Actually I think they’re doing a good job of it really, maybe I’m a dumb tasteless waste of space but I find it interesting and fun.
The Polycount update was too much; five class updates in one is just too much for someone to keep up with.
The hats are a nice bit of fun, and the original class updates were interesting to an extent, but the amount of weapons now is insane. It makes it far harder for a new player, or a player who hasn’t played for a while to get into it.
I suppose it’s true that there’s a steeper learning curve for new players, however the game has been out for 3 years now. When they released this update they joked about being told to start “making some f$%#ing money already”, and I think there might be at least a bit of truth to that. By now the game is likely reaching it’s saturation point, and without new players to buy the game, incentive to continue spending time and money updating and supporting it dwindles. So Valve needs to consider more what will appeal to its experienced, long time players, and then make money from that.
Personally, I have never felt that TF2 was too complicated, not even with this last update. I don’t feel that any (well, at least most) of the non-default weapons have ever changed the way I have to play so much that I can’t quickly adapt. Perhaps some players may feel that way, and if so that’s unfortunate. However, overall I have not seen a drop in player participation, on the contrary my favorite servers are more crowded than ever. And I have heard few if any people who I’ve played with recently complain about the complexity of the game or the abilities of the new weapons. (They’re still stuck on the same old “cuntsman - nade spam - spawn camp - FaN” complaints, as usual).
So I have to say that I am loving this update so far. TF2 is still my favorite and most-played game, and it’s only getting better as far as I’m concerned.
I hate the shortstop
Any reason why?
It’s what the FaN should have been.
The packs overall
Scout: Makes Scout a more Supportive class but with enough firepower to handle things himself.
Soldier: While it may seem like a Defensive set, this really makes him a fantastic Offensive/Supportive class. The Black box makes him self-sufficient and Sentry resistance makes him great for pushes. In fact, the Backup fills up so quickly that it seems much more useful and reliable than the Buff Banner.
Pyro: From what I can see, this outright perfects the Pyro and what he was meant to do. The powerjack in itself is useful enough, but the overheal plus just kicks the fire axe to the curb (As if the axetinguisher didn’t already). Degreaser makes using the Powerjack more efficient. And the extra speed makes him good for actual flanking. The extra bullet damage just balances out all the volatile awesome coming from Pyro now.
Spy: It actually makes the Spy think like (le gasp) a spy and be sneaky. Your Eternal Reward, while needed to be earned at first, is much more interesting to use, and is actually safer to use sentries with autodisguise. The L’Etranger is nice, makes the C&D fill up even faster. Fez, while ridiculous looking, is worth it for quieter cloak.
Sniper: Danger Shield = Meh, I won’t complain.
Sydney Sleeper = Good, but needs a little extra something to make it less "Noob/Newb Sniper" only.
Bushwacka = Paradoxical in that the set benefit requires you to use the Danger Shield, which replaces Jarate. Yes, you still have the Piss Gun, but close Range benefits don't work well when you only get them from a Long Range Rifle.
'Ol Snaggletooth = Fuck yes.I don’t anymore, I thought it was a replacement for the pistol (and thus incredibly OP) but later realized that it’s actually a primary weapon.
Has anyone else’s hat drop rate skyrocketed since around the time of the update? Just a little while prior to the update I found 2 hats in a few days. Then in the past week I’ve found another 3 (although there’s the possibility that one of those 3 was a craft that didn’t come through earlier on, still trying to find out about this). At the very least, that’s 4 hats in about a month, or about 50 hours of gameplay, when in my previous 600 or so hours, over a year or so, I’ve only found a total of 2. Not that I mind if I get more hats, but if they start dropping way more then they’re going to become a lot less valuable.
Also they need to make a way to smelt crates. If you don’t want to open them then it’s kind of a hassle trying to find people who will trade for them.
A. You are admitting that TF2 is slowly beginning to die out, having “reached its saturation point”. Please keep in mind games like World of Warcraft have gone on since 2004 with no signs of slowing down, so this would be pretty disappointing.
B. There are two people just in this topic, common players, who are frustrated. I don’t know if you realize, but the vast majority of TF2 players don’t talk about it much on weekends, play enough to get 1 hat every 4 months, don’t read the blog, and are only somewhat good. These people, I think, have always been somewhat frustrated by the changes to the game they can’t get used to, but never bothered taking the time to voice themselves and just went to other games. One example is Yahtzee; he said the game was pretty awesome on release, but only commented on it later because people begged him to play. He pretty much had the concerns a year ago that we have now; it’s just way too complex.
You really have to be able to look at this game from the point of view of someone who plays on-and-off, usually just other games; and even then only when their work or social life or other activities aren’t in the way. That sort of person could entirely miss two massive weapon updates between play sessions.
PS. I only posted this because I just lost massively against a team of demomen that weren’t even using polycount weapons. durr
As far as public play is concerned TF2 has had a pretty long lifespan for a FPS. The issue is, that if Valve wants to keep players playing for extended periods of time they need fresh content. Both in new maps to learn and explore and tactics and weapons. New maps and game modes will rarely frustrate players but it won’t keep players playing as long. I think its come to Valve which do we support the hardcore tf2 players or the causal? TF2’s updates have always been an experiment and with the item cap and certain other things Valve is playing with the idea of a long lasting fps for both audiences. I don’t think TF2 at its core was built for this long of on going development and this is where some of the over saturation draws from. The game just isn’t built to be added to so heavily while remaining intuitive. It had a fairly tough skill curve for casuals to begin with anyways.
Valve is always experimenting with their on going development if you don’t pay attention you might just miss it but Valve is making efforts to make it easier for casuals to keep up with the hardcore.
- Blog integration into TF2 and L4D
2 L4D’s dynamic training system based on what the player has proven they know
3 TF2’s item cap someone helps casuals stay competitive
4 DoTA 2 has plans for a couching system
5 TF2 finally got a training and offline practice not to long ago
Though all these may not be in TF2 I am more than certain they will find their way into TF3.
Pure luck, I don’t believe the drop rate has been adjusted since the update.
I honestly didn’t like the Mann-Conomy update that much. Some weapons are overpowered (Shortstop anyone?) and I don’t like the idea of sets giving you bonuses. WHY SHOULD HAVING A SET MAKE YOU IMMUNE TO HEADSHOTS?! I’m tired of seeing ONLY Shortstops all the time… though I DO love the Holy Mackerel.
What does the Holy Mackerel even do?
Be a fish.
I haven’t seen that many. I guess I’m just lucky.
As far as I know, it does the same damage as the bat, but it shows in the kill box how many times someone has been hit by it, and somehow “alerts” everyone to a fish-kill.