News
6 CommentsTeam Fortress 2's latest update, Robotic Boogaloo, is totally community-made
By Michael McWhertor on May 17, 2013 05.17.13
The latest update for Team Fortress 2, a major content release dubbed Robotic Boogaloo, is different from the dozens of similar updates from Valve. Like previous updates, it features a comic that ties into Team Fortress 2's increasingly complex and evolving backstory, a new animated short and all-new items for players to collect and craft — 57 virtual items, many of them hats, naturally. What separates Robotic Boogaloo from earlier additions is that it's 100 percent created by the Team Fortress 2 community. Valve's involvement, at least in terms of content creation, was minimal. What started as a small, community-driven content push for the free-to-play shooter became something Valve-sanctioned and promoted on the TF2 website. Community members even put the official website hub...
News
19 CommentsValve unveils Steam Trading Cards for players to earn and trade for rewards
By Dave Tach on May 15, 2013 05.15.13
Valve unveiled a beta program for Steam Trading Cards today, which users can earn, trade and cash in for rewards, according to a press release from the company. Participating players will earn game-specific trading cards and turn them in for rewards like game badges, profile backgrounds, emoticons, coupons and more through the Steam Trading Cards program. "Up to half" a game's card set will be available from playing the game. The other half is "earned through your collecting prowess." Players who "craft" their cards into game badges, which appear on user profiles, can also "level up" their badges by collecting the set of cards again. Games supporting the Steam Trading Cards at its beta launch include Don't Starve, Dota 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Team Fortress 2, Portal 2...
Culture
0 CommentsMuseum of Art and Digital Entertainment constructs Oakland in Minecraft for OMCA exhibit
By Jenna Pitcher on Apr 26, 2013 04.26.13
Oakland's video game museum, the Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment (MADE), has recreated Oakland in Minecraft as part of an exhibit at the Oakland Museum of California this weekend The Oakland Museum of California approached MADE to put on an exhibit as part of the Museum's customization gallery. Rather than exhibiting "static games showing off how developers can customize ideas," MADE wanted to get "creative interaction" out of the attendees. MADE hired Minecraft artist, HuskerGirlKC, to help recreate the city alongside other other builders in the child-safe Paradise Minecraft Server. The organization considered using Team Fortress 2 for the exhibit as an example of how "gamers can customize their games, and make something entirely new in the process," but they deemed it too...
News
10 CommentsSkyrim modded with Oculus Rift support
By Jenna Pitcher on Apr 22, 2013 04.22.13
YouTube user "Chris Gallizzi" successfully modded Skyrim with Oculus Rift support using Vireio Perception Driver, according to a video posted on YouTube. The two-minute video demonstrates one-on-one sword combat and traversing the snowy environment on horseback. "It takes some adjusting depending on your sight..." said "Chris Gallizzi" in response to a commenter's question if the technology really does cover users natural FOV. He went on to say that he was near sighted "so i had to adjust the FOV from 100 to 110 to make everything seem correct [sic]." Vireio Perception includes support for games such as Half-Life 2, Left 4 Dead and Mirror's Edge. Last week, virtual reality specialists, Virtuix, released a video of someone playing Team Fortress 2 with an Oculus Rift and a Virtuix...
News
2 CommentsBrütal Legend items for Team Fortress 2 available to purchase
By Jenna Pitcher on Apr 18, 2013 04.18.13
Two Brütal Legend items for Team Fortress 2 are now available to purchase from Steam, Double Fine announced. The Brütal Bouffant for $4.99, worn by Brutal Legend protagonist Eddie Riggs, is an "all-class sideburns and mullet combo" headpiece and comes in a range of painted variants. The Shred Alert taunt for $9.99 is available for all classes. When activated it involves player's character to jam a metal riff on a black guitar, while pyrotechnics explode around him, followed by a lighting strike. The items were previously restricted to those who pre-ordered Brütal Legend on Steam, which was released on the platform on Feb. 26, 2013. For more information, you can view the Shred Taunt in action below.
News
4 CommentsOculus Rift innards revealed in iFixit teardown
By Samit Sarkar on Apr 11, 2013 04.11.13
The Oculus Rift is a device designed for tinkerers, so it's appropriate that according to an iFixit teardown of the VR headset, the developer kit is very easy to disassemble and reassemble. iFixit gave the Rift a 9 out of 10 on its "repairability scale," pointing out that "the entire device can be taken apart in less than 10 minutes." In addition, the Rift assembly features very little adhesive, and standard screws and other parts are used in many places. The site also disassembled the Rift control box that plugs into your computer; the box is held together with four Philips head screws. "Will the final consumer version be more difficult to get into?" iFixit asked. "We hope not." Check out iFixit for the step-by-step breakdown with photos, and some Team Fortress 2 footage with the...
News
2 CommentsEpic Games' Unreal Development Kit free with Oculus Rift dev kit
By Jenna Pitcher on Mar 25, 2013 03.25.13
Developers who have purchased the Oculus Rift development kit will receive an Oculus-ready version of Epic Games' Unreal Development Kit (UDK) for free, Oculus VR, Inc. announced today. In addition, an Oculus-UE3 integration code will be given to Unreal Engine 3 full source licensees for free. Beginning the first week of April, the Oculus-ready version of UDK will be available from the Oculus Developer Center and will include the Epic Citadel tech demo. "Developers have used Unreal Engine technology to create some of the most memorable games in history," said Tim Sweeney, founder and CEO of Epic Games. "We view virtual reality as a massive technological step forward, and are arming all developers with the tools to create game experiences that represent the future. Our partnership...
News
16 CommentsTeam Fortress 2 guide for Oculus Rift recommends easing your way in
By Samit Sarkar on Mar 20, 2013 03.20.13
Now that Team Fortress 2 supports the Oculus Rift, you might be tempted to jump right in with the headset strapped to your face — but the Oculus Rift user guide on the game's official wiki advises a more gradual approach. Enabling Rift support in Team Fortress 2 takes a bit of doing but is relatively simple: You'll have to add "-vr" to the command line launch options and enable the developer console. The wiki also recommends calibrating your inter-pupillary distance — the distance between the pupils of your eyes — for the best experience. You may have to limit the length of your initial sessions playing Team Fortress 2 with the Rift, according to the wiki, because "[virtual reality] is awesome and immersive, but it can't fool your senses all the time." The wiki advises users to...
News
6 CommentsTeam Fortress 2 adding Oculus Rift VR support (update)
By Michael McWhertor on Mar 18, 2013 03.18.13
Valve's free-to-play shooter Team Fortress 2 will officially support the Oculus Rift VR headset, programmer Joe Ludwig tells Engadget. An update that will enable "VR mode" for the team-based shooter will go out in the coming weeks for enthusiasts who snapped up the Rift's development kit. Oculus Rift support for Team Fortress 2 is one of a number of experiments with virtual reality headsets happening at Valve, Ludwig says, with the developer playing around with Half-Life 2 and Left 4 Dead integration. But Ludwig says TF2 is an "obvious choice" as a testbed due to the game's large community and frequent updates. Ludwig plans to speak about Team Fortress 2's VR Mode at the annual Game Developers Conference next week in San Francisco. His talk, "What We Learned Porting Team Fortress 2 to...
Deals
8 CommentsBioShock Infinite Steam pre-orders will unlock tiered rewards like TF2 items and more
By Tracey Lien on Feb 22, 2013 02.22.13
Irrational Games' BioShock Infinite is now available for pre-order on Steam and will come with tiered pre-order bonuses. The base reward offered to everyone who pre-orders BioShock Infinite is the Industrial Revolution Pack, which includes three gear items, 500 bonus in-game currency, five lock picks and the Industrial Revolution puzzle game. The first tiered reward, which was recently unlocked, is a free copy of the original BioShock. Those who already own a copy on Steam can gift it to a friend for free. The second tier, which is only two percent unlocked at the time of writing, includes the above rewards as well as exclusive BioShock Infinite Team Fortress 2 items like the Steel Songbird, the Sydney Straw Boat, the Doe-Boy, the Person in the Iron Mask, Blind Justice, Vox Diabolus...
