We've been fairly busy around the office this week after it was mandated that browsing International Stately Hats of Nationals was not a good use of time and there was work to be done on the next update.

Are you prepared to make your mother proud? We've joined up with Kritzkast to determine what the Demoman really said during his diatribe in Meet the Demoman. Our sensitive ears are incapable of determining exactly what was said so it's best left to the experts. The funniest clean entry, funniest not so clean entry, and most accurate will all receive prizes. Recording your brother being dominated in Dustbowl is not a valid entry.

After days of deliberation, a moderate amount of yelling, and an M&M inexplicably up Drew Wolf's nose again, we're happy to announce the winners of the art pass contest. That's right, winners. Multiple. There were so many good-looking and fun maps that it was incredibly tough to narrow them all down to a single entry. So much so that we didn't bother.

Congratulations to Valentin "3DNJ" Levillain and Timothy "YM" Johnson. TF2Maps.net has a page up where you can view the winners of the contest, along with many of the other fantastic entries.

Hello there, Team Fortress people. Now that I got your attention, the name's Whitaker, from Left 4 Dead 2. Nice little setup y'all got here. Now, I'm told y'all are hired killers. Also, I wanna make it clear that this is ALL I've been told. Ol' Whitaker don't pass judgment, and he don't take sides. RED, BLU -- your money's all green here.



Now, to business. I have once again been asked to try and clarify the essence of some sales paraphernalia.

We've been getting some emails asking a lot of the same questions answered on the Mann-Conomy F.A.Q., so we thought we'd go ahead and send the link around again for those who missed it.

One of the interesting side effects of shipping free updates for Team Fortress 2 over the years has been a large and devoted group of people who write us asking if they can simply buy game items directly. We also get regular feedback from the bean counters on our fourth floor, who -- after watching with tooth-grinding irritation as we shipped over 120 free updates to a three-year-old game -- gently suggested that we "make some f$*&ing money already."

Then it hit us: it'd make everybody happy if we really DID let players buy items directly. Players'd be happy because we actually listened to them for once, and the bean counters would be happy because in-game stores are the future of everything, including making some f$*&ing money already.



Flash forward a few months, and we're proud to introduce the in-game Mann Co. Store. And, because we'd hate to satisfy the bean counters completely, we've decided community item contributors will get paid based on the sales of their items. So you can make some f$*&ing money already too. Now, I'm sure you have dozens of questions, so just this once we put together a nifty F.A.Q. Of course the best way to find out more is to fire up the game yourself and check out the new Mann Co. Store for yourselves!

Just a quick heads up: our exhibition match with pros and pubbers is going to begin shortly. If we're being honest, we're 10% excited, 90% terrified. You should also be terrified, because our usual MO is to take notes of everything that happens during a match, then make changes to the game in bitter, small-minded retaliation. If Dave Riller can't kill someone because they're hiding behind a wall? Guess what? That wall's toast in tomorrow's patch. And if I get killed by too many Scouts, then there'll be no more Scouts, in any game, ever. Double jumps will be a fond memory in your grandad's head. Trust us on this. We have connections at Nintendo. Mario will develop a sudden desire to wear lead weighted boots.

Head over to the ETF2L page to see how you can watch the fun.

Since our recent TF2maps.net Art Pass Contest, our level designers have gone back to their default state at the TF2 offices, which is to say, doing nothing, taking naps, eating lunch, and complaining. This has become a bit of a poison pill for the rest of the TF2 team, all of whom possess strong opinions about working (against it), naps (pro), lunches (very pro) and complaining (big fans).

The fine folks over at ETF2L have launched their Highlander Community Challenge, and we're excited to be a part of it. We'll be giving out in-game medals to everyone who participates, so if you've got some friends who should stop wasting their gaming time and get to the work earning virtual goods (for you), now's the time.