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In today's
@TeamFortress
update (), a tribute to the late Rick May, voice of the Soldier, is included in the form of new main menu music, and this statue on plr_hightower. When you come up to it and/or linger at it, various Soldier lines will play.
As with the initial test period that Dota 2 went through from June through September 2015, CS:GO on Source 2 will be a launch option where you can pick which version of the game you want to launch. In this case, an option has been configured with "Limited Test Build" as its name.
A lot of Valve employees are fed up with scammers attempting to impersonate them (mainly off of the Steam platform entirely), so much so that numerous (but not all) Valve employees' Steam Community profiles now bear a special advisory header with a link to actual Steam Support.
This is more speculation on my part but it wouldn't surprise me if Valve used this as an excuse to overhaul the Counter-Strike website/blog/etc in much the same way that the Dota devs did in March 2021 (at the unfortunate cost of losing all old blog posts, however).
Fresh CS:GO app config changes have revealed that macOS and Linux builds of a Source 2 transition are also being readied alongside a Windows build. However, these require ownership of app ID 2279721 instead.
We're not even 18 hours into /r/Valorant being open and most of the same /r/leagueoflegends clique is at their usual antics after having used their own subreddit to try and steamroll /r/ValorantTheGame. So much for a fresh start.
Just after the bell has been rung, it seems the 730 DPR branch has been cloned into a new branch called "dprp". Of course, should anything further occur suggesting it WILL happen tonight, a new EWFU will be issued...
A little bit of sad news, Matt T. Wood (
@matttwood
) has left Valve after 17 years of service, as revealed by his updated Twitter profile description: "Previously 17 years @ Valve."
CS:GO's Christmas update: a moderate amount of effort put in.
Dota 2's Christmas update: lots of effort put in, and then some (because Rubick arcana).
TF2's Christmas update: about the same amount of effort put in as browsing the Steam Workshop yourself.
Cancellations pain me as much as they'd pain you (hence my GTFTS advice no matter what) and I'd rather not do them but if it needs to happen, it needs to happen. That said one painful wait was what wound up being the Graffiti Update.
A CS:GO map named de_voyna (), which has a hidden room showing the realities of Russia's Ukrainian invasion, appears to have had its Steam Workshop visibility limited to non-Russian IPs, likely due to a Roskomnadzor complaint.
It's usually around this time of year that Valve takes an annual trip to Hawaii, and it seems someone may have misplaced a pin handed out from this year's vacation. It was later spotted by /u/lanclos, who "dabbles in metal detecting" on Hawaiian beaches.
Unfortunately it appears the "imminent" part of this EWFU did not verify as there has not yet been any further changes, but the configuration of a launch option (contingent on ownership of app ID 2279720) is yet another significant step forward, & answers a few unknown questions.
The advice that I have provided and will continue to provide for those of you wanting to Go The Fuck To Sleep, whether you're anticipating something small or something huge, is to just Go The Fuck To Sleep.
A MAJOR CS:GO update appears probable given recent 730 config changes with many unknown new depots likely resembling that of a switch to Source 2 as with what happened with Dota 2, but confidence is not 100% that it will arrive tonight, hence the "possible".
Several key restrictions may impact you:
- It appears there will NOT be a grace period for the ~0.10% of users with a 32-bit Windows installation
- macOS and Linux builds may not be available immediately
- Perfect World/Steam China users may not be able to participate
Today is the Team Fortress franchise's 23rd birthday! As usual on/around this day, if you don't have them already, simply start TF2 today to get a free party hat and noisemaker. If you've already got your noisemaker, you can start making noise with it again.
On this day:
- 25 years ago: Windows 95 hits store shelves
- 24 years ago: Windows NT 4 hits store shelves
- 24 years ago: Valve Corporation is founded
- 24 years ago: Team Fortress is released
- 19 years ago: Windows XP hits RTM
On this day:
- 26 years ago: Windows 95 hits store shelves
- 25 years ago: Windows NT 4 hits store shelves
- 25 years ago: Valve Corporation is founded
- 25 years ago: Team Fortress is released
- 20 years ago: Windows XP hits RTM
BREAKING:
@backpacktf
's Mann Co. Supply Crate Key price index has pierced 50 refined for the first time, with a newly accepted suggestion of 52.22-52.44 refined - or one TF2 inventory page's worth of refined and then some.
Did you know: Source Filmmaker last got an update 1500 days ago? Its last update was on 1/12/15, which included a TF content sync and a single bug fix.
Benefits of being Premium in TF2:
- Greatly increased inventory capacity
- Unrestricted trading
- Unrestricted item crafting
- Passing on items as gifts to others
- The Proof of Purchase
And now, as of today's TF2 update:
- Any communication with others
Smokes no longer being effectively invincible will probably be the most significant shake-up to the fundamentals of the Counter-Strike meta in quite a long time, if not ever. The one grenade you did not have any answer to, now has an answer like all others.
Don't race to restart your Steam clients yet, as it has not been added to the various subs/packages that grant ownership (free or paid) to the game. For the curious, if you're logged in to SteamDB you can see which sub you bought/claimed the game under at .
In response to community reaction over why KQLY, an otherwise ineligible player by way of his VACcination, got entry into Counter-Strike 2, Valve's Ido Magal confirmed that any major entrant & all others on the Regional Standings list were given access.
It should also be noted that it is not yet clear if Prime/a paid copy of the game is a requirement to participate in Source 2 testing, this will be revealed by whichever subs that app ID 2279720 is added to.
Going to specify an expiry time of 9:30 PM CDT, after which point if there is indeed no further activity, the EWFU will be cancelled like last week's, but again a heightened state of alert should continue to be maintained if you run community server(s) or are a tourney operator.
Remember app ID 2279720 that was previously reported on and thought to be a potential Operation 12 () back in January? Well, surprise, it's even bigger than that, as ownership of that app ID will grant access to that launch option.
Looks like a mystery app ID 2279720 () has surfaced alongside a 730 changelist push. So there might be a little bit of a reason to hope that this year starts off with a bang if you've been waiting for Operation 12.
So the esports winners were:
>Riot
>player of a Riot game
>team who's only relevant with a Riot game
>coach for a Riot game
>Riot
Uh-huh.
#TheGameAwards
Did you know? You can earn real money for responsible disclosure of security flaws if you send in an exploit through Valve's HackerOne page, though it's unconfirmed if research of the Source leak will have money awarded. In any case, check out for details.
The few unknowns that have been able to be answered are detailed at . It appears that Valve is still not yet full steam ahead (no pun intended) and like last week's, there is a possibility this one could have to be cancelled if no further activity.
As with the initial test period that Dota 2 went through from June through September 2015, CS:GO on Source 2 will be a launch option where you can pick which version of the game you want to launch. In this case, an option has been configured with "Limited Test Build" as its name.
It has been:
- 62 days since the last TF2 update, which occurred on 1/22/19
- 56 days since the last Artifact update, which was on 1/28/19
- 804 days since the release of TF Comics
#6
on 1/10/17
- 497 days since the end of the last CS:GO operation, & 671 days since release
Someone has donated through
@SteamDB
's dumper a Steam token for Valve's latest skunkworks project Deadlock, which allows it to provide better surveillance on development, as well as /charts/ data every 10 minutes on the :10s. Right now, ~130 are playing.
Those of you who have been around for a long while and from the TF2 audience may remember the "no update" bell. It'll be rung if the EWFU does need to be cancelled.
It has now been 65 days since the last TF2 update, making this drought the new all-time longest drought between updates. The previous record was 63 days, a stretch earlier this year from 1/22/19 to 3/26/19.
TF2 has had just 8 updates of any kind year-to-date so far.
Tony Paloma, better known as Drunken F00l, has recently left Valve. His entry on Valve's people page is gone () and his Valve Employee badge on his Steam Community profile vanished sometime between 5/30/23 & now, but the scam alert banner remains (for now).
Did you know that on a Tuesday of all days, TF2 went over 90K concurrent players? Do you remember December 23rd, 2014? That was the last time TF2 was over 90K concurrent players on a Tuesday (it went a bit further, to 95K).
@TeamFortress
Apology accepted and appreciated. I still managed to have a great Ai-Kon day 1 despite little overnight sleep as it happened and being at the ready most of the day periodically checking in to see what would happen. Great moves, keep it up. Proud of you. ๐
On the bright side, this whole thing continues to result in a surge of concurrent players, with the game hitting ~90K concurrent players for the first time (in an organic fashion) since 11/11/18:
Another reminder that there is no hazard to Steam trading functionalities as a result of Source source leaks today, as trading functionality is entirely server-based. The last remnants of entirely in-game trading in TF2 were removed several years ago in favor of Steam Trading.
BREAKING: Team Fortress 2 has set a new on-paper all-time record high concurrent "players" of ~130K. However, this spike is artificial as a result of bot activity as seen in the chart below, as has been the case a few times within the last couple of years.
It appears that Doug Lombardi, Valve's "Vice President of Marketing" who occasionally provided statements to the press, has left Valve. Kaci Aitchison succeeds Doug as Valve's new press contact for inquiries (as of sometime earlier this year or late last).
If it wasn't exceedingly obvious by now, it seems that for better or for worse, Valve will charge ahead with a full Counter-Strike 2 release within hours to days. Data capped users should be rushing final preparations for an extreme update...in excess of 10-15 GB...to completion.
The first Steam game to have its evaluation for Steam Deck compatibility published is Portal 2, which passes with flying colors. Results aren't yet visible on the Steam store, but they can be viewed under the "steam_deck_compatibility" app info field.
@albertkanaal_cs
I'll give you an actual answer: this Rich Presence string now says "ํ๋ฆฌ๋ฏธ์ด" for anyone playing on the Premier mode draft phase map if your language is Korean. Ain't an in-game string, just something the Steam client displays itself. Makes it even more of an insult arguably.
Valve has sneakily slid in CS:GO-style 7 day trade locks on Dota 2 items traded to others as of today, most presumably as an "anti-fraud" measure. This leaves TF2 as the last remaining Valve game with a large item economy without this restriction.
Reported someone for being a big, bad cheater in TF2 at some point in the last little while? A ban wave occurred. You may see thank-you notifications the next time you play:
Additionally within the last half hour, a ~60 MB Dota 2 update includes a slight refactoring of popular keybind templates, as well as new and updated translations made possible with the help of Translators Like You - Thank You.
It appears my top bar is looking quite deserted so no CS2 right out of the gate. But it's not a terrible shock since my rank had expired (bringing it back has no effect).
Although this warning is not for a MAJOR update, I do want to specify for data capped users that the odds of it tripping the MAJOR threshold on size basis is not nil. Historically, Pick'Em has not on its own tripped that threshold. IEM Rio however did.
@matttwood
Wishlist for new ones:
- Sorry
- "coverme" bound by default
- Spread out (would complement Stick Together)
- Walk
- Throw a grenade
- Bonus: "AAAAAHHH I need help here!" from Elite Crew usable by players when calling for backup instead of just bots
It's now 9:30 PM CDT, and although other app IDs are also being kept an eye on, their activity is inconclusive to determine if anything further will happen tonight. So it pains me to say it's time to ring the "no update" bell for tonight.
Steam accounts that were created as a result of automated generation utilities, to the tune of 18 million of them, have been mass suspended by Steam Support.
I hope Valve's "Wednesday" tweet is in fact just a reference to a re-implementation of Danger Zone as some have speculated, because I think it'd be very sad and a bit of an insult if CS2 was forced out the door in the state that it's in today.
With summer 2023 now over both meteorologically and astronomically, a "csgo_demo_viewer" previous version branch has been put up that contains both today's CS:GO and the current state of Counter-Strike 2.
BREAKING: Team Fortress 2 has gone over 100,000 concurrent players for the first time since 10/31/14. The way it did so looks a little suspicious however, it could be a bunch of bots fired up that are trying to grab all the Giftapults being thrown around.
MARKETS IN TURMOIL: after a brief pause around 47 refined, the spot price of a Mann Co. Supply Crate Key in TF2 has fallen further still to approximately 43 refined, the lowest it's been in about a year.
The Steam icon shown for Steam Community inventory items has been given a circular facelift to match recent Steam branding in the last few hours (). Old on the left, new on the right.