<a href="http://www.teamfortress.com/doommates/"><img src="http://www.teamfortress.com/images/posts/ifightghosts.jpg" width="100%" border="0"></a>

<p>Those of you who follow <a href="http://www.teamfortress.com/comics.php">the private lives of TF2's mercenaries</a> might be aware that Soldier's had an ongoing <a href="http://www.teamfortress.com/bombinomicon/?p=1">roommate</a> <a href="http://www.teamfortress.com/pyromania/soldierhome/">problem</a>. Specifically, his problem is that his roommate is a powerful magician. Things reach their logical, terrifying conclusion in a comic we call... <a href="http://www.teamfortress.com/doommates/">"Doom-Mates!"</a></p><br>

Those of you who follow the private lives of TF2's mercenaries might be aware that Soldier's had an ongoing roommate problem. Specifically, his problem is that his roommate is a powerful magician. Things reach their logical, terrifying conclusion in a comic we call... "Doom-Mates!"

<img src="http://www.teamfortress.com/images/posts/saxton_sale.jpg" width="100%">

Since 99.9999% of you probably read that title and went directly to the Mann Co. Store, we assume we're now speaking to the three of you who don't believe in reading titles. And now that we've restated the importance of reading the title, we assume those three are gone too. We're essentially talking to ourselves right now, but Valve has a minimum word count for all blog posts that we haven't quite reached yet. Did we mention that items will be anywhere from 25% to 75% off? Well, we have now. Also, the minimum word count is 100 words. Bam!

Since 99.9999% of you probably read that title and went directly to the Mann Co. Store, we assume we're now speaking to the three of you who don't believe in reading titles. And now that we've restated the importance of reading the title, we assume those three are gone too. We're essentially talking to ourselves right now, but Valve has a minimum word count for all blog posts that we haven't quite reached yet. Did we mention that items will be anywhere from 25% to 75% off? Well, we have now. Also, the minimum word count is 100 words. Bam!

New MvM game abandoning rules are now in effect! Read the <a href="http://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=8943">blog post</a> for more info.

New MvM game abandoning rules are now in effect! Read the blog post for more info.

Updates to Team Fortress 2, Day of Defeat: Source and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include:


Source Engine Changes (TF2, DoD:S, HL2:DM)

• Fixed the "disconnect" command regression from the previous update
  
• Fixed tools like vbsp working with new model format
  
• Fixed a con_logfile ConVar exploit
  

Team Fortress 2

• Fixed a common "FindModel" crash for replays
  
• Fixed the Crafty Hair not using styles for the yellow and brown hair
  
• Improved the "Restore" UI for customizing items in backpack
  
• Fixed floating arrows on carried objects
  
• Mann vs. Machine
  • Added a penalty system to deter players from repeatedly abandoning Mann Up games
    
  • Corrected the respawn time for the Mannslaughter mission
    
  • Updated MissionCycle behavior. Servers will always cycle to a mission listed in the MissionCycle file.

<img src="http://www.teamfortress.com/images/posts/mvm_tours_blog.jpg" border="0" width="440" height="284">

New Tours!

Much like in <i>Goldilocks and the Three Bears,</i> specifically the part where Goldilocks broke into a bear's house looking for a place to sleep, some of you thought the one Tour of Duty we shipped with Mann vs. Machine was too hard. Others of you found it too soft. A lot of you thought it was <i>just right</i>.

In the fable, of course, Goldilocks held the defenseless bear family at gunpoint until her boyfriend Chet got there, at which point things turned truly grim. This is where our story diverges from that true crime drama, because we've sidestepped the issue by adding more Tours of Duty to MvM mode. Now, in addition to Operation Steel Trap (hard), we've got <b>Operation Oil Spill</b> (less hard) and <b>Operation Gear Grinder</b> (very hard). As Chet might say, "You goddamn bears are in for a lonnnnng night."

New Loot!

In the same way that Goldilocks and Chet drove off covered in bear blood and honey with a flatscreen TV and fourteen dollars in cash, we've cooked up some <b>tour-specific loot</b> you can take to your hideout in Florida. Just like the Botkiller heads awarded to survivors of Operation Steel Trap, we've got some brand new spoils of war you can only get in these new tours: <b>rusty, blood-covered 'bot heads</b> for the intermediate-level Operation Oil Spill, and some <b>24-carat diamond 'bot heads</b> for the expert-level Operation Gear Grinder, so those of you players who survive the tour can show off a little bling to prove it.

(Remember: as always, loot is the <i>only</i> difference between MvM on the unofficial "Boot Camp" server and official "Mann Up" servers. Otherwise the gameplay is identical.)

Improved Matchmaking!
You can now select multiple missions you'd like to play, to maximize the chances of finding compatible players as quickly as possible. We’ve also added some handy buttons that'll let you select all missions of a particular difficulty level, or all missions not yet marked off on a Tour of Duty.

Lastly, like when Chet and Goldilocks beat a retired cop to death in Boca Raton and were sent to separate federal prisons, when your MvM group beat a mission, we used to disband the group. Now we've made it so that when you beat a mission to death in Boca Raton or elsewhere, you and the other players on the server are sent back to the matchmaking screen as a group, so you can keep playing together.

New Tours!

Much like in Goldilocks and the Three Bears, specifically the part where Goldilocks broke into a bear's house looking for a place to sleep, some of you thought the one Tour of Duty we shipped with Mann vs. Machine was too hard. Others of you found it too soft. A lot of you thought it was just right.

In the fable, of course, Goldilocks held the defenseless bear family at gunpoint until her boyfriend Chet got there, at which point things turned truly grim. This is where our story diverges from that true crime drama, because we've sidestepped the issue by adding more Tours of Duty to MvM mode. Now, in addition to Operation Steel Trap (hard), we've got Operation Oil Spill (less hard) and Operation Gear Grinder (very hard). As Chet might say, "You goddamn bears are in for a lonnnnng night."

New Loot!

In the same way that Goldilocks and Chet drove off covered in bear blood and honey with a flatscreen TV and fourteen dollars in cash, we've cooked up some tour-specific loot you can take to your hideout in Florida. Just like the Botkiller heads awarded to survivors of Operation Steel Trap, we've got some brand new spoils of war you can only get in these new tours: rusty, blood-covered 'bot heads for the intermediate-level Operation Oil Spill, and some 24-carat diamond 'bot heads for the expert-level Operation Gear Grinder, so those of you players who survive the tour can show off a little bling to prove it.

(Remember: as always, loot is the only difference between MvM on the unofficial "Boot Camp" server and official "Mann Up" servers. Otherwise the gameplay is identical.)

Improved Matchmaking!
You can now select multiple missions you'd like to play, to maximize the chances of finding compatible players as quickly as possible. We’ve also added some handy buttons that'll let you select all missions of a particular difficulty level, or all missions not yet marked off on a Tour of Duty.

Lastly, like when Chet and Goldilocks beat a retired cop to death in Boca Raton and were sent to separate federal prisons, when your MvM group beat a mission, we used to disband the group. Now we've made it so that when you beat a mission to death in Boca Raton or elsewhere, you and the other players on the server are sent back to the matchmaking screen as a group, so you can keep playing together.

Updates to Team Fortress 2, Day of Defeat: Source and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include:


Source Engine Changes (TF2, DoD:S, HL2:DM)

• Fixed HTTP downloads on Mac not sending an HTTP referer
  

Team Fortress 2

• Updated materials/models for the Champ Stamp, King of Scotland Cape, Stovepipe Sniper Shako, and Freedom Staff
  
• Fixed a server crash that could occur if a Spy was disguised holding the Gunslinger
  
• Fixed the Lacking Moral Fiber Mask being tagged as a misc item instead of a hat
  
• Fixed the Gunslinger not accepting "Sappers Removed" strange parts
  
• Overhealed players that are bleeding or on fire can now pickup healthkits to remove these conditions
  
• Added tf_dingalingaling_repeat_delay (default 0) which limits how often the dingalingaling sound can play
  
• Removed outdated tip about the Spy's Enforcer
  
• Updated the localization files
  
• Vote system
  • Allow kicking of connected players that haven't joined a team in Mann vs. Machine
    
  • Added sv_vote_issue_kick_spectators_mvm (default 0) which allows players to kick anyone that isn't team invaders, as long as they've passed the sv_vote_issue_kick_min_connect_time_mvm timer, if enabled
• Mann vs. Machine
  • Added two new tours of duty, each with new unique loot:
    • Operation Oil Spill, with 6 new intermediate skill missions
      
    • Operation Gear Grinder, with 3 new expert skill missions
  • If a player connects to a MvM game through matchmaking and loses their connection, their spot will be held for a brief duration and they will be given a chance to reconnect
    
  • After victory on a Mann Up server, the players will be put into a lobby together.
    
  • Improved matchmaking searching status screen
• Mann vs. Machine balance changes:
  • Explosive Headshots
    • damage is now 150 regardless of upgrade level
      
    • damage is done in one tick instead of the previous six
      
    • added a slowing effect based on upgrade level (50%-80% slow, 2-4 second duration)
      
    • radius still scales with upgrade level (unchanged)
  • Marked For Death duration reduced to 7 seconds from 15 seconds when the target is a giant robot
    
  • Reduced the "effect bar recharge rate increased" upgrade from 20% increments with an 80% cap to 15% increments with a 60% cap