Trianine

I think you are missing the point here. This is not a place where drops actually matter, not yet anyway. There are a half dozen ways to unlock the weapons that do, and honestly, each and every one of them is bullshit. There is no reason to require players unlock what are essentially standard items. I hope you are familiar with the term victimless crime. But not many people seem to reflect on what it actually implies. Why is it victimless? Because nobody gets hurt. Well, then why is it a crime. Because someone in a place of power decided it should be. Victimless crime is something that IRL, people spend a lot of hard time in prison, and us taxpayers spend a lot of money holding them, for doing something as harmless as carrying marijuanna for personal use. I refuse to even smoke or drink alcohol, but I think it's retarded and I'm against this concept by principal. Nobody should be punished without adequate reason, even for something as unimportant as trying to win hats in an online game. I recognize that valve developers are in a position where they can wear all the hats they want. I also believe that the developers covet this power, and want their users to be a little bit jealous, or themselves feel special. But at the heart of this, I think that Valve is a lot embarrassed about what a fiasco their inventory system has been from it's inception. And their solution to the problem reflects that. Quick, without warning, and already they are backtracking, because they didn't think it through (for the second time). They know that this isn't a situation that requires VAC Bans, and for that I am grateful. They haven't lost all sense. Your expectation that they should hand out these bans says a lot, though. I find your rhetoric to be fascinating, Darkesword. You explicitly state that idling people are cheaters and simultaneously acknowledge that these items hold little value in terms of gameplay. You seem to be a little bit conflicted. And since Valve specified that there were no rules on the subject, we know they aren't cheating. Actually, except for landmark cases, this is largely how our justice system works, FYI. Stop misusing the word Hacking. Just because it's an external program does not mean it is illegitimate. There are several external applications that can be used with Steam games. And if Valve thought it was "hacking", Drunken F00l would not be a name Valve endorses. Rambo: I wanted to attach an image of a halo bestowed spy in an idle server, with the phrase: " taking the moral high road" but I couldn't find a place I felt comfortable linking. Seriously, you don't see what's great and you just said it. This is the only thing the hats are really good for, bragging rights and dreams of better headwear. And it's AWESOME.

Hold the phone there. Do not assume that because people like hats, they think their gameplay is going to suddenly improve. Are you really that silly? Sure, hats are purely cosmetic, that's one of the reasons why Valve's action doesn't seem appropriate, which is why many people are a little upset. A little, okay, most people on the forums aren't crying the quitting game. Also, have you taken the time to observe the inventory of the game developers? They sure like to have their funny hats, and you can be damned sure they didn't idle for them. It certainly doesn't help that Valve essentially called idling players cheaters for trying to improve their odds, the only way they can, and for an item that has no bearing on actual gameplay. In other words, completely harmless. I don't hold it against valve for not liking idling, and for trying to stop it. But their punishment came without warning or grace, and caught innocent people as well. They created a situation where the only thing you can do is spend time in game to get the lottery. Most lottery systems only require you to have your ticket and not be present during the drawing. Idle programs, simply put, are more efficient for servers and players, other than that the difference between an external application and playing the game are insignificant. The idea that there is hacking involved is a bit ludicrous. Valve already seems to have reneged on this, promising different ways for players to get hats. Giving hats to "95.5% of the player base", (a bullshit statistic) and starting off with an item drop system that gave enough hats that players began to feel entitled to them, and constantly reminding them that they got new stuff that was not in fact new. Whether Valve is to blame or not, they are reinforcing this behavior. Personally? I think valve dropped the ball on this one. But they already seem to be alleviating the problems with their decisions. I really think it would have been better if they FORCED dunce hats on all the idlers for a time, because that is amusing and still gets the point across. (Okay you want a hat, right?) Makes any hats legitimately earned a bit useless for some time. And I agree with Rambo on one thing, if it's going to be a lottery, make it a once a day thing. All you have to do is play long enough to earn a ticket. Drawings at a specified time. Chances are whatever they are.

I got the Professionals Panama, and you will probably never see it on me. (Edit: Because valve took it away XD Also, I was just checking in some weapon models I was messing with, sorry to fool ya XD

I just received my fourth hat this morning. This is confirmation that Drunken FOOL's idle program works, Valve is not yet removing items, and as well as a confession that hats do not equal happiness. Until Valve actually gets a trading system in place we can only talk, but I know most people care, deep down inside, for a new hat. And I know many of you are coveting that hat you don't want for that hat you do want. But we are friends here, and I know there are those of us, bestowed by the grace of god with many hats, who feel bad for the hatless. So, how many of you would be willing to wear your unwanted hat status as a clan tag [HAT](?), and how many unhatted would do the same [???], so that we can make sure each head stays warm in the fierce but snowy battle of Viaduct? Remember, you can make a difference. Nobody wants to rely on an enemy pyro to stay warm.

I'm pretty sure it's valve making fun of us again. Y'know, like when they added: //---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- // TF2 MMO "TF_MMO_LFG" "Looking For Group" "TF_MMO_Quest1" "You must kill %s1 %s2 to complete this quest." "TF_MMO_Monster1" "Boars" "TF_MMO_Monster2" "Rats" "TF_MMO_Monster3" "Bats" "TF_MMO_Monster4" "Wolves" "TF_MMO_Monster5" "Spiders" --- And I STILL cannot figure out where tf_english.txt is. Windows claims it does not exist.

It seems like they aren't quite sure what to do with the use command. It's already been disabled and re-enabled once, at least.

The heavy punching bit was rather amazing, despite us having 2fort silliness.

Clefairy, I hope the lack of medication is by choice and not by circumstance. If so, how does it go? And here I thought you just had a dry and well practiced tone of defeat for your fellow teammates.

While I agree that Egypt is horrible, I have to say that the minimalist aesthetic of Orange style maps is pretty appealing. This is a wall, and this is a floor, know the difference! But they also remind me of American Gladiators, which makes me giggle. DarkeSword, you make a salient point though about design aesthetic, what is the TF2 experience? How meta-textual do we want our gameplay on OCR? For some people, standard (non-ctf) maps that are familiar and promote competitive gameplay are the only way to go. For others, a retarded map like pac-man or, heaven forbid, cyberpunk, are nice because they are playful, and allow users to explore aspects of the game that were perhaps not intended. Most of us seem to want gameplay somewhere in-between. Playful, but we still get to kill, and teabag those whom we dominate.

It's a hard argument to make, because no map is the same. You can't just throw a "game balance" brush on the map. If you listen to people chatter in game, there are a lot of different design critiques that are thrown out. FWIW, if you are really interested in that, join up TF2maps.net, either on the web, or in TF2. Even stock maps generate critical discussion there, that's what they do. Personally, I think that there are a lot of wonderful custom maps out there and at one time had published a list. The problem is that anybody can attempt to make a map, publish it, and with all the work involved accept the fact that it has flaws. Not every map-maker has a clue, for that matter. So there is a bit of risk with customs. I think a lot of people dislike them by principal. Which is a shame. TF2 is what it is because of the updates and user content. I've played games that were technically better, but not nearly as popular, because that interaction was lost. Edit: speaking of TF2maps.net, and customs....http://forums.tf2maps.net/showthread.php?t=9155 This looks silly enough to watch out for.

Woot Updates! That training map looks awesome, thanks for sharing it. I know I'd like to hone skills with a few weapons.

I just want anyone with problems to know. I'm unable to connect to any server because of something causing the error: "This server is enforcing consistency for this file: particles/water.pcf" It's early, and it seems to be related to the update. Validate your game content (games, right click team fortress 2, properties, local files, verify integrity of game cache.) A lot of people are recommending to check local content, some seem to suggest that this is a problem server side with connections. This fix doesn't seem to be working for me, but might help some of you.

Oh, Baha, I managed to get on later that night, I guess you had retired by then? Thank you though, for taking the time to sort it out. FWIW, I'm happy to miss a play experience here and there just to know we do keep an eye out for troublemakers. And as for the Balloon race map, I've played it only a handful of times. It's a neat idea, but horribly executed, IMO. I wouldn't mind seeing it played once in a while here, but it's spawn setup is confusing, and it's a bitch to catch up to the winning balloon. Also, invisible water snipers. And Powerlord, if you read this, I am sad to see your retreat. I hope you find your time well spent without us.

I reject your assertion that a team of five engineers is a problem. It's wholly doable and often fun. Do you also have problems with matches that are all heavy, sniper, or spy? Cause we've had some pretty epic matches of just that. How about hide and seek spy/pyro, or melee only? It's a rare thing to hear a team complain that they have too many engineers, so I'm going to ask you to illustrate why having five engineers is a problem. Usually, it's a bunch of guys having fun. Are you against having fun?

So are you doing it because it bugs you, or because it's actually a problem? Because honestly, I think it's a bad call on your part. Maybe you could stick around long enough to at least fix the class limit to something other than one while you are gone.

I've been pretty successful as a heavy lately. But heavies are very much a team dependent class now. A heavy with a medic is in good shape. Have a pyro watch their back, and it's tough to beat them. When the enemy has three spies and a dead ringer or two, it's another story, the life of a heavy is full of danger. He must be much more vigilant now, but is still quite playable. were payload maps not made with him in mind? The proposed changes sound interesting, although the last thing we need is a fire retardant spy. The only reason I play pyro now is because skilled dead ringer spies are a bitch to pin down. All I can do is chase them until the ringer wears off and hope someone doesn't intercept me. :\

The best servers I've played on have been alltalk servers. It's just so much better when you can get to know the people you play with. OCR has brought along a strong feeling of community and friendship that I have not seen in any other server I've played on, ever. Although I have to say after playing on a few other non-alltalk servers, I miss the ability to strategise without announcing to the other team. I know you tried a plugin a while back. In a week or so I'm going to start investigating teamspeak and ventrilo to see if they would be viable alternatives to give teams a chance to do that again or alternatively, provide an alltalk channel, because both programs could be listened in by the other team. Ultimately, we'll have to agree on something, unless I want to just have my private channel. This is just a heads up.

When I first got this game, I *hated* it, because the pace tends to be really ridiculous twitch gameplay. Coming from ET:QW as my first strategic FPS, following the classic deathmatch games, I still prefer a game with a bit more nuance. But I have to admit, TF2 is the only FPS that has continued to add content and prevent things from getting boring. Not to mention the life and character they gave it. If Quake Wars did that, it would have been a much superior game.

I call to claim the last!

Hey guys I just wanted to put up a list of map recommendations. It's a lot of maps, but then again, the current playlist is a bit narrow for my liking. Most of these can be found on FPS banana, but I can provide maps that are not. Some of them are really worth it. Many are beta, but that doesn't make them less good. Sorted by favorites and then just plain goodies. arena_watchtower_b3 cp_concussion_final ctf_powerhouse_final cp_science2 cp_blackmesa cp_desertfortress cp_monkey_b2 cp_museum cp_shabbytown_beta2 cp_shabbytown_beta4 ctf_convoy ctf_hallofdeath (good when the server is small) ctf_vikings_final ctf_rocketcity ctf_watergate (also good for smaller groups) dom_canalzone (six point cap domination. Only one I've seen in TF2) cp_corporation_b3 cp_hotelhell cp_arnold_b3 ctf bedrooms3 cp_blackmesa_v2t3 cp_beamvalley cp_fallout cp_labor cp_mother_lode cp_roswell cp_vertigo cp_warpath ctf_cancer_beta5 ctf_fishy ctf_moonwalk_v2 ctf_pinkplazav2 ctf_pool ctf_switch tc_spectre fun maps that need an update cp_dam ctf_facelike