Jul 2, 2012

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 (TF2, DoD:S, HL2:DM, CS:S)

Fixed a problem that allowed spoofed IP addresses to make connections to the game server

Team Fortress 2

Teddy Roosebelt can now get assists in Pyrovision
Fixed Pyrovision sometimes activating in killcams for more than just weapons and cosmetics
Fixed exploit where the Scorch Shot could fire its short range kill pellet at the very beginning of the taunt
Fixed blood getting sprayed on the world in some cases in Low Violence and Pyrovision
Fixed decapitations creating head gibs in Low Violence and Pyrovision
Fixed Hitman’s Heatmaker headshot not properly getting counted on the scoreboard
Fixed tracers being fired for other weapons (SMGs) while in focus
Fixed Sydney Sleeper’s bonus not properly protecting against Decapitating Headshots
Added team color to rainbow-showered players in Pyrovision
Updated localization files

Counter-Strike: Source

Added ConVars sv_rcon_maxpacketsize and sv_rcon_maxpacketbans to allow server admins to control the maximum RCON packet size and whether or not users get banned for exceeding that limit. The defaults reflect the existing behavior.
Fixed not being able to import custom spray images on Macs
Fixed Macs cancelling http map downloads that take longer than 30 seconds
Updated the HTML renderer for displaying server MOTD

Jun 28, 2012

Rumoured Half Life episode 3 concept art leaked

Half-Life

When Half Life: Episode 3 concept art surfaced on the facebook page of fansite ValveTime yesterday we were sceptical, but it's increasingly appearing that they really could be from the long awaited sequel.

Most of the artwork depicts a snowy wilderness with characters clad in winter clothing. This tallies with location the Borealis, the Aperture science ship that was revealed to be stranded in the Arctic in Episode Two. More intriguingly several of the stranger pieces of artwork contain the word 'Xen' in the file names, the Alien world visited in the original Half Life's final act.

OXM have been on top of the story and note that moderators on the Steam forums are claiming the pictures are genuine. Meanwhile fansite Lambda Generation traced the images back to a (since deleted) Picasa gallery belonging to Valve artist Andrea Wicklund.

Now here's the bad news. Although they were only recently discovered these images were all uploaded to Picasa in March 2008, only a few months after the release of Episode Two. This means that even if they are genuine, they aren't necessarily indicative of the direction Valve are taking now, four years later.

You can see the full gallery of images over at Valve Time.

Jun 27, 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)

Added ConVars sv_rcon_maxpacketsize and sv_rcon_maxpacketbans to allow server admins to control the maximum RCON packet size and whether or not users get banned for exceeding that limit. The defaults reflect the existing behavior.
Fixed not being able to import custom spray images on Macs
Fixed Macs cancelling http map downloads that take longer than 30 seconds

Team Fortress 2

Added Pyrovision!
Added new game mode Special Delivery and map Doomsday!
Friendly players glow when carrying the flag
Fixed rare cases where flag could fall out of the world
Fixed cases where the Payload HUD looked like the cart is still on a hill when it isn't
Fixed cases where some clients didn't receive broadcasts about long continuous particle effects being started or stopped
Updated the HTML renderer for displaying server MOTD
Votes created by a dedicated server no longer trigger a failed vote cooldown
Fixed map triggered annotation events not working on dedicated servers
Fixed the game crashing if tempents are created that use invalid materials
Using a Name Tag while in game notifies everyone of the name change
Fixed Strange Part: Projectiles Reflected not tracking grenade and sentry rocket deflections
Added new items
- City on Fire item sets
- Pyroland weapons and cosmetics
- Community-contributed cosmetic items for all classes
- Mysterious treasures have been incinerated, but are now craftable
- Added crafting recipe for Pile of Ash
- Scorched Keys are now available in the store for a limited time
- New promo item
Weapon balancing changes
- Gloves of Running Urgently
  - Removed self-damage over time penalty
  - Heavy takes mini-crits while active and for 3 seconds after switching away
  - Attack damage penalty reduced from -50% to -25%
- Tomislav
  - Spin-up speed bonus reduced from +40% to +10%
- Quick-Fix
  - Medic mirrors blast jump of their heal target
- Crusader's Crossbow
  - Reload speed time reduced by +40%
- Cozy Camper
  - Regenerates 1 heath per second
  - Reduced movement penalty from -90% to -80%
- Sticky Jumper and Rocket Jumper
  - Added 'flying' sound to blast jumps
- The Concheror
  - Changed rage building source from "damage done and damage received" to only "damage done"
  - Increased the rate at which Rage builds for this item by +25%
- The Equalizer
  - Removed player move speed modification and added it to a new item named The Escape Plan
  - All owners of the Equalizer will be automatically granted The Escape Plan
- Crit-a-Cola
  - Added +25% increased movement speed while active
  - Increased duration from 6 to 8 seconds
- Atomic Bonk
  - Increased duration from 6 to 8 seconds
- All Flamethrowers
  - Increased base damage by +10%.
- Backburner
  - Removed +10% damage bonus attribute
  - Note: Because of base damage increase, damage remains unchanged
- Degreaser
  - Added -10% damage penalty attribute
  - Note: Because of base damage increase, damage remains unchanged
- Phlogistinator
  - Damage defense while taunting reduced from -90% to -75%
Item bug fixes
- Fixed sentry sometimes spawning in shielded mode while the Wrangler was equipped, but not deployed
- Improved visual and audio cues for when the Manmelter is ready to fire
- Fixed Manmelter being able to earn crits via friendly Pyro self-damage
- Fixed Scotch Bonnet's blue team skin not showing
- Fixed Unarmed Combat's taunt not working
- Unarmed Combat's color now matches the team using it
- Fixed the Apparition's Aspect showing a burning texture in DX8

Jun 27, 2012

This Is Either Leaked Half Life 2: Episode 3 Concept Art, or Just Cool Half-Life Art

Half-Life

The website ValveTime has posted a gallery of concept art that their source claims are leaked pieces of concept art for Valve's much-anticipated (and super long-in-development) Half Life 2: Episode 3. (I should add that the art is from an anonymous visitor from an unnamed source. So, grains of salt in hand.)

The art is described as being from "circa 2008," meaning that if they're real, they are truly just concept drawings. However, a number of things about them—the fact that the helicopter from the end of Episode 2 turns up crashed, the arctic setting, which holds with past rumors of the game's setting, and the fact that a Combine advisor is shown, all indicate that these could well be legit.

And hey, even if they're fake, some of these are still quite lovely. To see the images at full resolution (along with a bunch more of 'em), head over to ValveTime's gallery.

This Is Either Leaked Half Life 2: Episode 3 Concept Art, or Just Cool Half-Life Art

It ain't news about Half Life 2: Episode 3 (much less Half Life 3), but it's something.

http://www.valvetime.net/threads/exclusive-half-life-2-episode-3-concept-art.206815/ [ValveTime via NeoGAF]

Jun 15, 2012

Valve's Hat-Based Economy Now Has Its Own Hat-Based Economist

Half-Life

Valve's Hat-Based Economy Now Has Its Own Hat-Based Economist The creators of Team Fortress 2 have hired their very own economist to help out with their various crazy hat-based projects.

Writing on his new blog over at Valve's website, newly-minted consultant Yanis Varoufakis discusses how he met with Valve chief Gabe Newell and put a deal together.

"Within hours, an agreement was reached: I would become, in some capacity (that was to be hammered out later), Valve's economist-in-residence," he writes.

"My intention at Valve, beyond performing a great deal of data mining, experimentation, and calibration of services provided to customers on the basis of such empirical findings, is to to go one step beyond; to forge narratives and empirical knowledge that (a) transcend the border separating the ‘real' from the digital economies, and (b) bring together lessons from the political economy of our gamers' economies and from studying Valve's very special (and fascinating) internal management structure."

And hats. Never forget hats.

IT ALL BEGAN WITH A STRANGE EMAIL [Valve]

Jun 12, 2012

Black Mesa: Source screenshots bring back memories, BM:S lives!

Half-Life

It's alive! A bunch of new screenshots have gone online for Black Mesa: Source. In case you'd missed it, or forgotten it in these years of silence, BM:S is a fan project that aims to recreate the entirety of Half-Life 1 in the Half-Life 2 Source engine. The devs promised to releaser more details if their Facebook page hit 20,000 likes. It did, and they have. So without further ado, here are eight new screenshots for Black Mesa: Source.

It's been quiet for so long, I never thought I'd get to write that. It's worth keeping an eye on the Black Mesa site for more updates soon. "This is just the beginning. We have more in store for you in the near future! Hold on to your lab coats!" say the team on Facebook.