Judging by the loud explosion sounds, wet thuds, and the orchestra of crickets on my front porch, it seems that one more year has passed for Open Fortress, not just one in fact, this time, it's FIVE!

For some, everything they could ever wish for, for others, no time at all, but we are OPEN FORTRESS, and this is a cause for celebration!
There is much to say, and to help, I'll consult my trustworthy advisor and Co-General. Let's hear what he has to say:
"Wait, what? Its been five years? IT HAS NOT BEEN FIVE YEARS ALREADY!!
I'm over here fending off polar bears from invading my home in the alaskan wilderness, and you guys are expecting a big anniversary post! Well, guess I better fax you guys this latest info for the occasion! (And hope one of these bears doesn't gnaw my arm off)"

While we wait for the wonders of technology to do their thing, why don't we look at less sentimental tearjerkers and rather at the future!

Indeed, the last couple of months have been quite eventful behind the scenes.
Open Fortress, in its core, is a collection of games and gamemodes with Team Fortress at its heart, so it's been quite saddening to see many of its modes and features forgotten and unplayed, which is why we've been cooking up a new way for the game to flow, which would not only let players experience more that the game has to offer, but also future-proof it for any new games and gamemodes added, for example: Retromode!

Now, not to get your hopes up too much, we're still not actively developing Retromode, our main focus is polishing up and finishing Deathmatch, but this is a big step towards a more varied experience.

Instead of the old and dusty map votes at the end of the game and tucked away vote menus to change the mutator, we now have a brand-new end of round voting screen that includes gamemodes, maps and mutators, all of which are now more customizable than ever, both on our end as well as the server's end.

The commonly used plugin "Rock the vote" now also has an in-game equivalent in the call-vote menu.
From having every single option as a possible vote, to only hosting a single map and gamemode, the system is as customizable as it gets, and we hope to see both regular players, as well as creative server hosts, to make full use of the system.
Of course, we're also working hard to allow old geezers to host servers without this new system so as not to break compatibility with tried-and-true plugins and methods.

The system, mechanics-wise, is mostly done; the only thing left is coding the UI for it, which will come with a few new VGUI updates as well.

The system is quite big, and we want to make sure everything works correctly, as it encompasses the entire game.
Many other changes and updates have been made during its development, and we might want to push those out before it's done, so we can't guarantee the vote system will be in the next update, but it definitely will come soon!

As for actual gameplay changes, you might've caught some teasers of a certain new powerup, the Jetpack!

Look Up! Look Down! Look Out! Mercenary does it everywhere!
The jetpack lets the user soar through the air at will and keep or increase their momentum, and don't worry about your jetpack running out mid-flight, modern medicine has made fall damage a thing of the past.

And before you ask, yes, a certain egg-laying Tachyglossidae is already back on his mission to collect gemstones or something like that, as our modeler James Retro has been hard at work to make this beautiful contraption a reality.

Now that's classy!

Many of our mappers have also been hard at work and wanted to share their progress:

Take a look at this in Dev bloodrun re-artpass by Pigeon!

And something that's been long in the making ( and is still in the making... ), a tutorial map! It's still quite a ways off, but we're making slow but sure progress on it.

A change in scenery is always nice to spice up the day.

Now, let's see how our fax machine is doing.
Ah, here it is.

Five years? It doesn't feel real, yet as I stare at this single gray hair on my head, the reality is beginning to set in that I'm almost thirty. Through working on this project, I've made some amazing friends and had the privilege to work alongside some very talented people, and despite the hardships we sometimes face, it's the wonderful community we've amassed that makes everything worth it. You all are what keep this whole thing going, what keeps me motivated to continue being part of this, and, of course, continuing to perform the part as your favorite masked man. To all of you, in the community and on my dev team both past and present, from the bottom of my heart, thank you all. - Stachekip

Five years... That's over half of Team Fortress 2's development time now, crazy to think about. One day you're opening Visual Studio to figure out what an "Int pointer" is, and next thing you know, you have blood on your hands, a goat horn stuck in your head, and a pentagram beneath you; and also a Project with hundreds of contributors and thousands of fans. The first year was so exciting. I had just turned 16, learning about the engine, figuring out how to make the bare necessities work, then people started joining, and wanting to contribute, and quickly things started developing, the first maps, the first actual playable build, I remember the multi-weapon system genuinely being an accident at first, giving a dozen weapons in each of the first 3 slots.
The Mercenary actually got a model! And his voice actor, now a good friend of mine, also decided to lend his hand and approval.
New UI, the Loadout system, more modes... As the second year dawned, the first big boom happened, and we had so much trouble hosting the downloads due to our non-existent funds.
Hosting is definitely something that is still plaguing us to this day...
Development on Retromode started, but quickly faded, more polish for DM, internal struggles with keeping the mod afloat and the team running, to the point where I left for a bit...
Third year's hazy for me due to my absence, but I know the team bounced back and got into the structure it is today, for the better I feel.
Next Year was the big shut-down, which halted development to a crawl, and finally we're back, trying as best as we can to continue what we started.
I am so thankful for everyone, especially the team, be it people who stuck around till current day, be it the ones that have moved on, and especially the ones who perished on the climb. - Kay