Steam News

No Update This Week

December 24, 2003, 3:29 pm - Greg Coomer - Steam Client Update

Just a note to say that there will not be a Steam release this week. Happy holidays from Valve!

Steam Update Released

December 19, 2003, 3:33 pm - Greg Coomer - Steam Client Update

An update to Steam has been released to fix a problem that a small number of users have experienced when attempting to launch. Users who experienced this bug would see the initial progress bar reach 99% and not progress any further.

Users who are currently in this state should download and run this installer in their current Steam directory.

Steam Startup Fix Released

December 18, 2003, 1:21 pm - Greg Coomer - General Announcement

After yesterday's release, Steam was crashing for some users on startup. A fix for this problem has just been released. When you restart Steam, you'll automatically download the fixed version. As always, let us know if you run into problems.

Steam Update Released

December 17, 2003, 3:05 pm - Erik Johnson - Steam Client Update

Steam was be updated this evening at approximately 7:00 PST. This update will not have any direct impact on any games. The next time you restart Steam you will automatically download this update.

STEAM:

• Fixed bug in create account wizard where it would stall if a failure had previously occurred


• Switch minidump generation back to small memory dumps, instead of full memory dumps


• Localized content caches now mapped into app dependency list dynamically


• Add progress bar for cache validation


SERVER BROWSER:

• Added history tab showing servers most recently connected to


• Added ability to add/remove columns from server lists


• Added secure server & ip address columns (off by default)


• Set bots column to be hidden by default


• Changed location filter control to appear on every page, but disabled when appropriate


• Changed location filter to use '' instead of 'world', to match the other filters


• Double-clicking between column headers in ListPanel now resizes the column to fit the widest text


• Fixed HTML control not laying out properly the first time the scrollbar was made visible


HLDS UPDATE:

• Improved load balancing randomization


• If InstallRecord.blob is not found, it will verify the current install instead of starting over from version zero

Steam Client Update Released

December 15, 2003, 3:48 pm - Greg Coomer - Steam Client Update

A small Steam update was released earlier today. There were only a couple of changes in this release:

• Fixed problem with command-line parameters not being passed through correctly (for shortcuts to launching steam games)


• Optimized some Steam networking code and decreased startup time

Steam Games - Update Released

December 10, 2003, 7:03 pm - Greg Coomer - Product Update

An update for all Steam games has just been released. As always, Steam will update your games automatically -- you don't need to take any special action.

Dedicated server admins can get the update normally via the HLDS update tool, or the dedicated server update can be downloaded directly from this page.

Here's a complete list of the changes:

ALL GAMES:

• Fixed problem in Direct3D mode where the game would be unavailable for some users. Direct3D mode should work now, but note that OpenGL will provide a better play experience if your video card is capable


• Fixed regression that was causing the 'load failed' crash to happen on level change


• Optimized some of the particle drawing code


• For mod makers - debugging mods no longer requires the steam.dll to be copied into the game directory


DAY OF DEFEAT

• Added client side env_models for static prop type models


• Random class now abides by class limits


• No random class in clan matches


• Added exit decal on gunshots


• Restored door opening behavior to original style ( face the door and it opens away from you, face away and it opens towards you )


• Fixed sniper rifle lowering when a sniper moved, even though he was still scoped


• Fixed a bug where you would drop your weapon, pick it back up and it would have less ammo


• Re-added weapon names to console death messages ( bob killed fred with garand )


• Added "teamkill" text to the console death messages ( bob teamkilled chuck with kar )


• Fixed being able to jumpshoot if the minimap was open fullscreen


• Fixed a cut off label in scoreboard


• Now cannot +use grenades while deployed


• "hud_draw 0" now hides the spectator bar


• Fixed player animation being 90 degrees off on mg sandbag deploy


• Fixed spectator angles on minimap player icons


• Fixed strange health numbers drawing in the spec bar


• Fixed gunshot decal on subsequent bullet hits


• Added control point name to log file cap messages


• Fixed hud reset on stop demo recording


• Fixed ammo on mg42 and 30cal view model not showing above 8 bullets


• Fixed player models jittering because of animation blend


• Fixed an evil evil hack that stopped the player from shooting when their mg42 overheated


• Fixed some more empty cells in the scoreboard showing up as squares


DOD HLTV

• Fixed client env_models drawing


• Fixed brit sleeves


• Draw objective icons on hud and in minimap


• Draw grenades on the minimap for both teams


• Fixed teams and playerclass in the scoreboard


• Added timeleft and number of hltv spectators to the spec bar


• Fixed weather effects not drawing


• No vgui menus in hltv spec


COUNTER-STRIKE:

• Fixed shield exploit that involved dropping a weapon and buying a pistol in a specific order; you must restart your dedicated server to pick up this change


TEAM FORTRESS CLASSIC:

• Fixed icon for ALT-TAB menu and window title bar not being displayed properly


• Moved flaginfo to the chat text area so it will work properly

DoD Dev Team in Charity

December 9, 2003, 12:00 pm - Valve - General Announcement

Clan Palestra has organized a charity match for war victims between the Day of Defeat developement team and their clan to be held on Friday, December 19th at 12 noon PST. Please visit their page here for more information and to donate to the cause! Proceeds from the match will be forwarded to the International Committe of the Red Cross (ICRC), specifically to help victims of the conflict in Iraq.

Steam Update Released

December 4, 2003, 10:31 am - Erik Johnson - Steam Client Update

An update for the Steam client has been released. The next time you restart Steam this update will be automatically downloaded.

There are no changes to any of the games with this release.

• Fixed bug that would cause Steam to lock up for a long period on version roll


• Fixed "CacheFixedFileDirectory" crash


• Fixed problem on version roll when cache was marked as read only


• Added e-mail address confirmation in Steam when creating an account


• Fixed crash on shutdown of Steam


• Tighter checking for typos when entering a WON CD-Key


• Catch cache corruption errors earlier on launch


• Added a new cd-key authorization step when adding a game to the 'My Games' list

Steam Client Update to be Released Tomorrow

December 3, 2003, 3:21 pm - Greg Coomer - Steam Client Update

An update for the Steam client will be released tomorrow morning. After it's released, the changes listed below will take effect as soon as you restart Steam.

• Fixed bug that would cause Steam to lock up for a long period on version roll


• Fixed "CacheFixedFileDirectory" crash


• Fixed problem on version roll when cache was marked as read only


• Added e-mail address confirmation in Steam when creating an account


• Fixed crash on shutdown of Steam


• Tighter checking for typos when entering a WON CD-Key


• Catch cache corruption errors earlier on launch


• Added a new cd-key authorization step when adding a game to the 'My Games' list

Counter-Strike (and other games) Update Released

November 26, 2003, 7:13 pm - Greg Coomer - Product Update

An update as just been released, including a few changes to Counter-Strike and minor changes to the other Steam games

Counter-Strike dedicated server admins please note that this update requires your servers to restart. This can be done normally via the HLDS update tool, or the dedicated server update can be downloaded directly from this page. Also, if you run Metamod, you must download the new version or your server will crash.

COUNTER-STRIKE CHANGES:

• Improved damage and accuracy of sg550 and g3sg1 sniper rifles


• Added small shadow underneath player


• Added autobuy and rebuy functionality to buy menus


ALL GAMES:

• Added extra progress indicators for downloading & initializing VAC security modules


• Removed 'cmd dlfile' console command from being accessed directly from the console


• Fixed servers not being in world list if they specified a region on startup