Team Fortress 2 Classified News

[hr][/hr][p]Just in time! Team Fortress 2 Classified has been marked Playable on Steam Deck! Rest easy tonight knowing you'll soon be able to commit atrocities against anyone bold enough to wear differently colored outfits... on the go!

While we'll be wearing that darling yellow badge with pride, we're aware there's still room for improvement, notably:[/p]

• [p]Controls may have to be manually configured for optimal play[/p]
• [p]Some text may be hard to read[/p]
• [p]Text inputs require you to bring up the on-screen keyboard[/p]

[p]Expect improvements to controller support and the Steam Deck experience in the future![/p]

[p]Hi. With TF2 Classified just a week away(!) from launch, we wanted to keep current and future modders informed of technical changes we've been making over the months, and what to expect for changes going forward. If you're a modder, this post is for you!

While Steam Workshop support won’t be available at launch, we are actively exploring support for a wide range of moddable content.

As our game is actively updated, please note that we'll be making various technical changes that may cause incompatibilities.We’ll communicate these changes clearly in patch notes, and we’re also looking into solutions such as mod versioning to help make this process smoother in the future.

With that out of the way, we've split up this post into sections for each type of content. If any of them apply to you, you can get straight to reading.[/p][p][/p][h2]ITEM SCHEMA & CUSTOM WEAPONS[/h2][hr][/hr][p]Item schemas from the original mod will not be compatible with TF2 Classified. Many attributes are returning from the original mod, while a handful aren't. This is due to various refactors and the removal of complex prototype weapon code.

Our currently shipped item schema is heavily debloated, and many prefabs have been merged down into their proper weapon indexes. If you have custom weapons making use of prefabs, it would be wise to remake them, or ship the prefab alongside the weapon index itself.

Custom item schemas will now go in the /scripts/items folder instead of the /maps folder.

Addcond conditions can now take the conditions name instead of ID. For example, "5 5" can be entered as "TF_COND_INVULNERABLE 5". It is highly recommended to use this method, as technical limitations may force us to change condition IDs. All TF2C exclusive conditions have a new ID. A full list of condition names will be available in release patch notes.

In the future, we are looking into options for custom weapons being uploaded to the Steam Workshop. We will investigate the possibility of single-file weapon entries to help make this possible.[/p][p][/p][h2]MAPPING & HAMMER[/h2][hr][/hr][p]We've culled a small amount of our custom map assets to remove certain textures and models that don't align with the environment art style we intend for our official map pool. This should help make our official style more clear, but does mean that existing maps using these assets will need to be recompiled with them packed into the .bsp. This primarily applies to region-specific asset packs, though we have tried to keep some generic assets from these. We're also open to re-adding any more specific assets that might be broadly useful.

In the future, we are looking into shipping some SDK content, including official logic prefabs for all of our custom game modes.

Addcond triggers can now take the condition name instead of ID, via the keyvalue "condition_name". It is highly recommended to use this method, as technical limitations may force us to change condition IDs in the future. All TF2C exclusive conditions have a new ID and will need to be replaced. A full list of condition names will be available in release patch notes.

We're changing the naming convention for Three and Four-Team maps. Now, a number will be placed before the gamemode prefix. For example, a Three Team KOTH map would be "3koth_example" and a Four-Team DOM map would be "4dom_example." That said, existing maps that use the old convention will still function correctly.

We had originally wanted to include logic, HUD, and asset support for Three and Four-Team versions of Live gamemodes like Robot Destruction, Player Destruction, Passtime, and Mannpower. However, we've had to delay these plans for a lack of time.[/p][p][/p][h2]PARTICLES[/h2][hr][/hr][p]Some particle mods may not be compatible with TF2 Classified out of the box, due to system renames and functionality changes.

Particle files (.pcf) have been reorganized, and are now split by content type (eg. weapon, condition, gameplay mechanic).

Most unused and incidental particle systems have been removed. Any maps happening to use these will have to ship them on their own. We're looking into including more general-use particles for mappers in the future.

Various particle systems have been renamed as they've been updated. This may cause old mods to fall back on live TF2 equivalents. Future particle system renames will be individually mentioned in patch notes as they happen.[/p][p][/p][h2]MATERIALS & TEXTURES[/h2][hr][/hr][p]Many materials and textures have been updated with new parameters and flags. If you're replacing these and wish to retain functionality, please make sure you're mirroring any parameters and flags.

Crosshairs, kill icons, and many HUD elements have moved to using .svg files. In all cases, .vtf fallbacks should still work.

Various materials have been renamed or moved as they've been updated. This may cause old mods to fall back on live TF2 equivalents. Future material renames and moves will be individually mentioned in patch notes as they happen.[/p][p][/p][h2]MODELS[/h2][hr][/hr][p]The Civilian's player model is now located in the civilian folder (previously civilian_vip).

All player models have been given additional facial flexes for decapitation. The Spy has been given a cigarette flex.

Some models with embedded particles have had their particle system names updated. This may cause old mods to fall back on live TF2 equivalents. Future renames will be individually mentioned in patch notes as they happen.[/p][p][/p][h2]UI & HUD[/h2][hr][/hr][p]Our UI is undergoing a technical and visual overhaul, and this is planned to continue post-launch. We will make these changes known in patch notes.

Using .svg files with image panels will require full path and file extension when specified.

We've added a new drop shadow ("dropshadow") parameter for labels and images now. Because of this, most drop shadow elements in .res files have been removed.

Meter files have been refactored and some have been combined or moved.

Death Notice amount is now an options parameter and not in the .res file.

Various .res files have been renamed or moved as they've been updated. This may cause old mods to stop working correctly. Future renames and moves will be individually mentioned in patch notes as they happen.[/p][p][/p][h2]SOURCEMOD SUPPORT[/h2][hr][/hr][p]SourceMod support for TF2C-specific features is still pending while we coordinate with other TF2 SDK projects on the best long-term approach. Closer to release, we’ll be providing gamedata for the server binaries, along with a patched TF2 extension for those who need TF2 functionality; please note that this setup is subject to change in the future.

The legacy tf2classic-tools package is currently non-functional and thus will no longer be maintained.

Additionally, Metamod:Source Build 1380 is the minimum required version.[/p]

[hr][/hr][p]Hello! Welcome to the first Team Fortress 2 Classified blog post.
[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]As most of you pieced together quickly, Valve requested a few months ago that we rename our mod, because the name Team Fortress 2 Classic was too similar to their Team Fortress Classic. We had hoped that we could throw up a quick teaser on our Steam store page while we chose a name and did some restructuring, but the whole process has taken longer than expected. I'll be explaining the full story of what's happened over the past few months, and why we have decided to push the release date of the mod to January 30th, 2026.

When we submitted our demo for Steam Next Fest, the review process was held up on IP rights. This was expected, and it had already happened to our main app, so we contacted Valve to get it cleared up. Upon doing so, we were met with the request to rename our mod. We've learned that various other mods have recently used the word 'classic' in ways that unintentionally made them look like official Valve products, and as a result, Valve had a new policy put in place back in September. Despite allowing it previously, Valve's policy on mods having demos has also since changed, meaning we couldn't have launched our demo regardless.

Since we could not launch a demo, we instead focused our time on ensuring that a rebrand was done properly. Actually deciding on a new name was surprisingly difficult. For one, it quickly became apparent that few options actually embodied what we set out to do better than 'classic' had. Despite disagreements over what 'classic' means, it has historically been a great way for us to set a standard for our mod's design, and has allowed us to maintain coherency between eras of development. Additionally, we needed to make sure that it could not mistaken for a new mod, including keeping the acronym (if possible).

When we first "announced" our rebrand, Classified was not seriously considered as a name. Many other names were proposed and pitted against each other (some of which you can spot in the teaser video). As we pitched more, Classified began to indisputably win out. Not only is it remarkably similar in terms of phonetics, but it also serves as a double entendre, with 'classify' both evoking "to make something classic" and its literal definition, leaning us further into the spy film theming that early TF2 had carried. Classified documents, beige folders, and a slightly more serious tone: it all just fit what we were going for. Most importantly, it just passed the vibe check.

It took a while to get approved. Gray areas in the name policy meant we were unsure if Classified was allowed. During conversations with Valve, we were unable to get a name confirmed outside of submitting a game build for Steamworks review. Those reviews can take up to several weeks each time, and we could not fully commit to creating new promotional material until a name was confirmed. This meant that the rebrand process took a few months, which has changed our release plans.

Despite us moving as fast as we can to reach the previous vague 2025 release date, we're simply not able to meet it. There's a few reasons for this. The first is that we want a few more weeks of polishing and extensive testing. The second and more important reason is that Steamworks review is a factor that we cannot control. Communication can be slow and inconsistent, and we need padding in our timeline to ensure there are no last minute delays. We want this game to be out as much as you do, but we only have one chance to make a first impression, and we need to do it right. Besides, it wouldn't be an authentic TF2 experience without a bit of Valve time.

Thank you for being patient, and see you on January 30th, 2026,

~ Nito & the Team Fortress 2 Classified team[/p]

[hr][/hr][p]Hello, and happy end of November! We're in the final stretches of development, and we'll be entering another lightning fast period so that we can make sure our launch is as polished as possible before you all get impatient and sack us. Last month we detailed the remaining tasks to complete, and this month we'll be sharing how far we have gotten on all of them.[/p][p][/p][h2]UI REVAMP[/h2][hr][/hr][p]Last month we discussed our plans to revamp the user interface. Since then, we've completed about half of the revamp. Here's a writeup on the progress so far. Keep in mind, everything here is subject to change.
[/p][p][/p][h3]Achievements[/h3][p]Our achievements menu has been revamped to be more comfortable to navigate. The new version is now fullscreen, which lets you see more achievements at once and gives them a more uniform presence on the menu. We also intend to sort them by class and gamemode, rather than by update, so it's easier to find the achievements you're looking for.
[/p][p][/p][p]I should also take this time to mention something gameplay-related: TF2C will launch with only a selection of about 30 achievements. Many of our previous achievements felt like filler, and took longer to implement and test than one would expect. We want to focus on achievements that are fun to design and earn, rather than feeling like they're 'meeting a quota'.[/p][p][/p][h3]Settings[/h3][p]The options menu in the original mod is a total mess. When redesigning it, we wanted to make sure it was easier to find the options you need as soon as possible. In the image below, you can see new categories at the top of the menu. Clicking them will immediately take you to that section of the menu. Not only that, but we've also implemented a search bar, which can take you straight to any option you want.
[/p][carousel][/carousel][h3]Server Browser[/h3][p]You may have noticed that the main menu server browser from the original mod is gone. This system is being reworked entirely! The old system heavily favors vanilla servers and servers with a high player count, which didn't really accomplish what we wanted. Our plan is to work with server hosters to create a menu that is fair to all, clear to players, and boosts a wider variety of communities. We'll have more to show next month.[/p][p][/p][h2]REMAINING FEATURES[/h2][hr][/hr][p]Last month we described the "Bug Whack-a-Mole" where bugs would continuously pop up each test in a manner that led to increasingly smaller nitpicks. This process has, for the most part, petered out. There are still a few very noticeable issues, but stamping them out no longer takes up a significant portion of our programmers' time. This means we are more free to focus on the remaining features that need implementation.[/p][p][/p][p]The largest feature remaining, aside from UI, is support for custom weapon attributes. We are currently in the process of porting as many custom weapon attributes as we can. We have been coordinating with custom weapon server server hosts to prioritize which ones get in, as well as figure out which can be more-or-less replaced with VScript or plugins. In the past two weeks, over 100 attributes have been reimplemented with more to come over the course of December.[/p][p][/p][p]There are only a few other features remaining. The chicken is giving us a bit of trouble, and the Flame Thrower is once again making our collective sanities dwindle, but the rest of our checklist is now complete. Anything else is just bug hunting and detailing.[/p][p][/p][h2]NEW PLAYER GIBS[/h2][hr][/hr][p]Blood and gore are a key part of the Team Fortress 2 experience, and one of our artists has taken the time to do a revamp. All 10 classes have had their gib models rebased on our current player models, and given improved physics. Below is a comparison of live TF2 gibs, old TF2C, new TF2C, where applicable. Once again, keep in mind that textures are subject to change.
[/p][carousel][/carousel][p][/p][h2]REGARDING THE █████[/h2][hr][/hr][p]See you soon.

~ Nito & the EMINOMA Team[/p]