Valve releases Team Fortress 2 Gold Rush update, new Medic weapons [update]

53 Comments by Ross Miller Apr 29th 2008 10:43PM
Filed under: PC, First Person Shooters, Online

The Team Fortress 2 Gold Rush update is now available for free download via Steam. The update includes the Gold Rush map with its own gameplay style dubbed Payload. Perhaps more important than the map, this update marks the first set of new achievements and unlockable weapons.

The first class to receive the update is the Medic, who can earn three new weapons -- Blutsauger, Kritzkrieg and Ubersaw -- obtained by earning 12, 24 or all 36 new medic achievements, respectively. All the new achievements, including a complete Medic icon set (PNG files) can be found at the Gold Rush site.

Update: It's also worth noting that this weekend, May 2 - 4, Steam users can play Team Fortress 2 for free. That includes the Gold Rush update. You can pre-load the game now.

Gallery: Team Fortress 2: Goldrush

Tags: breakingnews, team-fortress, team-fortress-2, tf2, valve

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(Page 1) Reader Comments

Joeshie: Apr 29th 2008; 10:46PM

Seeing as how I didn't get GTAIV today, this is great news for me.

colin: Apr 29th 2008; 10:48PM

anybody have any idea how big this is? i'm at work and want to play when i get home ...

THE WICKER MAN (BWF) (GT: Dalek Prime): Apr 29th 2008; 11:06PM

They let you play on the internet at the all male strip club? jk. Damn I want to play team fort so bad. Too bad my laptop is such a dinosaur.

colin: Apr 30th 2008; 1:07AM

i don't think i have the look for that ... unless there's a niche for dancers with scar tissue covering their entire body.

JS Beckerist: Apr 30th 2008; 10:37AM

Oh so WHERE do you dance?!

Sharpshooter_2: May 2nd 2008; 5:39AM

Jeez, are you serious about the scar thing? That sounds terrible for you, how did you get it? Oh and to answer your original question, TF2 is about 2.7GB if you have HL2 installed (or another game that uses its assets) and I think about 4GB without.

Poisoned Al: Apr 29th 2008; 10:51PM

What's with all the releases and updates now? Did they add another Christmas this year or something?

Einhanderkiller: Apr 29th 2008; 10:52PM

I love the changes/updates to the game. Gold Rush is awesome.
http://xs226.xs.to/xs226/08183/oktoberfest707.jpg

THE WICKER MAN (BWF) (GT: Dalek Prime): Apr 29th 2008; 10:56PM

Now this is the only video game release ive been excited for today and I cant even play it.

Deven: Apr 29th 2008; 11:03PM

Same here dude, gotta wait till I get back home this weekend...
Can't wait!

Mr.ESC: Apr 29th 2008; 11:03PM

Don't forget the free TF2 weekend :D

I have the Xbox version but man I'm going to beat the crap out of the Pc version,I simply love that game.

GI-Joe: Apr 30th 2008; 4:04AM

Thank you Mr.ESC. I didn't know about the TF2 free weekend play. So I started up steam (been a few days) and saw the notice for it. You gotta love VALVe for that. They did that with other games before too, but I already owned them.

I too own the xbox360 version of OrangeBox and love it but I'm gonna have to play the PC version with my friends and roommates and see how it works out.

I know I'll love it. I used to play TFC for years back in the day. =P

Jeff: Apr 29th 2008; 11:38PM

This new map is incredibly fun.

And believe it or not, these achievements aren't causing EVERYONE to play as medic-- for the first time, ENOUGH frigging people are playing as medic.

Gotta love Valve... can't wait for the other classes.

A Pissed-off English Gamer: Apr 30th 2008; 7:45AM

Sounds awesome. I was worried we'd have teams half-filled with medics.

Blazur: Apr 30th 2008; 9:02AM

Hell yeah, bring on the pyro and SPY!!!

WiNG: Apr 30th 2008; 9:58AM

Imagine what will happen when Spy achievements come out.

Half the players will be Spy. Everyone else will be Pyro for setting new kill records!

Mighty Shockwave: Apr 29th 2008; 11:51PM

Cool, but these new achievements seem to be REALLY hard to get without going into player matches. I mean seriously, one of them has you healing another teammate while he achieves an achievement on his own. Seriously, achievements are hard to unlock by yourself as it is; now we have to keep watch on our teammates and predict the exact moment when he gets an achievement (if he even gets one in the first place) to release the uber. WTF?

fuze9: Apr 30th 2008; 12:12AM

I have to agree with the above. I foresee a lot of people just setting up matches solely to unlock these achievements. A nice addition, but might not encourage the right kind of gameplay or teamwork (though they've got good intentions)... Still, I gotta love Valve's strategy - get better and better w/o nickel and diming your customer.

Joeshie: Apr 30th 2008; 2:23AM

Actually, the achievement of healing someone while getting an achievement is one of the first ones I got.

A little trophy will appear over their head to let you know they got one and you can heal them after a certain amount of time and still get the achievement.

New map is pretty good, though you can tell it was modeled after Dustbowl.

Nikonov: Apr 30th 2008; 5:34AM

Heal the other medic as he heals you before the round starts. DING. He gets Surgical Prep, giving you Bedside Manner, giving him Bedside Manner, and then when your ubercharge is done you get Surgical Prep.

THINK.

Cluckyx: Apr 30th 2008; 7:50AM

I don't know, I think it's nice that some of these updates are so complicated and weird. It means that (for a while at least) these weapons WILL be a rarity on the field and something to be impressed by. Not just something that new players fon't have. Because looking at some of these, it's fearfully obvious that to get all 36 you're going to have to play the shit out of this game. I think this is a great idea and a cool new approach to achievements.

Ronshatmycarl: Apr 30th 2008; 12:10AM

Give me this on the 360 or give me death.

sicsided: Apr 30th 2008; 12:16AM

bang! Your dead kiddo. *David Carradine voice*

Ken Seang: Apr 30th 2008; 12:41AM

How bout some red rings instead?

Whubbsie: Apr 30th 2008; 12:45AM

This if obviously for the PC version?... since when did you have to pay to play TF2 on PC?.... am i missing something?

colin: Apr 30th 2008; 12:59AM

i think its free weekend for people that don't own the game ... steam will let you download and play it free over the weekend. they think that you will like it & buy it.

Robert: Apr 30th 2008; 1:54AM

How do i dl it for free? When i go on steam it still only has the pay option.

Mr.ESC: Apr 30th 2008; 2:04AM

facepalm.jpg

Click the god damn link on joystiq or just click on the news section.

Marty: Apr 30th 2008; 12:32PM

Well you have to pay for the game initially, and for internet, obviously. Aside from that, it's free.

colin: Apr 30th 2008; 2:59AM

i just got finished playing for a bit ... WAY too many medics. it is the first time i've seen a medic uber another medic who is running around with his saw

TheHuntIsOn: Apr 30th 2008; 3:48AM

I'll have to get this later! Sounds very good indeed.

Colin - really? I play on some semi-serious servers but every so often they'll uber a medic because the bonesaw crits like crazy and they run pretty fast too.

Tyler Marx: Apr 30th 2008; 4:33AM

About goddamn time. Jesus. I thought they were just going to let her die all the way.

Nailio: Apr 30th 2008; 4:41AM

Well may as well tell Joystiq.

achievements_unlock_all

In the Dev console to unlock every achievement and get to those yummy Medic goodies. Looks like Valve forgot to disable that or they just dont care.

Nailio: Apr 30th 2008; 4:46AM

Pardon me, Its

Achievement_unlock_all

Anyway, using this to unlock all the stuff is legal by VAC rules. Though other servers may see you using it since it says you got all the achievements and think you hacked. So just join a stupid 24/7 2fort and use it there, then go join your favorite server.

Enjoy

Eggy: Apr 30th 2008; 5:09AM

It can be fun to actually earn them as you play. Just a suggestion though.

Blazur: Apr 30th 2008; 9:01AM

Furthermore, if you just want to unlock the new weapons but still want to legitimately earn the achievements type the following commands into the console.

achievement_unlock TF_MEDIC_ACHIEVE_PROGRESS1
achievement_unlock TF_MEDIC_ACHIEVE_PROGRESS2
achievement_unlock TF_MEDIC_ACHIEVE_PROGRESS3

Nailio: Apr 30th 2008; 2:21PM

Hmm didnt know about the weapon only ones.

Still, I grinded all freaking day, then a friend comes into the server and tells everyone about that.

We weren't that happy since we all went scout and let one medic shoot us over and over, etc. So then we went and played Gold rush

Shader: Apr 30th 2008; 5:27AM

Cool, I'll probably download and take a look at the new content when I'm done with GTAIV, and the metal gear online beta. Arghh, too many awesome things coming out together! Not enough time >.

Ted: Apr 30th 2008; 6:02AM

GTA IV be damned!! I'm playing TF2 for the rest of the week! :D

(well, maybe a bit of both actually. And some WoW and Company of Heroes).

Poisoned Al: Apr 30th 2008; 7:03AM

Oh fucking joy. A whole teams of medics. WHAT FUN! I NEVER saw this being a problem!

What the FUCK did they only give ONE class new achievements? It's going to be the same for all the other classes when they bring them out. I'm going back to GTA until this bullshit blows over.

FOXHOUND: Apr 30th 2008; 7:34AM

I second that. >:\ Give the cyclopean Scotsman some love, Valve. Jeebus.

And man, GTAIV is addicting. I was up until 2AM without realizing it. It really is a nice game(not sure about it being perfect score worthy, but yeah). I haven't played online yet, since I'm still re-familiarizing myself with the city... I haven't played a GTA game since VICE CITY STORIES on PSP. :\

Poisoned Al: Apr 30th 2008; 11:57AM

God, I really need to remember to proof read my posts.

Ted: May 1st 2008; 5:28AM

The problem isn't that they're all medics, the problem is that they're really crap medics who don't bother healing you even if your press E over and over again right in front of them while jumping up and down and pressing G...

But if you can't beat 'em join 'em, I've been having a blast doing suicide bonesaw charges... only to find that medics on the other team are doing the same lol. Gotta get that 50 bonesaw kills of medics achievement :D

Ibere: Apr 30th 2008; 8:45AM

Are there any plans to bring it to the 360 version?

Einhanderkiller: Apr 30th 2008; 10:24AM

Yes, but don't expect the updates for a long, long time.

Jfk Aok: Apr 30th 2008; 9:37AM

For me it's too little too late, Valve. I'm already tired of this game and the repetition of playing 2 or 3 maps over and over again. That and many of those achievements for the medic seem like demands to essentially "cheat" and go play with friends in a private server and intentionally get through them. What a waste of time...
Valve's clocks must go at half speed or something...

I do wish that other companies would follow up on valve's "free mini-upgrades" idea. But wow...valve takes their blessed time and honestly, 75% of the maps that took forever to make kinda suck.

WiiFTW: Apr 30th 2008; 6:46PM

That's your fault for playing 2 or 3 maps over and over again. Not only are the stock maps good (except for hydro), there are a ton of awesome custom maps, something the console versions lack. You're a bit of a hard-to-please for 50 freakin bucks upfront...The balance in this game is unparalleled compared to most other online games. And if you bought it for the consoles, that's your fault for being stupid upfront. And they made the most of the achievements so that they are SO boring to do in a private server, like where you have to kill x amt's of medics. I don't understand how you are hating on the one of the best multiplayer games on the PC.

Ted: May 1st 2008; 5:36AM

Well, considering there have only been two new Valve-made maps, for 75% of them to suck you'd have to be saying you half-like one of them. Either that, or you're bashing the game without having played it very much.

And where did you get 2-3 maps from? There are lots of maps, not just 2fort and dustbowl but also granary, gravelpit, hydro, well, badlands and goldrush. All of those are a blast to play when the teams are well-matched, and it's your own fault if you play on a server where only two or three maps are played. This is not to mention the wealth of fun user created maps.

Also there is no demand for you to create your own server to unlock the weapons, you're lying to yourself if you do that and defeating the purpose of having achievements. Earning them is part of the fun. You could say the same thing about CoD4.

Valve is doing an amazing job, very few companies come close. There's no point bashing them like that >:(

Zertoss: Apr 30th 2008; 9:44AM

Some of those achievements are going to be really tough to get legitimately, while I already have a few of them (I've gotten over 10k healing points in a single life, maybe a couple of others).

chispito: Apr 30th 2008; 2:05PM

Goldrush is kind of fun and all the medics running around make easy targets for certain classes, though it's going to suck playing pyro for awhile.

I really can't say I'm excited about the medic upgrade stuff. Medic is my second least played class after sniper. If there's anything this tells me it's that they should have thought long and hard and added upgrades to three classes at a time. Like Medic, Scout, and Heavy at once, creating some actual balance. Engineer Spy, Demo; and finally Soldier, Sniper, and Pyro.

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