Comments on: Team Fortress 2: Unlocking… Pandora’s Box?

By: PrivatePyle

PrivatePyle — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:38:27 +0000

I like the idea of new weapons but don’t like the achievements required to get them. I like playing the different classes but I only spend an average of 10 hours a week playing so generally I get destroyed in on line games. Now the people who play constantly are going to get better weapons making it even more difficult for the casual player or new player. The other night I went on to one of my favorite sites. Two guys are in the game playing each other but just trying to earn pyro achievements. As soon as they see me the leave the server to look for another empty one to pad their stats.

By: Satans Storeman

Satans Storeman — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 22:58:34 +0000

I daresay once all the unlocks have been unleashed the game will balance itself out again. Cant wait for the Pyro one tho !!!! :o)}

By: Mman

Mman — Fri, 23 May 2008 00:08:52 +0000

The new saw and syringe gun are pretty much better than than the original ones the vast majority of the time, but if a Medic beats a Demoman or Soldier in 1-on-1 (let alone both in quick succession) then there are either extenuating circumstances (like them being half-dead already), or there was a massive skill gap.

By: Nick

Nick — Thu, 22 May 2008 23:56:51 +0000

There really is no compelling reason not to use the blutsauger or the ubersaw when you have them (the latter being rather stupidly powerful in fact and the former scaring pyros away), which removes the choice element somewhat. The kritskrieg proves to be the only situational weapon and thus the only real “choice” once unlocked. Not as bad as I thought, but two medics chaining ubers with ubersaws is VERY tiresome.

By: chainspell

chainspell — Thu, 22 May 2008 23:35:00 +0000

you’re a closed minded moron, and a bunch of other things ide like to call you. but closed minded moron is already pretty accurate.

By: Unlocks medics no better then cheats

Unlocks medics no better then cheats — Tue, 20 May 2008 08:40:18 +0000

this is an old post and no one will probly ever see this but
I just witness a medic with unlocks devistate a Demo and a Soldier with ease who both scored 3-4 in/direct hits each in less then 40 seconds
So for those that think the new unlocks are stable and fair all i can say is that you’re full of shit
online play should have equal weapons to every one
mabey have in game unlocks that last the mission as then you deserver to use them, but using them for ever on noobs will just kill the game

By: Jiki

Jiki — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 12:15:00 +0000

Yeah, making the game more interesting is really a crucial flaw. I can understand your uncertainty, but tbh I’d prefer more new stuff because the same old stuff over and over again gets boring sooner or later. Like, I haven’t played tf2 for months because it lost some of its glitz after I got the feeling there’s nothing new to it anymore. New maps are cool of course, but new unlockables add new ways of strategy and that’s the cool thing. Yeah, it won’t be that minimalistic anymore, but would you rather play the same old thingy over and over again or get some new shiny stuff in it (doesn’t even have to be shiny, interesting will do :P)?

By: Nick

Nick — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 02:48:12 +0000

Not to mention playing different sizes of the Battlefield maps was almost like a different map in and of itself.

By: Crispy

Crispy — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 23:40:01 +0000

A recent poll I conducted on a Half-Life 2 fansite suggests over 50% of players would prefer new maps to new guns.

Maps are the way to keep people interested, not weapons. A map can give you a radically different game mode that -like a new set of weapons- has you using the existing classes in a fresh new way. But-

Unlike weapons, maps keep you playing for longer. Adding more maps to a mapcycle extends the repetition cycle by an extra 15-20 minutes (or more) each time. Weapons cannot do this because they are always (theoretically) available, and aren’t only included on certain maps.

When do players generally quit a multiplayer game? It’s not when they try out a new weapon, or when they unlock an achievement, it’s when they finish a map. What stops players from quitting is if a particularly fun map comes up right as they’re about to leave.

If TF2’s playerbase is dwindling it’s because it is hideously malnourished on the map front (8 maps; with 2 very close remakes from TFC) compared to Enemy Territory (12) or Battlefield (12). This isn’t enough to sustain a dedicated (hardcore?) playerbase.

By: Hyudra

Hyudra — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 22:12:33 +0000

I’m a big fan of TF2, and I’m a big fan of options.

My big problem with this is the fact that the rewards are tied to achievements. This is very similar to Guild Wars, which was a skill based game that introduced titles, followed by rewards which were title-dependent. This edged out the casual players and added a note of frustration and tedium to what was before a very accessible game.

I’m really into this, and I think they can make it work, but I do wish it wasn’t tied to achievements, especially when so many of them simply won’t happen for most players unless they’re rigged.

By: Kadayi

Kadayi — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 11:47:06 +0000

@Winterborn

The guys at 1UP got to test out the new stuff (see this weeks 1UPshow), and according to Valve the other character updates will be released pretty thick and fast apparently. A lot of back end stuff is being added in with this one, thus the long delay.

By: Kadayi

Kadayi — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 10:03:35 +0000

@Swashbuckler

So basically your into the superficial then. Horses for courses I guess.