Team Fortress 2 robot shenanigans afoot

Valve's up to something again. Team Fortress 2 is, as we all know, an epic tale about the rivalry between two siblings, but now a third brother has appeared on the scene to shake things up. A new TF2 comic and several sneaky in-game secrets hint that something big, shiny and metallic is coming, possibly the long-speculated PvE mode nicknamed 'Mann vs. Machine' by fans.

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Valve's up to something again. Team Fortress 2 is, as we all know, an epic tale about the rivalry between two siblings, but now a third brother has appeared on the scene to shake things up. A new TF2 comic and several sneaky in-game secrets hint that something big, shiny and metallic is coming, possibly the long-speculated PvE mode nicknamed 'Mann vs. Machine' by fans.

As one fan's video details, Valve has been dropping hints about robots for some time, from comics and trailers to files casually added to TF2--which Valve knows fans pore over for hints. The most damning of these has been the heads of robot versions of every TF2 class.

After a little code-breaking by fans, Valve released a splendid new comic on Sunday showing a long-lost third Mann brother returning to slay his siblings--the heads of the warring Red and Blu teams--and set a dastardly plan in motion. Huge tanks appeared in the background of several maps over the weekend, so it seems an invasion is coming.

What does it all mean? The popular theory is Valve's releasing a new co-operative mode named Mann vs. Machine, where players fight robotic versions of the TF2 gang. TF2 files do reference something named 'MVM' and robots clearly are coming in some form, but it's mostly speculation for now. After several years of teasing, it seems we'll soon be finding out just what's afoot. If you want in on all the gossip and guessing, the Reddit community's gasbagging up a storm.

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  • reply
    August 13, 2012 6:00 AM

    Alice O'Connor posted a new article, Team Fortress 2 robot shenanigans afoot.

    Valve's up to something again. Team Fortress 2 is, as we all know, an epic tale about the rivalry between two siblings, but now a third brother has appeared on the scene to shake things up. A new TF2 comic and several sneaky in-game secrets hint that something big, shiny and metallic is coming, possibly the long-speculated PvE mode nicknamed 'Mann vs. Machine' by fans.

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      August 13, 2012 6:17 AM

      Oh god, that would be absolutely fantastic! Valve<3

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      August 13, 2012 6:21 AM

      now there's an important G-Man(n) in 2 valve games!

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      August 13, 2012 6:28 AM

      I absolutely loved what they did with the Halloween events, with both teams fighting a boss. I think a PvE mode could co-exist and would work out really well if done correctly.

      Also, I love everything about the TF2 universe.

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      August 13, 2012 8:28 AM

      The game pretty much lost me at the store, but this whole narrative int eh comics just further drives that nail in the coffin.

      I'm glad people enjoy it, but wow, did my adornment for TF2 crash and burn.

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        August 13, 2012 8:29 AM

        *I meant admiration....

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        August 13, 2012 8:45 AM

        how does it feel, hating fun?

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        August 13, 2012 8:47 AM

        [deleted]

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        August 13, 2012 8:50 AM

        Y'ain't wrong.

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        August 13, 2012 9:48 AM

        So that you aren't trolling, and this doesn't become a voting fest about whether or not people like tf2 still, what specifically about the narrative lost you? Keep in mind these comics have been created over a progression, and so you may need to have read previous comics to understand who these characters are. Maybe that's what lost you?

        These stories are written by folks such as the old man murray people, their ability to convey a narrative that fits the absurdity teamfortress universe is skillful and humorous.

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          August 13, 2012 1:04 PM

          It was a personal opinion. I wasn't saying TF2 now sucks, I was just saying my admiration has been lost for some time now.

          Before TF2 had an explicit narrative it was up to the player to have some sort of conceit on just wtf was going on... why are two teams with identical men fighting in this hilariously cartoonish war. It didn't need much of an explanation to be and was more fun making up your own narrative in each instance.

          Now that they have laid the foundation for "This is what it's about" it just personally lost my interest for some reason. It doesn't effect the quality of the game or how awesome it is; but I now view it through the comic books narrative lens and it just doesn't sit well with me.

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        August 13, 2012 10:00 AM

        perhaps because you didn't keep up with it? TF2 continues to evolve and be fun. it's goofy and wacky. thank jeebus for a game that does this, AND FOR FREE. folks that scoff at this are completely missing the forest for the trees.

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          August 13, 2012 10:46 AM

          They're all stupid and the story they're weaving was better left unsaid.

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          August 13, 2012 10:53 AM

          Early TF2 was great because it struck that balance between cohesive and wacky. It had a great, if subtle at times, sense of humor that added to the game. These days, anything seems to be going, and it really dilutes the experience. You're bombarded with insanity at every turn and, for some people, it has worn out its welcome.

          Great for people who enjoy endless chaos, but the game has lost the structure that I feel made it great to begin with.

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            August 13, 2012 2:39 PM

            at the same time without the insanity there would be way fewer players at this point. if they had just stopped after a bunch of maps and play tweaks and never did any of the class updates the game would be pretty much dead now.

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              August 13, 2012 3:31 PM

              I'm not really interested in arguing over what made the game popular because I don't think that's up for debate. I'm just saying that if I took a snapshot of the game now and compared it to one taken, say, even after the first set of class updates (when you could still earn all the new items via grinding achievements), I'd strongly prefer the latter. I fully admit that my taste in games is particular and does not represent popular opinion very well, and I am fine with games having a finite shelf life.

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        August 13, 2012 10:16 AM

        your adornment crashed and burned? what does that mean?

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          August 13, 2012 1:05 PM

          I corrected myself 3 hours before you posted this, perhaps you missed it. Sorry, it was early and I used the wrong word.

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        August 13, 2012 10:56 AM

        I don't mind the store, I don't mine the hats, I don't mind a few of the weapons, but I really do not like how many weapons there are now and how every class can be played like every other class (you get what I mean). Suddenly a pyro can heal engineer buildings? The heavy runs fast with gloves? The soldier can disable buildings for a few seconds? ETC.

        It's just that I find the variety to be confusing and chaotic and, well, it feels like it lost a lot of the competitive challenge that comes from being confined to one class's attributes and weapons.

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          August 13, 2012 11:00 AM

          And all these comics and such are just silly. I've never read them, they don't bother me, but insofar as they represent the "wacky" style they're trying to put into the game as omnova}y said, I dislike it.

          I'd've been happy if they added a few weapons and abilities -- kritz, ability to shoot demo stickies, and I like that spy knife that cuts your health in half -- and then gave us hunted.

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            August 13, 2012 1:54 PM

            I haven't touched the game in many months but I love reading the comics and backstories they've created external to the game. Reading stuff like that and watching the 'meet the' shorts with these updates has never been done before for any game (let alone a MP shooter which usually has zero story or character). Valve goes that extra step to establish some sort of universe in what already is a "wacky" mp shooter and I really appreciate that. It's fantastic.

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          August 13, 2012 11:19 AM

          Having played a lot of TF2 in recent weeks, this is pretty much not the case.

          There's a few items that I think do break the game (the one Spy knife that insta-disguises the spy as the person they just killed gets me *every time*) but its definitely not the case that you can ignore certain classes to gain the benefits of others. Sure the Heavy can run faster in gloves, but they are still melee, and the time to switch and spin up the gatling is long enough to nullify the speed in close combat.

          But it also creates new interesting strategies that are still prone to defeat. Sure, a pyro running around spy-checking near sentries while also healing it is pretty formidable, it also means they're a few extra seconds away from being able to airblast projectiles aimed at it.

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      August 13, 2012 9:32 AM

      I wonder if this is going to be an official version of that fan-made mode where one player is selected to be Saxton Hale (with neigh invincible health and strength) against the rest of the players.

      The comic certainly suggests that Hale's Mann Co is on one side, and the robots on the other.

      However, I'd love to see a 3-faction-based control-point game.

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        August 13, 2012 9:49 AM

        I imagine it's going to be 1 vs 1 vs AI, but I'd love to see the community take the grey team art assets and make a third team out of it

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          August 13, 2012 10:26 AM

          There are already robot head art/model assets in-game (from one of the patches) for each of the classes.

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        August 13, 2012 9:57 AM

        that mod sounds really fun

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        August 13, 2012 10:15 AM

        Wasn't there a mod for q2 or q3 (or both) that did this?

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        August 13, 2012 10:27 AM

        This is the VS Saxton Hale mode I was thinking of.

        http://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/VS_Saxton_Hale_Mode

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        August 13, 2012 10:37 AM

        Seems to have replaced Arena Mode. Seriously, what the hell happened to that crowd.

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          August 13, 2012 12:21 PM

          [deleted]

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            August 13, 2012 1:07 PM

            Arena mode is ass, however the Saxton Hale mode isn't overly fun either. I would prefer if this turned out to be either a RED vs. BLU. vs. GRAY team mode or a co-operative mode: RED & BLU vs. GRAY.

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        August 13, 2012 10:43 AM

        Sacton Hale is a horse?

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      August 13, 2012 10:40 AM

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tsHkpesBdY

      ARG(H) MATEYS.

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      August 13, 2012 12:46 PM

      Story is entertaining IMO and the Mannco/trading stuff is more or less what keeps the content flowing. If you've been playing since launch the new stuff keeps it spicy. I've yet to see a weapon that can't be countered.

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        August 13, 2012 12:57 PM

        Is there a quick rundown of the story somewhere? I wasn't paying attention for a while so there's a shirtless Austrailian and some old lady and hats and...

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        August 13, 2012 1:02 PM

        just because it can be countered doesn't mean it's balanced

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          August 13, 2012 1:05 PM

          Sooo what does balanced mean?

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          August 13, 2012 1:12 PM

          The game IS fairly well-balanced though. I still believe Spy is slightly underpowered however. :(
          It's just retarded that you can just shoot your teammates like that to spycheck. Because of this EVERYONE keeps doing that at pretty much ALL times. It's ridiculous. I do well as Spy for the most part, but it's still annyoing as fuck. Especially pyros. Bah.

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      August 13, 2012 5:15 PM

      Ladies and Gentlemen: IT'S ON! FUCK YEAH!

      http://www.teamfortress.com/mvm/
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4cfo0f88Ug

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