Dec 22, 2014

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:

Happy Smissmas 2014!

All Players who play TF2 during the event will receive a Gift: a Stuffed Stocking! Stockings contain goodies for good little Mercenaries.
Added 29 Limited community-contributed winter items to the Nice crate
Added new Limited Festive weapons to the Naughty crate
Limited time items can only be found during a limited window of time. The Naughty and Nice crate items will no longer be available after February 16th, 2015
Added Naughty and Nice winter keys to the Mann Co. Store.
Naughty and Nice winter crates cannot be opened after February 16th, 2015.
Premium Players will receive a Secret Saxton to give to another player
Item grants from previous events (including the Spirit of Giving and the Winter Holiday noise maker) have been re-enabled for all players, including those who deleted their earlier grants

Weapons

Added The Iron Bomber
- Demoman Grenade Launcher
- Grenades do not bounce or roll
- Damage radius reduced by 20%
- Grenades that self-detonate deal 10% less damage
- Added The Iron Bomber to the Mann Co. Store, craft list, and item drop list
Added The Quickiebomb Launcher
- Demoman Stickybomb Launcher
- Stickybomb arm time reduced by 0.2 seconds
- Stickybombs can destroy enemy stickybombs
- Charge time decreased by 50%
- Stickybombs fizzle after 2 seconds
- -15% damage penalty
- -25% clip size
- Added The Quickiebomb Launcher to the Mann Co. Store, craft list, and item drop list
Added The Panic Attack
- Multiclass Shotgun
- 34% Faster reload time
- Hold fire to load up to 4 shells
- Fire rate increases as health decreases
- Weapon spread increases as health decreases
- Added The Panic Attack to the Mann Co. Store, craft list, and item drop list
Demoman Changes
- Damage variance on grenades and stickybombs reduced from +/-10% damage to +/-2%.
- Grenades and Stickybombs now have the same base blast radius as rockets. Changed from 159Hu to 146Hu.
Grenade Launcher
- Direct hit grenades now deal full damage to target regardless of where it struck the enemy. Previously full damage would only occur when grenades exploded closer to the target's feet.
Stickybomb Launcher
- Stickybombs that detonate in the air now have a radius ramp up, starting at 85% at base arm time (0.8s) going back to 100% over 2 seconds. Stickybombs that touch the world will have full radius.
- Stickybombs now have a more visible trail while traveling through the air
- Stickybombs arm particle is slightly more visible
Loose Cannon
- Double donk explosive damage now deal full radius damage to victims. Previously double donk explosive damage was reduced by radius distance from the explosion.
- Removed a hidden penalty where Cannonballs that touched the world would deal 50% less damage in addition to regular grenade damage reduction on world touch.
Loch-n-Load
- Changes to base grenade damage variance now ensure the Loch-n-Load does not exceed 124 damage on a single hit
- Removed +25% self-damage penalty
- Added -25% radius penalty
- Changed clipsize penality to -25% (3 grenades per clip) from -50% (2 grenades per clip)
- Loch-n-load grenades no longer visually tumble when fired
Bootlegger / Ali Baba's Wee Booties
- Added +25% Demoman Charge meter on charge kill
Tide Turner
- Added Penalty: Taking damage while shield charging reduces remaining charging time
- Kills while charging now only add 75% meter on charge kills instead of 100%
Scottish Resistance
- It is now slightly easier to do sticky jumps with the Scottish Resistance. Increased range check for stickybomb jumping to sticky damage radius of 146 from 100.
Scotsman's Skullcutter
- Movement speed penalty now only applies when weapon is active
Claidheamh Mor
- Added +25% Demoman Charge meter on charge kill

Added new game mode 'Mannpower' to the TF2 Beta

To Play. Click on Play Multiplayer, enable Play Beta Maps checkbox, and then choose Mannpower Mode.
Contains 8 permanent powerups players can find in the map
Players can only hold 1 permanent powerup at a time
Killing a player with a permanent powerup forces the powerup to drop
Contains 1 temporary powerup that can be found in the map
use the 'dropitem' command to drop the currently held permanent powerup
Added new Default Stock Action Item Grappling Hook. Grappling hooks are usable in Mannpower mode and servers that enable it. Once equipped, press and hold the action key to use it. Use to move the player toward the hooked object.
Mannpower Beta plays a modified version of Capture the Flag that requires your team's flag to be at base in order to capture the enemy flag
Touching your flag will instantly return it to base
Currently supported on maps ctf_foundry and ctf_gorge
Instant respawns enabled
Random critical attacks disabled
Players spawn with 6 seconds of invulnerability

General

MvM : Added chance to find Australium weapon rewards to all Advanced and Expert Mann vs. Machine tours. Previously only available on the Two Cities tour.
MvM : Added Killstreak kits for Quickiebomb Launcher, Iron Bomber and Panic Attack in to Two Cities MannUp loot tables
Crafting items that are marked as temporarily untradable will now yield temporarily untradable items instead of permanent
Fixed a client crash related to the material system
Removed the Giftapult from the store and added a crafting recipe for it
Updated the equip_region for The Beastly Bonnet
Updated the localization files
Removed the map restriction on players in karts respawning ghost teammates when they touch them

Dec 22, 2014

Merry Smissmas, Everyone!

Team Fortress 2

Smissmas is almost upon us, and everybody here on the TF2 team's been busy getting gifts ready and standing as a group under the Valve mistletoe. The smooch count's currently at zero, but we're in this for the long haul. That's right, we'll stand here all damn week if there's some make-outs in it for us. Just try and get past us, DOTA2 team. You too, CS:GO.

While we're all standing around waiting for the smooch maelstrom, dear reader, why not take a look under the Smissmas tree?

Let's see, this year we've we've got:

A New Beta Game Mode!
Stocking Stuffers!
New Festive Weapons!
29 New Cosmetic Items!

We've also made a change to MvM loot drops. Specifically, in addition to the usual Botkiller drops, there's now a chance to get Australium weapons (including the incredibly rare Golden Frying Pan) to all advanced and expert MvM tours. The tours affected by this loot drop change are Steel Trap, Mecha Engine and Gear Grinder.

And that's it! Merry Smissmas, everyone! See you next y

Wait. there's something else under the tree! Way in the back, by that power outlet overflowing with plugs! Is it...? Sweet Smissmas, it is! By popular demand...

New Weapons!

All Players who play TF2 during the event will receive a Gift: a Stuffed Stocking! Stockings contain goodies for good little Mercenaries.
Added 29 Limited community-contributed winter items to the Nice crate
Added new Limited Festive weapons to the Naughty crate
Limited time items can only be found during a limited window of time. The Naughty and Nice crate items will no longer be available after February 16th, 2015
Added Naughty and Nice winter keys to the Mann Co. Store.
Naughty and Nice winter crates cannot be opened after February 16th, 2015.
Premium Players will receive a Secret Saxton to give to another player
Item grants from previous events (including the Spirit of Giving and the Winter Holiday noise maker) have been re-enabled for all players, including those who deleted their earlier grants

Added The Iron Bomber

Demoman Grenade Launcher
Grenades do not bounce or roll
Damage radius reduced by 20%
Grenades that self-detonate deal 10% less damage
Added The Iron Bomber to the Store, Craft list and item drop list

Added The Quickiebomb Launcher

Demoman Stickybomb Launcher
Stickybomb arm time reduced by 0.2 seconds
Stickybombs can destroy enemy stickybombs
Charge time decreased by 50%
Stickybombs fizzle after 2 seconds
-15% damage penalty
-25% clip size
Added The Quickiebomb Launcher to the Store, Craft list and item drop list

Added The Panic Attack

Multiclass Shotgun
34% Faster reload time
Hold fire to load up to 4 shells
Fire rate increases as health decreases
Weapon spread increases as health decreases
Added The Panic Attack to the Store, Craft list and item drop list

Demoman Changes

Damage variance on grenades and stickybombs reduced from +/-10% damage to +/-2%.
Grenades and Stickybombs now have the same base blast radius as rockets. Changed from 159Hu to 146Hu.

Grenade Launcher

Direct hit grenades now deal full damage to target regardless of where it struck the enemy. Previously full damage would only occur when grenades exploded closer to the target's feet.

Stickybomb Launcher

Stickybombs that detonate in the air now have a radius ramp up, starting at 85% at base arm time (0.8s) going back to 100% over 2 seconds. Stickybombs that touch the world will have full radius.
Stickybombs now have a more visible trail while traveling through the air
Stickybombs arm particle is slightly more visible

Loose Cannon

Double donk explosive damage now deal full radius damage to victims. Previously double donk explosive damage was reduced by radius distance from the explosion.
Removed a hidden penalty where Cannonballs that touched the world would deal 50% less damage in addition to regular grenade damage reduction on world touch.

Loch-n-Load

Changes to base grenade damage variance now ensure the Loch-n-Load does not exceed 124 damage on a single hit
Removed +25% self-damage penalty
Added -25% radius penalty
Changed clipsize penality to -25% (3 grenades per clip) from -50% (2 grenades per clip)
Loch-n-load grenades no longer visually tumble when fired

Bootlegger / Ali Baba's Wee Booties

Added +25% Demoman Charge meter on charge kill

Tide Turner

Added Penalty: Taking damage while shield charging reduces remaining charging time
Kills while charging now only add 75% meter on charge kills instead of 100%

Scottish Resistance

It is now slightly easier to do sticky jumps with the Scottish Resistance. Increased range check for stickybomb jumping to sticky damage radius of 146 from 100.

Scotsman's Skullcutter

Movement speed penalty now only applies when weapon is active

Claidheamh Mor

Added +25% Demoman Charge meter on charge kill

Added New game mode Mannpower! to TF2 Beta Maps
The Following is a list of features in the initial launch of Mannpower and is subject to changes in future updates. (Feedback is highly encouraged.)
Contains 8 permanent powerups players can find in the map
Players can only hold 1 permanent powerup at a time
Killing a player with a permanent powerup forces the powerup to drop
Contains 1 temporary powerup that can be found in the map
use the 'dropitem' command to drop the currently held permanent powerup
Added new Default Stock Action Item Grappling Hook. Grappling hooks are usable in Mannpower mode and servers that enable it. Once equipped, press and hold the action key to use it. Use to move the player toward the hooked object.
Mannpower Beta plays a modified version of Capture the Flag that requires your team's flag to be at base in order to capture the enemy flag
Touching your flag will instantly return it to base
Currently supported on maps ctf_foundry and ctf_gorge
Instant respawns enabled
Random critical attacks disabled
Players spawn with 6 seconds of invulnerability

MvM : Added chance to find Australium weapon rewards to all Advanced and Expert Mann vs. Machine tours. Previously only available on the Two Cities tour.
MvM : Added Killstreak kits for Quickiebomb Launcher, Iron Bomber and Panic Attack in to Two Cities MannUp loot tables
Crafting items that are marked as temporarily untradable will now yield temporarily untradable items instead of permanent
Fixed a client crash related to the material system
Removed the Giftapult from the store and added a crafting recipe for it
Updated the equip_region for The Beastly Bonnet
Updated the localization files
Removed the map restriction on players in karts respawning ghost teammates when they touch them

Dec 22, 2014

Mannpower Mode Beta

Team Fortress 2

As part of this year's Smissmas Update, we'd like to Introduce Mannpower Mode, a new beta game mode for TF2! There's enough to tell you about it that we thought it deserved its own post.

We want to stress a very important word in that last sentence: beta. All of the art is temp and all of the game mechanics are in flux. This is an unpolished beta game mode we're releasing specifically so we can get playtest feedback from everybody and improve it moving forward. So dive right in! Your feedback will be heard and incorporated into the development process.

What's Mannpower Mode?

It's an in-beta CTF-like game mode with grappling hooks and nine different types of powerups. (A lot of this will change during this mode's development. We'll be tweaking rules and adding/subtracting powerups as we go.) It's currently playable in modified versions of Ctf_foundry and Ctf_gorge.

Mannpower alters a few game rules. For one, random critical hits have been disabled. Additionally, teams won't be able to capture the enemy flag unless your flag is at your base. (When your flag is away from your base, you can touch it to instantly return it to base.)

What was that part about grappling hooks?

Right, that! There's a grappling hook available to all classes in Mannpower Mode. You can equip it in your action slot and use it by switching to slot 6. Press fire to shoot out a hook. As soon as it hits something, it ll start to reel you in. Release the fire button when you want to detach.

You mentioned powerups?

Yep, there are currently nine with more on the way. Note that these are works-in-progress, so the specifics of these power-up boosts might (and probably will) change as the mode improves:

Strength: Double damage for all weapons. Distance damage fall-off immunity.
Resistance: Reduces incoming damage by 50%. Immune to critical hit damage multiplier.
Vampire: All damage dealt is returned as health. 25% damage resistance. Max health increased by 40%.
Warlock: 50% of damage received is reflected back to the attacker (reflected damage cannot directly cause death). Max health increased by 50%.
Haste: Double weapon firing and reload rate. Double clip size and max ammo count. Movement speed increased by 30%.
Regeneration: Ammo, health and metal regenerate. Rate of health regeneration inversely proportional to max health.
Precision: Greatly reduced bullet spread. Distance damage falloff immunity. Rocket and grenade travel speed increased 250%.
Agility: Movement speed increased by 50%. Grapple speed increase. Jump height increased by 80%. Instant weapon switch.
Critical Hit: temporary full crit power for 30 seconds. Respawns in the same place after 60 seconds.

Mannpowers exist in the world and can be picked up by all classes. When picked up they add abilities and enhancements to the player carrying it. Mannpowers can be dropped at any time by hitting your "dropitem" key, and will drop automatically when the player carrying it is killed. Note that you can only carry one at a time, and that you can't take powerups into respawn rooms.

How do I participate?

Click on Play Multiplayer, enable Play Beta Maps checkbox, and then choose Mannpower Mode.

Why is this in beta?

We would like to include the community early in the development process to gather feedback as we try variations in the map layout and game play mechanics.

How can I help the development process?

Play Mannpower Mode! Playing and providing feedback is the biggest way you can help us develop this game mode. Having servers full of users interacting with each other is the quickest way to isolate and fix gameplay problems.

How do I submit feedback?

Write us directly or post in the TF2 Steam Forum.

Are there Mannpower Beta servers? Can we host our own?

Yes and Yes. We're running a set of official Valve Beta servers using quick play matchmaking. Community server owners are welcome to host too.