Valve's recent Mann-conomy update for Team Fortress 2 added a crate-full of user made items and weapons to the game, along with the ability for players to buy those items. We're divided on whether that's a good thing or not, but 25% of the money earned from every sale goes to the modders who created the item. Now we know how much those modellers and artists have made so far, and holy moly, it's a lot.

The five Polycount Pack creators earned between $39,000 and $47,000 in the first two weeks of the items going on sale. Shaylyn Hamm, Shawn Spetch, Steven Skidmore, Spencer Kern and Rob Laro were due to receive payment via Paypal, but for two of them the amount was so high that the payments ran into Paypal's transfer restrictions. Valve solved the problem by flying Kern and Skidmore to their headquarters in Kirkland, Washington to pay them in person.

Kern had this to say about the deal: "It's astounding that so many people want to purchase the items that came out of the community. The response exceeded my wildest expectations. There really is no doubt at this point that there's a huge demand for community-created content in TF2 and, hopefully, more games will start to tap into this demand."

Speaking to Gamasutra about the success of the introduction of the Mann Co. Store, Gabe Newell said "It benefits us because it grows the community, right? These benefit, but we benefit too. Team Fortress 2 is a better product because we have community contributions in it. They're going to go off and listen to what the community says about how they can do that better, and we can draft along, as we both benefit."



Creators of older community items for Team Fortress 2 haven't been forgotten, either, they'll be paid for their contributions at some point in the future. Looking forwards, Valve say that their plan is to get the community involved with other aspects of the game as well, the ultimate aim being to let map makers, animators, custom UI creators and guide makers sell their wares through TF2. Before any of that comes into play, Team Fortress 2 creator Robin Walker told us that we can look forward to more Polycount items, which will be released with the next update, along with a brand new game mode.

For an insight into the thinking behind the introduction of the Mann-conomy, check out our other interview with Robin Walker. If you fancy submitting your own items to Valve, check out the official TF2 contributor site.

A Senior Gameplay Designer at DICE has addressed concerns from players that Battlefield 3 would be dumbed down in the wake of the success of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 on the Playstation 3 and the XBox 360, saying that "Battlefield 3 needs an extra bit of special attention on the PC."

Writing as Demize99, Alan Kertz from DICE posted on the EA forums to say that "consoles generally are less tolerant of overly complex interfaces. They have less buttons, you need more elegant interfaces."

He adds, "PC players have their own set of requirements. They tend to play only on PC, and they know their PCs have capabilities beyond that of a console. The gap is narrowing, but PCs still have a clear advantage in memory. PC players also demand a PC interface, a server browser, and anything that feels like it might have been "ported" from a console is going to get flamed hard. They are more forgiving of complex systems and will tear any design down into its parts to really figure out how it works. It's a damn sight harder to please a PC player, they have higher expectations."

Kertz confirmed on Twitter that he is currently working on Battlefield 3, and had this to say about the upcoming sequel: "It's too early to talk BF3 specifics. But it's never too early for me to acknowledge that PC players have a fear that BF3 will be "consolized." PC gaming is alive and well, BFBC2 has proven that and no one at DICE or EA can argue with the numbers. Battlefield 3 needs an extra bit of special attention on the PC. I intend to give it that attention, tradition and our community demand it."

Lead Game Designer Eric Flannum, while discussing the upcoming dungeon system in a recent interview with PC Gamer, revealed that Guild Wars 2 may be supported, in part, by microtransaction sales.

Updated with clarification from ArenaNet





In discussing Guild Wars 2's business model--which continues the stand-alone, subscriptionless model of the original that required players to purchase the game, but not pay a monthly fee afterward--Flannum told us that he believes subscription fees can cause a developer to get lazy, because they're making money whether they actually support the game or not. He continued, "The thing I would say is that we actually have the continued support development model that encourages us to make cooler things than anyone else... If we have to sell you additional content like microtransaction content or anything like that, we have to give you something that you’re going to want to buy. We have to earn your money."

"We don’t get to say, 'Oh well, you know, we don’t have to release this content this month, since they're all going to give us their subscription fee anyways. Let's just wait until next month and release this cool thing.' We’re actually kind of bound because if we need income, if we need this game to make some money, we better provide things that people want to buy.

"There are not many subscription-fee games that have equaled so I think our content model ensures that you’re getting your money’s worth, because as the consumer you have the option to say 'You know, I’m not going to buy that. That’s not good enough.' Whereas the monthly fee takes it out of your hand. You better be getting something good every month for that--but that’s just not the case with a lot of games."

We asked Flannum point blank if they would be releasing more dungeons post-launch that would be purchased as microtransaction purchases. Flannum confirmed to us that they're definitely open to the idea--and more. "Yeah, we’re going to look at what the demand is. Look at what players want more of and we’re going have to release that stuff, because that’s the stuff that players are going to be willing to pay for, and that’s the stuff that’s going to make our company profitable."

ArenaNet has already revealed that they'll be selling Transmutation Stones, one-time consumable items used to customize your gear, in their cash shop. And although they won't confirm if traditional cash shop items like XP boosts and fast travel consumables will also be sold, Flannum's responses certainly makes it sound like there will be--if there's demand for it from the playerbase.

But for now, ArenaNet has only hinted that they might sell dungeon content as DLC and confirmed that they will sell the transmutation stones. What do you think? Would you mind paying for an extra dungeon here and there if it means more fresh content coming out for GW2 on a regular basis, or would you rather they stick with the one-time-only payment and slow down development between expansions?

UPDATE:

Eric Flannum sent us a note to clarify a couple of things about their plans for Guild Wars 2 post-release content:

"We haven’t decided on what exactly we are or aren’t going to offer for money post-release. We’re open to whatever our players seem most interested in. If, after release, you guys would like more story content, more dungeons, more events, more maps or whatever, it’s something that we have to consider because ultimately making you happy is what makes us successful.  Whether we release that in DLC (like the bonus mission packs in GW1) or whether we do it through expansions (Like Eye of the North) is yet to be determined. As to whether or not there are going to be items like XP boosts available in the in game store, I can only reiterate what we’ve said before (and will continue to say,) that we’ll release details on it when they are available, and that our core philosophy of not requiring you to spend additional money to play the game and not making the game difficult or painful to play in order to encourage you to buy things from the store still stands."

Have you read, reread, and read again all of our recent Guild Wars 2 posts and still crave more? Have you ever felt a need to look at lots of fantasy art in rapid succession? Do you need illustrations for your fanfic? If some or all of these scenarios describe your situation, look no further than PC Gamer's own Guild Wars 2 art dump!

Catacombs Concept Art




Ranger Concept Art



Furnace Concept Art



Furnace Concept Art Continued



Garrison Concept Art



Necromancer Concept Art



Shadow Behemoth Concept Art



Shatterer Concept Art



Shatterer Screenshots



Warrior Concept Art



Elementalist Concept Art



Dungeon Screenshots



And that's all of it. Everything we've got, you've seen, or at least you should have. If by some chance you've stumbled upon this art dump, completely unaware we've been doing this all week and unable to stop salivating, well, keep on salivating. A day or two back in the post history we've got a hands-on preview, an exclusive dungeon reveal, and a whole heap of stuff that wouldn't fit into the other two posts. Now that our week-long Guild Wars 2 feature is done, what are you looking forward to most about the game?

A team of fans are making their own version of Sonic the Hedgehog called the Sonic Fan Remix. They've just released a demo, and it's incredible.

The trial version consists of three levels, each of which are packed full of classic Sonic sights. It's a stunningly beautiful recreation of the Sonic universe, made using the free Unity game development tools.



It's fast, too. The themed levels have been designed to give you those out of control pinball moments when Sonic plunges head first into a springboard at full speed, and is catapulted across the level, pinging from spring to spring, collecting rings and ploughing through enemies. You'll be conquering loop-the-loops, dodging killer whales and smashing through checkpoints at barely controllable speeds. In many ways, it's an experience closer to the original Sonic games than many of the recent official sequels, a retro rollercoaster steeped in modern graphical polish.

Also, it's a rare chance to play Sonic on your PC. You can download the trial and play it for yourself at Sonic Fan Remix.

Yes! Railworks 2 Train Simulator is now available on Steam, and if you buy it before October 25th, it's half price.

The game lets you drive an accurate selection of trains "from the age of steam to the present day", across eight different routes. All of these are painstakingly recreated with "accurate signalling and signage," and there's also a career mode with 50 scenarios to play through that will have you comparing performance and competing with other drivers across the net. But the best part is the new editing tools.

Those editing tools let you create your own routes, laying down tracks, erecting stations and placing villages and forests. You can then save your creations and send them to others so that you can prove your indisputable dominance in the dog-eat-dog "creating virtual train sets" arena.

For more information, head over to the Rail Simulator site, or check out the Steam page, where the game is available to buy now for £15.

Earlier this week we mentioned there was a Football Manager 2011 demo on the way, and it's now out and available to download from Steam. One of the new features models player negotiations more realistically, but even in a virtual world it seems unlikely that Wayne Rooney and Alex Ferguson will get back together. Give it a try and grab the demo here.

EA have released a brand new trailer for Battlefield Bad Company 2: Vietnam, a multiplayer expansion for the brilliant Battlefield: Bad Company 2. It's got helicopters laying waste to massive stretches of land to the sound of 60's guitar music, which is exactly what films have taught me Vietnam was like.

The expansion will only be available for digital download, and is due out this winter for $15. The pack will include 15 new weapons and four new multiplayer maps set in the midst of the Vietnam War. The new items will all slot into Battlefield: Bad Company 2's experience system so you'll be able to unlock them using points for kills and point captures. The pack will also include 49 music tracks from the 60's, which players will be able to listen to on in-game radio channels, as we can only assume that real soldiers did.

You can get a taste of the expansion's mix of cool grooves and hot, hot explosions in the trailer below.

Since Fallout: New Vegas was released in the US on Tuesday, players have been discovering a raft of weird and wonderful bugs. The good news is that the game was patched this morning, and more updates are planned for the near future. Read on for the patch details, and a round up of some of the most freakish bugs.

Today's update, which will apply automatically when you launch the game, is said to fix "quest and scripting issues." There's no mention of fixing "moonwalking dog issues", or "dog eyeball placement issues" just yet, but speaking to Kotaku, Bethesda's marketing man, Peter Hines has said "we are currently working on releasing patches/updates as quickly as possible for Fallout: New Vegas,", so further updates should be coming soon.

For now, people are still finding nightmarish examples of reality gone-wrong. The most remarkable bug was uncovered by Shodan210, and quickly thrown up on Reddit. It's somehow funny and incredibly creepy at the same time. David Lynch would struggle to match the weirdness of this slow talking man's gently rotating noggin. Check it out.

A shiny new trailer has been released for the indie first person bowl-em-up, The Ball. Read on for a round up of what the game has to offer, as well as the trailer, which is literally full of ball-to-the-wall action.

The Ball started out as a mod for Unreal Tournament 3, and was the runner up in Epic's Make Something Unreal mod competition. The mod's creators formed Teotl Studios and started developing a followup using the freely released Unreal Development Toolkit. Now the standalone retail release is just around the corner, and the team have released a brilliant new trailer showing off the weird aztec vibe, and the dinosaurs, and the giant monkeys, and also the ball itself.

But this is no ordinary ball! Oh, wait, it is, actually, but it just happens respond unusually to your hand held ball manipulation device known only as 'The Ancient Weapon'. You can use the weapon to control the ball and crush your enemies. If the full game is anything like the original mod then mix of puzzles and horribly violent squashing should prove thoroughly abs-orb-ing.

The game's out on October 26th and is available to preorder on Steam right here. The game's being published by former Make Something Unreal competition winners, Tripwire Interactive which is why if you preorder on Steam, you also unlock The Ball's protagonist as a playable character in Tripwire's excellent shooter, Killing Floor.

Finally, if you fancy checking out The Ball's original incarnation as an Unreal Tournament 3 mod, then that's still available for download over at ModDB.