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    <updated>2025-01-27T18:30:00-07:00</updated>
    <author>
        <name>Zeus</name>
    </author>
    <id>https://blog.tf2maps.net</id>

    <entry>
        <title>So you got a map email from Valve? A complete guide on what to do next</title>
        <author>
            <name>Zeus</name>
        </author>
        <link href="https://blog.tf2maps.net/so-you-got-a-map-email/"/>
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        <updated>2025-01-27T18:30:00-07:00</updated>
            <summary>
                <![CDATA[
                        <img src="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/12/mapblogpost.png" alt="" />
                    <p>So you got an email from Valve about your map getting in the next update! First of all, congrats! You worked hard to get this far. </p>
<p>This guide is intended to help you on your way to deliver the map to Valve with as few headaches as possible by providing you an exhaustive list of everything you'll need to send them. It is now your job to make this process as easy as possible for Valve and to communicate everything clearly and in a timely fashion. </p>

                ]]>
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            <![CDATA[
                    <p><img src="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/12/mapblogpost.png" class="type:primaryImage" alt="" /></p>
                <p>So you got an email from Valve about your map getting in the next update! First of all, congrats! You worked hard to get this far. </p>
<p>This guide is intended to help you on your way to deliver the map to Valve with as few headaches as possible by providing you an exhaustive list of everything you'll need to send them. It is now your job to make this process as easy as possible for Valve and to communicate everything clearly and in a timely fashion. </p>

<p class="callout callout__info">Disclaimer: This information is current as of the writing of this article. We will try to keep it up to date, however anything in here may be subject to change as Valve changes thier processes.</p>
<hr>
<h1>First things first</h1>
<p>Now I know you're excited; but this is very very very important:</p>
<p class="callout callout__info"><em><strong>NOTE: </strong>You are not allowed to share any information about the update with anyone not included on the map!!!</em></p>
<p>Typically Valve will send the same templated email to everyone credited on the workshop page. It will include details regarding the revenue breakdown. These are subject to change and is confidential between you and Valve so we will not include a screenshot of it here. </p>
<p>Indeed in the <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/subscriber_agreement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Steam Subscriber Agreement</a> that you must agree to as part of this process; you are agreeing to not share the details of your revenue, <em>ever</em>.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr>
<h1>Time to Get Organized</h1>
<p>The first thing to do would be to get all the map contributors together. Discord allows you to make servers completely for free so thats an excellent place to centralize your communications. </p>
<p>Each contributor needs to respond to this initial email individually. A simple, "Yes I accept" will suffice. </p>
<p>If for any reason you do not want your map included in this update; this is the time to say so to Valve. </p>
<p>After recieving this email; you will get a second templated email with exact instructions on what Valve is asking from you and how to upload the files to them.</p>
<p>Next, it would be prudent to triple check your map for any assets you didn't know you were using that may require credit. This happens more often than you think. This can be done using CompilePal's Pack Verbose feature.</p>
<figure class="post__image"><img loading="lazy"  src="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/12//Screenshot_1.png" alt="" width="1021" height="485" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" srcset="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/12//responsive/Screenshot_1-xs.png 300w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/12//responsive/Screenshot_1-sm.png 480w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/12//responsive/Screenshot_1-md.png 749w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/12//responsive/Screenshot_1-xl.png 1200w"></figure>
<p>This will output a list of every single custom asset being packed into the map.</p>
<p>In the case you discover assets used that require credit; you can either try to track down the creator of said asset or have one of your contributors make a replacement for that asset.</p>
<p>Any asset that is not part of the Valve VPK's <em>must</em> be credited to it's author. Failure to do this will not only lead to potiential legal troubles for you, but also very likely to make Valve never want to work with you again. </p>
<p> </p>
<hr>
<h1>Special Asks / Requests</h1>
<p>Some maps will have special features like custom kill icons, bosses, etc.</p>
<p>If you need something from Valve, you should start the process of communicating this as early as possible to give them time to sort out how they can support your request. Do not make a last second request to them; be respectful of their time since these updates have a lot of moving parts, not just your map.</p>
<p>On Galleria, we wanted custom kill icon so we asked Valve about this the same day as the email; stating clearly that there is a map hazard with the ice resurfacer tracktrain that we want a kill icon for and that we have prepared the icon for it in our files at: <span style="font-family: monospace;">materials/hud/kill_icons/ice_<wbr>resurfacer_kill</span></p>
<p>It is your job to make this as easy as possible for them to implement. Give them as much information as is needed for them to make a quick decision about. The less work Valve has to do the more likely they'll agree to your request.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr>
<h1>Build a Release Bundle Folder</h1>
<p>I highly recommend building an asset bundle. This is what you will ultimately upload for Valve. It should contain every custom asset as well as all the additional files we'll discuss later in this post. This will look very similiar to something from your custom folder. Valve insists on compiling the map's themselves (in case they need to make a fix), so they need all the source files to do so. </p>
<p>This is what our bundle from Galleria looked like:</p>
<figure class="post__image"><img loading="lazy"  src="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/12//Screenshot_2.png" alt="" width="627" height="255" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" srcset="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/12//responsive/Screenshot_2-xs.png 300w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/12//responsive/Screenshot_2-sm.png 480w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/12//responsive/Screenshot_2-md.png 749w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/12//responsive/Screenshot_2-xl.png 1200w"></figure>
<p>One method to produce this bundle would be to do a full compile with packing, and then extracting all the packed files using GCFScape into a single folder. </p>
<p>Typically I will clear out my custom folder completely so I have a blank TF2 to verify that I have the files I need.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr>
<h1>Time for polish!</h1>
<figure class="post__image post__image--left"><img loading="lazy"  src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSWltdSBq-2rxCQPec8DXf-0gRfQYFv-Lqn5w&amp;s" alt="Automotive Post Paint Polishing - Mirka" width="236" height="132" data-ilt="1738018716995" data-is-external-image="true"></figure>
<p>Typically you will get ~1-2 weeks of time before Valve wants the files in hand. This gives you time to track down bugs and add any last bits of polish to the map. This is where i'll typically add little easter eggs as well.</p>
<p>During this time, I do a hardcore bug hunting pass on the map; looking for clipping problems, exploits, visual bugs, performance issues, prop fades, etc etc.</p>
<p>I would strongly recommend against making huge sweeping changes to the map at this time. You need to have a final deliverable map for Valve at the end of this period.</p>
<p>Valve does give mappers a lot of latitude to publish updates and bug fixes; however you do not have any control over when that happens. You should assume that after your intial upload to Valve; you will not have a <span class="yKMVIe" role="heading" aria-level="1">guarantee </span>to get any changes into the map in a timely fashion. Valve tends to collect/bundle updates and release them all at once. Mappers have reported waiting months for their map update to finally get shipped.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr>
<h1>Useful commands for bug hunting</h1>
<p>All of these require <code>sv_cheats 1</code></p>
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 37.5357%;">Command</td>
<td style="width: 62.6069%;">Description</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 37.5357%;"><code>r_drawclipbrushes 1</code></td>
<td style="width: 62.6069%;">Shows the outline of all clip brushes. This does not include blockbullets.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 37.5357%;"><code>vcollide_wireframe 1</code></td>
<td style="width: 62.6069%;">Shows the phys mesh of all models on the map.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 37.5357%;"><code>mat_wireframe 1</code></td>
<td style="width: 62.6069%;">Helps to show what is being drawn at any given time. Helpful for debugging areaportal or visleaf occlusion</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 37.5357%;"><code>hurtme -10000; impulse 101</code></td>
<td style="width: 62.6069%;">Useful for rocket / sticky jumping, gives you a massive overheal and also reloads your ammo.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 37.5357%;"><code>fogui</code></td>
<td style="width: 62.6069%;">Allows you to quickly edit your fog settings to dial them in just right</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 37.5357%;"><code>ent_fire func_door open</code></td>
<td style="width: 62.6069%;">Forces all func doors to open. I use this to check respawn visualizers and check for collision into spawnrooms.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 37.5357%;">
<div class="message_d5deea cozyMessage_d5deea wrapper_f9f2ca cozy_f9f2ca zalgo_f9f2ca" tabindex="-1" role="article" data-list-item-id="chat-messages___chat-messages-1005008485488017419-1333216413040513134" aria-setsize="-1" aria-roledescription="Message" aria-labelledby="message-username-1333215151192670250 uid_1 message-content-1333216413040513134 uid_2 message-timestamp-1333216413040513134">
<div class="contents_f9f2ca">
<div id="message-content-1333216413040513134" class="markup_f8f345 messageContent_f9f2ca"><code>r_dispbuildable; r_dispwalkable</code></div>
</div>
</div>
</td>
<td style="width: 62.6069%;">Shows you displacement collision. Useful for finding bugs related to getting out of the map or pixel walks or unexpected building locations</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 37.5357%;"><code>developer 1; soundscape_debug</code></td>
<td style="width: 62.6069%;">Will draw the location of your soundscape probes so you can easily see how they are working.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p> </p>
<hr>
<h1>Additional files / Info to provide Valve</h1>
<h4>Vote Icons</h4>
<p>At the end of every casual match; players are presented with a vote menu for which map to play next. </p>
<figure class="post__image"><img loading="lazy"  src="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/12/Screenshot_2-2.png" alt="" width="531" height="161" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" srcset="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/12/responsive/Screenshot_2-2-xs.png 300w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/12/responsive/Screenshot_2-2-sm.png 480w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/12/responsive/Screenshot_2-2-md.png 749w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/12/responsive/Screenshot_2-2-xl.png 1200w"></figure>
<p>You will need to provide an image for Valve to use for this menu. This just needs to be something that represents the map in a small size; could be a simple map screenshot of an iconic part of the map, or the map with a mascot on it.</p>
<figure class="post__image post__image--left"><img loading="lazy"  style="margin-bottom: 1.37143rem; margin-right: 1.37143rem; outline: 3px solid rgba(var(--color-primary-rgb), 0.55) !important;" src="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/12/menu_thumb_pd_galleria.png" alt="" width="148" height="148" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" srcset="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/12/responsive/menu_thumb_pd_galleria-xs.png 300w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/12/responsive/menu_thumb_pd_galleria-sm.png 480w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/12/responsive/menu_thumb_pd_galleria-md.png 749w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/12/responsive/menu_thumb_pd_galleria-xl.png 1200w"></figure>
<p>Here is what the icon from Galleria looked like.</p>
<p>Note that the bottom white space here is cropped in the final version. Commonly people draw funny things here as a little easter egg.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>This needs to be saved as a vtf in <code>materials/vgui/maps/menu_thumb_&lt;mapname&gt;.vtf</code></p>
<p>The VTF itself needs to be 128x128, no mipmaps and compressed using DXT1.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr>
<h4>Menu Photos</h4>
<p>Menu photos are a way to preset a first impression of your map! </p>
<figure class="post__image post__image--left"><img loading="lazy"  src="https://developer.valvesoftware.com/w/images/thumb/f/fb/Menu_photos_ctf_2fort.vtf.png/300px-Menu_photos_ctf_2fort.vtf.png" width="256" height="256" data-is-external-image="true"></figure>
<p>Here is an example of menu photos from 2fort. Note the padding on the right side of the image. This is needed because these are intended to appear on the chalkboard.</p>
<p>Refer to the VDC guide for this:<br><a href="https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Adding_Menu_Photos">https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Adding_Menu_Photos</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>This needs to be saved as a vtf in <code>materials/vgui/maps/menu_photos_&lt;mapname&gt;.vtf</code></p>
<p>The VTF itself needs to be 1024x1024, no mipmaps and compressed using DXT5.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr>
<h4>Map Stamps</h4>
<p><img src="https://wiki.teamfortress.com/w/images/thumb/d/d6/Backpack_Stamp_Galleria.png/120px-Backpack_Stamp_Galleria.png" alt="Backpack Stamp Galleria.png" data-is-external-image="true"><img loading="lazy" src="https://wiki.teamfortress.com/w/images/thumb/c/cd/Backpack_Stamp_Farmageddon.png/120px-Backpack_Stamp_Farmageddon.png" alt="Backpack Stamp Farmageddon.png" data-is-external-image="true"><img src="https://wiki.teamfortress.com/w/images/thumb/2/2f/Backpack_Stamp_Sharkbay.png/120px-Backpack_Stamp_Sharkbay.png" alt="Backpack Stamp Sharkbay.png" data-is-external-image="true"><img loading="lazy" src="https://wiki.teamfortress.com/w/images/thumb/1/1e/Backpack_Stamp_Rumford.png/120px-Backpack_Stamp_Rumford.png" alt="Backpack Stamp Rumford.png" data-is-external-image="true"></p>
<p>Valve has their own process for creating these; however we should provide them with the screenshots they need.</p>
<figure class="post__image post__image--left"><img loading="lazy"  src="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/12//Screenshot_3.png" alt="" width="217" height="165" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" srcset="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/12//responsive/Screenshot_3-xs.png 300w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/12//responsive/Screenshot_3-sm.png 480w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/12//responsive/Screenshot_3-md.png 749w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/12//responsive/Screenshot_3-xl.png 1200w"></figure>
<p>I go in game and take 2 screenshots for the map stamps; a primary and secondary.</p>
<p>Helps to run these 2 commands to get a clean screenshot:<br><code>cl_drawhud 0; r_drawviewmodel 0</code></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Place these screenshots in your asset bundle under a folder called "<code>press_kit</code>". Name them "<code>map_stamp_primary.png</code>" and "<code>map_stamp_secondary.png</code>"</p>
<p> </p>
<hr>
<h4>Nav Mesh</h4>
<p>Valve will ask you to produce a nav mesh. This is as simple as loading up the map and doing the <code>nav_generate</code> command. It will drop a .nav file for your map in your tf/maps folder; you just need to include it in the bundle mentioned eariler.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr>
<h4>Strange Map Filter Name</h4>
<figure class="post__image post__image--right"><img loading="lazy"  src="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/12/Screenshot_1-2.png" alt="" width="292" height="195" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" srcset="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/12/responsive/Screenshot_1-2-xs.png 300w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/12/responsive/Screenshot_1-2-sm.png 480w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/12/responsive/Screenshot_1-2-md.png 749w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/12/responsive/Screenshot_1-2-xl.png 1200w"></figure>
<p>Did you know Valve will let you pick a strange filter name? Pretty cool!</p>
<p>You will just include it in the email you send back to Valve.<br>Here is a list of existing strange filter names: <a href="https://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Template:List_of_strange_filters" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Template:List_of_strange_filters</a></p>
<p class="callout callout__info">Note: Valve may veto the name; be prepared with alternatives</p>
<p> </p>
<hr>
<h4>Rad File</h4>
<p>Did you know that Valve will accept a .rad file?! Just include it in your zip and tell Valve about it. If you don't know what these are, they're basically a file to provide additional information to the vrad compile. </p>
<p>For more info check out the RadShadowMan tool: <a href="https://tf2maps.net/downloads/radshadowman-forcetextureshadow-generator.9151/">https://tf2maps.net/downloads/radshadowman-forcetextureshadow-generator.9151/</a> </p>
<p> </p>
<hr>
<h4>Contributor List</h4>
<figure class="post__image"><img loading="lazy"  src="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/12/contriblist.png" alt="" width="1920" height="1080" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" srcset="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/12/responsive/contriblist-xs.png 300w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/12/responsive/contriblist-sm.png 480w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/12/responsive/contriblist-md.png 749w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/12/responsive/contriblist-xl.png 1200w"></figure>
<p>Ever wanted to see your name right there on the loading screen?! Now you can!</p>
<p>Included in your email should be a list of the contributors. You can choose to use your real name as we did on Galleria but if you prefer not to; you can use your username instead. The wiki editors will also use this list to credit you on the map's wiki page!</p>
<p> </p>
<hr>
<h1>Deciding on how to split up credit</h1>
<p>This is something I hesitate to dictate on how to do; however I'll give a few thoughts on how you could proceed.</p>
<p>First off, everyone credited on the map will need to mutally agree to everyone else's percentage for it to be able to submit to Valve (there is literally a page that requires all members to sign off). Obviously the number breakdown will need to add up to 100%.</p>
<p>Typically the main mapper (i.e. the person who did all the work in Hammer) gets the majority share of the credit given that they did the majority of the work; however this may not be the case with reskins or extremely custom asset heavy projects.</p>
<p>Things to consider for %'s:</p>
<ul>
<li>Bespoke hero props should carry more weight than generic assets</li>
<li>Consider the time and effort investment of the contributor</li>
<li>Consider how critical the asset is to the map; could this asset be easily replaced should this person be unwilling to negoiate their %?</li>
<li>This should be credit for work already done; not work that one plans to do in the coming days before publishing</li>
</ul>
<p>Ultimately it is up to you and your contributors to negoitate this between yourselves.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr>
<h1>Publish Time</h1>
<p>As I stated eariler; you should consider your first upload of the map to Valve as a final delivered product. You will have the opportunity to send updates to the map but there is no <span class="yKMVIe" role="heading" aria-level="1">guarantee </span>when Valve will decide to pick up that update. On Farmageddon, we had a small bug fix that didn't get published for over a year.</p>
<p>In the second email you recieved from Valve, it will include instructions on how to upload your map. Basically you will create a private steam workshop submission and that is how you will send Valve your files. This should be a zip of the asset bundle we talked about eariler in this post.</p>
<p class="callout callout__info"><strong>IMPORTANT</strong>: There is currently a bug with Steam where when you publish an update to a private workshop submission it automatically becomes public. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em>You have to go to the steam page and set it to private again manually. </em></strong></span></p>
<p> </p>
<hr>
<h1>Email Template for Valve</h1>
<p>Personally I like to include an email to Valve after our first upload, that contains all the details for the map in a single place. Feel free to use this as a starting place:</p>
<pre><code class="language-txt">Hey Eric,

The files have been updated at: &lt;insert private steam workshop link here&gt;

Additionally, we would like the filename of the map to be "&lt;your_map_name_here&gt;", and the name that shows up in the entries such as the loading screen should be "&lt;your_map_name_here&gt;".

We would like the Strange Filter name to be "&lt;strange filter name here&gt;"

We have also added some icons and photos we would like to use for the UI elements:
- Casual Mode vote icon: materials/vgui/maps/menu_thumb_&lt;your_map_here&gt;.vtf
- The Loading Screen photos: materials/vgui/maps/menu_photos_&lt;your_map_here&gt;.vtf
- Map Stamp Photos: press_kit/map_stamp_primary.png &amp; press_kit/map_stamp_secondary.png

Here are additional files that will need to be packed:
- Soundscript: "/maps/&lt;your_map_here&gt;_level_sounds.txt"
- Particle manifest: /maps/&lt;your_map_here&gt;_particles.txt"
- Soundscapes: "/scripts/soundscapes_&lt;your_map_here&gt;.txt"
- A rad file at the top level of the files: &lt;your_map_here&gt;.rad

The contributors listed for the credits section should be as follows:
- &lt;Contributor List Goes Here&gt;
    
Please let me know if there's anything else you need from us.

Thanks!
</code></pre>
<div> </div>
            ]]>
        </content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>April Fools Event 2024​!</title>
        <author>
            <name>14bit</name>
        </author>
        <link href="https://blog.tf2maps.net/april-fools-event-2024/"/>
        <id>https://blog.tf2maps.net/april-fools-event-2024/</id>

        <updated>2024-03-24T17:51:04-06:00</updated>
            <summary>
                <![CDATA[
                    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TF2maps.net will host its annual April Fools Gameday event in an effort to promote creativity, silliness, and tomfoolery. Submissions are now open&hellip;
                ]]>
            </summary>
        <content type="html">
            <![CDATA[
                <p>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</p>
<p>TF2maps.net will host its annual April Fools Gameday event in an effort to promote creativity, silliness, and tomfoolery. Submissions are now open for both new and returning maps. </p>
<p>This year's event will take place on April 1st, 2024, starting at 11:00am EDT (15:00 UTC), on both the US and EU servers. Senior Staff member <a href="https://tf2maps.net/members/19225/">14bit </a>will be hosting the EU test, and Server Mod <span class="hljs-string"><a href="https://tf2maps.net/members/35478/)">MC_Labs15</a></span> will be hosting the US test. </p>
<p><span style="color: var(--text-primary-color); font-family: var(--editor-font-family); font-size: inherit; font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal);">"I'm very excited to be running this event again, it's amazing to see what the community comes up with every year" said </span>14bit.</p>
<p>Maps for the event are to be generously provided by mappers of all ages and skill levels, varying from first time hobbyists to professional level designers. Maps from previous events will also be eligible for submission, though new maps will be prioritized.</p>
<p>"This yearly event is vital to the TF2 community, helping to ensure silly maps continue to get made," an anonymous source told TF2maps.net. </p>
<p>If you would like to submit a map for the event, please contact <a href="https://tf2maps.net/members/19225/">14bit</a> through a site DM or on Discord. Maps must follow all regular testing guidelines, and will be screened before the event. The deadline for submitting maps is 12 hours before the event, on March 31st, 2024 at 11:00pm EDT (April 1st, 3:00 UTC). </p>
<p>"Maps that contain flashing lights or other extreme visual effects must have a warning attached to them when submitting, and I reserve the right to reject maps for any reason," 14bit said. "Each person may submit one map they created, or nominate one map they did not. New maps submitted by their authors with be prioritized, followed by nominations of previous maps." </p>
<p class="textContainer__709ff expanded__998e7">"Amusement is mandatory," MCL said. "I would like to make that very clear."</p>
<div class="text-sm-normal_e612c7 footer__06f4b" data-text-variant="text-sm/normal"> </div>
            ]]>
        </content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Licensing &amp; You</title>
        <author>
            <name>Brokk</name>
        </author>
        <link href="https://blog.tf2maps.net/licensing-and-you/"/>
        <id>https://blog.tf2maps.net/licensing-and-you/</id>
        <media:content url="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/9/im654age.png" medium="image" />
            <category term="PSA"/>
            <category term="Mapping"/>

        <updated>2024-03-15T21:09:14-06:00</updated>
            <summary>
                <![CDATA[
                        <img src="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/9/im654age.png" alt="" />
                    <p>Hello everyone! Let's talk copyright - again.</p>
<p>To anyone that has used my <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_bdddKYbvCAgjP6mGBKr0YOKukhak_Z7SviGWYqt5xg/edit">How To Not Get Sued</a> document this may not be news, but I have a certain interest in making sure people get credited for their work. I've written quite a bit about this topic and advised people on the use of assets and maps quite a few times now.</p>

                ]]>
            </summary>
        <content type="html">
            <![CDATA[
                    <p><img src="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/9/im654age.png" class="type:primaryImage" alt="" /></p>
                <p>Hello everyone! Let's talk copyright - again.</p>
<p>To anyone that has used my <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_bdddKYbvCAgjP6mGBKr0YOKukhak_Z7SviGWYqt5xg/edit">How To Not Get Sued</a> document this may not be news, but I have a certain interest in making sure people get credited for their work. I've written quite a bit about this topic and advised people on the use of assets and maps quite a few times now.</p>

<p>This is usually from the asset users' perspective, since the people most unsure about the whole topic are those who are just starting out with mapping and may not have quite gotten the hang of how things work. Also, there simply are vastly more asset consumers than creators out there. As I'm currently doing research about copyright for another mapping-adjacent project, I figured I might use the occasion for a blog post. This article will focus on the other side of the coin: Copyright from the <em>asset creators'</em> perspective.</p>
<hr>
<h1>What is a license?</h1>
<p>Let's make something clear from the start: <strong>If you made something, it's yours.</strong> You don't need to sign, document, publish, pay, notarize, proclaim, prove or otherwise do anything for this to be the case. This provokes the question why you need a copyright license at all. Actually, what even <em>is</em> a license?</p>
<p>Quoting <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_copyright_license">Wikipedia</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A <strong>public license</strong> or <strong>public copyright licenses</strong> is a license by which a copyright holder as licensor can grant additional copyright permissions to any and all persons in the general public as licensees. By applying a public license to a work, provided that the licensees obey the terms and conditions of the license, copyright holders give permission for others to copy or change their work in ways that would otherwise infringe copyright law.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In short: By default, the only person allowed to handle things you made is you. While sharing your work with other people on sites like TF2Maps obviously implies that you want other people to interact with it, a copyright license resolves ambiguities and defines specific terms. Most asset creators in the TF2Maps sphere I have interacted with usually have terms like this:</p>
<ul>
<li>You <strong>can</strong> download this asset from the place it is offered.</li>
<li>You <strong>can</strong> pack the asset into a map and share it with others.</li>
<li>If you pack this asset into your map and share it with others, you <strong>must</strong> credit the original creator.</li>
</ul>
<p>This is done because the asset creator obviously wants people to know who made the cool stuff they find in a TF2 map. Early-development maps as seen during our map tests are usually not treated as strictly, but the download page for a finished or almost-finished map should clearly state all authors involved in making it - including asset creators.</p>
<p><strong>Important:</strong> The Steam Workshop is a special circumstance in this regard. While many mappers treat it as a fast-dl/map sharing service, it is also the place in which maps are offered to Valve for inclusion in official TF2 updates. This process is not automated, unlike with cosmetic items. Instead, Valve sends an email to anyone listed as submission author on the Workshop page. Tragically, there have been several cases of mappers uploading maps to the Workshop without offering author status to all asset creators with the intent of removing their assets once the map is accepted by Valve. I suggest the term "scoop or dupe" for this tactic.</p>
<p>As an asset creator, you can protect yourself by demanding to be listed as an author on any Workshop map that includes your work. In fact, the Steam Workshop's terms and conditions already state this, but who reads them, right? (except me, I guess). See below on how to (optimistically) enforce this.</p>
<hr>
<h1>Why a license?</h1>
<p>"Alright, Brokk", I can hear you say. "I've read this far but I'm getting bored. Can't I just copy the above bulletpoints into a readme.txt and be done with it?"</p>
<p>I mean, yeah; but you've put all this work into creating this cool, uh, crate prop or whatever, so why not spend a few minutes making sure you won't have to fight anyone over it?</p>
<p>For your convenience, I would like to suggest the following ready-made copyright license for you to use:</p>
<h5><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a> (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs)</h5>
<figure class="post__image post__image--right"><img loading="lazy"  src="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/9/by-nc-nd.png" alt="" width="288" height="101" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" srcset="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/9/responsive/by-nc-nd-xs.png 300w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/9/responsive/by-nc-nd-sm.png 480w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/9/responsive/by-nc-nd-md.png 749w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/9/responsive/by-nc-nd-xl.png 1200w"></figure>
<p>This license enables reusers to copy and distribute the material in any medium or format in unadapted form only, for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator.</p>
<p>Bit of a mouthful, I know. Let me break that down for you:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Creative Commons (CC)</strong> is a non-profit that aims to make creative works more accessible to the public and encourage creators share their work as openly and freely as possible. It is also the name of several copyright licenses. The "commons" in its name refers to the common body of work accessible to all of humanity. Using any Creative Commons license tends to imply that a creator is interested in their work being used widely and freely without any specific input by themselves.</li>
<li><strong>Attribution (BY)</strong>: Means that the author of the work needs to be credited. It also means the license itself needs to be mentioned when crediting, and that any changes to the work (if permitted) need to be indicated. This prevents a game of telephone in which a work becomes unrecognizable and evades credit that way. To be honest, I still haven't figured out what "BY" stands for.</li>
<li><strong>Non-Commercial (NC)</strong>: The work cannot be used commercially. The exact wording is "forbids use that is primarily intended for or directed toward commercial advantage or monetary compensation." This is relatively broad on purpose. There are no issues with, for example, taking Ko-Fi donations for publishing maps, but making money directly with the asset is not allowed. Licensing the map to Valve would of course not be permitted, meaning you will need to give your express permission for the asset to be included in a Workshop Submission (which, according to the Workshop terms and services, you have to do anyway).</li>
<li><strong>No Derivatives (ND)</strong>: The work may be distributed, but only in its original form. It may not be changed, remixed, adapted, or transformed. This stops others from claiming authorship on parts of your work in any other way.</li>
</ul>
<p>You can find the full license text, further explanations, and alternative license on the <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">Creative Commons website</a>.</p>
<p>You can license your asset by including <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode.txt">this text document</a> in the download and mentioning "This asset is licensed under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0" or similar on the download page.</p>
<p>By the way, if the above license does not completely fit the terms you have in mind, the Creative Commons people also have a nifty <a href="https://chooser-beta.creativecommons.org/">License Chooser</a> that allows you to choose between all of their licenses.</p>
<hr>
<h1>The TF2Maps License?</h1>
<p>By the way, we're also working on something more finely tuned to TF2Maps itself. More on that as it develops, but we want to make a customized version of one of the CC licensed available eventually that allows modellers and mappers to fine-tune how their creations are used. The Creative Commons license has a concept called "<a href="https://wiki.creativecommons.org/wiki/CCPlus">CCPlus</a>" that can be used for this purpose. Some examples follow. Ideally creators will then be able to pick-and-choose the terms from this (uncomplete!) list on which terms they personally want:</p>
<p><strong>Assets:</strong> - No Republishing, except when packed inside of a .bsp file. - No Commercial Use, except for Team Fortress 2's Steam Workshop. - No Commercial Use, except for Team Fortress 2's Steam Workshop and with express permission of the creator(s). - Attribution Required, except when published exclusively for the purposes of testing and iteration on TF2Maps.net. - Attribution Required, and a link to the Asset Pack needs to be supplied. - Attribution Required in the form of a README file inside of the packed .BSP file.</p>
<p><strong>Textures:</strong> - No Derivations, except to the included .VMT files. - Derivations permitted, but attribution still needs to go to the original creator(s).</p>
<p><strong>Maps:</strong> - No Republishing, except for Team Fortress 2 Community Servers ("FastDL"). - No Derivations, except to make the work compatible with another Source Engine Mod (for example, "Team Fortress 2 Classic"). - Attribution Required, except for the content owned by Valve and covered by the Steam Subscriber Agreement.</p>
<hr>
<p>In the long run, we may offer a "standard" license containing a small amount of these terms - how does "The TF2Maps License" sound? Since the TF2M Team does not exactly have the budget for an on-call lawyer, we want to go slowly with this, however. Let us know what you think! As mentioned, we are still working on it.</p>
<p>Cheers!</p>
<p>-Brokk</p>
<p><em><span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Image by MCL15</span> I made this</em></p>
<p class="callout callout__info"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Disclaimer: This is not legal advice. My law experience is limited. The following constitutes my observations in interaction with the TF2Maps community. I am trying to describe the community's vague consensus and the time-honed customs in handling assets, not some kind of court-approved TF2Maps user agreement. Consider the following my personal, friendly recommendation on how to handle these matters. If something seems unclear, talk to TF2 Maps Staff or the asset creator themselves (yes, this includes Valve, and yes, they do answer their emails, it may just take a while).</span></i></p>
            ]]>
        </content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Hot Staff Gossip #1</title>
        <author>
            <name>Brokk</name>
        </author>
        <link href="https://blog.tf2maps.net/hot-staff-gossip-1/"/>
        <id>https://blog.tf2maps.net/hot-staff-gossip-1/</id>
        <media:content url="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/8/blog_001c2.jpg" medium="image" />
            <category term="Internal"/>

        <updated>2024-03-03T21:02:55-07:00</updated>
            <summary>
                <![CDATA[
                        <img src="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/8/blog_001c2.jpg" alt="" />
                    <p>Hi everyone. This is the (hopefully) first part of a series of blog posts aiming at making all of you <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">puny mortals</span> fellow TF2Mappers aware of the things happening <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">on Mount Olympus</span> in the TF2Maps Team.</p>
<p>You may have heard about our fresh-faced Staff members Adam, Pdan4, and Sonoma, but what else has been going on? The following is a slightly chaotic breakdown of what is going on in the Team, other than the regular and indeed very heated arguments about cheese...</p>
<p> </p>

                ]]>
            </summary>
        <content type="html">
            <![CDATA[
                    <p><img src="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/8/blog_001c2.jpg" class="type:primaryImage" alt="" /></p>
                <p>Hi everyone. This is the (hopefully) first part of a series of blog posts aiming at making all of you <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">puny mortals</span> fellow TF2Mappers aware of the things happening <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">on Mount Olympus</span> in the TF2Maps Team.</p>
<p>You may have heard about our fresh-faced Staff members Adam, Pdan4, and Sonoma, but what else has been going on? The following is a slightly chaotic breakdown of what is going on in the Team, other than the regular and indeed very heated arguments about cheese...</p>
<p> </p>
<hr>
<h1>Goodbye and Hello</h1>
<p>This is a late farewell to the TF2M Team members who left our ranks in the past months. We would like to wholeheartedly thank all of you for your work in making TF2Maps.net into the place it is and wish you all the best in your creative ventures in the future.</p>
<p><span style="color: #f2f2f5;"><strong>A huge thank you,</strong></span> from everyone at TF2Maps.net, to:</p>
<ul>
<li>Staff Member <a href="https://tf2maps.net/members/suna.28386/">Suna</a> </li>
<li>Staff Member <a href="https://tf2maps.net/members/blade-x64.5736/">Blade x64</a> </li>
<li>Server Mod <a href="https://tf2maps.net/members/cincomma.27400/">Cin</a> </li>
<li>Server Mod <a href="https://tf2maps.net/members/spleep.32645/">Spleep</a> </li>
<li>Server Mod <a href="https://tf2maps.net/members/xbmann.32101/">XBMANN</a> </li>
</ul>
<p>As is tradition, all of you are receiving a lifetime supply of VIP membership for your service.</p>
<p>In light of the recent team turnover, we are planning to open Server Moderator applications again soon(-ish), with a focus on users in time zones other than the Americas (sorry, Canada and South America!). If you also have a thing for Public Outreach or Tech (server infrastructure, SourceMod), even better. <em>More on this soon.</em></p>
<p> </p>
<hr>
<h1>Major Contest 18: Stack the Deck!</h1>
<p>If you haven't been living under a rock, you may have heard about the <a href="https://tf2maps.net/threads/major-contest-18-stack-the-deck.51757/">18th TF2Maps Contest</a> that only launched a couple of weeks ago! The reception so far has been very good, and the Contest Team is very proud of their work. More on this in an upcoming post.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr>
<h1>Staff Meetings - Rarer than TF Comics?</h1>
<p>Turns out we had exactly <em>one</em> all-hands-on-deck Team Meeting in the entirety of 2023. You might be pleased to hear that we've already had three this year, and will likely have at least a couple more. There is a lot to things to throw words at, and we are very motivated to also follow up with deeds.</p>
<p>By the way, one of the general things we spoke about was responsibility of roles in the team. Nesman asks that you stop pinging specifically him whenever you stub your toe on our server infrastructure. We do have an IT role (recently renamed to <code>@THE TECH PEOPLE</code> to make pinging easier), and most issues can be solved by a Server Mod or higher. Let him breathe a bit, folks!</p>
<p> </p>
<hr>
<h1>Imp Hosts and telephone games</h1>
<p>There have been a handful of reports about a decline in imp host quality in the past months, and we would like to address that.</p>
<p>First of all, it's on us, not you. We will try to be more hands-on regarding the training and quality control of Hosts. In fact, we are currently working on revamping the whole system with that in mind.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr>
<h1>Copyright, Licensing, Asset Packs</h1>
<p>While outright asset theft is exceedingly rare in this community (something we're incredibly glad for) we are aware of many users being unsure about their rights and permissions regarding the use or creation of custom assets.</p>
<ul>
<li>When can you edit an asset?</li>
<li>When do you need to credit someone?</li>
<li>How do I credit someone?</li>
</ul>
<p>Some of this <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_bdddKYbvCAgjP6mGBKr0YOKukhak_Z7SviGWYqt5xg/edit">has been covered before</a>, but we would like to address it in more official terms as well.</p>
<p>We are also talking to Eminoma, the team behind <a href="https://tf2classic.com/">Team Fortress 2 Classic</a> about this, in case you were interested in using TF2C assets or publishing a map for the mod. Stay tuned for another blog post, as well as some site changes.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr>
<h1>Or whatever it is called now</h1>
<figure class="post__image post__image--left not_responsive"><img loading="lazy"  src="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/8/X_logo_2023_white.png" alt="" width="128" height="128" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" srcset="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/8/responsive/X_logo_2023_white-xs.png 300w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/8/responsive/X_logo_2023_white-sm.png 480w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/8/responsive/X_logo_2023_white-md.png 749w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/8/responsive/X_logo_2023_white-xl.png 1200w"></figure>
<p>In case you didn't notice, our <a href="https://twitter.com/tf2maps"><span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Twitter</span> X account</a> is active again! The plan is to regularly post noteworthy maps (featured, just released, in development, and so on) and spread the word about the cool things happening in this community. You all deserve the spotlight.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr>
<h1>We have the technology, we can fix it!</h1>
<figure class="post__image post__image--right not_responsive"><img loading="lazy"  src="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/8/download.png" alt="" width="128" height="128" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" srcset="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/8/responsive/download-xs.png 300w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/8/responsive/download-sm.png 480w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/8/responsive/download-md.png 749w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/8/responsive/download-xl.png 1200w"></figure>
<p>If you've been around for a while, you may have already witnessed our game servers or main site crapping out at an inconvenient moment. We are happy to report that our server provider, Vultr has allowed us to move some of our infrastructure from their New Jersey to California datacenter, which should offer more stability. However if these issues persist we are prepared to do another uplift to different service provider.</p>
<p>In other (tech) news, there have been a bunch of minor improvements to the site itself: Our <a href="https://bot.tf2maps.net/">map testing queue</a> received a makeover and some extra features a while ago, and there have been some minor improvements to the main site as well, which you can read up on <a href="https://tf2maps.net/threads/the-unimportant-announcement-thread.25103/page-6#post-511594">here</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr>
<h1>That's all folks</h1>
<p>From the whole team, thank you for your trust and support. We all appreciate it.</p>
<p class="callout callout__info">Feedback? Ideas? Want to submit an article? Let us know by contacting us on the <a href="https://tf2maps.net/forums/">Forums</a> or <a href="https://discord.com/invite/tf2maps">Discord</a>!</p>
            ]]>
        </content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>A Chat With Eric at Valve HQ</title>
        <author>
            <name>Stuffy360</name>
        </author>
        <link href="https://blog.tf2maps.net/a-chat-with-eric-at-valve-hq/"/>
        <id>https://blog.tf2maps.net/a-chat-with-eric-at-valve-hq/</id>
        <media:content url="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/7/moregun.jpeg" medium="image" />
            <category term="Guest"/>

        <updated>2024-02-29T17:25:22-07:00</updated>
            <summary>
                <![CDATA[
                        <img src="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/7/moregun.jpeg" alt="" />
                    <p>On the 21st of February, 2024 I had the privilege of receiving a brief tour of Valve's headquarters in Bellevue, WA. While seeing the holy halls in which our favorite games were made was truly awe-inspiring, the real highlight of the tour was the conversation with Eric Smith, current de-facto lead developer of Team Fortress 2 and main point of contact for mappers.</p>

                ]]>
            </summary>
        <content type="html">
            <![CDATA[
                    <p><img src="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/7/moregun.jpeg" class="type:primaryImage" alt="" /></p>
                <p>On the 21st of February, 2024 I had the privilege of receiving a brief tour of Valve's headquarters in Bellevue, WA. While seeing the holy halls in which our favorite games were made was truly awe-inspiring, the real highlight of the tour was the conversation with Eric Smith, current de-facto lead developer of Team Fortress 2 and main point of contact for mappers.</p>

<p>First of all, I'd like to say it was a real pleasure to be able to have a casual conversation with Eric, and his enthusiasm for TF2 shone throughout the talk.</p>
<p>This was not so much a Q&amp;A so much as it was just a casual chat. Please temper your expectations to a reasonable level for things, and realize that development does take time, and can be hectic, so <span style="color: var(--text-primary-color); font-family: var(--editor-font-family); font-size: inherit; font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal);">anything mentioned here can always change. </span></p>
<figure class="post__image post__image--center" ><img loading="lazy" style="color: var(--text-primary-color); font-family: var(--editor-font-family); font-size: inherit; font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal); outline: 3px solid rgba(var(--color-primary-rgb), 0.55)  !important;" src="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/7/erectinsentry.jpg" alt="" width="261" height="391" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" srcset="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/7/responsive/erectinsentry-xs.jpg 300w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/7/responsive/erectinsentry-sm.jpg 480w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/7/responsive/erectinsentry-md.jpg 749w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/7/responsive/erectinsentry-xl.jpg 1200w">
<figcaption >Your fearless hero, Stuffy360, with the beautiful WETA Workshop sentry gun replica.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p> </p>
<hr>
<h1>2024 TF2 Summer Update</h1>
<figure class="post__image post__image--right" ><img loading="lazy" src="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/7/balloonicorn.png" alt="" width="240" height="360" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" srcset="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/7/responsive/balloonicorn-xs.png 300w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/7/responsive/balloonicorn-sm.png 480w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/7/responsive/balloonicorn-md.png 749w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/7/responsive/balloonicorn-xl.png 1200w">
<figcaption >Giant balloonicorn sculpture in the lobby.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the talk I brought up the Summer 2024 update; being a map creator a<span style="color: var(--text-primary-color); font-family: var(--editor-font-family); font-size: inherit; font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal);">nd w</span><span style="color: var(--text-primary-color); font-family: var(--editor-font-family); font-size: inherit; font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal);">orking </span><span style="color: var(--text-primary-color); font-family: var(--editor-font-family); font-size: inherit; font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal);">with people who make maps, this is a question we were all interested in. </span></p>
<p><span style="color: var(--text-primary-color); font-family: var(--editor-font-family); font-size: inherit; font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal);">Eric expressed that Valve was likely to do 2024 and very interested in continuing to do community Summer updates, though they would be smaller in size compared to 2023, which had a <a href="https://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Summer_2023_Update">record-breaking amount of new maps</a>. </span></p>
<p><span style="color: var(--text-primary-color); font-family: var(--editor-font-family); font-size: inherit; font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal);">He also mention</span><span style="color: var(--text-primary-color); font-family: var(--editor-font-family); font-size: inherit; font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal);">ed that there were a </span><span style="color: var(--text-primary-color); font-family: var(--editor-font-family); font-size: inherit; font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal);">number of fun things they'd like to do, but weren't necessarily actively being worked on. </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<hr>
<h1>Valves Map Selection Process</h1>
<figure class="post__image post__image--left" ><img loading="lazy" src="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/7/gravityguns.png" alt="" width="331" height="220" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" srcset="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/7/responsive/gravityguns-xs.png 300w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/7/responsive/gravityguns-sm.png 480w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/7/responsive/gravityguns-md.png 749w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/7/responsive/gravityguns-xl.png 1200w">
<figcaption >The temptation to pick one up look for the nearest sawblade was almost impossible to withstand.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One of the things I brought up was the criteria maps were subjected to when chosen to be featured in an update.</p>
<p>Eric emphasized that they look through the <em>entire workshop</em> when picking maps, and did not just pick the current "Trending" entries.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Maps for already-added community gamemodes are still being considered, so we may still receive additional <a href="https://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Versus_Saxton_Hale">Versus Saxton Hale</a> or <a href="https://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Zombie_Infection">Zombie Infection</a> maps.</p>
<p>When picking maps, Valve runs internal playtests with level designers and artists as well to get their feedback on what they enjoyed. A lot of what they look for in a map is how fun it is to play, and whether or not it does something interesting to stand out.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr>
<h1>64 Bit TF2 and Maintenance</h1>
<figure class="post__image post__image--center" ><img loading="lazy" src="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/7/coolstuff.jpg" alt="" width="515" height="343" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" srcset="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/7/responsive/coolstuff-xs.jpg 300w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/7/responsive/coolstuff-sm.jpg 480w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/7/responsive/coolstuff-md.jpg 749w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/7/responsive/coolstuff-xl.jpg 1200w">
<figcaption >Valve has sold quite a bit of merch over the years.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p> </p>
<p>Theres been a lot of hype about the new 64-bit Team Fortress 2. This effort is mostly being spearheaded by Joshie; a Steam Hardware contractor for Valve and part-time TF2 developer.</p>
<p>This 64-bit update is intended to be more of a maintenance and forward thinking update rather than the start of any big project in itself.</p>
<p>Eric is very excited about what the community has done and is doing, and they're always looking at feedback for improving things such as <a href="https://github.com/ValveSoftware/Source-1-Games/issues/4481">vscript</a>.</p>
<p>I had also brought up hybrid gamemodes and he expressed interest in looking into difficulties with hard-coded entities, but it's something that needs to be balanced with time. </p>
<p> </p>
<hr>
<h1>Modding Team Fortress 2</h1>
<figure class="post__image post__image--center" ><img loading="lazy" src="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/7/deckthing.jpg" alt="" width="515" height="343" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" srcset="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/7/responsive/deckthing-xs.jpg 300w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/7/responsive/deckthing-sm.jpg 480w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/7/responsive/deckthing-md.jpg 749w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/7/responsive/deckthing-xl.jpg 1200w">
<figcaption >Apparently this was used to make the <span class="hljs-string"><a href="https://youtu.be/_vTsZMvjJ-A">Steam Deck Trailer</a></span>. Now it's an art piece in the lobby.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p> </p>
<p>I brought up mod projects related to TF2. <span style="color: var(--text-primary-color); font-family: var(--editor-font-family); font-size: inherit; font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal);">Eric acknowledged that Valve had been working on better support for mods within TF2, as an alternative to outside projects that Valve may object to for intellectual property reasons or violations of the Steam Subscriber Agreement.</span></p>
<p>Eric cited Covid as one of the major reasons work on that had slowed down but was adamant that they were working on it, even going as far as to say he was working on it yesterday (February 20th, 2024).</p>
<p>I do not actually have an idea of what Valve’s mod-related project entails, but Eric's enthusiasm makes me optimistic. </p>
<p> </p>
<hr>
<h1>Miscellaneous Tidbits about TF2 and Eric</h1>
<p>These are just interesting bits of dialogue and general impressions and do not imply anything deeper </p>
<ul>
<li><span class="hljs-emphasis">Eric is really enthusiastic about TF2 and what the community has done. </span></li>
<li><span class="hljs-emphasis">His favorite class is Pyro. He described how therapeutic it was to be torching players and helping out friendly engineers. That's right, your favorite Valve dev is a Pybro! </span></li>
<li><span class="hljs-emphasis">His favorite map? A tie between Goldrush and Mercenary Park. A man of taste, if you ask me. </span></li>
<li><span class="hljs-emphasis">Eric's favorite TF2 update was Scream Fortress VI, which added sd_</span>doomsday<span class="hljs-emphasis">_event and the bumper car minigames. Unsurprisingly, the team had a lot of fun making that one. </span></li>
<li><span class="hljs-emphasis">As the conversation shifted, I asked a bit about what else he does at Valve. Some of his routine involves reading and responding to emails, Programming work on the game, and doing a bit of work on Steam Deck; specifically the ratings side and working with contractors on that. In the past, he worked on games such as Half-Life: Alyx and, unsurprisingly, TF2! I Was shocked to find out he worked on the original code for the Payload gamemode! </span></li>
<li><span class="hljs-emphasis">Eric is very aware of all the "lost" TF2 media such as the comics. Comic #7 was mentioned, but as far as I can tell, they are not currently working on it. </span></li>
<li><span class="hljs-emphasis">Eric does read all his emails and tries to get back with people as much as he can. If you have concrete ideas for changes or improvements, consider sending him or the TF Team an email. Eric reads any email that makes it through their admittedly rather aggressive spam filter, even if he doesn't always answer. </span></li>
<li><span class="hljs-emphasis">Nothing big for TF2 seems planned, mostly maintenance and holiday-sized updates. </span></li>
<li><span class="hljs-emphasis">People seem to come and go on the TF2 team, but it is generally pretty small these days. </span></li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<figure class="post__image post__image--center" ><img loading="lazy" src="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/7/goldenthrone-2.jpg" alt="" width="755" height="512" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" srcset="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/7/responsive/goldenthrone-2-xs.jpg 300w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/7/responsive/goldenthrone-2-sm.jpg 480w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/7/responsive/goldenthrone-2-md.jpg 749w ,https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/7/responsive/goldenthrone-2-xl.jpg 1200w">
<figcaption >Unfortunately Gabe wasn't in the office that day, but his door was.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p> </p>
<p><em><span style="color: #f2f2f5;"><strong>*</strong></span>All pictures in this article belong to <a href="https://tf2maps.net/members/stiffy360.15104/">Stuffy360</a>.</em></p>
<p class="callout callout__info">Feedback? Ideas? Want to submit an article? Let us know by contacting us on the <a href="https://tf2maps.net/forums/">Forums</a> or <a href="https://discord.com/invite/tf2maps">Discord</a>!</p>
<p> </p>
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    <entry>
        <title>Major Contest #18: Stack The Deck</title>
        <author>
            <name>14bit</name>
        </author>
        <link href="https://blog.tf2maps.net/major-contest-18-stack-the-deck/"/>
        <id>https://blog.tf2maps.net/major-contest-18-stack-the-deck/</id>
        <media:content url="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/6/2024_tf2m_contest57_banner.png" medium="image" />
            <category term="Contest"/>
            <category term="Announcement"/>

        <updated>2024-02-17T15:56:23-07:00</updated>
            <summary>
                <![CDATA[
                        <img src="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/6/2024_tf2m_contest57_banner.png" alt="" />
                    <p><span class="hljs-strong">Pick a card, any card!</span></p>
<p>Watch your free time disappear with TF2maps.net's 18th Major Contest, <a href="https://tf2maps.net/threads/major-contest-18-stack-the-deck.51757/">Stack the Deck</a><a href="https://tf2maps.net/threads/major-contest-18-stack-the-deck.51757/"></a><a href="https://tf2maps.net/threads/major-contest-18-stack-the-deck.51757/"></a>!</p>

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            <![CDATA[
                    <p><img src="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/6/2024_tf2m_contest57_banner.png" class="type:primaryImage" alt="" /></p>
                <p><span class="hljs-strong">Pick a card, any card!</span></p>
<p>Watch your free time disappear with TF2maps.net's 18th Major Contest, <a href="https://tf2maps.net/threads/major-contest-18-stack-the-deck.51757/">Stack the Deck</a><a href="https://tf2maps.net/threads/major-contest-18-stack-the-deck.51757/"></a><a href="https://tf2maps.net/threads/major-contest-18-stack-the-deck.51757/"></a>!</p>

<p>How to participate:</p>
<ul>
<li>Choose any 4 cards (requirements) from the <em>Gameplay Deck</em></li>
<li>Choose any 2 cards from the <em>Detailing Deck</em></li>
<li>Combine your crazy collectable cards with your magical map-making abilities to make the best TF2 map you can!</li>
</ul>
<p>Amaze your friends!  Astound random strangers!  Disappoint Merasmus with subpar slight-of-hand! And don't forget, every great act needs a magic word! Yours for this contest is: "Asymmetrical," as in, "Your map must be Asymmetrical." How magical-yet-oddly specific!</p>
<p>So what are you waiting for? Grab your lovely assistants (up to three collaborators) to join you on stage (in Hammer), and put on a once-in-a-lifetime show (map) to wow the audience (judges + public voting)!</p>
<p>You can find the Contest thread: <a href="https://tf2maps.net/threads/major-contest-18-stack-the-deck.51757/">https://tf2maps.net/threads/major-contest-18-stack-the-deck.51757/</a></p>
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    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Introducing the official TF2Maps blog</title>
        <author>
            <name>Brokk</name>
        </author>
        <link href="https://blog.tf2maps.net/introducing-official-the-tf2maps-blog/"/>
        <id>https://blog.tf2maps.net/introducing-official-the-tf2maps-blog/</id>
        <media:content url="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/5/blog_001b.jpg" medium="image" />
            <category term="Announcement"/>

        <updated>2024-01-19T14:47:09-07:00</updated>
            <summary>
                <![CDATA[
                        <img src="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/5/blog_001b.jpg" alt="" />
                    <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hello, everyone! </span></p>
<p>The TF2Maps Blog is a new, slightly experimental project which we would like to use to improve our interaction with the community. We (the TF2M team) want to share more about what is going on, what we are working on, our thoughts on the community as a whole, and whatever else we can think of.</p>

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                    <p><img src="https://blog.tf2maps.net/media/posts/5/blog_001b.jpg" class="type:primaryImage" alt="" /></p>
                <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hello, everyone! </span></p>
<p>The TF2Maps Blog is a new, slightly experimental project which we would like to use to improve our interaction with the community. We (the TF2M team) want to share more about what is going on, what we are working on, our thoughts on the community as a whole, and whatever else we can think of.</p>

<h2>Why A Blog?</h2>
<p>For those of you who have not lived through the Forum Age of the internet and are confused what this even is or why we are doing this now: Blogs are long-form semi-regular publications targeted at a specific or general audience. </p>
<p>They have more persistence than a Discord announcement, can be longer and more content-filled than a Twitter post, and are more accessible to non-members than a Forum thread. </p>
<p>This blog is extremely light on resources as it is hosted on Github, making it accessible even when we have hosting issues that make the forums inaccessable. In fact, the (lack of) forum activity TF2Maps gets these days is one motivation for this test run. </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If this feature stays, you may expect some of the following types of posts on here:</span></p>
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><strong>Official Announcements: </strong>Anything you would currently see as an announcement post on Discord or on the site frontpage will be posted here as well, possibly with additional context.</li>
<li aria-level="1"><strong>Public Service Announcements: </strong>Occasionally, something comes up in the team chat that we think everyone might want to know, but it isn’t worth a full announcement, or it might be too complex for a single Discord message. In fact, one of those came up quite recently.
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><strong><span style="font-family: var(--editor-font-family); font-size: inherit;">Behind the scenes</span></strong><strong style="font-family: var(--editor-font-family); font-size: inherit;">:</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"> What is Staff doing right now? "Whether it’s showing off Pdan's many discarded contest banners, Nesman’s firefighting heroics, or Zeus’ bedroom decoration ideas, we might share some additional things Staff has discussed that you may not have heard of. This could include both official projects as well as things from our lives, especially if it will affect staff availability.</span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li aria-level="1"><strong><span style="font-family: var(--editor-font-family); font-size: inherit;">Looking forward</span></strong><strong style="font-family: var(--editor-font-family); font-size: inherit;">: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">Future contests, events, predictions for TF2 Updates or whatever else is coming up will be announced here in advance, as soon as we have an idea ourselves. There’s a lot of people asking when the next Major Contest will be, and even if we don’t have a set date yet, it might make sense to at least announce the vague time frame we have in mind.</span></li>
<li aria-level="1"><strong><span style="font-family: var(--editor-font-family); font-size: inherit;">Looking back</span></strong><strong style="font-family: var(--editor-font-family); font-size: inherit;">:</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"> TF2Maps is almost as old as TF2 itself. This community has a rich and eventful history. Expect “</span><i style="color: var(--text-primary-color); font-family: var(--editor-font-family); font-size: inherit; font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal);">today, 10 years ago</i><span style="font-weight: 400;">” types of posts in which we remember some of the more interesting changes, contests, and perhaps sources of drama that happened here. Some of us have been around for a long time, so why not gather around the campfire and share some tales?</span></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<h2>Your Turn!</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Finally, there is one more type of post we would very much like to encourage: </span><strong>Yours!</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></p>
<p>If there is anything interesting and vaguely TF2Maps-related happening to you, or if there are any projects you would like to talk about in detail, we want to offer <em><span class="hljs-strong">you, esteemed TF2Maps.net community member</span></em>, a platform. We have not fully finalized rules for which posts we are definitely going to allow or disallow, so expect more developments on this as we figure it out ourselves. We might also approach certain community members if we think they have published something we think more people should see. </p>
<p class="callout callout__info"><span style="font-weight: 400;">You can subscribe to this Blog via RSS </span><a href="https://blog.tf2maps.net/feed.json" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="font-weight: 400;">here</span></a> or if you need it in xml format: <a href="https://blog.tf2maps.net/feed.xml">here </a></p>
<hr>
<h2>That's All Folks</h2>
<p>All this said, <strong><span class="hljs-strong">talk to us!</span></strong> If you have a post idea, or criticism about the whole blog post thing, reach out via @ModMail or <a href="https://tf2maps.net/threads/introducing-the-official-tf2maps-blog.51741/">discuss this article</a> on the forums!! </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Now, back to Hammer. This layout won’t fix itself<a style="color: unset !important; font-decoration: unset !important;" href="https://i.imgur.com/RtsQT7G.jpeg">. </a></span></p>
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