Valve is hosting a Team Fortress Haunted Halloween special this weekend that will see things like haunted maps, pumpkins and new achievements. Even better, for those of you who don’t already have Team Fortress 2 you can pick it up now for just $2.49 but you better act fast as the deal is only running for a few more hours.

But honestly, it’s only 2 dollars and 49 cents which is a ridiculously good savings from its normal $20 price tag.

via teamfortress

Here are all the detailed changes:

• Fixed seeing error dialogs if the “-nocrashdialog” command line parameter is present
• Added an optional per-map particle manifest called _particles.txt, which should be located in the maps directory, so map authors can load custom particle files
• Fixed minicrits resulting in reduced damage for weapons at close ranges
• Fixed the Cloak and Dagger not regenerating at the correct rate
• Fixed setinfo exploit that allowed restricted convars to be set while connected to a server
• Fixed tournament mode being interrupted if mp_timelimit hits before both stopwatch rounds have been played
• Fixed “jointeam unassigned” exploit
• Fixed being able to respawn during the chat time before a level change
• Fixed “sensitivity” ConVar not capping the upper value which sometimes caused a server crash
• Prevented some exploits based on mat_dxlevel being changed in-game
• Updated ripple effects for water drips to improve performance

The update can be installed just by restarting your Steam client.

The new files will give modders and map makers a chance to see how official maps are built, and also lets users tweak with all the settings. This is especially useful for new map makers, a good way of seeing how the best TF2 maps are built.

Valve plans to release more SDK content for TF2 in the near future.

Patch fixes:
Fixed Ambassador not using hitboxes to trace against players. It now works like all other bullet-firing weapons in the game
Fixed Ambassador shooting through gates
Fixed Ambassador not critting during the round win period
Fixed control point not being named correctly on Arena Sawmill
Fixed cloaked Spies being able to taunt attack
Fixed Spy feign death not being reflected in scoreboard
Fixed Jarate effect on DX8 machines
Fixed rare crash in Spy “A Cut Above” achievement
Fixed the backpack icon appearing over the “Could not connect to Steam” message in the client inventory
Fixed German localization string for respawning players showing %1

Valve has updated the Sniper update page for one last go, this time introducing “Jarate”, what is Jarate you ask? Well, it’s exactly what it looks like in the above picture, bottled urine.

Sure it’s gross but you have to see the humor in it a Sniper generally sits in the same area for extended periods of time with no bathroom breaks so it only makes sense they would have to “go” in a jar. Might as well make use of that jar, right?

If you happen to get hit with a Jarate you’re going to take 35% more damage for a period of time unless you jump into some water to wash it off. Better yet, it puts out flames and short circuits the Spy’s cloaking devices.

Oh yeah, they also gave us a list of the new Sniper achievements, but who cares, Jarate rules!

I’ve been a fan of the “Meet the (Insert TF2 class here)” series ever since Valve began releasing them however long ago. Well, another day means another class update and since it’s now the Spy’s turn they have gone ahead and released a Meet the Spy video.

However, that’s not all; Valve has also revealed 35 all new Spy achievements for you to collect. They leave exactly what the different achievement entail up to the imagination leaving a blank spot where a description would go. Perhaps we will recieve descriptions for all of the achievements tomorrow?

You can check out the achievements along with the new Meet the Spy video, here.

I’ve always been a fan of sniping, no matter the game. However, there’s nothing worse than getting stabbed in the back when your scoped in. Luckily, thanks to Valve’s recent Sniper Update, that will be a thing of the past.

Introducing The Razorback, a shield that the Team Fortress 2 Sniper class will wear on his back. However, it’s no ordinary shield, it’s wired up with a car battery so whoever makes the mistake of stabbing you will get jolted with 10,000 volts of electricity. Instant death anyone?

Like always, you can head here to find out more information and follow the Sniper’s daily updates.

Valve has recently gone ahead and updated the Team Fortress 2 Sniper Update page for the second day in a row, this time we get a new game mode and 2 new maps.

The new gametype, entitled Payload Race described by Valve as “gladiatorial cart combat”. Apparently, the game mode will have two teams trying to push their cart into eachothers territory while also fending off the opponents cart.

The first map is entitled Sawmill which Valve describes as: 

Set in a stormy mountain sawmill, this arena map has its cap point in a large structure atop a hill in the center of the map; beneath which lies a hidden underground spytech base; and above which, pouring down on everything we just mentioned, is rain—the first weather effect to appear in a TF map. If that previous sentence wasn’t long enough for you, replace the period with a comma and add this next part: players must ALSO watch out for the two deadly saw blades near the cap, which were left on when the previous occupants abandoned it for a less deadly, hilly, rain-swamped sawmill not built on a spybase.

And Nucleus:

A diabolical doomsday device is the foundation of this circular arena map, which features long sightlines and a bottomless radioactive pit underneath most of the game area. The cap, located in the center of the arena, is only accessible by catwalks suspended over a chasm, which open after the timer has run down.

Expect these updates to continue for the next couple of days, we’ll keep you posted.

“Any experienced sniper will tell you how irritating it is when your targets keep moving around,” writes Valve. “The question is how to stop these cheaters from wind-sprinting around like they own the place. And the answer is to pin them to a wall. How? With arrows!”

The Sniper update will include three unlocks, like all previous updates, and will also come with new maps for the multiplayer shooter.

It seems that Valve really wants people to own The Orange Box, having recently announced that they are selling the whole bundle for just $9.99.

Valve breaks down the pricing for us; bought individually Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode 1, Half-Life 2: Epiode 2, Half-Life 2: Lost Coast, Portal and Team Fortress 2 would run you $84.95.

The savings? $74.96.

Read (Steam)

However, there will be another update before the Sniper class is updated; it will include new content for all classes.

Meanwhile, Xbox 360 gamers are left in the dark on these updates. Greg Charlin of Valve addressed the issue, noting that they are still working to bring that content to consoles. Here’s what he had to say for the delay:

The original version of TF2 in the Orange Box was very close to the Xbox’s memory limit, and all the additional TF2 content we’ve produced has pushed well beyond it. We’ve found a couple of nifty ways to get back a bunch of that memory, but it’s turned out to be a lot of work, and that’s what most of our time is being spent on. In the meantime, we’re going to get a code update out to address the server cheating that’s going on.

To turn on multi-core rendering on, go to the Options->Video->Advanced dialog, and check the “Multicore Rendering” option.

The new update also fixes a number of bugs and issues, in particular a crash when exiting the game on Vista, and improvements to the engine.

The new update increases the minimum distance in order to stun someone with the Sandman, and the damage Scouts do to stunned enemies has been reduced by 50%.

Valve has also recently announced their plans to introduce “server scoring” by punishing servers that are inaccurate, thereby making it easier for players to find better servers.

If you’ve been waiting to get your hands on the Force-a-nature, the Sandman, and the new maps included in the Scouts major update (among other things) for Team Fortress 2, nows your chance.

Valve has recently revealed that the Scout update has gone live, but don’t you’ll just be given the new weapons.

The Force-a-nature will be unlocked after 10 achievements, the Sandman will be unlocked after 15 achievements, and the ‘Bonk’ Energy Drink (which makes the Scout run even faster) after 20 achievements.

Read (TeamFortress)

A double-barrel, two-shot shotgun, the weapon is characterized by its unique knockback effect and slow reload time. Keeping in line with the Scout class, if used in mid-air, the weapon will propel the player further upwards.

Valve has also opened a new user poll, allowing fans to vote for the order in which the new items are unlocked. They are also selling a new Force-A-Nature themed t-shirt in their web store.

Valve has announced via the Scout update page that two new maps are in the pipeline, set for release. These updates are part of Valves recent tradition of giving all of the different classes major updates.The two new maps are as follows:

Watch Tower
created by Joshua ‘JoshuaC’ Shiflet
An Arena map that plays unlike any of Valve’s Arena maps, with a heavy focus on vertical space and long, open sight lines. Control of the central building is a key decision that teams must wrestle over. More Sniper friendly than most Arena maps, it’s a perfect complement to the Scout update. Batter up!
Junction
created by Sean ‘Heyo’ Cutino
A Gravel-Pit style map that the community has been heckling us to include for months. Junction is a sharp contrast to Watchtower. It’s full of tight spaces and short sight lines, which create combat opportunities dominated by ambushes and explosive weaponry.

You can head over to the page Valve put up for the update to check out some screen shots of the new maps, here.