Sunsetting LDR and DirectX 8 Support
August 12, 2023 - bobatealee
Tags:
announcement
development
The year is 2023, and Team Fortress 2 is a very old game. Back in 2007, the Wii was still in its prime, the GeForce FX5500 was a good card, and the future of PC gaming was Games for Windows – LIVE.
After 16 years, the environment has changed. As we aim to improve the TF2 Classic experience for modern PCs, we've planned out some major changes we're hoping to slowly roll out in the near future. Today, we're here to talk about some of these changes.
However, due to HDR and LDR coexisting, every map has to be built twice. This is extremely inefficient, as it makes maps take longer to compile and take up more disk space. Furthermore, if a mapper accidentally only built HDR data, lighting wouldn't work at all for players using LDR.
As such, we are forcibly enabling HDR rendering in Patch 2.1.2. This should not have a big performance impact. Additionally, this update will add a slider to our video settings that will allow the user to tweak the bloom effect. If completely disabled, the game should look the same as it did with HDR disabled.
Unfortunately, this has heavy implications for development. Shaders have to be written twice, once for DirectX 8, and once for DirectX 9. DirectX 8 shader development is a lot of effort only to supplement a small user base.
To make matters more complex, there are two "shader models" for Source, Shader Model 2.0b and 3.0, and shaders also have to be written according to the shader model the game is using. Video cards limited to SM 2.0b were already considered "low-end" back in 2008.
Due to all of this, we are standardizing and forcing DirectX 9 with SM 3.0 in Patch 2.1.2 (also known as "dxlevel 95") for TF2 Classic. This is primarily due to a major upcoming shader overhaul that will add new capabilities, fix countless issues, and improve rendering performance.
For mappers, the end of DirectX 8 support means we will also discontinue support for SDK 2013's map compiler tools (vbsp, vvis, vrad). If you're still using these, please consult our wiki guide on how to update your toolset.
The OpenGL renderer in itself has several Linux-exclusive rendering and performance issues that we are unable to address. As such, we will instead pivot towards supporting Proton, Valve's compatibility layer for Windows games running on Linux, and focus on fixing any bugs that manifest with it.
Proton's Vulkan-based backend renderer, DXVK, should have better performance and fewer issues for Linux users. Note that this change will NOT affect Linux servers.
We're very excited for all of these changes, and will be looking into adding new video options (possibly even graphical presets!) that provide a more accessible and reliable way to get playable frame rates on low-end machines.
After 16 years, the environment has changed. As we aim to improve the TF2 Classic experience for modern PCs, we've planned out some major changes we're hoping to slowly roll out in the near future. Today, we're here to talk about some of these changes.
Forcing HDR (Patch 2.1.2)
Believe it or not, HDR (High Dynamic Range) rendering in Source is completely different from what would be considered HDR today. It simulates HDR internally and collapses the image down to LDR. Practically speaking, if you have HDR enabled, that means you're using LDR with bloom and auto-exposure effects.However, due to HDR and LDR coexisting, every map has to be built twice. This is extremely inefficient, as it makes maps take longer to compile and take up more disk space. Furthermore, if a mapper accidentally only built HDR data, lighting wouldn't work at all for players using LDR.
As such, we are forcibly enabling HDR rendering in Patch 2.1.2. This should not have a big performance impact. Additionally, this update will add a slider to our video settings that will allow the user to tweak the bloom effect. If completely disabled, the game should look the same as it did with HDR disabled.
Ending DirectX 8 Support (Patch 2.1.2)
Older Source games usually allow users to set a lower DirectX level using a launch option like -dxlevel. This forcibly disables a number of graphical features, and is popular among configs and users trying to squeeze out extra frames.Unfortunately, this has heavy implications for development. Shaders have to be written twice, once for DirectX 8, and once for DirectX 9. DirectX 8 shader development is a lot of effort only to supplement a small user base.
To make matters more complex, there are two "shader models" for Source, Shader Model 2.0b and 3.0, and shaders also have to be written according to the shader model the game is using. Video cards limited to SM 2.0b were already considered "low-end" back in 2008.
Due to all of this, we are standardizing and forcing DirectX 9 with SM 3.0 in Patch 2.1.2 (also known as "dxlevel 95") for TF2 Classic. This is primarily due to a major upcoming shader overhaul that will add new capabilities, fix countless issues, and improve rendering performance.
For mappers, the end of DirectX 8 support means we will also discontinue support for SDK 2013's map compiler tools (vbsp, vvis, vrad). If you're still using these, please consult our wiki guide on how to update your toolset.
Ending Native Linux Client Support (Soon)
Some time after we roll out the first two changes in Patch 2.1.2, we are planning to eventually end native Linux Client support. The aging OpenGL wrapper that Valve used when porting the game to Linux is incredibly restrictive, as it does not support SM 3.0, preventing us from fixing some graphical issues or adding new shader features.The OpenGL renderer in itself has several Linux-exclusive rendering and performance issues that we are unable to address. As such, we will instead pivot towards supporting Proton, Valve's compatibility layer for Windows games running on Linux, and focus on fixing any bugs that manifest with it.
Proton's Vulkan-based backend renderer, DXVK, should have better performance and fewer issues for Linux users. Note that this change will NOT affect Linux servers.
Final Notes
In short, we are force-enabling HDR rendering, forcing the use of DirectX 9 SM 3.0, and dropping support for stock SDK 2013 map compiler tools in Patch 2.1.2. Additionally, we are planning to discontinue native Linux support for clients at a later date.We're very excited for all of these changes, and will be looking into adding new video options (possibly even graphical presets!) that provide a more accessible and reliable way to get playable frame rates on low-end machines.
Fight or Flight Recap
April 29, 2023 - bobatealee
Tags:
development
fun
The Fight or Flight Update is officially out! We are all absolutely blown away by the positive reception already. To celebrate the release, our very own Waugh101 along with beta tester Mr. Skullium created this awesome trailer:
In other news, you can also now view all update pages in one sitting! A little birdie told me the artwork page has been updated with something... very rectangular.
And if you somehow still haven't yet, you can download the update right now! Our downloader was recently lovingly overhauled by sniffy194 and Technochips. It should now do a much better job at applying patches, among other things. (Please bear with us! There's been so many download requests that everything may take a bit!)
All in all, we're very happy to finally be able to deliver this update to everyone. As some of you may know, it's been the team's labor of love for a long time, and we're excited to show you what we're working on next.
Stay tuned for more blog posts, fix + rebalance patches, and 2.2.0 in the near future! (Don't worry, we promise it won't take as long.)
In other news, you can also now view all update pages in one sitting! A little birdie told me the artwork page has been updated with something... very rectangular.
And if you somehow still haven't yet, you can download the update right now! Our downloader was recently lovingly overhauled by sniffy194 and Technochips. It should now do a much better job at applying patches, among other things. (Please bear with us! There's been so many download requests that everything may take a bit!)
All in all, we're very happy to finally be able to deliver this update to everyone. As some of you may know, it's been the team's labor of love for a long time, and we're excited to show you what we're working on next.
Stay tuned for more blog posts, fix + rebalance patches, and 2.2.0 in the near future! (Don't worry, we promise it won't take as long.)
Refining Our Four-Team Architecture
March 11, 2023 - Waugh101
Tags:
development
Heyo,
As more Four-Team maps have been worked on, both internally and externally, we thought it important to really nail down each team’s style of architecture. As you might imagine, though, the over-a-decade of assets and precedent designed specifically around the existence of only two teams made this a challenging feat. Some of the earlier ideas for the YLW and GRN teams’ architecture revolved around more specific, real-world styles like Brutalism and Googie and, while these did make for recognizable looks, they also didn’t quite fit with TF2’s existing approach.
Even among the earliest maps, the actual styles of RED and BLU bases vary a good deal. Comparing 2Fort and Well’s RED bases provides a good example of that. This is because the original two teams’ looks focus more on big-picture ideas, colors, and shape language over an exact, formulaic approach based on their parent company’s name. The bases also have to fit in the specific context of mid-century, industrial America, and a monolithic, sci-fi radio building isn’t quite what you’d expect to see driving down a country highway.
So, when deciding on our refined YLW and GRN styles, we looked for any gaps that weren’t already filled by RED and BLU’s shapes and materials that could still be applied to the same types of industrial settings. We also didn’t want to completely disregard our existing ideas and risk confusing the community. We eventually settled on GRN featuring rounded forms and the cleanest and most modern materials of the bunch, like glass, cast-concrete, and metal framing. That said, we had to make sure they didn’t encroach on Spytech theming. YLW was the trickiest to nail down, but we’ve decided on them using more trapezoidal forms, with grittier, older materials like rusted metal, concrete blocks, and brick.
These refined styles aren’t perfect; there’s an amount of overlap with existing RED and BLU bases that was near-impossible to avoid, but we’re pretty happy with where they’re at for creating a believable and iconic world. Having these more defined but broad guidelines for our Four-Team bases opens up a large range of possibilities for themes and aesthetics, which we’re excited to explore in our future maps.
As more Four-Team maps have been worked on, both internally and externally, we thought it important to really nail down each team’s style of architecture. As you might imagine, though, the over-a-decade of assets and precedent designed specifically around the existence of only two teams made this a challenging feat. Some of the earlier ideas for the YLW and GRN teams’ architecture revolved around more specific, real-world styles like Brutalism and Googie and, while these did make for recognizable looks, they also didn’t quite fit with TF2’s existing approach.
Our previous, less grounded concepts
Even among the earliest maps, the actual styles of RED and BLU bases vary a good deal. Comparing 2Fort and Well’s RED bases provides a good example of that. This is because the original two teams’ looks focus more on big-picture ideas, colors, and shape language over an exact, formulaic approach based on their parent company’s name. The bases also have to fit in the specific context of mid-century, industrial America, and a monolithic, sci-fi radio building isn’t quite what you’d expect to see driving down a country highway.
A concept of a YLW base, halfway through our designs
So, when deciding on our refined YLW and GRN styles, we looked for any gaps that weren’t already filled by RED and BLU’s shapes and materials that could still be applied to the same types of industrial settings. We also didn’t want to completely disregard our existing ideas and risk confusing the community. We eventually settled on GRN featuring rounded forms and the cleanest and most modern materials of the bunch, like glass, cast-concrete, and metal framing. That said, we had to make sure they didn’t encroach on Spytech theming. YLW was the trickiest to nail down, but we’ve decided on them using more trapezoidal forms, with grittier, older materials like rusted metal, concrete blocks, and brick.
Some images of our yet-to-be-released, Flask-based style guide
These refined styles aren’t perfect; there’s an amount of overlap with existing RED and BLU bases that was near-impossible to avoid, but we’re pretty happy with where they’re at for creating a believable and iconic world. Having these more defined but broad guidelines for our Four-Team bases opens up a large range of possibilities for themes and aesthetics, which we’re excited to explore in our future maps.
Our finalized shape language chart
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