Team Fortress 2 Update Delivers 'Crit-a-Cola,' New Map, Balance Tweaks

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Team Fortress 2 developer Valve Software has released a hefty update for the class-based shooter on PC, containing oodles of balance tweaks, another community-created map 'cp_feight' and the new fan-made item 'Crit-a-Cola.'

Replacing the Scout's pistol, when drunk the Crit-a-Cola gives for six seconds the double-edged bonus of making all damage the imbiber gives and takes be mini-crits.

On the balance front, notable changes include toning down the Pyro's flamethrower damage while buffing its Air Blast and reducing minigun spin-up time for the Heavy.

The full list of changes from the April 28 update follows below.

Team Fortress 2
  • Added new community map cp_freight
  • Added missing physics models for several items
  • Added jiggle bones to the Sam & Max items, and The Buff Banner
  • Added Crit-a-Cola
Dedicated Server
  • Linux optimizations.
  • Fixed Linux servers not relisting correctly after a master server restart
  • Fixed a case where servers could have "ghost" players consuming player slots
Engine
  • Marked the "snd_show" convar as a cheat
Gameplay Changes
  • Pyro changes
    • Flamethrower direct damage reduced 20%.
    • Burn duration reduced (10 -> 6 seconds).
    • Airblast re-fire delay reduced by 25%.
    • Airblast ammo usage reduced by 20%.
    • All reflected rockets/grenades/arrows now mini-crit.
    • Airblasting enemies into environmental deaths now awards the death credit to the Pyro.
  • Heavy changes
    • Minigun spin-up/down time reduced by 25%
    • Minigun firing movement speed increased to just under half-normal (from 80 to 110).
    • Throwing a sandvich to a teammate now earns a full bonus point (was half a point).
  • Bonk! changes
    • Post-use movement penalty removed.
    • Now has a re-use cooldown time, like The Sandman.
  • The Chargin' Target changes
    • Direct charge hit now does 50 damage + 10 per head (up to 5 heads).
    • Capped the turn rate from +left and +right while charging.
  • The Huntsman changes
    • Removed restriction that arrows need to be aimed before they can be lit by a Pyro.
    • Bow can now be lowered without losing the lit arrow.
    • Changed bow so you can start charging it while you're jumping, but you can't fire until you're on the ground.
    • Fixed bug where flame effect would get stuck on if you change weapons with a lit arrow.
  • Backpack changes
    • Moved Crafting button out to the root class/backpack selection panel.
    • Dragging and dropping items in your backpack now makes appropriate sounds.
  • Bot changes
    • Bots don't retreat to gather health as readily if they are in combat.
    • Bots no longer retreat when moving to block a point capture.
    • Bots should now equip an appropriate combat weapon and fight while moving to collect health.
    • Bots who are roaming the map and hunting now chase down their victims, following them around corners.
    • Bots That fire projectiles (ie: rockets/grenades/etc) don't hold down their fire button for a minimum time. This was causing Soldier bots to fire rockets into nearby walls as they strafed, killing themselves.
    • Soldiers bots now switch to their shotgun after firing all four rockets when engaging an enemy.
    • Added a few more bot names from community suggestions.
    • Fixed a behavior loop with Engineer metal gathering.
  • The Sandman change
    • Added a slight speed reduction to stunned players.
  • Community requests
    • Added ConVars log_verbose_enable and log_verbose_interval to report player positions in the server log at regular intervals
      • log_verbose_enable default: 0
      • log_verbose_interval default: 3 secs
    • "Last-weapon" initialization on respawn now sets itself to be the melee weapon if you don't have a selectable secondary weapon (like The Razorback).
Bug Fixes
  • Fixed an case where The Gunboats didn't apply their damage reduction properly.
  • The amount count in the HUD now flashes red when you're low on ammo.
  • Extinguishing a burning teammate now earns a full bonus point (was half a point).
  • Fixed a permanent overheal exploit involving dispensers.
  • Fixed a bug in spectator mode where the user aborted out of freezecam, setup a spec mode (like IN_EYE), and would then have the setting stomped after the freezecam timer expired.
  • Fixed bug with disguised spy sometimes seeing his own name in the disguise status HUD.
  • Fixed a client crash that could result from players with arrows embedded in them.
  • Fixed items that can be worn by any class having the wrong model when worn by a disguised Spy.
  • Added missing map prefixes to server browser game types.
  • Killing yourself with your own sentry no longer increments the sentry's kill counter.
  • Fixed dropped hats sometimes having the wrong team color.
  • Fixed crit-boosted players not getting critical hits if their weapon has custom no-crit behavior.
  • Fixed the achievement dialog taking a long time to pop up, and completed achievements now sort to the bottom of the list.
  • Fixed Spies disguised as Medics hearing the autocaller sound.
Filed Under
From The Chatty
  • reply
    April 29, 2010 8:02 AM

    cp_freight is the new map? It's not very new and it has been popular for ages in TF2 :(

    • reply
      April 29, 2010 8:15 AM

      well community map so pretty sure valve adds it cause it's famous/played a lot 'n well balanced so add it for everyone to play

    • reply
      April 29, 2010 8:20 AM

      It's a good deal for everyone really - players get to play a thoroughly tested and fun map, Valve get to add new content without incurring (much) additional production cost, and Fishbus (who sits 3 feet to my left here at Splash Damage) gets a second community map into TF2 :)

    • reply
      April 29, 2010 4:25 PM

      Community maps get 10x the playtime regular custom maps do.

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