[Corto]

I want to see how a three-team mode would play out. Will alliances be formed by two team to take out a third? Will it be followed by backstabbing (literal and/or otherwise)?

Yes. Just like any other threesome.

[phosphor112]

http://www.teamfortress.com/loosecanon/13.html

Good God.

Engineer builds life extender for Grey, hundreds of years into the future to the years of Half Life. He becomes the G-Man.

Lol maybe not.

[SniperHunter]

the time has come to team kill the the engineer

[Drkirby]

This picture has been posted already... http://www.teamfortress.com/pumpkinp...mily_portrait/ That can't be Gray, Redmond and Blutarch didn't know they had a third brother at the time, unless they didn't know who he was at the time, and he was just watching...

The Mann will, written at the same time that picture was taken, says he had at least resurfaced to his father. But it could easily be someone else. At the very least, if its not grey, the person is not in the will at all:

Lastly, to most trusted Elizabeth I leave the entirety of my "miracle" gravel cache, uncovered with Barnabas during a trip to Terra Australis. My weakling son Gray resurfaced last year and has threatened to blackmail me for it. I give the gravel to you and swear you to utmost secrecy in its keeping

Also, the "miracle" gravel is likely just Australian .

[likeGdid]

Yes. Just like any other threesome.

"Hey, c-can I get back in?"

"No."

"O-okay then..."

[KieferCrimson]

Engineer will be the enemy?

Cool. I like it. Now I'll have something else to do than wrench machines and build sentries. >:3

[Haunted]

Gray Mann G. Mann G-Man

[phosphor112]

Right was the Halloween update.

Also to requote this.

http://teamfortress.com/crsk9.jpg

Look at the letters that are red with blood...
http://www.teamfortress.com/tobor/

..going back to a UV map that was quickly deleted after the TF2 Engie update...

[ScraftyDevil]

Gray Mann G. Mann G-Man

G-Man.

G-Man Graves.

[shagg_187]

http://teamfortress.com/crsk9.jpg

Is someone suppose to do all of this to unlock something, or is that something already unlocked?

[Drkirby]

Is someone suppose to do all of this to unlock something, or is that something already unlocked?

Yeah, after someone did that craft in game, the link to the web comic was transmitted to everyone in game.

[Haunted]

It's pretty amazing what kind of narrative Valve have managed to build around a simple class-based MP shooter.


Masterful stuff for any marketing class.

[Grimm Fandango]

I think the G-Man thing is just a happy coincidence. It makes no sense.

[Glass Rebel]

I think the G-Man thing is just a happy coincidence. It makes no sense.

rofl
valve
coincidence

[CheesecakeRecipe]

They have been working on this since 2009.

I don't think coincidence is a word in Valve's dictionary.

[En Ex]

K, the main blog header has been like that forever, only the blood stains are new.

The G-man similarities are probably Valve's artists having fun. Gray Mann is not the G-man.

[DTKT]

Don't get all worked up guys.

It's probably just the Hallowen update. Remember the Portal 2 ARG? When solved, it ended up being nothing.

[fredrancour]

They have been working on this since 2009. I don't think coincidence is a word in Valve's dictionary.

On the other hand, the word "troll" most certainly is. If they came up with the idea and then noticed such a coincidence after the fact, they most certainly wouldn't have minded teasing half-life fans a bit.

[sorijealut]

I've been following this thread in the sense that I'm holding onto the tail of a rabid wild dog running - I'm being lashed back and forth into trees and seeing stars.

[HyperCubed4]

K, the main blog header has been like that forever, only the blood stains are new.

Were the characters looking at the Engie like that? I never really paid attention.

The G-man similarities are probably Valve's artists having fun. Gray Mann is not the G-man.

Yeah, you're probably right.

half-life³ confirmed

[jph139]

K, the main blog header has been like that forever, only the blood stains are new. The G-man similarities are probably Valve's artists having fun. Gray Mann is not the G-man.

First concrete teaser was in the Foundry update around Christmas, though, and they've been planning since long before that - I wouldn't discount it being intentional.

[fredrancour]

First concrete teaser was in the Foundry update around Christmas, though, and they've been planning since long before that - I wouldn't discount it being intentional.

Intentional similarities does not mean valve is gonna tie every game franchise they own into the half-life universe. Could just be easter eggs.

I suppose that'd be a hell of a twist though- final half life game, you repel the combine, and then the zombie apocalypse starts. If they actually tie TF2 into it they may as well abandon all sanity.

[EmCeeGramr]

It's pretty amazing what kind of narrative Valve have managed to build around a simple class-based MP shooter. Masterful stuff for any marketing class.

the heavy was imprisoned at a young age in a gulag with his mother and sisters after his father, a counter-revolutionary, was executed by the soviets. three months later, the gulag burned to the ground, with all prisoners escaped, and all guards tortured to death. he eventually was trained in a military camp for children where he watched a sparrow die. he went to college and earned a degree in Russian literature, and later became a high-priced assassin, charging thousands of dollars for his services so he can feed his family, who he still supports. he lives in a small remote log cabin in the dzhugdzhur mountains in eastern siberia, where he sleeps next to his gun, which sits in a smaller bed next to his.


i did not make any of this up

[StoppedInTracks]

I think the G-Man thing is just a happy coincidence. It makes no sense.

Valve makes no coincidences.

[V_Ben]

the heavy was imprisoned at a young age in a gulag with his mother and sisters after his father, a counter-revolutionary, was executed by the soviets. three months later, the gulag burned to the ground, with all prisoners escaped, and all guards tortured to death. he eventually was trained in a military camp for children where he watched a sparrow die. he went to college and earned a degree in Russian literature, and later became a high-priced assassin, charging thousands of dollars for his services so he can feed his family, who he still supports. he lives in a small remote log cabin in the dzhugdzhur mountains in eastern siberia, where he sleeps next to his gun, which sits in a smaller bed next to his. i did not make any of this up

God I love Valve.

[maniac-kun]

Maybe this is a MMO raid mode. Where your team and the other team race to finish the raid first.

...

And the boss drops hats!

[Piers]

I like the idea of Grey, at least, being the father of the Spy(s) based on somewhat clear similarities.
Wouldn't be surprised if the spies were actually a double-agent, relaying information back to their papa Grey.

[Chavelo]

the heavy was imprisoned at a young age in a gulag with his mother and sisters after his father, a counter-revolutionary, was executed by the soviets. three months later, the gulag burned to the ground, with all prisoners escaped, and all guards tortured to death. he eventually was trained in a military camp for children where he watched a sparrow die. he went to college and earned a degree in Russian literature, and later became a high-priced assassin, charging thousands of dollars for his services so he can feed his family, who he still supports. he lives in a small remote log cabin in the dzhugdzhur mountains in eastern siberia, where he sleeps next to his gun, which sits in a smaller bed next to his. i did not make any of this up

http://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Heavy#Trivia

Gulag camp story is from Meet The Director.
Childhood/Sparrow story is from "Poker Night at the Inventory"
PhD is also from "Poker Night"
Family feeding story is from the :Bombinomicon" comic.

[BHK3]

If Gray just revealed himself to the brothers a hundred years later, doesn't that mean he's not the mystery man in the torn photo?

[Robot Pants]

God I'm dying at this. That Valve team....

[balladofwindfishes]

If Gray just revealed himself to the brothers a hundred years later, doesn't that mean he's not the mystery man in the torn photo?

he also seems to have built his own, and superior, not dying machine, which goes against the third one from the Engy update.

I don't think they're one for consistency.

[chixdiggit]

So hyped for this and I don't even know what it is.

[Huw_Dawson]

Why does Grey look dissimilar to his two brothers? I think that's the strongest hint that there's more to the character who just facestabbed his two brothers than what the comic says.

I have a few suspicions.

[Chinner]

God I'm dying at this. That Valve team....

i loved that one. <3 valve

[balladofwindfishes]

So hyped for this and I don't even know what it is.

A TF2 update three years in the making

And probably one of the last super huge mega-updates TF2 ever has, if not the last one

[enzo_gt]

A TF2 update three years in the making And probably one of the last super huge mega-updates TF2 ever has, if not the last one

What makes you say this?

[SpacePirate Ridley]

Holy fuck, this is amazing Valve.

It's pretty amazing what kind of narrative Valve have managed to build around a simple class-based MP shooter. Masterful stuff for any marketing class.

Totally.

[Angry Fork]

rofl amazing gif

[TucoBenedictoPacifico]

rofl amazing gif

New DOTA 2 courier.

Yep, amazing stuff.

[epmode]

Don't get all worked up guys. It's probably just the Hallowen update. Remember the Portal 2 ARG? When solved, it ended up being nothing.

I got a Valve Complete Pack out of it!

The ARG was obviously designed around an early Portal 2 release date which was torpedoed by retailers or publishers, I forget which. Valve should have seen it coming, really.

[Drkirby]

EA threw a hissy fit about the early release.

[echothreealpha]

New DOTA 2 courier. Yep, amazing stuff.

Valve's animation team is godly.

Seriously, any of you who aren't even fans of MOBA should check the game out just for the animations.

[dark_inferno]

Imagine this : TF2 update with horde mode. Valve announces "When 1 mil. players play they will announce/reveal something. Goal is reached in 10 minutes. Valve release a video. U see gray mann coming saying "U did well" then u realise its the voice of gman. Then he goes off screen. Everything goes black. Then u see a landscape with a street. And then suddenly u see the HL2 buggy with the gnome on its back. The wait would be over.

[Herb]

http://www.teamfortress.com/loosecanon/13.html Good God. Engineer builds life extender for Grey, hundreds of years into the future to the years of Half Life. He becomes the G-Man. Lol maybe not.

I always thought the Half-Life story is crafted in such a way, those universes could definitely belong within each other's. All Valve games do that, but can you imagine if in Half Life 3 you come across an item or character from TF2, with TF2 graphics but the rest of the game is Half-Life graphics... Could be the freakiest thing ever.

[HP_Wuvcraft]

So this is probably TF2's endgame. Interesting.

[goodfella]

Imagine this : TF2 update with horde mode. Valve announces "When 1 mil. players play they will announce/reveal something. Goal is reached in 10 minutes. Valve release a video. U see gray mann coming saying "U did well" then u realise its the voice of gman. Then he goes off screen. Everything goes black. Then u see a landscape with a street. And then suddenly u see the HL2 buggy with the gnome on its back. The wait would be over.

Or better yet, valve a release a surprisingly big update to Team Fortress 2.
You start the game not having checked the internet.


Half Life 3

Press space to play.

crowbar $10

[Piers]

I always thought the Half-Life story is crafted in such a way, those universes could definitely belong within each other's. All Valve games do that, but can you imagine if in Half Life 3 you come across an item or character from TF2, with TF2 graphics but the rest of the game is Half-Life graphics... Could be the freakiest thing ever.

Tie in with Portal I'm cool with - and it was a surprise no one saw coming.

TF2 is a different matter altogether though. The game is set in the sort of absurd world where Australians all have moustaches and stereotyping is more apparent than feasibly possible. And babies could fluently talk from age 0.

It's a cool concept, but Grey being G-man would grind far too much with Half-Life's serious narrative and (mostly) grounded reality.

Edit:
To put it in another perspective: would you really want the history of Half-Life's enigmatic G-man to end up being a baby who learnt algebra in his mother's womb, only to be snatched by an American Bald-Eagle when born and later in his life have machinery implanted in him, and eventually kill his brothers in order to usurp Hale.Co and then eventually plan to botch up a portal experiment in a Nevada science branch, to which he spectates Gordon Freeman? D:

[jph139]

They could easily slip in G-Man as some sort of interdimensional being that slips between universes as easily as time and space.

But that would be silly.

[Robot Pants]

I rather have a separate HL ARG for HL3.
I will FLIP my shit.


On a side note, I bet Valve combines the Red and Blue team into one (both red and blue colors on the same team) versus the Gray team. All so they can STILL avoid counting to three.

[TucoBenedictoPacifico]

Valve's animation team is godly. Seriously, any of you who aren't even fans of MOBA should check the game out just for the animations.

I agree. It's insanely good stuff.
I think one of the first details that blew me away trying the beta for my first games was the first time I tried Ursa.
Seeing this bear's face speaking with perfect lip sync in the portrait made me stop for a moment in awe.
Since then I lost count of the amount of stunning details I noticed playing DOTA 2.

And everytime they are introducing a new hero it's always a little masterpiece.
In the last months I've started to point the game as the model which any "isometric" title (RTS, RPG, etc) should strive to match in quality.