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
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)
  • 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

Your Official Valve Action Figures (and Replica Portal Guns) are Coming In 2012Toy 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
grord_soldier_3
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).
Jul 20, 2011
Fit For a King
Team Fortress 2 - SZ
<a href="http://www.teamfortress.com/grordborts/"><img src="http://www.teamfortress.com/images/posts/drg_blog.jpg" width="420" height="252" border="0"></a>

When <a href="http://www.wetanz.com/weta-workshop-services/">WETA Workshop</a> first approached us with the idea of partnering some of their IP with ours, we couldn't believe our luck. These were the guys who made In The Name of the King, after all, and since that movie stars Burt Reynolds, there was a pretty good chance they'd introduce us to him. Eager to raise that chance to 100%, we sent them over a contract demanding they produce Burt Reynolds at any partnership meetings.

Their lawyers told us they'd actually made some different movies about kings: Return of the King and King Kong, neither of which feature Burt Reynolds in even a minor role. We got less excited, then briefly more excited again when we remembered that King Kong stars Tony Danza, then into a tailspin of depression when we realized we were thinking of Going Ape.

Luckily Greg Broadmore, WETA Workshop's mastermind behind <a href="http://www.drgrordborts.com/">Dr. Grordbort's Infallible Aether Oscillators</a>, sent us over a bunch of concept art for cool-looking space guns, which cheered us up immediately. We asked if he could redraw the art so Burt Reynolds and Tony Danza were having a gunfight in space over who would be our best friend. He said sure. Then he never did.

But just because Greg Broadmore is a liar, that doesn't mean he didn't invent some nifty-looking guns. Find out more about them <a href="http://www.teamfortress.com/grordborts/">here</a>, and read a comic we wrote about the items <a href="http://www.teamfortress.com/grordborts/comic">here</a>. Or you can skip all that and go watch Smokey and the Bandit II here.
Jul 20, 2011
Fit For a King
Team Fortress 2 - SZ


When WETA Workshop first approached us with the idea of partnering some of their IP with ours, we couldn't believe our luck. These were the guys who made In The Name of the King, after all, and since that movie stars Burt Reynolds, there was a pretty good chance they'd introduce us to him. Eager to raise that chance to 100%, we sent them over a contract demanding they produce Burt Reynolds at any partnership meetings.

Their lawyers told us they'd actually made some different movies about kings: Return of the King and King Kong, neither of which feature Burt Reynolds in even a minor role. We got less excited, then briefly more excited again when we remembered that King Kong stars Tony Danza, then into a tailspin of depression when we realized we were thinking of Going Ape.

Luckily Greg Broadmore, WETA Workshop's mastermind behind Dr. Grordbort's Infallible Aether Oscillators, sent us over a bunch of concept art for cool-looking space guns, which cheered us up immediately. We asked if he could redraw the art so Burt Reynolds and Tony Danza were having a gunfight in space over who would be our best friend. He said sure. Then he never did.

But just because Greg Broadmore is a liar, that doesn't mean he didn't invent some nifty-looking guns. Find out more about them here, and read a comic we wrote about the items here. Or you can skip all that and go watch Smokey and the Bandit II here.
Jul 20, 2011
Team Fortress 2 Update Released
Team Fortress 2 - Valve
Updates to Team Fortress 2 have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include:

Team Fortress 2
  • Added the items for Dr. Grordbort's Victory Pack
  • Fixed hatless hats not working correctly
  • Fixed a display issue with team color paints
  • Updated the localization files
Jul 20, 2011
TF2's Rockets Explained: Pith Helmets, Ray Guns & Mutton Chops Ahoy
Team Fortress 2

TF2's Rockets Explained: Pith Helmets, Ray Guns & Mutton Chops AhoyWETA, the special effects and design house behind movies like Lord of the Rings and District 9, has teamed up with Valve for a little cross-promotion, with some of its original designs to be featured in Team Fortress 2.


For a while now WETA has peddled its own intellectual property (created by WETA's Greg Broadmore), that of Dr. Grordbort, seller of old-timey ray guns for combat against old-timey aliens.


That universe, previously restricted to comics and high-priced collectibles, is now part of Team Fortress 2, a variety of items now available including a pair of guns, a pith helmet and a beard/pipe combo.


That explains the rockets! oh, and there's also a new comic, available at the link below.


Link ChevronDr. Grordbort + TF2 [Team Fortress 2]


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