TF2 Newbs (Team Fortress 2) Blog

See the previous blogpost for the Tough Break Update. See the bottom of this post for yesterday’s TF2 patch.

Steam Sale 2015 is LIVE!

No click-the-robots browser game to annoy you this time, Newbs. Instead, this sale has the following feature:

• View your Discovery Queue once each day to earn a free Steam Trading Card.
  • Your Steam Level must be 5 or higher to qualify for this reward.
  • The Queue is a list of ten random games, taking you to the Store Page for each game so you can view trailers, screenshots, reviews, and the deals for each game.
  • The Trading Card reward helps complete the North Pole Noir Sale set. Like all card sets, completing the set earns you items such as emoticons and backgrounds (that can be sold etc.) and helps level up your Steam account.
  • Earn an additional Trading Card for every US$10 spent buying games over the course of the sale (not merely each purchase).

Gems (a currency you can collect by converting unwanted backgrounds, emoticons, and trading cards) currently don’t have an auction function like they did last season, but surely Valve will put them to use in the future.

But what about the SALE?

If you’re not familiar, Steam offers two major sales a year, one over the Winter Holiday, and a Summer Sale typically beginning in July. Each lasts about two weeks and features massive sales (many in the 40% to 66% range!) over that time. There are currently over 10,000 games on sale right now–the only major title that isn’t on sale yet is the just-released Fallout 4.

• Deal: Purchase a Steam Hardware item now (a Controller or Steam Link device) and earn a free copy of both Left 4 Dead 2 and CounterStrike: Global Offensive.

Sales on Games Newbs Play:

Because I like bullet points, that’s why….

• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is 75% off at $4.99
• Lots of Star Wars games (Battlefront II, KOTOR, Jedi Knight I and II) are $2.99 each
• Sid Meier’s Civilization V is 75% off at $4.99
• Wolfenstein: The New Order is 85% off at $8.99
• Tales from the Borderlands is 66% off at $8.49
• Bioshock Infinite is 75% off at $7.49
• Starbound is 33% off at $10.04
• Most Final Fantasy franchise games are 50% off

TF2 Patch Notes: December 22, 2015

• Renamed the Smissmas 2015 Mystery Gift to the Smissmas 2015 Festive Gift. It can now be opened to find a Gun Mettle and Tough Break Festivizer.
• Fixed a couple of sounds for the Taunt: Bucking Bronco not playing properly
• Fixed not being able to sell playerclass upgrades in Mann vs. Machine mode
• Fixed bots sometimes not spawning in Mann vs. Machine mode
• Fixed the Pyro’s invulnerable period while activating the Phlogistinator lasting longer than the activation taunt
• Fixed the crate opening animation not always displaying the image of the item received
• Fixed the Medigun sometimes using the incorrect berCharge rate on maps with multiple stages
• Fixed an issue where the Loose Cannon would sometimes not apply knockback on hit
• Fixed decorated weapons not getting the crit-boost material effect
• Strange Part: Kills While Explosive Jumping can now be applied to Strange Grenade Launchers
• Updated the Mann Co. Store with the Smissmas sale. Deep discounts on nearly everything in the store.
• Updated the equip_regions for the Berlin Brain Bowl, Business Casual, Distinguished Rogue, Cut Throat Concierge, Blood Banker, After Dark, Bountiful Bow, Dead of Night, Au Courant Assassin, Rogue’s Robe, Sky Captain, Lady Killer, Puffy Provocateur, and Lurker’s Leathers
• Updated the model/materials for The Hat With No Name so it can now be equipped by the Soldier, Sniper, Demoman, and Engineer
• Updated the model/materials for the Co-Pilot so it can now be equipped by the Scout, Soldier, and Engineer
• Updated the model/materials for the Medical Monarch and added a new style
• Updated the scoreboard
  • Added Ping column header when viewing ping as text on the scoreboard
  • Added the player count for each team
• Updated ctf_landfall
  • Fixed building teleporters between spawn room doors
  • Fixed an exploit that allowed players to go outside the map
• Updated PASS Time
  • Experimenting with new HUD elements and art
  • Experimenting with new viewmodel animations
  • New testing feature ‘tf_passtime_team_bonuses’ that shares pass, steal, and intercept bonuses with the whole team

[N] Obey

Steam has made some changes to the client software in an attempt to reduce the number of phisher/hacker accounts. Rest assured that the following doesn’t apply to you if you have ever spent at least US$5 lifetime at the Steam Store.

UPDATE 5/31/15:  Valve explains their reasons for having limited users to PC Gamer.

A limited user is any Steam account that has not yet spent at least US$5.00 at the Steam Store; such a user is similar to a universal free-to-play account. Limited User accounts have had many of the functions of the Steam client removed–mostly to prevent phishers and hackers from creating throwaway Steam accounts. Among the features that are now disabled for Limited User accounts include:

• Sending friend invites
• Voting or posting on anything in Steam Workshop, Greenlight, or Reviews for a game/software
• Opening text chat windows with another user or groups
• Gaining Steam Profile Levels and Steam Trading Cards
• Participating in the Steam Market

The above restrictions are lifted if the user buys a game(s) of at least $5 value in the Steam Store for yourself or as a gift, buys at least $5 worth of Steam Wallet funds, or adds a prepurchased Steam card to the account.

Limited User accounts can still play free-to-play games on Steam, promotional trial games like Free Weekends, receive and play gift games from another person, trade games and/or in-game items, and activate promotional CD keys (like from hardware companies or a Humble Bundle). However, none of these actions will earn full user access; at least $5 of funds and/or content must be purchased from Steam (or a Steam card from a third-party, and then applied) to remove the Limited User restrictions. Again, receiving a game(s) or in-game items as gifts will not remove the restrictions.

[N] Obey