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Posts Tagged ‘unusual’

Scream Fortress 2016 is LIVE!

Posted on: October 21st, 2016 by 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
  • 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 “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

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!

 

Newbs June 2Fort Event Starts Today!

Posted on: June 1st, 2016 by Obey

Click back to the previous post for more information on how to win hats, keys, and more in the month of June for playing TF2Newbs’ 2Fort servers! Also, TF2 patched last night. As always, here’s the short version:

  • A “Demo Support” feature has been added to auto-record matches with increased replay options
  • Fixed energy weapons not reloading when auto-reloading is turned ON
  • Some hats updated
    • Co-Pilot is now all-class
    • Added styles for Fear Monger, Big Elfin Deal, Bootie Time, Patriot’s Pouches, Tough Stuff Muffs, and Toowoomba Tunic
  • TF2Newbs: |N| Octo is resetting HLStats for all of our servers today for the contest

24getiton

2Fort Contest thru the Month of June

Contest is now live! Play on any of Newbs’ 2Fort servers, and HLStats will turn on when at least four players are active. You can earn rewards for being the first to reach point total thresholds, winning weekly stats contests, or having played more Newbs’ 2Fort than anyone else! You can also earn rewards for jumping in to server-starting events on #04 “Haley’s Octo-land” every day when they’re announced.

hats etc.

The first set of weekly stats contests begins Monday, June 6th. Try to earn the most backstabs, or reflected rocket kills, or buildings destroyed, or whatever stats will be announced for that week, over all of our 2Fort servers! You can access these stats, as well as our forums and check our current server population, via the TF2Newbs’ main page by clicking on the “Stats” link.

NOTE: Servers #11 and #27 no longer exist, so they aren’t part of the contest. Servers #01, #04, #05, #09, #11, and #21 are the six 24/7 2Fort servers for TF2Newbs.

 

TF2 Patch, May 31, 2016: Patch 1

Undocumented changes

  • Updated the Weight Room Warmer to be equippable by Scout and Demoman.
  • Updated the Toowoomba Tunic to be equippable by the Demoman.
  • Updated the Co-Pilot to be equippable by all classes.
  • Added styles to the Fear Monger, Big Elfin Deal, Bootie Time, Patriot’s Pouches, Tough Stuff Muffs, and Toowoomba Tunic.
  • Updated the equip_region for the Scoped Spartan.

Patch 2

  • Fixed pink error textures appearing on heavy(sic) fist weapons

[N] Obey

Newbs’ News for May 22, 2016

Posted on: May 22nd, 2016 by Obey

Lots going on now! The short version:

  1. TF2Newbs’ 2Fort Contest runs the entire month of June
    • Player with most active playtime for June wins an unusual hat
    • First player to first reach 30,000 and 50,000 points will win 10 keys each
    • Two server-starting players on #04 eligible to win metal or hats each day
    • Three server-starting players on #04 also eligible to win a key each week.
  2. HLStats reset June 1st
  3. LMAOBOX hack users successfully banned by VAC
  4. Plenty of Newbs are playing the Overwatch beta
  5. Terraria patch 1.3.1 is now live
  6. Steam Summer Sale 2016 runs from June 23rd to July 4th

1. TF2Newbs’ 2Fort Contest Starts June 1st

TF2Newbs’ six 24/7 2Fort servers (#01, #04, #05, #09, #19, #21) are hosting a series of contests during the month of June, with monthly, weekly, and daily prizes! See the forum post for questions and more information.

 

Monthly Points Race

TF2Newbs’ six 24/7 2Fort servers (#01, #04, #05, #09, #19, #21) will host a month-long points contest!

scout

The first player to reach a total of 30,000 points will win 10 keys!

The first player to reach a total of 50,000 points will also win 10 keys! (The player who wins the 30k prize is ineligible for the 50k prize.)

Note: These rewards are measured by HLStats’ points system, not the TF2 client points. Follow this link to see how points are awarded.

hats etc.

Longest Playtime Award

The player who has been actively playing for the most time on TF2Newbs’ 24/7 2Fort servers while HLStats is enabled (that is, a minimum of 4 players) for the entire month of June will win an unusual hat! The hat to be won will be announced at a later date.

 

Weekly Achievement Contests

Each week, three additional stats contests will be announced for achievements, such as Headshot Kills, Amputator Kills, or Buildings Destroyed. A little bit like a week-long Contract, the person with the highest number of points scored for that goal during the week will win. One Mann Co. Key will be awarded to each other the three winners (maximum one key per player, per week).

Note that this contest counts all credit across all five TF2Newbs servers for the entire week. “Weeks” in this case start from Mondays at midnight PDT through the next Monday at midnight PDT.

 

#04 Server Starter Awards

Server #04 will feature daily prizes awarded to random players who jump in to the server whenever an “server starting” announcement is made.

Once the server start announcement is made, the next time the server maintains at least 8 vs. 8 players for several minutes (not counting spectators), then admin {N} Wife will note a list of players credit with helping that day. Anyone in Spectate at the time the list is generated will be disqualified from the list of eligible players for this award that day.

soldierdemo

From that list, two random winners will be chosen. The prizes on weekdays are one refined metal, and the prizes on Saturdays on Sundays are a random hat!

Also each week, the three players who earn the most server starting credits for that week will earn a prize of one Mann Co. Key each.

Admins may give away other prizes at their sole discretion. |N| Koans has said that he may give away Steam games to those who start #05 on their own initiative.

 

Eligible Servers for the Contests

Copy-and-paste these commands into your TF2 console to jump straight to the server. Don’t forget to favorite them for later!

connect s1.tf2newbs.com 
connect s4.tf2newbs.com
connect s5.tf2newbs.com
connect s9.tf2newbs.com
connect s19.tf2newbs.com
connect s21.tf2newbs.com

 

2. Stats Reset June 1st

reset stats

The HLStatsX software, which counts server-side points and ranks users, will be reset on all servers on June 1st. Everyone will be reset to the base 1,000 points. This coincides with the latest TF2Newbs contest.

 

3. LMAOBOX Hack Users Banned By VAC

We’re all tired of having servers quickly empty when some jerk enters with an obvious hack: a whirlwindy-stormy audio, headshotting, shooting through walls, and running around indestructibly. The admins of TF2Newbs ban these hackers, a thankless, sometimes time-consuming task. And now, we can rejoice, as one of the worst scourges of the virtual world (especially Valve servers!) is now effectively blocked by Valve’s VAC system.

fry-can-t-tell-meme-generator-can-t-tell-if-bad-at-game-or-fighting-hackers-524037

PC Gamer reports that the LMAOBOX cheat is now detectable by VAC, Valve’s Anti-Cheat system, causing current and recent users to be permanently VAC-banned (meaning they can’t play on any Valve-owned server of any Valve game on that account). Such users are typically unwelcome on TF2Newbs’ servers also. Heck, the cheat has been so pervasive that spamming chat about the use of such a cheat is a bannable offense on Newbs’ servers, Skial, and other TF2 communities.

You should never use this hack, especially since the recently publicized source code has been found to be riddled with malware. Friends don’t let friends use LMAOBOX.

 

4. Got Overwatch?

It comes out Tuesday, May 24th, and it may just be the next coming of Team Fortress 2. We’re discussing it on the forums.

What is Overwatch? It’s a first-person shooter with character classes and short-term objectives, much like Team Fortress 2. Overwatch is by Blizzard, the creators the Diablo, StarCraft, and WarCraft franchises. Overwatch isn’t available on Steam, and is exclusive to Battle.Net, which is Blizzard’s proprietary gaming service. Nor is it free-to-play; the standard retail price of the game is US$59.99.

overwatch_versus_sky_wallpaper___1920_x_1080_by_mac117-d85xg5b

Overwatch is also a creative license, with digital comics and animated shorts–gee, also like TF2! Here’s a YouTube demo of some of the classes.

 

5. Terraria Patch 1.3.1 is Now Live!

Click here for the full patch notes. Gamepedia is very buggy, so here’s a summary of the PC version update:

  • Lots of upgrades to the wiring system, including wiring gates (AND, NOR, XAND, etc.), actuators, tools that can remotely and wirelessly trip actuators, and more.
  • Lots of new statues added, including many of the mobs/monsters in the game, that can be attached to wires to spawn their respective mobs.
  • Controller support for PC version.

Terraria, the 2D Minecraft-like digging and crafting game that just hit its 5th birthday, got its first patch since its mega-patch last August. Since modders continue to experiment with Terraria’s limits, developer ReDigit continues to apply patches that help with specific objectives. In this case, a logic system has been implemented in the wiring system to allow, for instance, a door to open only if two switches are both opened, for traps to be affixed to walls and ceilings, and to have remote controls and projectile-triggered buttons to trip your wired masterpieces. Geeky stuff to be sure, kind of like those mana farmers in the Minecraft modding community.

Terraria is an action game for US$9.99 with cute visuals and a robust crafting system, worth the price even when it’s not on sale…

 

6. Steam Summer Sale 2016 is Soon!

Speaking of sales, numerous reports link a source that seems to confirm that the twice-a-year Steam sale will occur at the end of June [June 23rd to July 4th, to be specific]. This is a good time to buy games, as most games sold by Steam go on sale at some point during the bonanza, often from 33% to 75% off. Terraria for $2.49 (75% off) is common, and any game that is at least a year old is often found for 50% off. Flash sales of perhaps twelve-hour duration feature the best sales, so users check in frequently for the favorite games.

Hail Gaben! (Please note that this is a different video from the old one.)

 

[N] Obey

TF2 Patch, Contests, and More

Posted on: April 25th, 2016 by Obey

Been pretty busy in the Newbs Community lately! Here’s what’s going on:

  • Nathan Vetterlein (AKA the voice actor for the Scout) has been streaming on Newbs’ #14 lately!
  • TF2Newbs is hosting an Event on Saturday, May 7th!
  • {N} Olse is looking for players for his online, Saturday night D&D games.
  • Minor TF2 Patch (full patch notes below); mostly updated models and Comp beta features.
  • Added: a new “Alternative” Quickplay option for game modes: Territoral Control (Hydro),  Special Delivery (Doomsday), Medieval (Degroot Keep), and Player Destruction.TF2 streamer
  • I’ve updated the FAQ “A TF2 Newbs’ Guide to More and Better Items”
    • Added sections describing Graded weapons
    • Added info on how to earn even more hats

[Updated Apr 26: Another minor TF2 patch. Added Medieval mode to the Alternative Quickplay.]

Meet the REAL Scout!

meet the real scout

TF2 streamer Nathan Vetterlein, the voice actor of the Scout in TF2, has been bumping over to #14 to play the Badwater Basin map! Naturally, users following the streamer quickly fill the server, and we’re okay with that! He is also known for his group of sketch comedians.

Click here for his Twitch channel and other profile links.

Click here if you want to get involved with Newbs’ server starting, becoming a member, or joining one of our many sub-groups.

 

Are Ya Ready for Some Football Soccer XFL Dodgeball PASS Time?

We’re going something different for an event on Saturday, May 7th:  A soccer-like game mode, PASS Time, will be played by Newblets!

Special Rule: No primary weapons! Secondaries/melee weapons only. You’re going to be busy chasing the ball carrier anyway.

Click this link to learn everything you need to know, and to sign up.  An unusual hat will be awarded!!

 

Full Patch Notes: Apr 26, 2016

  • Fixed client crash related to custom HUDs
  • Fixed the Powdered Practitioner not using the correct Blue team material
  • Fixed seeing the Competitive Mode doors at the beginning of the round for Mann vs. Machine
  • Updated the Patriot Peak with a second style that will hide the Scout’s headphones
  • Updated the Quickplay category for Alternative game modes to include Medieval maps

Full Patch Notes: April 25, 2016

Undocumented changes

  • Updated the models/materials for the Powdered Practitioner.
  • Updated the Powdered Practitioner to be equippable by Soldier and Spy.
  • Updated the Hot Dogger and Patriot Peak to be equippable by all classes.
  • Added styles to the Eliminators Safeguard, Bruiser’s Bandanna, One-Man Army, Your Worst Nightmare and Powdered Practitioner.
  • Updated the backpack icons for the Hot Dogger, Powdered Practitioner, Patriot Peak, Diplomat, One-Man Army and Your Worst Nightmare.

[N] Obey