2010 May 19th - TF2 Update (Brian's Update Mk II)

[FadedOasis]

Updates to Team Fortress 2 and Counter-Strike: Source Beta have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include:

Engine
- Improved crash reporting system to enable more detailed crash reports
- Fixed a client crash caused by a buffer overflow while processing temp entities

Counter-Strike: Source Beta
- Fixed not being able to add bots to the game using the Create Server dialog
- Fixed some movement ConVars to match the current Counter-Strike: Source settings for default values and flags
- Fixed several rubberbanding/stuttering issues with objects and players
- Fixed several ConVars (sv_accelerate, maxspeed, etc.) being hidden
- Fixed bloom problems
- Fixed a server crash caused by malformed client autobuy string
- Fixed developer console output being on by default
- Fixed "Report Bug" in the main menu not working
- Fixed the missing icon for the desktop shortcut
- Fixed the "rebuy" command not buying the correct items depending on the order they were purchased in
- Fixed the clock image in the spectator HUD being clipped

Team Fortress 2
- Fixed a case where the Spy could start taunting and cloak at the same time
- Flamethrower changes
___- Increased base damage 10%
___- Afterburn duration increased (from 6 to 10)
___- Flares that hit a burning player at mid-to-long range will crit
___- Reduced Backburner damage bonus from 20% to 15%

[pneuma08]

Okay. So. Who was paying attention? What's the total damage-tweaking when compared to before the Brian Black patch?

I think it's:
Flamethrower now does 10% less than Flamethrower before (same afterburn duration)
Backburner now is 15% more damage than Backburner before

Is this accurate?

[Whatsit]

This is how I read it, with percentages compared to pre-Brian Black flamethrower damage;

After Brian Black patch
- Flamethrower: 80%
- Back Burner: 80%

After the Brian Black patch tweak
- Flamethrower: 80%
- Back Burner: 80% + 20% = 80% * 1.2 = 96%

After current patch
- Flamethrower: 80% + 10% = 80% * 1.1 = 88%
- Back Burner: 88% + 15% = 88% * 1.15 = 101.2%

Edit: Excuse the dodgy use of +, I never did learn how to properly represent 20% more of something that is 80% of something else

[yousteppedonmycake]

Making the Backburner stronger...
And the Flamethrower weaker...

This should go over well with the official TF2 Forum users!


I love the supposed reduced-ammo blasts. I hope VALVe didn't/doesn't get rid of them, I've been out for a while. And I like the Home-Wrecker Engineer-Backup^TM program. It was about time that the Homewrecker is good for something besides being totally BA.

[scrambles]

Whatsit your maths are sound, but I think valve is bad at explaining what exactly they are doing.
Brian patch (after fix)
FT: 0.80 BB: 1.00
This patch
FT: 0.90 BB: 1.05
(With a value of one being the dmg that the FT did before this hullabaloo)

I'm thinking that all percentages are being based off of the FT dmg pre-patch, not being applied to the current FT dmg so that...
FT= Flame Thrower dmg currently; BB= BB dmg currently; PPD= Pre patch flamethrower Dmg
FT= PPD - (PPD*0.10)
BB= FT + (PPD*0.15)
If PPD = 1 then FT = 0.9 and BB = 1.05
I think this is what valve is doing.... imo

edit-
"- Flares that hit a burning player at mid-to-long range will crit"

[pneuma08]

I don't recall the Backburner's flame damage being reduced in the Brian Black update, just the Flamethrower's.

The BB HURTS now. Damn. I was being eaten alive as an engineer.

Edit: If TF2 wiki is to believed by now, the BB does about 1.25x the damage of the Flamethrower.

[Whatsit]

I think I was always assuming that the backburner did a % of the flamethrower damage, so that when they reduced the flamethrower's damage they also reduced the backburner's. I figured the 20% increase right after the Brian update was Valve remembering that and trying to put it back to what it was pre-patch
I'm not basing that on any actual evidence, though.