Jan 26, 2012
Team Fortress 2, Day of Defeat: Source and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch Updates Released
Day of Defeat: Source - Valve
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 demo/replay playback crash
  • Changed the way bot counts are displayed in the server browser: the bot column is now next to the player column and always visible. Bot count is no longer subtracted from maxplayers.

Team Fortress 2
  • Added the Aladdin's Private Reserve for the Demo
  • Fixed a bug where the Medic would lose his healing target's speed when deploying his ÜberCharge while using the Quick-Fix
  • Fixed a bug that would cause some Team Spirit painted hats to show as black-painted in the Steam Community
  • Localized the team goal strings for cp_steel and pl_frontier
  • Added missing level_data strings to kill_eater_score_type elements in the GetSchema WebAPI response
  • Updated pl_frontier with author-submitted fixes:
    • small prop adjustments
    • several unsewn/gappy displacements fixed up
    • func_push altered below final capture point
  • Undocumented changes: Updated all localization files
Jan 26, 2012
Team Fortress 2, Day of Defeat: Source and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch Updates Released
Team Fortress 2
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 demo/replay playback crash
  • Changed the way bot counts are displayed in the server browser: the bot column is now next to the player column and always visible. Bot count is no longer subtracted from maxplayers.
Team Fortress 2
  • Added the Aladdin's Private Reserve for the Demo
  • Fixed a bug where the Medic would lose his healing target's speed when deploying his ÜberCharge while using the Quick-Fix
  • Fixed a bug that would cause some Team Spirit painted hats to show as black-painted in the Steam Community
  • Localized the team goal strings for cp_steel and pl_frontier
  • Added missing level_data strings to kill_eater_score_type elements in the GetSchema WebAPI response
  • Updated pl_frontier with author-submitted fixes:
    • small prop adjustments
    • several unsewn/gappy displacements fixed up
    • func_push altered below final capture point
  • Undocumented changes: Updated all localization files
Jan 26, 2012
The Vanilla Challenge
Team Fortress 2
CEVO is host to a new tournament, "The Vanilla Challenge." Teams will compete for cash prizes with first place receiving $1000 and a spot in the main division in their upcoming season nine. Maps have not yet been announced.

Jan 26, 2012
Come Talk About the Epic of GLaDOS, Portal 2, at Kotaku Game Club
Portal

Come Talk About the Epic of GLaDOS, Portal 2, at Kotaku Game ClubWelcome everyone to week 3 of the Kotaku Game Club's look back at Portal 2. In our third meeting we'll be talking about the game's story and characters.


Gameplay aside, the world of Portal 2 plays such a large role in making Portal 2 a rich experience, and I'm sure you all have something to say about the game's memorable story moments.

As with our past two meetings, the discussion today isn't chronological. There will be spoilers from the entire game, including the ending. Since today's discussion focuses on the plot, today's meeting will be especially jam-packed with spoilers.


If you're joining us for the first time, Our goal at Kotaku Game Club is to play games as a community so that we can share our thoughts as we're experiencing the game. We meet each week in the Game Club's comments section to discuss our experiences with our game of the month.


Our meetings generally start at 4pm Eastern every Thursday, and last an hour or so after the post is published. The Game Club is here to get everybody talking with each other, so don't be afraid to speak your mind and to start a dialogue with other posters.


As for our question of the week: Is there such a thing as too much GLaDOS?


In the original Portal GLaDOS accounted for 100% of your character interaction. (No, I don't count the turrets.) She was your guide and your nemesis for a few sentences between each puzzle. In Portal 2, her presence has grown, but her role has not. In fact, it's shrunk—GLaDOS never plays that double-role the same way. Shrunk into her personal story, GLaDOS, once an instrument of narrative utility, is now a superfluous flourish to the player's experience. So here's the larger question: Can a story that's compelling but tangential to your experience be as compelling as one that effects you directly?


Don't miss our last meeting about Portal 2 next Thursday! We'll be looking at the co-op levels and what makes them special. That's Thursday, February 2nd, at 4pm Eastern.


Jan 26, 2012
Quantum Conundrum trailer surfs safes through different dimensions
Portal



Quantum Conundrum is being developed by Portal creator Kim Swift. It's a first person puzzler in which you play a twelve your old boy lost in his mad scientist uncle's underground laboratory. It's full of safes, switches, lava and vast gaps with no bridges. This would be a serious problem but for the fact that you can switch between five dimensions, each of which affects matter differently. By switching between world on the fly, otherwise immovable objects like safes can be tossed, stacked and even surfed to make it past the mad machines and laserbeams that every mad scientist installs in their homes as standard. It's all demonstrated perfectly in the walkthrough video above from Gametrailers, spotted on RPS. It's out early this year, and looks rather good, don't you think?
Jan 25, 2012
Reminder: Check Out Kotaku Game Club Tomorrow!
Portal

Remember that round three of Kotaku Game Club's Portal 2 discussion series starts tomorrow at 4pm Eastern!


Jan 24, 2012
eXtravision Every Monday
Team Fortress 2
We're already a few episodes behind but somehow we doubt you'd be surprised by that tidbit. Every Monday eXtv puts together a segment called eXtravision featuring Team Fortress 2 news, tournaments, replays, and much more.

Jan 24, 2012
TF2Maps Preparing A New Payload Delivery
Team Fortress 2 - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Craig Pearson)

I'm so proud, I'm doing this until the competition is over. Any new Team Fortress 2 Payload maps are relevant to my interests. My interests being defending my themed house from carts of explosives while wearing a very silly hat. I rarely stray from Badwater Basin, but when I do it’s for more Payload fun. So I’m eagerly awaiting the entries of the newly announced TF2Maps.net Dynamic Payload competition, to add a little excitement to the bomb on wheels. (more…)

Jan 23, 2012
TF2Maps.net Level Design Contest
Team Fortress 2
Payload. New levels. TF2Maps.net. Delicious! This new level design competition focuses around designing a map with an all new dynamic payload element. Not sure what that is? Neither are they because that's up to you! Intrigued? Visit their news posting on TF2Maps.net for details. The contest ends April 30 9:00PM UTC. Submissions will be accepted one week before the deadline.

Jan 22, 2012
The World’s Smallest Aperture Logo?
Portal

The World’s Smallest Aperture Logo?Nanotechnology engineering student TheObviousTrap created a 300 nanometer thick Aperture logo in an undergrad class. Bravo!


"Obtaining the image using scanning electron microscopy is probably overkill but that was only equipment I had access to," TheObviousTrap wrote on Reddit.


Portal players will be familiar with Aperture—the in-game scientific corporation. Nanotechnology students will be familiar 300 nm thick creations.


Engineers make small things in class [Reddit Thanks C W!]


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