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Going to do my best to keep this thread updated with any news coming from the TF2 world and since I'll be keeping it semi-bumped it'll be a good place for trading between our Halforumites.

June 15th:
Download the FREE game Spiral Knights and complete one level to receive your TF2 hat.


The "Conjurer's Cowl" (From Magicka Pre-Order) and the "Maul" (From Red-Faction Armageddon Pre-Order" became craftable as of last update:



+ + = Chance at Maul or other Pyro Melee item.

Anyone who Pre-Ordered "Duel of the Planeswalkers" recieved this:


Yesterday was the final day to get the items.

But what's up with the birds?

The Uber Update

Today brings mob themed weapons for the Heavy and the Spy, and a new map.

Awesome update! Thanks again Pez!

Day two: Timbuk Tuesday comes with Arabian themed items for the Sniper and Demoman.

This update looks more and more fun by the minute.

I have to play this all-melee demoman.

Allen who is Quiet said:

I have to play this all-melee demoman.

Click to expand...

I highly suspect it's going to get nerfed VERY quickly. Turn all ammo into health pick-ups? That's going to be horrible to fight in Medieval Mode. The Sniper's new rifle looks OP too... at least in the hands of a good sniper.

Are there even copious amounts of ammo pickups in Medieval Mode?

Allen who is Quiet said:

Are there even copious amounts of ammo pickups in Medieval Mode?

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You drop weapons when you die, don't you? That's an ammo pickup.

OP in Degrootkeep, near useless everywherelse. Seems about right.

Jiarn said:

OP in Degrootkeep, near useless everywherelse. Seems about right.

Click to expand...

Combined with the rest of the kit, not exactly. The charge would recharge at twice the rate and would be much easier to control thanks to Ali Baba's sweet kicks. If you see them coming than yeah, they are dead, but if you don't catch them until they are in dashing distance, your dead.

Yeah, if you don't hear a screaming scottsman hurtling your way I'm sure you're in trouble.... kind of like you are now.

I look forward to more charging demos into engineer guns.

Tress said:

Today brings us an update for the Scout.

Click to expand...

That was a hidden part of yesterday's update. Today is World War Wednesday with two item packs for the Soldier.

Oh. My bad.

Soldier, being one of my favorite classes, is getting some sexy new toys! I'm in love with that Launcher + Fast Shotgun combo!

I wonder what the Medic is getting tomorrow. Other than the video I mean.

Valve hasn't announced anything on their site(s) but Develop is claiming that Team Fortress 2 is now free-to-play permanently.

And there goes the neighborhood.

Ugh. Here's hoping the drop system doesn't go away.

Tress said:

Ugh. Here's hoping the drop system doesn't go away.

Click to expand...

No, that's already confirmed to be staying around. Thankfully.

Archimedes?

So apparently people who paid for the game are getting a free hat. That's nice. Honestly, I feel like I got my money's worth out of TF2 years ago, but I could imagine how someone who bought the game in the last few months would want some compensation. It's a nice touch.

I have a crapload of stuff waiting for me the next time I open up TF2.

And no love for Engis...

The Uber Update doesn't contain any Medic equipment?

*sigh*

figmentPez said:

The Uber Update doesn't contain any Medic equipment?

*sigh*

Click to expand...

It has three items.

The Quick Fix - Can't overheal, but heals at triple rate when an ubercharge is deployed. Also lets you match the speed of quicker allies when you heal them.

The Solemn Vow - Saw (OK, it's a statue of Hippocrates that you smash guys with) that lets you see the HP of enemies.

The Overdose - Does less damage but increases your movement speed based on how much uber you have.

Also, Engy's don't need need love. They've gotten stuff every update since their own update.

AshburnerX said:

Also, Engy's don't need need love. They've gotten stuff every update since their own update.

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Yes, they do. Because all that stuff you mention has just been variations on wrenches. I want something to shake up sentry guns, or dispensers, or teleporters, or at least something with the shotgun and/or pistol. I know they can't change the fundamentals of dispensers and teleporters per their own testing, but they could at least offer some different tweaks.

Besides... having looked at the engy weapons, I see now that they've added a whopping two wrenches. It hasn't been every update, and the wrenches really aren't that special. That's hardly the bevy of updates you make it out to be.

figmentPez said:

Valve hasn't announced anything on their site(s) but Develop is claiming that Team Fortress 2 is now free-to-play permanently.

Click to expand...

Best news ever for this game.

Three wrenches actually (You forgot the Gunslinger), though I do agree that they need another pistol and shotgun. I still think an accurate but slow lever action rifle would be a good replacement for the shotgun. As for the pistol... I'd love to see a pistol that has a secondary effect of making people it hits take more damage from the Sentry and Mini-Sentry for a short time.

Still, it's hard to give them new ways to play... the problem is that once you make the Engineer do something new, the rest of the team complains because they NEED the Engineer at his original roles. Sad to say but an Engineer that isn't within 2-3 seconds of his equipment is a bad Engineer and an Engineer that doesn't have a dispenser and teleporters is a useless Engineer.

Yes, you have to keep the fundamental function of the teleporters and dispensers intact. I'd like to see them add tweaks, though. Perhaps a dispenser that has a mini-gun attached to it so it could defend itself? There could be an offset, like costing more metal or slower build time. I don't know. I'm sure someone could come up with much better ideas. I just think there's something they could do, and they're avoiding it.

At least give me a new shotgun or pistol, dammit. Everyone else got at least one thing.

I want a revolver for the Engie that can be used to shoot off sappers.

For those that don't read the official TF2 blog, this is a damn useful site:
TF2 Crafting Advisor
It can analyze your backpack and tell you what items you can craft with what you've currently got (it defaults to only using extra items, and has some other filters as well).

Very nice. Already keep a good track of what I have/need, but this was VERY nice.

Side note: Anyone have the Summer Pyro weapon, The Postbox? I'd like to offer my Summer Demo weapon, the Golfclub for it.

Also offering a Spy's Vintage Camera Beard for any Sniper's Hat Vintage or not.

Just saying.

And?

And....HATS!

I really need to play more, I don't have anything to craft.

that said I'm loving the F2P. Much more variety in the skill level of players meaning that I'm able to go into a server and not be a point generator for the other team.

F2P? What am I missing?

Free to play

Gotcha. I knew it was free now, I just didn't know it had a cool new acronym.

So does this mean my n00b ass would be able to play and have fun and not be the sacrificial lamb all the time?

Probably. Just make sure you have a bitchin' hat and you'll be fine.

I have no hats at all.

Well, in that case, you're going to have to rely on hitting your enemies with bullets or being a medic, thereby enabling teammates to hit enemies with bullets. If you want to jump on the bandwagon, now is a decent time to. There are going to be a lot of new people, so there will be a wide amount of skill levels playing.

My issue is that I boot up the game and then see the list of servers. Acronyms that I have no idea about, "teams" and shit like that. Then I click "exit game" and get on WoW.

Fair enough.

cp means Control Point. This means either Attack/Defend or Push maps. On an Attack/Defend map, the blue team is attacking and red is on defense. Blue is trying to capture control points while red is attempting to defend them. You capture a control point by standing on it for a certain amount of time. More people on it, the faster the capture happens. Red can block captures either by killing everybody who attempts to capture or by also standing on the point. Blue team wins by capturing all the points before time runs out. Red team wins by defending until time runs out. On a Push map, there are five control points. 2 on each side are controlled by the red or blue team, with the point in the middle neutral. The goal is for a team to capture all five points.

ctf means Capture the Flag. Both sides have a briefcase of intelligence. Go capture it and bring it back to your base.

pl means Payload. The blue team must push a cart along a predetermined path to the end. The red team must stop them from pushing. The blue team pushes the cart by standing near it. The more blue team standing near it, the faster the cart gets pushed. Red blocks them from pushing by killing everybody pushing the cart or by standing next to it. Blue wins if the cart reaches the end of the track before time runs out. Red wins if they prevent the cart from making it to the end before time runs out.

plr means Payload Race. Both the blue and red teams are attempting to push a cart to the other side of the map. Pushing a cart works exactly like it does in Payload.

koth means King of the Hill. There's a neutral capture point in the center that is initially locked. Capturing it works exactly as it does in Control Point. Both teams have a timer set at 3 minutes. When a team captures it, their timer starts counting down. The team that has the point is now going to try to defend the point while the team that doesn't is attacking. If the other team captures it, their timer starts counting down. The other timer is frozen in place (ie, if the blue team captures the point in the middle and holds it for 1:30 before the red team captures it, when they next capture the control point, the timer will start counting down from 1:30). Other than Arena, this is the game mode that is most like a straight-up deathmatch.

I don't remember Arena's acronym, but whatever it is, it means Arena. Two teams that the computer forces evenness on. You have one life. Kill people. Don't get killed. Your team wins either by eliminating the other team or by capturing a single control point.
Added at: 08:06
There are several common team sizes: 6, 8, 9, 12, and 16. The less people there are, the more important it is for you to kill and not get killed. Most pub servers have 12- or 16-man teams.

Didn't they include a "Quick Play" option in the last update that just matches you with an open server that you have a good latency with? I know it was mentioned by Valve at least once...

Yes, there's a button you push, letting you select the game type you want to play (with pretty pictures showing what you do), and bam, you're in a server.

Unless I want to play with friends it's pretty much all I use.

AshburnerX said:

Didn't they include a "Quick Play" option in the last update that just matches you with an open server that you have a good latency with? I know it was mentioned by Valve at least once...

Click to expand...

Yes. And that's what Dave should be using.

Dave, I've got an extra hat or two. Hit me up sometime (The Green Spoon) and I'll try to hook you up.

Covar said:

I really need to play more, I don't have anything to craft.

Click to expand...

Idle. Start up a game of offline practice with a low bot count and then spectate. Once it's up and running with the bots duking it out, Alt-Tab away and wait for the items to roll in.

I will be on TF2 tonight at about 7 PM CST. I think we should get a game going.

Man, it's probably the influx of new players, but I'm having much more joy sniping now. I can at least maintain a 1:1 ratio, generally, when before I'd always get Shego'd as soon as I poked my head around a corner.

Dave said:

I will be on TF2 tonight at about 7 PM CST. I think we should get a game going.

Click to expand...

Probably not tonight for me. I'll be watching the Rays @ Yankees game, hoping Jeter gets 2 hits.
Added at: 15:09

bhamv3 said:

Man, it's probably the influx of new players, but I'm having much more joy sniping now. I can at least maintain a 1:1 ratio, generally, when before I'd always get Shego'd as soon as I poked my head around a corner.

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I played Sniper for the first time last weekend. I enjoyed it until I realized the young snipers biggest foe: the experienced sniper.

Covar said:

I played Sniper for the first time last weekend. I enjoyed it until I realized the young snipers biggest foe: the experienced sniper.

Click to expand...

Yup. A headshot is a one-hit kill on snipers, without any charge time. An experienced sniper that can zoom and fire quickly will pick off newbies pretty easily.

figmentPez said:

Yup. A headshot is a one-hit kill on snipers, without any charge time. An experienced sniper that can zoom and fire quickly will pick off newbies pretty easily.

Click to expand...

I shudder to think what those guys are going to do with the Bazaar Bargain. All those newb snipers they kill are going to turn them into killing machines.

Bazaar Bargain is pure love.

New TF2 Comic
Goes along with a tie-in they're doing with WETA at SDCC. The new weapons for the solider are bizarre.

I am LOVING Soldier's using this weapon. They're easy to snipe (you can snipe through their laser as they're firing at you easily), they deal almost no damage (unless fully charged), no fear of charging them (the laser attack does not pop you up at all).

However the weapons on the WETA site that are left to be revealed look like a Sniper Rifle and a Spy Gun. I'm going ga-ga over the though of a Sniper Rail Gun!!!!

The Enforcer: Greatest spy gun ever. Completely complements my style of spy play (dead-ringer). I LOVE getting chased by snipers and pyros and killing them in 3 shots.

It's a pretty sexy little piece of Spy gear for sure, I'll still cover you in pee and one shot you though

figmentPez said:

New TF2 Comic
Goes along with a tie-in they're doing with WETA at SDCC. The new weapons for the solider are bizarre.

Click to expand...

You got me all excited that they were doing a TF2 movie or something.

http://medieval.tf2mods.net/1_1.html

A cross-bow?!?! In my TF2?! YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

*relives her UO days of KATHUNKing people with a Heavy Xbox and pillaging their entire village*

There's been one for awhile actually: The Crusader's Crossbow

No, that's a PoS. This update might actually put a REAL one into the game.

New sniper rifle Shego.

Part of the Manno-Technology Pack which is a tie-in with Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

Engie items?

Valve makes those?

I guess the rifle is OK, if you don't have the Bazaar Bargain.

Isn't making those Engy weapons use metal kinda stupid? Unless your getting a significant damage boost, I can't imagine why you'd want to use them and risk losing your deployables.

"OK"??? It penetrates at full charge.

I kill Person A standing on a point/cart and it hits Person B behind him for damage as well. Not to mention +15dmg on ALL fully charged shots. That means one shot heavies.

I'm almost afraid it's going to get hit with a nerf....

Shegokigo said:

"OK"??? It penetrates at full charge.

I kill Person A standing on a point/cart and it hits Person B behind him for damage as well. Not to mention +15dmg on ALL fully charged shots. That means one shot heavies.

I'm almost afraid it's going to get hit with a nerf....

Click to expand...

The Penetration isn't going to be as useful as you'd think. Most Sniping happens with the Sniper shooting down on the target, meaning your shot is unlikely to hit anyone behind your kill. If your level to your enemy it'll be great, but then you have a much less optimal position to get clean shots.

I'd rather have the Bazaar Bargain for the consistent increase in charge speed. Faster Charge = Increased DPS.

AshburnerX said:

I guess the rifle is OK, if you don't have the Bazaar Bargain.

Isn't making those Engy weapons use metal kinda stupid? Unless your getting a significant damage boost, I can't imagine why you'd want to use them and risk losing your deployables.

Click to expand...

The shotgun probably works better for mini-sentry engies. A point blank blast with it should break even, or maybe even gain metal. For close quarters fighting, it could really mow down enemies.

The pistol replacement is a little stranger. It can destroy incoming projectiles, but I have no idea how that functions.

AshburnerX said:

The Penetration isn't going to be as useful as you'd think. Most Sniping happens with the Sniper shooting down on the target, meaning your shot is unlikely to hit anyone behind your kill. If your level to your enemy it'll be great, but then you have a much less optimal position to get clean shots.

I'd rather have the Bazaar Bargain for the consistent increase in charge speed. Faster Charge = Increased DPS.

Click to expand...

I'm speaking from the last 2hrs of playing. The penetration isn't as useful, but it's still a bonus for "free". I'd have taken this weapon if the only thing it said was "+15 More Damage on Fully Charged Shot" even with the No "No-Scoping".

It's TF2's b-day. Log in (if you can) and grab your noisemaker and Party Hat!

Forgot to mention it earlier but: Surprise Manniversary Update and Sale
Mostly it's new hats, but there are now load-outs for classes, so you can switch quickly between different weapon/item sets. I'll definitely be using that for engie, so I can quick switch between attack and defense.

Also, everyone who logs in will get a gift of a paper hat, and possibly an additional gift as well.

EDIT: I also realized that the Halloween event should be coming up in a week or so. I love TF2 Halloween. Always so much craziness.

Update on the Halloween Update
Basically, they're starting up Mann Manor with the Horseless Headless Horseman and all those drops for new F2P people to catch up a little before the real Halloween event starts. Personally, I love Mann Manor, so I might just play some even though I've got all the achievements.

Hmmm. Any chance we can get a second piece of haunted metal this year? I love my axe, but I wouldn't mind one of those Halloween hats as well.

Scream Fortress Presents: Cautionary Tales of Reading.

Heh, Bombinomicon.

"Here is seven thousand dollars."

Best. Halloween. EVER.

Finished reading the comics, and holy crap:

Third Annual Scream Fortress
Two achievements, costumes for each class, other hidden stuff I'm sure.

Australian Christmas 2011

New weapon packs for Engie and Pyro, new map and new achievements for that map.
The new Pyro axe looks sweet. Well, the visuals do, I'm unconvinced of the utility of it's effects.

Oh, yeah: Comic

Couple of anti-Medic weapons on there. Is this Valve trying to shake up the Uber-centric gameplay the game usually has?

Well, hopefully the medic gets something amazing.

bhamv3 said:

Couple of anti-Medic weapons on there. Is this Valve trying to shake up the Uber-centric gameplay the game usually has?

Click to expand...

Basically. Ubers are necessary for breaking stalemates and for teams to push, but until now there really wasn't any counter except killing the medic and air blasting them away. These new weapons aren't game breaking, but should keep things interesting.

Also, the Widowmaker is AMAZING. If your even halfway decent with a shotgun, your going to get ammo each shot, basically ensuring a non-stop barrage of shots.

"I fought Santa... and Lived!"
A Smissmas Story

Also part 2 of the update, that spy knife/icicle looks sweet.

Heh, Soldier as a lawyer reminds me of Temp Fortress 2.

Analyst estimates that $6.25 Million has been spent on keys from the Mann Co. Store. The article also pulls some real bullshit numbers to value the TF2 hat economy at $22 Million.

figmentPez said:

"I fought Santa... and Lived!"
A Smissmas Story

Also part 2 of the update, that spy knife/icicle looks sweet.

Click to expand...

I got it. It's fucking awesome. My handle on Steam is Herbert the Pervert. I named the icicle "Popsicle fetched from Herb's pocket"

Does anybody have a Machina they are willing to trade me? I'd craft it, but I only have one Righteous Bison and I'm too attached to it.

I had to trade my Vintage Camera Beard to get mine... though I also got a Tomislav and like 6 other weapons I needed from that deal. Perhaps not an equal trade, but I'm happy with it. If one drops, I'll let you know.

Wahad said:

Does anybody have a Machina they are willing to trade me? I'd craft it, but I only have one Righteous Bison and I'm too attached to it.

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I've got one you can have. In fact, I've got one extra of most weapons. (I spend a lot of time idling, spectating bots in practice mode). Hit me up whenever you want.

Well, I found a Pomson. Time to the good times of all the medics.

Haha, this weapon is such bullshit.