A Team Fortress 2 charity drive is being held in July by community site TF2Maps in aid of charity Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières). The event is scheduled to run for 72 hours from July 22 – 25, and encourages anyone in the FPS game’s community to join in and create TF2-related things in aid of the humanitarian organisation.
The rules are simple – all you have to do to participate is to “make something for or about Team Fortress 2.” It can be something in-game or a real-world project, as long as it is related to Valve’s free-to-play game. Some examples given are maps, models, or mods that could be used in TF2, as well as “warpaints, animations, videos, paintings, drawings, fan fiction, woodwork, stonework, legwork, homework, and everything else in-between.”
TF2Maps asks that anyone participating ensures that they do not work on the project outside of the prescribed hours of July 22 at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 5pm GMT to July 25 at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 5pm GMT. The team emphasises that planning in advance is allowed, but that you must not start creating your submission until the event is live. You may also use custom content from other people in your creation, as per TF2’s usual rules, as long as they are appropriately credited.
Further details can be found on the dedicated TF2Maps Jam website, including a full FAQ. The team notes that if you are unable to participate during the designated period, then you can instead apply to make your creation during a time of your choosing – but asks that you restrict yourself to the same 72-hour limit as everyone else.
The TF2Maps team will be livestreaming during the event, and they’ll be showing off in-game creations including map testing sessions to offer feedback on anyone making maps (which, as its name might suggest, is the group’s particular speciality). Additional community projects will also be showcased during ‘Jam Ketchup’ sessions over the course of the event.
Meanwhile, Valve has been responding to the recent #SaveTF2 campaign with several Team Fortress 2 updates aimed at helping players boot bots from their games.
