The Gang Garrison 2 community and community modders are preparing behind closed doors for something big. Something Super big. As we stand on this doorstep, let’s take a look back at the road that brought us here with a special focus on its development struggles and the community efforts in the final stretch, and then let’s catch a glimpse of what is being cooked behind the door.

If you haven’t played Gang Garrison 2 but have heard of it, what you heard was most likely faint praise, like, a “neat” little game, lumped together with the novelty freeware that had its time from late 2000s to early 2010s–perhaps a school computer game. It’s unlikely that you’ve heard about it by someone like me, for whom it has become his favorite game, and only around 2020. So what I am going to tell you not only has deeper and more recent insight, but also is not colored by nostalgia.

If you’ve been around the Team Fortress timeline long enough, you know the DNA of this game runs incredibly deep. Before there was TF2, there was Enemy Territory Fortress (ETF), which evolved straight from the legendary Quake 3 Fortress (Q3F). For decades, its community has kept the spirit of fast-paced, high-skill, bunny-hopping Fortress gameplay alive. Today, ETF and its dedicated engine project, ETe (Enemy Territory Engine), are still pushing forward–but to get this classic codebase exactly where it needs to be for the modern era, we need your help.

Lately, our primary development pipeline has been heavily Windows-focused. We are looking to expand our team to truly make ETF cross-platform, easily accessible, and stable for the modern era. But this alone is not the whole scope of reviving and refining ETF. We are aware that we are in dire need for people with soft skills to gather the playerbase. We are also looking for level designers to expand mapping and gameplay styles; and artists to polish where necessary. Following is the full list.

ETF isn’t just another mod; it’s a direct link to the golden era of arena shooters. Q3F and ETF paved the way for the mechanical depth, speed, and tight team dynamics that defined the class-based shooter genre. By contributing to ETF and ETe, you aren’t just working on a side project–you are helping preserve video game history, keeping a legendary engine alive on modern systems, and giving a dedicated community the platform they deserve. If you want to jump in, write some code, build some maps, test some builds, or push some pixels, drop a comment below or reach out directly via our GitHub repository or Discord! | GitHub: ETF, ETe – Discord: ETF

Fortressmen of the Month #2 goes big, bringing together the key developers behind Quake 4 Fortress—an ambitious project that built hype, attracted community support, hosted playtests, and fostered a growing player base between 2004 and 2006. Development came to an abrupt end, with the work that had been completed wrapped up in a “v1.5” release. For those who played it during its lifetime, Q4F remains a project remembered with nostalgia and a lingering sense of what might have been.

Now, after nearly twenty years in the games industry, Q4F lead developer Jeremy “photeknix” Raymond and lead programmer Jared “3j” Cone look back on their journey. They begin by discussing the history of Team Fortress as they experienced it as teenagers before turning to the Fortress mod they created as young adults. They reflect on Q4F’s ambitions, its distinctive design, its road to QuakeCon 2006 and meeting Splash Damage, and, despite all of its promise, its eventual downfall. Finally, they offer a glimpse into the game industry careers they have built since those early modding days.

The developer team behind Team Fortress 2 Classified, EMINOMA, has partnered with the independent TF2C Mapping Community (TF2CMC) -supported and led by the very same host of AltTAB servers- to organize the first official TF2 Classified mapping contest. Following the footsteps of the 2010 art pass competition of TF2, the participants are tasked with taking a de-artpassed version of a map originally created by Waugh101, now renamed arena_competition_template, and using it as a blank canvas to create their own art passed version, under an original name. The winner will have their version hosted on AltTAB Standard and VaultF4 Custom Maps servers for the forseeable future, in addition to receiving supporter perks on both servers.

The contest was announced on TF2CMC Discord server three days ago on July 6, with submission due six weeks later, on August 24. There are already around a dozen submissions on the #artpass-contest-submissions channel of the Discord server, where mapmakers are sharing their work in progress. Themes range from Yukon-like Canadian environment to industrial harbor. The map is relatively compact, so there is still plenty of time for mappers to join the contest and present their own vision of what the level could become. Even if you are not a mapper, the TF2CMC Discord is a great place to admire these new creations and join the weekly playtests with a community of creative individuals.

Note that, just two days before the contest was announced, TF2 Classified released its Modding Tools–a small but thoughtful gift to mappers and modders alike.

Thanks to the release of these tools on Steam, it’s now easier than ever to get started using Hammer for TF2C. Eminoma’s provided guides and example VMFs are perfect for learning TF2C’s style, and this contest is a great opportunity to have a go yourself. – Jaws, TF2CMC Lead and AltTAB Owner

The last of its kind in the Team Fortress Classic scene, Final Fortress League is nine weeks into its Season 3. After its 6-team debut season primarily played in 5v5, and a second season with 4 teams successfully achieving 7v7s, its third run is again having 4 teams competing against each other in 5v5 or 7v7 settings, depending on the map and circumstances. According to the organizer KingOfPests the current player count could support a 6-team season again, if two more players stepped up to captain teams.

The flexible match format leaves room for adaptation and experimentation. For larger maps teams may jointly decide to play 7v7, or they may agree on 5v5 for small maps. Unlike the active pick-up game systems like ETFC‘s or NoNamePickups, FFL’s usual game mode is ADL (Attack/Defend League) rather than CTF (Capture The Flag). When CTF is played, however, FFL adds its own twist. Depending on the map and the player count, teams may decide to allow offense and defense simultaneously for both teams, instead of the common practise of taking turns in offense and defense for an equal amount of time.

For now it’s all North American teams including some South American players, however, there are plans for the next season to attract European participation by playing the matches at 16:00 EST. Rosters are not locked, and one of the teams, Second to none [220], is currently said to be open for recruiting.

Before the Finals to be held in Week 13 – 15, there are three more weeks left to be played. All matches are scheduled for 20:30 EST by default. One of the two matches in a week is always played on Pip’s Server [Aron’s Classic CTF], and the other one on Old School TFC (OST) which can be watched live in their respective HLTV servers. Aside from these, individual players also stream live on Twitch. The default match times and scheduling are subject to change, so anyone looking to catch some top TFC action should join the Discord server and ask around to stay up to date.

📺 Live in-game TV
Pip’s HLTV: connect 162.248.93.191:27020
OST HLTV: connect 192.169.81.61:27019

🔴 Live Twitch streams
MightyMouse -FOOC- Twitch channel
KingOfPests .rQ Cpt. Twitch channel
KuKu [220] Twitch channel
Nookie -5picy Twitch channel
Asie -FOOC- Cpt. Twitch channel
PurpleGoose .rQ Twitch channel
Nomad [220] Twitch channel