For general feedback about the game.
Steam SupportVisit the support site for any issues you may be having with the game or Steam.
A couple days ago we mentioned a "major project" we were working on that we promised to keep you updated on in the weeks and months ahead. Well, here's an update: It's done! Suck it, Valve Time.
That's right, folks. The Steam Workshop is live! What is it? An improved submission hub for community-created content that makes it easy for you to upload entries, check on their status and get feedback from us at Valve. Also, the TF community will be able to look at, comment on, and rate all item submissions in a single place.
But that's not all. The in-game Mann Co. Store turned a year old today. In just 365 days, item-creators have made more than $2,000,000 in profit from their creations. In celebration, we're releasing the massive Manniversary Update and Sale! What's included in it? Holy crap, try to think of something that’s not included in it. Check out all the new features, items and improvements.
Almost everything is on sale between now and Monday, October 17th, so limber up your buying finger, and don't forget that any store purchase automatically upgrades a Free account to a Premium.
Happy Manniversary, everybody!
If you played the "Halloween Manor" event last year, you may recognize this spine-chilling skull hat. What you probably don't recognize is the terrifying secret process I used to create it. Well, brace yourselves for a Halloween-themed learning nightmare, because this step-by-silent-Dracula-step guide is about to reveal all the gory details of hat making.
I thought this already existing noisemaker image would make a good starting point for a Halloween skull hat.
I converted the image into a 3D shape so I could sculpt on it. But after getting it to this rough point, I realized it was too close to the Spy's existing paper masks, so I decided to restart and try it as a helmet instead.
I bent the shape onto a sphere and sculpted quickly using a pressure sensitive pen. We like to try a lot of ideas, so it’s good to work fast and loose, since most of these ideas end up not working out.
Even though the sculpt is a bit messy at this point, it’s good to take it all the way to the game to make sure there isn’t some unforeseen problem.
Using a topology tool, I drew a new polygon mesh* over the top of the sculpt.
*Keeping the polycount low is critical for maintaining a decent framerate once the object is in-game. A high resolution sculpt can be as expensive to render as the entire rest of the game! We try to keep hats under 1,000 polygons, and weapons under 6,500.
Next, I laid the polygon mesh out flat like a bear skin rug so I could texture it. In this case, the textures were created using flat colors with a rendered ambient occlusion pass layered on top.
I compared the low polygon mesh against the sculpt to create a normal map.
I skinned the mesh to the hat joint, and then placed it on each of the different characters to see how it fit.
At this point, I decided it'd look cooler with some horns. I made a few variations and passed them around the team to figure out which one was everyone's favorite.
This was the winner.
I then tested the hat on each of the characters using the in-game itemtest feature.
Everything looked good to go, so I created an icon and put it in the store! Players can now wear the Spine Chilling Skull in-game. If this was a community-made item, the money from item sales would get split between Valve and the item maker!
The TF2 team has just started working on an improved item submission process that will make it easier for community creators to test, share and track the status of their creations. The new system will allow the entire TF community to participate by browsing, rating and giving feedback on all submitted items. It's a major project, but we promise to keep you updated on our progress.
It seems like just yesterday that we announced the Steam Trading Beta on the Team Fortress blog. That's when we looked it up and discovered we actually announced that four weeks ago, and over one million items and game gifts have been traded by beta testers since then. And that's pretty inspiring. Also, frankly, terrifying. Because when we say it felt like yesterday when we announced that, we mean we literally have no memory of anything from that blog post up until the entire TF2 team woke up in a tub filled with ice cubes this morning. We can't pinpoint specifically which organs we're missing, so we figure our best bet is just to play out the day and see if anything jumps out as different (no heartbeat, inability to go to the bathroom, missing circulatory system, etc.).
At any rate, as of today Steam Trading is officially out of beta, in the Steamworks SDK, and available to everyone. Two new games will now have tradable in-game items: Spiral Knights, the cooperative adventure from Three Rings and Sega, and our own Portal 2. And remember, this is just the beginning. We can't wait to see what our fellow gamers and developers are going to come up with to move Steam Trading forward.
To celebrate, items are on sale in the Team Fortress 2, Portal 2, and Spiral Knights in-game stores.
If you've gotten this far into this blog post and still have no idea what we're talking about, don't sweat it: There's an entire Steam Trading FAQ online to answer any questions you might have.
If, however, you've gotten this far into this blog post and have no idea what we're talking about because you woke up in an ice-filled tub this morning, and are wondering whether that queasy feeling you're having means you "have an upset stomach" or "are liverless", please get in touch with us, because we'd like to compare notes.
This morning Robin Walker threw a birthday party and nobody came. Before you start feeling sorry for him, though, keep in mind he didn't actually invite anybody. He just keeps emailing the TF team pictures of himself in his backyard - jumping around in an inflatable jungle gym he rented, forcing a hired clown to make him balloon animals, and unwrapping gifts he bought himself.
Robin's increasingly sad collection of birthday pictures reminded us that Team Fortress turns fifteen today. To celebrate, we've decided to throw a party ourselves. And unlike Robin, we're inviting everybody. For the next 24 hours, anybody who plays TF2 is going to get:
You'll also see the return of the best stuff from previous TF birthday celebrations, including:
We've got the balloons, we've got the presents, we've got the birthday cake. All we're missing is you. (And Robin. Judging from these pictures he's not coming back to work any time soon. The last one had him watching a magic show while riding a donkey wearing a little sombrero. No idea who's taking all these pictures. Possibly the clown.)
Younger TF2 fans might not understand the significance of the upcoming game Deus Ex: Human Revolution. For those of you who weren't around during gaming's golden age, it's the long-awaited sequel to the cult classic dystopian shooter Revolution X, starring and programmed by Aerosmith. You'll once again play as Brad "The Deuce" Whitford. Part human Aerosmith bass player. Part robot. ALL trouble.
"Wow! Can you let me play it now?" you ask. Dream On, Aerosmith fan. The game's not due for a week. (Joe Perry's still coding some shaders.)
"Well, is there anything I can get now?" Yes. As of right now, you can Walk This Way if you Don't Wanna Miss a Thing, because Janie (i.e. you) Has Got (i.e. can obtain) a Gun (i.e. eight new Deus Ex-themed TF2 items, FREE, by pre-ordering the Aerosmith game). The items are also available separately in the Mann Co. Store and through items drops and crafting.
Head to Deus Ex: Human Revolution's Steam page and pre-order now. Then, as long as you’re Living on the Edge, flash your parents the Devil sign and rock over to Aerosmith's official Facebook page. Don't let the cops catch you! It's dangerous!
