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Posts Tagged ‘tf2 comp’

TF2 Patch, Sept 12, 2016

Posted on: September 12th, 2016 by Obey

A few assorted things here….

  1. Terraria’s desert-themed patch is now live
  2. 2K Games offering free copies of its remastered Bioshock games to owners of original versions
  3. TF2 patched

Terraria Patch 1.3.3 Is Now LIVE

Sandstorm

In this major patch, deserts get some love and attention. Now every newly-created map will feature a pyramid, and there are new biomes for (hardmode) underground desert, underground corrupted desert, and underground hallowed desert. And a bunch more stuff; here is the patch notes.

 

Bioshock Games Have Been Remastered

Ahead of the official launch of the Bioshock Collection, 2K Games has made owners of the older versions of the games a free copy of the remastered games that they already own, whether on Steam or not!! The gaming news site Rock Paper Shotgun did a write-up about how to acquire the remastered versions.

 

Full Patch Notes: Sept 12, 2016

  • Fixed an exploit related to not respawning in the spawn room at the beginning of Casual and Competitive matches
  • Fixed Pyros griefing teammates by attacking them with the flamethrower
  • Fixed Medics getting a permanent speed boost after healing a charging Demoman
  • Fixed Medics getting the Demoman’s charging speed when using Mediguns other than The Quick-Fix
  • Fixed the Strange Razorback double-counting the number Spies shocked
  • Fixed a bug related to the Sniper‘s zoom and taunting
  • Fixed players being able to pick-up the PASS Time jack while they are stunned
  • Increased the matchmaking system’s preference for matching large pre-made parties against each other in Casual Mode. This should result in more balanced matches, but may cause a slight increase in queue times for larger parties.

[N] Obey

TF2 Matchmaking Changes

Posted on: July 30th, 2016 by Obey

When TF2 suddenly introduced their casual and competitive modes and removed quickplay, a lot of problems became immediately apparent. Two weeks have passed since the launch, and I can say that both modes have much improved. Let’s dig into what has changed now that quickplay no longer exists–and see what else is going on:

  1. Heavy vs. Pyro ends Sunday, August 14th. Pyro is winning, 55% to 45%, at this time.
  2. {N} Olse has a signup on the forums for his next Newbs XCom 2 write-up.
  3. Terraria patched
  4. Short tutorial on TF2 Matchmaking
  5. Full patch notes from July 28

 

XCom 2: Newbs Edition!

It’s that time again: {N} Olse will write up an account of how us Newblets will save the world in 2038! Just sign up on the forums by creating a character according to his guidelines. Olse will play thru the game with characters designed by Newbs’ specifications, and then fictionalize that outcomes for a story for you to read!

 

Terraria Patch 1.3.2 is now Live

So what’s new in Terraria? Here you go:

  • Having a Party Girl in your town will occasionally cause town members to throw a Party. Party Girl and Clothier sells different stuff during a Party, including a piñata that looks like a pig.
  • You can now choose what kind of evil corruption is in your world during world creation, as long as you have a world savefile that has unlocked Hardmode.
  • A lot of bugfixes.

This isn’t much of an update, but developer ReLogic says that a future patch will create a biome out of the Underground Desert, and its hallow/corrupt/crimson hardmode variants, so there’s that to look forward to.

Also, they have been hard at work on Terraria: Otherworld for some time. The game is going to be a more RPG-centric game with more concrete goals, skill trees, NPCs with deep personalities, etc. They’ve hired a new art director and have decided to rework much of the game, so I don’t think you’ll see it enter beta in the next two years.

I continue to mention Terraria news because a lot of Newbs players own and play Terraria.

 

A Short Tutorial on the New TF2 Matchmaking

Helpful links:

Note that the option “Quickplay” no longer exists. Now, you can choose from the following options when you hit “Find a Game”:

  • Casual: After a short wait, you’ll join a game (occasionally in-progress) randomly selected from the map options you’ve checkmarked.
    • No penalties for leaving in the middle of a match.
    • A typical match tends to take 10-30 minutes.
    • You can level up your Casual Rank by scoring points and winning matches.
  • Competitive: After a short wait, you’ll join a 6-on-6 match on a randomly selected control point map.
    • Big penalties (in Rank, cooldown before joining next match) for leaving in the middle of a match.
    • A typical match tends to take 5-20 minutes.
    • Your Competitive Rank can go up or down depending on the match results.
  • Mann vs. Machine: After a short wait, you’ll join a team of players that fight a bunch of computer-controlled robots.
    • Boot Camp is free-to-play, and some servers allow more than 6 players.
    • Mann Up requires tickets, limits the party to 6 players, and provides rewards for completing missions.
  • Community Servers: Opens the Server Selection window so you can select a Favorited server, one you’ve played in your History, or search for one on the Internet.
    • This is how you can find our TF2Newbs servers!
  • Training: Complete solo practice missions to learn how to play TF2.
  • Create Server: Launch your own server, choosing any map that you have preloaded into your TF2 files. You can have players join and/or bots can play as well.

Casual Play

Casual Play replaced Quickplay for the following reasons:

  • You will typically (but not always) join a game before the match has begun. A Valve server identifies 24 players (or up to 32, depending on the server) currently searching for a game, then starts the game by pulling them all in at the same time.
    • I’m not sure if Casual Rank is a variable in which players will join you in a match, so players of all levels of Casual Rank may be lumped together in a server.
  • The server will attempt to pull in players a little while after a player abandons the server or disconnects.
  • Autobalancing is disabled, but votekicking was enabled once more after the July 28th patch. So you can complete an entire match (each team gets to attack and defend once, or best two-out-of-three rounds on symmetrical control point maps, for example) with the same team of players.
  • If you want to play with your friends, you can Create a Party beforehand. Your entire party will then be on the same team.
    • If you invite them to a game after the match has begun, there is no guarantee that they will join your side–they cannot join Spectator, and will be assigned a team when they arrive.
  • There is NO penalty for leaving a Casual match. You can join another match at any time, and you get credit to your rank, based on your play up to the point of leaving/disconnection.

Oh, and you do get to choose the map and game modes you wish to play! Under each play format, you can click open a window to enable/disable specific maps. Use this function when you want to play on a specific map right now, or you only want to play on a list of your favorities. Note that only official Valve maps, unlike the beta map Asteroid, are available.

casual(In the above picture, slightly fewer players are searching to play Hoodoo than Borneo. If I begin the search, I may ended up at a Hoodoo or Borneo map, but not an Upward map, and never at a Payload Race map.)

 

Competitive Play

competitive

This has come around because serious TF2 players have wanted this option for years. Valve’s Comp Play is still quite different than the competitive leagues out there, but they are much more accessible, since you don’t have to join a team, organize practices, discuss strategies, or work around item restrictions. So consider it Comp Play Lite if you wish. But here are the features:

  • TF2 Comp Play still revolves mostly around 5CP maps, so only the following maps are available (randomly selected for the match):
    • Badlands 5CP (not KOTH)
    • Foundry (just added!)
    • Gorge CP (not 5CP)
    • Granary (just added!)
    • Gullywash
    • Metalworks
    • Process
    • Snakewater
    • Sunshine
    • Swiftwater (just added!)
    • Vanguard (just added!)
    • Viaduct KOTH
  • You can Create a Party–and it is recommended that you do so–but you can also jump in with solo or with a partial party.
    • There are no class limits, no item restrictions, and no votekicking or autobalancing. But if you choose Sniper, you better be good, or you’re going to hear about it from your party.
    • Currently only 6v6 is supported, but other modes such as 9v9 may be supported in the future.
    • You don’t get to choose your map.
  • Random critical hits are disabled. You only get critical hits when a buff or uber grants them to you; this is typical of most comp leagues out there.
  • This is Ranked Play: your party will face a party of similar average Rank.
    • Your Rank can go up or down after a match depending on match won/loss, points scored, and other elements of your play.
    • There is a hidden ELO in the game, which is represented by your Rank. If you were to always play at the same relative skill level, your Rank will rise to that level and then stay roughly the same.
  • There are penalties for abandoning a match.
    • You will receive a greater loss of Rank than if you had merely lost the game (since the July 28th patch).
    • A “cooldown timer”, which won’t let you join another match after an Abandon, is enforced.
      • If you have played only a few games, the cooldown timer is much greater (hours’ and days’ cooldown).
      • Each Abandon increases this cooldown timer before you can play the next match.
      • All of this is designed to prevent the player who tries to leave a match in order to avoid incurring a loss. A player with lots of losses has an accurate Rank; a player with lots of Abandons is not a team player that ruins the game for everyone.

Community Servers

Don’t want to play on a Valve server? Join a community server for any of the following reasons:

  • You want to play on our TF2Newbs servers! Of course you do.
    • To join server #04, a 2Fort server: open your console, and type the following:
      • connect server4.tf2newbs.com
    • Then, Favorite us so you can find us again quickly!
  • You want to play on a server with alltalk, class limits, randomizer, or other options
  • You want to be able to join spectate, change sides, vote for an autobalance, or just wander around exploring
  • You want to play on a server with admins that can help when there is a problem, or you want a family-friendly server
  • You want to find a trade server, a Sniper-friendly server, a jump server, or an MGE server
  • You like to play on a server that has regulars that frequent the same playing space, and can chat with while gaming

Playing games is a social act, and so it makes sense to build and support a community where people can gather to play their favorite games.

 

Create a Server

Can’t find any active server to play on the Asteroid map? Feel like practicing your Soldier skills against a bunch of Engineer bots on Dustbowl? Do you want to invite your friends to a map you’ve made yourself? Use “Create a Server” to do all of these and more.

It is necessary to be familiar with console commands to load bots, use cheats, and otherwise make changes to the server. Hit the tilde (~) key to open the console, where you can type in commands.

Bots need a navigation mesh to be able to play a map; without one, they stay in spawn. If you’re using a map other than one of these, then you will need to generate a mesh for the bots with a command, which may require several minutes and will restart the server.

 

Full Patch Notes: July 28, 2016

  • Matchmaking
    • Competitive Mode
      • Abandon penalty times are now longer for first-time abandoners with a low number of games played
      • Abandoning a game now results in significant rank loss. This loss is always greater than losing a given match.
      • Fixed an issue where players could drop and reconnect too many times before triggering an abandon
    • Casual Mode
      • Matches can now start with fewer than 24 players when there are not enough compatible players in queue
        • The match will still add additional players (up to 24) as they become available
        • This should improve queue times for low-population regions and game modes
      • Added maps cp_gullywash, cp_snakewater, and koth_probed
      • Fixed not being able to cycle between spectator modes
  • Weapon viewmodels
    • The field-of-view slider has been re-added to Adv. Options menu (range: 54 to 70 degrees)
      • This feature is now allowed in Competitive Mode
    • Improved and fixed many animations when using a higher viewmodel field-of-view
    • Removed custom animations from the sv_pure whitelist because it was being exploited
    • Adjusted The Cow Mangler(sic) and Black Box reload animations to be slightly faster (they now match the default rocket launcher)
  • Your class portrait will now always be the innermost in the match status HUD (top center) and will have a slightly brighter background
  • Added the Prinny promo items to the Mann Co. Store
  • Added the Florida LAN 2016 community medal
  • PASS Time update
    • Fixed achievement items (e.g. Civilian Grade JACK Hat) not cloaking with the Spy
    • Tweaks and fixes for all maps
    • Fix pack speed not being updated sometimes
    • Aiming players will no longer receive pack speed bonus
    • Some adjustments to reduce average round length
      • Overtime will end immediately if the winning team touches the ball
      • Overtime won’t happen if it’s impossible for the losing team to win
  • Fixed players being able to avoid a vote-kick by reconnecting to the server at the right time
  • Fixed the pd_watergate HUD not drawing
  • Fixed Engineer teleporter exits sometimes detonating when used due to invisible geometry
  • Fixed getting a black screen if the chat window was open when the match stats were being shown
  • Fixed weapons not being hidden during some taunts for the Engineer, Medic, and Soldier
  • Fixed Spy cloak causing the HUD 3D Character to cloak for the player the Spy is disguised as
  • Fixed a client crash related to the animation system
  • Fixed a bug where players in looping taunts could sometimes cause other clients to drop from the server
  • Fixed not seeing particle effects for Unusual versions of Baseball Bill’s Sports Shine, Ritzy Rick’s Hair Fixative, and Texas Slim’s Dome Shine
  • Fixed hearing the “team wipe” Announcer audio at the incorrect times

Undocumented changes

[N] Obey

Patches Improving Casual/Comp

Posted on: July 16th, 2016 by Obey

Suddenly, TF2 wouldn’t let you choose a map unless you joined a community server! And you got punished for leaving a casual game! And TF2 got a bit more crashy! Never fear–patches are here! Here’s the summary:

  • Casual Mode got a bunch of bugfixes and quality-of-life changes, incl:
    • Games with open slots will now receive new players normally
    • Added Vote Kick option: Kicked players will still receive partial experience
    • You can toggle on/off which maps you are willing to play on; game remembers your settings
  • Re-added Create Server option
  • MvM: Fixed sentry buster sounds from repeating after destruction

 

If you still want to play on servers with players of all skill levels, instead of players at your Rank, that’s what community servers are for, like TF2Newbs! We are here to promote a Newb-friendly playing environment free of slurs and hackers.

Speaking of Ranks, note that your Casual Rank and your Competitive Rank are separate! Your Comp Rank can go up and down as you play, but your Casual Rank can only go up. Ranks aren’t a factor in community servers at all.

 

16 July 2016 Patch Notes: Patch 1

  • Updated Casual Mode
    • Fixed a problem where in-progress games with open slots would not receive new players
    • Fixed a case where players would sometimes not receive experience (when playing a match to completion)
    • Fixed not getting domination/revenge events
    • Added a feature to the game mode selection screen that allows players to play on specific maps
    • Added the Vote Kick option
      • Players that are kicked will receive partial experience after the match ends
    • Maps previously using the stopwatch timer will now play to completion, regardless of the first team’s time
  • Added a “Create Server” button to the “Find a Game” menu
  • Fixed the party chat window sometimes not drawing
  • Fixed Australium weapons not drawing correctly in the character loadout screen
  • Updated the Dr’s Dapper Topper to fix a material issue
  • Thanks to Justin G., aka sigsegv, for these reports:
    • Fixed sentry buster(sic) sounds not being cleaned up properly after detonating
    • Fixed a bug related to bot death detection
  • Updated Taunt: The Balloonibounce to end the taunt if the player is moved
  • Fixed a regression in the Pyro’s flamethrower where flames could sometimes damage players behind obstacles and walls
  • PASS Time update
    • Updated several HUD materials to support mat_picmip
    • Fixed seeing the wrong cap limit in the win panel

Undocumented changes

Patch 2

  • Fixed a common client crash that prevented the game from starting

9 July 2016 Patch Notes

  • Fixed the Strange Filter: Competitive tool not describing itself properly after being applied to an item
  • Fixed the Jackpot! PASS Time achievement not tracking wins
  • Updated Mannpower Mode to use 7 captures per round on matchmaking servers (was 3)
  • Updated ConVar zoom_sensitivity_ratio so its value is saved across sessions and it can be adjusted in Competitive Mode

[N] Obey

TF2 Meet Your Match + WAR! Update

Posted on: July 6th, 2016 by Obey

This blog has been updated for the changes from Day 2.  Here’s the summary, with more details forthcoming:

 

Day 1′s Important Changes

  • Competitive Mode is now out of Beta
  • PASS Time is now out of Beta
  • You can play in unranked (casual) games, if you wish, to match you into games with players with roughly equal Comp Rank
  • Three new Community maps
    • Released in the Day 2 patch: Sunshine, Swiftwater, and Metalworks
  • No TF2 patch has released yet–but one is expected on Day 2 (tonight or tomorrow?)

Day 2′s Important Changes:

  • A “WAR” between Team Heavy and Team Pyro
    • Choose one Team when you join your next Ranked or Unranked game
    • Points you score go toward your Team; doesn’t matter what class you play
    • Winning Team overall all of TF2 (Heavy or Pyro) will decide which character will be first to get a patch designed for that character
    • The losing character will likely get a patch some time after the winner
  • Some important game rebalances
  • Added 4 new taunts
  • Added the Perfect Stranger crate
  • Added new “starter pack” crates and “keyless cosmetic” crates in the Mann Co. Store
    • Each class has one of each, so that you can outfit your favorite class
  • Added new items in the Valve Store

 

Comp

What is Competitve Mode?

As the splash page says, you can now join a ranked 6-vs-6 game, solo or with up to 5 of your friends, to play a Ranked game where the outcome of the game affects your Rank. Measured from 1-18, your Rank can go up or down depending on points scored and whether you win or lose. You can lose Rank and face temporary bans from Comp play by leaving a match or being disconnected.

There seems to be an option for 9-vs-9 games as well, but it isn’t currently available.

Quickplay now has the option to join a casual, unranked match where you play against players of similar Rank. “Unranked match” means that playing doesn’t affect your Rank, but does put you into a game with (hopefully) users of similar skill.

Here’s the FAQ and the wiki page, but here’s some more pertinent info:

  • To play, you need to be a Premium (not F2P) user. See this blogpost for more info on what Premium is.
  • To play, you also need either a valid phone number registered to your Steam account OR buy a Lifetime TF2 Comp Pass.
    • The Lifetime Comp Pass is not to be confused with the TF2 Comp Beta Pass.
    • If you currently have the Steam Mobile Authenticator on your smartphone, you should already qualify.
  • During play, note the following additional rules:
    • Currently only 6v6 is supported, no class restrictions
    • You can’t change your teams, and you’re penalized if you leave the match
    • Random critical hits are disabled for all weapons
    • Shotgun-type weapons (only) have fixed damage spreads (in a 3×3 grid pattern)
    • Symmetrical Control Point maps play best-of-3 rounds (or best-of-5 rounds in higher Ranks)
    • Attack/Defense maps play the Stopwatch mode where the fastest attacking team wins
    • DirectX9 and certain vanilla graphical modes/options are enforced
  • Maps currently supported: Process, Badlands (!!), Gorge, Gullywash, Snakewater, and KOTH Viaduct
    • Note that the 3 new Community-made maps are not yet supported

3 New Community Maps

(I’m glad to see that these maps aren’t set in the desert.)

 

300px-Sunshine_main

Sunshine is a traditional 5CP map designed for competitive 6v6 play that might remind you a little of Badlands. Has already seen UGC Comp play. A Halloween-themed clone, Sinshine, also exists, so expect it to show up in this year’s Halloween rotation as well.

 

300px-Cp_metalworks_b22_5

Metalworks is also a traditional 5CP map, set in a cloudy industrial setting at night. It’s as grey as your bosses’ hearts.

 

300px-Swiftwater_overview

Swiftwater is a payload map in a water bottling map in an Alpine setting. This map has seen lots of play in the UGC Comp Highlander ladders.

 

Important Game Rebalances

There are SO MANY important game rebalances, I’m going to have to write a separate blogpost about it. Here are the biggest changes:

website_under_construction

Yeah, I’m out of time. Scroll down to read the patch notes–you’ll be glad you did. Have fun adjusting how you play Medic!!

 

4 New Taunts

These taunts are currently only available for purchase in the Mann Co. Store, and not in a crate at this time.

  1. The Balloonibouncer has the Pyro jump onto a spring-loaded Balloonicorn and ride it… well, a little gentler than the Engineer rides his Bucking Bronco. $7.99 in Mann Co. Store.
  2. The Disco Fever has the Spy do a short disco-inspired dance for 8 seconds. $4.99 in Mann Co. Store.
  3. The Carlton has the Scout do a 6-second dance where he wishes he was related to the Fresh Prince, Will Smith. $6.99 in Mann Co. Store. Da da DAA daa….
  4. The Fubar Fanfare has the Soldier play a sad trombone for 5 seconds. $4.99 in Mann Co. Store. Womp womp womp womp….

 

The “Perfect Stranger” Crate

Also known as Crate #103, this crate requires a standard Mann. Co Key, and is filled with Strange-quality weapons and weapon parts that have been requested by the TF2 community. Here’s what’s inside:

  • Strange Part: Heavies Killed
  • Strange Part: Pyros Killed
  • Strange Part: Critical Kills
  • Strange Part: Allied Healing Done
  • Strange Part: Damage Dealt
  • Strange Sandvich
  • Strange Natascha
  • Strange Powerjack
  • Strange Degreaser
  • Strange Reserve Shooter
  • Strange Ambassador
  • Strange Quickiebomb Launcher
  • Strange Back Scatter
  • Strange Panic Attack
  • Strange Iron Bomber
  • or the usual 1% chance of an Unusual cosmetic item

None of the above items existed as a Strange item before. Also, all of those items are assumed to have an equal chance to drop. (Don’t forget: all of those items are marketable also!)

 

“Starter Pack” Item Bundles

Nah man, it’s not a meme.  These are item packages sold in the Mann Co. Store to outfit the class of your choice. They’re on the Home screen of the Store under the “Starter Pack” tab.

Starter Packs

Each item bundle includes one each of all of the non-Stock, non-promotional items for that class. All of the items are Unique-quality, cannot be used in crafting, and they (and the item bundle itself, if left unopened) are tradable after a few days. The bundles cost between US$2 and $6, with the Medic being cheapest (fewest items) and the Soldier being the most expensive (most items). Each bundle also includes one Name Tag, so you can rename your new favorite weapon.

For example, the $3.99 Sniper Starter Pack include a Huntsman, Razorback, Jarate, Tribalman’s Shiv, Syndey Sleeper, Darwin’s Danger Shield, Bushwacka, Shahanshah, Bazaar Bargain, Machina, Cozy Camper, Cleaner’s Carbine, Hitman’s Heatmaker, and the Classic, plus a Name Tag. (Note that you don’t get items like the AWPer Hand or a Fortified Compound, because those were both promotional weapons and cosmetic reskins of other weapons.)

You can also choose not to open the bundle after you buy it, and trade or market it later. Perfect for gifting to noobs.

 

“Keyless Cosmetic” Crates

Called the “Unlocked Cosmetic Crates” in the Mann Co. Store, you can buy for US$2.49 (the same price as a key!) this tool item of the class of your choice. When opened, it produces one random cosmetic equippable by that class, with an unknown chance of it being Strange or Unusual. These crates are found under the same “Starter Pack” tab in the Store.

Cosmetic Crates

We don’t know what the chances are for the item to be Strange or Unusual. We also don’t know if all-class or multiple-class cosmetics can drop from it, or cosmetics from certain series like Robocrates, or promotional items. The crates do say that any Strange or Unusual items pulled are hats only, so don’t expect to get lucky and pull an Unusual that wasn’t possible before. If a drop list becomes available, I’ll provide a link in the future.

Consider this: It costs four refined metal + one class token to craft a hat of a given class (or three ref for a cosmetic of a random class), which is cheaper than buying this crate (or a key). But it can be a pain to bother finding a trading partner to trade enough metal, with keys being worth 20 ref for a while now.

Also, all of the cosmetics for sale in the Mann Co. Store are minimum US$4.99, so whatever you get is a relative deal. The TF2 community, as well as Valve, has gotten away from crafting or introducing new weapons into the economy (at least until the Pyro and/or Heavy future patches come out), and players are much more likely now to buy straight from Valve or the Market. TF2Newbs still has two trade servers, #2 and #18, so you can try to find trade partners there.

 

One More Thing About Crates

All (well, maybe most) crates in your inventory now include a list of the possible items within. If you mouse over the items, you get a pop-up picture of the item, so you can see better what possible items are in the crate.

 

 

Full Patch Notes: July 8, 2016

As always, the full patch notes are from the Official TF2 Wiki.

Patch 1: The Meet Your Match Update has arrived!

General

  • Reworked the main menu
    • All play-related buttons are now accessible by clicking the “Find a game” button
    • Moved the Workshop and Replay buttons down the bottom group of mini-buttons
  • Enemies killed by energy weapons now play a special sound as their body dissolves
  • Improved stopwatch UI to help better communicate game state
  • Added new sound vo files for Competitive Mode
  • Added sounds to all attacks where the target player resisted a part of the damage
  • Added Prinny promo items for purchasing Disgaea: Prinny Hat, Prinny Pouch, and Prinny Machete
  • Added AsiaFortress Cup Mercenaries Cup Season 7 medals
  • Added TF2Maps 72hr TF2Jam Summer Participant medal
  • Added Random Acts of TF2 medals
  • Added check to prevent players with P-REC loaded from participating in matchmaking
    • Prevents P-REC crashing which results in players receiving abandon penalties
  • Updated the Demo Support feature
    • Added an option to only record matches that are played using Tournament mode (mp_tournament)
    • Added an option to auto-delete matches that don’t have any events recorded
    • Fixed a bug where tickcount values were being noted incorrectly
    • Options can be set using the Adv. Options menu
  • Updated model/materials for the Bonk Boy, Dr’s Dapper Topper, The Sole Saviors, and The Dark Falkirk Helm
  • Updated the localization files
  • PASS Time update
    • No longer in Beta!
    • New Items Available
      • An Early Participation Pin will be awarded to everyone who played PASS Time during beta
      • Two new achievements with item rewards
        • Tune Merasmus’s Multi-Dimensional Television
        • Jackpot!
    • Map Changes
    • Game Mode Changes
      • Changed the score limit from 3 to 5
      • Tweaked various JACK throwing parameters
      • Pack Running
        • The JACK no longer heals the player carrying it
        • A player carrying the JACK with no nearby teammates is marked for death
        • Teammates near a player holding the JACK will be slowly healed, and can run as fast as the fastest nearby teammate
      • JACK Power
        • Passing the JACK increases a power meter
        • The power meter will decay over time
        • Filling the power meter unlocks a special goal worth extra points
    • Art Changes
      • New view model animations
      • The HUD provides more information about goal type and status
      • Player pips for Spies will reflect cloak and disguise status
    • Misc Details
      • Added cvar tf_passtime_scores_per_round
      • Added tf_glow entity that can be used to enable the glow effect on any entity
      • Updated trigger_passtime_ball FGD entry to hide unimplemented features, temporarily
      • Spawnflag added to func_passtime_goal to indicate to the HUD that a goal is unlocked by JACK power

Bug fixes

  • Fixed being able to repeatedly activate taunts before the current one had ended while underwater
  • Fixed disguising with the Conniver’s Kunai while spotted by a Sentry causing the Sentry to ignore the Spy
  • Fixed class change notifications appearing to the enemy team for a period of time after teams swap sides in Competitive Mode
  • Fixed a case where players would sometimes see other players carrying the wrong weapon(s)
  • Fixed a bug where the Engineer couldn’t remove the Sapper from a linked teleporter if was building (not active)
  • Fixed a bug where the Engineer was able to heal a linked teleporter while it was building. This now matches the behavior for the other buildings.[1]
  • Updated several hats to fix the Sniper not removing them while taunting
  • Fixed hiding the Pyro’s head when using the second style of the Fear Monger
  • Fixed using the wrong ozfortress medals for divisions other than Premier
  • Fixed a few UGC tournament medals using the wrong names
  • Fixed the Engineer’s missing pelvis hitbox
  • Thanks to Justin G., aka sigsegv, for these reports
    • Fixed airblasts sometimes sending reflected projectiles toward friendly players, buildings, and projectile shields
    • Fixed demo record/read stringtables not writing/reading past 512kb
    • Fixed inconsistency between items that use mini-crit buff (TF_COND_ENERGY_BUFF)
    • Fixed multiple Mann vs. Machine bugs caused by bot AI functions being executing after the bots have died
    • Fixed a bug related to lunchbox items, where the ammo bar can be drained in cases when it shouldn’t be
    • Fixed Medics sometimes instantly reviving players in Mann vs. Machine

Performance

  • Fixed several cases of loading and rendering hitches that would cause abrupt changes in FPS
  • Improved Flamethrower flame performance in Mann vs. Machine on clients and servers by up to +500%
  • VGUI .res files are now cached after loading, reducing framerate hitches. Custom HUD authors can disable this by setting vgui_cache_res_files to 0.
  • Improved rendering performance of zombies
  • Improved VGUI font performance

Custom HUD Versioning

  • In order to reduce crashing and broken UI elements after updates, custom HUDs now must explicitly specify the version of the TF UI with which they are compatible
  • Custom HUD files must now be installed as add-ons under the tf/custom/ folder. Loose .res files extracted to the game directory will not be loaded
  • Custom HUDs must now contain a file named “info.vdf” in their root folder, with the key “ui_version” set to the TF UI version with which they are compatible
  • The current TF UI version is 1
  • Non-HUD add-ons under tf/custom/ will continue to work without an “info.vdf” file, but may not load .res files

Mann Co. Store

  • Added the Competitive Matchmaking Pass
  • Added new class starter packs
  • Added new key-less cosmetic crates
  • Revamped main store pages
  • Added a spotlight item
  • Added ability to mouse over and preview items in a bundle/crate/collection
  • Adjusted some weapon prices for consistency

Maps

  • cp_granary
    • Added new ammo pack locations in final and yard areas
    • Clips and blockbullets added to stairs
  • cp_badlands
    • Final cap point capture time increased to 2 seconds (from 1 second)[2]
    • Clips and blockbullets added to stairs
  • cp_foundry
    • Reduced ammo kit in final cap entry room (attackers’ side) to medium
    • Slightly reduced attacking team’s spawn time when working on final
  • pl_upward
    • Fixed an exploit where players could sometimes build sentries in the cliffside by capture point 3
  • pl_thundermountain
    • Fixed the first and second cap points of stage 3 each awarding 2 points to the capturing team instead of 1
  • Mannpower
    • All official maps now set Mannpower mode without requiring the use of the tf_powerup_mode convar

Game Balance

  • Scout
    • Crit-A-Cola
      • Added Marked-for-Death debuff for 2 seconds after the buff effect expires
    • The Soda Popper
      • Added “On hit: build Hype”
      • Removed “build hype by running around”
    • Shortstop
      • Added an Alt-fire attack — reach out and shove someone!
      • Removed +healing bonus
      • Reduced pushback vuln to +20% (from +40%)
    • Sun on a stick
      • Take 25% less damage from fire while deployed
  • Soldier
    • The Righteous Bison
      • Fixed a bug causing players to be hit by the same projectile multiple times, causing the damage dealt to vary wildly
      • Per-shot damage has been increased to compensate, resulting in slightly more damage on average [1]
        • Point-blank deals 54 damage (previously 20-80)
        • Maximum range deals 24 damage (previously 14-56)
      • Slowed projectile by 30%
      • Projectile damage reduced by 25% for each enemy penetrated
      • Updated projectile impact sound
    • The Disciplinary Action
      • Reduced duration of speed bonus on teammates to 2 seconds (from 3)
    • The Rocket Jumper
      • Updated model/materials and sound
  • Sniper
    • Cozy Camper
      • Now requires a full charge to gain flinch resistance
    • The Sydney Sleeper
      • When fully charged, or when making a headshot, now applies Jarate in a radius
      • Scoped shots now extinguish teammates
    • The Cleaner’s Carbine
      • Removed hidden +10% damage taken multiplier while under the effects
  • Heavy
    • Natascha and Brass Beast
      • 20% damage resistance now only applies when spun up and below 50% max health
    • Huo-Long Heater
      • Added -10% damage
      • Added +25% increased damage vs. burning players
      • Reduced ammo drain to -4/sec (from -6)
      • Reduced pulse damage from Ring of Fire to 12 (from 15) due to increased damage vs. burning
    • Buffalo Steak Sandvich
      • Fixed “damage taken” multiplier accidentally being +10%, instead of the listed +25%
  • Spy
    • Base
      • Max speed increased to 320 (from 300)
    • Enforcer
      • Attacks pierce resist and absorb effects from all sources
  • Pyro
    • All Flamethrowers
      • Added: Direct damage reduces Medi Gun healing and resist shield effects by 25%
        • Medics hear a “healing interrupted” sound when this is happening to their heal target
    • The Manmelter
      • Removed (hidden) 20% fire rate penalty
  • Medic
    • Base
      • All Mediguns allow the Medic to match the speed of their heal target
    • Quick Fix
      • ÜberCharge rate reduced to +15% (from +25%)[3]
    • Overdose
      • Increased movement speed bonus to +20% (from +10%)
      • Increased damage penalty to -15% (from -10%)
    • Dropped Mediguns
      • Stored ÜberCharge begins to decay over time after coming to rest
  • Demoman
    • Base
      • All boots now require a shield to activate any move speed bonus listed on the item
    • The Iron Bomber
      • Decreased the fuse time to 1.4 seconds (from 2.0)
    • The Quickiebomb Launcher
      • Increased charge time reduction to -70% (from -50%)
      • Increased damage bonus for (max) charged shots to +35% (from +25%)
      • Increased clip size penalty to -50% (from -25%)
      • Removed “Stickybombs fizzle 4 seconds after landing”
    • The Sticky Jumper
      • Updated model/materials and sound
  • Engineer
    • Base
      • Level 1 teleporters now cost 50 metal (previously 125)
    • Widowmaker
      • Damage increased +10% when attacking the same target as your sentry
    • Eureka Effect
      • Reduced “50% less metal from Dispensers and Pickups” to 20%
      • Added “Teleporters cost 50% less metal”
    • The Short Circuit
      • Base projectile attack is -10 metal (hit or miss) and then add -5 metal for each projectile destroyed (sometimes a buff, sometimes a nerf)
    • The Pomson(sic)
      • Fixed an exploit with shooting through your own buildings
      • Increased close-range damage to 72 (from 62)
      • Reduced long-range damage to 32 (from 42)
      • Updated projectile impact sound

= Undocumented changes

  • Pomson 6000
    • Added projectile impact particle.

Patch 2

  • Fixed a bug where the Medic’s run speed would not adjust when his heal target was killed
  • Fixed client crash related to custom HUDs

 

[N] Obey

Feel free to leave a comment with any questions, and I’ll answer them in a future blogpost.

And expect a blogpost about the item rebalances and bugfixes in a LENGTHY blogpost in the next three days. 284,677 lifetime hits, and we want more!

 

TF2 Comp Beta… and a Diablo 2 patch?!

Posted on: March 12th, 2016 by Obey

Three things to be discussed in this post:

  1. The newly-begun TF2 Competitive Beta
  2. The first Diablo 2 patch in five years is now live
  3. A tiny TF2 patch from Thursday, March 10th

 

1. “Heading to the Comp Beta, and we’re… gonna get mur-ur-murdered…”

Sorry, listening to the Dixie Cups. Anyway, Valve has started a group for TF2 Comp Beta communications. At this time, the Beta is only open for periodic stress tests, where they try to maximize the number of players on a server to test the hardware’s performance.

[N] Obey has joined the group, so I can keep you updated here on the blog about any important bits.

 

2. Diablo 2? People still play that?

Yes, they do! Recently, Blizzard hired some staff for work on their “legacy titles”, and there are rumors going around that games like StarCraft may get an HD remake or some other nostalgic love.

Diablo-2-LOD-screenshot-diablo-18654188-800-600

To wit, Diablo II patch 1.14a is live and can be found here. Please note that Blizzard no longer maintains previous patches, so in the event that you need to restore back to 1.13c, hang on to that file or search for it elsewhere.

You can find the patch notes here on Pastebin, but what’s relevant to most of you is that you no longer need to run the game in compatibility mode, as the game has now been updated for Windows 7, 8, and 10, as well as Mac 10.10 and 10.11.

There will be later patches, likely content patches. Diablo 2 isn’t available for download on Battle.Net, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it becomes available in the near future. Here’s hoping Blizzard reveals some of the runewords that still haven’t been discovered… oh! The official Diablo II help site, The Arreat Summit, has been running strong since 1999, so go there for any information you need.

3. TF2 Full Patch Notes: March 10, 2016

Undocumented changes

[N] Obey