Steam client update released

A Steam client update is now available. To apply the update, click the File menu inside of Steam and then select "Check for Steam Client Updates...". The specific changes include:

Steam

• Made various improvements to Recommendations:
  
  • Made some general improvements to the algorithm to make "Similar Items" a little more similar
  • Changed primary source for generated recommendations to be recent playtime rather than recent purchases, prioritizing "new to you" games (ie, games where your recent playtime makes up the bulk of your total playtime for that game)
  • Fixed DLC recommendations showing for games you haven't really played yet
  • Games you've recommended will now be shown on your community profile page
  • Fixed friend recommendations for free games you haven't yet played to show on your recommended page just like friend recommendations for games you don't own.
  • Added links to the new "Friend Activity" page to the store homepage and community home panel.
• Added Turkish translation to the Steam client
• [Windows] Chinese, Japanese, and Korean typing support in the in-game overlay, for some games
• Fixed a case where a hyperlink in chat could take you to a player’s profile instead
• Fixed community opening to your profile instead of the blotter when community is your favorite window (thanks Sir_Brizz!)
• Improved Matchmaking function performance
• Fixed starting game executables with very long command line parameters (>255 characters)
• Fixed keyboard navigation in menus
• [Mac OSX] Overlay improved (works with Farming Simulator) and fixed an OpenGL state bug
• [Mac OSX] Implemented Minimize Cmd-M menu command.
• [Mac OSX] Improved Cmd-W to be more reliable
• Fix games not launching after resolving a Cloud conflict
• [Mac OSX] Fix layout on file open dialog when adding a non-Steam game
• Fix layout on server browser dialog
• Removed code for the now-ended Civilization V charity promotion
• [Mac OS X] Fixed cursor not showing up in game overlay on some games
• [Mac OS X] Dock Icon will not persistently bounce once it has a badge with a count of pending IMs.
• Fixed Steam not remembering Cloud settings in certain situations.

• http://store.steampowered.com/news/4868/

Sun Spread Angles

by Timothy 'YM' Johnson @Nodraw.net

 Just a quick one today to clear up something that possibly isn’t experimented with much when considering lighting, the spread angle from the light_environment. The entity itself recommends a value of 5 degrees to start with however, as my attention was drawn recently to, this is actually quite a large angle. You’ll see on a sunny day, the shadow from a tall building is incredibly crisp. Read more ...

Day of Defeat: Source Updates Released

Updates to Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike: Source, Day of Defeat: Source and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include:

Source Engine Changes (CS:S, DoD:S, TF2, HL2:DM)

• Added the "Server can execute" flag to the “r_cleardecals” command.
• Fixed a problem where the microphone transmit volume sometimes had no associated control and was disabled in the Audio options dialog.
• Fixed a crash on exit for Mac clients.

• http://store.steampowered.com/news/4863/

Happy New Year 2011

Merry Christmas 2010

Steam Holiday Sale: Save 50% on all VALVe Games

• VALVe Complete Pack

Save 50% on all VALVe Games through Jan 2nd

Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike: Condition Zero, Counter-Strike: Source, Day of Defeat, Day of Defeat: Source, Deathmatch Classic, Half-Life, Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Deathmatch, Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Half-Life 2: Lost Coast, Half-Life Deathmatch: Source, Half-Life: Blue Shift, Half-Life: Opposing Force, Half-Life: Source, Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead 2, Portal, Ricochet, Team Fortress 2, Team Fortress Classic

Steam Holiday Sale: Save 75% on Day of Defeat: Source

€2.50 - $2.50 - £1.50

Day of Defeat: Source Updates Released

Updates to Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike: Source, Day of Defeat: Source and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include:

Source Engine Changes (CS:S, DoD:S, TF2, HL2:DM)

• Fixed an engine crash caused by too many precached models in some community maps. 

Day of Defeat: Source

• Fixed an exploit where clients could prevent weapons from recoiling properly.

• http://store.steampowered.com/news/4820/

Hammer Source Player Scale and World Dimensions

by World of Level Design

One of the most fundamental aspects of level design is proper scale and dimensions. A door way that is few units too large or too small will ruin the illusion of your environment.

A building set to improper scale will destroy the immersion of the player in your environment.

Hammer Source has few key aspects of keeping your world on scale and proper proportions.

The tutorial covers:
How to keep your map to proper scale and dimensions
Hammer Source character scale, wall height, door dimensions, stairs
Developer textures
Grid values

Read more ...

Day of Defeat: Source Updates Released

Updates to Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike: Source, Day of Defeat: Source and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include:

Source Engine Changes (CS:S, DoD:S, TF2, HL2:DM)

• Improved sv_pure:
  
  • Materials / Models / Sounds / Animations are more comprehensively protected.
  • Switched from CRC to MD5 hashes for stronger per-file validation.
  • Fixed some issues between custom files and server whitelists over level changes.
• Added HL2:MP to the list of dedicated server games when starting a server via the Tools tab in the Library

• http://store.steampowered.com/news/4812/

Interview with Billy Hallden - Level & Environment Design

by World of Level Design

Billy Hallden is a level designer and environment artist. I have been inspired by his work on WoLD forums and I wanted to find out more about his work, his process and if there were any tips he could give to an inpiring level designer and environment artist. Read more ...

Hammer Source Map Construction Breakdown

by World of Level Design

Hammer Source Map Construction Breakdown takes a look at what elements levels are made up of in Hammer Source. Knowing how a map is constructed inside Source helps you to understand your own process and what you need to do with your own maps.

The tutorial covers:
How the map constructed?
What elements are used?
How everything comes together in Hammer Source.

Read more ...

Lighting Compile Options

by Timothy 'YM' Johnson @Nodraw.net

Today I’m going to discuss the lighting conventions of source. Source has been evolving steadily since Half Life 2, with the introduction of HDR with Episode 1 and then per-vertex lighting for static props and shadowing textures with the Orange Box. These new methods for calculating lighting at compile time have become the standard for source, everything produced since the Orange Box uses them.

Unfortunately the improved lighting introduced with the Orange Box was not added to hammer’s default compile settings, even as options, so we must add them ourselves. That means we need to know what they are and what they do. There are three options that we’re going to look at today, texture shadows, per vertex lighting for static props, and exact outline shadow casting for static props. So what exactly do they do? Read more ...