Earlier today, Valve added eight new private videos to the taunts playlist on Team Fortress 2's official YouTube channel. Shortly after this discovery, one of our contacts, who wishes to remain anonymous, managed to extract the thumbnails of these videos and sent them to us.


Spoilers

Press Release

October 9, 2017 -- Valve, creator of Steam and SteamVR, a leading platform for games and virtual reality (VR) applications, today announced the availability of new core components needed by VR hardware manufacturers to deliver best in class VR systems.

Complementing the existing free license for sub-millimeter room-scale tracking and input technology, today's news marks the addition of other critical pieces for developing state-of-the-art VR hardware: an advanced optical system, manufacturing and calibration tools, and the supporting software stack to unify the hardware into an optimal user experience.

"World class VR requires highly precise tracking, matched optics and display technologies, and a software stack that weaves together the interactions between these components," said Jeremy Selan of Valve. "For the first time, we're making all of these technologies available to anyone who wants to build a best in class VR system for the millions of Steam customers accessing over 2,000 SteamVR compatible titles."

About the Display and Optics Technology

Valve has spent years working closely with display manufacturers to adapt their technologies to the unique challenges of VR. Recent advancements in Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) technology combined with VR specific calibration now make it a viable technology choice for high end VR systems. LCD manufacturers have demonstrated fast-switching liquid crystals, low persistence backlights, and high PPI displays that, when calibrated and paired with the right software, are well matched to the highest quality VR experiences. Of course, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display technology was critical to the first generation of VR (being first to demonstrate fast transition times and low-persistence illumination), and it remains an excellent option for new head mounted displays (HMDs). While both display technologies have inherent artifacts unique to head-mounted usage, Valve provides custom hardware and software manufacturing solutions as part of the SteamVR technology suite to enable high quality visual VR experiences.

In addition, Valve has developed custom lenses that work with both LCD and OLED display technologies and is making these lenses available to purchase for use in SteamVR compatible HMDs. These lenses and Valve's unique calibration and correction software are designed specifically to be paired with several off-the-shelf VR displays to enable the highest quality VR visual experiences. These optical solutions currently support a field of view between 85 and 120 degrees (depending on the display). The lenses, which are designed to support the next generation of room-scale virtual reality, optimize the user's perceived tracking experience and image sharpness while reducing stray light. Valve is including the custom lens calibration and correction software within the SteamVR technology suite.

Finally, Valve continues to offer full room-scale, sub-millimeter tracking technology by providing a reference design for the "Watchman" tracking module and by offering Valve manufactured base stations with SteamVR Tracking 2.0 technology for sale to licensees.

For more information about VR technology licensing, please see http://partner.steamgames.com/vrlicensing

The Adventures of Dank and Scud was a fan comic series based around the game Quake created by Michael Houston. The sixth and the final issue, "It's a Wonderful Half-Life", featured Valve's Half-Life and was released on November 13, 1998. In the comic, the protagonist duo, Dank and Scud, find themselves back on Earth only to be caught in the middle of an experiment gone terribly wrong. Before the release of Half-Life, Houston was invited to Valve to create an issue based on the game. To commemorate the 20th anniversary, Houston created a new website and added audio commentary to his comics. In the commentary, Houston talks about how he was invited to Valve to work on the comic.

http://dankandscud.com
http://dankandscud.com/issues/issue06/page01

Valve artist Drew Wolf's new website reveals Team Fortress 2's female cast, a Dota 2 cartoon, and concept art for multiple projects. For more information and images, you can click on associated links under project names.

• Team Fortress 2 - Alternate Characters
• Dota 2 - Cartoon
• Dota 2 - The Last Castle (Comic)
• Dota 2 - Heroes
• Dota 2 - Hero Illustrations
• Dota 2 - Items
• Dota 2 - Aegis of Champions
• The Lab - Xortex
• Valve - Character Designs (Artifact)
• Valve - Graphic Illustrations
• Valve - Update Pages
• Untitled Fantasy Game - Characters (may or may not be a Valve project)
• Untitled Fantasy Game - Creatures (same as above)

Team Fortress 2 - Alternate Characters
drewwolf.com/tf2alt

An internal pitch project aimed to bring female characters to the cast of Team Fortress 2.

I was responsible for story, character development and visual design. With the exception of their class function, It was important that each design presented an entirely new character. I wanted to these characters to live on their own and add dimension to the current roster of in-game characters. The goal of the project was to dive deep into possibilities and facilitate creative discussion.


Dota 2 - Cartoon
drewwolf.com/dotatoon

Character designs from a Dota related cartoon.

The goal of this work was to develop a streamlined visual style that would translate well into a 2D animated feature or series. This work was a crucial in between step from in-game assets to final 2D model sheets. I also used the character art to develop lighting and direction for shot locations.


Dota 2 - The Last Castle (Comic)
drewwolf.com/axecomic


Dota 2 - Heroes
drewwolf.com/dotahero


Dota 2 - Hero Illustrations
drewwolf.com/dotaillo


Dota 2 - Items
drewwolf.com/dotaitems


Dota 2 - Aegis of Champions
drewwolf.com/aegis


The Lab - Xortex
drewwolf.com/xortex


Valve - Character Designs (Artifact)
drewwolf.com/artifactchar

Valve developer Jeep Barnett confirmed that these images were created for Valve's Artifact.


Early designs for characters that were intended to to expand the Dota universe. Each piece was intended to serve as both concept art and promotional art.


Valve - Graphic Illustrations
drewwolf.com/graphict


Valve - Update Pages
drewwolf.com/updatepage


Untitled Fantasy Game - Characters
drewwolf.com/rndchar

Warning: We don't know if these images were created for a possible Valve project or not. We'll contact Drew Wolf and update the thread.

Character development for an internal R&D project. The project was a fantasy adventure game centered around cooperative combat and driven by story.

Development of these characters started with a round of loose sketches. The goal was to present as many groups of four adventures as possible in order to establish a diverse cast of archetypal characters. After discussion and feedback the group was paired down to ten characters. They would become the projects main characters.

During the development I created a mood sketch for each character. They were done in a classic sci-fi/fantasy book cover. Each sketch represents a slice of the world each character came from as well as a hint at who they are and what they do. This collateral art helped convey the direction quickly and facilitate creative discussion for each character.


Untitled Fantasy Game - Creatures
drewwolf.com/rndcre

Warning: We don't know if these images were created for a possible Valve project or not. We'll contact Drew Wolf and update the thread.

Creature development for an internal R&D project. The project was a fantasy adventure game centered around cooperative combat and driven by story.

Half-Life: C.A.G.E.D., a single-player modification for Half-Life by Future Games Select and former Valve designer Cayle George, is now available on Steam. George worked on games like Team Fortress 2 and Portal 2 at Valve. C.A.G.E.D. is a reimagining of his old map from Project: Quantum Leap, a community project which features 20 maps created by 15 authors. The project was released in June of 2002.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/679990

Linux and Mac versions are coming soon.

Features

• Full single-player campaign.
• Unlockable bonus content.
• Music from artist Lazerhawk.
• Developer commentary mode.

Trailer