Team Fortress 2's new Mann vs Machine mode gets surprisingly thoughtful in this series of pieces done by artist biggreenpepper.

tf2 Heavy MVM [DeviantArt, via Dotcore]

Photoshop artist Valentin Baguirov used a combination of Photoshop and Valve's Source Filmmaker to create these movie poster beauties. Drag the slider over to compare and contrast.

You can view the full-sized versions—both original poster and Team Fortress 2 poster—below.

TF2 Movie posters [Behance via Dotcore]

It was Valve boss Gabe Newell's birthday on November 3, and to mark the occasion, some kids from 4chan's /v/ (the board's video games group) went and paid him a visit in the flesh.

In addition to giving him a giant card (which they do every year), and getting the chance to wish him a happy birthday in person (not to mention pick up some swag), they also presented him with a gift. A box. Which Newell was charged $2.50 to open.

Inside? A hat.

I won't say this often, but well played, /v/, well played.

UPDATE - Now with video.

For Gabe's birthday, 4chan's /v/ sent him THIS card [Reddit]

On the one hand, I'm extremely excited to see an Adult Swim/Valve mix that doesn't just involve a sign-up sheet and a hat.

The claymation is also a nice touch. But this feels more like Adult Swim saying, "Hey, here's a thing that sorta looks like a thing that you play online sometimes," rather than actually doing a proper spoof off of Team Fortress 2. It's kinda silly, maybe even kinda funny, but all around not the kind of witty and on the nose humor you may have expected from such a collaboration.

But then again...Hey! Here's a thing that sorta looks like a Team Fortress 2 thing, and that's neat!

Robot Chicken - TF2 short [YouTube via Reddit]

Okay prepare for something a bit incredible, but also very, very strange. This is a scene from Toy Story, reanimated and rebuilt using Source Filmmaker. It starts off weird, then it gets kinda hilarious, then it gets weird again.

I can't really explain why, but I totally love it. The fact that it's so jarred, and such a bizarre clunky parody is what makes it all work.

Toy Soldier [GlinkoPlayman]

Just a few months after cold, unfeeling automatons came to Valve's hit co-op shooter in Mann vs. Machine, the publisher's unleashing waves of the undead on Team Fortress 2.

According to Polygon, an update to the Team Fortress 2 website announced a two-week Scream Fortress event that will herald the return of necromancer Merasmus, who seeds all kinds of dark magic over the game's usual match types. The new Wave 666 map will be where showdowns against zombies happen and players will also be able to get enchantments that will summon ghosts as part of the event. How long until we get zombies vs. robots, y'think?

Scream Fortress [Team Fortress 2, via Polygon]

Like clockwork, the coming of Halloween also signals the coming of some special Team Fortress 2 stuff, heralded today by the release of a new comic and teases for a showdown between the mercs and Merasmus.

Doommates [TF2]

It's never cool to bail from your multiplayer game mid-match. It may mean that you won't get another "L" on your record, but it also means you're a quitter who lets his or her team down.

Valve has begun to crack down on people quitting Team Fortress 2's new Mann vs. Machine mode mid-match. From a joking "letter" from Mann CEO Saxton Hale:

Bidwell's drummed up some penalties for any coward he catches running away from the frontlines. If any of you cowards out there find these penalties too harsh, don't worry about it, because see Point #1 (I am coming for you). Whatever penalties you get will seem like a day at the Being Afraid store (or wherever it is cowards like to shop) when I get my big angry hands on your beady little heads.

From the TF2 Blog, some clarifications in the form of an FAQ:

Q: What is "abandoning" a game??

There is a difference between leaving a game and "abandoning" it. It is considered "abandoning" a game if all of the following circumstances are met:

• You leave a game while playing a Mann Up game on an official server; and
• You have not played through a single wave to completion or failure; and
• There are 5 or more players currently connected to the server (including you).

Otherwise, it is safe to disconnect a game without being considered an "abandoner."

Q: What happens if I "abandon" a game??

At first, nothing. (Sometimes you lose your Internet connection and cannot get back online to rejoin. And sometimes, you just have to go.) Penalties will be imposed on players who repeatedly abandon games. These players will be temporarily placed in a low-priority pool and will experience longer matchmaking times.

Q: If I'm thinking about leaving a game, how can I tell if I'd be "abandoning" it??

When you press the Disconnect button on the Main Menu, a prompt will confirm one of three things: that you are not abandoning the game and that it is safe to leave; that you are abandoning the game but will not incur a penalty; or that you are abandoning the game and will incur matchmaking penalties by disconnecting.

Note that leaving a game by pressing the Disconnect button ensures that you will never incur a penalty without prior warning. However, if you disconnect through any other means, such as typing "disconnect" or "quit" on the console, or by accepting a Steam invite, no prompt will be displayed, and you may incur penalties without being notified.

Q: What if I crash or lose my connection??

If you crash or lose your Internet connection, your spot on the game server will be reserved for you to rejoin within three minutes. If you do not rejoin within three minutes, you will be treated as if you had quit the game intentionally.

After a crash or loss of Internet connection, restarting TF2 will give you a prompt to reclaim your spot. This prompt will also tell you what (if any) penalties you will incur by declining.

If you meet the abandonment criteria outlined above ("What is "abandoning" a game?"), AND if you fail to rejoin either because you let three minutes go by or you declined the prompt, then you are considered to have abandoned the game.

Q: What if I get kicked for idling??

If you are automatically kicked due to inactivity, you are considered to have quit intentionally. You may be considered to have abandoned the game if the other abandonment criteria ("What is "abandoning" a game?") are satisfied.

Q: What if I'm vote-kicked?

If you are vote-kicked by other players, you are not considered to have quit intentionally and will not be considered to have abandoned the game.

So, there you have it. Stop quitting, quitters!

Attention, Cowards! [Teamfortress.com]

Abandoning Games FAQ [Team Fortress Blog]

Laura Dubuk is an artist and designer employed at Valve, where her most recent public work was her contribution to the studio's terrific Meet the Pyro trailer.

She's also worked on games like Portal 2, and in this gallery you'll see a collection of some of her best stuff, both from personal projects and from Valve games.

Note that you may have seen that top pic before, especially if you've been to Michael Fahey's house.

If you like what you see, you can check out more of Laura's work at her personal site.

To see the larger pics in all their glory (or so you can save them as wallpaper), right-click on them below and select "open in new tab".

What the hell did I just watch, you ask? Why, the most adorable squees of delight you've ever heard, I respond!

Look at that twinkle in the engineer's eyes. He's like a proud, excited parent, ready to embrace the possibilities of a new future and...

Oh. Oh, my.

The Calcium (Source Filmmaker) [YouTube via Reddit]