I was unhappy with the various backpack viewers that are floating around for my own reasons, so I decided to make my own.

It's not quite finished, but I've decided that it's polished enough to release into public beta. As an example, here's my backpack:

http://www.traderep.org/backpack/76561198006409530

You can reach the backpack viewer using any Steam ID format. So that means that all of these links work:

• http://www.traderep.org/backpack/76561198006409530
  
• http://www.traderep.org/backpack/STEAM_0:0:23071901
  
• http://www.traderep.org/backpack/%5BU%3A1%3A46143802%5D (this is [U:1:46143802])
  
• http://www.traderep.org/backpack/DoctorMcKay

Some features:

• Displays all item attributes, custom names, custom descriptions, effects, etc (this was my main gripe against backpack.tf)
  
• Fast
  
• Clean
  
• Click an item to see its wiki page, view its history on backpack.tf, see its origin, etc
  
• Presents critical information at a glance
  
• Ability to name your backpack pages for others to see (organization!)
  
• Buttons to jump directly to pages

And of course, since this is a beta there are some issues.

Known bugs/things to be implemented:

• Fabricators don't show their inputs or outputs
  
• Halloween paint spells show '%s1' instead of their name (when shown in an item's description)
  
• Paint doesn't show up

If you find any more issues or problems, please let me know in the comments here! I also gladly welcome feedback.

We're pleased to announce our partnership with Mann Co. to deliver the Mann Co. store catalog to the Web for the first time!*

Shortly after the monkeygineer that Mann Co. hired to create their online store unexpectedly passed away (RIP Poopy Joe... taken too soon), the store fell into disrepair. Eventually it shut its doors entirely, leaving hatless masses without an online outlet to purchase fine hats and weapons. Those wishing to cover their bare heads were forced to gasp launch the TF2 client and purchase items from the in-game store!

Obviously, Mann Co. couldn't expect all of its customers to have this level of technical expertise. The folks over at Mann Co. know how committed we are to providing the best service to our users, and reached out to us with a contract to host their new online store.

After years of hard labor, it's finally ready. So without further refreshing Mtn Dew™**, I present to you the TradeRep Mann Co. Online Store![www.traderep.org]

Through our partnership, we are able to offer our customers a Mann Co. Online Cap, free of charge, on your first purchase!*** You'll also receive a complimentary Mann Co. Store Package for every $19.99 you spend in our store!

So go there now and buy hats! Saxton Hale is counting on you!

* since the last time it was delivered to the Web
** this post is definitely not paid for by PepsiCo
*** as long as you haven't previously received one


I'd like to take a moment to clarify a few things. While this post is about a "partnership" with Mann Co., note that TradeRep isn't affiliated with Valve or Steam in any way. Our online store is entirely unofficial and is not sanctioned by Valve.

It is, however, completely safe. We fetch the prices of all items in the TF2 store once per day and then we store that data and use it to display our storefront.

Your cart is stored entirely in your browser, so if you refresh the page your cart will be cleared. When you checkout, you're redirected to Steam where you securely confirm your purchase and pay with your Steam Wallet. We use the Steam Online Purchasing (also known as "Buy Now") system for this.

Your account is granted the Mann Co. Online Cap the first time you buy any item using this system, so it's not specific to our store. You can also obtain it by buying something using the "Buy Now" button on an item's wiki page, for example.

Since launch, the default TradeRep communities have been Valve, SteamRep, TradeRep, and FirePowered. Starting now, FirePowered has been removed from the list of default communities and added new a new list of "logged-out" communities.

Default communities will be shown to users who have not logged in and will be automatically trusted when you first sign in. Logged-out communities will also be shown to users who have not logged in, but will not be automatically trusted.

This change was made in order to avoid giving any community an artificial preference over the others.

I've made some backend optimizations and now you should notice that the site is much snappier. In particular, profile updates and searches should be much quicker now.

Also, the "View All Tags" button will now only appear on profiles if a community that you do not trust has issued the player a tag.

There is now a new board[www.traderep.net] on the TradeRep forums for community discussions. Each community that is registered with TradeRep has a thread where discussion about that community can take place.

Previously, when clicking on the information symbol next to a community on the communities page or clicking on a community's tag on a profile, a popup dialog would appear to show the community's information. This has been overhauled into an informational box that appears at the top of the page. This box has buttons for the community's website, the community's TradeRep system, and for the community's discussion thread.