Main menu

The current default main menu screen layout. Note: Click a part of image to go to information about it.

“

Time to fight! Click to listen — The Administrator, eagerly (or impatiently) awaiting the player's upcoming bloodbath.

”

The main menu is the opening screen of Team Fortress 2. Upon the initial opening of the game's menu, one of the soundtrack songs will play, but it will not loop or play again until the game is restarted. The menu can also be opened while connected to a server (the default key to open the menu is Esc).

Main Menu Button Appearances and Functions

Top Buttons
Welcome & Achievements	300px	The top left icon is your current Steam avatar. The text below will always show "Welcome back", along with your current profile nickname. The icons at the bottom are the most recent achievements you have received from earliest to latest. Clicking View All will bring up a window that shows earned and unearned achievements, along with progress bars for achievements that require them. Unearned achievements have a tick box that can enable the achievement's progress to be shown in the HUD while playing. See also: Achievements
Alerts & Messages	The Newspaper opened.	Example of trade alert. The alert box is a temporary box that appears to the left of the message tab. It shows notifications such as trade requests and map events (so far only Mann Manor has made use of this via gift drops and Horseless Headless Horsemann appearances during the Scream Fortress update) The messages tab, when expanded, shows a "newspaper" with the most recent updates from the official Team Fortress 2 blog. The right hand side of the main menu is occasionally used for special update related events such as the War update or the Saxxy awards.
Left Main Menu Buttons
Resume Game		This button is only present whilst connected to a server. Clicking on the main body of the button will take you back to the game and out of the menu.
	Call Vote	The tick symbol allows you to call a vote on the server you are currently on as long as the server supports it. Options include player kicking, map changes and team scrambles.
	Mute Players	Main article: Main menu#Muting players The Mute Players button brings up a menu that allows the player to mute other player's in-game voice chat. This will only show an empty list of players when outside of a server. It will not mute text chat, sounds triggered by scripts or the server, or sounds from a Template:W.
	Request Coach	The whistle symbol allows you to call for a coach to teach you how to play.
Start Playing	300px	Allows the player to join or set up a game. By clicking the main body of the button the Server browser is opened (This button only shows when the player is not currently connected to a server. Otherwise it becomes the 'Change Server' button).
	Offline Practise	The target symbol allows you to start up an offline practice server where you can play against bots.
	Create Server	The plus symbol allows you to start up a listen or LAN server.
Manage Items		Main article: Manage items Will take you to the Loadout and stats pages.
Replays		Main article: Replay Takes you to the Replays window where you can view your recorded clips, takes and movies.
Shop for Items		Main article: Mann Co. Store Clicking the Shop For Items button opens the Mann Co. Store, which allows players to purchase in-game items such as hats, weapons, action items, and tools using money stored in their Steam Wallet. A current "featured item" is also shown under this button.
View Promotional Codes		This button will open a Steam web browser page to a listing of all your Team Fortress 2 related claim codes on your account. Currently the only promotional code available is from the RIFT Well Spun Hat Claim Code item.
Bottom Buttons
Quit / Disconnect		This button with either close the game if not connected to a server, or will disconnect from the currently connected server.
Bottom Buttons	Training	Main article: Training Allows and connects the player to set up on one of the tutorial levels.
	New User Forum	Opens the Steam overlay web browser to the Team Fortress 2 New Players forum.
	Developer Commentary	This menu allows the player to enter one of three empty versions of the official maps. These contain non-functioning bots and speech bubbles, which provide voice commentary from the designers detailing the game's development.
	Be a Coach	This gives you the option to volunteer to coach other players in the coaching mode.
	Report Bug	This menu gives the player a fast and efficient option to quickly report a bug with an optional screenshot.
Options		This button opens up a window where the player can change keyboard bindings, mouse, audio, and video options, voice configuration for use of a microphone, and multiplayer options.
	TF2 Advanced Options	Main article: Advanced multiplayer options The gear symbol to the left of the options button gives a direct short cut right off the main menu to the advanced multiplayer options.

Muting players

1. Press Esc to bring up the Main Menu while connected to a server.
2. Click the above icon on the resume game bar.
3. Scroll to the offenders name.
4. Highlight his name
5. Click Mute in-game voice

Update history

September 20, 2007 Patch

• Disabled the loading of background maps

September 21, 2007 Patch

• Removed background map due to incompatibilities

October 2, 2007 Patch

• Added "Very High" texture resolution option
• Fixed non-English language text overlapping in a few places
• Extra options added to 'Game' tab in "Create server" menu option

October 9, 2007 Patch

• Fixed loading screen and intro movie showing up on Windows Vista with full screen AA

January 25, 2008 Patch

• Added new option to auto-save a scoreboard screenshot at the end of a map to the Multiplayer->Advanced dialog
• Removed the "Reset Stats" button from the Player Stats screen

April 1, 2008 Patch

• Fixed a few instances of truncated text in the menus and dialogs for languages other than English

April 29, 2008 Patch (Gold Rush Update)

• Added Character Info and Loadout to the main menu

December 17, 2009 Patch (WAR! Update)

• Added 2 new game startup songs (Right Behind You and Petite Chou-Fleur)

July 8, 2010 Patch (Engineer Update)

• Added Engineer main menu music.

July 13, 2010 Patch

• [Undocumented] Changed the song 'More Gun' to be different from Wilco's 'Someone Else's Song'

October 27, 2010 Patch (Scream Fortress Update)

• [Undocumented] Added new game start up music "gamestartup_halloween".

September 30, 2010 Patch (Mann-Conomy Update)

• Added the Mann Co. Store & Catalog
• Server browser tweaks
  • It will now encourage you to add servers to Favorites or Blacklists after you have a good/bad experience on them.
  • The Server Browser now automatically closes after successfully connecting to a server (opt-out via the Options-Multiplayer->Advanced dialog)
• [Undocumented] Removed the "class advisor" and class records from the top-right corner of the main menu

April 14, 2011 Patch (Hatless Update)

• Updated the main menu to include 'resume game', 'call a vote' and 'request coach' selections.
• Menu background is now transparent when connected to a server.
• The Mann Co. Store featured item is no longer viewable in the menu unless the player selects the store button specifically.

May 5, 2011 Patch (Replay Update)

• Added the Replay feature to the menu
• [Undocumented] Added the Saxxy 2011 Theme

May 6, 2011 Patch

• Fixed a client crashed caused by using custom main menu resource files

May 9, 2011 Patch

• Saxxy fanfare music wasn't playing on music channel. Music will only play once per launch now and will not play on a changelevel

May 18, 2011 Patch

• Added an Advanced Options button to the main menu to allow tweaking of many gameplay options

May 19, 2011 Patch

• Fixed a rare case where users running Service Pack 3 on Windows 7 64-bit with graphics driver version 12.42 saw a graphical glitch on the main menu Options button .

Gallery

• 

  The Saxxy Awards extra that appeared on the main menu during the Replay Update.

See also

• Soundtrack
• Server Browser
• Head-up display
• Trading
• Multiplayer options