Valve preps Team Fortress 2 for 'The Uber Update'

by Justin McElroy on Jun 21st 2011 12:30PM

Just how big is this week's going "Über Update" for Team Fortress 2? To give you some idea, only one of the following statements is a fabrication:

1) A new "Meet the Medic" short will be released
2) There's a new class pack for the Heavy and Spy, Mobster Monday, with another on the way
3) The game is totally free to play all day
4) We once hit and killed a homeless man with a car and hid his body in a lake and just admitting that out loud is so freeing, we can't believe we spent so much time in a prison of guilt

Did you spot the gag? Yep, Team Fortress 2 is actually free to play all week, not all day! Sorry, just having a little fun.

[Thanks, Tyler N.]

Source: Valve

Tags: dlc, mac, pc, steam, Team-Fortress-2, uber-update, valve

Reader Comments (52)

Is there more or is this just it? I can't imagine TF2 regulars will be happy that a bunch of newbies will be joining in.

@MrAlex

the TF2 community is way more noob friendly than most others (i'm looking at you L4D2)

@MrAlex
I'm pretty sure the elitists can get off of their high horse & deal with the new players.

@MrAlex

There's a lot more coming. There's also a new payload map available that the post didn't mention.

Behold! http://www.teamfortress.com/uberupdate/

@MrAlex
i always thought they welcomed them. I mean perhaps not in their matches but anyone that plays a game that lives by its online component wants new players. Eventually new players become worthy opponents and then the game only gets better.

Any idiot out there that wants a closed community is welcome to make their own game and see how well that goes for them.

@MrAlex The "noobs" have to start somewhere.

@MrAlex

I can't imagine them being terribly UNhappy about this. The game is pretty noob-friendly for the most part. More people get to enjoy the game now. Plus they can dominate half of the other team now :P

@MrAlex

Can I just say I'm not a TF2 regular so I honestly had no idea, that's just how most communities react to an influx of new players playing for free so I based off that.

And as Zertross said there's a new map so I guess it is a pretty big update even if I still wouldn't class it as "Uber".

@MrAlex

Yesterday was only day 1 of the update. There's still more coming.

@MrAlex

Ok forget that last bit, this is just day 1 so I'm sure it will be Uber.

@Zertoss

You keep making me look foolish.

@MrAlex

I love it when new players join. That means the match is less frustrating. I hate it when everyone is taking things seriously. TF2 is meant to be enjoyed. Plus it couldn't harm my sever ranking.

The only people who would complain about this have their own private servers.

@MrAlex What!? I have upwards of 1k hours in TF2, and I always love seeing new players join in and I don't know anybody who really feels otherwise (except maybe on occasions where they end up on a team of new players while the other team is all regulars). The serious business players have serious business servers for when they want to get their serious business on.

The more the better. Plus, they're easy to snipe!

@MrAlex There is a big difference between new players and bad ones, and if the hardcore players can't spot this, they really aren't hard core players. Hell, be nice to a new guy and he usually sticks to you like a limpet.

@MrAlex I've played TF2 for a long time now. Free weeks, weekends, crazy sales, etc. happen pretty regularly. Best part of it is seeing how bad the new guys play!

I've seen ubered Demomen RUN AWAY FROM SENTRIES.

@MrAlex

Actually, reflecting on the thought...I'd say the constant cycling of newer and more casual players in TF2 I think is a good part of it's success. Not just in terms of the obvious, but because you don't walk into the multiplayer and immediately feel like "oh, I'm just going to die immediately every time because I don't play this game eight hours a day like all these 15-year olds".

@MrAlex Most of the servers auto-balance/team scramble if one side is getting rolled so it's no big deal. If our team is just SO bad, you (we) can just rage and join a different server.
It's an "Uber" update because it relates to the Medic class which can employ an Uber (Invincibility) on a teammate and himself. Whether the contents today and those to come are actually "Uber" is a different matter.

They're being clever about the title since it means more than one thing.

@ManofPeace

Ahhhh, thank you that and sorry to all the TF2 players who I inadvertently insulted, I honestly don't have any preconceptions of the community other than I know their quite dedicated and there's a lot of in jokes. Glad to know you guys don't take things too seriously and I'll probably be playing this week so I might see you around.

I prefer killing hookers. They only count as .25 of a person anyways.

@SisypheanLife
.25% moar liek

My uber is ready...

Wow, you guys went way too far this time.

Joking about a free week? That's criminal.

@EtherealMoon Hear, hear!

Brilliant comedy for the article. Love it!

I like to imagine that the "we" in number four was the entire Joystiq staff in one car.

@Ranus Studios It was that craaaaaaazy night at the E3 reader meetup. It's all a haze for them now, but in the midst of the body and bottle poppin', a tragedy ocurred.

McElroy, you sly dog...

Something to spiffy-up TF2 is gold for me. One of my favorite MP games of all time. I'd love to play a few matches with you guys. Who's up for it?

would rather have a TF 3 on a next gen source engine...appreciate all the updates and continous support...but its time to move on - I got a crossfire 6970 setup with 8GB RAM...source engine doesnt exactly utilize the power

@Tradio
That's your own fault. Go play Brink instead of glorious TF2.

@Tradio
Then go play one of the other NUMEROUS shooters that get re-released every year.

And LOL at wanting a Source-engine game to give your rig a run for its money. Never gonna happen.

After 2 years, it seems the "Meet the Team" is fully charged.

@ColorblindMonk They never released a meet the pyro to my knowledge.

I demand to see under the mask or at the very least make a 2 minute video of muffled noises!

@NightlyNews
Can't wait for the Medic for the time being. Then after that will come another 2 year wait for the last class.

Finally a "Meet The" video for my favorite class! I love you Valve!

Is it wrong that I'm most excited for the Meet the Medic short?

For a fairly entertaining meet the pyro I found check this out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ww-jfygVEE0

I always suspected there was a female tf2 class :I

I am the man you hit, and I am not dead. I am coming for you, ALL of you.

I wish valve had the same love for the XBOX360 version :'(

it's lonely playing on 360...

@(Unverified) The 360 has so many exclusive games the PC will never get. Be happy with that!

XBOX 360 getting this update? i kid i kid................ill be in the corner whimpering

@ChiTownRuler23
is there even a single update for the 360 version?

@(Unverified)
The 360 version got like 4 updates, with the last one in July 2009. Very stark compared to the 217 updates the PC version has. Pure, barebones, blast from the past gameplay over yonder.

Damn, looks like it's gonna be a great week. The Mobster Monday stuff sounds fun.

Been thinking of getting into this. Is the learning curve hard? Compared to oh say...League of Legends or Heroes of Newerth? :P

@Syxia
I started playing last September, just before they added a ton of new content. I did not find it hard to get into, but some people insist that the amount of options available to starting players is beginning to get confusing. It depends on your familiarity with team/class-based shooters, I think.

There will be a lot more to this update than what is listed in the post. The TF2 community has been waiting and speculating about this for months now. The expectation is new class packs for at least four other classes plus various other odds and ends (read: HATS).

Damn jostiq you scary

I haven't killed anyone. I think. The medication makes my mind fuzzy. I DO remember a lot of blood and screaming though.

And did anyone notice the heavy secondary that WASN'T edible... Well, not unless you're Kurt Cobain.

I started playing back in 2007. I was in the beta.

My friends and I would play constantly.

BUT

Once they started adding hats, parts, materials, trading, swapping, extra weapons, extra parts, goofy stuff, streamers, musical instruments, pets, diamonds, cups, boxes, duct tape, shovels, modes, etc...

It wasn't fun anymore.

The core game was the best. I am not sure what happened to valve on this one.

@ReadingRambo

Why do you hurt me so? I would kill to be able to use a musical instrument in TF2. Yes, guitar solo'd to death, bwahaha!

And really, the game is still as fun as it was, sure the new weapons and stuff make it a bit more complicated, but they don't really matter that much, mostly it comes down to a matter of preference.

And the hats shouldn't really effect things, they're just cosmetic after all, they don't effect the playing in the slightest. That and shovels have been in the game since the start :P

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Team Fortress 2

Valve preps Team Fortress 2 for 'The Uber Update'

Reader Comments (52)

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 12:34PM MrAlex said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 12:43PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 12:44PM ChillyWilly said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 12:52PM Zertoss said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 12:53PM Mmmmz said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 12:54PM Shadowbender said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 1:23PM Ospov said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 1:48PM MrAlex said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 1:52PM Zertoss said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 1:52PM MrAlex said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 1:53PM MrAlex said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 3:11PM Anticrawl said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 3:23PM Nmaster64 said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 3:59PM PoisonedAl said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 4:26PM wcarnation said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 4:44PM Nmaster64 said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 5:22PM ManofPeace said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 6:41PM MrAlex said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 12:35PM SisypheanLife said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 12:52PM Tihn said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 12:37PM sicsided said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 12:37PM EtherealMoon said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 1:23PM Integral said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 12:38PM ChillyWilly said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 12:39PM Ranus Studios said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 12:52PM Shadowbender said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 12:48PM Shadowbender said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 12:50PM Tradio said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 12:52PM Tihn said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 1:04PM PointlessPuppies said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 1:03PM ColorblindMonk said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 1:26PM NightlyNews said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 2:18PM ColorblindMonk said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 1:16PM Barry McCockiner said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 1:21PM Ospov said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 1:30PM NightlyNews said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 1:58PM agneumeyer said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 2:05PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 3:04PM nerdydesi1 said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 2:13PM ChiTownRuler23 said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 2:50PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 3:28PM ColorblindMonk said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 2:53PM AxelSteelBMX said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 3:13PM Syxia said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 3:24PM EvilCartographer said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 3:23PM EvilCartographer said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 3:37PM mezzaninex said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 4:02PM PoisonedAl said

Posted: Jun 21st 2011 8:30PM ReadingRambo said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2011 12:10AM (Unverified) said

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