Jill announces TF2 beta branch in Steam Discussions

[Hyperion]

http://steamcommunity.com/app/440/discussions/0/135509472115112472/

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]

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.

 

[Micnax]

I can't wait to test all this nothingness

 

[suber36g]

But will it effect the map makers?

 

[Yrr]

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]

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]

I haven't really noticed any bugs from the update.

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

 

[Fruity Snacks]

http://steamcommunity.com/app/440/discussions/0/135509472115112472/

Time to stress test with Snowplow!

 

[Diva Dan]

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]

its easy to make sharp shadows in tf2, I've done it before, but it looks really off from the graphical style

 

[Diva Dan]

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

 

[Invalid nick]

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]

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]

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]

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]

I feel testing this nothingness will be very good!

 

[BenCo]

Anything that helps the TF2 team to release a decent update is alright to me.

 

[Vel0city]

Please be GPU accelerated.

Please be GPU accelerated.

 

[I dinne ken]

Would GPU accelerated compiles be a possibility in the future with this?

Edit: Velocity said it before I refreshed the page

 

[Pocket]

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.