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.

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 sd_doomsday to the mapcycle files
• Fixed exploit that allowed Beggar's Bazooka to indefinitely hold rockets in the chamber without misfiring
• Fixed hatless hats not not-drawing correctly
• Fixed bugs with The Hitman’s Heatmaker
  • Headshot kills now properly decapitate
  • Bodyshot damage penalty is properly applied
  • Fixed sound issues while in focus
• Fixed missing DX8 particle effects
• Fixed seeing through Sniper fences in 2Fort when using Pyrovision
• Fixed the second style for the Robot Chicken hat
• Teddy Roosebelt can now get assist credits
• Updated sd_doomsday:
  • Players can now fall into the launch pad after the rocket lifts off
  • Optimized some prop_dynamics to reduce server hitching
  • Engineers can no longer build teleporters behind the spawn
  • Players will no longer get pushed through the terrain if the elevator falls on them
  • Death pits now kill dead ringer Spies
  • Lowered the frequency of announcer lines

Liked Balloonicorn so much in the Pyromania Update that you'd like to take him home with you? Because Balloonicorn could really use a place to crash at for a bit (one, two weeks max), he's going through a bit of a rough patch right now. Also, you totally won't even know he's there. Hey, look, also, could you pick Balloonicorn up some smokes on the way home? He's good for it, he's just waiting to get some money wired to him. Available through ThinkGeek and the Valve Store.

While you're at the Valve Store, check out all the other cool new TF stuff that we just got in.

Updates to Team Fortress 2, Day of Defeat: Source and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include:
Source Engine Changes (TF2, DoD:S, HL2:DM)

• Added ConVars sv_rcon_maxpacketsize and sv_rcon_maxpacketbans to allow server admins to control the maximum RCON packet size and whether or not users get banned for exceeding that limit. The defaults reflect the existing behavior.
• Fixed not being able to import custom spray images on Macs
• Fixed Macs cancelling http map downloads that take longer than 30 seconds

Team Fortress 2

• Added Pyrovision!
• Added new game mode Special Delivery and map Doomsday!
• Friendly players glow when carrying the flag
• Fixed rare cases where flag could fall out of the world
• Fixed cases where the Payload HUD looked like the cart is still on a hill when it isn't
• Fixed cases where some clients didn't receive broadcasts about long continuous particle effects being started or stopped
• Updated the HTML renderer for displaying server MOTD
• Votes created by a dedicated server no longer trigger a failed vote cooldown
• Fixed map triggered annotation events not working on dedicated servers
• Fixed the game crashing if tempents are created that use invalid materials
• Using a Name Tag while in game notifies everyone of the name change
• Fixed Strange Part: Projectiles Reflected not tracking grenade and sentry rocket deflections
• Added new items
  • City on Fire item sets
  • Pyroland weapons and cosmetics
  • Community-contributed cosmetic items for all classes
  • Mysterious treasures have been incinerated, but are now craftable
  • Added crafting recipe for Pile of Ash
  • Scorched Keys are now available in the store for a limited time
  • New promo item
• Weapon balancing changes
  • Gloves of Running Urgently
    • Removed self-damage over time penalty
    • Heavy takes mini-crits while active and for 3 seconds after switching away
    • Attack damage penalty reduced from -50% to -25%
  • Tomislav
    • Spin-up speed bonus reduced from +40% to +10%
  • Quick-Fix
    • Medic mirrors blast jump of their heal target
  • Crusader's Crossbow
    • Reload speed time reduced by +40%
  • Cozy Camper
    • Regenerates 1 heath per second
    • Reduced movement penalty from -90% to -80%
  • Sticky Jumper and Rocket Jumper
    • Added 'flying' sound to blast jumps
  • The Concheror
    • Changed rage building source from "damage done and damage received" to only "damage done"
    • Increased the rate at which Rage builds for this item by +25%
  • The Equalizer
    • Removed player move speed modification and added it to a new item named The Escape Plan
    • All owners of the Equalizer will be automatically granted The Escape Plan
  • Crit-a-Cola
    • Added +25% increased movement speed while active
    • Increased duration from 6 to 8 seconds
  • Atomic Bonk
    • Increased duration from 6 to 8 seconds
  • All Flamethrowers
    • Increased base damage by +10%.
  • Backburner
    • Removed +10% damage bonus attribute
    • Note: Because of base damage increase, damage remains unchanged
  • Degreaser
    • Added -10% damage penalty attribute
    • Note: Because of base damage increase, damage remains unchanged
  • Phlogistinator
    • Damage defense while taunting reduced from -90% to -75%
• Item bug fixes
  • Fixed sentry sometimes spawning in shielded mode while the Wrangler was equipped, but not deployed
  • Improved visual and audio cues for when the Manmelter is ready to fire
  • Fixed Manmelter being able to earn crits via friendly Pyro self-damage
  • Fixed Scotch Bonnet's blue team skin not showing
  • Fixed Unarmed Combat's taunt not working
  • Unarmed Combat's color now matches the team using it
  • Fixed the Apparition's Aspect showing a burning texture in DX8

The third and final day of Pyromania is here, and the update is now live! New items! New achievements! A new game mode! Pyrovision! Bongos! It's all live right now!

...is here!

Also! Because today's new items contain some Meet the Pyro spoilers, we're gonna hold off on announcing those until the update’s ready later today.

But! We are announcing something else RIGHT NOW: The beta release of the Source Filmmaker, the tool we use internally to make all of our "Meet the Team" shorts. You can check it out here.

At the end of the day, the Pyromania update is a celebration—not just of Team Fortress, but more importantly of you, the TF community, and even more importantly than that, of us, the TF blog post writers, and how great yesterday's blog post was. That Men Without Hats material was a career high. In fact, we decided to never touch this blog again in the hope that it might be preserved in a perfect state for future generations.

TF2Maps.net is putting on another level design contest to create a King of the Hill map that is designed around the Highlander style of play. STAR, an active community member, put them up to it and sponsored the contest along with some fun prizes. All the details and rules are available on the TF2Maps.net site.

You read that right (presumably): the long-awaited final Meet the Team short, Meet the Pyro, is dropping in less than three days, and we decided to assemble a massive update to celebrate it.

Mmmmph mmmmph, mmmmm mmmmmp mmmmmph. Mmmmmph mpm! Mmmmmph mph mm! Hm mmmmmph, hmmmmph mm mmmmmph mmmmmph!