Last night on the way back to my apartment in New York's Lower East Side, I saw a crowd of men standing around two motorcycles. I'm a fledgling rider myself, as well as newly returned to the city. I'd spoken to these guys a few times before and did what I typically do when I see a guy on a hot bike: walk up and ask him how he likes it.

It wasn't until I saw him glare at me from underneath his shield that I realized I was bothering him. I instantly sobered up, only to realize that the group of men standing around the bikes—patrons of the Italian restaurant next door to my place who routinely get together and ride the exact same sort of dual-sport (on/off road) machines I'm trying to learn how to ride—had all gone silent.

"He's trying to leave, dude," the owner of the restaurant (and sort of the leader of the pack) laughed. And it was then I realized that I was standing there acting like a star-struck kid instead of one of the dudes. I'd just poured two months of slowly trying to get to know these guys well enough to be invited to go riding with them down the drain. They might tolerate me, but they weren't going to invite me into their group.

I don't blame them. When you've got a good thing going on there are lots of people wanting to ingratiate themselves into your club. And it's more likely than not that the newbies aren't going to be as friendly or as talented as your established clique—and it's not anybody's responsibility to slow down for the new guys.

I'm seeing a similar thread running through the Team Fortress 2 community the last couple of weeks since Valve turned the online multiplayer shooter into a free-to-play game. Just a couple of days afterwards there were already scripts available that would block new free-to-play players (free-to-players?) from servers. In a community already starting to divide between old-school, game-as-team-sport types and the more casual players interested in collecting and trading weapons and accessories, another fracture of a community is a logical but unfortunate byproduct.

Team Fortress 2 will be fine. Players come and players go—that's just the nature of these games that last for years. But my faux pas last night made me realize how important is to the health of a community for veterans to reach out to the new blood—and how equally important it is for newbies to show the respect and deference deserved by older players who take the time to train them up.

Valve's done a good first step by creating the training modes within TF2; there's even a player-run Steam group that specializes in Team Fortress 2 training for both newbies and established players looking to try new tactics. The creator of SpyParty is even trying to develop a mentoring system for his game. (Know any other training groups for other games? I'd love to hear stories from those in the comments.)

And not to try to put too neat a bow on this idea, but there are dozens of great motorcycle training groups out there and I've already signed up for some field days with a few. I'm the king of trying to talk a big game just to see if I can do it, but as I get older and more confident in my inabilities and imperfections it makes me better appreciate the people who took the time to teach me things over the years.

So I'm just throwing this out there: Maybe the next time you find yourself bored in a game that you've been mastering for years, take a couple of hours to pull aside a flailing newbie and show them the ropes, if for no other reason than to keep the community strong and to raise the level of competition for everyone.

Aram Bartholl has a habit of bringing the most recognizable things from our virtual worlds into reality. He created the first-person shooter glasses. He installed replicas of Need for Speed Underground 2's flashing neon arrows and Counter-Strike's crates in public spaces. Now he wants to construct one of the world's most played multiplayer maps, "de_dust" in the real world—at actual size.

Aram Bartholl's video game projects have typically been of a smaller scale. He's built recreations of weapons from World of Warcraft and sculpted versions of the floating nicknames that display above a player's head in that online game.

He's gone bigger, though, with "Map" his replica of the Google Maps pin icon.

Bartholl's goal for Dust is to build a one-to-one scale replica made of unpainted concrete, measuring 115 x 110 x 15 meters (377" by 360" and nearly 50" tall). The Berlin-based artist has filed a proposal with the Rhizome Commissions Program seeking a grant to aid in the construction of Dust, "making this map accessible as a large scale public sculpture."

Part art piece, part museum, Bartholl argues that his Dust project "will represent a petrified moment of cultural game space heritage."

That grant money would pay for research, creation of small scale models and promotion of the construction of Dust. The actual cost of creating a real world copy of Dust that we could walk around in? Well, that will require much more than the $5500 Bartholl is seeking.

Why rebuild a video game map in the real world? Here is a portion of Bartholl's argument for Dust.

Computer games differ from other mediums such as books, movies or TV, in that spatial cognition is a crucial aspect in computer games. To win a game the player needs to know the 3D game space very very well. Spatial recognition and remembrance is an important part of our human capability and has formed over millions of years by evolution. A place, house or space inscribes itself in our spatial memory. We can talk about the qualities of the same movies we watched or books we have read. But millions of gamers experienced the same worlds in computer games. They all remember very well the spaces that they've spent a great deal of time in.

Computer game architecture and game maps have become a new and yet undiscovered form of cultural heritage. How many people in the world have seen the real Time Square, the Kaaba in Mecca or the Tiananmen Square with their own eyes? Millions of players share the experience of the same computer games and 3D spaces they have ‘lived' in for a significant amount of time in their lives.

A computer game map like ‘de_dust' appears to be more real than many other places in the world such as artificially constructed places like supermarkets, airports or cities like Dubai. Unlike current computer games (with their endless worlds and terrains), game spaces of the 1990's were still limited in size due to graphic card and processor power limitations. A respectively small and simple map like ‘de_dust' offered a high density of team play with repetitive endless variations.

Dust, one of Counter-Strike's most popular maps, was first released in 1999 by level designer Dave Johnston. No word yet on when or where the real-life version of Dust might show up.

Dust [Rhizome - thanks, Riley!]

Now that Team Fortress 2 is free-to-play, what will you spend your disposable income on? Perhaps newly price-slashed items in the game's Mann Co. store! Many of those virtual items are on sale, just like tons of other Steam stuff.

Some of those virtual goods, which one could argue carry price tags too hefty, are a measly 99 cents (or less). The benefit to you may be more than just a snazzy top hat or less expensive Axtinguisher for your Pyro. Spending your hard-earned money on Mann Co. things will turn your "Free" account into a "Premium" account, give you the advantages paying players already enjoy.

That could mean you don't have to play Team Fortress 2 as a second class citizen anymore, letting you into all the cool servers.

To further incentivize you to pay for virtual things, Valve has added a bunch of wearable items for the Scout, including flip-flops, summer hats and fireworks. And to give you a bigger opportunity to spend more on virtual things, it looks like Valve is planning on boosting the number of accessory slots per character. Hats everywhere!

Summer Sale! [Team Fortress]

While the news Team Fortress 2 has gone free-to-play is good for most, for some long-time fans of the game, it's been seen as an assault on decency and common sense. Which they've reacted to by putting up a wall.

A script has been created by disgruntled fans which enables servers to filter out anyone trying to join a game using one of these new "free" copies of the game, restricting access only to those who bought and paid for a copy.

Before we go any further, note that this is far from a widespread issue. In fact, it's so far incredibly rare. It's also a user-made script, and has nothing to do with Valve.

But it does, in a roundabout way, have a purpose. While at first glance it seems to be an attempt by snobs to keep the new riff-raff from playing in their games, it's supposedly being employed by fans concerned that the free copies of the game allow cheats to easily return to servers after being banned, as they no longer have to buy a fresh copy.

That said, I'm sure there's at least one asshole out there actually using it just to be a snob.

[Botchweed, via PC Gamer]

Now that Team Fortress 2 is free, you no longer have to purchase a game to get the Source Software Development Kit—it too, is free. Happy modding! [Rock Paper Shotgun]

Ending a two year hiatus since the last Team Fortress 2 "Meet the Team" video, Valve unleashes "Meet the Medic," an introduction to the man behind the Übercharge. It was worth the wait.

There are sneak peeks at some of the new content promised in this week's "Über Update" amidst this insane medical action drama, an update that goes live today. It wraps with the news that Valve is making Team Fortress 2 a free to play game going forward.

Enjoy four minutes and nine seconds of Medic cinematic bliss. Next, "Meet the Pyro." Can't wait to show it to my grandkids.

Update: And here are the new Medic class updates, the end(?) of the Über Update. The class gets a new Medigun, a new Syringe Gun and one Bust of Hippocrates.

If you've waited this long to finally play a game of Team Fortress 2, now may be the best time. Or at least the cheapest, as Valve is giving Team Fortress 2 away for free—forever—with the team-based first-person shooter now solely supported by microtransactions.

Valve's Robin Walker tells Develop that Team Fortress 2 won't fund its continuing development with advertising or subscription fees, just the things players spend their real-world money on right now (hats, new weapons, crate keys and other virtual goods). Walker says that free drops of in-game loot will continue as it has, now that the game is free to play, as will the sharing of profits with community members who create content for TF2.

One of the bigger benefits to Valve of TF2 going F2P is attracting more people to Steam, the developer's digital distribution and community service. And more players means more people willing to invest in items from the game's Mann Company store, more people willing to put cash in their Steam Wallet and spend elsewhere.

While other games in Valve's catalog have in-game stores, like Portal 2, Walker downplays the notion that other games from the developer will adopt a free to play model.

So, who's finally jumping in? We could use a few more Medics.

Update: The official Team Fortress 2 site lays out some of the changes in store for the transition to free to play. Perhaps the most notable change is the distinction between Free and Premium accounts. A Premium account, according to Valve's FAQ, is for anyone who has ever spent money on Team Fortress 2, whether it was an initial purchase or buying something from the in-game Mann Co. store.

Premium account holders have benefits that Free accounts don't, like larger backpacks, access to all crafting blueprints, the option to wear rare and cosmetic items, and the ability to give items as gifts. More at TeamFortress.com.

Team Fortress 2: Free-to-Play FAQ [Team Fortress]

This is the third day in the preview rollout of features for Team Fortress 2's Uber Update and still no long (long) awaited "Meet the Medic." Instead, check out Soldier's new gear, which includes the "Market Gardener," shovel, and a sweet Patton-esque riding crop.

Still no "Meet the Medic", but continuing the festivities this week, Team Fortress 2's Scout class has gotten an update, adding three weapons to the smart-mouthed guy's arsenal. [TF2]

The "biggest, most ambitious update" for Team Fortress 2 is detailed further today with a not so big, not so ambitious update for the multiplayer game's Sniper and Demoman, both of which will be rattling all-new sabers soon.

Following on yesterday's Heayy and Spy update, the Team Fortress 2 blog did not release "Meet the Medic" today. Instead, new weapons, new booties and what appear to be unconfirmed new hats—we're checking with Valve—are detailed. If you like your Demo to absolutely never fire a grenade, this is an update you'll want to read.

See you tomorrow, when we're just sure Valve is going to upload that "Meet the Medic" video.

Timbuk Tuesday [Team Fortress]