The Team Fortress 2 Universe

ríomhaire

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Yes, this game has no plot, what so ever, at all. But I think the universe that it fits in to is quite interesting and I'm trying to gather as much info on it as possible. Most of this info is gotten from the game environments and in-game posters from official maps (including cp_steel)

Builder's League United, also known as BLU Industries Inc. has many covers/affiliates/child companies which mainly focus on heavy industry.
General Industries Co.
Biggs, Steel Rods (since 1890)
100% Grain Quality (or at least this sign is on their "Granary." It could be a name or description)
Hampshire's Heavy Lifting Equipment
Casali Shafting Co.

They have their own beer: Blue Streak.
Their symbol is a globe contained within the pivot of a wrench.





Reliable Excavation Demolitions has even more covers, who focus on mining and agriculture.
Imperial Mining
Red Valley Mining
Brown Nugget Prospecting
Happy Farmers Cooperative (They have cardboard cut-out cows to fool the general public)
Zippy Plow
Jenkins Coal Co. (BTW, Gabe Newell illustrated the Leeroy Jenkins card for the WoW trading card game)
Red Bread



They have two drinks to their name:
Red Shed (distilled since 1934) and
Old Geezer Draft Beer

Their symbol is a bomb.

Like, BLU, they have many, many missiles, but they also have stores of radioactive materials (look down into the pit next time you play a payload map)




Other
Ajax Gold Medal Dynamite
Knifeback Mountain (possibly a resort)
Jimi Jam (on a poster, no idea)
Chairman (a type of luxury car, blue in colour)
The Lost Continents (resort)
Telemax (teleporter brand name)
The sentry gun's blue prints have the year 1963 on them
All calendars are on June, the year is illegible.
There's a sign up with IT'S THE LAW in large print. There is other print above this but I cannot read it.
Other than the HUD and the announcer, the only character to have acknowledged the true nature of the game is the Soldier in Meet the Sandvich where mentions the "Red team."
The Scout of each team has his team log printed on it.



Please contribute anything that I have missed.
 
So, are you going to continue adding notes to this yourself, or were you expecting some kind of input? Because I think the TF2 world is awesome.
 
I have always found it funny that both teams take their orders from the same woman, shes playing them for fools!
 
I think the two companies are fighting, and so no real lives are lost they use clones of specially chosen people, for their special skills. They are fighting because each company wants to buy out the other for whatever reason.

We need to make a TF2 story!
 
I think the 'IT'S THE LAW' thing might have 'Wear a helmet' above it, but I'm basing that off nothing more than a hunch/half-baked memory.

GJ at collating some of this stuff. Like you say, there's no backstory whatsoever, but it's fun to know everything there is to know about the little tidbits which have been added to give the TF2 world more character.
 
Are there any comics on TF2 like concerned? Maybe we should make one.

Halflife2.net sponsered tf2 comic? Eh?
 
I think the two companies are fighting, and so no real lives are lost they use clones of specially chosen people, for their special skills. They are fighting because each company wants to buy out the other for whatever reason.

We need to make a TF2 story!
I made a a backstory fan-fic before, but at that time I hadn't paid any attention to the world so it doesn't make much sense.
 
Valve didn't make those did they? They're pretty nice...
 
A few more tidbits....

Soldier - "I joined this team just to kill maggots like you!"
Heavy - "They told me we would be fighting men!"
Demo - "I nearly joined the other team!"
Meet the Sniper - talks about his role as a job

So the characters are employed by someone to fight for them. They all seem quite insane apart from the Sniper, and as mentioned above, some of them are well aware that they are employed and being paid(?) to fight.
 
In the attack/defend maps and payload it would appear that BLU are launching a preemptive attack on something RED has. A laser in Gravelpit, a rocket in Dustbowl and nuclear material in Goldrush/Badwater - all with the potential for destruction. This lives up to the inherent conflict in their names - Builder's League United versus Reliable Excavation & Demolitions. You can assume that BLU has built something that RED are going to destroy.
 
In the attack/defend maps and payload it would appear that BLU are launching a preemptive attack on something RED has. A laser in Gravelpit, a rocket in Dustbowl and nuclear material in Goldrush/Badwater - all with the potential for destruction. This lives up to the inherent conflict in their names - Builder's League United versus Reliable Excavation & Demolitions. You can assume that BLU has built something that RED are going to destroy.

I was thinking the same on Builders and demolitions.
 
I saw a sign that read "Imperial Plumbing (something starting with S)" today in Goldrush B.
 
Jenkins Coal Co. (BTW, Gabe Newell illustrated the Leeroy Jenkins card for the WoW trading card game)

I am 300% sure it was not Gabe Newell, but rather Gabe (Mike) from Penny Arcade
 
What lying bastard told me it was Gabe Newell? D=
 
I read somewhere it was Gabe :\

You know, I do hate to pick on people for making mistakes about stuff that ultimately doesn't matter, but Gabe Newell has never had anything to do with WoW, he's not known to possess artistic talents of any kind and there is a person known widely to the online community as Gabe, is known to be an artist and has illustrated the WoW TCG and several WoW game guides along with the most popular webcomic of all times, arguably. I guess what I'm trying to say Riomhaire is: Not a single alarm bell went off?
 
It's so obvious people, the game is set during the Seven Hour War. RED and BLU are fighting for the contract to build defensive weaponry against the Combine. BLU want to try and capture some Advisors and hold them hostage, RED wants to blow the shit out of them.

PROOF: If any TF2 match lasts for more than seven hours, a picture of the Gman with the words "OMG U LOSE" written over it appears and the theme from Night Court plays.
 
You know, I do hate to pick on people for making mistakes about stuff that ultimately doesn't matter, but Gabe Newell has never had anything to do with WoW, he's not known to possess artistic talents of any kind and there is a person known widely to the online community as Gabe, is known to be an artist and has illustrated the WoW TCG and several WoW game guides along with the most popular webcomic of all times, arguably. I guess what I'm trying to say Riomhaire is: Not a single alarm bell went off?
I don't read Penny Acarde and know nothing about the guy who draws it or that he has ever had anything to do with WoW, which I also know very little about.
 
I noticed a few things on 2fort and ravine today, I'll try to remember them when I play again.
 
In cp_well, both RED and BLU have a missile in their main building. So it's just not RED that has all the weapons of mass destruction. The same goes for granary. They have three missiles at the farthest buildings each, with two laying down on the wagon, and 1 is lifted and ready for launch.

I'm just mentioning it, 'cuz I would just make it clear, that both teams are bad guys, not just RED.

My theory is, that they are both secret agencies that are fighting each other for some sort of world domination. They are both stealing suitcases with (assumed) various important information (It could also just be cookies for all I care), infiltrating and overtaking the other teams weapons for their own use. (except for payload maps. That's just destroying the RED's weapons and then leave the base empty for personnel)

The announcer is a riddle for me. I can't figure her out. She is the announcer for both teams, telling stuff over some big loudspeakers, that can can be heard by both teams. It's only the last sentence she says different for both teams. "You failed" or "success!"

She could be the head behind both agencies, but for what reason, I don't know. Maybe for manipulating the teams to murder each other for her own amusement. Or to be sure, she wins every time, whether BLU or RED succeeds their mission.

Those would be my best guesses, but it's just theories I have, nothing more.

Hope it helps. For information, I would suggest you go to this, this and this site.
 
^Maybe the announcer is an set of AI?
 
man, this is like a thread i saw on fp that claimed that Team Fortress 2 was the first part of the half-life universe because it takes place in the 1940s...in a desert...and there's portals. oh and the gman's a spy.
 
In cp_well, both RED and BLU have a missile in their main building. So it's just not RED that has all the weapons of mass destruction. The same goes for granary. They have three missiles at the farthest buildings each, with two laying down on the wagon, and 1 is lifted and ready for launch.

I'm just mentioning it, 'cuz I would just make it clear, that both teams are bad guys, not just RED.

My theory is, that they are both secret agencies that are fighting each other for some sort of world domination. They are both stealing suitcases with (assumed) various important information (It could also just be cookies for all I care), infiltrating and overtaking the other teams weapons for their own use. (except for payload maps. That's just destroying the RED's weapons and then leave the base empty for personnel)

The announcer is a riddle for me. I can't figure her out. She is the announcer for both teams, telling stuff over some big loudspeakers, that can can be heard by both teams. It's only the last sentence she says different for both teams. "You failed" or "success!"

She could be the head behind both agencies, but for what reason, I don't know. Maybe for manipulating the teams to murder each other for her own amusement. Or to be sure, she wins every time, whether BLU or RED succeeds their mission.

Those would be my best guesses, but it's just theories I have, nothing more.

Hope it helps. For information, I would suggest you go to this, this and this site.
Why do you assume that rockets are weapons?
 
Why do you assume that rockets are weapons?

Sorry, my mistake. I meant missiles...

And in case I should have misunderstood you, and that you also mean it's rockets, but not meant as weapons, that could be true as well.

Rockets for satellites and such could be a possibility in the TF2 universe. Since it happens in the 1960's, and the soviets and America are fighting in the space race at this time, it could be possible.... And then the satellites could be used as weapons against the other agency.. :D
 
As in the hyperlinks I provided, it seems that RED and BLU are actually fronts for two intelligence agencies that have discovered each other. They hire mercenaries to carry out missions, such as stealing intelligence and territories. BLU often goes on the offense against RED's more ambitious projects.
 
Today, I just made up a new theory on "The announcer".

I believe, that the announcer for the RED team, and the announcer for the BLU team, in fact, are twins. Two twins that hates each other so much, that they have secretly made two agencies (not known by the other one), for then to discover each others agency, and start an internal war.

It may have been in their childhood. They are both very talented, have a great ability to lead, they both hunger for power and they both come from a rich family (Where else should they get that amount of equipment and personnel?)

Sounding to be in the middle 50's around 60 years old, I can assume, they've been running these agencies for quite some time. And therefore, they agencies have grown to the size, they are in the game, and thereby have the recourses to hire mercenaries (the 9 classes), scientist, agents and more personnel to control the large facilities all the battles are carried out in.

What do you guys think of my theory?
 
Wow, this is almost as bad as the HL forums.
 
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