Aug 19, 2015
Team Fortress 2 Update Released
Team Fortress 2 - Valve
An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include:

  • Fixed an issue with the Festive Revolver not drawing correctly
  • Updated the materials for the Australium Minigun
  • PASS Time update
    • Fixed disguised Spies not having a shield drawn for them in the HUD
    • Fixed players being able to carry the jack while taunting (fixes an exploit with The Eureka Effect)
    • Fixed being able to 'inspect' the jack while players are carrying it
    • Fixed capturing the jack not incrementing Scout contract points
    • Updated pass_warehouse
      • Fixed a hole near the RED goal
      • Fixed some props where the jack could get stuck
      • Changed some small health kits to medium
Aug 19, 2015
Team Fortress 2 Update Released
Team Fortress 2
An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include:
  • Fixed an issue with the Festive Revolver not drawing correctly
  • Updated the materials for the Australium Minigun
  • PASS Time update
    • Fixed disguised Spies not having a shield drawn for them in the HUD
    • Fixed players being able to carry the jack while taunting (fixes an exploit with The Eureka Effect)
    • Fixed being able to 'inspect' the jack while players are carrying it
    • Fixed capturing the jack not incrementing Scout contract points
    • Updated pass_warehouse
      • Fixed a hole near the RED goal
      • Fixed some props where the jack could get stuck
      • Changed some small health kits to medium
Aug 19, 2015
Team Fortress 2 gets new mode created by Bad Robot
Team Fortress 2

Team Fortress 2 has a new mode! It's called Pass Time, it's in beta, and you can see what it looks like above.

A little overwhelming, right?

It's an American Football/Football (delete as applicable) style mode, but also there are guns. Your team's job is to grab a ball from the centre of the map, and punt it into the glowing target deep in the enemy's base.

If you're carrying the ball, you can't use a weapon. You do, however, get a brief speed boost—and can see the location of all teammates and enemies highlighted around the map. You can also pass the ball—allowing for the possibility of it being intercepted. 

It's pretty exciting. At least, it was across the brief period I played. I went in to grab a screenshot, immediately scored a goal, declared myself King Of All Team Fortress 2, and left.

Interestingly, the mode was envisioned by Bad Robot and co-developed by Escalation Studios. "PASS Time marks Bad Robot's first foray into rapidly iterative content, and they're really excited to get feedback on their beta so they can work with the TF community to evolve the game," says the TF2 blog's announcement post. "This is a new way of doing things for them, and they're looking forward to working with you to see how it grows over time."

To recap, the production firm co-producing the new Star Wars film has teamed up with Valve to create a new sports-influenced capture-the-flag style mode for Team Fortress 2; a game about hats. Videogames are weird.

If you'd like to play Pass Time: open TF2 and, in the Play Multiplayer menu, select "Play Beta Maps". Alternatively, go to the server browser and search for "pass_warehouse".

Aug 19, 2015
Team Fortress 2 Gets New Ball Sport PASS Time Mode
Team Fortress 2 - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Graham Smith)

Isn’t it nice when companies become friends? Valve and Bad Robot, J. J. Abrams production company responsible for TV shows like Lost and movies like Super 8, have teamed up to produce a new mode for Team Fortress 2 [official site]. It’s called PASS Time and it blends Team Fortress 2 with the “fast-paced sports of soccer, hockey and basketball.”

… [visit site to read more]

Aug 18, 2015
Team Fortress 2 Update Released
Team Fortress 2 - Valve
An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include:

  • Fixed a PASS Time sound bug related to carrying the Jack
Aug 18, 2015
Team Fortress 2 Update Released
Team Fortress 2
An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include:
  • Fixed a PASS Time sound bug related to carrying the Jack
Aug 18, 2015
Team Fortress 2 Update Released
Team Fortress 2 - Valve
An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include:

  • Updated LODs for the revolver
  • PASS Time update
    • Fixed a client crash related to the HUD
    • Fixed the Short Circuit being used to remove the Jack from the game
    • Fixed players being able to pick-up the Jack while they have weapons deployed that cannot be holstered
    • Updated pass_warehouse
      • Fixed players getting into enemy spawn rooms
      • Fixed the Jack being thrown into spawn rooms
      • Fixed being able to build in the goals
Aug 18, 2015
Team Fortress 2 Update Released
Team Fortress 2
An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include:
  • Updated LODs for the revolver
  • PASS Time update
    • Fixed a client crash related to the HUD
    • Fixed the Short Circuit being used to remove the Jack from the game
    • Fixed players being able to pick-up the Jack while they have weapons deployed that cannot be holstered
    • Updated pass_warehouse
      • Fixed players getting into enemy spawn rooms
      • Fixed the Jack being thrown into spawn rooms
      • Fixed being able to build in the goals
Aug 18, 2015
Team Fortress 2 Update Released
Team Fortress 2 - Valve
An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include:

  • Added new game mode 'PASS Time' to the TF2 Beta
  • Fixed a crash caused by a client sending malformed network data to the server (thanks to Nathaniel Theis for this report and test case)
  • Added a new hat 'The Finder's Fee'
    • Will be awarded going forward on a case-by-case basis to those who report major economy-breaking bugs or remote-code-execution bugs, and provide detailed information and steps to reproduce
    • Well deserved congratulations to the first recipient, Nathaniel Theis
  • Fixed visual bugs caused by picking up weapons with special attributes
  • Fixed the Mann vs. Machine Medigun shield not being re-created after switching away from the Medigun and back while the charge is draining
  • Fixed some alignment issues in the HUD meters for the Mann vs. Machine rage knockback and Medigun shield
  • Fixed left-hand view models not displaying Stat Clocks correctly
  • Fixed being able to use the tournament_readystate client command when using per-player ready status mode
  • Fixed seeing a HUD mp_timelimit timer for maps that don't end the round when the map timelimit runs out
  • Fixed some missing VO sounds for the Demoman when laughing
  • Fixed being able to use the Restore action on Killstreak Kits
  • Fixed character loadout menus so they display the particle effects for all equipped Unusual items
  • The Huo-Long Heater can now accept Posthumous Kills strange parts
  • Updated the Australium Grenade Launcher to fix the wood material being shiny
  • Updated the backpack images for the Gun Mettle Campaign Coin
  • Updated LODs for several weapons and the sentry gun
  • Updated Mann Co. Store prices for foreign currencies to current USD equivalents
  • Updated the localization files
  • Updated Koth_Suijin with the latest changes from the authors
    • Added cover around the point preventing cross-point sight line
    • Opened second window in point building
    • Tweaked pickup amounts and positions
    • Widened space between stairs to point and bridge railing to allow easier movement
    • Clipping improvements
    • Improved lighting in dark areas
    • Fixed an issue where engineers could build on outlying islands
    • Fixed an issue where engineers could trap teammates by building teleporters in spaces with restricted movement
    • Fixed an issue where the spawn room doors could be held open by an opposing team member
    • Optimization improvements
  • Maps Workshop Beta
    • Fixed a common crash when loading some compressed maps
    • Fixed various issues running workshop maps on listen servers
      • Listen servers no longer unnecessarily fetch a second copy of the map
      • Listen servers no longer cause the client to crash upon the second load of the same workshop map
    • Added -ugcpath parameter for dedicated servers to control location of downloaded workshop content
      • Defaults to steamapps/workshop
      • Multiple servers sharing the same UGC directory is currently not supported, and will not go well
    • Added server command tf_workshop_map_status to view currently tracked maps and their status
    • Enhanced handling of updated maps to ensure the newest available version of the map is always used on level change
    • Improved handling of workshop maps in a server's map cycle
      • Workshop maps in the map cycle will be automatically fetched and updated in the background
      • Workshop maps in the map cycle will have their names updated to the canonical name once known
    • Map votes now work with workshop maps
      • A known issue is that the full workshop map name is currently shown instead of the friendly name
    • Community request: Updated the FindMap and CanProvideLevel API for server-side mods. These functions now always expose the full workshop names for maps when known, even if not the map is not yet installed
Aug 18, 2015
Team Fortress 2 Update Released
Team Fortress 2
An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include:
  • Added new game mode 'PASS Time' to the TF2 Beta
    • Check out the blog post for more information
  • Fixed a crash caused by a client sending malformed network data to the server (thanks to Nathaniel Theis for this report and test case)
  • Added a new hat 'The Finder's Fee'
    • Will be awarded going forward on a case-by-case basis to those who report major economy-breaking bugs or remote-code-execution bugs, and provide detailed information and steps to reproduce
    • Well deserved congratulations to the first recipient, Nathaniel Theis
  • Fixed visual bugs caused by picking up weapons with special attributes
  • Fixed the Mann vs. Machine Medigun shield not being re-created after switching away from the Medigun and back while the charge is draining
  • Fixed some alignment issues in the HUD meters for the Mann vs. Machine rage knockback and Medigun shield
  • Fixed left-hand view models not displaying Stat Clocks correctly
  • Fixed being able to use the tournament_readystate client command when using per-player ready status mode
  • Fixed seeing a HUD mp_timelimit timer for maps that don't end the round when the map timelimit runs out
  • Fixed some missing VO sounds for the Demoman when laughing
  • Fixed being able to use the Restore action on Killstreak Kits
  • Fixed character loadout menus so they display the particle effects for all equipped Unusual items
  • The Huo-Long Heater can now accept Posthumous Kills strange parts
  • Updated the Australium Grenade Launcher to fix the wood material being shiny
  • Updated the backpack images for the Gun Mettle Campaign Coin
  • Updated LODs for several weapons and the sentry gun
  • Updated Mann Co. Store prices for foreign currencies to current USD equivalents
  • Updated the localization files
  • Updated Koth_Suijin with the latest changes from the authors
    • Added cover around the point preventing cross-point sight line
    • Opened second window in point building
    • Tweaked pickup amounts and positions
    • Widened space between stairs to point and bridge railing to allow easier movement
    • Clipping improvements
    • Improved lighting in dark areas
    • Fixed an issue where engineers could build on outlying islands
    • Fixed an issue where engineers could trap teammates by building teleporters in spaces with restricted movement
    • Fixed an issue where the spawn room doors could be held open by an opposing team member
    • Optimization improvements
  • Maps Workshop Beta
    • Fixed a common crash when loading some compressed maps
    • Fixed various issues running workshop maps on listen servers
      • Listen servers no longer unnecessarily fetch a second copy of the map
      • Listen servers no longer cause the client to crash upon the second load of the same workshop map
    • Added -ugcpath parameter for dedicated servers to control location of downloaded workshop content
      • Defaults to steamapps/workshop
      • Multiple servers sharing the same UGC directory is currently not supported, and will not go well
    • Added server command tf_workshop_map_status to view currently tracked maps and their status
    • Enhanced handling of updated maps to ensure the newest available version of the map is always used on level change
    • Improved handling of workshop maps in a server's map cycle
      • Workshop maps in the map cycle will be automatically fetched and updated in the background
      • Workshop maps in the map cycle will have their names updated to the canonical name once known
    • Map votes now work with workshop maps
      • A known issue is that the full workshop map name is currently shown instead of the friendly name
    • Community request: Updated the FindMap and CanProvideLevel API for server-side mods. These functions now always expose the full workshop names for maps when known, even if not the map is not yet installed
...