It's been a while, so I suppose I should reintroduce myself.
Hi, my name is Andrew and I usually go by iamRoot in games. Up until last week, I hadn't played TF2 (or any PC game for that matter) since September of 2012. I quit video games entirely so that I could focus on finishing up my degree, but I've been done for a while now, and I feel like getting back into it.
I have a couple questions.
1) Who is still around from back then? Feel free to add me on Steam if we used to play together.
2) What, if anything, has changed about 6v6 in the last 2+ years?
Last thing... If I know you already and you're looking for someone to ring on medic or soldier, hit me up. I'm available most week nights.
It's been a while, so I suppose I should reintroduce myself.
Hi, my name is Andrew and I usually go by iamRoot in games. Up until last week, I hadn't played TF2 (or any PC game for that matter) since September of 2012. I quit video games entirely so that I could focus on finishing up my degree, but I've been done for a while now, and I feel like getting back into it.
I have a couple questions.
1) Who is still around from back then? Feel free to add me on Steam if we used to play together.
2) What, if anything, has changed about 6v6 in the last 2+ years?
Last thing... If I know you already and you're looking for someone to ring on medic or soldier, hit me up. I'm available most week nights.
iamRoot2) What, if anything, has changed about 6v6 in the last 2+ years?
Gpit's gone.
Mix^ is dead
[quote=iamRoot]
2) What, if anything, has changed about 6v6 in the last 2+ years?
[/quote]
Gpit's gone.
Mix^ is dead
ErenJayiamRoot2) What, if anything, has changed about 6v6 in the last 2+ years?
Gpit's gone.
Mix^ is dead
both good
Kappa
im jk rip mix^
cy@ gpit
WHY ARE PEOPLE DOWNFRAGGING ITS A FUCKING JOKE U RETARDS
[quote=ErenJay][quote=iamRoot]
2) What, if anything, has changed about 6v6 in the last 2+ years?
[/quote]
Gpit's gone.
Mix^ is dead[/quote]
both good
Kappa
im jk rip mix^
cy@ gpit
WHY ARE PEOPLE DOWNFRAGGING ITS A FUCKING JOKE U RETARDS
loved the first frag vid, good luck on getting back into this "thing" we call tf2
loved the first frag vid, good luck on getting back into this "thing" we call tf2
50(0) less frames.
40 more hats.
30 more taunts
20 less teams
10 more maps
0 Matchmaking.
(Also Main is gone)
50(0) less frames.
40 more hats.
30 more taunts
20 less teams
10 more maps
0 Matchmaking.
(Also Main is gone)
Fuck me the guy wants to play TF2 are you all trying to talk him out of it? Shieeeet.
Fuck me the guy wants to play TF2 are you all trying to talk him out of it? Shieeeet.
6v6: Lots of players are gone, but there's a steady cycle of players leaving and coming back. For example, Carnage and kbk are both back after taking like 4+ seasons off.
B4nny's team froyotech (aka 4g) is really dominant. They took i52 decisively and assuming they go they'll probably do it again at i55.
The top 4 teams NA are 4g, and then 2nd through 4th are pretty close between Street Hoops, eLevate, and Mad Men. You should root for Street Hoops though. Trust me.
A reformed Epsilon won i49 and took 2nd at i52, the EU scene looks really tight right now between the top 4 teams (Suave [remnants of Epsi], BK [Scandinavian team], AGP [Frenchies], and Reason [Kaidus' team]). But none of them look as strong/dominant as Froyotech.
Immunity, Australia's top team, went to i49 and i52 and got 4th place both times, but they were really a top 3 team especially at i52. Now they're dead, so that's sad. RIP
In NA there was a Cevo fiasco where the community got split up for reasons. Now its just ESEA again and although RIP Cevo it's good that we had 60 Open teams again and we seem to be growing once more so that's good.
I'm terrible at this game so I won't even try to talk about how the meta has changed. Someone else should totally do that though.
6v6: Lots of players are gone, but there's a steady cycle of players leaving and coming back. For example, Carnage and kbk are both back after taking like 4+ seasons off.
[url=http://play.esea.net/teams/69987]B4nny's team froyotech[/url] (aka 4g) is really dominant. They took i52 decisively and assuming they go they'll probably do it again at i55.
The top 4 teams NA are 4g, and then 2nd through 4th are pretty close between [url=http://play.esea.net/teams/74241]Street Hoops[/url], [url=http://play.esea.net/teams/77431]eLevate[/url], and [url=http://play.esea.net/teams/77000]Mad Men[/url]. You should root for Street Hoops though. Trust me.
A reformed Epsilon won i49 and took 2nd at i52, the EU scene looks really tight right now between the top 4 teams (Suave [remnants of Epsi], BK [Scandinavian team], AGP [Frenchies], and Reason [Kaidus' team]). But none of them look as strong/dominant as Froyotech.
Immunity, Australia's top team, went to i49 and i52 and got 4th place both times, but they were really a top 3 team especially at i52. Now they're dead, so that's sad. RIP
In NA there was a Cevo fiasco where the community got split up for reasons. Now its just ESEA again and although RIP Cevo it's good that we had 60 Open teams again and we seem to be growing once more so that's good.
I'm terrible at this game so I won't even try to talk about how the meta has changed. Someone else should totally do that though.
Biggest change in the meta would probably be the sticky nerf, so the scene is owned by Scouts more than ever.
Welcome back though, good to see so many old faces returning.
Biggest change in the meta would probably be the sticky nerf, so the scene is owned by Scouts more than ever.
Welcome back though, good to see so many old faces returning.
hey Root, good to see you.
dont let his time off fool you, Root is a good player if you need a ringer :)
hey Root, good to see you.
dont let his time off fool you, Root is a good player if you need a ringer :)
Part of the reason why I wanted to come back was so I wouldn't suck at games when Overwatch came out. When I saw the gameplay trailer I wondered how much of this community would migrate. Do you guys think it has competitive potential? I definitely thought so, but then again I also thought Brink was gonna be huge. This just seems different to me because its Blizzard I guess.
Back to TF2 though... Have North American teams been represented at every Insomnia since that first one? I think it was i43? Can't remember.
Part of the reason why I wanted to come back was so I wouldn't suck at games when Overwatch came out. When I saw the gameplay trailer I wondered how much of this community would migrate. Do you guys think it has competitive potential? I definitely thought so, but then again I also thought Brink was gonna be huge. This just seems different to me because its Blizzard I guess.
Back to TF2 though... Have North American teams been represented at every Insomnia since that first one? I think it was i43? Can't remember.
iamRootBack to TF2 though... Have North American teams been represented at every Insomnia since that first one? I think it was i43? Can't remember.
i46 was the first international one and Mixup swept it and LG only lost to Mixup.
i49 HRG (b4nny's team, successor to LG) went along with Immunity from Australia. HRG had a dissapointing showing and lost to TCM to take third. Immunity was really good but collapsed vs. TCM and took 4th. It was an all Euro final which Epsilon won.
i52 felt like a culmination of sorts because there were three International teams: Froyotech (b4nny's team again), Mixup (with TLR and Seagull pocketing and roaming), and Immunity (this time with a upgrades on scout and demo). Epsilon and Awsomniac (Kaidus's team with Mirelin and others) were the main Euro contenders. Those top 5 were far and away the best teams there. Aws turned out to be a bit worse than the other top 5 and took 5th. IM, Mix, and Epsi were really super close in strength with multiple Bo3's going to golden caps between them. In the end Epsi came out victorious vs Mix in the lower bracket final, but then they collapsed the next day vs Froyo in the final. It was a great tournament but Froyo was dominant and didn't drop a map in the knockout stages.
i55 this summer we probably won't have an AUS team because Immunity is dead, so it'll probably be back to two NA teams. Probably 4G and (pick one: 20b or Ele or Mad Men) depending on what happens after lan.
[quote=iamRoot]Back to TF2 though... Have North American teams been represented at every Insomnia since that first one? I think it was i43? Can't remember.[/quote]
i46 was the first international one and Mixup swept it and LG only lost to Mixup.
i49 HRG (b4nny's team, successor to LG) went along with Immunity from Australia. HRG had a dissapointing showing and lost to TCM to take third. Immunity was really good but collapsed vs. TCM and took 4th. It was an all Euro final which Epsilon won.
i52 felt like a culmination of sorts because there were three International teams: Froyotech (b4nny's team again), Mixup (with TLR and Seagull pocketing and roaming), and Immunity (this time with a upgrades on scout and demo). Epsilon and Awsomniac (Kaidus's team with Mirelin and others) were the main Euro contenders. Those top 5 were far and away the best teams there. Aws turned out to be a bit worse than the other top 5 and took 5th. IM, Mix, and Epsi were really super close in strength with multiple Bo3's going to golden caps between them. In the end Epsi came out victorious vs Mix in the lower bracket final, but then they collapsed the next day vs Froyo in the final. It was a great tournament but Froyo was dominant and didn't drop a map in the knockout stages.
i55 this summer we probably won't have an AUS team because Immunity is dead, so it'll probably be back to two NA teams. Probably 4G and (pick one: 20b or Ele or Mad Men) depending on what happens after lan.
rick has a huge ass beard now
rick has a huge ass beard now
OverWatch does look pretty awesome. Hopefully the mechanics don't suck and they support good competitive formats. It doesn't bother me that it's eerily similar to TF at all. Hopefully this'll speed up the delivery of TF3 because you know valve is going to be looking to one up it.
OverWatch does look pretty awesome. Hopefully the mechanics don't suck and they support good competitive formats. It doesn't bother me that it's eerily similar to TF at all. Hopefully this'll speed up the delivery of TF3 because you know valve is going to be looking to one up it.
speaking of insomia series at i52 Harbleu makes one of the most clutches play ever against the Aussies. The whole game is pretty good too.
speaking of insomia series at i52 Harbleu makes one of the most[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpDRCs78gqE] clutches play[/url] ever against the Aussies. The whole game is pretty good too.
ChaChispeaking of insomia series at i52 Harbleu makes one of the most clutches play ever against the Aussies. The whole game is pretty good too.
pretty good is an understatement, imo this is one of the best/most entertaining games of tf2 ever played
[quote=ChaChi]speaking of insomia series at i52 Harbleu makes one of the most[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpDRCs78gqE] clutches play[/url] ever against the Aussies. The whole game is pretty good too.[/quote]
pretty good is an understatement, imo this is one of the best/most entertaining games of tf2 ever played
can confirm that the mix vs im game on snake was the best game of tf2 ever played.
can confirm that the mix vs im game on snake was the best game of tf2 ever played.
Welcome back Root. I haven't played Overwatch yet, but from what I've heard, it's not THAT similar to TF2. I'm sure that playing any FPS game is helpful in some way, but I wouldn't count on all of your TF2 mechanical skill being directly transferable.
Welcome back Root. I haven't played Overwatch yet, but from what I've heard, it's not THAT similar to TF2. I'm sure that playing any FPS game is helpful in some way, but I wouldn't count on all of your TF2 mechanical skill being directly transferable.
we're still looking at valve like this
http://i.imgur.com/yWhCXmF.png
we're still looking at valve like this
[img]http://i.imgur.com/yWhCXmF.png[/img]
so many people talking about i49 and noone links him this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5USIDoZleAk
so many people talking about i49 and noone links him this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5USIDoZleAk
AlkalineiamRootBack to TF2 though... Have North American teams been represented at every Insomnia since that first one? I think it was i43? Can't remember.
i46 was the first international one and Mixup swept it and LG only lost to Mixup.
i49 HRG (b4nny's team, successor to LG) went along with Immunity from Australia. HRG had a dissapointing showing and lost to TCM to take third. Immunity was really good but collapsed vs. TCM and took 4th. It was an all Euro final which Epsilon won.
i52 felt like a culmination of sorts because there were three International teams: Froyotech (b4nny's team again), Mixup (with TLR and Seagull pocketing and roaming), and Immunity (this time with a upgrades on scout and demo). Epsilon and Awsomniac (Kaidus's team with Mirelin and others) were the main Euro contenders. Those top 5 were far and away the best teams there. Aws turned out to be a bit worse than the other top 5 and took 5th. IM, Mix, and Epsi were really super close in strength with multiple Bo3's going to golden caps between them. In the end Epsi came out victorious vs Mix in the lower bracket final, but then they collapsed the next day vs Froyo in the final. It was a great tournament but Froyo was dominant and didn't drop a map in the knockout stages.
i55 this summer we probably won't have an AUS team because Immunity is dead, so it'll probably be back to two NA teams. Probably 4G and (pick one: 20b or Ele or Mad Men) depending on what happens after lan.
or an all euro, shits expensive
[quote=Alkaline][quote=iamRoot]Back to TF2 though... Have North American teams been represented at every Insomnia since that first one? I think it was i43? Can't remember.[/quote]
i46 was the first international one and Mixup swept it and LG only lost to Mixup.
i49 HRG (b4nny's team, successor to LG) went along with Immunity from Australia. HRG had a dissapointing showing and lost to TCM to take third. Immunity was really good but collapsed vs. TCM and took 4th. It was an all Euro final which Epsilon won.
i52 felt like a culmination of sorts because there were three International teams: Froyotech (b4nny's team again), Mixup (with TLR and Seagull pocketing and roaming), and Immunity (this time with a upgrades on scout and demo). Epsilon and Awsomniac (Kaidus's team with Mirelin and others) were the main Euro contenders. Those top 5 were far and away the best teams there. Aws turned out to be a bit worse than the other top 5 and took 5th. IM, Mix, and Epsi were really super close in strength with multiple Bo3's going to golden caps between them. In the end Epsi came out victorious vs Mix in the lower bracket final, but then they collapsed the next day vs Froyo in the final. It was a great tournament but Froyo was dominant and didn't drop a map in the knockout stages.
i55 this summer we probably won't have an AUS team because Immunity is dead, so it'll probably be back to two NA teams. Probably 4G and (pick one: 20b or Ele or Mad Men) depending on what happens after lan.[/quote]
or an all euro, shits expensive
I think the real important question is when did slin start working for twitch?
I think the real important question is when did slin start working for twitch?
Hey root. I remember you. Welcome back!
Hey root. I remember you. Welcome back!
Pardoning all of the community scene, the game has changed quite a bit too. Taunts are really a thing now and have a huge modular system for using multiple in one loadout. Valve tweaked the stock minigun and sticky launcher - the minigun now has a larger spread when first spun up and it chokes back to its original spread after a few seconds of firing. Valve's official notes on the Stickybomb change:
- Stickybombs that detonate in the air now have a radius ramp up, starting at 85% at base arm time (0.8s) going back to 100% over 2 seconds. Stickybombs that touch the world will have full radius.
- Stickybombs now have a more visible trail while traveling through the air.
- Stickybombs arm particle is slightly more visible.
- Damage variance on stickybombs reduced from +/- 10% damage to +/-2%.
- Stickybombs now have the same base blast radius as rockets. Changed from 159Hu to 146Hu.
Because, y'know, let's rebalance stock weapons eight years later.
Just a couple of videos that you should watch to get back in the swing of things:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBdfwezXkIg - The fuckfest that is this game now
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAQbb7aHYvE - I'll probably get some hate for suggesting you watch this, but whether or not you enjoy the humor it really does a good job of showing how dead this game is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLlLQ3LmZWU - Official update and 15 minute short from Valve, added a fuckload of taunts, revamped taunt system, added the conga (which marked the end of TF2), also added some new weapons.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aLjwVVNq4s - Community-created official update, pretty much all cosmetics though. No actual content whatsoever.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pq-YDeEfZWY - Lange's rant about comp TF2. Whether or not you agree with him, it's a really hot topic of discussion right now so it's probably good that you watch it, and b4nny's rebuttal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5USIDoZleAk - The one hour i49 Fragumentary, seriously just watch this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcDwMwAjTqg - Saxxy 2014 winner.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAqGUUv-XJs - Saxxy 2013 winner.
Covering specific new weapons:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-i1RnFs6V0 - Pretty good explanation of the Base Jumper, a Soldier shotgun replacement that gives him a parachute. Also works as a Demo primary replacement.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB_PjTfKiWo - Multi-class shotgun replacement: Engie, Soldier, Pyro, Heavy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izblRmLXNxk - The "Classic" sniper rifle, which is essentially the sniper rifle from TFC.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cowHd7azk_Y - Stickybomb replacement focused on spamming stickies. Traps are impossible. Not many good videos for this one.
There have been a couple of other rebalances but you can read all about those yourself.
New gamemodes:
- Robot Destruction, some kind of shitty Diretide-esque CTF played in a space environment. You infiltrate the enemy base (as tough as shit like 2fort) and damage little robots they have running around to get points. You can also steal their extra guarded intelligence ("reactor core") and bring it back to your own base to steal all of their points. Victory is by point numbers. Kind of interesting but probably won't be played in competitive.
- Mannpower, a really weird game mode that takes old 5cp maps and turns them into some kind of CTF thing, with the intel being placed on the last point for each team. The trick here is that everyone gets a grappling hook that they can use to slingshot around the map, and there are also absurdly overpowered powerups that grant bonuses. You can only hold one at a time but they're worth it. Read the wiki page for more on that. Current maps are CTF remakes of Foundry and 5Gorge. Also not a competitive mode whatsoever, but I figured I'd throw these in anyway since they're official.
New competitive maps:
Other things:
- TF2Lobby is dead. TF2 Center is the new lobby system, because Valve still doesn't give a fuck about competitive.
- New competitive formats that aren't really played too much - 4v4, which is prone to offclassing, and Arena: Respawn.
- Simon from the Yogscast was in a Top 10 TF2 play of the month video, for December 2014. If the conga didn't mark the end of TF2, this must.
- All quickplay options from the "play" menu now automatically put you on a Valve server, because fuck Pinion. You can also hit the "show servers" button to specifically pick a server based on player count, ping, and map. Very easy, no bullshit.
Pardoning all of the community scene, the game has changed quite a bit too. Taunts are really a thing now and have a huge modular system for using multiple in one loadout. Valve tweaked the stock minigun and sticky launcher - the minigun now has a larger spread when first spun up and it chokes back to its original spread after a few seconds of firing. Valve's official notes on the Stickybomb change:
[list]
[*] Stickybombs that detonate in the air now have a radius ramp up, starting at 85% at base arm time (0.8s) going back to 100% over 2 seconds. Stickybombs that touch the world will have full radius.
[*] Stickybombs now have a more visible trail while traveling through the air.
[*] Stickybombs arm particle is slightly more visible.
[*] Damage variance on stickybombs reduced from +/- 10% damage to +/-2%.
[*] Stickybombs now have the same base blast radius as rockets. Changed from 159Hu to 146Hu.
[/list]
Because, y'know, let's rebalance stock weapons eight years later.
Just a couple of videos that you should watch to get back in the swing of things:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBdfwezXkIg - The fuckfest that is this game now
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAQbb7aHYvE - I'll probably get some hate for suggesting you watch this, but whether or not you enjoy the humor it really does a good job of showing how dead this game is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLlLQ3LmZWU - Official update and 15 minute short from Valve, added a fuckload of taunts, revamped taunt system, added the [i]conga[/i] (which marked the end of TF2), also added some new weapons.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aLjwVVNq4s - Community-created official update, pretty much all cosmetics though. No actual content whatsoever.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pq-YDeEfZWY - Lange's rant about comp TF2. Whether or not you agree with him, it's a really hot topic of discussion right now so it's probably good that you watch it, and [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7V_3ymnWXnA]b4nny[/url]'s rebuttal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5USIDoZleAk - The one hour i49 Fragumentary, seriously just watch this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcDwMwAjTqg - Saxxy 2014 winner.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAqGUUv-XJs - Saxxy 2013 winner.
Covering specific new weapons:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-i1RnFs6V0 - Pretty good explanation of the Base Jumper, a Soldier shotgun replacement that gives him a parachute. Also works as a Demo primary replacement.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB_PjTfKiWo - Multi-class shotgun replacement: Engie, Soldier, Pyro, Heavy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izblRmLXNxk - The "Classic" sniper rifle, which is essentially the sniper rifle from TFC.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cowHd7azk_Y - Stickybomb replacement focused on spamming stickies. Traps are impossible. Not many good videos for this one.
There have been a couple of other rebalances but you can read all about those yourself.
New gamemodes:
[list]
[*] [url=https://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Robot_Destruction]Robot Destruction[/url], some kind of shitty Diretide-esque CTF played in a space environment. You infiltrate the enemy base (as tough as shit like 2fort) and damage little robots they have running around to get points. You can also steal their extra guarded intelligence ("reactor core") and bring it back to your own base to steal all of their points. Victory is by point numbers. Kind of interesting but probably won't be played in competitive.
[*] [url=https://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Mannpower]Mannpower[/url], a really weird game mode that takes old 5cp maps and turns them into some kind of CTF thing, with the intel being placed on the last point for each team. The trick here is that everyone gets a grappling hook that they can use to slingshot around the map, and there are also absurdly overpowered powerups that grant bonuses. You can only hold one at a time but they're worth it. Read the wiki page for more on that. Current maps are CTF remakes of Foundry and 5Gorge. Also not a competitive mode whatsoever, but I figured I'd throw these in anyway since they're official.
[/list]
New competitive maps:
[list]
[*] [url=https://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Metalworks_(competitive)]Metalworks[/url] (not sure if this was around for you)
[*] [url=https://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Coalplant_(competitive)]Coalplant[/url]
[*] [url=https://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Snakewater_%28competitive%29]Snakewater[/url]
[*] [url=https://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Sunshine_%28competitive%29]Sunshine[/url]
[/list]
Other things:
[list]
[*] TF2Lobby is dead. [url=http://tf2center.com/]TF2 Center[/url] is the new lobby system, because Valve still doesn't give a fuck about competitive.
[*] New competitive formats that aren't really played too much - 4v4, which is prone to offclassing, and [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/ArenaRespawn]Arena: Respawn[/url].
[*] Simon from the Yogscast was in a Top 10 TF2 play of the month video, for December 2014. If the conga didn't mark the end of TF2, this must.
[*] All quickplay options from the "play" menu now automatically put you on a Valve server, because fuck Pinion. You can also hit the "show servers" button to specifically pick a server based on player count, ping, and map. Very easy, no bullshit.
[/list]
damn yttrium, thanks for the writeup. this is all super helpful :)
damn yttrium, thanks for the writeup. this is all super helpful :)
iamRootdamn yttrium, thanks for the writeup. this is all super helpful :)
No prob. I dug through everything in the past and tried to come up with things that are actually relevant. A couple of other things happened, like MvM got fleshed out, some more maps were added to the official list, etcetera, but that's about it.
Oh, and there are a lot of serious rumors that TF2 might get ported to Source 2, which might be a large turning point that makes TF2 matter again, but that much is just a rumor. Dota 2 is known to be getting a Source 2 version released pretty soon, the Source 2 mod tools were actually released last year.
Oh, and TF2 is now on the SteamPipe content format, so installing HUDs and other custom mods is much easier now, and game updates are smaller/faster. The game also loads faster because of it.
If you're interested in HL I could also do a writeup about the changes happening there but I figure you're probably only interested in 6s.
[quote=iamRoot]damn yttrium, thanks for the writeup. this is all super helpful :)[/quote]
No prob. I dug through everything in the past and tried to come up with things that are actually relevant. A couple of other things happened, like MvM got fleshed out, some more maps were added to the official list, etcetera, but that's about it.
Oh, and there are a lot of serious rumors that TF2 might get ported to Source 2, which might be a large turning point that makes TF2 matter again, but that much is just a rumor. Dota 2 is known to be getting a Source 2 version released pretty soon, the Source 2 mod tools were actually released last year.
Oh, and TF2 is now on the SteamPipe content format, so installing HUDs and other custom mods is much easier now, and game updates are smaller/faster. The game also loads faster because of it.
If you're interested in HL I could also do a writeup about the changes happening there but I figure you're probably only interested in 6s.