“Bug so old it could have enlisted with parental consent”

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndicate partners may earn a commission.

The dream team at Valve Software has done it again, adding another footnote to the definition of Valve Time by releasing a new update for Team Fortress 2 that fixes a 17-year-old bug.

Update notes contain the harmless line “Fixed BLU Scout using incorrect team color pants.” The news that one of Team Fortress 2’s characters has apparently been running around in the wrong pants for so long has, needless to say, caused consternation, shock and awe around one of the most excited-resigned fanbases out there. It also has funny implications about Scout’s ability to dress up.

The change can be seen in the comparison image below:

“Honestly, the fact that most pants cosmetics will now be inappropriate forever is hilarious.” says Patrick Batemanalthough I’m pretty sure it’s not him.

Many other reactions run along the meme lines of “TF2 is finally playable!” and “game saved!” along with expressions of the opposite and a general underlying uneasiness that everyone has been playing with the wrong color pants for so long without noticing. Except for one: YouTuber Shounic posted a video last year titled “Scout’s pants are the wrong color” showing that the Photoshop file for Scout’s textures has Team BLU’s pants layer disabled.

So it’s worth it: Scout’s pants were the wrong color. Shounic uploaded another short video in response to the change, showing some of the cosmetic issues caused by this texture change, though funnily enough, he also notes that the Scout zombie model has been accurately updated.

Needless to say, it’s the subject of all the top posts on TF2 subredditwith MrCheggersPartyQuiz remarking wistfully that “nearly 20 years later, this game is still fixing things I never thought were broken.”

The line of the day goes to Mx though. Bean: “Bug so old he could have enlisted with parental consent.”

Finally, the TF2 community has outdone itself even more: The scout who messed up his pants for 17 years is now the subject of a the new TF2 fic from WelfareGorilla. Excerpt: “The pants are for Red Team scouts, you should wear a pair of blue pants!”