Valve announced yesterday that they have made the beta version of the SDK available for Orange Box modders (Episode 2, TF2, Portal).

You can launch the SDK by adding -beta srcsdk0122 to your command line when you start Steam.

For more information, head on over to the Valve developer wiki.

As early as tomorrow, January 24th, PC gamers may be seeing an official CTF version of the Well map for Team Fortress 2.

PC Gamer reports:


So that bumps the upcoming number of official maps up to three so far, who knows what else Valve has up their sleeves.

Originally posted here, there are some more exciting things coming for TF2.

The medic will be getting two new weapons accessed via a new Loadout menu. One weapon will be the Overhealer which will be capable of doubling a friendly target's health and will be unlocked by acheiving half of the new medic achievements. The second weapon will be another healing weapon but more information is not available.

There will be a new map called Goldrush and will feature a new escort gameplay mode where one team must escort a mining cart across the map. The more blue players surrounding the cart, the faster it goes, but any nearby red players will cause the cart to stop.

Shacknews reports that the new gameplay mode and medic abilities will be available some time within the next month, with Badlands and Goldrush following shortly after.

Valve has not said whether these features will be available on console versions of TF2.

Team Fortress 2 has received two updates in the last two days. The first one adding some nice features to both servers and clients, and the second one seeming to fix a couple things broke by the first update.

January 14th Update:
* Added new option for medigun beam to the Multiplayer->Advanced dialog. If on, the medigun beam will stay attached to the current target without the need to hold down the fire button
* Added new option for the sniper rifle to the Multiplayer->Advanced dialog. If disabled, the sniper rifle won't re-zoom after firing a zoomed shot
* Added "nextlevel" server cvar. If set to a valid map name, server will change to that map during the next changelevel
* Fixed PerfUI being used as a type of wall-hack on servers without sv_cheats set to 1
* Reduced Granary spawn advantage for capping the middle point
* Fixed players turning into "Scout" model after lagouts (and a variety of related issues, such as disappearing doors)
* Fixed obscure crash related to resolution changing

January 15th Update:
* Fixed medigun effect not being removed if the medic changed class while healing
* Fixed being able to zoom too quickly after firing a zoomed shot

According to this post, it seems as though Valve's Robin Walker has spilled the beans on some upcoming changes to the Pyro and Soldier classes in TF2!

Get ready for some big changes to the Team Fortress 2 game you have come to know and love. Valve's Robin Walker has verified that there will be 2 new maps released for the PC version in the next 2 months, emphasizing more on a new arena and vertical game play. As for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 versions, it remains unclear whether the new updates will make it to these platforms. You can check out Robin's full statement below, and keep checking back for more on this and all updates pertaining to Team Fortress 2.

A few fixes and security additions have been issued for the Steam distribution platform. The changes are as follows:

Steam Client
- Added a new chat introduction dialog which is shown when you are first contacted by a potentially unfamiliar group member
- Added several new account security warnings to Friends
- Added the ability for the client to connect to multiple content servers and improved download pipelining
- Added "View Forum" option to the right click menu for individual games
- Fixed friends going auto-away when they are really active and typing
- Possible fix for games sometimes disappearing from the games tab
- Fix for non-Steam games getting permanently removed from Steam if the data fails to load on startup
- Fixed the in-game overlay becoming slow/unresponsive for some users after playing for several minutes or more
- Fixed the in-game overlay failing to come up for Windows 2000 users
- Improved in-game overlay compatibility with ATI Tool (video card tuning software)

Simply start Steam and click on the File menu and then select "Check for Steam Client Updates"

Turtle Rock Studios, creators of Counter-Strike: Source, Condition Zero, and the upcoming and highly anticipated title Left 4 Dead, has been acquired by Valve. Here is there official press release statement.

"Half Life developer Valve has announced that it has acquired Orange County-based developer Turtle Rock Studios, currently working on the forthcoming Source-engine multiplayer zombie-slaying action title Left 4 Dead.

Valve president Gabe Newell called the acquisition "an easy decision" based on the long-standing relationship between the two. Turtle Rock previously has collaborated with Valve on a number of Counter-Strike projects, including the game's Xbox port.

Newell also said that the new internal studio would give Valve "a base from which to expand our development activities in the Los Angeles area."

Said Turtle Rock founder Michael Booth, "Valve has had great success bringing in projects and teams such as Team Fortress and Portal. As I spent time working and talking with the creators of those products over the past several years, it became clear that this was the right next step for myself, my colleagues at Turtle Rock, our customers, and our products. We are excited to be a part of such a visionary and forward-thinking company."


Source: GamaSutra

A new Team Fortress 2 update has been released by the Valve Development team this evening. The update fixes several glitches and bugs, including a revamp of the map Well, but most importantly aims to improve the ability for players to filter custom content. Now, users will have the option of choosing what custom content they download from the servers. As always you can get the latest version of Team Fortress 2 by simply restarting your Steam Client.

Team Fortress Portal, a German Team Fortress 2 fan site, has claimed to have found all 36 achievements for the medic, not yet revealed by Steam. The image outlines all of the different achievements medics will soon be able to earn, and as shown, many require the effective use of team play and game experience. You can check out the full list of achievements below, along with an image that shows each achievement's individual badge. If this turns out to be correct, we can hopefully see a statement release from Valve soon.




Click To Enlarge

Gamers in Germany will get a free taste of Team Fortress 2 this weekend. Valve has announced that German Steam users will be able to play Team Fortress 2 all weekend without having to purchase the game. For more information on the offer, head on over to Steam Games.

The devs over at Valve have released a new Team Fortress 2 Update. The update makes several key fixes including better map cycle management and preventing people from exploiting a respawn bug. You can check out the full list of changes/updates below and as always restart your Steam Client for the changes to take effect.

CVG has released a new Team Fortress 2 guide, properly titled "How To PWN At Team Fortress 2". They list 12 key tips and tricks that will hopefully help your game. The list includes tips such as how binding will make you more efficient and how to properly manage your server. To check out the full guide head on over to the CVG Website.

Updates for the Source Engine, Team Fortress 2, and the Steam client have been released. The updates are as follows:

Team Fortress 2
- Sudden Death mode is now a server option (a convar) and defaults to OFF
- Sapped buildings now take slightly less damage from the Spy who sapped them
- The Medic's Medigun now charges at an increased rate during Setup time, to remove the need for self-damage grinding
- Fixed an rcon/console command that could cause server crashes
- Prevented players from playing the "civilian" class
- Prevented players from hiding their name in the scoreboard
- Fixed exploit where the Medigun UberCharge wouldn't drain if you switched weapons
- Fixed decals not being correctly applied to the world in some cases
- Fixed critical bullet tracers not being visible to players other than the firer
- Fixed first person spectator view of the Spy watch not showing the correct cloak value
- Fixed the teleporter's player shaped particles not drawing
- Fixed the flamethrower stuttering when firing directly into a building
- Fixed a rare crash that can happen when a player being healed leaves the server suddenly
- Fixed rocket trail effects sometimes existing permanently in world
- Added effects to players when they earn an achievement, visible to other players nearby
- Tweaked achievement HUD fonts and color palette for more readability
- Improved stat gathering for map play times to increase accuracy
- Improved stat gathering around draws to better understand why they're occurring
- Fixed occasional misreporting of syringe gun & fireaxe damage distances to the stats system
- Fixed an occasional crash caused by an achievement not being found during a game announcement

Dustbowl
- Now waits until either team wins fully before changing to another map on server timelimit expiring
- Teams now score a point per captured control point, rather than per sub round
- Prevented Demomen being able to launch grenades into the stage three alleys while standing at the final cap point
- Fixed gaps in stage gates that allowed snipers to kill defenders during setup
- Fixed several model and brush perch exploits in stage three
- Added stair access to the upper area in stage three after the first cap
- Limited line-of-sight at the first control point in stage 3 to remove a griefable sniper spot

SourceTV
- Fixed some audio buffer support issues with Vista
- WorldVertexTransition under dxlevel 80 + 81 now correctly uses vertex alpha to blend the two textures
- Improved the console in the graphical UI version of the dedicated server

Source Engine
- Fixed some audio buffer support issues with Vista
- WorldVertexTransition under dxlevel 80 + 81 now correctly uses vertex alpha to blend the two textures
- Improved the console in the graphical UI version of the dedicated server

Steam Client
- Improved in-game overlay compatibility with FRAPS and ATI Tray Tools
- Fixed the in-game overlay not showing up in Civilization IV
- Fixed changing resolutions when the in-game overlay is enabled

Restart your steam client for the updates to take effect.

The Steam Team has released another small update for Team Fortress 2, fresh off the heels of last weeks major update. The update fixes several key problems including restricting sound engine to a max of 100fps and adding the ability for servers to have map specific configuration files. The complete changes/fixes list is below, and as always, simply restart your Steam Client and the update will take effect.

Team Fortress 2 has been updated today. Restart your Steam client to get the update! Release notes follow:

In the most recent Steam News update, the team announced that the Team Fortress 2 stats have officially gone live. The stats include information on everything from which class is most played to the places on maps where players are killed the most. Either way, its pretty interesting to see how every aspect of the game are tracked. To check out the stats for yourself, head on over to the Steam Website.

Be the first to join!

MPN has just added a free new feature. You are now able to join a x-fire group and be able to talk to admins almost instantly with any questions you may have. You are also able to talk to people within the group, which are other CGN members from all over that have joined the group. This is a great way to help build our gaming community and to make friends at the same time. You can find more information at the x-fire group home.

If you are new to the program x-fire you can download it at xfire.com. X-Fire supplies numerous features. The most common are in-game chatting, hundreds of downloads, and your gaming hours logged in your profile. X-Fire is 100% free and is worth your time.

If you have any questions with downloading x-fire or joining the group you can contact Support@centralgamingnetwork.net with your questions or problems.

Thanks, Taylor.

The Valve team has released their weekly Steam News Update including details on the new achievement packs for Team Fortress 2. In total there will be 36 all new packs, a few of them being listed below. Also, you can get now get your hands on all new lithographs from Half-Life 2: Orange Box. For more, or to pick up some for you are that significant gaming other, check out the Valve Store. For all this news and more, check out the complete Steam News Update below.

Valve has released a new steam update, aiming to patch up a few small bugs. The full list of changes can be found below, and as always, simply restart your client for the changes to take effect.