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Posts Tagged ‘halloween’

Scream Fortress VII

Posted on: October 29th, 2015 by Obey

Wow… there’s a lot of new content in TF2 right now! A new Halloween Event with multiple new maps, revival of all of the old Halloween Events, new Halloween contracts, plus the Invasion event that started earlier in the month… Mannpower is now out of beta… Here’s a running timeline of TF2 events:

  • The previous six Halloween Events are live from now until November 11th.
    • TF2Newbs Halloween Event FAQ: http://www.tf2newbs.com/newbs_blog/2014/10/22/a-tf2-newbs-guide-to-halloween-event-maps/
  • The new Halloween Event, Scream Fortress VII, is also live until November 11th.
    • http://www.teamfortress.com/screamfortress7/
  • Invasion ends on November 5th!
    • Blogpost: http://www.tf2newbs.com/newbs_blog/2015/10/08/tf2-invasion-community-update/
  • A major TF2 patch is dated for late December, that should coincide with the semi-annual Steam Sale.

 

PLEASE NOTE: Sorry about the lack of clickable hotlinks. Something’s wonky with WordPress this morning, and the TF2 Wiki is not responding. Check back later, as I’ll be updating this page over the next several days with images, links, and more specific info.

 

website_under_construction

The TF2 Story So Far….

  • Scream Fortress VII comic, “Gargoyles and Gravel” (just released
    • http://www.teamfortress.com/gargoyles_and_gravel/
  • Invasion Update video (Oct 6, 2015)
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-yQlDnIAR14
  • TF2 comic, “Old Wounds” (Aug 31, 2015)
    • http://www.teamfortress.com/tf05_old_wounds/

 

New Maps!

Gorge Event

A reskinned Gorge attack-defense map

Hellstone

A new, community-made payload map

Moonshine Event

A new, community-made King of the Hill map

Sinshine

A new, community-made control points map

 

 

 

 

Full Patch Notes: Oct 29, 2015

  • Comic and additional information available on the website (http://www.teamfortress.com/screamfortress7)
  • Featuring 4 community maps: Gorge Event, Sinshine, Moonshine Event, and Hellstone
  • Added the Gargoyle Case which contains 19 community made cosmetics
  • Added two new community-made taunts to the Mann Co Store: Soldier’s Requiem and Zoomin’ Broom
  • Collect the souls of dead players for your Gargoyle by killing enemies, doing map objectives, or collecting the Soul Gargoyles that spawn in the maps
  • Scream Fortress VII runs through November 11th, 2015

During Scream Fortress VII

  • All players who launch the game will receive a Gargoyle
    • Gives access to Merasmissions and Halloween item transmutations
    • Tracks Merasmissions completed and souls collected
  • Added Merasmissions
    • A new Merasmission will be available daily up to a total of 13
    • Completing a Merasmission will give players a classic Halloween item and a chance of the Gargoyle Case
  • Added Halloween Transmuting
    • Transmuting can be accessed by clicking the Gargoyle in your backpack and selecting Halloween Transmute from the context menu
    • Players can transmute 3 qualifying items to receive a non-tradable classic Halloween item. A bonus item will be given for every 10th transmute.
  • Mann Co Supply Crates will have a chance for a classic Halloween Unusual effect

General

  • Added inspect animations for the Batsaber and the Giger Counter
  • Fixed an idle animation bug for the Wrangler
  • Lowered the speed penalty for getting stunned by a ghost from 50% to 25%
  • Lowered damage of the “bats” spell from 60 to 40
  • HHH’s axe has dulled a bit and no longer guarantees death, but is still very lethal
  • Fixed an exploit related to picking up The Widowmaker
  • Fixed the Batsaber not showing the Killstreak sheen
  • Fixed a scoreboard stat reset bug in Mann vs. Machine
  • Optimized texture memory usage
  • Fix some cases of random hitching experienced by some players
  • Fixed overhead icons stacking on top of each other and now appear side-by-side
  • Added “Sort by Date” to the backpack. Newest acquired or altered items are sorted to the front.
  • Cosmetics that have Rarity and are part of a collection no longer show a cosmetic item level
  • Fixed the buildcubemaps command failing to update cubemaps for maps that already have cubemaps
  • Fixed a case where running the game with -buildcubemaps would generate all black cubemaps
  • Updated cp_powerhouse to fix a couple places where players could stand on top of doorways
  • Updated The Infernal Impaler, L’homme Burglerre, The Spooky Shoes, The Spooky Sleeves, Cuban Bristle Crisis, The Grimm Hatt, Medi-Mask, The Bearded Bombardier, The Colonel’s Coat, The Killer’s Kit, The Vascular Vestment, The Physician’s Protector, The Cold Killer, The Courtier’s Collar, The Physician’s Procedure Mask, The War Pig, Respectless Robo-Glove, Insulated Inventor, The Dry Gulch Gulp and The Minsk Beef with the latest changes from the authors
  • Updated koth_probed
    • Improved optimization of map (especially on mid)
    • Fixed clipping issues (thanks Muselk!)
    • Fixed Engineer imbalance on mid (thanks Uncle Dane!)
    • Added in missing explosion sound effect on aliens
    • Fixed a few prop/ material issues
    • Reduced prop usage

PASS Time update

  • Fixed viewmodel/worldmodel when tf_passtime_ball_model is set
  • Added convar: tf_passtime_ball_sphere_collision
  • Added entity: tf_logic_on_holiday

Mannpower update

  • No longer in Beta
  • Added new map: Hellfire
  • Three new powerups: King, Plague, Supernova
  • Grappling hook changes
    • Reduced max rope distance
    • Reduced grapple dismount jump height
    • 30% hook movement speed penalty for Heavyweapons
  • Flag rule changes
    • Flags can no longer be returned by touching them
    • When dropped, flags return after a timeout. This timeout does NOT reset if the flag is picked up again before it returns or is captured
    • 25% hook movement speed penalty for powered up flag carriers (with the exception of Agility)
    • Small health regeneration for non-powered up flag carriers
    • Flags and capture zones are disabled for 30 seconds after a capture
  • Powerup rule changes
    • When killed, your powerup will drop as the enemy team color. Deliberately dropped powerups are neutral colored
    • You cannot pick up enemy colored powerups
    • Team colored powerups will attempt to respawn in that team’s base if not picked up in time
  • Other changes
    • Overhead powerup icons are now team colored
    • Warlock powerup renamed to Reflect
    • Reduced Knockout max health bonus for demos carrying swords and shields
    • Haste now increases huntsman firing speed
  • Bug fixes
    • Reflect damage no longer occurs after death (Pyro afterburn)

[N] Obey

TF2 Update: Now With 100% More UFOs!

Posted on: September 11th, 2015 by Obey

This patch has just some bugfixes. And some UFOs. LOLWUT?!

ICYMI: I updated the price guide yesterday.

If you’ve been on 2Fort lately, or many other official TF2 maps, you may happen to witness your very own UFO sighting! On 2Fort, look thru the border fencing near the red farmhouse:

2fort UFO

It’s probably just a teaser for the upcoming Halloween Update. At any rate, stay sitting down, because no one wants to be experimented on by an alien, unless that’s your fetish.  If it is, don’t tell me.  By the way….

 

Are you familiar with KOTH Probed?

Probed, of which the latest version is koth_probed_b8 , is a King of the Hill community map that won the 2014 TF2Maps.net Mapping Contest for the theme, “Mercs vs. Aliens”. You fight the other team to capture a point, but you must also dodge a UFO that tries to snatch you with a tractor beam.  If it succeeds, you’ll be taken somewhere harmful to your health! But maybe you can escape….

Probed1

Probed2

Probed3

You know how UFOs like to abduct cows? Yeah, they like to do that too:

Probed4I have no idea whether Probed will have anything to do with the upcoming (probable) Halloween update for 2015. However, the UFO witnessed in many official TF2 Maps is the same one as the one in Probed. So you may want to get familiar with this map. I did a quick server search in TF2, and couldn’t find a single server running koth_probed_b8, but if you’re curious, download the map from the Steam Community here and take a look around by using the Create Server option (bots won’t work without an AI mesh, however).

…You want to believe, don’cha?

 

Full Patch Notes: Sept 11, 2015

  • Added the DeutschLAN 2015 tournament medals
  • Fixed a client crash related to fonts
  • Fixed a client crash for users who had model quality set to low on maps with static prop lightmaps (thanks to Egan for the detailed report and test case)
  • Fixed a bug where Strange Dalokohs Bars were incorrectly counting Allied Healing Done events as Allies Extinguished
  • Strange Sandviches can now accept Allies Extinguished strange parts
  • Updated the materials and model for the Rotation Sensation
  • Updated the localization files
  • PASS Time update
    • If the jack is neutral for too long, it will automatically respawn
    • If a player holds the jack for too long, teammates can steal the jack from that player
    • Catching and intercepting a tossed jack is slightly easier
    • Demoman can no longer charge or detonate while holding the jack
    • Enabled melee-only for sudden death mode
    • Updated pass_warehouse to fix some spots where the jack could get stuck

Undocumented changes

[N] Obey

Scream Fortress VI: 10/29/14

Posted on: October 29th, 2014 by Obey

Hey, it’s finally here–and some players thinks it’s the best Halloween update to boot!  The event runs through November 12, 2014. Better strap in, because you’re gonna love the bumper cars!

  1. Launch of new Halloween 2014 Map: Carnival of Carnage.
    • Magic spells and end-of-round zany bumper car fun included.
  2. 50 new Halloween-themed cosmetic items.
    • Everyone gets one free Halloween Gift Cauldron and can unlock another.
  3. New melee weapon reskin: The Necro Smasher
    • Earn by unlocking enough Halloween 2014 achievements.
  4. Full patch notes
    • Unusual items uncrated until November 12, 2014 will have Halloween-themed Unusual effects, instead of the typical effects granted by its Unusual Series.
    • For a limited time, you can buy previous Halloween-themed cosmetic items from the Mann Co. Store.
    • Halloween Crates can be bought from the Mann Co. Store.

 

Sixth_Annual_Scream_Fortress_Special

Read the new TF2 comic: “Blood Money”!

 

0. Servers Currently Set to Halloween Maps:

Carnival of Carnage (2014 Event): #07, #09

Helltower (2013 Event): #12, #15

Harvest Event (2009 Event): #13

 

1. Carnival of Carnage

Carnival_of_CarnageMerasmus’s Carnival of Carnage [sd_doomsday_event] is a Halloween Event map, and a reskin of Doomsday, Valve’s only official-to-date Special Delivery map. Instead of launching the monkeynaut Poopy Joe briefly into outer space to win, now you compete to be the team to raise a suitcase full of tickets to the top of the Strongmann Machine, while Merasmus launches snarky comments and global curses at everyone.

When the suitcase reaches the top, both teams enter one of three possible bumper car mini-games!! Oh, and there are Magic Spell powerups for you to cast at the other team, like the Helltower map. And yes, you can cast spells while driving a bumper car!

For more information on how to play this map, consult my TF2Newbs’ Guide to Halloween Event Maps.

 

2. Gift Cauldrons and New Cosmetics

Alert!  You have new items!

Yes, you do! Every player’s TF2 account automatically receives one Antique Halloween Gift Cauldron, and you’ll be alerted the first time you load the game.  This Limited action item can be used once to drop 3 random Scream Fortress VI cosmetic items.  The items dropped from the Cauldron will either be Unique, Haunted, or Strange Haunted qualities–and at least one will be Strange Haunted. The Gift Cauldron is Limited so it is not marketable, giftable or tradable, nor sold in the Mann Co. Store, but I assume the items it drops are giftable and tradable…?

Any Strange Haunted items will have two Strange Parts automatically attached to the cosmetic item: the “Carnival Games Won” Strange Part and the “Carnival Underworld Kills” Strange Part (which measures players knocked off the track.

It is possible to get a second Halloween Gift Cauldron by earning the Merasmachievement “Bumper to Bumper to Bumper”, by being on the winning team for all three bumper car mini-games at the end of rounds of the Carnival of Carnage map.

Meanwhile, it is possible to buy any of the 50 new Halloween-themed cosmetic items in the Mann Co. Store.

 

3. Unlock the Necro Smasher

Complete the “Step Right Up” Merasmachievement, by completing 4 other Merasmachievements, to earn your very own Necro Smasher! It is an all-classes-but-spy wooden mallet you can use to melee bludgeon your foes, just like your stock melee weapon. If you’re an Engineer, it’ll also repair your stuff. It’s tradable.

Necro Smasher

 

 

Full Patch Notes

  • Scream Fortress VI has arrived!
    • Help Merasmus with his carnival!
    • Comic and additional information available on the website (http://www.teamfortress.com/screamfortress6)
    • Scream Fortress VI runs until November 12, 2014
    • Added new Halloween map Carnival of Carnage
      • Merasmus will spread misfortune with server wide curses
      • Added a Strongmann Test-Your-Strength machine which is in no way an eldritch portal to Bumper Car Madness!
    • Added bumper car minigames. Win by completely ghostifying the other team or by completing the objective
    • Alt-fire to speed boost your bumper car
    • Cast magic spells while driving
    • The collision force a bumper car receives increases as the car takes damage
    • Force is displayed in the bumper car HUD as a percentage
      • Ghosts can come back to life by touching a friendly bumper car
    • 50 new Halloween-themed community cosmetics[1]
    • 6 new achievements
  • During Scream Fortress VI:
    • A Halloween Gift Cauldron is granted to all players who play during the event
    • Added Halloween crates to the Mann Co. Store. These crates do not require a key to open
    • All Unusual hats and taunts that are unboxed during the event will receive Halloween-themed Unusual effects
    • Previous Scream Fortress content is available in the Mann Co. Store
  • General :
    • Reduced the number of Fireball spells granted to 2[2]
    • Updated the tf_spells_enabled ConVar
      • Removed the Teleport spell from the general spell list when spells are enabled outside of Helltower
      • Added rare spells to the general spell list, except Skeletons and Monoculus
    • Turning a player into a ghost now grants the attacker a kill credit
    • Players can now fly around as a ghost by holding the jump key
    • TargetID system
      • Now creates a floating health indicator over the target
      • Reduced size of nameplate
      • Added tf_hud_target_id_alpha ConVar to control the transparency
    • Fixed player voice transmissions not transmitting the last second of recording
    • Fixed a dedicated server crash when the autoexec.cfg contains a bind command
      • Fixed Unicode font performance and rendering issues for Mac clients
      • Fixed an exploit that allowed players to remove the ghost condition
  • Hammer :
    • Added a field to the Tools->Options->3DView tab that multiplies the length of the rendered light_spot cone preview

Undocumented Changes

Oh, By the Way…

There’s this: someone reported a serious flaw in TF2 so Valve could fix it. To thank him, they let him have a hat of his choice: a one-of-a-kind Strange Cheater’s Lament with Sunbeams! (Courtesy of Nuunsa and Reddit)

 

[N] Obey

A TF2 Newbs Guide to Halloween Event Maps

Posted on: October 22nd, 2014 by Obey

The following blogpost is a guide about the many Halloween-themed maps, items, and events that have had annual updates since they first began in 2009. Most of the following information is from the Official TF2 Wiki.

 

FYI: I am currently (Oct 25, 2016) working on a comprehensive FAQ of all Halloween Items. There’s a whole lot of them, so check back here in a few days and hopefully I’ll have a link here.

 

NOTE: Links to more about the 2015 Halloween Event, Scream Fortress VII, and the current 2016 Halloween Event. No, they’re not complete yet………..

Table of Contents AKA Timeline of Halloween Updates

  1. What is Halloween/Full Moon Mode?
    1. What changes during the annual Halloween Event?
  2. Halloween 2009: Harvest Event map, the Ghastly Gibus, and the Mildly Disturbing Halloween Mask
  3. Halloween 2010: Mann Manor map, the HHH, the Halloween class Masks, and Haunted Scrap
  4. Halloween 2011: Eyeaduct map, the Monoculus, and some Halloween Costumes
  5. Halloween 2012: Ghost Fort map, Halloween Spells, Voodoo-Cursed Souls, more Halloween Costumes, and the Skull Island Topper
  6. Halloween 2013: Helltower map, Spellbooks, and a mock-Hell Underworld
  7. Halloween 2014: Carnival of Carnage map, random global Curses, and a Bumper Car Underworld
  8. The Halloween TF2 Story, in comic book form.
  9. All Halloween Items, and How to Earn Them

 

1. What is Halloween/Full Moon Mode?

The “Halloween/Full Moon Mode” is a server setting that permits players to wear Halloween/Full Moon-restricted cosmetic items (H/FMs). The mode is defaulted OFF except for three days around the real-life Full Moon, as well as for several weeks around Halloween (late October/early November). On a private or community server, H/FM Mode is defaulted OFF, but can be turned on by a server administrator with certain ConVars.

The “Eternaween” tool item which you can use to call a vote on your current server (public or private), to allow Halloween/Full Moon Mode for the next two hours. You can’t use this item on servers that disable voting, however, and you keep the item if the vote is downvoted or disabled. They can be bought for less than $0.05 on the Steam Market. This tool only enables the use of cosmetics; it doesn’t trigger Halloween Events.

Eternaween

Halloween Event

The Halloween Event is a period of several weeks around Halloween (late October/early November) when the Halloween Event maps (only) have extra features:

  • Players on any Halloween Event map drop Halloween Pumpkins when killed.
    • Picking them up refills your ammo/metal and grants a short full-crit boost.
    • Picking up 20 of them (from any map) will unlock the Mildly Disturbing Halloween Mask.
  • A Haunted Halloween Gift can appear on Mann Manor, Eyeaduct, Ghost Fort, Helltower, and Carnival of Carnage.
    • Picking it up will earn you different items, depending on the map.

 

2. The Haunted Halloween Special (2009)

400px-Haunted_Hallowe'en_SpecialThe first annual Halloween Event launched the following features:

  • Harvest, a KOTH (king of the hill) map.
  • Harvest Event, its Halloween Event counterpart, also a KOTH map.
  • Scarechievement achievements that can be earned.
    • Completing certain achievements could earn you Halloween-themed cosmetic items.
  • Halloween Pumpkins are powerups dropped by players who die on any Halloween map.  It refills ammo/metal and grants a short crit boost. Picking up 20 of them (from any map) will unlock the Mildly Disturbing Halloween Mask.
  • Pumpkin Bombs deal up to 140 damage (area-effect) to anyone standing nearby when they take any damage.
  • The Ghastly Gibus was earned by the first 11,111 users to find a secret page in the splash pages of the event. Since then, anyone who dominates a player wearing the Ghastly Gibus will earn the “Ghastly Gibus Grab” Scarechivement, as well as that year’s current incarnation of the hat. You can still earn a version of this non-tradable hat by earning the achievement, regardless of what map you’re on when completed.
  • The Gentle Mann’s Service Medal was also earned by the first 10,319 users to find a second secret page.  This is item is now Limited (Market page).

Harvest

harvest

Harvest (koth_harvest_final) is a relatively simple map, fall-themed with pumpkins and carts, with only one central point inside a building in the center of the map. It is one of the easiest maps to learn.

Harvest Event

 

Harvest Event

Harvest Event (koth_harvest_event) is essentially a darker, spookier version of the same map, featuring explosive pumpkin bombs (shoot to detonate), and a ghost haunting the building in the center occasionally. If you haven’t played any Halloween maps before, give Harvest Event a try.

The ghost is Zephaniah Mann. This is his land–he is the original owner of the land, and the father of Redmond and Blutarch. If he touches you, he stuns you for a couple of seconds. Say hello!

Zepheniah_Mann_on_Helltower

During the annual Halloween Event, Halloween Pumpkins also drop from killed players, and Pumpkin Bombs lie in various players on the map.

 

3. The Scream Fortress Update (2010)

365px-Second_Annu-hell_Screm_FortressThe second annual Halloween Event launched the following new features:

 

Mountain Lab

mountain lab

In Mountain Lab, BLU leaves from a large house and must capture three points in order while the RED team defends a laboratory in the daytime.

Mann Manor

mann manor

In Mann Manor, RED defends an old haunted house at nighttime. The first “boss monster” of TF2, the Horseless Headless Horsemann, spawns at the current contested capture point about every 8 minutes and goes on a rampage. Say hello to old Silas Mann before he one-hits you!

HHH

The HHH will choose a random player as “It”, and he will chase and slay that player, unless you can avoid getting killed long enough, get killed, OR “tag” another player with a melee weapon hit. The HHH can also be killed.

During the annual Halloween Event: Pumpkin Bombs fill the map, Halloween Pumpkins are dropped by killed players, and the Haunted Halloween Gift will spawn at fixed locations around the map.

 

4. The Very Scary Halloween Special (2011)

365px-Scream_Fortress_Very_Scary_Halloween_SpecialThe third annual Halloween Event offered Eyeaduct, a reskinned Viaduct map, and introduced the following features:

  • Eyeaduct, a reskinned KOTH map of Viaduct, with two hidden areas: Underworld and Loot Island.
  • Halloween Goodie Cauldron will be given to any player who logs in to TF2 during any Halloween Event, but only once ever.
  • Introduced the Monoculus boss.

Eyeaduct

EyeaductEyeaduct (koth_viaduct_event) is the Halloween Event version of the mostly symmetrical King of the Hill map Viaduct. Except now, you have to contend with MONOCULUS!

MonoculusThis angry floating eyeball-boss appears every 3 minutes, and prevents the capture of Eyeaduct’s point while it exists. It teleports around, leaving behind portals that go to the Underworld.

Defeating Monoculus (dealing the killing blow) for the first time will earn you the all-class hat of the same name. But wait! It will return in 3 minutes, stronger than before (unless it escapes)! Each level of Monoculus gives is more health and a faster attack rate.

Monoculus_(Level_9)_has_been_defeated

Underworld

Underworld map

The Underworld is a dangerous place, continually draining your health.

If you manage to escape, you’ll become temporarily buffed, and your attacks will stun Monoculus if you hit it while under its effects.

During the Halloween Event, Halloween Pumpkins are dropped by killed players, and the Haunted Halloween Gift will spawn at fixed locations around the map. Any accessories found in Gifts from the Underworld will be Haunted quality. Also, killing Monoculus and entering its portal will take you to Loot Island instead of the Underworld!

Loot Island

loot island

Unlike the Underworld, Loot Island doesn’t damage you over time, and it has a book “portal” for you to jump into to return to the Eyeaduct map.

During the Halloween Event, if you can reach the book in time, you can earn the Bombinomicon all-class accessory! If not in time, you’ll die.

 

5. The Fourth Annual Spectral Halloween Special (2012)

365px-Fourth_Annual_Scream_FortressThe fourth annual Halloween Event brought a host of new content for Team Fortress 2:

  • Ghost Fort, a reskinned Lakeside map.
  • Merasmus, a wizardly boss who blasts you with magic, makes you dance at his whim, spins a wheel of random magic effects, and taunts you repeatedly.
  • Halloween spells are temporary powerup abilities you can strategically use in battle.
  • Wave 666, a reskinned MvM map with waves of difficult zombie bots
  • Another collection of Halloween cosmetics.

Ghost Fort

ghost fort

Ghost Fort (koth_lakeside_event) is the Halloween Event version of the desert-themed Lakeside King-of-the-Hill map. (Hard to recognize, isn’t it?) Ghost Fort’s layout is slightly altered from Lakeside, with upper platforms around the central control point, and the enclosed room with the pool of water replaced with a “bottomless” pit. Also, a team must control the central point for 7 minutes, instead of the usual 3 minutes.

Merasmus also haunts, continually harassing players. If you get turned into a bomb, rush the wizard to stun him and gain a buff.  Twice before he dies, Merasmus will disappear and disguise himself as a random furniture prop. If defeated, he opens a portal to Skull Island.

During the Halloween Event: Halloween Pumpkins are dropped by killed players, and the Haunted Halloween Gift will spawn at fixed locations. Also, killing Merasmus opens a portal to

  • Halloween Pumpkins are powerups dropped by players who die on any Halloween map.  It refills ammo/metal and grants a short crit boost. Picking up 20 of them (from any map) will unlock the Mildly Disturbing Halloween Mask.
  • The Haunted Halloween Gift will spawn on Ghost Fort under the same conditions as Mann Manor (see above). On the Ghost Fort map, however, the Gift grants either a Halloween Spell, a Voodoo-Cursed Item, or (rarely) a Halloween-themed cosmetic item.  See below for the details on these.
  • The control point has been enchanted to spin the “Wheel of Fate” each time the central control point is capped. The random result of the spin affects the players of both teams with wacky powers.
  • Halloween Spells are tool items used to give various effects to weapons, cosmetic items, or classes.  Remember, these spell effects permanently affect an applied item, but the effects are not visible except during Halloween/Full Moon Mode.

Skull Island

skull island

 

Ghost Town and Wave 666

300px-Mvm_coaltown_event

What, Advanced-level MvM matches too easy for you? Then fill your Upgrade Canteen with Ammo Refills and head to Ghost Town (mvm_ghost_town), a reskinned, nighttime Coal Town that WILL DESTROY YOUR FACE with zombie bots.  Six-hundred and sixty-six of them, in fact–and they are Expert level, which is harder than anything MvM can throw at you.  It’s beatable, but you’re probably gonna die to the zombie apocalypse, so you might as well die with an empty clip and a broken sentry.

 

 

6. The Scream Fortress Fifth Annual Helloween Special (2013)

 

330px-Fifth_Annual_Scream_Fortress_Special

The fifth annual Halloween Event offered Helltower, a variation on the Payload Race map Hightower, over a hundred new cosmetic items, and a few new tool items.

 

Helltower

800px-Plr_hightower_event_centertowerHelltower (plr_hightower_event) is the Halloween-themed version of Hightower, with a Clocktower replacing the building above the chasm. Since it is a Payload Race map, you try to push your cart while preventing your opponents from doing the same. When one side wins, everyone teleports to a mock Hell and try to kill off the other side one last time to win.

  • Halloween Pumpkins spawn on all Halloween maps.  If picked up by touching it, it refills ammo/metal and grants 3.2 seconds of crit boost.  Picking up 20 Halloween Pumpkins (from any map) would unlock a hat, the Mildly Disturbing Halloween Mask, a paper bag that has a different face depending on which class wears it at the time. You can still earn this non-tradable hat.
  • The Haunted Halloween Gift will grants one or more of the following:
    • One of the many Halloween 2013 cosmetic items; unlike purchased cosmetics, these freebies will be uncraftable and untradable
    • Spellbook Pages, which can be placed into a Spellbook (see below)
    • A Costume Transmogrifier tool item, which will convert one Halloween 2013 costume item into another
  • Occasionally, the Clocktower will toll a bell to announce the Witching Hour, during which hostile Skeletons will spew forth from the temporary glowing bridges of the Clocktower. During that time, players can access a Book of Rare Spells at the Clocktower.
  • You can pick up and cast Magic Spells!

 

Meteor Storm

 

Helltower Magic Spells

Magic Spells are temporary powerups granting special abilities, and are not usable until you equip a Spellbook Magazine, Fancy Spellbook, or Fireproof Secret Diary. They are retained when you die, but they are lost after being cast. You must cast the spell you currently have before you can pick up another.

    • Regular Magic Spells on Helltower:
      • (EDIT: Restored spell lists to the previous settings.)
      • A two-charge Fireball that shoots a ball of fire that also causes afterburn
      • A three-charge Teleport that shoots a ball that teleports you to the ground it impacts on
      • A two-charge Superjump (with small health boost)
      • A single Healing Aura that grants 1-second invulnerability and 3-second fast healing
      • A two-charge Ball of Bats that explodes into a cloud of bats that cause bleeding
      • A single-charge Pumpkin MIRV that launches a volley of pumpkin bombs that you or your team can shoot to explode
      • A single-charge Invisibility that grants 8-second invisibility, even while attacking, but you cannot push the cart while cloaked
    • Rare Magic Spells can only be found at the Clocktower’s Book of Rare Spells during the Witching Hour, defeating a Skeleton King, or found randomly in Hell. They include:
      • A mini-Monoculus is summoned to attack your enemies for 8 seconds
      • Three Skeletons are summoned to attack your enemies
      • A single-charged Ball Lightning that damages and pulls targeted enemies for a short while
      • A Meteor Shower attacks the impact area after an initial fireball
      • Minifies the caster to a tiny body and a big head, granting unlimited jumping and increased movement/attack/reload speeds
      • One of the other standard Spells

 

7. Scream Fortress VI (2014)

Carnival_of_Carnage

Merasmus’s Carnival of Carnage [sd_doomsday_event] is a Halloween Event map, and a reskin of Doomsday, Valve’s only official-to-date Special Delivery map. Compete to be the team to raise a suitcase full of tickets to the top of the Strongmann Machine, while Merasmus launches snarky comments and global curses at everyone.

Curses

Under construction….

 

Updated 11/5/14:  Merasmus’s curses remove all projectiles and empties sentries of ammo whenever players are teleported to the main point of the map.

Carnival of Carnage Magic Spell List

Magic Spells are temporary powerups granting special abilities, and are not usable until you equip a Spellbook Magazine, Fancy Spellbook, or Fireproof Secret Diary. They are retained when you die, but they are lost after being cast. You must cast the spell you currently have before you can pick up another.

    • Regular Magic Spells on Carnival of Carnage:
      • A two-charge Fireball
      • A three-charge Teleport
      • A two-charge Superjump (with small health boost)
      • A single Healing Aura that grants 1-second invulnerability and 3-second fast healing
      • A two-charge Ball of Bats that explodes into a cloud of bats that cause bleeding
      • A single-charge Pumpkin MIRV
      • A single-charge Invisibility that grants 8-second invisibility
      • Fires a Tesla Bolt that damages and pulls targeted enemies for a short while
      • A Meteor Shower attacks the impact area after an initial fireball
      • Minifies the caster to a tiny body and a big head
    • Bumper Car Spells can be gained and cast during the Carnival Underworld mini-game, and include:
      • Bombinomicon Head: Deals 50 damage to you if the timer runs out. If you run into an enemy, removes the timer and damages/knocks back the enemy instead.
      • Boxing Rocket: Shoots a giant boxing glove as a rocket.
      • Uber Heal: Removes 50% of your damage taken only
      • Parachute: Launches you into the air then lets you float down slowly

For starters, make sure to read this post by Valve about what’s coming. And then there’s this splash page….

 

Bumper Cars in a Carnival Underworld

Akin to a game of Super Smash Bros., players drive around on bumper cars trying to either ghostify the entire enemy side, or complete the objective in one of three mini-games. Bumper cars are receive greater knockback as they take on further damage, and players who fall off the track turn into ghosts.

If you’re ghosted, hold down your jump button to fly, and if you can touch one of your allies, you will return your bumper car to the game!

The three mini-game modes are:

  • “Falling Platforms”: Random platforms just start falling, so try to stay on the last one!
    • Spells are disabled in this minigame only.
    • If there is only one platform remaining, the Horseless Headless Horsemann appears in an attempt to make players fall off.
  • “Bumper Car Soccer”: Both teams try to push a beach ball into their opponents’ goal three times to win.
  • “Duck Collectors”: Both teams run around on a figure-eight track trying to collect 200 rubber duckies as a team to win.
    • Hitting opponent cause 2-point golden duckies to fly out of their rammed car.

 

 

8. The Comics For Each Halloween Special

The story may be ridiculous, but knowing the story will make your battles on the Halloween maps make a little more sense.  Maybe? Yes. Probably. If you squint.  That said, here are the comics to catch you up with why you are, in fact, shooting down a giant eyeball of hate and casting spells from a dog-eared periodical:

Halloween 2011: “Bombinomicon”

Halloween 2012: “Doom-Mates”

Halloween 2013: “Grave Matters”

Halloween 2014:  “Blood Money”

9. List of Items…?

This part is under construction.  Fixing it SOON.

The Ghastly Gibus was earned by the first 11,111 users to find a secret page in the splash pages of the event. Since then, anyone who dominates a player wearing the Ghastly Gibus will earn the “Ghastly Gibus Grab” Scarechivement, as well as that year’s current incarnation of the hat. You can still earn a version of this non-tradable hat by earning the achievement, regardless of what map you’re on when completed.

Halloween Pumpkins are powerups dropped by players who die on any Halloween map.  It refills ammo/metal and grants a short crit boost. Picking up 20 of them (from any map) will unlock the Mildly Disturbing Halloween Mask.

 

The Haunted Halloween Gift will randomly spawn, choosing a player on the server. The Gift spawns only at several predetermined locations. Only the chosen player will be able to see the lime-green gift box, and has 3 minutes to retrieve it before it disappears.  If picked up, that player cannot earn another for at least 45 minutes of playing time, while the gift respawns for someone else in 30 seconds. (The Gift will not spawn unless there are at least 10 non-bot players on the server.)

For the Gift to spawn, must be a registered server with at least 10 players on the server.

      • Retrieving the Haunted Halloween Gift on the Mann Manor map will grant one of nine Halloween Masks, one of each class but can be worn by any class. Multiple copies of these masks can be collected, and by collecting one of all nine masks, a Saxton Hale Mask can be crafted. Unlike the Halloween Masks, the Saxton Hale Mask does not have a Halloween/Full Moon holiday restriction, so it can be worn at any time.
      • The Haunted Halloween Gift will spawn on Eyeaduct under the same conditions as Mann Manor (see above). On the Eyeaduct map, however, the Gift grants one of 27 Halloween Costume 2011 cosmetic items. Any Gifts found in the Underworld will be Haunted quality.
      • The Haunted Halloween Gift will spawn on Ghost Fort under the same conditions as Mann Manor (see above). On the Ghost Fort map, however, the Gift grants either a Halloween Spell, a Voodoo-Cursed Item, or (rarely) a Halloween-themed cosmetic item.  See below for the details on these.

Halloween Spells

This update also launched the collection and usage of Halloween Spells.  They are obtained by picking up Halloween Haunted Gifts–the green-yellow gifts that can drop for you about once every forty-five minutes, that only you can see.

NEW!  As of 10/13/14, these tool items are now tradable!

Halloween Spells are tool items used to give various effects to weapons, cosmetic items, or classes.  Remember, these spell effects permanently affect an applied item, but the effects are not visible except during Halloween/Full Moon, Halloween maps, and servers that have Halloween mode turned on.  They can only be found on Ghost Fort. There are four kinds of Halloween Spells:

      1. Footprint Effects (hat-slot item): Causes the equipped player to leave behind glowing footprints of a certain color.
      2. Paint Effects (any cosmetic item): Causes the equipped cosmetic item to color-change from its original color, to a specific color, then back again.
      3. Vocal Effects (a hat equippable by a specific class): Causes the equipped player’s voice to be lowered, similar to the Big Head curse.
        • If applied to an all-class hat, its effect will work for any wearer.
      4. Weapon Effects (specific weapons): Causes the equipped weapon to have specific effects, such as pumpkin-shaped projectiles and ghostly particles rising from dead enemies.

Voodoo-Cursed Items are also funky-looking tool items. Their purpose is to collect 7 of one kind, then use them to craft a Pile of Curses.

In turn, a Pile of Curses is a tool item that you can open like a crate, but without needing a key.  When opened, it drops one of 9 Voodoo-Cursed Souls–a cosmetic (Halloween/Full Moon restricted) item that changes the appearance of one of the nine classes into a zombie. There is a chance that the Soul will be Haunted quality. In addition there is a chance that a Halloween Spell may drop as well as the Soul.  (Previously, Eerie Crates were also a possible drop, but they were retired after the Halloween 2012 event; the cosmetics from that crate are still purchasable from the Mann Co. Store).

The Haunted Halloween Gift will spawn on Helltower under the same conditions as Mann Manor (see above). On the Helltower map, however, the Gift grants one or more of the following:

      • One of the many Halloween 2013 cosmetic items; unlike purchased cosmetics, these freebies will be uncraftable and untradable
      • Spellbook Pages, which can be placed into a Spellbook (see below)
      • A Costume Transmogrifier tool item, which will convert a chosen Halloween 2013 costume item into another costume item from the same group that is equippable by the given class (i.e. a Soldier Costume Transmogrifier could convert a Scout’s “Hound’s Hood” into a Soldier’s “Shaolin Sash”).

 

The winning survivors can then march over to Skull Island and unlock the Bereavement achievement “Hat Out of Hell”, gaining an “Unfilled Fancy Spellbook” action slot item.

        • Putting at least three Spellbook Pages into it changes it into a Fancy Spellbook action slot item, but otherwise has no (apparent) additional function.

 

Bosses

The Horseless Headless Horseman (the “HHH”), haunts Mann Manor. About every 8 minutes, he spawns at the currently contested control point and goes on a rampage, quickly running up to and killing players on both teams with his gigantic axe. He targets a nearby random player, which declares that player “It”.  That player will be the first to die unless s/he either manages to avoid getting killed for 30 seconds, or hits an enemy player with a melee weapon, “tagging” that player with the “It” status.  Occasionally it will also taunt, stunning all nearby players for a few seconds in fear (unless they’re wearing the Saxton Hale Mask or the Horseless Headless Horsemann’s Head). He is immune to all on-hit effects and all status effects.

The Horseless Headless Horsemann (the “HHH”) has lots of health, which is based on the number of players on the server, and can be harmed by players from both teams. If killed, he will not respawn for another 8 minutes, and kill credit will go to the last three players to damage it.  Getting kill credit on the HHH for the first time will earn you the “Gored!” Ghostchievement, a you-only-get-one-ever Haunted Metal Scrap, which in turn can be used to craft either the Horseless Headless Horsemann’s Headtaker melee weapon for the Demoman, or one of three random styles of all-class, tradable skull-themed hats.

Headtaker

The HHH Headtaker functions just like the Eyelander, gaining strength as you earn heads of slain enemies.

      • Like Mann Manor, Eyeaduct has its own unique “boss monster”: the Monoculus! It appears about every 3 minutes from the start of the round or its last appearance. When it spawns, the point resets to neutral ownership and cannot be captured. This giant eye-boss shoots barrages of eyeball crit rockets, and gets temporarily angry when critically hit. It teleports around the map, and when it does so, it leaves behind a portal leading to the Underworld where the player can reach the other side to earn a powerful invulnerability/crit/speed buff. Monoculus must be defeated within 2 minutes, or it escapes without being successfully killed. Regardless of outcome, it will respawn once more in about 3 minutes; each time Monoculus is killed (until the map restarts), Monoculus level increases by one as it becomes stronger!! Naturally, getting your opponents to work together to defeat Monoculus can be difficult.
      • If Monoculus is killed, it creates a giant portal to the Underworld.  Players entering the portal must quickly run to Loot Island to reach the Bombinomicon book in time.  Reaching the Bombinomicon unlocks the “Dive Into a Good Book” Eye-chievement and the Bombinomicon cosmetic item.  Being present on a server when Monoculus is killed unlocks the “Optical Defusion” Eye-chievement and the Monoculous head-replacing cosmetic item.
      • Merasmus also haunts Ghost Fort is the Soldier’s former roommate and very cantankerous wizard, Merasmus.  He appears every few minutes and continually harasses the players and interrupts play. The wizard prefers to float in midair near the control point, but will teleport randomly, whacking players with his staff, launch volleys of bombs, and cast a spell that both ignites you and launches you into the air.  When Merasmus teleports, several players will have their heads replaced with a bomb, which will certainly explode unless you reach the wizard in time. The bombs then stun the wizard and grant you a short invulnerability/crit/speed buff.  Twice before he dies, Merasmus will disappear and disguise himself as a random furniture prop, similar to the PropHunt game mode or Hide and Seek.
      • Merasmus must be killed within one-and-a-half minutes, or he will escape. If defeated, he opens a portal to Skull Island for a few seconds, where players can climb the island to earn the Necromannchievement “Wizards Never Prosper” and the Skull Island Topper all-class hat.  Merasmus will then return in a few minutes, having gained a level and thus stronger.  The Skull Island Topper hat will record the highest-level Merasmus you have witnessed defeated.  If not defeated, Merasmus will reset to level one.  (Hint: Headshotting Merasmus with the Huntsman sniper bow is very effective!)
      • All those who succeed in returning from Skull Island in time will gain the invulnerability/crit/speed boost for a short time.

 

HOLY SNAP this has been a lot of work!

[N] Obey

TF2 Update: 10/16/14 and 10/20/14

Posted on: October 17th, 2014 by Obey

Here’s the scoop:

  1. Limited Late Summer Crates (#86) are now retired.
  2. New convars and voting options have been added to servers:
    • Class limits can now be set for each class (without requiring third-party mods)
      • Voting to allow/disallow class limits can now be enabled, but defaults to “off”
      • Separate convars exist to permit these in MvM games
    • Convar allowing voting to restart a map now defaults to “off”
  3. In case you missed it–servers #13 Harvest and #15 Hightower have merged their stats, and are hosting a (hopefully monthly) contest with keys for prizes!
  4. Until this Sunday afternoong, Steam is hosting a ” ‘Free Weekend’ Weekend” with ten games becoming temporarily free-to-play and having sales of at least 50% off.
  5. [EDIT: 10/20] You can now enable Halloween spells on your server, manage their drop rate, and create spells-enabled maps with new ConVars.
  6. [EDIT: 10/20] Halloween-restricted cosmetic items now always work on the usual Halloween maps, such as koth_viaduct_event.
  7. [EDIT: 10/20] The Spellbook Magazine, which enables spellcasting on servers where Halloween spells are enabled, is now a stock action item that all TF2 accounts now possess.
    • This is both to ensure that all players can access spells-enabled servers at all times, even when the item loadout is unavailable or when the server is set to allow only stock weapons.

 

Full Patch Notes, Patch 1: 10/20/14

  • Fixed another exploit that allowed clients to have an out-of-date, corrupt, or modified version of items_game.txt
  • Fixed clients not downloading *.dx80.vtx, *.dx90.vtx, and *.sw.vtx files from servers running custom content
  • Fixed sv_pure defaulting to -2 instead of 0
  • Fixed font issues for Mac clients
  • Made the Spellbook Magazine a base action slot item for players to equip and use when playing on a server that uses Halloween Spells
  • Fixed not being able to wear Halloween-restricted cosmetic items on Halloween maps outside of the regular Halloween and Fullmoon events
  • Halloween spells can now be enabled and controlled on servers via ConVars tf_spells_enabled and tf_player_spell_drop_on_death_rate
  • Halloween spells can now be enabled by map authors via HolidayEntity by setting the flag HalloweenSetUsingSpells

Patch 2

Fixed a server crash related to gamestats

 

Full Patch Notes: 10/16/14

  • Fixed an exploit related to clients uploading files to servers
  • Fixed a problem that allowed clients to have an out-of-date, corrupt, or modified version of items_game.txt
    • TF2 will not run if a bad items_game.txt file is found
    • If your items_game.txt file is reported as being corrupt, delete any items_game.txt files you have added and verify your TF2 installation
  • Fixed a timing problem with the Rancho Relaxo taunt animation
  • Removed the Limited Late Summer Crate from the crate drop list
  • Limited Late Summer Crates can no longer be opened
  • Removed the Limited Late Summer Crate Key from the Mann Co. Store
  • Limited Late Summer Crate Keys have been converted to Mann Co. Supply Crate Keys
  • Fixed Linux dedicated servers not showing up in the LAN serverbrowser tab when using sv_lan 1
  • Fixed the Duels leaderboard not displaying current counts
  • Added the explosion particles to the list of files that we always enforce consistency on
  • Added ConVar tf_classlimit
  • Updated the model/materials for the Runner’s Warm-Up to fix a lighting issue
  • Updated the equip_regions for the Couvre Corner and the Pocket Heavy
  • Updated rd_asteroid
    • Continued art-pass process
  • Updated the vote system
    • Fixed team-specific vote sounds/notifications playing/showing for the ineligible team
    • sv_vote_issue_restart_game_allowed default changed to off
    • Added sv_vote_issue_restart_game_allowed_mvm (on by default)
    • Added “Enable/Disable Class Limits” vote
      • Controlled by sv_vote_issue_classlimits_allowed (off by default)
        • Limit controlled by sv_vote_issue_classlimits_max (default 4)
      • Controlled by sv_vote_issue_classlimits_allowed_mvm in Mann vs. Machine (off by default)
        • Limit controlled by sv_vote_issue_classlimits_max_mvm in Mann vs. Machine (default 2)

Undocumented changes

  • Added Florida LAN Medal.
  • Updated the description of the Limited Late Summer Crate.
  • Kick Messages are now localized for clients.
  • Vote issue names are now localized in the vote menu.

[N] Obey