Following last night's party for the press, Valve has released a few nuggets of precious Goldrush map media, in the form of four screenshots and some flythrough footage from the new mine cart escort mode. Look for the PC update--to include the new medic weapons, achievements, and the Goldrush map--to appear sometime in the next few weeks.

In the meantime, check out our hands-on impressions of all the new stuff, as well as our interview with Valve's Robin Walker.

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Accompanying our impressions of the new map and details of the new weapons, developer Valve has issued a list of the 36 Medic-specific achievements that will soon arrive in its class-based multiplayer shooter Team Fortress 2.

As noted in our interview with Team Fortress 2 director Robin Walker, though the Medic is the first class to receive new achievements and unlockable weapons, the company plans to eventually grace the other eight classes with additional armament and achievements.

"We're also going to be looking at ways that players can get items other than achievement unlocking," Walker stated. While some of the achievements aren't all that complicated, other are bound to require a careful mixture of time and luck.

The complete list of new Medic-specific achievements follows:... Read more

In the midst of barroom chaos during Valve's party in downtown San Francisco last night, I pulled Team Fortress 2 director Robin Walker aside for a short impromptu chat.

Highlights? How about a TF2 map with a moving fortress? And don't miss his comments on the Shacker-created map CP_Redstone. Click on through for the full interview.

Robin Walker: Like anything else, we're going to listen to the community, see what they like. If everyone hated [Goldrush], we probably wouldn't do another one. That's one of the things sort of our philosophy--we never think we're smart enough to know what our customers like. So we want as much as possible to just get it in front of customers and listen to what they say. If they say they want more of it, then we'll do more of it. Read more..

Earlier tonight, at a Valve pizza party, I saw the light again.

All throughout the demo of upcoming Team Fortress 2 content, a confident Robin Walker stood by the rows of glowing play stations, stooped above us like a ministerial Batman. I sat below, firmly entrenched in vicious battles over mine carts, wondering how he makes these wonderful toys.

Yes, the Church of Valve has delivered glory unto the PC gaming devout, as always. Goldrush is as fun to play as it sounds on paper. The medic weapons are solid additions, with a huge amount of potential. Consider me fully re-hooked on the Team Fortress 2 Kool-Aid.

In short, this update will be a much-needed breath of fresh air for those growing tired of TF2's standard offerings. And rather than a dying gasp, it feels more like the beginning of a deep, satisfying inhalation of content.

When it comes to revitalizing TF2, I must confess, I'm far more interested in new maps than extra gameplay mechanics. In that respect, Goldrush--the first map... Read more

Developer Valve released the final details on its upcoming Team Fortress 2 content update during a party tonight in downtown San Francisco.

In addition to the known crit-increasing gun "The Critzcrieg," the remaining two unlockable medic weapons were also available for hands-on time. Dubbed "The Blutsaugher" and "The Ubersaw," they will serve as replacements for the medic's standard syringe and bonesaw, respectively. The weapons will be earned through a new achievement system, and equipped through a loadout menu.

Below you can check out Valve's official descriptions for the weapons. For more, check out our impressions of the new content and media of the fantastic Goldrush map as well as our interview with Valve's Robin Walker and the 36 new Medic-specific achievements.

The Blutsaugher
For players that earn one third of the 36 new medic achievements, they will be given a new syringe gun. Called "The Blutsaugher," this new weapon no longer has the ability to score critical hits against an opponent. Instead it will draw health from enemies each time a syringe hits. Especially useful as a weapon to retreat away from the fight while staying alive.

The Critzcrieg
Once a medic has earned two thirds of the achievements, they will be granted "The Critzcrieg." This new medigun uses its ubercharge not for invulnerability... Read more

The next batch of free content for the PC edition of Team Fortress 2--including the new Goldrush map, unlockable weapons, and Meet the Scout video--is slated to arrive the week of April 20, developer Valve has informed Shacknews.

Outside of that general timeframe, a specific release date for the new content was not provided.

Goldrush will mark the first map in a new game mode called "Payload," which will task the Blue team with herding a mine cart full of explosives toward the Red base. The more players near the cart, the faster it will move, the Red team winning if it prevents Blue from reaching its goal. The map will also be the first to utilize the cinematic physics technology from Half-Life 2: Episode Two.

Though unlockable weapons will eventually spread to all classes, the Medic class will be the first to receive new armament. According to a recent IGN interview, a total of three new items will be available, unlocked by earning a set number of the new class-specific achievements.

While Valve had discussed an Overhealer gun that would double a target's health, the studio is currently testing a Medic gun that, once charged, will guarantee targets ten seconds of continuous critical hits.

Valve previously explained that the unlockable items would be equipped via a new loadout menu, suggesting that gamers will not be able to easily swap between the new tools in the midst of battle.

Ever wonder what the custom map community is doing with Team Fortress 2, but were afraid to leave the confines of your cozy private server to find out? You should be afraid.

There are no capture points here, nor is there any evidence of intelligence. Instead, towering posters surround you on all sides, draping the level from floor to sky in hentai, anime, and other 4chan materials. Players stumble around the 2D circuit in a stimulus-induced haze, saturated with input and stupified by the pure repugnance of it all. Nobody seems sure whether to shoot the other guy, or end their own miserable, confused existence. Read more..

While the wait for class-specific achievements, unlockable weapons and the new Goldrush map continues, developer Valve has released an update for the PC version of Team Fortress 2 that resolves a number of glitches.

Changes to the colorful class-based multiplayer shooter include a tweak to the critical modifier for explosive weapons, which had caused the chances of a critical hit to be higher than intended, and the resolution of a bug that allowed Demomen to shoot grenades at point-blank range without taking damage. For the full details, scope out the patch notes.

As with all other titles distributed via Valve's Steam platform, the patch will be automatically downloaded and applied after users restart Steam.

All the new Team Fortress 2 maps that have or are planned to hit the PC edition of the game will indeed make their way to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Valve marketing VP Doug Lombardi has confirmed.

"The maps will come to the console versions," Lombardi informed Eurogamer. "There's a bit of work that makes sense for us to bundle them up and release them as packs."

Recent additions to the PC edition of the game include numerous balance changes and two maps, Badlands and CTF_Well. Upcoming content includes class-specific achievements, unlockable weapons, and the Goldrush map, which adds a new gameplay mode.

Though available for individual purchase on the PC, the console editions of Team Fortress 2 are only contained within Valve's mega-compilation The Orange Box.

While that content is free on PC, what about consoles? "Oh, for free, definitely, as much as we can," Lombardi answered. "You know, we don't have full say over that, but we have some say over how that works."

Speaking of Team Fortress 2 on Xbox 360, Valve has released a new... Read more

While Team Fortress 2 players wait with bated breath for the new Goldrush map and class-specific achievements, yesterday's update for Valve's colorful multiplayer shooter provided PC gamers with a nifty consolation prize: Tournament Mode.

Other changes include class-balancing ammunition tweaks, stability fixes, a custom tab in the server browser, and protection against voice command spam. For all the details, scope out the full patch notes.

As is typical with games on Valve's Steam platform, Team Fortress 2 will be automatically updated to the latest version when users log in.

Update: The patch is now live on Steam.

Original story: Valve has announced that the first major update to the PC version of its hit multiplayer shooter Team Fortress 2 will go live tomorrow morning at 11 AM PST.

The free update adds the new vertically-oriented map "Badlands," a reworking of a classic TFC battleground. Three previously released maps--Dustbowl, Granary, and CTF_Well--will also receive performance and gameplay tweaks.

In addition to map changes and additions, the patch will include further improvements to networking and graphical performance, player statistics, and Source TV. A full list of the changes can be found here.

Valve made no mention in its release of the forthcoming unlockable items or the previously-announced Goldrush map.

For a look at Badlands, check out Shacknews' recent preview of the map.

Clarifying reports made earlier this week, Valve marketing VP Doug Lombardi has told Shacknews that plans to bring new maps and content to the console editions of Team Fortress 2 are still up in the air.

Upcoming free content for the PC edition of the colorful class-based multiplayer shooter--one of the many titles contained within Valve's value-packed The Orange Box (PC, PS3, X360)--includes the medic achievement pack, unlockable weapons, two new maps, and one new gameplay mode. A reworked version of an existing map, revised to accommodate CTF play, was released last week.

Update: Valve marketing VP Doug Lombardi has clarified that plans to bring new maps and content to the console editions of Team Fortress 2 are still up in the air.

Original Story: The new Team Fortress 2 maps headed to the PC soon will also be available on the console editions at no cost, according to Eurogamer.

The maps will come in the form of downloadable packs on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. No release date was given for the content, though the Badlands and Goldrush maps are due out on the PC next month, with a CTF version of Well already having seen release.

In an interview with the site, Valve marketing director Doug Lombardi also mentioned that the company's hit puzzle-action title Portal will not be a one-and-done release.

"There'll be more Portal, for sure," said Lombardi. "But the details of that, to be honest, we're still working out."

The latest Team Fortress 2 update has been released, most notably including the map CTF_Well, a capture the flag variant of the existing control point map.

Along with the new map, other features were added, including some graphical optimizations and the ability to autosave a scoreboard screenshot each time a game ends. Valve also fixed numerous glitches, such as a recording problem with SourceTV, exploits on CP_GravelPit, a custom spray-related crash, stat recording bugs, and more.

(Update: We are now hosting a CTF_Well screenshot gallery courtesy of re4ctor.)

Simply sign into Steam and launch Team Fortress 2 to download the update. The full changelog can be found below: ... Read more

The second official Capture the Intelligence map for the PC version of Team Fortress 2 may arrive as soon as tomorrow, developer Valve told PC Gamer.

A retooled version of the existing Well area, the reworking sports the same basic layout but removes the Control Points of its other iteration, with intelligence packages placed at each team's base instead. Of course, the existing Control Point edition will still be available for play.

The studio noted that the map is tentatively planned to arrive tomorrow, January 24, but that its release may slip until next week. When the game first debuted last fall, many criticized the colorful class-based multiplayer shooter for containing five Control Point maps but only one CTF environment.

In addition to the new version of Well, Valve is also planning to implement two more maps--Badlands and Goldrush--along with a new gameplay mode, class-specific achievements and unlockable items within the next month or so.

The company has repeatedly expressed its intent to provide owners of the PC version with free game-expanding content and features, though it has yet to determine how or if the additional content will be added to the console editions.

Unlockable items and a new gameplay mode are on their way to the PC version of Valve's Team Fortress 2 as part of its upcoming large scale gameplay shift.

According to PC Gamer, the items will become available as gamers earn class-specific achievements. As the Medic will be the first class to receive specialized achievements, it will also be the first to receive new items.

One of the two Medic-specific items will be the Overhealer, which permanently doubles a target's health capacity. To balance this, Valve is considering increasing charge time for an Uber when it is equipped. Another possibility is that the company may remove the Overhealer's Uber capability altogether.

Currently, the plan is to allow gamers access to the Overhealer when... Read more

Last week, Shack lackeys Chris Faylor and Aaron Linde made the trek to esteemed developer Valve to check out the upcoming Badlands map for Team Fortress 2. As longtime FPS gamers will recall, Badlands was present in Team Fortress Classic--it is being developed for TF2 in a considerably reworked form.

Badlands, one of two new maps on the way for TF2, will follow some other notable changes to the game, some of which are not yet detailed. It has not yet been confirmed whether the maps will hit the console versions of TF2.

Take whatever ideas you might have of what Badlands would look like in Team Fortress 2 and toss 'em out the window; though structurally and thematically similar, the transition from straight CTF into control point-based play transforms the map into a whole new animal.

The most striking and immediately obvious difference is the lay of the land surrounding the red and blue bases, and the routes which make them accessible. The high cliffs and canyon routes of the original Badlands have been leveled off, and though rocky terrain still segments the three main areas off from one another, players will notice dramatically greater line-of-sight than in the TFC map. Read more...

Update 2: Shacknews is proud to present our hands-on impressions of the reimagined Badlands map.

Update: Valve's Robin Walker has clarified that the new maps will definitely hit the PC, but are undecided for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Team Fortress 2, which are only available in The Orange Box.

Original Story: Two new maps for Valve's Team Fortress 2 will hopefully arrive within the next two months, the studio has informed Shacknews.

One of the new arenas is a remake of Team Fortress Classic's Badlands map, with an emphasis on more vertically-oriented gameplay due to the presence of control points on towering spires.

"Our estimate is that both these maps should be out within the next 2 months," Valve employee Robin Walker told Shacknews. "We expect to ship other new content before that."

That other content includes the forthcoming Medic achievement... Read more

Valve has released the first significant update for the PC version of Team Fortress 2 in about a month, making several gameplay tweaks and bug fixes. If it has not already patched itself in your copy of Steam, Team Fortress 2 will update automatically when you attempt to launch it.

Particularly interesting changes include Sudden Death now being a server option that defaults to "off," the Spy doing slightly less damage to buildings with his weapons after sapping them, the Medic healing at a faster rate during the pre-round setup time to offset the need for players to self-inflict wounds and boost the heal rate, as well as some fixes to SourceTV and the Source engine. There are also a number of changes specific to the Dustbowl map.

A recent round of reports indicated that Valve has an Xbox 360 patch in the works for TF2 as well (no word on the PS3 version), with new maps for both versions being developed and plans to freely release the studio's own PC character animation tools.

Continue to the full story for the rest of the patch changes. ... Read more

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.