Nov 16, 2023

Steam News - Lawrence

A new Steam client has been released and will be automatically downloaded.

This update has been re-released with the following fix

Fixed video freeze when streaming games with launchers when using NVIDIA hardware encoding

General

Fixed setting the correct AppID in Source SDK mod manager.
Visual tweaks to Steam Deck, Big Picture Mode and SteamVR: Many small changes throughout to make the user interface a more visually-rich experience in Home, Library and other areas.
Nicer layout for Soundtracks pages. These pages are now easier to navigate in Big Picture Mode and feature larger artwork on Desktop.
Fixed some layout and interaction bugs in the Media viewer.
Move the controller support information in the desktop client from the play bar to a widget in the right column
Add HDR badge to app details for games that are marked as having HDR output.
Fix bug preventing you from launching a game that had temporarily disabled auto-updates if new workshop content was available
Additional information about controller support has been added to the client:
- Game details pages in the library will now show information about specific controller and VR support in the right-hand column when devices are connected
- PlayStation controllers have a new default mode in Steam Input where Steam will route controllers to the game's built-in support if available and to Steam Input when they would be unsupported. These controllers can still be globally opted-in or out of Steam Input in the controller tab of the Steam settings page
- The landing page of the controller configurator now has controller support information, and it has been made easier to quickly opt in or out of Steam Input for a particular game
- In the Big Picture library there is now Xbox/DualShock/DualSense support tabs similar to the "Great on Deck" tab that are populated based on your connected devices
- DualShock, DualSense, and Steam Input API support have been added to the available filters in the library
- Games that require controllers (no mouse/keyboard support), require a VR Headset, or support both VR and standard game modes will now show that information in the client, similar to how it displayed in the store.
- Footer icons for DualSense controllers in Big Picture have been updated to use the black and white style on the device

Remote Play

Fixed hidden mouse cursor when streaming to Android TV
Fixed stream lockup when using Intel iGPU hardware encoding

Steam Input

Improve look of configurator when there are no controllers connected
In games that support SteamInput API Actions we no longer hide the Flick Stick as Mouse option if a FlickStick action is defined - this is so that Gyro To Mouse can be properly complemented if you wish.
Fixed the ROG Pugio II mouse showing up as a controller
Fix: Gyro Joystick mode: Core gyro quaternion is updated even when the app requesting it is not focused.
Fixes to both Gyro as Joystick Modes: Min/Max remapping was not allowing values to become zero when gyro values were less than minimum required joystick output values.
Gyro to Joystick (Deflection) mode uses sensor fusion controller accelerometer rather than quaternion for more consistent behavior. This should address issues where the X output would become canted in the legacy modes. Note: it may feel subtly different. Feedback welcome.

SteamVR

Disable the VR-only warning for the time being due to it sometimes showing up when it shouldn't.

Oct 25, 2023

Steam Client Update - October 25th

Steam News - Drew Gottlieb

A new Steam client has been released and will be automatically downloaded.

General

Improved colors for HDR screenshots
Display shader cache disk usage information under Settings->Storage.
Fixed notifications not showing in Big Picture Mode while in-game.
Fixed an issue with art for some games not properly updating.
Fixed some DLC art displaying in the wrong language.
Fixed games attempting to open achievements page in overlay loading the incorrect page.
Fixed a case where proton related configuration options could show up on Windows based systems.
Fixed links in the desktop overlay's Game Overview tab opening in the main Steam window instead of the overlay
Fixed small mode dimensions not restoring correctly if previously sized smaller than the minimum large mode dimensions.
Fixed resize grip showing sometimes when windows are maximized.

Remote Play

Improved colors when streaming HDR games
Fixed rare case of the connection hanging when starting to stream
Added support for low latency networking option on Steam Link
Use fixed bitrate in automatic bandwidth mode to improve picture quality
Fixed the streaming client not consistently getting focus when streaming to Windows
Added a low latency network setting, which reduces latency at the cost of bandwidth
Fixed audio crackling while streaming
Fixed only streaming a portion of the screen and a doubled mouse cursor when display scaling is enabled on Windows hosts

Steam Input

Restored ability to rename controllers in the Options->Controller menu.
Fixed delayed input when opening the standalone On-Screen Keyboard
Fix for Razer Wolverine V2 Pro Dualsense gyro.
Partial fix for older Gyro "As Joystick" modes, but there are still known issues. Renovation is underway.
Fixed Steam Input remapping for some games using WGI
Minor UI tidying.
Added support for the PowerA Nintendo Switch Nano Wired Controller
Fixed for opting into or out of Steam Input on the configurator page not updating the configuration until the next time the configurator was opened
Fixed a UI error in the controller settings when a controller hasn't been mapped yet
Added the ability to bind the capture button on the Google Stadia controller
Fixed bug preventing user-created templates and other workshop configs from being permanently deleted
Temporary Fix for SIAPI GetMotionData and legacy gyro modes using a buggy version of the sensor fusion quaternion.
Fix for DualShock 4 autocalibration not working unless on the calibration screen.
Fix for stale antidrift values being loaded from the cloud (antidrift values only save and load locally, now).
Three New Gyro Modes: "Gyro To Mouse", "Gyro to Joystick (Camera)" and "Gyro to Joystick (Deflection)"
- Expect frequent changes to UI and behavior while we evaluate these new replacements. ("As Mouse", "Joystick" and "As Joystick" gyro modes will remain for now.)
- These modes share improvements to our Gyro processing.
- Gyro sensor timestamps are now used resulting in better overall accuracy of the Gyro.
- Gyro over Bluetooth improvements - gyro motion is extrapolated when Bluetooth packets are delayed, resulting in smoother movement. Any error incurred is corrected gradually over time, during high speed movement to avoid "Ouija effect" during precise aiming.
- Natural Sensitivity Scale: use "Dots Per 360°" to calibrate both the Flick Stick and Gyro's real world angles into in-game angles. In this way, your Gyro Natural Sensitivity Multiplier can be consistent across games, with "Dots Per 360°" being the isolated tuning value for each game.
- 1€ Filter: Smoothed low level gyro noise without adding delay.
- Speed Deadzones and Precision Zones will allow you to tune preferences for hand shake during fine aim.
- Gyro Momentum Option: releasing your gyro activation button can maintain some rotation from the gyro. Tune the momentum on independent axes to bias toward horizontal movement vs vertical movement.
New Gyro 3DOF to 2D Conversion Styles:
- Local Space (Advanced) uses the local rotation of the gyroscope (as with legacy modes) and allows fine adjustment to the angle of the Primary horizontal axis, and the Complimentary axis's contributions.
- Yaw, Roll, and Yaw + Roll - legacy "Local Space" settings brought forward for easier onramp.
- Note: Yaw + Roll is slightly different from "Yaw & Roll Combined" in the previous mode. It has been re-written to avoid "ping-pong" horizontal output response during "figure 8" movement of the gyro.
- Player Space (Experimental). Vertical output uses local pitch, as usual, but horizontal output comes from rotation around the gravity axis due to local yaw and roll. Many thanks to Jibb Smart.
- World Space (Experimental). This conversion style mimics Splatoon and other Nintendo aiming standards.
- Laser Pointer (Experimental). The Cursor is driven up, down, left and right due to an imaginary ray pointing out of the front of the controller/through the SteamDeck Screen. This mode is most appropriate for mouse cursor movement/UI interaction.
- A note on gyro orientation convention in the new conversion styles Previously we considered "pitch", " yaw" and "roll" to be relative to the hardware - Yaw is considered the axis that rotates about a joystick's central axis on any controller. Moving this convention over to handhelds (i.e. SteamDeck or mobile) has caused confusion for many due to how the controller is tilted in order to look at the screen. To address this, we now compensate for that tilt, and consider "yaw" to be "Human Oriented". So, on Handhelds: "Yaw" is the axis that goes from the top to the bottom of the screen (so turning the handheld around that axis generates "Yaw") & "Roll" is considered the rotation axis through the screen (steering wheel motion). This only changes the expected axes on Handhelds - standalone controllers have the same orientation as ever.

Steam Overlay

Fixed microtransactions dialog failing to reopen if the overlay was closed without canceling the transaction.

Big Picture Mode

Modal dialogs now dismiss when you click the background.
Resume button in main window won't navigate to a blank page when clicked.
Fixed Discovery Queue background color.

Linux

Fixed in-game overlay keyboard input not working on systems with ibus, such as gnome desktop environments
Include 64 bit openvr_api.so, enabling the new VR gamepad UI in SteamVR beta.
Improve screen reader support.
Fixed a case where the client would fail to handle some open URL requests.
Added the -cef-force-accessibility flag to force steamwebhelper to enable accessibility support.

macOS

Fixed a case where the client would fail to handle some open URL requests.

Steam Community

Fixed friend profile Message button not working

SteamVR

This release is a component of today’s big release of SteamVR 2.0! Read all about the new changes here.

Oct 19, 2023

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

Team Fortress 2 - Valve

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:

Fixed floating 'Bonus' label in the middle of the screen while working on certain contracts
Updated the Clown's Cover-Up to fix some clipping issues, fix the LODs, and update the equip_region
Updated the Celestial Summit Unusual effect to reduce the particle count
Updated the Potion Explosion Unusual taunt effect to remove the delay when starting the effect
Updated glowing eye materials on Voodoo-Cursed Souls and Übercharged players with community fixes from Liam Stone (boba)
Updated the Carry-Van
- Fixed the rigging on the straps to avoid clipping when running
- Fixed misplaced ambient occlusion on the material
- Fixed rim mask being black in places it wasn't supposed to
- Fixed a hole in-between the window and top of the van
- Fixed LODs to represent above changes
Updated the Dead Man's Party Unusual taunt effect
- Added fades to hand sprites
- Improved effect composition on fast-moving taunts
- Fixed some particle sorting issues
Updated cp_lavapit_final
- Fixed a skybox exploit in the underworld
Updated pl_spineyard
- Fixed an exploit that allowed players to get outside of the map
- Fixed missing cubemaps
Updated pl_corruption
- Replaced some of the materials and models
- Adjusted collisions near some wooden beams by point A
- Adjusted prop fades
- Fixed some minor texture issues
- Fixed teleport trigger in one of the spawn rooms being too late to activate
- Minor adjustments to improve your sanity
Updated cp_degrootkeep_rats
- Fixed players getting stuck in the door when entering the Rabbit Hole at the same time as an enemy player
- Fixed a hidden perch in the balcony overlooking C
Updated arena_perks
- Replaced the Cloaking perk with the Patience perk (gain up to 7 health/sec)
- Fixed missing barricades in the voting area
- Fixed certain items having missing textures on the map
- Removed crumpkins (with help from LizardOfOz)
- Fixed stalemates causing extra rounds where no perks would appear
- Added a new HUD, with an alive player counter
Updated zi_murky, zi_atoll, zi_devastation_final1, zi_woods, and zi_sanitarium
- If a game is in progress and there are no players on BLU team or RED team the game will now end
- Fixed a bug that allowed Dead Ringer spies to die without triggering a round loss
- Fixed a bug that caused Zombies to not see combat text correctly
- Fixed a bug that caused Rocket Launchers and Sticky Bomb Launchers to start with a low ammo
- Fixed a bug that caused changing player loadout to kill human players (particularly on Murky)
- Fixed an issue with missing particle effects for Medic's Heal ability
- Adjusted the number of Zombies selected at round start for low player counts
- Corrected unintended changes in the last update
  - Changed the damage dealt by Zombie Soldier's Stomp
    - In the previous update, Soldier would instantly kill his stomp target. This was not intended.
    - The new damage calculation is (10 + fall damage x 3). This is the same as the Mantreads.
  - Changed the Sentry Gun to deal 40% damage to Zombies
    - In the previous update, this was 35%. This was not intended.
  - Added a sound effect to Pyro's explosion of flames on death
  - Removed some debug print statements
- Reworked Demoman's Blast Charge to fix several exploits and bugs
  - These changes should also make Blast Charge more reliable and less frustrating to use
- Blast Charge is now triggered based on the player's velocity
  - When player's speed drops below a threshold while charging, they explode
  - Additionally, anything that would usually interrupt a shield charge will now trigger the explosion
- Fixed a bug that caused ÜberCharge applied by Blast Charge to persist longer than intended
- Fixed a bug that caused Blast Charge to fail to kill the player in situations where the player should be killed
- Fixed a bug that caused Blast Charge to briefly display the player's first person view before detonation
- Fixed a bug that caused the player to be unable to attack, jump or duck after surviving Blast Charge
- Fixed many bugs that caused Blast Charge to fail to detonate
- Fixed many bugs related to Blast Charge being cast at the same time as being converted to Zombie
Updated zi_atoll (additional changes)
- Fixed the missing texture on the turbine building's roof
- Added areaportals and occluders in and around buildings
- Added extra nodraw brushes under the level and buildings to improve vis calculations
- Added prop fades on bushes and rocks
- Adjusted push triggers on trees
- Minor clipping adjustments
- Changed func_brush on roofs to func_movelinear so that corpses don't fall through
- Added soul gargoyle spawns
- Added a santa hat that spawns on the anchor when smissmas holiday is enabled
- Fixed cubemap reflection issues
- Fixed the seam between the 3D skybox and the playable level
- Aar fed the spinning cat
Updated zi_devastation_final1 (additional changes)
- Replaced sewer exit to the 2nd floor with a ladder
- Changed sewer exits to no longer require crouching/prop jumps
- Fixed missing respawn trigger in the sewers
- Adjusted spawn positions of Zombies and Survivors
- Fire now ignites players
- Adjusted lighting in sewers to be slightly brighter
- Reduced round timer to 3 minutes
- Lit up 2nd floor car corner

Oct 13, 2023

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

Team Fortress 2 - Valve

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:

Fixed the Clown's Cover-Up always showing the Red team skin
Fixed hiding the Pyro's head when using the Friendly style for the Fiercesome Fluorescence
Fixed the Grounded style of the Power Spike using an incorrect LOD model
Fixed Celestial Summit and Stellar Ascent Unusual effects not following moving players
Fixed missing prefix when the Strange Filter: Sandcastle (Community) item is applied to a weapon
Fixed missing prefix when the Strange Filter: Lava Pit (Community) item is applied to a weapon
Updated The Masked Fiend to fix a problem with the materials
Updated the Dell Dynamic to fix issues with the materials, rigging, and LODs
Updated the Sapped Unusual effect to fix visibility issues in bright environments
Updated Blastphomet cosmetic to fix some a problem with the materials and some minor clipping
Updated the Taunt: Borrowed Bones to add missing sounds
Updated Taunt: Neck Snap animations to fix the MVM canteen flipping while taunting
Updated the Nightmarish Storm, Acidic Climate, and Otherworldly Weather Unusual effects to fix a problem with the lock rotation
Updated the Eldritch Horror and Deep-sea Devourer Unusual taunt effects to fix a problem with flickering
Updated pd_farmageddon
- Updated .res file to work with custom huds (Thanks Aar)
Updated cp_lavapit_final
- Updated the Underworld
- Spells now spawn one per point, in a random location
- Removed some exploits
Updated pl_spineyard
- Replaced some of the materials and models
- Fixed a missing material
- Significantly improved skeleton navigation
- Reduced the health of skeletons to 130 HP
- Increased the weapon spread of skeletons to reduce their long range damage
- Increased the number of pumpkin bomb spawns
- Improved sound effects
- Various detail fixes
- Fixed being able to build in the first Blue spawn
Updated pd_mannsylvania
- Added new custom voice lines of Merasmus Gargoyle Notifications
- Better player clip and fixed players stuck in some areas
- Placed more bat's models on entire map and randomised their animations
- Improved 3d skybox
- Disabled trigger_hurt in ending sequence after 15 second when game ends
- Minor cosmetic fixes
Updated zi_murky, zi_atoll, zi_devastation_final1, zi_woods, and zi_sanitarium
- These changes are aimed to make playing as a Zombie more engaging, and to weaken the Human meta of bunkering without hurting their ability to roam and fight
  - Zombie Spy is now passively cloaked, only losing his cloak for 3 seconds when attacking or using his "Reveal" ability
    - This change will allow Zombie Spy to circumvent sentry guns that are watching large areas, and allow him to sneak into or around strongholds
  - Zombie Soldier's "Pounce" ability is now significantly higher, and has a 5 second cooldown (from 8)
    - These changes will bolster Zombie Soldier's role as a recon pick and a roof buster, capable of launching through sentry fire
  - Zombie Sniper's "Spit" ability now damages buildables
  - Zombie Sniper now drops a puddle of spit on death
    - Both of these changes will make you feel like you're contributing more with your spit, and if that's not enough, you at least get to drop one on death to cause a small area of denial
  - Zombie Pyro no longer drops small health kits
  - Zombie Pyro's "Hellspawn" passive now releases a flaming explosion on death on top of the existing gas passer cloud
    - These changes should strengthen their afterburn capability, and make them a scarier threat if you let them too close
  - Zombie Heavy's "Tank" ability now adds the Battalion's Backup buff (immunity to critical hits, 35% resistance to regular damage, and a 50% resistance to Sentry Gun damage)
  - Zombie Heavy deals 20% increased melee damage
    - Sentry and crit resistance will bring Zombie Heavy's effective hp up much higher, buffing his role as a tank that you really oughta stay away from. His slower speed is unchanged, so you're still able to run. The changes will just make bunkering much more difficult with him around.
  - Zombie Engineer's EMP no longer rolls on shallow surfaces, and now does 110 damage instead of fractional damage
    - This change will turn EMP grenades into a much more immediate threat, instantly breaking mini sentries, crippling level 1 sentries, and wounding other buildings
  - Zombie Scout's "Speed Demon" passive now comes and additional 25% jump height boost
    - Zombie Scout already has a triple jump, but increasing jump height will make him even more of a pest buzzing around your head, and better at climbing onto roofs once a hold is destroyed
  - 1/5 of the server will be converted to zombies at the end of setup (from 1/6), and will also round up
    - It's become clear that there simply aren't enough zombies selected at the start of the round. Initial pushes should be easier to perform with a couple more units.
  - Sentry Guns deal 40% damage to zombies (from 60%)
    - Engineers are simply way too oppressive. The dispenser is invaluable for the sake of ammo, and the sentry still has use as a knockback tool, but now should be significantly less frustrating to play against.
  - Demoman shield items no longer halve the damage taken by zombies
    - He was just too strong and incredibly unfun to duel. The extended reach of swords is already amazing against melee-only characters. His strong maneuverability is unchanged.
  - Zombie Medic Heal cooldown reduced to 7 seconds (previously 11)
  - All Zombies except for scout, heavy, and spy, now have +25 HP (from +10)
- Fixed a bug where Zombie Demo could detonate himself before the charge had started
- Fixed a bug where Bonk! Atomic Punch could persist through Zombie conversion
- Fixed various issues caused by Zombie Demo surviving his own charge
- Fixed issues with the Zombie HUD not correctly displaying certain strings
- Fixed exploit related to adding additional time
- Added additional HIDEHUD bits to remove irrelevant HUD elements when playing Zombie
- Added an instructional video (Thanks Funicular!)
Updated zi_murky (additional changes)
- All of the roofs have been covered in clutter such as vines and tires, and are no longer buildable
- Added more trees for cover
- Added small fence to RED spawn to make it easier for zombies to approach up the wooden stairs
- Added a ramp leading to the yellow shack's roof
- Added occluders to central shack
- Improved fog
- Improved skybox
- Improved readability of chicken wire fences, and added more around the docks
- Adjusted prop fades
- Tweaked detailing
- Fixed erroneous clip brushes
- Fixed several stuck spots
- Fixed missing television model
Updated zi_atoll (additional changes)
- Added an extension to the roof of the turbine building
- Added nobuild entities to debris that could potentially hide sneaky sentries
- Added a broken window on the turbine building
- Clipped the spiral stairs behind the lighthouse (thanks Aar!)
- Reduced performance impact of water
- Increased size of trigger_push entities on the tree tops
- Improved collision on the displacement on the beach near the fishing house
- The spinning cat has been fed
Updated zi_devastation_final1 (additional changes)
- Added new route from second level zombie spawn to the top floor
- Adjusted some zombie spawns
- Made some zombie spawn exits easier to leave
- Clipped off bottom floor stairs
- Increased Round Timer to 3 minutes and 30 Seconds
- Increased Reports of Gators
Updated zi_sanitarium (additional changes)
- Replaced some of the materials and models
- Fixed a missing material on a prop
- Fixed a pixel walk in the skybox