TF2 Newbs (Team Fortress 2) Blog

Here’s the pertinent stuff:

• This year’s Halloween event has been extend to Wednesday, November 16th (three weeks from today).
• Removed ctf_turbine from the Comp map rotation.
• Merasmissions have been fixed:
  • Each player will get one map-specific mission per day to complete, for a total of 26 missions.
  • Missions from previous days will add up; join a server to load up to two missions at a time.
• Your Soul Gargoyle ranks up on 666, 1337, 2000, and then every additional 2000 points, up to a maximum of 36,000 (“Merasmus’s Own”).
  • It tracks points earned on Halloween Event maps during the annual event only.
  • The Soul Gargoyle also tracks the number of transmutations and Merasmissions you complete.
  • It also is a tool item that lets you transmute almost any three items into a nontradable, random Halloween cosmetic.
  • Ranking up the Soul Gargoyle doesn’t do anything.
• Bugfixes to Brimstone and Pit of Death event.

[N] Obey is working on a comprehensive Halloween Item & Costume Part FAQ. Look for it to be posted on this blog before Halloween!

Patch 1

• Extended Scream Fortress VIII to run through November 16th, 2016
• Fixed a problem causing some players to receive the incorrect number of Merasmissions
  • Players should receive one Scream Fortress VIII Merasmission per day of the event, for a maximum possible of seven as of today
  • Players who received too few Merasmissions will be able to quickly catch up to the intended amount
  • A small number of players who received too many Merasmissions will not receive any for the next few days
• Fixed the Tome of Merasmissions displaying an erroneous maximum number
  • All players will have the opportunity to receive twenty-six Merasmissions during this year’s event, regardless of number of Merasmissions completed in previous years
• Fixed a small number of unusuals that did not have the proper displayed quality (unique (golden name) instead of unusual (purple name))
• Updated the model/materials for The El Paso Poncho
• Fixed not seeing the correct display name for featured community maps (example: pl_fifthcurve_event vs. Brimstone)
• Updated the localization files
• Updated mvm_ghost_town to fix error models in the spawn rooms
• Updated pl_fifthcurve_event (Brimstone)
  • Fixed RED players getting inside BLU‘s 2nd forward spawn
  • Fixed skull’s teeth in hell being non-solid
  • Fixed hell’s coffin tune and tiny spell song sometimes playing to the next round from previous round
  • Fixed some players dropping into hell’s lava in rare cases
  • Fixed big pumpkin in RED 2nd base being non-solid
• Updated pd_pit_of_death_event
  • Fixed an exploit which allowed players to enter the enemy spawn
  • Fixed enemy players teleported to the Underworld spawning in one another
  • Fixed finale particles not being drawn from certain distances
  • Fixed certain overlays not rendering
  • Increased damage over time dealt in the Underworld
  • Added climbable props to the platforms near mid
  • Added a nobuild to the area surrounding the portal
  • Added signs in spawns to make the second door more obvious
  • Adjusted respawn times so that the losing team will respawn faster
  • Adjusted health, ammo, and spellbooks around the map
  • Changed the Underworld buff to use the Purgatory buff from Eyeaduct
  • Players killed during the finale will now turn into ghosts
  • Decreased score limit from 5 to 4 points per player

Undocumented changes

• Added new ranks for the Soul Gargoyle.

Patch 2

• Removed ctf_turbine from the Competitive maps list
• Updated Mann vs. Machine to use the new ping information system already in use for Casual and Competitive matchmaking
  • In particular, parties with members from differing regions should now have a better queue experience

Correction from the Scream Fortress VIII release notes:

• Added a taunt Unusualifier
  • A new tool that will Unusualify a specific taunt with a random Unusual effect when the tool is applied to the taunt

[N] Obey

Scream Fortress runs thru November 9th! Complete missions to earn… uhh, stuff.

[UPDATE: Oct 23, 7PM EST] Halloween contracts are working properly. Go get ‘em!

The short version:

• Three new community maps: Brimstone, Pit of Death, Maple Ridge Event
• Added the Creepy Crawly Case
  • It hasa 21 community-made items
  • Chance to give one of 3 community-created Halloween-restricted items as a bonus
  • Chance to give a taunt Unusualifier tool as a bonus item
• All crates have a doubled chance to drop an Unusual (typical to that crate) during the event (now 2%, up from 1%)
  • All Unusual cosmetics that drop during this event will have a 2016 Unusual Effect instead of the usual possible effects
• Maps changed in TF2 Competitive rotation:
  • Added pl_badwater and ctf_turbine
  • Removed cp_granary and cp_badlands
• You can now save/load your preferred maps in the Casual Mode
• During Scream Fortress, choose Halloween to jump into a Halloween Event game
• Fixed the MvM votekick bug (hopefully)

Come back for more details later…

Look up info on past Halloween Events on my TF2Newbs Halloween FAQ!

Patch 1:

As always, these patch notes courtesy of the Official TF2 Wiki.

Scream Fortress VIII has arrived!

• Featuring 3 new community maps: Brimstone, Pit of Death, and Maple Ridge Event
• Added the Creepy Crawly Case
  • Contains 21 new community-created items that make-up the Creepy Crawly Collection^[1]
  • Has a chance to give one of 3 community-created Halloween-restricted items as a bonus item^[2]
  • Has a chance to give a taunt Unusualifier as a bonus item
• Added a taunt Unusualifier
  • A new tool that will Unusualify the specified taunt with the Unusual effect listed in the tool’s description
  • Can be found as a random bonus item when opening a Creepy Crawly Case
• Added two new taunts to the Mann Co. Store
  • Taunt: The Victory Lap
  • Taunt: Second Rate Sorcery (community-created)
• Added 8 new community-created Unusual effects
  • 4 new effects for Unusual hats
  • 4 new effects for Unusual taunts
• Continue last year’s event by collecting the souls of dead players for your Soul Gargoyle by killing enemies, doing map objectives, or collecting the Soul Gargoyles that spawn in the maps
• Join Halloween matches by selecting the “Halloween” category in Casual
• Scream Fortress VIII runs through November 9th, 2016

During Scream Fortress VIII

• All players who launch the game will receive a Soul Gargoyle if they don’t already have one from last year’s event
  • Grants access to Merasmissions and Halloween item transmutations
  • Tracks Merasmissions completed and souls collected
• Added 3 new Merasmissions for the featured maps
  • Completing a Merasmission will give players a classic Halloween item and the chance for a Creepy Crawly Case
• The chance to receive an Unusual item from a case opening has been increased during the event
• All cases and Mann Co. Supply Crates will grant Halloween 2016 Unusual effects instead of their normal Unusual effects

Matchmaking

• The Competitive maps list has been updated
  • Added pl_badwater and ctf_turbine
  • Disabled cp_granary and cp_badlands
  • Maps will continue to enter and exit this list over time
• Added “Load Saved Settings” and “Save Current Settings” buttons to the Casual Mode Map Selection menu
  • Search criteria is now manually saved to give players more control over the default settings when the game is launched
• XP earned in Casual matches has been adjusted to reward players more for their personal contribution to the match
  • XP per point has returned to 6.5 XP per point
  • XP earned for match completion and objective completion now scales based on your score relative to total amount of points scored by everyone in the match
• Increased the matchmaker’s priority of matches with imbalanced teams
  • This should reduce the occurrence of extended imbalanced matches when multiple players leave

General

• Added the AsiaFortress Cup Season 10 tournament medals
• Added LBTF2 6v6 Season 13 tournament medals
• Improved several aspects of texture handling for OS X and Linux clients
  • This should reduce the rate of “Out of memory” errors for players on high texture settings, especially on level change
  • Players still encountering this error can reduce texture quality to medium or lower to greatly improve stability pending further improvements
• Fixed a missing material issue on cp_sunshine
• Fixed players not taking damage when exploding as a bombhead without stunning Merasmus
• Fixed Mann vs. Machine zombies not using the correct skin in Ghost Town outside of the Halloween event
• Fixed a bug with the vote-kick timer in Mann vs. Machine mode
• Fixed taunts not restoring the proper weapon when the taunts are finished
• Fixed the Pomson 6000 playing the shotgun reload sound
• Updated the sounds made when the Scout shoves someone while using the Shortstop
• Updated some Merasmus audio files that weren’t playing properly
• Updated the localization files

Undocumented changes

• Updated the description for the Soul Gargoyle.

Patch 2

• Fixed spooky OS X crash upon joining a server
• Fixed not being able to gain progress on Merasmissions

Notes

1. ↑ Combustible Cutie, Class Crown, Burly Beast, Pestering Jester, Mo’Horn, Toadstool Topper, Big Topper, Heavy Tourism, Corpus Christi Cranium, Spirit of the Bombing Past, Lil’ Bitey, Colossal Cranium, Showstopper, Cranial Carcharodon, Spooktacles, El Paso Poncho, Wide-Brimmed Bandito, Nasty Norsemann, Surgeon’s Sidearms, Mad Mask, Wing Mann
2. ↑ Aerobatics Demonstrator, Final Frontier Freighter, Hovering Hotshot

[N] Obey