TF2 Newbs (Team Fortress 2) Blog

First, the news:

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

Here’s what happened in the latest TF2 Patch:

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

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

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

Crate Series #84
Drops		Yes
Items
Stickybomb Launcher Killstreak Kit		11 .00%
Minigun Killstreak Kit		11 .00%
Direct Hit Killstreak Kit		11 .00%
Huntsman Killstreak Kit		11 .00%
Backburner Killstreak Kit		11 .00%
Back Scatter Killstreak Kit		11 .00%
Kritzkrieg Killstreak Kit		11 .00%
Ambassador Killstreak Kit		11 .00%
Frontier Justice Killstreak Kit		11 .00%
or an Exceedingly Rare Special Item!		1 .00%

Crate Series #85
Drops		Yes
Items
Air Strike Strangifier		9 .90%
Classic Strangifier		9 .90%
Manmelter Strangifier		9 .90%
Vaccinator Strangifier		9 .90%
Strange Part: Robot Scouts Destroyed		9 .90%
Strange Part: Taunting Player Kills		9 .90%
Strange Part: Buildings Destroyed		9 .90%
Anger Strangifier		9 .90%
Apparition’s Aspect Strangifier		9 .90%
Widowmaker Strangifier		9 .90%
or an Exceedingly Rare Special Item!		1 .00%

Team Fortress 2

• Added a new startup music track from Expiration Date
• Added Crate #84 and Crate #85 to the drop list
• Added a new promo item: the Spycrab
• Fixed a Mann vs. Machine dedicated server crash
• Fixed materials not refreshing correctly in the Steam Workshop item import tool
• Fixed a bug where cloaked Spies would be visible to some players
• Fixed an exploit where Engineers could build level 3 mini-sentries
• Updated the localization files
• Updated the backpack page buttons to indicate how many items the pages contain
• Updated Hammer to add a new Normal Mode for the Sculpt tool
  • “Screen XY” automatically chooses the axis most aligned with current view’s XY axis for push/pull displacement editing

Undocumented Changes

• Updated the Classic to allow for Name Tags, Gift Wrap, and Strange Parts to be applied.
• Added new Strange Parts.
  • Robot Scouts Destroyed, Taunting Player Kills

   

Steam Client Update: Patch Notes

General

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

Library

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

Mac OS X

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

Linux

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

Big Picture

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

In-Home Streaming

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

[N] Obey

Whoops, I forgot to post the patch update!  It is minor, but apparently one nifty undocumented change has appeared:

Some TF2 Items Are Now “Commodities”

…Do what now?

You may recall that back in June ’14, the option to make Buy Orders was introduced to the Steam Market.  When you place a Buy Order, you choose an item that you want to buy as soon as it hits the Market at or under your asking price. It won’t matter who you’re buying from; whenever an item goes on sale, it will check against all the Buy Orders out there that meet its terms, which can also help you sell an item instantly if you sell it under an existing Buy Order’s asking price.  You can have as many Buy Orders as ten times your Steam Wallet’s current value.

Before this week, the only Commodities–items you can buy with Buy Orders–in the Steam Market were the following:

• All Steam Trading Cards and Trading Card Booster Packs
• All Emoticons
• All Profile Backgrounds

Obviously, they were probably testing the Market functionality for several months with items that had both little value and a high volume of existing items.  They must be happy with the results, because they are now increasing the number of items that are Commodities, and therefore can be bought with Buy Orders.  All of the new items are tools, and this is significant:

• Mann Co. Crate Keys (!!)
• Mann Co. Supply Crates and Summer Claim Checks
  • I am unsure if this includes Mann Co. Select or Salvaged crates or not.
• Robot Parts
• Strangifiers, Strange Parts and Strange Filters
• Piles of RoboKey Gifts and Piles of Summer Cooler Key Gifts
  • But single Mann Co. RoboKeys and the nine colored Summer Cooler Keys do not seem to be commodities yet.
• Decal Tools
• Gift Wrap
• Backpack Expanders
• Upgrade to Premium Gifts
• Summer Starter Kits and Summer Adventure Packs

So for example, you can set a Buy Order for Crate Keys for $2, and as soon as one goes for sale at $2 or less, you (and anyone else that has a Buy Order) that qualifies can be sold the keys that go for sale as soon as they hit the market.  Valve doesn’t say whether the “oldest” Buy Order goes through first, or some other random method, so don’t assume that you will get the first item to be placed on the Market for that price. But at least in the case of keys, if you’re patient, eventually someone will quicksell a key for your asking price if you’re sane about it.

In economics, a commodity is something that is always in-demand–such as pork bellies, wheat, or even skilled labor–but in plentiful enough supply that they see frequent trade.

Meanwhile, a currency is something that is assigned an arbitrary value to act as a middleman for trading wealth.  For the last few years, metal, keys, earbuds and certain hats like Bill’s Hat have been acting as a currency, i.e. tradeable items have been valued in terms of these currencies, like “this unusual hat is worth 1.5 buds”.  But since some items being traded also have their own useful function–i.e. keys can be used on crates, and they can be bought through the Mann Co. Store with almost no real limit to supply–then tool items, like keys, are really more of a commodity.

Full Patch Notes

• Dedicated server performance/stability improvements
• Added a new startup music track from Expiration Date
• Added missing photos/thumb images for koth_badlands
• Fixed a client crash related to the snd_restart command for Linux clients
• Fixed a dedicated server crash related to arrows
• Fixed the Bolt Boy using the wrong material for the Blu team
• Improved memory usage for Linux clients
• Updated the Restart Game and Scramble Teams votes to always have a mandatory cool-down period
• Updated sv_memlimit to not be marked as a cheat convar
  • Added sv_minuptimelimit and sv_maxuptimelimit to manage the server restart window
• Updated the equip_regions for the Mustachioed Mann, Ze Übermensch, and Vive La France
• Updated the localization files
• Updated pl_cactuscanyon
  • Removed rollback leading to the final capture point in stage 2
  • Reworked fence position on forward spawn building in stage 2
  • Expanded back alley near the final capture point in stage 2
  • Expanded back pathway near the final capture point in stage 1
  • Added small room inside building half way up the zig-zag in stage 1
  • Adjusted health kits and ammo packs
  • Adjusted spawn times in stage 1 and 2
• Updated rd_asteroid
  • Widened left side spawn exit
  • Players can no longer build inside the staircase near A robots
  • Fixed sticky stair collision when coming out of the water near B robots
  • Changed medium health kit near the C robots to a small health kit
  • Removed aQ2W3″alert” from voice over lines that announce your team has dropped the reactor core
  • Fixed missing patch overlay under small health near center bridge

Undocumented changes

• Several items are now marked as Steam Community Market commodities.^[1]

References

1. ↑ Mann Co. Supply Crate Key, Mann Co. Supply Crate, Robot Parts, Paint Can, Strange Part, Strangifier, Strange Filter, Pile of RoboKey Gifts, Pile of Summer Cooler Key Gifts, Decal Tool, Gift Wrap, Backpack Expander, Upgrade to Premium Gift, Summer Starter Kit, Summer Adventure Pack, Summer Claim Check

[N] Obey

With all the news that is news (not really), here’s what to expect:

1. Headlines of the video game industry
2. TF2 patched on June 30th, and I just got around to it.
   • Cactus Canyon just got a new stage!

1. Headlines

1. PC Gamer reports that ESPN was so impressed with its ratings of its coverage of their Dota 2 International tournament that the sports network may be ready to start covering esports to a greater degree.  Why not? They did draw over 20 million viewers total for the event, according to Valve.
2. The TF2 Blog has announced the Fourth Annual Saxxy Awards! September 24th is the submission deadline.
3. There is an official CivRome mod for Civilization V!  But you need all of the DLC and expansions to run it.
4. ArcadeSushi’s list of the Top 10 RPGs of all time.  Just because.

2. TF2 Changes

The Heavy’s Gloves of Running Urgently (and the Bread Bite reskin) had been changed back in the June 11th patch to cause the equipping Heavy to suffer mini-crits from all damage for 5 seconds after switching off of them, instead of the previous 3 seconds.  Apparently that was a bug, and now the mini-crit penalty is now back to 3 seconds after weapon switching.

The multi-stage beta map Cactus Canyon now has a third stage. And how about this: there is a train to dodge! Capping the point on the train tracks will cause the payload bomb to explode when hit by a train.  Both Cactus Canyon had some updates, as you can read below.

Full Patch Notes

• Added a new startup music track from Expiration Date.
• Fixed projectiles causing teleporter exits to detonate.
• Fixed the Huntsman not firing after being charged in the air and landing on the ground while using cl_autoreload.
• Fixed teammates blocking the removal of sappers when using the Homewrecker, Maul, and Neon Annihilator.
• Fixed a bug with the Gloves of Running Urgently that increased the marked for death time to 5 seconds instead of 3.^[1]
• Fixed a bug related to orphaned marked for death particles.
• Updated the target ID to be hidden while taunting.
• Updated the Bolt Boy to have two styles like the Bonk Boy.
• Updated the equip_regions for the Bonk Boy and the Bolt Boy.
• Updated the materials for the Boo Balloon.
• Updated pl_cactuscanyon.
  • Added stage 3.
  • Limited Red flanking route near cliff to Blu spawn in stage 1.
  • Added health and ammo inside underpass by Blu spawn in stage 1.
  • Adjusted spawn times in stage 2.
  • Adjusted health and ammo packs.
• Updated rd_asteroid.
  • Mode changes
    • Updated HUD layout.
    • Fixed a bug that would prevent players from picking up the reactor core.
    • Teams will now spawn 70% faster if their C robots are dead.^[2]
  • Map changes
    • Fixed unbalanced ammo kits in Blu base near the vault.
    • Added flashing light in the vault that will activate when a player is stealing points.
    • Added larger one way glass windows to spawn exit doors.
    • Added small ammo pack to top of the stairs at the cave exit.
    • Shortened length of pipes in vents that require players to crouch.
    • Increased track length for A robots. This is to provide more angles of attack.
    • Extended flat area near left spawn exit for Engineers to build teleporters.
    • Lowered the health for the A robots from 500 to 300.
    • Fixed a bug where the power supply would not disable the flashing alarms when it was captured.

Undocumented changes

• Updated the backpack icon of the Boo Balloon.
• Fixed another item clipping bug.
• items_game.txt, the items database and misc data file, is now in a new VPK file called tf2_scripts.vpk.

[N] Obey

Here’s what you need to know:

1. A TF2Newbs Medieval Arena Event has been announced.  Eight teams of four players plus one team advisor each, duking it out two at a time without guns.  Sound like fun?  Then sign up here.
   • EDIT 7/25: Changed to eight teams of four.
   • EDIT 7/25: Event announced for Saturday, August 16th at 5 PM PST/8 PM EST.
2. Another patch of bugfixes and beta map changes.  Here you are:

Full Patch Notes

• Fixed a case where move speeds could be exploited using player view angles
• Fixed an exploit related to Bonk! Atomic Punch and Crit-a-Cola
• Fixed cosmetic items not using the correct team skins when attached to ragdolls
• Fixed a bug related to cancelling the Eureka Effect taunt and teleporting immediately
• Fixed baseballs causing teleporter exits to detonate
• Updated The Five-Month Shadow to fix a paint-related problem
• Updated The Merc’s Mohawk so it can be equipped by all classes
• Updated the equip_region for the Exquisite Rack
• Updated beta map pl_cactuscanyon
  • Redesigned the alternate window route over the choke point by stage 2 capture point 1
  • Window overlooking second stage final capture point is now a doorway
  • Removed stairs leading to back barn in stage 2 near final capture point
  • Back alley behind water tank in stage 2 is now a 1-way drop down
  • Added small health pack in the small room off the back stairwell flank near stage 1 capture point 2
  • Fixed players building in spawn rooms
• Updated beta map rd_asteroid
  • Mode changes
    • Players must steal at least 25 points before they can leave the vault with the reactor core
    • Updated power core pick up sound
    • Updated robot death effects and sounds
    • Updated HUD layout
  • Map changes
    • Layout has been adjusted with the overall goal of increasing players ability to participate in creating points for their team
    • Added terrain path and cave entrance under mid bridge. Exit is located near the large row of windows. Cave contains a medium health pack
    • Widened play space near cave exit leading into large row of windows
    • Added small ammo pack to underwater flank that leads to enemy reactor vault
    • Added small health kit to staging area before the interior battlements
    • Reduced ammo pack near vault from full to medium
    • Added alcove near front door staging area
    • Robots have been rearranged
      • A robots now circle the staircase near the front door
      • B robots now roam the interior bridge above the water
    • Enabled flashing lights when a team’s power reactor has been stolen
    • Fixed broken stair collision when exiting the water near the bridge. In some cases it would push players back into the water.
    • Added player blocker to ledge above exterior battlements
    • Widened glass tunnel flank doorway near C robots
    • Increased attackers spawn time by 1 second

     

   

[N] Obey

FYI: Per Octo, servers #01 and #07 will be down for a while.  All other servers should be up.

The main part of this patch is that the two beta maps, pl_cactus canyon has had some major changes, and rd_asteroid has been totally overhauled.  That’s about it.

Team Fortress 2

• Fixed a client crash related to particle effects
• Fixed the quickplay menu not remembering the Advanced Options settings after using the Play Beta Maps option
• Fixed the Festive Sapper not having a skin for the Blu team
• Added a new startup music track from Expiration Date
• Updated the Conga taunt to play sounds on the client instead of the server
• Updated several materials to fix issues caused by mat_picmip
• Updated the localization files
• Updated beta map pl_cactuscanyon
  • Redesign of the first half of stage 2. Blu team now pushes up the first hill
  • Removed the death pit in the first barn building of stage 1
  • Ammo increased in stage 2
  • Fixed Red building in the spawn room of stage 2
• Updated beta map rd_asteroid
  • Mode changes
    • Power Cores and Reactor Cores now add their point value to a team’s score over time
    • Reduced the rate at which points can be stolen from 15 per second to 10 per second
    • Robots now heal 5 health per second to nearby friendly players
    • The HUD has been reworked
  • Inverted the layout to better represent the layout of the level
    • Added progress bars to represent each team’s score
    • Potential point gains from stolen reactor cores are now visually represented on the score progress bars
    • Thief icon now moves across the score board relative to the thief’s position in the level
    • Updated thief icon to represent both the color of the power core stolen and the color of the thief’s team
    • Added new strings to the win panel that explain why the team won
    • Replaced the current “points being stolen” sound with a new sound
    • Added better collision hulls to robot models
    • Reworked robot skins to reduce similarity to the Ubercharged skin
    • Sentry guns no longer target Ubercharged robots
  • Map changes
    • Layout has been adjusted with the overall goal of improving visibility of teammates
    • Removed spawn teleporter
    • Reduced map size by removing the front lobby and cave sections
    • Added terrain paths on the sides of the mid bridge
    • Increased width of the mid bridge
    • Removed doors that locked when A and B robots were active
    • Robots have been rearranged:
      • A robots now roam the bridge above the water
      • B robots now roam around the floor in front of the vault
      • C robots now roam around the upper deck
    • Added more line of sight blockers to the water room to provide better cover during combat engagements
    • Reduced travel time for the water flanking route under the interior bridge
    • Added a drop down to enter the water room from the front door staging area
    • Increased size of the glass room near C robots to provide flanking cover to use against sentries that are placed at the corner of the upper deck
    • Increased width of vault corridors
    • Reworked vent route that leads to the vault, no longer need to crouch jump on exit
    • Moved left spawn exit forward to reduce effectiveness of spawn camping
    • Added a resupply cabinet to the right side spawn exit
    • Re-positioned health and ammo pickup locations
    • Added ramp collision to stairs
    • Changed setup time from 60 seconds to 40 seconds
    • Changed power reactor max return time from 90 seconds to 60 seconds
    • Fixed gap in the death pit that allowed players to survive

Tune in Saturday night for the #04 vs. #08 match!

[N] Obey