Yow! It’s been scarcely two days since our Rob whizzed around Badwater with the Oculus Rift, and – oof! – now we’re supposed to accept that Team Fortress 2’s VR support is in-game, right – ouch! – now? That’s a right old jab to the new idea receptors, that is.
The update sees TF2 become a testbed yet again, this time for VR and the design challenges it prompts. The reception Oculus Rift support gets here will determine, at least in part, Valve’s plans for the technology down the line.
The new VR mode accompanies a slew of bug fixes for TF2 – still needed because, unlike nearly anything else, it’s been in active and iterative development for six years – and a tweak to Source’s in-game web browser that affects TF2, Day of Defeat: Source and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch.
Thankfully, Valve seem to have stopped prodding at my synapses to return to R&D. Check out the details of the patch below, while I attend to my bruised system.
Source Engine Changes (TF2, DoD:S, HL2:DM)
- Disabled Java for the in-game web browser
Team Fortress 2
- Added support for running VR mode on the Oculus Rift
- Fixed a server crash related to game stats
- Fixed custom paint not showing in the tool tip when you mouse-over an item in your backpack
- Fixed the Spy not holding sappers correctly in third person
- Fixed a bug where sentries would not rotate to face their target under some circumstances
- Fixed a scoreboard bug where domination count was reduced by 2 when a dominated player left the server
- Fixed the Fists of Steel not reducing damage from ranged weapons that use energy rings
- Fixed the death notice icon for the Eureka Effect
- Fixed the Neon Annihilator sometimes floating in the world after death
- Fixes for strange parts:
- The Big Earner can no longer accept Long-Distance Kills strange parts
- The Festive Grenade Launcher can now accept Critical Kills strange parts
- The Neon Annihilator can now accept Sappers Destroyed strange parts
- Removed some description text from the Manmelter that incorrectly stated its projectiles could not be deflected
- Updated the Blind Justice so it can be equipped with other misc-slot items on the Demoman’s face
- Updated the backpack image for the Upgrade to Premium Gift item
- Updated Mann Vs. Machine
- Fixed the boss health bar sometimes disappearing
- Fixed the uber Medics in Wave 4 of the Broken Parts mission charging at the incorrect rate
- Updated the localization files