OCR TF2: Stab stab stab!

[Sir Prize]

http://steamcommunity.com/id/unstablehamster

There ya go.

By the way, did Sir Prize come up with the details on the 3 V 3 Heavy Herding game? I still would love to see those rules come up.

I actually have a plan for much bigger than just 3v3. I just haven't had the time to put it down on paper and try to balance out all the rules and such to make sure everyone has fun with it.

In the meantime, enjoy my utter lack of creativity:

[Lyrai]

Hey, Powerlord, could I get a private group invite?

http://steamcommunity.com/id/FlandreTouhou/

[Powerlord]

Hey, Powerlord, could I get a private group invite?

http://steamcommunity.com/id/FlandreTouhou/

Someone must have beat me to it, because you're already in the private group.

[Lyrai]

Someone must have beat me to it, because you're already in the private group.

...well all right then.

What're the odds that this halloween Valve will put new items in and have another event a la Headless Horseman?

[Kiyobi]

My money is on yes.

[Cinderwild]

I think they're pretty much obligated to.

[Powerlord]

I had a really weird TF2-related dream last night.

For whatever reason, my house or apartment had a little U-shaped dead-end. I was carrying the Sniper's Kukri for whatever reason.

As I was leaving with someone else (Melissa, I think), I told her "excuse me a second" and went to Spy-check the corner. I ran into a cloaked Spy, and clubbed him to death with my Kukri.

Next thing I remember from the dream is that we put a recliner in front of the U-shaped dead-end and I was sitting in it. For whatever reason, I got up to get a drink, came back with it, decided to club the air behind the chair to Spy-check, then stabbed the Spy that was there through the heart.

Then I woke up.

Not really that exciting I suppose, but it's not every day one has a TF2-related dream, right?

[Nabeel Ansari]

I think you're playing too much TF2.

[Native Jovian]

Or you're not playing enough TF2. I forget how it works with Powerlord.

But the point is, you're not playing exactly the right amount of TF2.

[Powerlord]

Or you're not playing enough TF2. I forget how it works with Powerlord.

But the point is, you're not playing exactly the right amount of TF2.

Well, sadly, days like today I'm too busy doing homework and stuff to play TF2.

[Zerothemaster]

Well, sadly, days like today I'm too busy doing homework and stuff to play TF2.

disregard education:

ACQUIRE HATS

[Sir Prize]

Well, sadly, days like today I'm too busy doing homework and stuff to play TF2.

Doing homework and checking for spies.

[ParanoidDrone]

Well, sadly, days like today I'm too busy doing homework and stuff to play TF2.

You, too?

10youtoos...that sounds like a punchline.

[Cinderwild]

I was watching a video recently and one of the things that kept popping up was the huge difficulty curve on Red Orchestra 2 (haven't played it personally) compared to a lot of other games.

That got me thinking, do you consider TF2 a game with an easy or hard difficulty curve?

My first instinct was that it has an easy curve. I remember when I first started playing, everything was easily recognizable and identifiable and I don't recall any particular aspect of the game being hard to figure out.

There could be finer details that are much harder to learn (Rocket jumping for newbies, playing Spy)

BUT, I noticed after TF2 went Free to play that some people I know to be FPS players didn't really catch on with TF2 very well. They played it a lot then just stopped completely, which leads me to wonder if its more difficult than I realize or if them being console gamers (gamepad vs. keyboard) hurt.

[Brushfire]

BUT, I noticed after TF2 went Free to play that some people I know to be FPS players didn't really catch on with TF2 very well. They played it a lot then just stopped completely, which leads me to wonder if its more difficult than I realize or if them being console gamers (gamepad vs. keyboard) hurt.

They weren't able to cope without an instant respawn.

[Cinderwild]

I didn't even think about that one. I've never really played console FPS' so I don't know a lot about them.

[Native Jovian]

TF2 is different than most other FPSes. Not so much easier or harder, but just with a different focus. While in the big FPS franchises -- Halo, Call of Duty, Battlefield -- you can do pretty well as long as you're a good individual player, Team Fortress 2 requires... well, teamwork. The best player in the world will still get his ass kicked if he doesn't work well with his team. Even if it's just something as simple as sticking together in a group when you're moving across the map (as opposed to letting the scouts blaze ahead and the heavies lag behind) makes a huge difference in TF2, way more than in other games.

[Top Gun]

I think the significant differences in gameplay styles for each class also requires a pretty significant learning curve. I've managed to get a couple of people into the game, and I started out each time by walking them through how each class operates, since understanding what you're supposed to be doing as a given class is almost as important as actually doing it. I know the Battlefield series has different classes to some extent, but from the impression I've received, I don't think there's quite as much difference between them than there is between, say, the Heavy and Spy.

The sheer number of weapons options in the game now doesn't exactly help matters, either.

[DarkeSword]

Playing as a Spy is almost like a completely different game than playing as a Medic.

[ParanoidDrone]

If TVTropes is to be believed, having 9 completely distinct, viable classes is practically unheard of in the genre. It should go without saying that if they're all so unique then they should all play pretty differently. But if such unique classes are a novelty rather than the norm, new players may not cotton on to this fact and get frustrated as a result, in addition to neglecting the class's primary focus. (Medics not healing, etc.) The emphasis on teamwork also creates a different paradigm than what other games may focus on. Your typical FPS, or so the stereotype goes, is mostly concerned with killstreaks. (Modern Warfare actually rewards you for them.) In TF2 killstreaks don't mean a damn thing in the grand scheme of things unless you're in Arena mode. In short, I think TF2 defies enough of the typical genre conventions to create a sufficiently alien experience for players used to the status quo.

In a more meta sense, TF2 has been out for nearly 4 years now. Every class has received a major update dedicated to them and has alternative items out the wazoo that aren't immediately available to a new player, some of which don't even have unique stats. (I saw someone asking what the Iron Curtain did the other day.) In addition, there are 8 different game modes with their own idiosyncrasies. The ingame tutorials, while good at teaching the basics, are inherently incapable of teaching you how to play the metagame. The Mann Co. Store lets you get any item you want for real money, but that's not a viable option for everyone, for obvious reasons. I was somewhat fortunate in that I had been watching friends play TF2 for a while before I decided to join, but if you're coming in completely fresh it's a pretty severe case of information overload.

[Top Gun]

I know I took a long time after first buying the game to actually start playing it, mainly because there wasn't even as much as a tutorial back in those days. That was when there were far fewer weapons, too.

[Powerlord]

Just an FYI:

We have mandatory updates coming tomorrow for TF2, CS:S, DoD:S, and HL2:DM.

The update for CS:S is a major one. Lots of the changes from the CS:S Beta are being shipped.

More details tomorrow.

Also, should I keep RED as Prop Hunt or switch it back to normal? I haven't really seen people on it since last week.

[Top Gun]

I haven't seen anyone playing it recently, which is a bummer.

[Necro]

The lag that everyone is seeing is a problem in TF2, not the server. Valve (John Lipencot) has already said that they are working on it.

http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2117746

[Powerlord]

So, new versions of Goldrush and Upward have been. One of the changes is a fix for Upward ending early! \o/

Required updates to Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike: Source, Day of Defeat: Source and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch are now available. The specific changes include:

Shared Source Changes (CS:S, DoD:S, TF2, HL2:DM)

- Added a server command line option called "-dumplongticks" which will generate minidumps when there are long server frames

- Fixed startmovie failing for the raw, tga, jpg, and wav options

- Fixed some HUD messages not displaying properly on widescreen resolutions

- Updated the localization files for all games

Team Fortress 2

- Fixed Demomen with the Persian Persuader equipped picking up ammo crates when they're already at full health

- Fixed hatless headgear not removing the player's hat

- Fixed Natascha's bullets preventing Scouts from using Bonk and Crit-a-Cola

- Fixed teleporter progress being displayed incorrectly after upgrading a teleporter while it was recharging

- Fixed a rare server crash related to assists

- Fixed FCVAR_NOTIFY chat messages being clipped and not displaying the new value for the cvar

- Purchased items are no longer announced in the chat text

- Reduced the amount of server console output when client commands are out of sync

- Added the following ConVars for proxy support for replay FTP offloading: replay_fileserver_offload_useproxy, replay_fileserver_offload_proxy_host, and replay_fileserver_offload_proxy_port

- Removed replay_port ConVar (and the need for replay to open a port)

- Updated the matchmaking filtering to speed up searches and reduce the number of pinged servers

- Updated Pl_Upward

- Fixed ending the game mid-round when mp_timelimit has been reached

- Fixed several exploit areas

- Updated Pl_Goldrush

- Stage 1 : Fixed overlapping train track models

- Stage 1 : Fixed terrain seam by red spawn exit

- Stage 1 : Fixed red spawn room door going through ceiling

- Stage 1 : Light fixture on roof structure of red's first spawn building switched to non-solid

- Stage 2 : Added func_nobuild under bridge that would get teleported players stuck

- Stage 3 : Added invisible func_brushes above roofs to block blind demo grenade spam

- Stage 3 : Fixed wood structure by main gate entrance so it doesn't destroy teleport buildables

- Stage 3 : Added clip brush to top of main gate entrance

- Stage 3 : Extended red's respawn room brushes to enclose entire interior

- Stage 3 : Added respawn visualizer material to back face of blocker that prevents red from entering blue's respawn area from the top route

- Updated Items

- Added the Killer Exclusive

- Added the Mask of the Shaman to the droplist and made it craftable

- Added the El Jefe to the droplist and made it craftable

- Added two new styles for the Large Luchadore

- Fixed the Industrial Festivizer sometimes turning white

- Updated the shading on the Crusader's Crossbow

- Updated the Magnificent Mongolian texture and made it paintable

- Updated the Carouser's Capotain with an improved appearance

- Updated the Whiskered Gentlemen with an improved appearance

- Updated the particle effects for the Cow Mangler 5000 and the Righteous Bison

- Updated the Stickybomb Jumper

- Now uses a unique texture and projectile

- No longer causes the wielder to take increased damage from other sources

If that looks mangled, sorry... posting from a text web browser.

I believe the update has completed on BLU, but the server may not have restarted yet... it checks twice more to see if the update succeeded before it restarts.

RED is still running prop hunt, and I'll start a manual update as I leave here.