SPOTLIGHT
- NEW SITE!Welcome to our newly designed
website created by our very own Yorick.
There's been a big reshuffle and lots of
new content added so check it all out!
An update has been applied to TF2 tonight, with many changes but most importantly, milestone achievements have been reinstated so players can unlock weapons via this method also. Full change list below.
Added Sniper/Spy milestone achievements as an additional way players can get the new unlockables
Added tf_arena_use_queue server convar. Turn this on to get the old queue behavior. Default is off
Added tf_arena_round_time to set a timelimit on the round
Added the userid of the player who built the teleporter to the "player_teleported" event
Fixed player killed event causing server crash
Fixed Spies not being telefragged when standing on an enemy teleporter exit with the Dead Ringer enabled
Fixed attackers seeing the mini-crit particle effect for full crits if the victim has the Jarate effect enabled
Fixed the Ambassador not doing damage to buildings
Fixed Spies disguised as their own team not drawing blood effects
Fixed players killed by flaming arrows not showing the appropriate death icon
By the good graces of the folks at Valve, we've been given the opportunity to meet with some of the team at this year's E3 event and we will be checking out their latest offerings. We’re booked for June 2nd in Valve's meeting room, where we expect them to show us Episode 3... Er, no, Portal 2. Or was it L4D2? Valve is still very tight lipped about what they are showcasing, but we can expect lots of "new."
As far as the content we will be pushing out for the community, that's yet to be determined as we have no idea what we're in for. Expect interviews, previews, screenshots, or E3 impressions - Whatever we can get our hands on. We can’t thank Valve enough for this chance of a lifetime.
If two free weekends of Unreal Tournament 3 Black weren't enough for you, then get ready for another one starting this Thursday at 10 am PST. You can start pre-loading the game right now if you wish from the Unreal Tournament 3 Steam page. During the last free weekend player numbers for the game jumped by 2000% so there shouldn't be any lack of people to play with. Grab more details here.
We all want to play with the new toys, but how can we get our hands on them? Achievement grinding wasn't much fun, lets be honest...so what is the new system based on? Its simple, its time. How much time do you play TF2? The more you do, the more items you are going to find.
That new system watches the amount of time that players are playing TF2, and gives them a chance to find items at regular intervals. They aren't guaranteed to get the item at those points, but they have a pretty good chance. We based the system on granting items on the amount of time played because we don't want players to have to do weird things like join achievement grinding servers to get new content. Basing it off time also has the benefit of ensuring that if you play a lot of TF2, you're going to get more items than players who don't.
Using average times players play TF2, Valve are still tuning the period between getting new items. The work isn't finished yet however, new things are to come.
Item trading. This is why you're finding duplicates.
Giving players a method to influence the system so they can work directly toward getting specific items.
Adding more rare items like the hats.
Hoodoo, a popular community made payload map has also been added to the update, as well as a quick preview of some of the hats we will be seeing on the Bonus Day update page. Valve are also already working on the next class pack!
Steam will automatically begin downloading this large update to Team Fortress 2 now. A highly anticipated update, that includes many new features including:
New game mode - Payload Race (with new map Pipeline)
Two new official arena maps: Nucleus and Sawmill (with new weather conditions)
35 new achievements for the Sniper Class
34 new achievements for the Spy Class
The Huntsman, Razorback and Jarate new weapon unlocks for the Sniper
The Dead ringer, Cloak & Dagger and The Ambassador new weapon unlocks for the Spy
Remember Team Fortress 2 is now available for a free weekend (starting now), so anyone can play this update (preload here), and if you wish to purchase after, TF2 is available at half price. Let us know your thoughts on how these new additions play!
On Day 7 of the joint Sniper / Spy update news, Valve has unveiled the Sniper's newest unlock, the Jarate.
Jarate is a thrown jar that splashes upon impact. When splashed on enemies, they take 35% more damage for a period of time. Jumping in water will wash off Jarate. Jarate is also able to short out Spies’ cloaking devices. When used on teammates, Jarate will extinguish any fire effects.
Head over to the Sniper vs. Spy update page for more information, as well as a list of Sniper achievements (without descriptions yet) and a comic extolling the virtues of Jarate.
Zeno Clash has received an automatic update via Steam this evening fixing an array of issues which can all be seen here. Also remember, ACE Team are working on free downloadable content for Zeno Clash, scheduled for release in a couple of weeks.
Fans of the game will be glad to hear Zeno Clash 2 is planned with a more ambitious goal in mind...
the next game of the series which will continue the adventures of Ghat, who will struggle against new and old conflicts. Father Mother, the mysterious Golem and new characters will be making an appearance in the next title. The story will be set after the events that take place in the first game. ACE Team wants the next installment to be much larger in scope, so the new game will feature open ended gameplay with large explorable environments and RPG elements. The unique melee combat system that made the first game a success will also be expanded to feature even more brutal and engaging gameplay
ACE Team have also put together a nifty post-release trailer for Zeno Clash and those who haven't seen the game before.
Meet the Spy would make the main headline for today had we all not seen it over the weekend. Now, if you wish you can download a high definition version from Steam. This update also brings a brand new achievement just for Valve themselves...
We now have 34 brand new achievements for the spy. Many comedic names for the achievements as usual, check them out here and see if you can work out the other possible unlocks for the spy.
Update: Valve's search for the culprit who leaked the video goes on. See the Team Fortress 2 blog for two updates as team Valve all walk the plank!
The beta of the Left 4 Dead Authoring Tools are now available to the public, free for all the owners of the PC version of Left 4 Dead.
Here's what's included:
Updated version of Hammer, the source level editor
Updated suite of command line compiling utilities
Updated Particle editor
Updated Faceposer
Example maps, common infected, props, and explosives
This release also feature a pair of plug-ins for SketchUp (a 3D modeling program you may download for free). These plug-ins gives you the ability to create building blocks and props that can be imported into Hammer for use in game levels.
The matchmaking system will be updated in a few weeks to allow users to play those new maps and campaigns.
Our plan is to release a beta of the Authoring Tools now so the community can start working on maps in the full environment. In a few weeks we will then release the updated match making to allow users to play those new maps and campaigns.
Gentlemen...please! Yes the spy update will be coming along with the sniper update and it looks brilliant. The update shows a catalogue of gadgets from which the spy is selecting, many of which are junk but he has settled on two items to be unlocks for the spy.
The "Dead Ringer" Spy Watch - Upon being hit, your body will ragdoll to the ground, however the real you will cloak for 8 seconds tricking the attacker thinking you have died
The "Cloak and Dagger" Spy Watch - Permanent invisibility when you stand still, movement will drain its power.
We will be getting both the sniper and spy update. Although the update page shows many other possible unlocks (Crab walking kit) the spy seems nonplussed by these, so the third unlock remains unknown! See the update page for the spy here.
