January 6, 2010 - Team Fortress 2 Update Released

Server Browser (for TF2 and DoD:S)

Added a client-side server blacklist
Supports blacklisting of specific servers, all servers on an IP, and all servers on a class C range
Saves the server list to a file, and has an Import button to allow easy sharing (cfg\server_blacklist.txt)


Balance changes

Reduced the health penalty on The Sandman
The Force-A-Nature knockback on target now
Only applies to hits that deal more than 30 damage and are in close range
Factors in the firer's angle of attack when determining the knockback direction
Has less of an effect on grounded targets
The Dead Ringer now
Reduces cloak to 40% when uncloaking early
Has a 35% cap on the amount of cloak it can gain from an ammo pack
Has a quieter de-cloak sound


Changes / Fixes

Fixed a performance & stability issue with AMD processors
Improved the stability of the game server -> item backend connection
Fixed a rare server crash related to dispensers
Added min/max values to viewmodel_fov convar to match the settings in the slider
Reduced the number of moons in ctf_doublecross, sadly
Demo playback now ignores sv_pure settings, allowing demos to easily contain custom content
Fixed a crash related to sv_pure and the wireframe_dx6 shader
Players can no longer shoot while stunned
Fixed a bug that caused movement speed reductions to not work on stunned players
Soldier Rage bar no longer resets when touching a resupply cabinet


Achievement fixes

Fixed the "Second Eye" Demoman achievement
Fixed a bug in the "Play Doctor" Medic achievement
Changed the requirements for the "Medals of Honor" Soldier achievement
Updated description for the "Blind Fire" Demoman achievement to better explain the requirements
Fixed an issue that affected several achievements requiring the use of the Equalizer


Community requests

Added "skip_next_map" server ConCommand to skip the next map in the map cycle
Added "Play a hit sound whenever you injure an enemy" option to the Multiplayer->Advanced options menu
Added server "tf_use_fixed_weaponspreads" convar. When set, shotgun & scattergun pellet spreads will use a non-random distribution
Added a "show_htmlpage" command to allow server operators to display custom web pages to clients


Changes to the TF Bots

In KOTH mode, Bots are now:
More likely to roam around and hunt enemies if there is lots of time left
Become more likely to push for the point as time runs down, or their teammates start to capture it

Medic bots now
Opportunistically "overheal" nearby friends when they can
Prioritize healing of injured nearby friends more
Don't focus on Heavies quite so exclusively
Don't spam their Medigun continuously at round start
Won't choose cover far below their heal target so much (koth_nucleus)
Fight back with their syringe-gun appropriately
Various improvements to combat behaviors

General bot improvements
They no longer stand still on the point when capturing or defending it
They choose more varied routes now
They choose better defensive spots around captured points
They fall back to another weapon when they entirely run out of ammo
They adjust their FOV when using zoomed in sniper scope
They treat in-range Sentries as the most dangerous threat
They fire their weapons is more realistic bursts
Engineers use their shotgun properly
Added a "virtual mousepad" concept to rework how bots track enemy players
They now periodically estimate the position and velocity of the enemy they are tracking, instead of "locking on"
After rotating beyond a maximum angle, they will pause for a fraction of a second to re-center their "virtual mouse"
Allows for over/undershoot "slop" in aiming. Looks more natural, and allows skilled players to dodge
Addresses the "180 spin around and fire", "Heavy bot is OP", "Sniper is OP", and "I can't fight a Heavy bot as a Scout" issues
Tuned Sniper spot finding algorithm to generate more diverse locations, partially addressing the "Predictable Sniper camping spots" issue
Soldier bots are more careful to not fire rockets that will explode on nearby geometry and kill them
Fixed a bug where bots tried to heal from a Dispenser being carried by an Engineer
Tuned scoreboard logic to guard against malicious server operators spoofing bot pings to hide the "BOT" tag
Added more bot names as suggested by the TF community

I play with bots