Valve: New Maps, Fixes, Machinima Tool for Team Fortress 2 in the Works

In emails sent to individual fans, Valve employees have given clues as to what new content Team Fortress 2 owners can expect in the near and more distant future. New maps are in the works, as is an imminent Xbox 360 patch and, surprisingly, the tools Valve uses to create its lauded character class videos.

Confirmation regarding maps and the patch came from Valve's Kerry Davis via forum user Shamrock. Valve submitted an Xbox 360 patch--addressing exploits and bugs, bandwidth usage, and stats reporting--to Microsoft certification today, and expects the certification process to take 10-14 days, completing before Christmas.

Davis noted that the changes are largely "in response to forum posts from both the PC and 360, and from direct in-game feedback from players." He added, "We actually have several people who regularly play TF2 on the 360 and collect feedback... It's a tough job, but someone has to do it." Valve is known for corresponding directly with fans.

As far as new in-production maps, Davis gave no time frame. They will be released individually on PC, and in a single pack on Xbox 360. It is unknown whether that pack will be free; Microsoft has been reported as being discouraging towards developers releasing free game content through Xbox Live.

In a separate email sent to Shacker Trips, Valve's Robin Walker noted that the company plans to add to its official SDK the proprietary tools it uses to create the videos highlighting TF2 classes such as the Heavy, Engineer, Soldier, and Demoman. He said the company uses Softimage XSI and Autodesk Maya as well as its own tools.

"I'm not sure when that'll happen, though, sorry," he noted.

No mention was made of the PlayStation 3 version of the game, released this week as part of The Orange Box.