Valve adds 100-player support to Team Fortress 2, immediately tells people not to use it

If you've ever thought to yourself that Team Fortress 2 would be perfect if only you could cram more players onto its maps, you are going to love today's new update. It more than triples the maximum player count, from 32 to 100—and also, Valve says you probably shouldn't do that.

Unlike the big content update that Valve released (but did not make) earlier this month, today's update is a fixer-upper, because somehow people are still finding things to futz with in a 16-year-old videogame. It's a testament to Valve's commitment (although it's not like it's out there making new games or anything) but it also reflects TF2's ongoing popularity: The game that launched in 2007 crushed its all-time concurrent player count record just two weeks ago, thanks in part to the addition of a fat seal, who joined the game in the fan-made map Selbyen, which was included in the summer update.

Still, with that many years under its belt, it can be tough to keep things fresh. That, presumably, is what led to the decision to pop the cork on the player count: It'll be chaotic as hell on the smaller maps no doubt (although that's not necessarily a bad thing—I'd love to try some 50v50 2fort) but it also opens the door to experimentation with larger-scale designs that just wouldn't work (or be any fun) at lower player counts.

Note that letting 100 people crash full-force onto your TF2 server is an "at your own risk" move: Valve said the option "is unsupported and not recommended." That doesn't mean catastrophe is inevitable, or even likely, but it's definitely on the table. Although that said, it seems to be working pretty well in the gameplay video up top—if you call a raging goat rodeo stalemate "working," that is. (For the record, I do.)

The new Team Fortress 2 update, which makes a number of other minor fixes and tweaks (many of them related to the Versus Saxton Hale mode, for some reason) is live now and will be applied automatically the next time you fire up the game. The full patch notes are below.

• Added check to make Mann vs. Machine invaders immune to pushback while leaving their spawn
• Added -unrestricted_maxplayers to raise the maxplayer count to 100 (feature is unsupported and not recommended)
• Fixed VSH and other player-destruction gamemodes leaking their HUDs into one another
• Fixed Saxton Hale's weapons showing up as being carried by an incorrect/invalid player in VSH
• Fixed Saxton Hale's weapons sometimes showing up as invalid in VSH
• Fixed a crash that can occur when changing from VSH to another map
• Fixed a crash that can occur related to MP3s on VSH maps
• Fixed a crash that can occur when using changing model detail setting or using r_flushlod
• Fixed a crash when going between two sv_pure servers with maps packing custom content
• Fixed changing model detail setting or using r_flushlod not always taking effect
• Fixed packed replacement materials/textures/models in a custom map could leak into other maps or rendering as wireframe
• Fixed custom particle overrides not being reloaded on servers without sv_pure
• Fixed game mode descriptions for some of the summer map stamps
• Fixed embedded workshop map soundscripts not being loaded on clients (community fix from 'Jakub' (ficool2))
• Fixed a crash when using the game_ui entity and players discconnecting (community fix from 'Jakub' (ficool2))
• Fixed teleporter particle effects (community fix from 'Jakub' (ficool2))
• Updated/Added some tournament medals
• Updated cp_altitude
• Increased size of C capture area
• Reduced initial round timer from 6 to 5 minutes
• Increased max round timer length from 6 to 8 minutes
• Increased Blu respawn wave time on A from 3 to 4
• Increased Red respawn wave time on C from 8 to 9
• Reduced Blu respawn wave time on C from 3 to 2
• Various visual fixes and adjustments
• Updated koth_cascade
• Various player and projectile collision fixes
• Various visual fixes and adjustments
• Adjusted resupply locker positions
• Updated cp_steel
• Fixed missing glass from bullet blocked windows
• Removed some more ceiling light collisions
• Improved clipping around B -> C building
• Small safety improvement to Blu flank balcony to B
• Some extra block bullets around B floor
• Updated pl_phoenix
• Increased Red respawn wave time on D from 8 to 9
• Fixed projectile collision bug around the payload elevator track
• Fixed a case where the payload cart could get stuck at the base of the elevator
  Various clipping fixes
• Various visual fixes
• Updated vsh_distillery, vsh_tinyrock, vsh_nucleus, vsh_skirmish\
• The script no longer forces mp_winlimit and mp_maxrounds to 0
• Community servers now can expand the Script by creating a new file at scripts/vscripts/vsh_addons/main.nut
• Community servers now can select the next Hale via SetNextBossByEntity, SetNextBossByEntityIndex and SetNextBossByUserId functions
• The Diamondback now gains 2 guaranteed crits upon backstab
• Hale's attacks now pierce through damage absorption of the Wrangler shield
• Hale will now receive an instructional notification if they haven't performed a Brave Jump during the first 30 seconds of a round
• Fixed bugs related to Your Eternal Reward's on-backstab disguise
• Fixed Festive Eyelander not gaining heads on-hit
• (Hopefully) Fixed Hale sometimes appearing to hold the Necro Smasher or the Sandvich
• (Hopefully) Fixed some players being unable to punch as Hale ("A-posing")
• Fixed Hale disappearing when the game tries (and fails) to gib him
• Both sides dying simultaneously now counts as Stalemate
• Updated vsh_skirmish (additional changes)
• Added a live feed to the office
• Improved clipping in multiple areas