Archive for the 'TF2' Category

Huge TF2 update coming tomorrow

There’s a very big update to TF2 coming tomorrow - it will include 4 maps, which means it will be around 200MB.

It’s recommended you all go to Steam Settings and enable Beta Participation in the first tab - that should get you high download speeds.

As usual, our servers will be updated as soon as the update is out, and cp_badlands will be put twice in the mapcycle so we can all learn it.

Full list of changes:

Source Engine

  • Refactored how lightmaps are downloaded to the graphics card at level load. On some hardware configurations this can lower level load times significantly
  • Optimized some particle systems to improve performance on some hardware configurations
  • Player stats are now sent up as they change, rather than when the player dies
  • Improved playback of sub-frame sounds
  • Fixed a crash caused by alt-tabs during map load
  • Eliminated unnecessary temporary memory allocation in scenefilecache

Team Fortress 2

  • Badlands released
  • Changes to Dustbowl
    • Added a new access point to the stage2 attacker gates (drop-down left from spawn), allowing attackers a way to reach the left route without being subjected to the spam and sentry gun fire
    • Fixed a gap in stage 3, cap 1 that allowed a player with to wiggle above the “ceiling” clip
    • Fixed a gap behind stage 1, cap 1 house
    • Fixed a high perch on stage1 cap1 house roof
    • Fixed a perch offering view of nodraw textures and the skybox (stage1 cap2 rock barrier)
    • Fixed a few places where rockets/demoman pipes could pass through non-solid models
    • Sealed up a gap over stage1 lower start gate
    • Clipped off tall windows in stage 3 to prevent sentry guns from behind built behind them
  • Changes to Capture the Flag Well
    • Fixed trains not starting on map spawn
    • Removed cap association from red spawns that were spamming console
  • Changes to Granary
    • Removed spawn timing advantage from the middle (from -3 to 0)
    • Fixed several model perch exploits (red, blue cp1 gate and blue cp2 gate pipe)
    • Fixed a few places where players could get stuck between containers and silos
    • Adjusted playerclips on red container that made it appear like players were floating
  • Added a small delay (200 ms) before a zoomed sniper shot can get a critical hit
  • Added server side convar mp_fadetoblack. Same functionality asCounter-Strike, used mainly during in-person tournaments and LAN events
  • Added flamethrower “sizzle” sound when the Pyro is hitting a target
  • Updated explosion debris to be a bit darker
  • Fixed idle players not being kicked from the server if mp_allowspectators was set to 0
  • Added ctf_well to the default mapcycle.txt file
  • Added ctf_well to the default motd.txt file
  • Fixed floor tile material type
  • Fixed some weapon damage info missing from TF2 game stats
  • Made some small changes to the Demoman viewmodel that were causing performance problems
  • Added exec’ing a <class>.cfg file on the client when you select a class to play.
  • Added a new timer to the HUD to show the value of mp_timelimit. This is useful if you’re playing a timed match on 2Fort, where you only set a timelimit on the server and no other win conditions.
  • Added server log entry for buildings destroyed by their owner
  • Fixed sentry gun shadows being clipped
  • Updated glass material

SourceTV

  • SourceTV now uses a hidden slot on the game server. This allows for 24player servers to also have a SourceTV proxy connected to it
  • Fixed Pyro’s flamethrower flames not showing up in SourceTV

Mossad League Launched

After a small delay we are happy to announce that we have finally finished our work on the league and are launching it! :)

The league will be played 6 vs 6 in a round rotation.

each round will be played on a weekend( Friday + Saturday) and will include 4 games per round with a total of 7 rounds.

A clan will play one game per round, a total of 7 games until the semi-finals.

The top 4 clans will move to the semi-finals to determine the top 3.

The prizes will be announced in a few days.

It is the clan leader’s duty to contact a ref in order to coordinate his match.

League Rules:

  • Games will be played as 6 vs 6.
  • Players are asked to behave towards all members and admins (no swearing,cursing,flaming,racism,etc`)
  • Cheating is not allowed - if a player is suspected to be cheating the suspected player needs to provide the demo from the clan match. If a Player has been found cheating the clan will be disqualified from the league.
  • All clan members must be registered in the forums and have their steamid in their forum profile.
  • All games will be played in Mossad League Server with an admin / ref present.
  • Every clan member MUST record a demo and take a screenshot at the end of the map.
  • If a player drops during the match the clan can request the other clan to put a player on “idle”.
  • Games will be scheduled by an admin / ref and the date/hour will fit both the clans.
  • In case a clan doesn’t show up to a match on time, they will be given 15 minutes extra for showing up. if they do not show up by then the clan will take a tech loss giving their opponent a win.
  • Games can be postponed up to one week , if the game won’t be played by then the failing to show up clan will get a tech loss.
  • Not obeying to the two above rule for 3 times will disqualify the clan from the league automatically.
  • If a clan did not coordinate by Thursday his match BOTH clans might be disqualified(will depend on the admins decision)
  • Maps to be played: cp_well, cp_granary, cp_gravelpit, cp_dustbowl, ctf_2fort, ctf_well
  • Game is played “vanilla” - no class limits, no crit limits, no respawn changes.

League Refs:

  • nick-
  • Shesek
  • Popeye
  • LukeAR
  • void

League Admins:

  • Eternal Bliss
  • Zal
  • MoD

If there is any problem feel free to contact one of the refs or admins.

Don’t forget you can practice as much as you want on our server by requesting a time slot

The league’s first round will start on Friday the 15th of February.

you can see the scores of the league and progress on the website

Major TF2 changes revealed - unlockables

PCGamerUK visited VALVe, and have some preliminary details.

The game will have unlockable weapons for each class, which will be not only stronger, but will have various implications on the game balance.

The weapons will be unlocked by the new achievements - starting with medic, each class will have 36 new achievements. Getting half of them will unlock first weapon, getting other half will get second.

The first unlocked weapon for medic will be a double charger - instead of giving a temporary 150% health, it will give a permanent boost to max health to 200% - healing a heavy to full health will give him 600 health - and let him keep it while you go heal others. To balance this, using this weapon will barely charge Uber, if at all.

Second unlockable was not yet revealed.

The second new map, other than badlands, that valve are workign on, is not hunted, as we thought - not exactly.

It is called Goldrush, and will feature a cart that needs to reach certain stages of the level. The cart moves faster the more blue players are near it, but stops when a red player is in range.

- - -

The way I see it right now, valve doesn’t care much for clanned gameplay - How can such changes fit into professional play?

TF2 Update 15/01

A nice big update was released for TF2. Changes are:

- Reduced Granary spawn advantage for capping the middle point
- 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
- 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
- Gave machinima creators access to “tf_testvcd” and “tf_testrr”
commands for playing scenes on characters
- SDK Launcher now has a drop list of engine versions in addition to a
drop list of games/mods. This eliminates the need to specify engine
version as a launch option

Servers have been updated, enjoy!

Mossad was relaunched!

Today at 15:00 Mossad was officially launched.

We want to thank all TF2 players that supported us and took part of the great server party we had. We do hope all of you enjoyed it.

A fixtures league will begin very soon, couple of weeks time - clans that wish to have practice matches can order the server only for them in order to ready up for the tournament. You can start getting excited -  the winning clan will be granted a prize – more information in the future.

All clans that wish to play in the league need to sign up on the forums as soon as possible.

We have 3 TF2 servers online and are planning to add a TFC server and a MOTW (Mod of the week) server that will cycle between the mods you choose!

I would also want to thank Zigzag2000 for sponsoring and supporting us.

TF2 HOWTO: Fix bad sound since 12/21 update

Sound in Team Fortress 2 got really messed up after yesterday’s update, most noticeable with the demoman launcher and the soldier’s rocket launcher.

The solution is simple:

snd_noextraupdate 1

and if that doesn’t work also:

snd_mix_minframetime 0

These get overriden by the game at map change, so it’s best to put them in autoexec.cfg or bind a key to them.

VALVe confirmed this issue, and this is a temporary fix until it will be fixed in engine.

TF2 Update 12/20/2007 - Dustbowl changes!

An update was released for Team Fortress 2:

Major points:

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
- Prevented players from playing the “civilian” class
- Fixed exploit where the Medigun UberCharge wouldn’t drain if you
switched weapons
- Fixed the flamethrower stuttering when firing directly into a building
- Added effects to players when they earn an achievement, visible to
other players nearby

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
- 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

How will the dustbowl scoring change affect league play?
And what’s that exploit talking about, medic not draining Uber? That was a proper tactic :(

ESL Major series - €1.500 TF2 League

The European pro-gaming site ESL - Electronic Sports League - Announced season II of the Major series:

The ESL Major Series (EMS) are a collection of Pro Leagues situated a step below our highest competitions, the Pro Series and Masters.

Team Fortress 2 will be played in that league, for a grand prize of €1.500 - This guarantees we might see some top clans playing there, backed by sponsors, hungry for the prize!

If your clan wishes to participate, go over and register at ESL website - commenting in the above linked article will also give you a chance to win a TV card.

I recommend though that clans that wish to participate in this league get themselves ready - this one’s not going to be easy!

Mossad has been re-opened

Three years have passed since Mossad has gone offline, We have decided to bring it back online to support the Team Fortress 2 community.

We welcome and urge you to use our forums in order to know each other, find long lost friends, and start growing.

Mossad is still under heavy development and you can be sure we will be adding more features all the time, but for now we hope you will enjoy our website and forum.

Our TF2 servers are planned to go live next week (around the 20-21st of December) and we plan on adding a special server in which we will hold clan matches, practices and pickups. Clans will be able to schedule time slots in advance and enjoy this server.

Anyone who wishes to become an admin can apply in the forums and each application will be reviewed and those who will be found fit for the job - will be contacted. furthermore, if you wish to help in any other way (programming, moderating ,etc.) you can contact us via the “Contact” link.

We hope you will enjoy this community made BY gamers FOR gamers, without any monetary thought involved, we are not planning on making any money here, the donation link goal is only to cover the costs… we will return any extra donation once we have gathered enough.

For those of you who don’t know what Mossad is, here is some information:

Mossad was founded by Eternal Bliss in 2001 to gather the TFC community into one place (by creating an IRC server), the community became big and had grown every day with new members coming along. After a few years atterdag and Zappatta joined the project and together a powerful server was bought. Afterwards, some TFC servers went online (including some NS, DoD, CS servers).

Due to many hardware malfunctions and lack of funding, Mossad was closed in December 2004.