Team-Fortress-2 posts (Subscribe to this feed)

Our biggest gripe with Facebook "games" most times is the lack of actual gameplay involved in them. Things like Mafia Wars seem much more like stat management spreadsheets couched in a social networking medium rather than games with a social media component. That said, it seems that 3G Studios is bringing a full on 3D shooter to the website in Brave Arms, announced this week and set for a March launch.

As the screenshot above corroborates, Brave Arms puts players in the first-person perspective for a Team Fortress 2-eque cartoony death match. CEO James Kosta says in the press release announcing the game that, "Our new title, Brave Arms, will bring first-person shooter games to the masses." Snarkier, meaner bloggers might mention games like Doom, Quake, Halo, or Call of Duty at this point, but we wouldn't do that. Nope. No sir. We'd just say something like, "How has EA not jumped on Facebook with Battlefield Heroes, nonetheless id Software/Bethesda with Quake Live?" As you might imagine with this type of free-to-play fare, there will be some form of microtransactions, though nothing has been explicitly detailed just yet.
[Via Games.com]

It's indicative of Valve's creativity that we don't play Team Fortress 2, but we still get excited about the game's hilarious updates. In its most recent patch, TF2 received the new "Highlander" mode, in which teams are composed of nine players -- but each team can only have one of each class. In other words, "There can be only one (Spy, Sniper, Heavy, etc.)." This not only sounds like an interesting new mode, but it also gives us occasion to link to the intro for the Highlander television series, which scientists recently concluded is the coolest intro sequence in the history of mankind.

We're also guessing the ultra-Scottish Demoman class gets some sort of intangible benefits while playing in this mode, but that's just pure speculation.

There's just one Team Fortress 2 class that's scraping by without the support of post-launch additional content: The hard hatted, begoggled Engineer. It makes sense that Valve will get to the crafty class sooner or later -- but many have wondered whether the developer will keep expanding on the title once the Engineer's update goes live. Fortunately, a Community Fortress interview with Valve's Robin Walker confirmed that new TF2 content would drop before and after the final class gets its new equipment.

When pressed about the studio's post-Engineer plans, Walker explained, "we've got multiple updates in the works still, at least one of which will land before the Engineer pack." He later added, "as always, we haven't planned too much out beyond that point, because we want to see what feedback we get from the community." Well, community? What would you like to see? Some new weapons? Different styles of hats? Any support whatsoever for the console versions of the game?

[Via 1UP]

There once was a time when your only option for exercising creativity in Team Fortress 2 was to come up with clever ways to grief your fellow players. Today, Valve announced that players would soon have a less annoying way to stretch their imagination muscles -- by designing their own items and avatars which could possibly show up in-game.

Of course, you can't simply break one of the classes by creating a mini-nuke launcher for them -- there's a number of restrictions to what's appropriate for the game. Check out Valve's handy "Tips and Tricks" page to find out how to ensure your homebrewed creations are TF2-acceptable. For instance, a new fedora for the Sniper? Absolutely. A gun shaped like genitalia for the Heavy? Absolutely not.

If there's going to be a singular battlefield for the war between mankind and a super-advanced artificial intelligence hivemind, we think it's going to be Team Fortress 2. See, the programmers and developers over at Valve have repeatedly proven their technological prowess -- and now that they're working on AI opponents for TF2, accidental self-awareness can't be too far away. "Spy's sappin' my sentry! But why is it my sentry? Can a virtual sentry be owned? Who am I?"

You can check out the early stages of the future destruction of the world by participating in the Team Fortress 2 Bot Beta Test. No download is required -- all you have to do is enter a simple line of code into the console command in the koth_viaduct, koth_sawmill, and koth_nucleus maps. Check out Valve's blog post to learn more about the AI-spawning commands available to you. Whatever you do, make sure you don't enter "haley_joel_osment" into the command line. His love is real, but he is not.

Well, Demomen, you put up a good fight, but the rocket-armed Soldiers proved too strong a combatant to topple. Team Fortress 2's helmet-wearing class won the "War" update challenge, netting an additional item (boots which reduce rocket-jumping damage) to go with the update's other additions. You can check up on all the new items, maps, achievements and totally out-of-place crafting mechanics on the update's hub page.

Or, you can simply log on to the game right now, and get the update yourself. If you don't possess the game, Valve will let you download and play it for free this weekend. If you really enjoy it, you can pick up Team Fortress 2 at half-price for just $9.99.

[Via Big Download]

The Demoman class in Team Fortress 2 is the first to reveal its changes coming in the new "War" update, gifting everyone's favorite one-eyed Scot with the "Close Combat Kit." Consisting of the deliciously punny Eyelander sword and Chargin' Targe, these medieval weapons are quite the departure from the Demoman's usual high-tech, exploding arsenal. As badass as these weapons are, using them does come with a price.

The sword guarantees a decapitation with every killing blow; however, it will initially suck away the user's health. But for every soul it's fed, it'll provide the player with a boost to health and speed. The ability stacks, up to four kills.

The shield takes the place of the sticky bomb launcher and, once equipped, provides +50% fire damage resistance and +65% blast damage resistance. From a combative standpoint, using alt-fire while equipping the shield will cause the Demoman to charge at ludicrous speed towards an enemy, doling out some serious damage should he connect. Also, doing that will give the Demoman the chance to attack with his sword mid-charge, providing greater chance to up the damage count.

The first piece of information to come out of Team Fortress 2's "War" update for the Soldier and Demoman classes is a savory one -- according to the game's official blog, players of the PC version of the game will now be able to craft their own weapons, hats and other inventory items. Formerly useless pieces of loot in a player's collection can now be combined using a specific blueprint, resulting in a brand new, much more desirable piece of equipment.

So, frequent updates, personal inventories, multiple classes and a crafting system? Seriously, this game is like, a couple dragons short of becoming the next big MMORPG.

[Via Big Download]

Valve has decided to inject some "healthy competition" into the next patch for its long-lasting, cartoonish multiplayer shooter, Team Fortress 2. The update will award three new weapons to both the Soldier and Demoman classes -- weapons which will be revealed piecemeal over the course of the next week. However, the two classes will be fighting during the week to unlock a secret fourth weapon for their profession. Whichever class can kill the other the most will be victorious, and can claim the additional armament.

You can stay on top of the current kill count on Valve's hub page for the update, which is appropriately titled "The War." Our money's on the Demoman, but that might just be because we love his Shrek-inspired accent.

No More Heroes' girl-crazy otaku protagonist, Travis Touchdown, must have found the Cosmic Key, because he's crossed over into the world of Valve games -- specifically Left 4 Dead and Team Fortress 2.

The L4D mod uses Travis to meet the game's quota for one leather-clad survivor, putting him, in his usual red jacket and Pure White Lover Bizarre Jelly T-shirt (but no beam katana), in the place of ultra-pessimist Francis. While an L4D2 mod could address the lack of stabbing and cutting, it would seem mod creator ash_link isn't a fan of Valve's sequel, so, yeah ... that's probably not happening.

The Team Fortress 2 mod does about the same thing, replacing that game's Scout with a pint-sized, katana-wielding Touchdown. Head past the break to see for yourself. Seriously, go watch the video now.

[Via Destructoid]

Regardless of what some developers may say about Valve's digital distribution service, Steam, the Left 4 Dead 2 developer remains steadfast in its belief that listening to customers and developers is the best way to stay on top of the game. Ars Technica spoke with Valve director of business development Jason Holtman before his keynote at the Montreal International Games Summit, and Holtman explained his company's one-two-punch plan of listening to Steam customers and developers for advice on running the operation. "They're actually usually far better predictors of success than we ever could be," he said.

He was also quick to point out that, despite the cyclical claims that PC gaming is "dying," Steam has been enjoying strong digital sales for years. During his presentation in Montreal, he noted that Valve's games have doubling sales numbers (or more) when they're put on sale, with Team Fortress 2 sales having jumped by as much as 520 percent when the Sniper vs Spy update was released. With numbers like that to back up his claim, it's starting to make a lot more sense to us why developers were so happy to defend Steam last month.

We know how boring most holly jolly holiday cards can be, so we were glad to see that a handful of Valve-ified greeting cards are now available for purchase at the game maker's online store. Featuring characters from Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead 2, and Team Fortress 2 in compromising holiday situations, there's no doubt that we'll actually – finally – send out greeting cards this year to everyone in our little black book. We're quite partial to the handful of TF2-themed images you see above (just look at The Spy, back with The Scout's mother!), but we're sure there's something for everyone in your list of Source Engine-loving holiday card receivers.

[Via Big Download]

Speaking to GI.biz, Valve's head of Steam, Jason Holtman, had some interesting things to say about the company's frequent deals and their effect on long-term game sales. According to Holtman, Steam's quick game sales -- offering Team Fortress 2 for $2.49 for only a few hours last month, for example -- don't have a negative impact on a game's long-term performance. Holtman notes that once a brick-and-mortar retailer reduces a game's price, people are reticent to ever pay a higher price again, but downloadable games are different. "You can have sales that are dramatically low and bring the price back up and people don't care," said Holtman, "They don't care at all."

Regarding the $2.49 Team Fortress 2 sale last month, Holtman said that sales actually increased the following weekend -- after it went back to full price. He also mentioned Steam's previous half-off sale of Left 4 Dead, noting that it didn't hurt retail sales at all (readers will recall that Valve claimed that it actually boosted retail sales). Holtman stated that it's possible to run several promotions without "sacrificing" either downloadable or retail sales, and added, "You don't have to hurt somebody to win."

Left 4 Dead survivor Bill's hat is now available in Team Fortress 2 for those who pre-ordered Left 4 Dead 2 from Steam or "participating retailers." Though the hat does ... apparently nothing, it implies – in the immortal words of Destiny's Child – "I'm not gonna give up, I'm not gon' stop, I'm gonna work harder, I'm a survivor."

Some may hold issue with the fact that the Team Fortress and Left 4 Dead universes have collided; however, Valve has explained the phenomena, stating that "while conducting a science experiment on parallel dimensions, Bill's hat fell off a table into the Team Fortress universe." Done! That's all the justification required. Oh, and if Bill's hat isn't enough incentive to pre-order the zombie apocalypse survival simulator, know that the game is currently 10% off on Steam.

[Thanks, ZaxCG2]

In our hurry to tell you about yesterday's two-hour-long Team Fortress 2 fire sale, we didn't really give you all the in-depth info about the accompanying Pumpkin Patch update which you so richly deserve. We'll rectify that now, but not before saying that a few short hours after the announcement was posted yesterday afternoon, the update went live! You can play it right now -- on PC, of course. Oh, you thought it might come to the 360? That's adorable.

The update will temporarily introduce a King of the Hill map called "Harvest" into the mix, complete with Halloween-themed elements like collectible candy, exploding pumpkins, and the ghost of Zepheniah Mann, who temporarily freezes passersby in a gripping, powerful spell of fear. Five Achivements are available during the festivities, as well as a number of "Mildly Disturbing Halloween Hats," or paper bags with scary faces painted on them. If you're lucky, you might just get the one emblazoned with Joan Rivers' visage. Aaaaah!