Getting head in TF2

If you haven't visited the "character info and setup" screen on TF2 lately, you'll have missed the grid of tantalizing emptiness that hints at a massive pile of new content:



This is the new "backpack" feature, which is accessed by way of a briefcase icon on the main loadout screen. The pairing might seem a bit odd until you recall that there are no flags to be found anywhere in the Capture the Flag gametype. In that light, the contradiction is, of course, entirely logical. It makes sense if you think about it. But I don't recommend doing that. The Valve universe is often a figment of its own imagination.

As you can see, there are 50 item slots available. With nine classes, and three unlockable items per class (eventually), that leaves 23 slots for stuff we haven't anticipated. That will surely mean even more toys for existing classes, and perhaps toys for one or more (as yet) non-existent classes.

And there's more. On the character-specific screens, there's a "head slot" off to the right. The meaning of that should be obvious, shouldn't it? We'll see.

The full changelog for the most recent (April 20) patch follows:

Game Changes

■ Reworked the character loadout screens to support future features
■ Added the ability for players to permanently delete items from their inventory using the new Backpack menu. This does not reset achievements. Once an item has been deleted it can never be re-earned
■ Added the ability for players to reset their player stats using the Reset Stats button on the Stats menu. This does not reset achievements
■ Added a "player_teleported" game event that is sent when a player is teleported
■ Updated cp_junction_final to score per-capture instead of per-round. This fixes the map not working correctly with Tournament mode and the stopwatch
■ Scouts now drop the flag if they're carrying it when they start phasing

Fixes

■ Fixed instances where Steam connection problems would cause some unlocked items to be unusable
■ Fixed the custom crosshair menu not clearing itself when "None" is selected for non-English clients
■ Fixed warning about not being able to execute skill1.cfg when starting the dedicated server