Hey, folks. The next time you launch TF2, Steam is going to perform a one-time conversion process to upgrade to SteamPipe, a new content delivery system that improves the way content is downloaded, updated and stored. (If you've already upgraded, don't worry, it's done.)
The conversion process will only happen once, and then things are gonna get a lot better. But be patient: The conversion probably will take some time. Even on a machine with a fast hard drive, it could take up to 20-30 minutes, during which time it might look like it's hung. But it's not. Don't interrupt it, just please be patient and let it think.
We're sorry to any of you who are getting subjected to a longer-than-expected conversion time. But ultimately, the benefits will be worth a little inconvenience. You'll get faster uninterrupted downloads, quicker boot times and map loads, and easier distribution, installation and management of mods. Read the FAQ for more info, and thanks again for your patience.
We don't normally post TF2 cosplay on the blog, for two reasons: 1) We'd quickly turn into a TF2 cosplay site; and 2) Our hearts are shriveled little prunes of hate. But this amazing group of Team Fortress 2 cosplayers at Sakura-Con managed to win even us (and our prune-hearts) over. Any TF2 cosplayer group that can check off Jarate, Ol' Snaggletooth, Pyroland, Scout's Mom, Pink as Hell Paint, The Huntsman, The Eyelander, Merasmus, The Bombinomicon and even Lieutenant Bites has obviously been doing their homework. Awesome work, guys. More pictures here.
You may have heard that Reddit bought Team Fortress 2 today. We can officially confirm that this is in fact the case. So if any Reddit staffers are reading this: Hi, boss! We're working pretty hard over here. Well, back to work.
Okay, the Reddit guys've probably stopped reading by now, so we can be square with you: Reddit only thinks it bought us, because that's what we told them when we met them over the weekend to sign all the legal documents. What they don't know is that when a bird flew into a window during the signing and everybody on the TF2 team got scared and some of us started crying, that was a little something we in the business world call a distraction.
The "bird" that "flew" into the window? Not a bird at all. It was a squirrel launched from a t-shirt cannon by one of our guys across the street. The part where we got "scared"? Daniel Day Lewis-level method acting by the TF2 team. The part where some of us started "crying"? That was because the sound of the squirrel hitting the glass was a lot louder than we thought it would be and was legitimately scary. So technically real, but still under the umbrella of our overall deception.
Once the Reddit guys were thoroughly distracted, we took advantage of them awkwardly trying to avoid eye contact with us and switched the legal documents for new documents. Documents that said we actually secretly bought them. Business.
In celebration of our Reddit purchase, we're going to add some new Reddit-themed items to the game. There's also plenty of neat stuff we're working on and would love to tease. But realistically, because today is the International Day of Foolishness, anything we told you guys would just be met with suspicion. And when have we ever trolled our community? Never, that's when. Okay, maybe that one time.