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Team Fortress 2 - Comics!

Dec 9, 2009#1

figmentPez

Attention Employees...

Friendship ends in one day.

Holy Crap! It's like Valve doesn't want me to be playing L4D2! What is going to happen tomorrow? Is this just a prelude to the next class updates? Or is this going deeper? New audio files have already been added to the game.

Dec 9, 2009#2

Shegokigo

Oh that was freakin fantastic!

Dec 9, 2009#3

figmentPez

Okay, crazy thought here. Speculation, but spoilers for those who haven't read the comic yet:

What if the announcer is going to try and get Red Demoman and Blue Soldier to compete over a woman?

Could this bit of story be a way to explain female class models being added to the game?

Okay, it's wishful thinking, but every time I see a cute gal in TF2 cosplay I wish Valve would make it happen.

Dec 9, 2009#4

Shegokigo

Female Sniper?

*day dreams*

Dec 9, 2009#5

filmfanatic

figmentPez said:
Could this bit of story be a way to explain female class models being added to the game?

Maybe. That could be interesting.

Perhaps this might be when Valve finally reveals whether the Pyro is a woman or not.

Dec 9, 2009#6

strawman

Turns out they're more than just 'friends'...

Dec 9, 2009#7

Chippy

Gay joke in five replies.

Dec 9, 2009#8

AshburnerX

I do like how the Announcer does look remarkably inspired by the piece a fan did a few months back (Second image on page) She's got the hair, face, and suit type... but she wears purple instead of the red/blue idea.

Then again, it's because they hired the fan artist for the comic! Good on Valve... they finally do something right for a change!

Dec 9, 2009#9

Hailey Knight

Come on people, more replies. I wanna get to the gay joke.

Dec 10, 2009#10

filmfanatic

Hey guys. Found an interesting tidbit in regards to all of this:

Dec 10, 2009#11

Shegokigo

escushion said:
Come on people, more replies. I wanna get to the gay joke.

:blue:

Dec 10, 2009#12

figmentPez

Team Fortress 2 update released.
It's WAR!

Sides Chosen As Demo-Solider Tension Mounts

http://www.teamfortress.com/demomanupdate
http://www.teamfortress.com/soldierupdate

---------- Post added at 10:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:04 PM ----------

Demo side:

home

Lads! Warriors! DEMOMEN! As I look out at ye with me tear-stained eye, I see the BEST BLOODY CLASS on the battlefield! No other class can deny it. They cannot stand against us man to man. Oh no. So they wheedle and deceive their way into our confidence, just to drive a shovel straight into our great, trustin' Achilles bloody hearts.

THIS WEEK, lads, we have been granted the opportunity for revenge—against our crew-cutted betrayer, against Brutus Benedict Arnold Judas Bloody Iscariot himself: the SOLDIER! Every Soldier who dies by a Demoman’s hand will be noted in the annals of war. And at the END of this week, when the smoke clears and the dead are tallied, it will be the Demomen who emerge as the most LETHAL BLOODY KILLERS the Soldier’s ever made the great mistake of crossin'!

The Soldier may take our LIVES, mates. They may betray us and they may break our hearts. But they will never take our SATISFACTION. When WE are given an EXCLUSIVE, SECRET EXTRA WEAPON UNLOCK that could have gone to them. And when they look BACK on this week, they will wonder: “Could I have fought HARDER? Could I have killed MORE?” And the answer is: Yes, you bloody well could have. AND THE OUTCOME WOULD STILL BE THE BLOODY SAME.

To war, my loyal Demos! To blood and scotch and bombs! To the death of our betrayers and the sobbin' sound of their dyin' regrets! TO WARRRRRRR!

Soldier side:

Now hear this, you blood-hungry sons of war!

As of oh-nine-hundred Eastern Standard time, we are at WAR with the DEMOMAN! That one-eyed bagpipe-playing sonofabitch has been a thorn in our collective sides for long enough! For THIS WEEK ONLY, each and every man brave enough to fight under the Soldier banner will be KILLING DEMOS!

Gentlemen, there comes a time in a man’s life when when HE MUST DRAW LINES! Friendship is FINE for tea parties and shopping trips to the dress store! But when the chips are down, a soldier puts ASIDE friendship for the good of WAR!

Every Demoman gutted, garroted, exploded or otherwise killed by a Soldier will mean a POINT for the Soldier Team! At the end of this week, when the points are tallied AND WE ARE FOUND TO HAVE MORE, we will be awarded an EXCLUSIVE ONE-OF-A-KIND WEAPON.

Gentlemen, I have NO IDEA what this weapon is. I don’t even know if I’ll WANT it. But BY GOD, I know what’s IMPORTANT, and it’s that WE get it and the DEMOMAN DOES NOT.

Am I understood? Then get out there and KILL!

Dec 10, 2009#13

filmfanatic

Huh. Neat way to present the update.

So, what side are you guys going with? Which one are you more interested in seeing the new weapon for?

Dec 10, 2009#14

Hailey Knight

I'm curious to see what the updates will be, but I confess, as these updates have gone on, I really just stopped playing Team Fortress 2. I felt it was a well-balanced, fun game the way it came in the Orange Box. Some of the updates just added neat tools, but others really changed the way of the game, and unless you keep earning the new weapons, you feel behind, even if it's technically feasible to play it without any extra stuff.

In fact, I haven't even reinstalled it since upgrading to Windows 7. :/

Dec 10, 2009#15

figmentPez

I'm far more interested in the Soldier upgrades. I stink at playing demoman, usually, but I'm half-decent at soldier.

I'm not good at killing demomen as a solider though. I've tried playing a demo just to give the soldiers something to kill, figuring my failure at being a demo would be a win for the soldiers of the other team...

So far, I've killed more soliders as a demo than vice versa. My plan backfired.

Dec 10, 2009#16

AshburnerX

Demoman is going to come out on top. The professional and casual players alike have an addiction to his Winbombs and they are going to crave that extra weapon. It's a shame... I was looking forward to the Uncle S.A.M., but it seems like we'll never see it now!

Dec 10, 2009#17

figmentPez

Further info: The War Update

So: how is the War update different from our other class updates?

In many ways, it's not. Like any other class update, the War update will reveal three new weapons each for the Demoman and Soldier throughout the week, as well as some maps, achievements, and surprises, right up until the day of release, when everything we've been teasing goes live.

Where the War update differs from other class updates is that we've decided to mix things up a little with, as the Administrator would say, \"a healthy competition.\" A secret, exclusive seventh weapon has also been developed by the TF2 team. In other words, either the Soldier or the Demo (but NOT both) is walking out of this update with one more weapon than the other. If you want your class to have it, you're going to have to fight for it. The more Demomen you kill as the Soldier class will help ensure the Soldier gets the weapon at the end of the week. The more Soldiers you kill as the Demo will help the Demo class get the exclusive seventh weapon. Check back daily to see how your class is doing at the War hubpage — this is also where you'll see links to all the leaked previews of the weapons, maps, and surprises releasing soon with this update.

What if some of you try to cheat to bump the numbers? We'll know. (Though we also know many of you won't be able to resist trying anyway.)

Alright, enough talk. Who'd you rather see get this exclusive new weapon? The Demoman? Or the Soldier? The War starts right now, so get out there and vote with your kills!

Dec 11, 2009#18

Methuselah

Oh gosh, I'm so conflicted! My two best classes D:

20 kills against soldiers in my limited pubbing today, no deaths 8)

Dec 11, 2009#19

filmfanatic

Potential idea for the secret weapon: old-school grenades.

This is a weapon that could work as something for either side. It makes obvious sense for the Demoman, but also fits as a projectile for the Soldier.

Also, I'm siding as a Soldier. Thus far, I've killed 28 Demomen for the cause. Expect more to fall.

Dec 11, 2009#20

Wahad

Soldier for life. (It's the only class I'm good with D: )

On a more serious note, anyone know when this will be ending? I need to gather my usual gang together so we can play all out soldiers vs demos but I don't think anything will happen soon enough.

Also I'm just happy soldier is getting any updates at all, (finally) so I'm not particularly striving for my class.

Poor engineer though.

Dec 11, 2009#21

Twitch

I killed around 70 demo men today. The solider is clearly going to take this.

And despite being drunk at 4AM you won't find me stuttering over my goddamn words. That's what spellcheck is for.

(Note: This small post took like 8 times longer to type than it should have.)

---------- Post added at 11:05 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:05 AM ----------

P.S. I HATE the demoman and the soldier gameplay wise. I'm a spy/scout all the way! And I'm still going to get on your server one of these days shego.

Dec 11, 2009#22

Shegokigo

I've quite been enjoying the influx of "slower moving" classes out in my sniping scope the last couple of days. :twisted:

Dec 11, 2009#23

JONJONAUG

Shegokigo said:
I've quite been enjoying the influx of "slower moving" classes out in my sniping scope the last couple of days.

I'm actually taking this opportunity to get better as a sniper and finally having the chance to unlock Jarate (seeing as the game never ever wanted to drop it for me I have to whore achievements, fun times when I unlocked Shock Treatment and Shafted at the same time).

Huntsman is fun and hitting critz soldiers in the head as they walk out of spawn on payload maps is also fun.

I'm a Demoman man though, I find his gameplay style to be way more fun than the Soldier's and I play as him a lot whenever I'm not playing as an ace medic and being a credit to my team.

Dec 11, 2009#24

Shegokigo

Twitch said:
I killed around 70 demo men today. The solider is clearly going to take this.

And despite being drunk at 4AM you won't find me stuttering over my goddamn words. That's what spellcheck is for.

(Note: This small post took like 8 times longer to type than it should have.)

---------- Post added at 11:05 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:05 AM ----------

P.S. I HATE the demoman and the soldier gameplay wise. I'm a spy/scout all the way! And I'm still going to get on your server one of these days shego.

Twitch, are you the Twitch I have on my friends list on STEAM?

Dec 11, 2009#25

figmentPez

War update: It's a Bloodbath!

16 hours into the war:

1,290,988 Soldiers killed
1,390,017 Demomen killed

I'm honestly surprised, I would have thought the Demos would be higher in their kill count. Go Soldiers!

Dec 11, 2009#26

Twitch

Shegokigo;313677][quote=Twitch said:
I killed around 70 demo men today. The solider is clearly going to take this.

And despite being drunk at 4AM you won't find me stuttering over my goddamn words. That's what spellcheck is for.

(Note: This small post took like 8 times longer to type than it should have.)

---------- Post added at 11:05 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:05 AM ----------

P.S. I HATE the demoman and the soldier gameplay wise. I'm a spy/scout all the way! And I'm still going to get on your server one of these days shego.

Twitch, are you the Twitch I have on my friends list on STEAM?[/QUOTE]
No, I go by Sinatra on Steam.

Dec 11, 2009#27

RealBigNuke

figmentPez said:
War update: It's a Bloodbath!

16 hours into the war:

1,290,988 Soldiers killed
1,390,017 Demomen killed

I'm honestly surprised, I would have thought the Demos would be higher in their kill count. Go Soldiers!

Oh wow from my brief play earlier demos seemed to be getting rocked. That's better than I thought, I need to log in and tip the scale!

Dec 12, 2009#28

figmentPez

Propoganda Contest

"Contribute to the war effort by designing a propaganda poster focused on the brave/cold-hearted Soldier/Demomen and his heroic/cowardly fight against the square-jawed/craven Soldier/Demoman—thus inspiring new casualties and feeding our all-consuming thirst for war."

First prize is a one-of-a-kind item named after the winner.

Second and third places are also one-of-a-kind items.

25 runners-up get some sort of prize.

Honorable mentions may win points for their side.

I'm assuming T-shirts are involved somehow, since the entry submission asks for shirt size.

Dec 12, 2009#29

figmentPez

War: Weekend Update

Saxton Hale Comic (I found a hidden link in the comic. Is the Soldier getting a life stealing rocket launcher?)

Casualty counts:
2,802,215 dead Soldiers
3,012, 214 dead Demomen

The Soldiers hold on to their lead in kill count!

Team Fortress 2 gets crafting?

For years you have been able to create weapons with your bare hands, using raw steel, in real life. What if we were to tell you there’s now a way to SIMULATE that in-game?

Because We Just Did!
Introducing Team Fortress 2’s new Crafting system. Say goodbye to those enjoyable evenings spent complaining on the forums about which item in your inventory was the most useless, spraying anti-Australian racist hate speech all over Robin Walker, his lovely wife, and his beautiful children. EVERYTHING in your inventory now contributes towards something you actually WANT, and can build YOURSELF! If you’re super clever, you’ll even be able to craft new items before others can earn them the old fashioned way.

A Great Inventory System... Made Better!
you thought all those duplicate hats and weapons in your inventory were incredibly useful before, man, were you wrong! You were also in the quiet minority, if the forums were any indication. What, you couldn’t have posted a single sentence about how much you loved your crappy inventory? You’re killing us here. We’re flesh and blood people, not useless-item-creating machines.

How It Works!
Blueprints—some of which you’ll get right off the bat, others of which you’ll have to puzzle out on your own—will tell you which ingredients you’ll need to combine to make different items. Think of blueprints as recipes, but instead of making Chicken Cordon Bleu, they makes guns! And hats! And Sandviches, which in retrospect would have helped our analogy better if we’d mentioned that first. No time to correct it! We’re in the middle of a WAR here—this Crafting information needs to get to the people!

Illustrations at the link.

Dec 12, 2009#30

bhamv3

Dammit, and I've been discarding my duplicates.

On the whole, it looks like this would be an interesting little diversion. Most people have already found the unlockable weapons they want, anyway, so it's not like they'll get an advantage through crafting.

Dec 13, 2009#31

AshburnerX

Hmm... they usually give out an address to send a letter to for these. PO BOX 857, Saratoga NJ isn't a complete address. Hopefully it's in one of the next pages.

Apparently one of the unlocks is going to be a new shovel for the Soldier. You can see one in the crafting image.

http://www.teamfortress.com/crafting/images/screen.jpg

Dec 14, 2009#32

bhamv3

I killed around 10 demomen today as a soldier. Problem is, I probably suffered at least twice that many deaths at the hands of demos........

Dec 14, 2009#33

AshburnerX

bhamv3 said:
I killed around 10 demomen today as a soldier. Problem is, I probably suffered at least twice that many deaths at the hands of demos........

Honestly... the best thing you can do to ensure your side's victory is to play as their opposite and go out of your way to die to their attacks.

Dec 15, 2009#34

figmentPez

Soldiers Killed: 4,441,214
Demos Killed: 4,666,558

"Beginner's Luck About To Run Out
World's Easiest Class Slightly Ahead
Demos Outnumbered, But Not Outfought"

Since when are Soldiers the easiest class?

Anyway, more comics. The Demoman has a name: Tavish Degroot. Which is apparently an anagram for Ghetto Advisor, Divot Shortage, Toad Oversight, A Hotdog's Rivet, Got Death Visor, Got Hot Adviser and Dishrag Vet Too, among others.

Plus, the Demoman is getting a haunted sword and a shield that gives him a charge move.

The Eyelander sword

The Eyelander holds to a principle all one-eyed Scotsmen with no depth perception have known for years: you don’t kill a man by mucking about with rifles, arrows, rocks, or other long-distance rubbish. You kill him by grabbing the biggest bloody sword you can find, running up nice and close to him, and chopping the dumb bastard’s head off.

Made with pattern-welded Damascus steel, this melee-slot weapon offers a guaranteed decapitation with every killing blow. Unfortunately, because it's haunted, it will suck away some of your soul: expect a decrease in your max health at the outset. However, once the blade feeds on neck, you’ll receive a boost in max health and speed. With each new protesting head you cleave (up to four), you’ll get healthier and faster.

The Eyelander will not deal critical hits unless used in conjunction with the Chargin’ Targe’s charge ability.

The Chargin’ Targe shield

The Chargin’ Targe solves a centuries-old Scottish riddle, which is that shields exist. True, the shield might block the occasional sword blow. However, they are essentially weapons to be used for hiding behind, and this is a concept the average Scotsman does not understand. “If I were to pick up this cowering-plate, I would have to put down my second sword,” a Scotsman thinks. “And surely that is madness.” The Chargin’ Targe solves this riddle by turning the useless shield into a deadly weapon you can run at people with and then bludgeon to death.

The targe replaces your tried-and-true sticky bomb launcher, but offers some unique capabilities in return, especially when used with the Eyelander. Just equipping the Chargin’ Targe provides automatic +50% fire damage resistance and +65% blast damage resistance. But the Chargin’ Targe’s main perk lies in its name. Alt-firing will hurtle you toward an enemy at a punishingly damaging high speed (far faster than a Scout can manage).

Charging also boosts the lethality of your melee weapon. Land a melee hit during a medium length charge and you'll be guaranteed a mini-crit. Land a hit during a long distance charge, and your victim will receive devastating full crit damage.

Dec 15, 2009#35

bhamv3

Please, please, please someone mod in the Charger charge sound for the targe's alt fire...

Dec 15, 2009#36

Shegokigo

Looks like I might be playing alot of demo in the future....

Dec 15, 2009#37

Wahad

Demoman just got a lot easier for me to control. /glee

Dec 15, 2009#38

AshburnerX

These look fun, but I doubt they are going to be used seriously in any competitive matches, unless that charge attack recharges very quickly. Demomen giving away the item that basically defines that class and gives them all of their air mobility? It's just not gonna happen.

Dec 15, 2009#39

Shegokigo

Yeah Ash, but I am huge on upclose combat in all my classes other than sniper. The only real upclose class however, Pyro, leaves much to be desired.

When I'm looking to "mix it up" I'll be happy to have the HP of a Demo with the ability to do some real damage.

Dec 15, 2009#40

figmentPez

AshburnerX said:
These look fun, but I doubt they are going to be used seriously in any competitive matches, unless that charge attack recharges very quickly. Demomen giving away the item that basically defines that class and gives them all of their air mobility? It's just not gonna happen.

Dec 15, 2009#41

AshburnerX

figmentPez;315689][quote=AshburnerX said:
These look fun, but I doubt they are going to be used seriously in any competitive matches, unless that charge attack recharges very quickly. Demomen giving away the item that basically defines that class and gives them all of their air mobility? It's just not gonna happen.

If the charge knocks characters around like the Charger in L4D2, then it could be very useful for clearing hallways. I was about to say that the speed boost might be useful for intelligence runs, but I'm going to guess that not only will the charge be straight, but running into a wall will stumble the demo as well.

It will be very interesting to see exactly how this charge mechanic will work.[/QUOTE]

They'll probably do the same thing they did with Bonk! and make it so that you drop the intel if you use it while carrying it (and making it impossible for you to pick it up until the effects wear off). Still, you have the extra flame and explosion damage protection, so it should be easier to run out using it.

Dec 15, 2009#42

Methuselah

You're right ash, it really won't see any use in comp play. Unless the primary unlock is something that really complements it well.

Dec 15, 2009#43

AshburnerX

Methuselah said:
You're right ash, it really won't see any use in comp play. Unless the primary unlock is something that really complements it well.

I think they are doing the same thing as they did with the Sniper: Two unlocks for one slot. The third Demoman unlock is rumored to be a bottle of Scotch that you can drink for health (as long as you haven't broken it.)

Dec 15, 2009#44

Twitch

I never see anyone on from the Halforum group, am I missing something?

Dec 15, 2009#45

Hailey Knight

No one's friends with you.

Dec 15, 2009#46

Shegokigo

I'm nearly always on.

Dec 15, 2009#47

Kitty Sinatra

And I haven't played in months.

Dec 15, 2009#48

AshburnerX

Hurt my wrist on Sunday. Might be back in a day or two.

Dec 15, 2009#49

Twitch

Seems to me that the problem is none of you are in the HALforums group.
Edit: And I might just steal Shego's signature.

Dec 15, 2009#50

AshburnerX

Twitch said:
Seems to me that the problem is none of you are in the HALforums group.
Edit: And I might just steal Shego's signature.

That's because we're in the Hal 4 Um group we made for L4D2. You need an invite?

Dec 15, 2009#51

Twitch

AshburnerX;315859][quote=Twitch said:
Seems to me that the problem is none of you are in the HALforums group.
Edit: And I might just steal Shego's signature.

That's because we're in the Hal 4 Um group we made for L4D2. You need an invite?[/QUOTE]
If you wouldn't mind, my name is in my signature, if there are multiple I share avatars with this forum.

Dec 15, 2009#52

AshburnerX

Done.

Dec 15, 2009#53

figmentPez

Twitch said:
If you wouldn't mind, my name is in my signature, if there are multiple I share avatars with this forum.

"Unable to find Sinatra. Hit 'back' if you want to try and search again."

Dec 15, 2009#54

AshburnerX

figmentPez;315879][quote=Twitch said:
If you wouldn't mind, my name is in my signature, if there are multiple I share avatars with this forum.

"Unable to find Sinatra. Hit 'back' if you want to try and search again."[/QUOTE]

Already added him.

Dec 15, 2009#55

Twitch

figmentPez;315879][quote=Twitch said:
If you wouldn't mind, my name is in my signature, if there are multiple I share avatars with this forum.

"Unable to find Sinatra. Hit 'back' if you want to try and search again."[/QUOTE]
Yeah, Ash got me, the Steam thing is really broken.

Dec 15, 2009#56

AshburnerX

New Soldier weapon has been revealed and it was entirely what I predicted it would be: A more powerful, faster traveling Rocket Launcher with less splash damage and special effects if you hit an airborne enemy. I couldn't be less surprised.

Dec 15, 2009#57

figmentPez

Free weekend! Though, I'm not sure why anyone reading this thread wouldn't already own TF2. Guess I'll post that in the games on sale thread.

Kill counts:
Soldiers killed: 4,923,531
Demos killed: 5,056,134

As AshburnerX alluded to, Soldier's new weapon:

The Direct Hit

Nobody can deny that, measured solely by their ability to blow people into chunky clouds of tomato soup, rockets are an incredible force for good in the world. But with their wide blast radius, they are not a particularly terrific weapon for showing off your sharpshooting skills.

Until now. A high precision version of the standard-issue rocket launcher, the Direct Hit has been engineered from the ground up for Soldiers who have mastered the art of shooting at their targets instead of vaguely near them. Those of you looking to deal splash damage, stop reading now: the Direct Hit has a 70% smaller blast radius than a traditional rocket launcher. But the rockets that come out of this thing move fast and hit hard: 80% faster and with 25% more destructive force. Best of all, for you real sharpshooters, the Direct Hit guarantees mini-crits on airborne targets.

New comics

Dec 15, 2009#58

bhamv3

Dammit! Soldier's one of my mains but I still can't airshot properly. Won't be getting much use out of this thing, though I'd imagine competitive soldiers will love it.

Dec 16, 2009#59

RealBigNuke

What in the name of Yog Saroth is a SCO RES!?

Also, I can see an ubered demoman wrecking some shit with that sword. It'll be hard to say how effective it is until it comes out. If a demoman can get up to 400-500 health with it, yikes. And if you don't want to give up the very important sticky, the sword alone might be an asset anyway.

On the other hand, I think the new soldier weapon is going to prove to be positively dominant. Spamming that baby down a corridor or entrance means everyone in it is going to die horribly.

Dec 16, 2009#60

Wahad

I really, really want that soldier shirt for christmas.

Dec 16, 2009#61

Shegokigo

bhamv3 said:
Dammit! Soldier's one of my mains but I still can't airshot properly. Won't be getting much use out of this thing, though I'd imagine competitive soldiers will love it.

Except that this rocket will fly faster, meaning you'll be able to hit the Air Targets.

As a sniper, the idea appeals to me, but I will still be playing Demo as an "almost" main come update.

Dec 16, 2009#62

bhamv3

Shegokigo;316096][quote=bhamv3 said:
Dammit! Soldier's one of my mains but I still can't airshot properly. Won't be getting much use out of this thing, though I'd imagine competitive soldiers will love it.

Except that this rocket will fly faster, meaning you'll be able to hit the Air Targets.[/QUOTE]

You underestimate my ineptitude.

Dec 16, 2009#63

AshburnerX

RealBigNuke said:
What in the name of Yog Saroth is a SCO RES!?

Scottish Reserve is the current theory. We're basically assuming it's another bottle of booze, that can be drunk for special effects. Maybe thrown like a Grenade to light people on fire/make them take more damage from fire/make them drunk off the fumes.

RealBigNuke said:
Also, I can see an ubered demoman wrecking some shit with that sword. It'll be hard to say how effective it is until it comes out. If a demoman can get up to 400-500 health with it, yikes. And if you don't want to give up the very important sticky, the sword alone might be an asset anyway.

The sword is really only going to be useful if you plan to actually use it a lot. Your giving up part of your max health just by carrying it.

RealBigNuke said:
On the other hand, I think the new soldier weapon is going to prove to be positively dominant. Spamming that baby down a corridor or entrance means everyone in it is going to die horribly.

True, but it's much more effective to use the old RL in just about any other situtation. Your also giving up the nastiest effect of the RL: Crit Rockets and their ludicrous splash damage. A Crit Rocket can kill just about anyone in one hit and do it over a pretty wide area. The new RL has a much shallower blast radius.

Dec 16, 2009#64

Shegokigo

The new RL is going to be useless for clearing a room full of people, as can be done with a single kritz.

On the other hand, to defend a point from a distance? Very nice in the right hands.

Dec 16, 2009#65

Chibibar

Shegokigo said:
The new RL is going to be useless for clearing a room full of people, as can be done with a single kritz.

On the other hand, to defend a point from a distance? Very nice in the right hands.

pretty much. I love playing Soldier but I'm not very good in "cleaning" up room, but I'm good at defense and "sniping" (like turret killing) so this weapon would be great for me.

Dec 16, 2009#66

AshburnerX

LOL... saw this on one of the TF2 Twitter Accounts. (The_Scout)

The Scout said:
THIS IS THE WORST UPDATE EVER. DEMOMEN MOVE FASTER DAN ME AND SOLDIERS CAN ONE-SHOT.

I don't know WHY it's making laugh though... maybe it's because I can imagine it in the Scout's voice....

Chibibar;316130][quote=Shegokigo said:
The new RL is going to be useless for clearing a room full of people, as can be done with a single kritz.

On the other hand, to defend a point from a distance? Very nice in the right hands.

pretty much. I love playing Soldier but I'm not very good in "cleaning" up room, but I'm good at defense and "sniping" (like turret killing) so this weapon would be great for me.[/QUOTE]

Now THAT is something I hadn't thought of. Soldiers will be able to actually destroy Sentries in a single clip now. It may even be enough to overcome a turtling Engy.

Dec 16, 2009#67

Dave

I want a subscription to "Guns & Haircuts Magazine".

Dec 16, 2009#68

The Pumes

I want Demo's last weapon to be scotch whiskey that can give you health with 'alt-fire' or you can smash it across it an enemy and pyro can set them ablaze like a molotov. That would be awesome.

Dec 16, 2009#69

figmentPez

AshburnerX said:
Now THAT is something I hadn't thought of. Soldiers will be able to actually destroy Sentries in a single clip now. It may even be enough to overcome a turtling Engy.

This was something I was puzzling as I fell asleep last night. I know that high level play is different, but on the casual games I play in there are a lot of times when sentries are left mostly unattended (especially on Goldrush) because they've got a fairly long line of sight to incoming enemies. Making soldiers even better at taking out that type of sentry is something I'd like... but poor engies! I know they've been thrown a bone with upgradeable dispensers and teleports, but to be the last class without an update.

Dec 16, 2009#70

Methuselah

A rocket going 80% faster travels faster than a sandman ball.

I expect a nerf within a couple weeks

Dec 16, 2009#71

figmentPez

Pyros are going to have to have better reflexes to air blast these faster rockets.

Dec 16, 2009#72

Chibibar

figmentPez;316276][quote=AshburnerX said:
Now THAT is something I hadn't thought of. Soldiers will be able to actually destroy Sentries in a single clip now. It may even be enough to overcome a turtling Engy.

Depending on situation, I usually don't abandon it especially at choke points.

Dec 16, 2009#73

AshburnerX

Methuselah said:
A rocket going 80% faster travels faster than a sandman ball.

I expect a nerf within a couple weeks

It's still slower than a charged Huntsman shot. I think it'll be fine.

Dec 16, 2009#74

figmentPez

Propoganda Contest Winners

Wow, that is some impressive artwork.

Dec 16, 2009#75

Hailey Knight

figmentPez said:
Propoganda Contest Winners

Wow, that is some impressive artwork.

I disagree with them about third place--I think it is funny.

Dec 16, 2009#76

strawman

escushion;316575][quote=figmentPez said:
Propoganda Contest Winners

Wow, that is some impressive artwork.

I disagree with them about third place--I think it is funny.[/QUOTE]

I disagree with you, and them.

I think it's hilarious.

Although there's not enough blood dripping off that shovel...

Dec 17, 2009#77

Shegokigo

What the fuck, that shit gave war points?

Fucking soldiers were already ahead!

*fires up TF2 and loads her sticky bombs*

They're gonna need some extra glue in Hell tonight! :devil:

Dec 17, 2009#78

figmentPez

Finally, The End is Near

No whiskey bottle for the Demoman. Instead:

The Scottish Resistance

Get your thinking pants on, because the Scottish Resistance is the thinking Demoman's sticky bomb launcher. Trading offensive capability for increased defensive power, the SR can lay down twice as many sticky bombs, as well as destroy enemy sticky bombs.

But hold on, thinking fans—there’s more! The SR lets you detonate specific groups of bombs instead of having to set them off all at once. The SR detonates whichever group of bombs the player is looking at, letting you control which clusters blow, and when. You’ll be able to lay more traps and guard multiple areas at a time.

But all this awesome thinking man stuff comes at a price, just like real thinking. The SR is less useful for air-bursts and close range combat, thanks to longer priming rate (0.4 seconds) per bomb.

The Soldier has two:

The Equalizer

Back when your father and grandfather played Team Fortress 2, being bad at the game was so shameful, they would rage-quit (a lengthy, painful process that involved pulling burning coal from the computer’s furnace). Now, thanks to modern-day updates like these, there’s finally a good excuse. You didn’t misread that sentence: losing is now a strategy.

This melee-slot pickaxe becomes more deadly the more damage you take, letting you move faster and hit harder the more wounds you endure. Get close enough to death, and you will become Death himself.

Note: Pretty much any time we reveal a new weapon, somebody on the forums claims they thought of it first. But this time, assuming it’s Tom Francis and jibberish, they are absolutely correct. As a special thanks to them for doing our work for us, they'll each be getting a unique version of the Equalizer of their very own.

and

The Buff Banner

Back when your father and grandfather played Team Fortress 2, being bad at the game was so shameful, they would rage-quit (a lengthy, painful process that involved pulling burning coal from the computer’s furnace). Now, thanks to modern-day updates like these, there’s finally a good excuse. You didn’t misread that sentence: losing is now a strategy.

This melee-slot pickaxe becomes more deadly the more damage you take, letting you move faster and hit harder the more wounds you endure. Get close enough to death, and you will become Death himself.

Note: Pretty much any time we reveal a new weapon, somebody on the forums claims they thought of it first. But this time, assuming it’s Tom Francis and jibberish, they are absolutely correct. As a special thanks to them for doing our work for us, they'll each be getting a unique version of the Equalizer of their very own.

Admit it: Every so often, you suspect you’re carrying your team. But other than rage-quitting, what can you do about it? How about motivating those lazy sons of bitches to put on their war face and fight?

Enter the morale-boosting Buff Banner. When this secondary-slot item is equipped, any damage you deal boosts a rage meter that, when full, lets you pull out your bugle and sound a call to war! For the next 14 seconds, every teammate who rallies round your flag will deal mini-crits.

Plus, the achievements for both classes are up.

An interesting one for the Soldier:
Spray of Defeat
Use a grenade to gib a player.

Dec 17, 2009#79

Twitch

It's a taunt kill I think.

Dec 17, 2009#80

figmentPez

Almost forgot, kill count update:

"Adding in the points awarded to our recent Propaganda Contest winners—60,000 frags added to the Killed Demomen score and 25,000 added to the Killed Soldier score—the war currently stands neck-and-neck at 5,727,928 Killed Soldiers to 5,742,720 Killed Demos. We need to stress to you that we have not gamed these numbers in any way: After a solid week of gut-grinding combat and an astonishing 11,470,648 total kills, the Demomen and Soldiers are separated by a mere 14,792 points."

The difference in score is a little more than than one-eighth of a percent of the total kill count. Even without the propaganda bomb, the difference is less than half a percent of the total kill count. (Unless my math is wrong) That is damn close.

Dec 17, 2009#81

bhamv3

The Scottish Resistance looks interesting, it fulfills the Demoman's designed role of area denial, though I'd imagine it'll cause some very intense whining about sticky spam.

And considering how terrible a player I am, I'll probably be wielding the Equalizer. Though I don't see a downside to it. Does it do less damage than the shovel before you get hurt?

Dec 17, 2009#82

AshburnerX

I think there is some hardcore cheating going on, especially if Demomen can nearly comeback from an almost 100k loss in less than 24 hours. Even more so because of the bonus the Soldiers got for the Propaganda contest.

Dec 17, 2009#83

filmfanatic

How much do you think Valve planned this from the start and both sides get the exclusive weapon?

Dec 17, 2009#84

Shegokigo

I seriously doubt cheating Ash, my server itself went from 4-5 Soldiers vs 2-3 Demo per game to just about flipped 5-6 Demos to 2-3 Soldiers per game since the first release of Demo info on weapons.

Dec 17, 2009#85

figmentPez

Victory for the Soldier!

The Gunboats (boots)

The 18th century was a time of rapid innovation; in the space of a single year, the two-storey building, the stage play, America, and the rocket launcher were all invented by the same man: Shakespearicles, the strongest writer who ever lived. Despite his powerful grasp of language and the ability to bench press 700 British pounds, several inventions eluded his iron grip—most tragically among them, stairs. For the next three hundred years, people who needed to get to the second floor used the only method available to them: shooting a rocket launcher at their feet. Yes, it was ridiculous, crippling, and awful, but what are you going to do? Not go to the second floor? That’s where your bed is.

Luckily, in 1857, a young bearded inventor named President Abraham Lincoln stumbled upon the answer: stairs. Unluckily, he never grasped the full import of his own invention, and died attempting to rocket jump up the world’s first staircase in his laboratory at Ford’s Theater. Horrified by this tragedy, mankind agreed never to invent anything again, turning its many scientists and scholars to that most noble endeavor, astrology.

It would not be until 1921 when hotheaded Pisces Franklin D Roosevelt, languishing in a hospital after losing both of his legs in a rocket-jumping accident, stumbled upon Lincoln’s notes and perfected the modern staircase, freeing people from the tyranny of the second floor as Lincoln intended.

No advancement has been made in the escalation sciences since… until now. Introducing the Gunboats, secondary-slot boots that reduce rocket jump damage by a huge amount, rendering stairs forever useless. What is the science behind these miracles of technology? Magic, probably.

In conclusion, why are you still reading this? These things are live, in the game, right now. Go go go!

Also, Two New Maps

Cp_gorge is a top secret alpine facility diabolically masquerading as something else entirely: in this case, a sinister weapons factory disguised as an innocent water purification plant, and a large-ish hole not big enough to meet the U.S. Geological Survey’s standards for a gorge, disguised as a by-the-book, nothing-to-see-here gorge.

Cp_gorge is an attack/defense map with only two control points, designed for quick rounds and fast, frantic play. It has more lateral game space than previous Control Point maps, allowing for more maneuvering options.

CTF_DoubleCross

In the middle of the night, two bridges span a bottomless chasm of certain doom. (Said bridges span the chasm in the day also, but the gate is locked.) Secret bases concealed behind the unassuming facades of a factory and a farm built next door to each other fool absolutely no one in the area, who sometimes gather around to “watch all them mercenaries fight over that spy base.”

Doublecross is a fast-paced map that promises a lot of turnaround, with fighting focused on the main bridge and plenty of ways to fall off of it (or cause others to). The secondary train bridge below is perfect for sneakier classes, and provides a number of secret tunnels.

Dec 17, 2009#86

AshburnerX

Already got a pair of Gunboats... they are nice, but they take the place of shotgun. You'll only take ten damage from a Rocket Jump, but the shotgun loss is felt pretty hard with the low ammo of the RL.

Dec 17, 2009#87

Allen, who is Quiet

What was with the stairs bit? It seems like the loss of your shotgun is a pretty big hit.

Dec 18, 2009#88

AshburnerX

Allen said:
What was with the stairs bit? It seems like the loss of your shotgun is a pretty big hit.

It's because they reduce rocket jump damage... and you'd use rocket jumping to get to higher places. Like Stairs.

Dec 18, 2009#89

figmentPez

Ooooh, Sandman got a nerf, sorta.

# The Sandman now only stuns on a max range hit (when you hear the cheering)
# All shorter hits now force the enemy into the thirdperson fleeing state (also removed the damage reduction on them)

Lots of other changes, but:
"Added 2 new game startup songs"
Woo!

Dec 18, 2009#90

AshburnerX

figmentPez said:
Ooooh, Sandman got a nerf, sorta.

# The Sandman now only stuns on a max range hit (when you hear the cheering)
# All shorter hits now force the enemy into the thirdperson fleeing state (also removed the damage reduction on them)

Lots of other changes, but:
\"Added 2 new game startup songs\"
Woo!

It's sad, but necessary. Getting nailed even by a short range ball is more than enough time to get killed.

That being said, they need to re-buff the Backburner. It's the least used weapon (officially!) and it's pretty damn obvious why: None of the maps are designed in such a way to make sneaking up on someone a common event for the Pyro. I probably wouldn't give them back the extra HP, but they need increased movement speed or something to make it worth it.

Dec 18, 2009#91

Wahad

Ahahahahaha the soldier domination sounds are awesome.

Ash, how do you get the Gunboats? Are they included in achievement unlockables or?

Dec 18, 2009#92

AshburnerX

Wahad said:
Ahahahahaha the soldier domination sounds are awesome.

Ash, how do you get the Gunboats? Are they included in achievement unlockables or?

No, the Gunboats can only be achieved by a random drop or by crafting at this time.

Dec 18, 2009#93

Twitch

I should just craft shit, I have five of every item I think.

Dec 18, 2009#94

Wahad

D:

I got all the demo milestones but didn't get the Eyelander when I got milestone 2! I guess I'll have to collect items to craft one for myself because I think I glitched out or something. Also I can't equip any other weapons anymore, it seems. :/

Dec 18, 2009#95

Chippy

Yup, I didn't get the shield after I got the 1st milestone.

Dec 18, 2009#96

AshburnerX

That's because Steam is bugging out because of the update. Expect a fix soon.

Dec 18, 2009#97

Methuselah

My god, everyone and there mother should be able to hit airshots now.

The Direct is seriously fucked up considering it minicrits on anyone even slightly above the ground.

Dec 18, 2009#98

Shegokigo

Anyone see a TF2 Crafting Chart/Guide anywhere online yet?

Dec 18, 2009#99

Wahad

Here you go

Dec 18, 2009#100

Shegokigo

So a class specific hat will cost 112 items? Nice. Keeps em slightly rare (other than all the idlers that will collect) I hope Valve does another idler purge in a couple weeks.

Dec 18, 2009#101

figmentPez

Shegokigo said:
So a class specific hat will cost 112 items? Nice. Keeps em slightly rare (other than all the idlers that will collect) I hope Valve does another idler purge in a couple weeks.

Well, 112 if you're making from raw items (and want a hat for a specific class). I've gotten slot and class tokens as random drops, so I assume that metal can be found as well.

Dec 18, 2009#102

Wahad

figmentPez;317847][quote=Shegokigo said:
So a class specific hat will cost 112 items? Nice. Keeps em slightly rare (other than all the idlers that will collect) I hope Valve does another idler purge in a couple weeks.

Well, 112 if you're making from raw items (and want a hat for a specific class). I've gotten slot and class tokens as random drops, so I assume that metal can be found as well.[/QUOTE]

Scrap metal can be. Don't know about reclaimed/refined.

Dec 18, 2009#103

Shegokigo

I'm just assuming the worst and I get nothing to help my Sniper Hat along.

Dec 18, 2009#104

AshburnerX

Scrap Metal drops, as do Class token.

Coincidentally, I finally got my first cosmetic drop tonight: A Camera Beard! Took friggan months.

Dec 18, 2009#105

Shegokigo

I wouldnt' get too excited Ash, the camera beard is no longer a rare hat drop, I see about 5 drop per day. I got one too. :blue:

Dec 18, 2009#106

AshburnerX

Shegokigo said:
I wouldnt' get too excited Ash, the camera beard is no longer a rare hat drop, I see about 5 drop per day. I got one too. :blue:

It's because it's not a hat anymore. It's a special slot, like the Soldier's Medals. They'll fix the drop rate soon.

Dec 18, 2009#107

Twitch

I had a whole bunch of extra shit so before the system kept crashing I made a refined metal and a scout token. It takes quite a bit.

Dec 19, 2009#108

Shegokigo

This loadout bullshit is really starting to piss me off, no items are dropping on my server for the entire day.

Dec 19, 2009#109

Methuselah

Got a Pyro Beanie and Texas Ten Gallon 8)

Dec 19, 2009#110

Shegokigo

How's the trading work? I currently have the Pyro's Rubber Glove hat and looking to collect the Sniper stuff.

Dec 19, 2009#111

AshburnerX

Shegokigo said:
How's the trading work? I currently have the Pyro's Rubber Glove hat and looking to collect the Sniper stuff.

Trading isn't in the game yet. It's coming next year, according to Robin.

Dec 20, 2009#112

@Li3n

So, 6 more free hours... anyone care to play?

Dec 20, 2009#113

Methuselah

Just played a pickup with all the new weapons, and here are my reactions

Direct hit- The loss of spam is extremely noticable. When the 2 enemy soldiers went regular launcher at Badlands mid, I could get away with much less, and they were able to pour on the damage, just like old times. However, the DH is still BRUTAL in some situations. Both medics dropped uber once thanks to the fact that they jumped in sight of a soldier. One of our soldiers hit a huge air on Badlands mid from one house to the other, making our entire team laugh at how ridiculous the weapon is.

Scottish Resistance- Didn't see much use, I certainly didn't touch it. When the enemy demo used it he was slower to mid, severely hindering his team on the most important fight of the game. But defending last, he was able to wander quite a bit more while still holding the point locked down.

Targe- Ugh. The enemy demo, on multiple occasions, simply charged our combo and whipped out his sword. He'd then switch to pipes and go for the med. I couldn't touch him 1v1, considering I couldn't do more than 40 damage at a time. I'm really interested in what Valve's thought process in producing this thing was.

Buff Banner- Won us the mid fight on granary a couple times. According to our soldier, the charge was erratic and irregular. He said he could put a rocket on the demo in close range, do 100 damage, and it would go up a little bit, and then hit the med with a long range 50 damage rocket, and it would go up by a third. I kinda like it though, it adds another thing to mentally keep track of, and allows for pushes without uber, resulting in a faster-paced game.

Dec 20, 2009#114

Shegokigo

I don't think I can play anything other than Targe/Eyelander Demo or Sniper ever again.

They both give me the entire playstyle I crave at whichever mood I'm in. It's fantastic. Yes Meth, the Targe Rush is instrumental in killing medics surrounded by groups.

Dec 23, 2009#115

JONJONAUG

Hey Shego, hey Shego!

Also other stuff because I don't know where else to post this (make this the "official" TF2 thread or something).

Dec 24, 2009#116

Wahad

I wish those screencaps were from a real series. It would be awesome.

Dec 24, 2009#117

AshburnerX

This totally makes me think of the Finale to Cowboy Bebop.

Dec 29, 2009#118

Methuselah

Hey Halforums! Want to be good at TF2? You should talk to Methuselah!

but really I've put well over 1000 hours into this gem and helping some newish people out would give me something to do when I'm not playing with my team.

BUMPITY BUMP

Dec 29, 2009#119

Wahad

I've been playing for awhile, but I can't seem to get better. Probably because I play on a slightly sucky computer but :/

If you have any tips for a soldier, that'd be great. My current loadout is Rocket Launcher/Shotgun/Equalizer, and I have the Direct Hit.

Dec 29, 2009#120

Methuselah

Well shit, with 600 hours in it I damn well better have some tips for soldier. Add me to your friends, I'll talk to you there (It will have to be tomorrow cause of comp availability)

But it's extremely important that you're getting over 30 FPS in all situations, if that's unattainable with lowest settings you should use an FPS config.

Dec 29, 2009#121

Wahad

Added you.

Don't know if I reach 30, I never bothered to check. I should say though that I don't play competitively so it's not extremely important, but I'd like to get a few kills in before I die for once.

Dec 29, 2009#122

AshburnerX

The best advice I can give you is one of perspective. If you can get a point ratio of 2 points per a death, your doing pretty good. Don't expect to do any better than that unless you specialize in a class extensively.

Dec 29, 2009#123

Kitty Sinatra

Damn! I think I rocked the game by that method.

Dec 29, 2009#124

Methuselah

type net_graph 3 into console to get a good look at your FPS, among other things. some commands you should have entered by default: cl_interp_ratio 0, cl_interp .0152 (there's a bit of controversy over this value, but .0152 is generally accepted as a nice medium between hitscan and projectile classes)

Dec 30, 2009#125

Kitty Sinatra

Methuselah said:
some commands you should have entered by default: cl_interp_ratio 0, cl_interp .0152 (there's a bit of controversy over this value, but .0152 is generally accepted as a nice medium between hitscan and projectile classes)

Does anyone not named Shegokigo know what any of that means?

Dec 30, 2009#126

Wahad

I don't even know how to /open/ the console. :blush:

Dec 30, 2009#127

AshburnerX

Wahad said:
I don't even know how to /open/ the console. :blush:

You need to go to your control options and click the option to turn on the Dev Console. Then you just hit ~ and it will open it up... and honestly, you don't need any of that crap if you just want to play. I can usually keep up with Shego (point wise, not kill wise) if I'm playing Engy or Medic and I don't need all that.

Dec 30, 2009#128

Methuselah

That "crap" will make the game appear much smoother, and rockets will shoot more naturally, allowing for easier aiming. Believe me, the difference is extremely noticeable. I can understand not really caring too much about maximizing performance via gaming gear and minor network setting changes, but not changing a couple values that make everything much easier is just..... well I don't know what it is. I guess it's kinda silly.

It's like refusing to turn off pointer precision.

Dec 30, 2009#129

AshburnerX

Methuselah said:
That "crap" will make the game appear much smoother, and rockets will shoot more naturally, allowing for easier aiming. Believe me, the difference is extremely noticeable. I can understand not really caring too much about maximizing performance via gaming gear and minor network setting changes, but not changing a couple values that make everything much easier is just..... well I don't know what it is. I guess it's kinda silly.

It's like refusing to turn off pointer precision.

You might want to explain what exactly it does the. Until then, it IS meaningless crap.

Dec 30, 2009#130

Kitty Sinatra

And what's pointer precision?

Dec 31, 2009#131

Methuselah

Pointer precision is a windows setting that is turned on by default. It's also called mouse acceleration, and it makes it so that the slower you move your mouse, the less space the cursor travels. So in an FPS, fast twitches become HUGE, and slow tracking of the same distance covers only small ground. Inconsistency=bad.

Interp is tougher to explain, I don't know enough about how servers really work to make it clear.

Your client is (probably) sending/receiving 66 packets per second, that means that every 0.015 of a second (1/66), a packet its sent and received.

cl_interp is basically how far back in time (in seconds) your client is seeing the game.

By using a value of cl_interp 0.0152 you are setting your client back in time far enough so that if one packet is dropped it'll still have enough time to receive another packet before it has to extrapolate (which is bad). But it's still low enough to make projectiles to feel snappy.

low interp means there's less of a delay (visual only) between clicking and seeing boolet come out of gun.

try cl_interp 3 to see what I mean.

Dec 31, 2009#132

figmentPez

What is the default value for cl_interp?

Dec 31, 2009#133

Methuselah

way too high. I believe it's 1. But you can find out for yourself by typing cl_interp in console and seeing what value pops up. interp_ratio is usually 2 or 3

Dec 31, 2009#134

figmentPez

Methuselah said:
way too high. I believe it's 1. But you can find out for yourself by typing cl_interp in console and seeing what value pops up. interp_ratio is usually 2 or 3

Any idea why the default is so much higher than your recommendation?

EDIT: I checked and the default is 0.1 and it has the note "bounded on low side by server interp ratio settings" which defaults to 2. So, according to this article: Source Multiplayer Networking (from The Valve Developer Community), that means the lower limit is 0.03 (on a 66 tickrate server), unless the server has altered cl_interpratio settings as well.

EDIT #2: Uh, according to the article, cl_updaterate needs to be increased in order to make decreasing cl_interp work. Default for cl_updaterate is 20, and a server I joined at random had it set to 33. That kind of throws your assumptions of a 66 tickrate out the window, which means your cl_interp settings may be too low for how often you're receiving updates.

Jan 1, 2010#135

Methuselah

Oh yeah, I believe my config changes the updaterate to 60 or something. And on almost every server you'll be able to put your interp_ratio at 0 or 1.

Iif I was to enter cl_interp .0152 it would default it to the server low, which is just fine by me. And I can tell that it isn't too low because I'm manually tracking my packet loss with net_graph 3.

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