Tag: team fortress 2

Team Fortress 2 Gets CO-OP with ‘Mann VS. Machine’ Update

by Shane O'Hare

A few days ago a mysterious blood stain showed up on the Team Fortress 2 website linking to this odd birth notice. This alluded to a third son of the Mann family, Gray, and conversely a third team to be added to Team Fortress 2 universe. Then we got another blood stain on the Team Fortress 2 page, leading to this odd last will, which was pointing to the fact that the ghost of Mann would return to enact his revenge on those who use his weapons for evil.

Soon the online consensus was that the new “Gray” team would be a horde mode type enemy, and everyone was right. Today we get a trailer for the next update, Mann vs Machine for Team Fortress 2, which releases August 15th.

Team Fortress 2 ‘Pyromania: Day 3’ Meet the Pyro and Source Filmmaker

by Shane O'Hare

Well it’s over. The Pyromania three day event is done, and it finished with flourish. Haaaaaave you met Pyro?

Well, that was…interesting. I can safely say that was the best “Meet The” video hands down. Today not only marks the end of Pyromania but it introduces the newest tool from Valve. The Source Filmmaker.

Source Filmmaker (SFM) is the tool Valve developed inside the source engine that it used to animate all nine of the TF2 shorts. It takes an entire animation studio and puts it inside a single gaming PC. From the Press Release.

The goal of the SFM was to develop a story telling tool that allowed us to create computer animated movies more efficiently, and with greater creative freedom,” said Bay Raitt, designer at Valve. “Over the past five years, we’ve produced more than 50 animated shorts with the SFM. The Source Filmmaker will allow our community to create their own movies in Team Fortress 2 and in their own Source SDK-created mods.

SFM is currently in a closed beta, but Valve is going to release it FREE OF CHARGE later this year.

I don’t like to throw this word around too often, but this is fucking AMAZING! What Valve is bringing to gamers and machinma artists alike is nothing but astounding. I cannot wait to see what groups like Lit Fuse Films will be able to do with this tool.

For more info on SFM check out the official page.

Day 2 of Pyromania is HERE.

Team Fortress 2 ‘Pyromania: Day One’ Begins, Culminating with “Meet The Pyro”

by Shane O'Hare

That’s right Team Fortress 2 fanboys and Valve lovers. You read it correctly. At the end of this week we will have the “Meet The Pyro” video!

If you have been living under a rock for the past few years, let me bring you up to speed. Periodically, Valve has released small vignettes introducing the different classes from their hit team shooter, Team Fortress 2. They’ve been critically received and highly praised all around. The gaming community for a while now has been craving the one introducing the Pyro class. The wait is over.

Announced today over on the TF2 blog that this week is PYROMANIA!

Day One sneaks the peek at the new map “Doomsday”.

Doomsday pits BLU against RED, with only one team getting the honor of transporting a suitcase nuke full of recalled Mann Co. Australium to American monkeynaut Poopy Joe’s rocket, so he can blast off and hunt down Soviet space chimp Vladimir Bananas. It’s the same spirit of competitive enterprise that stalled the moon landing by three years when Buzz Aldrin suplexed Neil Armstrong into a pile of folding chairs at Astromania ’69! Both teams will attempt to get the necessary fuel up a preposterously slow-moving elevator and into Poopy Joe’s Australium-powered rocket to the stars.

So keep and eye out here and the TF2 blog for more updates as they come out!

Adult-Swim and Valve Team Up On Team Fortress 2

by Shane O'Hare

An interesting static website has popped up on the Adult Swim page. An image of the Red team from Team Fortress 2 sits below somewhat vague text.

COMING NEXT WEEK

ADULT SWIM & VALVE

ARE TEAMING UP FOR SOMETHING THAT YOU’LL PROBABLY ENJOY. TO LEARN HOW THEIR VIDEO GAME PEANUT BUTTER WILL BE GETTING IN OUR NETWORK’S CHOCOLATE, COME BACK NEXT WEEK.

ALSO: YOU’LL WANT TO SIGN UP FOR THE NEWSLETTER. YOU’VE BEEN WARNED.

Color me intrigued. With a series of Team Fortress 2 “animation cell” mock-ups floating  around 4chan for a while now, what could Adult Swim be up too?