 Good evening. By now, I think most Team Fortress 2 players have accepted the fact that we are likely never getting a major Valve-made update again, and that the final TF comic is probably never coming either. But that's no fun to talk about, so why don't we instead speculate on what we could have gotten if things had turned out a little different? I've got a theory. I think RD asteroid, the scrapped robot destruction map from 2014, and the final TF2 comic may have been linked. It's possible we were to expect a space-themed update to release with the series finale. Let me explain. In TF comic number 4, Blood in the Water, the reader is armed with the knowledge that Sniper's mother has escaped to outer space with the last known package of Australia, which Miss Pauling desperately wanted to acquire for the administrator. This comic was posted only three months after testing for RD asteroid, which takes place in outer space, began. Since then, neither asteroid nor the TF comics have been finished. It's very strange that asteroid's development was totally abandoned given how much effort was put into it. The whole new setting was crafted, with concept art that seems to have been made in-house by Moby Frank. The map had enough unique parts created for it to warrant its own asset folder called Moonbase, and it also carried with it new gameplay models for its robots and reactor cores. The announcer's voice actor, Ellen McClane, even performed unique lines just for asteroid. Given all this, I'd say it definitely seems Valve had plans for this map beyond what we got. So, is there any definitive proof? To be totally upfront, no. But it is at least conspicuous how well the timelines match up. Science concept art was teased on the same blog post they promoted comic number three on. This timing implies that comic number four and RD asteroid were conceived around the same time. I think it's also worth noting that a good amount of community members anticipated a space or moonbase theme update for TF2 during this era. A notion Valve never publicly dispelled. Here is an example of a publication speculating about a moonbase update. Here is an example of a user created cosmetic created during this hype. Some people also point to the announcer's dramatic dialogue and hurried tone on RD asteroid, as evidence that this mission was more closely intertwined with the game's story than we initially thought. This is total speculation, but interesting to think about nonetheless. We must launch that transport ship! We are running out of time! Is it possible that an arc in the comics where the mercenaries go into space to get Australian was in the works, with an in-game space update planned to coincide with its release? Unfortunately, unless more information is made available, we have no way to know. But given the circumstantial evidence we have, I do feel comfortable saying that the TF2 story writers most likely did, at least at one point, contemplate moving the game's story into outer space. Isn't that fun to think about? Finish the fucking TF comics, Jake Pinkerton!