also try verifying game files

If you have the party chat minimized on the main menu, but someone starts spamming it too quickly, the last few chat messages will never fade away.

Yes

4.5.0b with just the removal of the custom texture preload list for now.

4.5.0 released with Pyro Update fixes, documentation improvements, and new CVars.

On Arch Linux, TF2 crashes on any file downloads. Use cl_downloadfilter none to prevent file downloads for now.

did you use host_thread_mode 0?

New commands of interest:

+helpme
-helpme
m_limitedcapture_workaround : Workaround limitations on mouse capture in some environments
reload_char_info 
sv_turbophysics                          : 1        : , "sv", "rep"    : Turns on turbo physics (now on by default?)
set_party_contract_progress_enabled : Set whether or not you'd like your party memebers to be able to make progress on your Contracts along with you.
sv_voicecodec                            : 0        :                  : Specifies which voice codec to use. Valid options are: vaudio_speex - Legacy Speex codec (lowest quality) vaudio_celt - Newer CELT codec (22kHz, 22kbps) vaudio_celt_high - Newer CELT codec, higher bitrate (44kHz, 44kbps) steam - Use Steam voice API
tf_airblast_cray                         : 1        : , "sv", "cheat"  : Use alternate cray airblast logic globally.
tf_airblast_cray_ground_reflect          : 1        : , "sv", "cheat"  : If set, cray airblast reflects any airblast power directed into the ground off of it, to prevent ground-stuck and provide a bit more control over up-vs-forward vectoring
tf_airblast_cray_debug                   : 0        : , "sv", "cheat"  : Enable debugging overlays & output for cray airblast.  Value is length of time to show debug overlays in seconds.
tf_airblast_cray_lose_footing_duration   : 0        : , "sv", "cheat"  : How long the player should be unable to regain their footing after being airblast, separate from air-control stun.
tf_airblast_cray_ground_minz             : 100      : , "sv", "cheat"  : If set, cray airblast ensures the target has this minimum Z velocity after reflections and impulse have been applied. Set to 268.3281572999747 for exact old airblast Z behavior.
tf_airblast_cray_pitch_control           : 0        : , "sv", "cheat"  : If set, allow controlling the pitch of the airblast, in addition to the yaw.
tf_airblast_cray_power                   : 600      : , "sv", "cheat"  : Amount of force cray airblast should apply unconditionally. Set to 0 to only perform player momentum reflection.
tf_airblast_cray_power_relative          : 0        : , "sv", "cheat"  : If set, the blast power power also inherits from the blast's forward momentum.
tf_airblast_cray_reflect_coeff           : 2        : , "sv", "cheat"  : The coefficient of reflective power cray airblast employs.  0   - No reflective powers  0-1 - Cancel out some/all incoming velocity  1-2 - Reflect some/all incoming velocity outwards  2+  - Reflect incoming velocity outwards and then some 
tf_airblast_cray_reflect_cost_coeff      : 0        : , "sv", "cheat"  : What portion of power used for reflection is removed from the push effect. Note that reflecting incoming momentum requires 2x the momentum - to first neutralize and then reverse it.  Setting this to 1 means that a target running towards the blast at more than 50% blast-speed would have a net pushback half that of a stationary target, since half the power was used to negate their incoming momentum. A value of 0.5 would mean that running towards the blast would not be beneficial vs being still, while values 
tf_airblast_cray_reflect_relative        : 0        : , "sv", "cheat"  : If set, the relative, rather than absolute, target velocity is considered for reflection.
tf_airblast_cray_stun_amount             : 0        : , "sv", "cheat"  : Amount of control loss to apply if stun_duration is set.
tf_airblast_cray_stun_duration           : 0        : , "sv", "cheat"  : If set, apply this duration of stun when initially hit by an airblast.  Does not apply to repeated airblasts.
tf_bison_tick_time  
tf_bot_spawn_use_preset_roster           : 1        : , "sv", "cheat"  : Bot will choose class from a preset class table. 
tf_chat_popup_hold_time
tf_find_a_match_hint_viewed              : 1        : , "a", "cl"      : 
tf_fireball_airblast_recharge_penalty    : 0        : , "sv", "cheat", "rep" : 
tf_fireball_burn_duration                : 2        : , "sv", "cheat", "rep" : 
tf_fireball_burning_bonus                : 3        : , "sv", "cheat", "rep" : 
tf_fireball_damage                       : 25       : , "sv", "cheat", "rep" : 
tf_fireball_distance                     : 500      : , "sv", "cheat", "rep" : 
tf_fireball_draw_debug_radius            : 0        : , "sv", "cheat", "rep" : 
tf_fireball_hit_recharge_boost           : 1        : , "sv", "cheat", "rep" : 
tf_fireball_radius                       : 30       : , "sv", "cheat", "rep" : 
tf_fireball_speed                        : 3000     : , "sv", "cheat", "rep" : 
tf_item_inspect_model_auto_spin          : 1        : , "a", "cl"      : 
tf_item_inspect_model_spin_rate          : 30       : , "a", "cl"      : 
tf_listrounds                            : cmd      :                  : List the rounds for the current map
tf_mm_dashboard_slide_panel_step         : 20       : , "a", "cl"      : 
tf_movement_aircurrent_aircontrol_mult   : 0        : , "sv", "cheat", "rep" : Multiplier on air control when player is in an air current (such as airblast)
tf_movement_aircurrent_friction_mult     : 0        : , "sv", "cheat", "rep" : Friction multiplier when sliding against surfaces while trapped in an air current
tf_movement_lost_footing_friction        : 0        : , "sv", "cheat", "rep" : Ground friction for players who have lost their footing
tf_movement_lost_footing_restick         : 50       : , "sv", "cheat", "rep" : Early escape the lost footing condition if the player is moving slower than this across the ground
tf_notifications_push_bottom
tf_party_chat                            : cmd      :                  : Talk to me

tf_party_ignore_invites                  : 0        : , "a", "cl"      : If set, ignore incoming party invites
tf_party_incoming_invites_debug          : cmd      :                  : Show current party invite objects
tf_party_invite_user                     : cmd      :                  : Invite the given steamid to join your party, or accept a request to do so
tf_party_join_request_mode               : 0        : , "a", "cl"      : The current mode for incoming party join requests:   -1 - Use default (currently 1),     0 - Open to friends,     1 - Friends can request to join,     2 - Invite only 
tf_party_keep_on_same_team               : 0        : , "a", "cl"      : 
tf_party_leave                           : cmd      :                  : Leave current party
tf_party_request_join_user               : cmd      :                  : Request to join the given steamid's party, or accept an invite to do so
tf_playround                             : cmd      :                  : Play the selected round  Argument: {round name given by 'tf_listrounds' command}
tf_quest_map_intro_viewed                : 0        : , "a", "cl"      : 
tf_quest_map_tuner_wobble_magnitude      : 0        : , "cl"           : 
tf_warpaint_explanation_viewed           : 0        : , "a", "cl"      : 

Full diff here: https://gist.github.com/mastercoms/7fbe1fd58162cb7d39752d38f3e51796/revisions

4.4.10 hotfix released https://github.com/mastercoms/tf2cfg/releases/tag/4.4.10 for lazarus

Values other than 0 add a delay to the changing of soundscapes within maps, that delay is longer for the same given value if the FPS is lower.

(Soundscapes are the enviromental sounds baked into a map.)

How you can tell if the soundscapes are delayed for too long is if previous soundscapes get stuck, then jump to silence, then to the newest soundscape.

I've found that nothing is wrong with the changing of soundscapes when the value is set to 2, even while using fps_max 30.

If you want to test this for yourself, set snd_spatialize_roundrobin at 10 to delay, 0 to remove the delay.

Optional: Set soundscape_debug to 1 to see the soundscapes, once a line turns green, the soundscape has changed.

This doesn't just affect soundscapes, it affects all sounds, and affects the delay in terms of frames per second, so of course when your framerate is lower, it will take more time in seconds. If you are running at 60FPS, with snd_spatialize_roundrobin 5, you are spatializing sound every 32 frames, or about 0.5 seconds. This means, for example, if you hear a spy decloak behind you and turn around, you will still hear the decloaking sound behind you even though you are now facing the spy. Setting the CVar this high is like settting fov_desired to 70 for performance's sake.

But then you can't use dxsupport_override.cfg which has some noticeable particle and sound performance improvements, especially on DX9.

They changed the bonk max slow after expiration, changed YER cloak drain rate, added claymore and bison reverts and reserve shooter nerf.

I really like the changes and I think it was worth the wait. We got massively changed mechanics for pyro flames, afterburn and airblast which make them more skill based and consistent. Then we got 4 unlocks which are clearly going to change the metagame for pyro.

The balance changes are a really good step in the right direction and they get rid of a lot of annoyances and lots of outliers in the wacky balance of TF2.

I really love the new contracts system and the skin changes, as well as how you can inspect all weapons now.

The quality of life improvements to casual, cases and just in general (like the model breaking and the bug fixes) were a nice touch.

This update was much bigger than gun mettle, meet your match or tough break, so I'm happy.

Hopefully the TF team has something in store for Scream Fortress and Smissmas as well to surprise us.

VPNs will make it worse in other aspects and don't really fix the problem. Hopefully it will be fixed in tomorrow's update, if it isn't caused by your WiFi.

In an abundance of caution, delete texture_preload_list.txt from your config folder so that the game preloads new assets and your game runs smoothly. I'll try to put out a config update as soon as I can to resolve any conflicts with new content in the update.

base.cfg

snd_spatialize_roundrobin 5

This delays sound spatialization by 32 frames. Why did you set it to 5?

cl_hud_playerclass_use_playermodel 1

r_hunkalloclightmaps 1

This workaround and more are detailed on the wiki: https://github.com/mastercoms/tf2cfg/wiki/Troubleshooting