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Posts Tagged ‘steam’

TF2 Update: 8/13/2014

Posted on: August 14th, 2014 by Obey

First, the news:

  1. Don’t forget: The Newbs’ Medieval Arent Event is this Saturday, Aug. 16th!
  2. [EDIT: 8/15/14] Dota 2 is fundamentally changing its economy to remove Treasure Keys entirely.
    • These keys, which used to cost $2.49 from the Dota 2 Store, were removed in the June 6, 2014 patch.  Treasures now open without a key.
    • Existing keys now expire on July 1st, 2015. You can redeem a Treasure Key for one unlocked Treasure of your choice. Use them before they expire!
    • Mastery Gems have been removed, with their functionality merged with Kinetic Gems.
  3. [EDIT: 8/15/14] Valve is now accepting merchandise design submissions via the TF2 Workshop. Click here for more info.
  4. Newbs’ #15 is now officially 24/7 Hightower.  We’re stepping up the search for Jr. Admins and Server Starters.  You can also win some free stuff! See this client post and this forum post for more info.
  5. TF2 patched yesterday.  See below for full patch notes and see what’s in the new crates.
  6. Steam client patched around 4 PM EST today.  Those notes are at the end of the blog post, but here are the major changes:
    • Visual upgrade
      • The borders on all of the windows and popups are gone.
      • The Steam Icon has changed.
      • Plenty of Big Picture bugfixes.
    • Mac OS X 10.5 will no longer be supported.  This is its final patch.
    • Games can be assigned to categories, and more than one at a time.  You can now hide games so you/others can’t see them.
      • Hiding games probably tells Valve what games users strongly dislike.
    • Linux: Fixed audio being lost when alt-tabbing.
    • Some newer NVIDIA hardward support has been added.
    • Web browser updated for increased performance and stability.

 

Here’s what happened in the latest TF2 Patch:

  1. Two new crates!
    • Crate #84 drops just standard killstreak kits, one primary weapon for each class.
    • Crate #85 drops new strangifiers and new strange parts
    • This means the following items now have strange variants:
      • Air Strike soldier primary wep
      • Classic sniper primary wep
      • Manmelter pyro secondary wep
      • Vaccinator medic secondary wep
      • Widowmaker engineer primary wep
      • Apparition’s Aspect cosmetic
      • Anger cosmetic
    • New strange parts:
      • Robot Scouts Destroyed
      • Taunting Player Kills (number of times you’ve killed a taunting player)
  2. You now can has your very own Spycrab!
  3. Some bugfixes.

1. “Supply Munition” Crates #84 and #85

These only drop standard Killstreak Kits. If you want to use them for crafting higher-tier Specialized or Professional K. Kits, make sure you apply them to a Unique-quality item only!  See my guide for more information.

Crate Series #84
Drops Yes
Items
Stickybomb Launcher Killstreak KitStickybomb Launcher Killstreak Kit
11 .00%
Minigun Killstreak KitMinigun Killstreak Kit
11 .00%
Direct Hit Killstreak KitDirect Hit Killstreak Kit
11 .00%
Huntsman Killstreak KitHuntsman Killstreak Kit
11 .00%
Backburner Killstreak KitBackburner Killstreak Kit
11 .00%
Back Scatter Killstreak KitBack Scatter Killstreak Kit
11 .00%
Kritzkrieg Killstreak KitKritzkrieg Killstreak Kit
11 .00%
Ambassador Killstreak KitAmbassador Killstreak Kit
11 .00%
Frontier Justice Killstreak KitFrontier Justice Killstreak Kit
11 .00%
or an Exceedingly Rare Special Item!
1 .00%
Crate Series #85
Drops Yes
Items
Air Strike StrangifierAir Strike Strangifier
9 .90%
Classic StrangifierClassic Strangifier
9 .90%
Manmelter StrangifierManmelter Strangifier
9 .90%
Vaccinator StrangifierVaccinator Strangifier
9 .90%
Strange Part Robot Scouts DestroyedStrange Part: Robot Scouts Destroyed
9 .90%
Strange Part Taunting Player KillsStrange Part: Taunting Player Kills
9 .90%
Strange Part Buildings DestroyedStrange Part: Buildings Destroyed
9 .90%
Anger StrangifierAnger Strangifier
9 .90%
Apparition's Aspect StrangifierApparition’s Aspect Strangifier
9 .90%
Widowmaker StrangifierWidowmaker Strangifier
9 .90%
or an Exceedingly Rare Special Item!
1 .00%

 

Team Fortress 2

Undocumented Changes

Steam Client Update: Patch Notes

General

  • Updated desktop user interface styles, simplifying common controls and navigation elements, and neutralizing overall color palette to align with Steam web pages and Big Picture mode
  • Major update of embedded web browser to increase performance, reliability, and to bring in various security fixes and functionality updates
  • Work around to prevent duplicate key presses in some cases for games running inside Adobe AIR
  • Don’t delay content updates for games set to high priority
  • Fixed in-game progress indicators for workshop downloads displaying incorrect percentages for compressed files
  • Fixed mods and shortcuts not displaying their names correctly in the friends interface and server browser

Library

  • Games can now be assigned to more than one category at a time
  • Add “Hide this game in my library” functionality, accessible from the Set Categories menu. Games that are hidden will not show up in library filters except for a new filter called “Hidden”, which will only appear once at least one game is marked as hidden. Hidden games are still available for play and will still appear on the user’s profile.
  • Add an “Uncategorized” filter in desktop library filter drop downs. This will appear when a user has at least one game in a category and at least one game that has no categories.
  • In desktop library details, list, and small views, games can be multiply selected using shift-click and control-click and certain operations can be performed on the group
  • Added install option to context menu for multiple selections
  • When filtering by favorites or by owner, display only a single section instead of all the sections that the games are in.
  • When adding a new category, scroll the category list to the bottom so we can see the category that was just added
  • Added by-category filter options to the filter drop downs in all library views
  • When switching between library views, remember the category of the game selected and retain it when possible
  • In list view with game images selected, display the image on all instances of the game instead of only one
  • Eliminate extraneous “Favorite” category when favorites are added from Set Categories instead of Add to Favorites
  • Make type-to-search properly expand categories in list view. Better synchronize type to search between library views.
  • Remove user categories from navigation bar hover menu. They are still available in the game filters drop-down in the library views.
  • Add context menu to category headers in library views, containing “Expand All” and “Collapse All”, and, in details/mini view, “Show/Hide Icons”
  • Improve category collapse state synchronization between library views.
  • Don’t show hover effect on list items when a context menu is visible
  • Add glow effect on hover to 2′ library game filter button
  • Retain selections when switching filters whenever possible
  • Retain multiple selections when switching between details and list view
  • Synchronize selection between main window library views and Small Mode.

Mac OS X

  • This update ends support for Mac OS X 10.5
  • Updated Big Picture to make use of the Spaces feature for full-screen mode
  • On 10.9 and above ask the OS to prompt for Accessibility access to enable the overlay

Linux

  • Updated Steam Runtime with support for newer compilers
  • Added support for entering custom network settings in Big Picture
  • Fixed audio being lost when alt-tabbing
  • Fixed crash when doing a voice chat if you did not have a network connection
  • Fixed launching SteamVR games

Big Picture

  • Updated various visual styles across Big Picture including focus treatments
  • Limit daisy wheel input to numeric entries where appropriate
  • Improved gamepad navigation through checkout
  • Fixed custom icons for streaming non-Steam games
  • Fixed crash when enabling parental controls
  • Fixed scroll bars disappearing on some EULA pages after scrolling to the left
  • Fixed daisy wheel adding multiple periods after pressing space twice to end a sentence
  • Fixed automatic capitalization getting stuck enabled in daisy wheel
  • Fixed a bug preventing the user from changing payment methods if their stored credit card has expired
  • Fixed crash on launching Big Picture if your PC has no sound card (or it is disabled)
  • Fixed crash on game launch if you mashed the A button

In-Home Streaming

  • Added support for NVIDIA hardware encoding for D3D9+ games on GeForce 650+ cards and the latest NVIDIA drivers. You can enable this by turning on hardware encoding in the advanced options on the host computer.
  • Reset hardware encoding setting to default off, to minimize surprises now that NVIDIA encoding is available
  • Added hardware accelerated decoding for Mac OS X 10.9 and 10.10
  • Reset hardware decoding setting to default on for Windows and Linux, and default off for Mac OS X
  • Improved software decoding performance for clients with multiple CPU cores
  • Disabled vsync while streaming for a smoother capture framerate
  • Fixed being able to scroll the right and bottom edges of a map in certain resolutions
  • Fixed Steam crash streaming from a host with an i5-3450 CPU
  • Fixed games detecting both local and streaming controllers; streaming controllers take precedence if they are connected.
  • Fixed streaming games from Steam when it has been put in Windows XP compatibility mode
  • Made it more clear that unlimited bandwidth increases latency and is not recommended

[N] Obey

TF2 Patches n’ More: June 11, 2014

Posted on: June 11th, 2014 by Obey

*****Currently, Newbs’ servers #09 2fort, #14 goldrush, and #26 are down for repatching. Check back in the next 24 hours.******

Here’s the summary:

  1. HEADLINES–see below for article links.
  2. Team Fortress 2 had two patches today.
    • Lots of bugfixes, exploits, and some cosmetics’ slot placements.
    • Taunts are now push-to-hold toggles.
    • Updated the Eureka Effect wrench (see below).
    • What’s up with the Bread? (see below)
  3. Reminder: Steam Summer Sale usually launches around the last week of July. With that in mind:
    • Craft some Mysterious Cards (see below); they seem to replace coupons as a reward when crafting Steam badges currently.
    • Expect some new Summer-themed Crates and Keys.  Last year we had those nine color-coded Summer Coolers and Summer Claim Checks.

 1. HEADLINES

Click the link in the headline to jump to the pertinent article.  Happy summer reading!

  1.  The Dota 2 International for 2014 has raised over US$9 million in prize money, and it still has two months to go. That’s about as much as the prize pool for the annual Masters golf tournament, according to these guys.
  2. The most recent Official TF2 Blog post talks about new weapons that Valve have tested and rejected. They are probably getting ready to launch some new weapons in the near future, but expect Valve to be patient, as they have been busy reworking existing, underused items. New items haven’t launched in 18 months or so.
  3. The Highlander Open is inviting non-competitive TF2 gamers to put on their best tryhard hat and give the competitive TF2 scene a try. You will still need to form your own group of at least 9 players. Note: Be sure to see their list of Banned Items.
  4. Telltale Games is working on a new game that is supposed to explore the origins of Handsome Jack, the mouthy bastard you may or may not have hunted down in Borderlands 2. It will involve some moral-based decisions that will alter the flow of the game to a degree, and will be released as a series of five episodes over a Season (much like BL2′s Season Pass, I’m sure). It will also take place on that ever-present Hyperion moonbase you see in the other games, and is slated for release on October 17, 2014. Here is a 16-minute trailer, courtesy of PC Gamer.
  5. ICYMI: Dota 2 had a patch on June 2nd, in case you missed it. Yes, that’s what ICYMI means. You may have learned something useful today. There was another one on May 30th, but the main thing there is that you will score no points if you are playing in an invalid slot (i.e. a Core playing in a Support slot, or vice versa).

 

2. Team Fortress 2 Patches — June 12, 2014

See below for the full patch notes.

Updated: The Eureka Effect

Eureka Effect

You can now pick up buildings with the Eureka Effect in your loadout.  Just like before, you can build a teleporter near a point for defense, use your wrench to return to the respawn room and reload, jump back into your teleporter to get back up front quickly, then continue to rebuild your nest. Except now, you can move your buildings later if you need to, just like stock Engineers.

The Eureka Effect now repairs and upgrades buildings at half the normal rate. It’ll take 16 clicks (instead of 8) to upgrade a building, consuming the same amount of metal to upgrade, as it uses only half as much per hit. The initial build should still take the usual time. This replaces the old penalty that denied the ability to move your buildings. And it’s not much of a penalty if you’re Wrangling your level-3 sentry gun!

You can now teleport either to your spawn OR the location of your teleporter exit. You can toggle between the two locations by hitting the reload key (default: R). Consider this the next time you MvM and need to hide before you get ganked, or port over to your sentry gun next to your exit!


Dat Bread

Bread.png

This is probably a temporary thing: when you teleport, one of nine bread models may appear, disappearing in a few seconds.  I wonder if they correspond to the nine TF2 classes… and Archimedes finally gets his pretzel (see top-right corner of the second image)! Maybe we will start defending Rome in MvM or some such.

All I’m saying is, Dustbowl has had rat holes inserted into the buildings of its map for like, a year now.  So what’s that all about?!

Full Patch Notes: Patch 1

  • Fixed item descriptions for Strange scores not appearing to update
    • So now when you get killed by the same Strange weapon continually, you should see the weapon increase its increment! Hooray.
  • Fixed a bug where damage dealt and healing done Strange scores would stop incrementing
  • Fixed an exploit where teleporters could build up a large amount of health
  • Fixed a bug where premium accounts would temporarily appear to revert to free status
  • Fixed deflected rocket explosion sounds playing repeatedly
  • Fixed deflected Black Box rockets not giving health to the Pyro
  • Fixed being able to apply the Strange Part: Buildings Destroyed tool to the Flying Guillotine
  • Fixed several cosmetic items not cloaking properly for the Spy[1]
  • Added the AsiaFortress Cup Season 7 medals
  • Community Request: Added SetCustomUpgradesFile input to the gamerules entity to allow servers to specify a different upgrades file
  • Updated the localization files
  • Updated the Eureka Effect
    • Can now pickup buildings
    • Repair and upgrade rates have been decreased
    • Can teleport to your spawn room or your Teleporter Exit

Undocumented changes: Patch 1

  • Updated the backpack icons for the Director’s Vision, Meet the Medic, Schadenfreude, High Five! and Shred Alert taunts.
  • Added a prompt above players in the High Five! taunt pose.
  • Taunts that were push-to-hold are now toggles. Pressing the action key once will let the player hold their pose until the action key is pressed again
  • Moved the Director’s Vision from the Action slot to the currently unused Taunt slot. fixed in patch 2
  • Fixed Spy’s revolvers not using the Spy‘s hand in reload animations.
  • Bread now sometimes spawn when using a Teleporter.
  • Updated the equip_region of El Muchacho.
  • Updated the item type of Brawling Buccaneer and Hornblower.
  • Fixed a bug that let players move while taunting.
  • Added console commands tf_taunt_move_forward_speed, tf_allow_sliding_taunt and taunt_by_name.
    • I think tf_allow_sliding_taunt allows a function similar to the old frozen-taunt-while-moving.
  • Dispensers now cost 70 metal when using the Gunslinger. fixed in patch 2
  • Added a white line above the names of the buildings on the Construction PDA menus.

Patch 2

  • Fixed a client crash caused by failing to properly parse the item schema
  • Fixed not being able to equip The Director’s Vision taunt in the Action slot
  • Fixed not being able to taunt with the Spy’s disguise kit
  • Fixed the Engineer‘s build menu staying open after changing class[2]
  • Fixed being charged the incorrect amount of metal for a Dispenser when The Gunslinger is equipped
  • Updated the description of The High Five! Taunt to better describe the new toggle behavior
  • Updated the materials for The Eureka Effect HUD to support mat_picmip

 3. Mysterious Cards

Like I said above, the Steam Summer Sale (in whatever form) will be coming eventually. On June 10th, users who crafted Steam badges began receiving one of a set of ten Mysterious Cards. PC Gamer weighed in with their thoughts, and referred to Reddit for some of their speculative information.

In crafting these cards, I found that I got one random card, numbered 1 thru 10 with a yellow Steam logo, with each badge I crafted. It seemed to replace the usual game coupons I was accustomed to getting–perhaps further evidence of the upcoming sale; do they want to halt the couponing if they’re about to launch a sale?

Lately, they seem to trend for $0.25 to $0.30 on the Steam Market, if you just want to go buy a set.  But you can’t craft a badge with them… YET.

 

[N] Obey