Jul 26, 2011

Team Fortress 2

The ESL Nations Cup Grand Final will be played this week, with live shoutcasting in four languages. The UK team managed to beat out Spain to win the losers bracket, and are back for a rematch with Germany. Head over here for the details.

Good luck to both teams!

Jul 25, 2011

The Ladies of Team Fortress 2

Team Fortress 2

These aren't the first depictions of Team Fortress 2's (mostly) male protagonists as women. Won't be last, either. But it may well be the most adorable!

Artist botjira's take on the cartoon mercenaries as pin-up girls gets sexy when it has to, but mostly just keeps things cute. Though, going by the spirit of the thing...shouldn't the Pyro be chugging a beer and watching the football?

tf2 ladies [botjira]

The Ladies of Team Fortress 2

Jul 22, 2011

Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike: Source, Day of Defeat: Source and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch Updates Released

Counter-Strike: Source - Valve

Updates to Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike: Source, 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 (CS:S, DoD:S, TF2, HL2:DM)

Fixed a bug in SourceTV that would sometimes corrupt demo data

Team Fortress 2

Cow Mangler changes
- Fixed the charged shot sometimes doing more damage than intended.
- Fixed a bug that caused the projectiles to stay in the world after a team change.
- Slowed reload rate by 5%.

Jul 22, 2011

Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike: Source, Day of Defeat: Source and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch Updates Released

Counter-Strike: Source - Valve

Updated the localization files

Team Fortress 2

Fixed a Linux dedicated server crash caused by the Replay director
- Crash would happen whether the server was capturing Replays or not
Fixed the Map Stamps Collection bundle missing in the store
Fixed dedicated server ENTITY_CHANGE_NONE console spam
Improved the impact sounds for the Cow Mangler 5000’s projectiles
Optimized many particle effects related to the Cow Mangler 5000 and the Righteous Bison
Reduced the ConVar fov_desired to have a lower bound like the Replay editor
Updated the Cow Mangler 5000 to display the drawbacks in its attribute list
Updated the gamehaptics file
- Added recoil/draw/crit/reload forces for the Cow Mangler 5000 and the Righteous Bison
- Added charge shot force for the Cow Mangler 5000
- Refined the Demoman's Stickybomb Launcher/Pipe Bomb Launcher reload forces
- Updated the localization files

Jul 21, 2011

Your Official Valve Action Figures (and Replica Portal Guns) are Coming In 2012

Half-Life 2

Toy company NECA revealed at Comic-Con today that its range of merchandise based on the intellectual properties of Valve will start shipping in 2012. Oh, and they also let us know what they'll be!

While there are sadly no pictures yet of the figures or merch, here's what you'll need to be saving your money for next year:

HALF-LIFE 2

Gordon Freeman action figure

PORTAL 2

Atlas & P-Body action figures, replica Portal gun, "resin and plush" weighted companion cube

TEAM FORTRESS 2

Pyro, Heavy & Demo action figures

LEFT 4 DEAD 2

Boomer & Smoker action figures

So, mostly good news then! Bit of a shame about the L4D ones, though. I'd have liked to see the humans, Bill especially, up first.

Jul 21, 2011

The Soldier Invades Comic-Con

Team Fortress 2

The larger-than-life Victory Pack Soldier has been a major hit so far at the Weta booth during day one of Comic-Con 2011. If you're attending the show, stop by and check out the awesome collection Dr. Grordbort's replica space guns and ask for one of the special coupons that'll get you the Righteous Bison for FREE! Coupons are limited so get them while they last!

Jul 21, 2011

Team Fortress 2: Dough, Ray-Guns, Me

Team Fortress 2 - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Richard Cobbett)

Well, that was quick. Only the other day, rockets were spotted in assorted Team Fortress 2 maps, and now Soldiers everywhere are tooled up with sci-fi weapons designed by the special-effects geniuses at WETA Workshop. (You may have seen their work in movies like Lord of the Rings, Avatar, King Kong, and about half the other blockbusters in recent years.) Read this comic to see their discovery, and visit the Mann Co. store to witness the might of Dr. Grordbort’s Infallible Aether Oscillators, and the inevitable hat that goes with them.

But, we hear you ask, what are> Dr. Grordbort’s Infallible Aether Oscillators?

(more…)

Jul 20, 2011

Meet the sci-fi Soldier—Valve partners with WETA to release new TF2 items, available now

Team Fortress 2

Wonder no more what all those mysterious rockets are doing in the back of Team Fortress 2 maps! Valve has partnered with WETA Workshop, the design studio that's created countless movie props and creature effects, to release a new item pack based on Dr. Grordbort's Infallible Aether Oscillators (say that three times fast). Come take a gander at what it looks like when the Soldier decides to enlist with space marines.

PCG's Gut Reactions™:

The Cow Mangler 5000: Pardon me, but I could've sworn you said "doesn't require any ammo." Holy smokes! This "rocket" launcher turns the Soldier from a frontlines fighter into a support specialist—thanks to the four-second building disable, you won't need to rely on a skilled Spy to break up a pesky Sentry nest. And we have to imagine that nailing someone with a fully-charged shot is just about as glorious as it gets.
The Righteous Bison: I'MMA FIRIN' MAH LAZER! Who cares about doing reduced damage to buildings when this little number can hit multiple enemies at once? You'll make many a Pyro have a sad day when they try to deflect a beam of light with an airblast, and again, the whole "no ammo" thing is immensely exciting for those situations when you're behind enemy lines. This phaser is most definitely not set to stun.

What do you think of TF2's first venture into the great unknown? Also, don't miss the awesome companion comic that explains how the Soldier got his new swag (and why he needs to make more friends).