Source Engine Changes (TF2, DoD:S, HL2:DM)

• Added sv_namechange_cooldown_seconds, to throttle clients from changing their name too rapidly. (Defaults to 20 seconds)
• Added sv_netspike_on_reliable_snapshot_overflow to selectively enable the automatic dumping of netspike file if a client drops due to "reliable snapshot overflow" (defaults to 0, which disables the debugging)
• Added check to prevent player names from containing color codes
• setinfo console command will now reject attempts to set / change convars with any unusual characters

Team Fortress 2

• Fix a bug that caused gameservers to not properly receive client inventory updates. (Frequent cause of the "The server you are playing on has lost connection to the item server" error message.)
• Fixed not being able to equip all-class items properly
• Fixed the DX8 water effect
• Fixed the Beggar's Bazooka misfiring with 100% crits after firing a crit rocket
• Fixed the Strange Sandman not accepting the Posthumous Kills strange part

eXtelevision has been putting together a fundraiser to help send two North American teams to the European Team Fortress 2 tournament at Multiplay i46! VanillaTV has been covering the events and will be hosting a night of exhibition matches over the next two weekends between the top two winning teams in North America.

Classic Mixup took first place in the eXtv-hosted i46 qualifier and the ESEA LAN champions, Leviathan Gaming, were runners up. These two teams are hoping to both be destined to i46, but need additional funds to make the trip happen. Visit eXtv and Vanilla TF2 for more details.

Source Engine Changes (TF2, DoD:S, HL2:DM)

• Fixed a client crash on exit (after connecting to a server using sv_pure)

To celebrate the Steam Summer Sale, we’re having our own Mann Co. Store Sale on some of this year’s Workshop items, along with other goodies such as name tags, description tags, and various paints, weapons and hats. We’ve also added new summer bundles, featuring new items from the Pyromania update in various packaging flavors. The sale runs today through July 22.

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 Pyromania cosmetic items to the Mann Co. store
• All ash-related items have been faded away to dust
• Fixed Strange Escape Plans not counting kills
• Fixed missing strings for the ESL medals

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 the ESL Season VI and Season VII medals
• Fixed a client/server crash when re-connecting to the item server
• Fixed The Business Casual tie not being blue for the Blue team
• Fixed body groups not hiding correctly on ragdolls

Thanks for your patience, everybody! And a really big thanks to our first round of testers, who were instrumental in helping us make the SFM a better user experience.

They were SO helpful, in fact, that we're happy to announce that SFM Beta is now open to everyone, for free, as of right now. We've also provided a new SFM-specific page in the Steam Community where you can view, rate and discuss all the latest user-created videos.

Plus, just so we don't all overdose on "Meet The Heavy" shorts, we've decided to release a new session, to give all you folks something new to riff on. So get out your guitar (and some audio recording equipment) and prepare to "Meet The Engineer".

You can download the Source Filmmaker here on Steam.

Season 5 of the Highlander league, The Round Robin is underway. Their goal is to create a fun atmosphere that caters to those who want some more structured games but without the pressure of the more serious competitive scene. Visit their site for more details and to sign up to participate in their league.

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 options for Pyrovision to the Advanced Options dialog
  • Added enable/disable for the HUD border
  • Added the ability to make the HUD border static
  • Added the ability to turn off the skybox depth of field
• Fixed The Sandvich and The Buffalo Steak Sandvich using the wrong models when thrown
• Fixed not seeing the blue team skin for the Robot Chicken Hat
• Fixed not seeing team colors on the sleeves for The Equalizer and The Escape Plan
• Fixed The Escape Plan allowing medic calls
• Fixed The Beggar's Bazooka exploding on random targets in the world when overloading
• Fixed The Hitman's Heatmaker bodyshot damage penalty affecting the Sniper's other weapons
• Fixed The Amputator's radius heal effect applying to players who have The Escape Plan deployed
• Fixed the Rainblower taunt attacking players through walls
• Optimized the Rainblower taunt particles
• Updated Sd_Doomsday
  • Fixed rocket lid staying open sometimes after a player drops the Australium on the lift
  • Fixed case where the lift could continue traveling up when a player with the Australium died at the same time he touched the lift
• Updated the localization files
• Updated the gamehaptics file:
  • Added recoil/reload/draw/crit forces for the Baby Face's Blaster
  • Added new recoil forces for The Beggar's Bazooka, The Cleaner's Carbine, The Hitman's Heatmaker, The Pretty Boy's Pocket Pistol and The Scorch Shot
  • Added more detail to the reloads for the Scattergun, the Baby Face's Blaster, the SMG, and The Cleaner's Carbine

Be sure to check out the live stream for the ESEA Season 11 LAN Playoffs for TF2 starting today. The matches begin today and will be running until Sunday.