Vapourware. The term often used to describe a software title
announced far in advance of its actual release and often
marketed to a degree where rabid followers of the said title
are left high and dry with the only release date they have
as being "when it's done". Those dreaded words are hated by
any video gamer and one title springs to mind: Duke Nukem:
Forever. Duke Nukem: Forever is probably the most elusive
game title of recent years but it's being quickly caught up
by one we all know oh so well, Team Fortress 2.
Team Fortress History
Valve Software is a relatively young development house compared to some. It was all started in 1996 and over the last ten years we've seen a lot of history. Probably the most interesting history, however, is that of the development of the Team Fortress series. Contrary to popular belief the game dates back to before Half-Life was even released. Team Fortress as most of you know is a modification to Half-Life, however, the original was released in August 1996 as a modification to Quake. Developed by Robin Walker, John Cook and Ian Caughley, later known as the aptly named Team Fortress Software, 'Quake Team Fortress' very quickly became a popular game.
Later on in 1996, Team Fortress was released for QuakeWorld, a specially optimised version of Quake for online play only. The mod expanded and its player base grew week by week, leading to game distributors contacting the team about creating a commercial project. They soon began work on what they called Team Fortress 2 as a commercial expansion to the Quake II engine. This was when the team was contacted by Valve Software to see if they'd make Team Fortress 2 as an add on for the Half-Life engine. They were incredibly impressed by the Half-Life engine and what Valve had done and so their decision was made; Team Fortress 2 would be an add-on for Half-Life but would become Team Fortress Classic.
Soon after, Valve made the guys an offer to merge with them, quickly developing Team Fortress 2 from an add-on to a standalone project. In 1999 this project became known as Team Fortress 2: Brotherhood of Arms. This new game would change Team Fortress into a gritty realistic warfare game with a number of new innovations such as networked voice communications and a commander with a birds eye view of the battlefield.
TF2: Brotherhood of Arms looked promising until 2000 when all media just stopped aside from the occasional developer chat and rehashed previews going over year-old information. Valve refused to comment on the progress of the title and nobody knew what was going to happen with it. Had it been canned? Was it still in development? Nobody knew, all except Valve of course.
Nothing was heard for over three years until those magical early days back in 2003 where we finally heard about Half-Life 2 and the Source engine. It was finally clear why we hadn't heard anything. The game was definitely still in development but it had been made quiet to keep it secret about them developing it on a brand new engine and to keep the secret about HL2.
Another three years go by and again nothing until Summer 2006. It was at the EA Summer Showcase the new Team Fortress 2 was unveiled by Valve, a bright cartoon styled affair going back to the old Team Fortress Classic gameplay. A new release date was also announced - Summer 2007, which is when the game was finally released, bundled in Valve's 'The Orange Box' game package.
Team Fortress History
Valve Software is a relatively young development house compared to some. It was all started in 1996 and over the last ten years we've seen a lot of history. Probably the most interesting history, however, is that of the development of the Team Fortress series. Contrary to popular belief the game dates back to before Half-Life was even released. Team Fortress as most of you know is a modification to Half-Life, however, the original was released in August 1996 as a modification to Quake. Developed by Robin Walker, John Cook and Ian Caughley, later known as the aptly named Team Fortress Software, 'Quake Team Fortress' very quickly became a popular game.
Later on in 1996, Team Fortress was released for QuakeWorld, a specially optimised version of Quake for online play only. The mod expanded and its player base grew week by week, leading to game distributors contacting the team about creating a commercial project. They soon began work on what they called Team Fortress 2 as a commercial expansion to the Quake II engine. This was when the team was contacted by Valve Software to see if they'd make Team Fortress 2 as an add on for the Half-Life engine. They were incredibly impressed by the Half-Life engine and what Valve had done and so their decision was made; Team Fortress 2 would be an add-on for Half-Life but would become Team Fortress Classic.
Soon after, Valve made the guys an offer to merge with them, quickly developing Team Fortress 2 from an add-on to a standalone project. In 1999 this project became known as Team Fortress 2: Brotherhood of Arms. This new game would change Team Fortress into a gritty realistic warfare game with a number of new innovations such as networked voice communications and a commander with a birds eye view of the battlefield.
TF2: Brotherhood of Arms looked promising until 2000 when all media just stopped aside from the occasional developer chat and rehashed previews going over year-old information. Valve refused to comment on the progress of the title and nobody knew what was going to happen with it. Had it been canned? Was it still in development? Nobody knew, all except Valve of course.
Nothing was heard for over three years until those magical early days back in 2003 where we finally heard about Half-Life 2 and the Source engine. It was finally clear why we hadn't heard anything. The game was definitely still in development but it had been made quiet to keep it secret about them developing it on a brand new engine and to keep the secret about HL2.
Another three years go by and again nothing until Summer 2006. It was at the EA Summer Showcase the new Team Fortress 2 was unveiled by Valve, a bright cartoon styled affair going back to the old Team Fortress Classic gameplay. A new release date was also announced - Summer 2007, which is when the game was finally released, bundled in Valve's 'The Orange Box' game package.
