Jill announces TF2 beta branch in Steam Discussions

Hyperion

L16: Grid Member
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Jun 8, 2015
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http://steamcommunity.com/app/440/discussions/0/135509472115112472/

Jill said:
Testers wanted - New compilers, same everything else!
Hi everyone,

In an upcoming update we are modernizing the compilers and associated tools used to build Team Fortress 2. In order to make sure this change doesn't introduce any new bugs or otherwise ruin anyone's day, we've made a beta branch available using this new setup!

You can access this beta by selecting Team Fortress 2 in Steam and going to Properties -> Betas and selecting the branch titled "toolchainbeta"

The main differences you should see in the beta are... nothing! Ideally, users should not notice any difference in their experience. The changes within, however, enable us to make use of newer tools and future proof the game for updates to come.

So, if you are interested in helping us test our nothing, give the beta a shot, and let us know if you do find something amiss!
 

Werewolf

Probably not a real Werewolf
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Apr 12, 2011
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In an upcoming update we are modernizing the compilers and associated tools used to build Team Fortress 2 ......... The main differences you should see in the beta are... nothing! Ideally, users should not notice any difference in their experience.
So no changes right now, but possibility that we'll see updates to vbsp, vvis, vrad, et al in the future? Here's hoping the port some of CS:GO lighting changes to TF2.
 

Yrr

An Actual Deer
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Sep 20, 2015
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i doubt itll affect us cause the only things csgo hammer has that tf2 hammer doesnt are some engine-specific things i dont expect them to port over

and csgo's has a different lighting engine that would look real weird in tf2
 

Werewolf

Probably not a real Werewolf
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Apr 12, 2011
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csgo's has a different lighting engine that would look real weird in tf2
If the whole thing was ported as is then yeah, it would look weird. But access to some of the newer features wouldn't be a bad thing, and it's not like existing maps would be recompiled with new lighting (I don't think), it would be new maps only. Those potential new map might not look as weird because we'd be used to them looking that way. If that makes sense.
 

Erk

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Aug 6, 2016
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I haven't really noticed any bugs from the update.

It's good to have Valve testing stuff before release, though.
 

Diva Dan

hello!
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Mar 20, 2016
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and csgo's has a different lighting engine that would look real weird in tf2

I played some of the tf2 map ports in the CS:GO workshop a short while back and they look amazing, not much is different besides better color correction and much more detailed shadows- so detailed in fact the sun spread looked very tight, which I thought fit the comic theme very well (because comics have flat shadows, not gradient ones). In my opinion it's improvements all around!
 

Yrr

An Actual Deer
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Sep 20, 2015
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its easy to make sharp shadows in tf2, I've done it before, but it looks really off from the graphical style
 

Diva Dan

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Mar 20, 2016
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I disagree, but it's just my preference! I don't know if you've booted up one of those ports like 2fort or dustbowl but the graphical difference is definitely better. It's hard to describe honestly
 
Nov 13, 2015
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oh this sounds exciting!
hope it includes a updated hammer, a bunch of nifty lil things and bug fixes tf2 hammer is currently missing out on!
 

Pocket

Half a Lambert is better than one.
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Nov 14, 2009
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Lack of support for sun-spread angles or real-time lighting from sources other than the sun is a pretty big reason why porting CSGO's cascading shadows would be awkward for a game like TF2. What would they do with nighttime maps that rely mainly on artificial and phantom lights, or Sawmill where the sun-spread angle is cranked way up? Counter Strike was a good fit because all the official maps are in broad daylight for gameplay reasons.

I believe Black Mesa's cascading shadows support sun-spread angles but only if you max out the graphics settings, which would also be awkward.

i doubt itll affect us cause the only things csgo hammer has that tf2 hammer doesnt are some engine-specific things i dont expect them to port over
Don't forget the support for blend modulators! I want that at least.
 

Yrr

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Sep 20, 2015
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blend modulation is one of the few features from csgo hammer i could see being useful altho as far as im aware csgo hammer has a lot of its own bugs too, that tf2 hammer doesnt have
 

Fruity Snacks

Creator of blackholes & memes. Destroyer of forums
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Sep 5, 2010
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blend modulation is one of the few features from csgo hammer i could see being useful altho as far as im aware csgo hammer has a lot of its own bugs too, that tf2 hammer doesnt have

4way blends, as I understand it, are really kind of bitchy to backwards implement too.
 

Infomaniac

L6: Sharp Member
Nov 29, 2015
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I feel testing this nothingness will be very good!
 

Vel0city

func_fish
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Dec 6, 2014
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Please be GPU accelerated.

Please be GPU accelerated.
 

I dinne ken

Has currently had enough
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Apr 16, 2016
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Would GPU accelerated compiles be a possibility in the future with this?

Edit: Velocity said it before I refreshed the page :confused:
 

Pocket

Half a Lambert is better than one.
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Nov 14, 2009
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I wouldn't be too surprised if we wind up getting the first three improvements listed here. The first two are simply a matter of improving VRAD, and the third isn't dependent on anything specific to the newer engine—if anything, the lightmapped-prop feature they added to this game might interfere with it.

Knowing Valve, though, they're probably talking about some really wild stuff that's never been done before. They're almost super villain-like in their refusal to do the same thing more than once, even when everybody's clamoring for it.