[Powerlord]

...hasn't happened yet.

However, it has been announced that it will come out next week. Likely on a Thursday, because that's Valve's usual day for major updates.

The hlds mailing lists had a special note for server admins:

Originally Posted by Jon Lippincott We're going to be launching some new Halloween content in the near future and wanted to give you all a quick heads-up. There will be random gift drops, but this year we are requiring that participants register their servers. If you choose not to register, you can still run the Halloween maps, but no gifts will drop on your server. By registering, your server will also be included in matchmaking, which will potentially drive traffic to you. Note that cheating or otherwise abusing the gift drop system will result in losing your registration, access to gift drops and other potential value-adds in the future. You still have plenty of time, as this change won't be going live until next week. Registration is quick and simple, and is outlined here<https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=2825-AFGJ-3513#how>.

Edit: This used to say Thanksgiving Update, which was a joke from someone on my server about how "next week" Valve time will be a month away. Corrected it now.

[AeroAcrobat]

will there be drop on custom maps ?

[Powerlord]

Originally Posted by AeroAcrobat will there be drop on custom maps ?

I doubt it.

The old ones only drop on cp_manor_event, likely the new ones will only drop on whatever the new map is.

[AeroAcrobat]

As far as I understand:

- I need to run Valve maps to be matched.
- No Matchmaking no Drops?

If you choose not to register, you can still run the Halloween maps, but no gifts will drop on your server.

- These Server Tags will disqualify me from matchmaking:

friendlyfire respawntimes nocrits norespawntime nodmgspread highlander noquickplay

- Your server should not be password protected Your server needs to have VAC enabled Increasing the max player count above 24 will incur a matchmaking scorking penalty, but will not disqualify you from the list

[asherkin]

Originally Posted by AeroAcrobat As far as I understand: - I need to run Valve maps to be matched. - No Matchmaking no Drops?

No registration = no drops, you don't need to be eligible for matchmaking.

[uncivil]

From what I understand:

• Your server must be registered to qualify for the Halloween Drops.
• You don't have to enable quickplay if you register (use tf_server_identity_disable_quickplay 1)

[sinblaster]

Here are some quick facts about Halloween, quickplay, and server reputation: * Please read this FAQ, which answers most quickplay and server registration questions: https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=2825-AFGJ-3513 * Having players join and stay on your server is currently the only thing that matters for server reputation. Passwords, crit changes, damage spread, mods, maps, etc, does not affect your reputation except to the extent that it affects client's behaviour. If you have an audience that is having fun, your reputation should be OK. There is no need to ask if doing XYZ will negatively affect your reputation, merely because we haven't specifically said, "XYZ is OK." Should this policy change in the future, we will let you know. * Certain actions (those described in the FAQ) will make your server ineligible for quickplay. However, those criteria are only examined at the moment a client does a quickplay search. They have no lasting effect on your server (except, of course, to the extent that the loss of the extra players could negatively affect your reputation) and can be toggled at any time. Temporarily engaging in some activity that makes you ineligible for quickplay does not have any lasting penalty on your server or reputation. * In general, positive reputation data is associated with your game server account, not your IP. You can move to a different IP with no problems. * Valve *MAY* associate negative reputation data (bans, blacklists, records of abuse or cheating, etc) not just to the game server account, but also to the IP address or owning steam account. (*Not* just a specific IP:port combination!) We understand that not everyone has control over all the ports on their IP. Hopefully the reasons why these sorts of policies are necessary are obvious. Bottom line: protect the reputation of any servers running on your IP. * There will be a special Halloween quickmatch option on the client. We will provide further details for how to receive the traffic later. * We highly encourage people to register their servers. There is zero downside to doing so, whatsoever, and it takes 5 seconds. The Halloween gift drops are the first of hopefully many more benefits to come from registering your server. * We will be watching for servers who are exploiting the gift and drop system, and reserve the right to take action against the account, game server, IP, and steam account that owns the game server. We are not going to provide an exact definition of exactly what is OK and what is not. However, here are two examples of abusive activity: 1.) Giving certain plays on your server special powers or preferential treatment with regard to gifts. 2.) Using automated methods to collect gifts into lots of free accounts, causing them to be devalued in the TF economy. Thank you for helping to provide our customers a place to play our game. Your humble servant, Fletch

[Powerlord]

You must register your server (and log into your account) to get the special drops. You must register your server (and log into your account) to receive quickplay traffic. You may opt out of quickplay and still get the special drops. There will be a special client quickplay option for Halloween. We'll let you know just before the update how to configure your server to be eligible to be matched with clients who select this option. Basically you just need to be running the right map(s).

Same guy as the previous quote.

[Powerlord]

and again, from Fletcher Dunn:

The quickplay criteria affect quickplay. They have nothing at all to do with whether or not your server has the special drops enabled. if (logged_into_registered_account() && is_halloween_map(current_map) && !server_has_been_asbusive()) { special_drops(); }

[sinblaster]

We're going to have a required TF2 update coming later today. This isn't the update for the Halloween event nor is it the update that will require your server to be registered in order to receive gift drops on Halloween maps, but, as with all required updates, you will need to apply the update to your servers to allow players to connect. Thanks, Tony