will automatically be collected when it would otherwise dissolveFixed a bug with the Unusual Adjustment Slider that would cause changes not to take effectDouble-clicking a crate will now take you to the appropriate key in the storeBy default, items with non-standard qualities (i.e., strange, unusual) will not be selectable as craft ingredient. The ingredient selection UI has a checkbox to disable this feature and allow selection.Unusuals and Stranges no longer stack in loadout equip pagesFixed a bug that would sometimes cause incorrect Steam Community Market prices to be shown on item tooltips when using non-USD currenciesFixed a bug that would cause the popular items page in the store to not always update correctlyFixed a bug where disguised red spies spawned a blue heal particle when touching healthkitsFixed a bug where certain projectiles and Engineer building gibs could cause doors to become stuckFixed a bug where crouch animations would not properly play while in humiliation stateFixed a bug where full ÜberCharge effects would always show on the client if a player was killed with full ÜberChargeFixed a bug that allowed custom item names/descriptions containing HTML to sometimes change the appearance of items in Steam CommunityFixed level 3 dispensers missing geometryFixed level 2 dispensers appearing identical to level 1 dispensers at certain LODsFixed the Marked-For-Death effect showing over the head of disguised or stealthed playersFixed suicide deathnotices showing the dead player's last deployed weapon instead of the skull and crossbonesFixed characters in the loadout page sometimes appearing as if they were cloakedWeapon attributes will now show in the same order in-game and in Steam CommunitySupport for the ITFItems/GetPlayerItems and ITFItems/GetSchema WebAPIs have been removedAdded support for the Oculus-native distortion function via the "oculus_use_ovr_distortion" convar in VR modeMaps:Added cp_standin and cp_processRenamed mvm_coaltown_event to mvm_ghost_town to fix a problem with voting for challenges in MvM when on Coal Towncp_badlandsFixed jumps being ruined by small rock ledge near spiralFixed prop collisionsFixed clip smoothingcp_dustbowlFixed players building in Blu's first spawnFixed players shooting through rocks in stage 2Fixed collision in tunnels in stage 2Fixed textures not displaying properly in PyrovisionFixed lighting on cliff facesFixed skybox error in stage 3.Fixed players getting killed through the ceiling under stage 2 cap 1Adjusted ceiling height in stage 3 tunnel for better clearanceCleaned up prop collisioncp_egyptFixed clip brush exploitsPlayers can no longer build on top of arches and high ledgescp_gorgePlayers can no longer build in Blu's first spawn roomChanged scale of water texturecp_granaryFixed improper orientation on arrow signsFixed players getting above red forward spawnFixed players building on cargo containers inside spawn roomFixed holes in skybox geometryRemoved collision from hanging lamp over Red spawnRemoved collision from security cameras above Red and Blue spawnsMirrored fence alcove from Blu final cap arena to Red sideBalanced collision of rocks in final capture arenasRe-ordered spawns in the first spawn room to be consistent between Red and Blucp_gravelpitClipped roof of building over cap ARemoved helthpack under terrainAdded decals under health kits and ammo packscp_gullywashFixed players getting out of the map near the middle capture pointFixed collision exploits near middle capture pointcp_mountainlabFixed collision issues on the ladders and hill that lead to the first pointFixed static prop lightingcp_steelFixed players blocking Blu's spawn exit door leading to capture point BFixed collision on ledge near capture point BPlayers can no longer build inside Red spawn room.Blu spawn point over grate removed.ctf_2fortFixed building inside of spawn doorsFixed clipping exploits on battlementsFixed height of door leading to spiral stairs in Blu base so players can now crouch past a placed dispenserCleaned up prop collisionSmoothed clipping on wagon wheel and other propsctf_wellFixed players jumping out of the mapkoth_kingHealth and ammo packs now match on Red and Blu sides of the mapPlayers can no longer build in spawn doorskoth_lakesideFixed rockets passing through terrain near the capture pointkoth_viaductPlayers can no longer build in spawn room raftersmvm_bigrockFixed players building on rock in cave sectionpl_badwaterFixed player clip brush exploits and missing player clip brushes on roofs and rock wallsFixed player clip smoothingFixed fence collisionsFixed floating rocks in skyboxFixed lighting on propsFixed lighting on canyon vistaHandrails no longer collide with bullets and projectilesPerformance increase through poly reduction, model collision reduction and model fade distancesPlayers can no longer build inside Blu spawn roomPlayers can no longer be trapped with teleporters under the sign by the first capture pointPlayers can no longer enter the room overlooking the final cap through the windows before point 3 is capturedPlayers will now be crushed by closing doors upon the capture of point 2pl_barnblitzFixed building in the skybox above Red's final spawnTeleporters will no longer self destruct when used on the battlements near Blu's first spawnpl_frontierFixed spawn doors not working properly after second capture.Players can no longer build inside kill volumesPlayers can no longer build inside of Blu's second spawn roomRed players can now enter the Blu team spawn upon round winpl_goldrushFixed collision on props and clip exploitsFixed buildings being prohibited from construction in the garage near the end of stage 3Players can no longer block the cart through the wall in stage Players can no longer build in spawn exitsPlayers can no longer build on the shack roof near the end of stage 3Players and buildings can no longer be killed through the floor in stage 1 in the upper room by the capPlayers can no longer build on the perch in stage 1Handrails no longer collide with bullets and projectilespl_thundermountainFixed gate visible through ceiling in stage 3Fixed clipping in stage 3 Blu spawnPrevented players from building in the cliffside kill zone in stage 1pl_upwardFixed exploit where Blu team could be trapped in their final spawn roomFixed gap in collision which allowed Blu players to be shot in their first spawnFixed fade distances on props in Blu spawnFixed players building under catwalk on the ledge of the final pitFixed clip brush exploitsPlayers can no longer be trapped by teleporting under stairs near final capture pointPlayers can no longer build inside of Red's final spawn roomPlayers can no longer build inside of spawn room doorsPlayers can no longer be trapped inside of the capture point signPrevented Blu team from entering final spawn room while it is neutralSmoothed clipping collisionCollision performance increasesHandrails no longer collide with bullets and projectilesReplaced floor texture in Red team final spawn roomplr_hightowerFixed clip brush exploit above building on cliff edgeplr_nightfallFixed players jumping outside of the mapReduced prop collisionplr_pipelineFixed invisible facesHandrails no longer collide with bullets and projectilestc_hydroFixed clip brush exploit where players could get out of worldFixed players getting on top of monument.Items:The Chieftain's Challenge, Lord Cockswain's Pith Helmet, That '70s Chapeau, The K-9 Mane, The Stovepipe Sniper Shako, The Pounding Father, and Vox Diabolus can now be painted"The Public Enemy", "The Urban Professional", and "The Dumpster Diver" sets will now show up as sets in the in-game UICursed Soul items (Halloween zombie skins) are now renameableStrange Bacon Grease can now be gift-wrappedAdded LODs to the Airborne Armaments set itemsFixed Bison/Pomson projectiles getting stuck on doorsFixed Baseballs and Jars sometimes going through thin geometryCrit-A-ColaRemoved: Damage taken mini-critsAdded: Damage taken increased 25%ShortstopAdded 20% bonus healing while deployedAdded 80% vulnerability increase to all push forces while deployedWingerAdded +25% Jump Height bonus when active The Special Delivery (set)Removed: +25 max health on wearerAdded: Leave a calling card on your victimsBattalion's BackupAdded additional +15% Sentry damage resistance to all teammates while banner effect is active (50% damage reduction while banner is active)Rage is now generated from damage dealt instead of damage receivedBlack BoxRocket explosions now use correct sound Beggar’s BazookaFixed an exploit that allowed players to hold a set fixed number of rockets (reload cancelling)Misfired Rockets now remove one loaded rocket from the clipConcherorRage is now generated only from damage dealtBuffed players now receive a speed boost, in addition to the previous Health-On-Hit effectCow Mangler 5000Reduced clip size (from 5 to 4)Removed -10% damage attributeRemoved 5% slower reload attributeAdded missing "sets players on fire" description textNew particles and soundEscape PlanPlayers receive the Marked-For-Death effect after deploying, and for a short period after holsteringLiberty LauncherRemoved: 25% reduced clip size penaltyAdded: 25% reduced damage penalty OriginalRocket explosions now use correct sound The Tank Buster (set)Removed: +20% Sentry damage resistance on wearerAdded: Leave a calling card on your victimsPhlogistinatorFixed "Mmmph" progress resetting after touching a resupply cabinetPowerjackAdded: 15% increase move speed while deployedAdded: 20% damage vulnerability to all sourcesThe Gas Jockey's Gear (set)Removed: +10% faster move speed on wearerRemoved: +10% bullet damage vulnerability on wearerAdded: Leave a calling card on your victimsChargin' TargeAdded: Afterburn immunityLoose CannonRange no longer affects direct cannonball impact damageReduced charge time to 1 secondAdded: Double-Donk (directly impacting an enemy within half a second before the bomb explosion) sound and particle effectsDouble-Donk damage now mini-critsThe Expert's Ordnance (set)Removed: +10% fire damage resistance on wearerBuffalo Steak SandvichRemoved: Damage taken mini-critsAdded: Damage taken increased 25%Dalokohs BarIncreased amount of health restored per-bite from 15 to 25GunslingerFixed a bug that caused mini-sentries to heal while being constructedRescue RangerMinor increase in damage per boltIncreased building healing from 50 to 75 per boltShort CircuitAmmo cost reduced when an attack destroys a projectileWranglerSlightly reduced accuracy of manually-controlled sentry at long rangeProtective shield now fades 1 second after the owning Engineer diesCrusaders CrossbowChanged arrow projectile to a large syringeAdded new trail effectsSmoothed out reload animation (DPS unchanged)Fixed being able to heal players that are using items that block healingQuick-FixAdded 50% OverhealÜber now affects the medic when there's no heal targetShotguns with pushback (Force-A-Nature) no longer affect players under the effect of Quick-Fix’s ÜberVaccinatorÜber now fully absorbs crit damage for the selected damage type, but depletes Übercharge based on the amount of damage preventedBazaar BargainFixed the starting charge rate being -40% instead of -20%Capped the max charge rate to 200%Cozy CamperRemoved movement penalty.Added: Damage taken increased by 20%Darwin's Danger shieldAdded: Bullet damage taken reduced by 15%Added: Explosive damage taken increased by 20%The Croc-o-Style Kit (set)Removed headshot immunityAdded: Leave a calling card on your victimsDead RingerWhen under the effect of Feign Death, damage taken decreases the duration of the effectL'EtrangerAdded: 40% increased cloak durationSpy-cicleFixed a bug that would cause the charge meter to not reset when the spy was killedThe Saharan Spy (set)Removed: Reduced decloak sound volumeRemoved: 0.5 sec longer cloak blink timeAdded custom particle effects when taunting View the full article

Three weeks ago, we introduced an item import tool that lets item creators locally verify that their items meet a set of technical and performance standards. This helps item creators ensure that anything they create is more likely to be game-ready; and it also helps the community as a whole, by giving the TF2 team more time to devote to other aspects of the game. Since we released the tool, this verification process (which grants items a “Gold Starâ€) has led to over 900 Gold Star Workshop submissions. We've been blown away by the speed and quality of the TF2 community's response. Thanks to this verification system, we've been able to select a whopping 64 Gold Star items for this coming update. But how do we decide which to ship? Below, we've run this classy-looking Medic coat through a set of questions we ask when reviewing submissions. We hope this will give item creators and everyone voting in the Workshop a bit more insight into our decision-making process. http://media.steampowered.com/steam/news/11063/medic_coat.jpg Does the item's vote count show support from the TF2 Workshop Community? This is a big one: We're not going to ship an item that the community has no interest in shipping. (Remember: Even if you're not an item creator, you can help the item selection process by up-voting and down-voting.) Our sample Medic item, for instance, had sufficient support to examine further.Does the item introduce something unique and different compared to items already in the game? The Medic does not yet have a coat cosmetic that makes him look ready to dance the night away as if it were 1776. Let’s check this box as a "Yes". Does the item interfere with class identification? Even in this new coat, the Medic is still easily recognizable as the Medic. The author has taken care not to remove areas that display team colors and has made sure the geometry complements the base character model underneath. How well does it complement other items already in the game? Because the geometry is contained within the Medic silhouette, it will avoid clipping with most other cosmetics, allowing users to customize their look further. Does this item fit well within the TF universe? It might seem at first glance that the TF universe is pretty flexible—flexible enough, anyway, to accommodate a Victorian-era aristocrat costume for the Medic. However, there are limits. Photo-realistic items or overly cartoony items are just two examples of art styles that probably won't mesh with the TF2niverse. Lastly, Is your item Darth Vader's helmet? Because we don't own Star Wars. Here's a comprehensive list of other things we don't own: Everything that's not TF. Luckily, Darth Vader doesn't dress like a foppish 18th century rogue*, so this item's in the clear.And remember: much like the game itself, the import tool is a work in progress. If you're a Workshop author and want to get advance notice of changes or to request support for new features, make sure to sign up for the brand-new TF Workshop/import tool mailing list. *Note: We haven't seen Episode VII yet. View the full article

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://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