May 21, 2009 - Team Fortress 2 Update Released

Updates to Team Fortress 2 have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The specific changes include:

Maps

• Added new map, Pipeline. Pipeline is the first map in a new game mode named payload race, which uses two carts in each map instead of only one like traditional payload maps
  
• Added new arena map Sawmill
  
• Added new arena map Nucleus
  
• Added new community payload map Hoodoo
  
• Updated Dustbowl to fix not being able to jump into the window in the first building of the second stage
  

Sniper Changes

• Added new sniper rifle replacement, The Huntsman. Instead of a sniper rifle, you have a bow that allows you to move around faster while firing, and fire more quickly than the sniper rifle. Works better at medium range than the standard rifle
  
• Added new SMG replacement, Jarate. If thrown on an enemy they will take more damage for short period of time. Also extinguishes flames on yourself or allies
  
• Added new SMG replacement, The Razorback. Will protect you against a single spy backstab, and stun the spy for a short period of time. Comes with a 15% move speed penalty for the wearer
  
• Standard sniper rifle now shoots through friendly players
  
• Added 54 new Sniper voice lines
  
• Added 35 new Sniper achievements
  

Spy

• Added new revolver replacement, The Ambassador. First shot is very accurate and will cause a critical hit if it hits an enemy's head. Accuracy is poor for a period after that
  
• Added new watch replacement, the Dead Ringer. When armed, you will appear in all ways to die to the first damage you take from an enemy. You'll be cloaked for 8 second after taking this damage. Upon de-cloaking you'll make a loud, distinct sound
  
• Added new watch replacement, the Cloak and Dagger. Your cloak meter is only depleted when you move, so you can stay invisible indefinitely if you're standing still
  
• Spy name tags now show up properly when disguised as their own team
  
• Fixed a bug that would cause spectators to see disguise weapons incorrectly
  
• Fixed a bug where enemy spies disguised as friendly spies would have cigarettes that didn't burn
  
• Fixed a bug where overhealing disguised spies would show the wrong overhealing amount to the medic
  
• Made it more obvious on first person view model when your motion cloak is out of juice and you are partially visible
  
• Also made it more obvious on first person view model when you're bumped while cloaked
  
• Improved the way your disguise weapon is determined to make it clearer and fix a couple of rare issues
  
• Spies disguised as enemy spies now get a random mask to help complete the disguise, and their target id will be set appropriately
  
• Spies disguised as medics now have an Ubercharge: line in their disguise target info
  
• Spies outward facing "disguise health" now matches their disguise target when they first apply the disguise
  
• Spies can now pick up health kits for their "disguise health", even when uninjured
  
• Disguise UI doesn't show up in minimum UI mode (hud_minmode)
  
• Spies that disguise as a player using an unlockable now show that unlockable in hand
  
• Spies can now use enemy teleporters
  
• Added 70 new Spy voice lines
  
• Added 34 new Spy achievements
  

Scoreboard changes

• Dominations no longer get wiped when teams switch sides
  
• Dead players draw slightly darker in scoreboard
  
• Converted class labels to class icons
  
• All players now display the total number of people they are dominating
  

General

• You now find new and old items as you play, instead of through achievements
  
• Fixed a bug that would cause the scout's ball to regenerate at inappropriate times
  
• Demomen can now detonate their stickies while taunting
  
• Flamethrower's air burst now extinguishes fire on friendly targets
  
• Grenades and rockets deflected by a pyro under the effects of Kritzkrieg will now be criticals
  
• The Heavy and Sniper now have new custom death animations
  
• Fixed payload HUD not updating properly if you join in the middle of a match and the cart isn't moving
  
• Engineer's dispensers now give 20%, 30%, or 40% of player's max_ammo (for each ammo type) on each use, based on the level of the dispenser
  
• Added -sillygibs commandline parameter which will allow the non-violent gibs to be enabled
  
• Added a new taunt for the Kritzkrieg, which also heals for 10 points
  
• Improved the deathcam camera handling used when a player plays a custom death animation
  
• Added missing chalkboard and serverbrowser images for community maps shipped in previous updates
  
• Removed "Final" from map names in the serverbrowser quick list
  

Servers

• Added "sv_allow_voice_from_file" convar, which defaults to 1. When set to 0, it'll prevent clients from using the "voice_inputfromfile" feature to broadcast wav files over voice
  
• Enabled "sv_allow_wait_command" convar, which defaults to 1. When set to 0, it'll prevent clients from using the "wait" command
  

Competitive play

We are forming a team for this game. Once I get my hands on it.

mychowchows on Sunday Times

A scan for those who're lazy :)

Coup d'etat

The COUP event which was held last night at BluJaz cafe was wonderful! Kudos to Rivace for his first time playing out! You certainly did not disappoint your fans! hahahaha ha hahah

A huge thanks to all our TF2 friends who came down :)

YEAHHH!

Meet The Spy

This is the real thing, leaked onto youtube. Be quick to catch it before it gets removed!

China's version of STOMP

http://www.chinasmack.com/

10 times more informative!

Best of all, it's not in Engrish nor regulated. 

So yeah have fun!

Team Fortress 2 - The Sniper Update

Apparently there has been news on the first Sniper Class unlockable for the upcoming update.

The Huntsman

You will shoot them and they will stick to the wall and they will die

Any experienced sniper will tell you how irritating it is when your targets keep moving around. The question is how to stop these cheaters from wind-sprinting around like they own the place. And the answer is to pin them to a wall. How? With arrows!

"Now, hold on," you might be thinking. "I'm strong, but no one could throw an arrow that hard." Introducing the Huntsman longbow, which solves that age-old throwing problem.

"Now, hold on," you keep saying. "Aren't bows and arrows primitive and harmless?" Why don't you ask the dinosaurs? Except you can't, because the cavemen bow and arrowed them to death. One headshot from the Huntsman can mean an instant crit, in addition to a bolt-riddled corpse hanging from a wall that's gruesome and funny.

And even if you don't kill them, they'll carry around a certain arrow-shaped something as a living testament to your awesome archery skills and their frankly unawesome dodging skills. Comes with 18 arrows and a one-second charge for full power shots.

As taken from the sniper update page.

mychowchows.blogspot.com

http://mychowchows.blogspot.com/

Alright here is my latest project that functions like an online encyclopedia of what I call chowchows (aka Smelly Smelly). These are items like comfort pillows, safety blankets, stuff toys etc... things that people cannot sleep without. They usually have a long and colourful history and I hope to get people to share these stories on this site!

http://mychowchows.blogspot.com/

So do pass the word and contribute to the site! 

LOTRO

I've been playing this MMO called Lord of the Rings Online, a huge plus point if you're a LOTR fan of course :) Just an opinion, not a review!

Found this beauty in Trollshaws, just east of Rivendell. As Strider casually mentioned while resting here with Frodo, there is even the bird nest (on the ear of the right troll). 

Bilbo’s first duty on this journey was to investigate a light in the distance that turned out to be a fire with three Forest trolls around it. Bilbo attempted to snatch something from the trolls to bring back to the Dwarves, to show that he was a first class burglar, for everyone knows that trolls have large treasure troves. However, he was caught and the Dwarves who attempted to help him were captured as well. They were then rescued by Gandalf, who tricked the trolls and turned them all to stone. Gandalf was the one who had found the trolls’ cave where they were being held. Before they left, Bilbo took an elvish dagger from the trolls’ collection, which he would later name Sting.

I’m constantly amazed by the detail and effort put into crafting the virtual Middle Earth. Very happy to have picked up this underrated gem while the world is still preoccupied with WoW (which is of course still the most overhyped *best* MMO out there but yeah move on) and the other so-so MMOs, especially free ones. Glad Turbine took the huge risk (creating a game from existing text isn’t as easy as people think) and interpreted Tolkien’s works so perfectly while staying true to the story.

The people are considerably more mature in thinking and are willing to help others (but I’m playing in an Aussie server instead of an US server, if that hints at anything). Grinding is completely unnecessary and for the first time, I’m actually compelled to read quest logs instead of just clicking through, because every single quest just seamlessly adds to the story, if not creates a more in-depth richness to characters, classes or relationships. 

The art and music remain unsurpassed, aside from the default UI but UI can be heavily customized. Animations may not be as smooth but the detail is crazy. Never thought I’d be finding myself sympathising with a mob while bashing it up, all because it wailed for help halfway (very unexpected). Everyday I find myself exploring, unearthing various monuments (such as the three trolls) and linking it back to the lore. Few games have given me such opportunities to stop at my tracks, admire and reflect on what seems to be just a digital render. 

The only thing that falls short in this game is its PvP mode. Hero players can’t really fight each other in PvP zones unless it’s player vs player mob (yes you can play as a warg, spider etc), though you can casually “spar” others. But this falls in line with the story (because it’s not right to see men kill hobbits and I’m sure elves can’t be bothered with dwarves) and I’m not a huge fan of PvP or the need to display e-peen anyway so it doesn’t affect me much. 

That being said, LOTRO is a little more casual than WoW in the sense that it’s not as fast paced, which is good because I have the time to fully digest landscapes, story and vastness of space without being too preoccupied with battles and PvPs. It is also more realistic (or boring, depends on you)  in that sense. For those who’re more into online dick-size comparisons over story depth and paidic enjoyment, this game is definitely not for you and you can carry on playing WoW or even Quake (haha okay I’m damn biased here but just really sick of persistent fanboys.).

Most importantly, zomg Turbine is ab-so-lute-ly diligent in delivering patches, new content, fixing bugs for us even though LOTRO generally doesn’t have as much players as other MMOs. The community spirit is strong and Turbine is determined to strike a good chord with us. How many creators of MMOs or even other games can safely say that they’ve been paying this much attention to what the community needs without giving half-assed excuses?

So if you’ve finally decided to move on from WoW or rekindle your love for LOTR, then give LOTRO a try ;)