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Hey, You Got Your Left 4 Dead in My Team Fortress 2!

Nathan Grayson — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:35:07 -0600

Team Fortress 2 is pretty great, but you know what would make it even better? Did you say “one or more zombies”? Yeah, us too. But instead, you’re getting a hat.

“For the first time in history, two separate Valve universes collide. That's right: it's a Left 4 Dead/Team Fortress crossover! This is not fan fiction! This is not a dream sequence! The characters from Team Fortress 2 will team-up with Bill's hat from Left 4 Dead 1!” reads a post on the TF2 Blog.

There’s a catch, though: Bill’s ridiculously regal Head Enhancement Item is only available to those who have preordered Left 4 Dead 2.

Honestly, though, to make such a strong fashion statement – nay, a fashion exclamation – we would’ve shelled out the full fifty smackeroos even if Left 4 Dead 2 weren’t involved at all.

Ok, not really, but you get the idea.

Latest Team Fortress 2 Update Welcomes the Great Pumpkin

Nathan Grayson — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:30:13 -0500

And by “great,” we mean “exploding.”

It’s Halloween, and you know what that means: It’s Halloween… in your favorite videogames! Valve’s updated Team Fortress 2 in accordance with the vaguely pagan rites and rituals of Halloween, resulting in exploding pumpkins, new hats, and 666 new achievements. Ok, actually, there are only five new achievements, but we couldn’t resist.

In addition, Valve’s taken a king of the hill community map called “Harvest” and made a few changes. A few ghostly changes. They’ve added a ghost.

“That’s right! The restless spirit of Zepheniah Mann will scare senseless any player unlucky enough to cross his spectral path, rendering them temporarily helpless with fear!” reads the TF2 blog.

The update’s already live, so go ahead and knock on Steam’s desktop icon and say “trick or treat!” Or, if that sounds stupid, embarrassing, and pointless, you can also click on it, we guess. Enjoy!

Team Fortress 2 Rolls out “Classless" Update

Nathan Grayson — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 03:13:22 -0500

Is it really time for a new Team Fortress 2 update already? Yessiree, this new update’s as real as that last question was entirely rhetorical. But wait, Team Fortress 2 update, something’s different. Did you get a haircut? Buy a new outfit? Manifest yourself in the physical world so that you might be able to get a haircut or buy a new outfit? Nope! You’re just not serving as a vehicle for crummy class-related stuff anymore. You’re your own man!

Instead, this TF2 update seems to have given form the nod over function. Translation: New hats – and plenty of them. Day one of the update touts 18 new hats, including a Viking helmet and a fireman’s hat, among others.

A new community map rounds out the revelation du jour. Called Arena Offblast, the map’s a “fast-paced, high-altitude community map set in a top secret missile silo wedged into the top of a hollowed-out mountain.” You know, one of those stupidly dangerous places that only people with guns in their hands and chips on their shoulders seem to congregate around.

The teaser site also plays host to a number of hidden pages that – if you’re willing to dig them up – will give you a bit of dirt on the rest of the update’s content. If you’d rather not sully your hands with such menial labor, however, Shacknews found the bonus pages and put them on display.

So, any guesses as to what’s in the pipeline for the rest of the update? Personally, we’re hoping for the ability to don multiple hats at once. If our head’s going to be one giant target, we’ll at least make it a headache for our opponents to hit the part that actually kills us.

Valve: TF2 Unlock System Here Today, Gone Eventually?

Nathan Grayson — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 02:39:02 -0500

Achievements or random drops – pick your poison. For many Team Fortress 2 players, both methods of unlocking unfortunately miss the sweet spot, and for some, they miss the sweet spot, swerve off a cliff, and end up in a hospital where Hannah Montana’s the only thing on TV ever. Valve, of course, knows this, and is working to placate its players – even if that means just handing them weapons with no strings attached.

"It's good for delivering items to newer players over time, so they're not swamped with choices when they're starting out, and they're not required to grind achievements to get them once they reach the point where they want to start making strategic choices," Valve’s Robin Walker said. "For competitive players, it's obviously a bad way to deliver items."

"At the very least, future packs will allow you to use achievements to get the new items, but we might move to a mode where we just give them to you," he added. "As part of our goal of supporting tournaments more, I think we'll probably add better tools for them to control exactly what players can and can't use within matches."

So, would you rather receive free items than deal with TF2’s increasingly convoluted unlock system?

Sniper and Spy Drops No Longer Just Random, Achievements Work Too

Nathan Grayson — Sat, 30 May 2009 05:06:12 -0500

Hate TF2’s new random drop item system? Hate TF2’s old achievement-based system a smidge less? Well then, this news should… make you smile? A little? Come on. Ah, there it is.

As with other classes, the Spy and Sniper can now acquire new items from more than just the rotting wheels of fortune that are their enemies’ perforated corpses. Yep, achievements are back, but random drops are here to stay as well. Now you just have options. Lucky you!

One key difference between these unlocks and the others, though: Spy and Sniper gear comes at 5, 11, and 17 achievements, whereas other classes’ come at 11, 17, and 22. Spy, Sniper, and hassle – one of these things is not like the other.

Grab the new patch by logging into Steam.

Valve Explains TF2’s New Item Drop System, Promises Upgrades and Fixes

Nathan Grayson — Sat, 23 May 2009 00:36:24 -0500

Things recently dropped by Valve’s new TF2 item system, according to players: duplicates, duplicates, and the ball. And while jumping through achievement-based hoops in order to earn new gear may not have been optimal, at least it made sense. The same couldn’t be said for random drops – at least initially. Thankfully, Valve has decided to pull back the curtain and give us the nitty-gritty on the little orange men who run its drop system. Here’s what the developer said:

"[The] new system watches the amount of time that players are playing TF2, and gives them a chance to find items at regular intervals," wrote Valve's Erik Johnson. "They aren't guaranteed to get the item at those points, but they have a pretty good chance."

How are these “regular intervals” decided upon, though? Johnson explained:

“When we were tuning this system we first looked at the average amount of time that players spend playing TF2 daily. From there, we set the goal of most players having around 20 items in their inventory after a couple of weeks of play. If you're someone who plays a lot of TF2, you're going to get items a lot faster than that.”

Also, if you thought Valve’s hot streak had finally ended with the drop system’s shaky start, fear not. As usual, Valve plans on tinkering with the thing’s inner workings until every rusty bit is replaced with solid gold. Planned improvements include item trading (bye bye duplicate items), more rare items, and some kind of way for players to “influence the system so they can work directly toward getting specific items” that’s not called achievement-grinding. Currently, Valve’s goal is to bring all of those upgrades into the mix before the next class pack.

Well, sounds like there’s no longer anything to complain about here. Back to pacing a hole in the floor and muttering about Half-Life 2: Episode 3, then.

TF2 Spy vs. Sniper Update Live - Brings New Methods of Unlocking Items, Also Urine

Nathan Grayson — Fri, 22 May 2009 01:11:57 -0500

First thing’s first: Team Fortress 2’s Sniper vs. Spy update is live. Hunting bows, new levels, and mother-themed pistols can all be yours after a bit of unlocking. And speaking of unlocking, Valve’s drastically decreased the amount of elbow grease needed to up your arsenal. That’s right – if achievements aren’t your cup of tea, you can now play the game normally and still have a shot at scoring some new gear.

"Items now drop randomly, in addition to the old (pre Spy/Sniper unlockables) achievement tied weapons," Valve’s Robin Walker told Shacknews. "We're going to release info on the new system on the blog tomorrow."

So then, about the whole urine thing. Valve recently blew the lid off the Sniper’s final item, and well, we sort of wish they hadn’t. See, it’s pee. Um, yeah.

You thought the hunting bow was old school? Now the Sniper can fling his bodily fluids about like some kind of primate. Just pop a jar of his patented “Jarate” on your foes and they’ll absorb 35% extra damage for a little while. Also, if you live by the Laws of the Wild, they’ll forever be marked as your territory. Your damp, odorous territory.

Better still, fire doesn’t stand a chance against Jarate. And for your buddies who don’t stand a chance against fire, well, being covered in the Sniper’s yellow stuff is definitely the lesser of two evils.

So, what are you waiting for? The update’s completely free, and – until Monday – the game is too. Or, if you’re ready to commit, Valve’s knocked 50% off its price. Try and then buy. Or don’t. You really can’t go wrong here.

Spy Gains Revolver/Cannon Combo in Latest TF2 Update

Nathan Grayson — Tue, 19 May 2009 23:33:27 -0500

Tread softly and carry a big stick seems to be the motif of the Spy’s latest implement, and the self-described “cannon” sure seems to fit the bill. Nope – no subtlety here. Just big, loud, accurate lead. Oh, and your mom.

“There are two sorts of men in this world: the sort with blood pouring out of a hole in their heads, and the sort holding the Ambassador [hand cannon]. It has the ammo count of a revolver and the pinpoint accuracy of a sniper rifle, even at long range. (But remember, a gun that packs this much heat needs to cool off between shots, so make every shot count.),” says the Team Fortress blog.

The gun’s barrel – in keeping with Meet the Spy’s risqué twist – initiates its potent humiliation-death combo with an engraved picture of your enemy’s mother. And if your mom doesn’t (ahem) have it going on, well, the image actually can be unseen. The death part tends to take care of that.