TF2 Update out tomorrow + free weekend

So it was actually a full Soldier and demoman update, which has been long awaited since they’re the two most versatile classes in the game. I don’t have much info on the new stuff (anyone able to find a link?) but I’ve quoted the changelog below:

Team Fortress 2

New Content

Added new control point map Gorge

Added new capture the flag map Double Cross

Added item crafting

Added work-in-progress TF Bots for beta testing in KOTH maps (blog post coming with more info)

Added headshot death animations

Added more backstab animations

Soldier

Added 35 new Soldier achievements

Added 4 new Soldier items

Added new Soldier Domination lines

Demoman

Added 35 new Demoman achievements

Added 3 new Demoman items

Added new Demoman Domination lines

Spy

Now pretends to be carrying the weapons & wearables of the target he’s disguised as

Moved the Spy’s camera-beard to the Misc loadout slot so he can equip it with a hat

Scout

The Sandman now only stuns on a max range hit (when you hear the cheering)

All shorter hits now force the enemy into the thirdperson fleeing state (also removed the damage reduction on them)

Minor changes

Added new options to the Multiplayer->Advanced dialog:

Combat text, which displays damage amounts you do to enemies.

Medic auto caller, which automatically shows you nearby friends at low health.

Heal target marker, which better highlights the target your medigun is locked onto.

Alternative Spy disguise menu, which lets you choose disguises using just the 1-3 keys.

Fixed being able to affect friendly pipes with airblast (they would unstick)

Added recharge sound to abilities with a recharge bar

Fixed attachable wearables not staying on ragdolls

Players no longer see the wearables that are a part of a friendly spy’s disguise, fixing various graphical glitches

Added jiggle bones for Pyro’s chicken hat

Added 2 new game startup songs

Community Mapmaker requests

Implemented InputSetSetupTime() for team_round_timer (was in the .fgd but never implemented)

Added “SetDispenserLevel” input to cart dispenser (1, 2, or 3)

Two new maps in the update as well, which I’ve not tried yet, but gorge sounds like it’ll have a lot interesting plays through jumps etc. Some of those minor changes look useful as well.

Some first impressions of the update:

Soldiers are as thick as they look atm, often being seen damaging themselves intentionally just to use the fucking pickaxe, and then charging into the thick of it. You also see them switching to the pickaxe when they’re on low health and on fire despite a medic being ready to heal them, seemingly not aware they can’t be healed with the pickaxe out. Retards…but anyway they’re the sort of players who don’t think about the team, shown by this lack of practice with other classes. The soldier’s new main weapon looks interesting, but I think you need to actually be a good soldier in order to use it, and I still haven’t seen buff banner in play yet. Also, like with all the updates, I’m finding it hard to play either soldier or demoman because nobody is playing medic on the team, leaving me as the mug trying to help the team.

The demoman’s eyelander looks quite good, for public server play anyways, and I’ve been decapitated quite a few times by it. The chargin’ thing is very much like the charger in L4D2, and I suspect this is because the same team who made TF2 made L4D2, and they’ve simply copied the code…still it looks to have comic potential. I haven’t noticed the new sticky launcher yet, but I have a feeling it’s too compicated for most demo’s and most will prefer the normal sticky launcher, which to be fair is in keeping with all of the other class unlocks.

The new maps are good, at least going by first impressions. I’ve always been a fan of 2fort (I’m one of a rare breed) and the new CTF map double cross is quite like it except in two key differences which will result in fewer stalemates. The map is basically two buidings seperated by a bridge, with a gorge underpass and dry sewage pipes providing a lower entrance to the flag. The flag room itself is much closer to the building entrance, compared to 2fort and cp_well, making it easier to reach, in theory. The bridge is flanked by opposing battlements which mean the snipers have a side on view of the main crossing point, rather than facing it as they do on other maps, and this obviously makes it harder for them to score hits. The battlements are also on roughly the same plain as the bridge, though elevated from the gorge.

The new gorge map itself is not quite what I expected, as it’s an attack defend type in the mold of dustbowl, but so far I’ve only played the first stage of it (assuming there are 3 stages). The first cap point is actually quite difficult to take, as there’s quite some distance to cover, and when you do eventually take it, there’s similar distance to travel to the next point, which has it’s cp on a low level, but it does seem quite easy to defend if you have a few sentries. I’m not sure I like this map, as I can see it getting bogged down easily, though my first impression was played with a “team” who didn’t appreciate the importance of a medic in these kind of stand offs 🙄

The soldiers new main weapon isn’t as terrible as some people would have you think, because of the minicrits you get when you hit an airborne target. You might think this is difficult, and more in the realm of something the pro’s would make better use of, and that’s probably right, but because people naturally jump when fighting, air hits are a lot more frequent than I previously thought. You can tell when a soldier’s equipped with the new gun because the shot sounds gay, so just a wee tip if you’re facing someone with it, try to resist the urge to jump, unless it’s likely to be a very difficult shot for him.