TF2 SNIPER UPDATE!!!1

[King Kool]

My brother has been playing for a while and is boggled by this change. He says since there's no definite way to get them beyond blind luck, it's frustrating. He doesn't need the unlocks right away, but having NO concrete way to get to them is weak.

Here's what I say.

Valve doesn't want people to just join achievement servers and play to get the unlocks. Thus, they make it so that they are distributed at random. NOW, people join IDLE servers to NOT play and hope to get them by blind luck. Now people aren't even PLAYING to get these things.

By my estimation, this could be the very definition of the term "backfire."

[Corax]

play tf2, as a bonus, you could get a new item, you don't need the new items, and you don't have everyone playing as sniper and spy because you can get any unlock as any class.

problem solved i say

now achievements are just for fun as well.

[Lord Chrusher]

But everyone is playing as a spy or sniper. I was on a team today with five spies and over the last few days I usually see about four snipers. I have been playing as a sniper a lot more than usual.

I have the Cloak and Dagger, the Dead Ringer (the new watches for the spies), the Razorback and the Huntsman a long with a lot of duplicate of the Pyro and Heavy unlocks I already have.

[Dave-O_Boy]

Oh it's been Sniper fest one most of the matches I've played. One game the team I was on had 8 people playing as the sniper (doing horribly too).

[Master Gunner]

So far I have received the Razorback, the Dead Ringer, and two of the medic unlocks. Of those, only the Razorback is of any use, and I rarely use it (I find the SMG to be far more useful, I'd prefer if we could choose to give up the kukri instead). Under the old system, I'd have all the sniper unlocks by now.

Like some people on a server I was playing on the other day were saying, they should have kept the old system, and implemented this one on top of it. That way, casual players could still get the benefits of the new system, and those that regularly play a class can get the unlocks they want when they want them. Not to mention they shouldn't have let us get multiples of the same. First off, if you're going to put in a trade system, put it in with the ability for multiple unlocks, not an undetermined time in the future. Secondly, with the new system, isn't a trade system completely redundant and pointless?

[Sable]

play tf2, as a bonus, you could get a new item, you don't need the new items, and you don't have everyone playing as sniper and spy because you can get any unlock as any class.

problem solved i say

now achievements are just for fun as well.

I am horrified that I am agreeing with Corax.

And yet.

[InsaneFool]

LRR Reference for the Win
http://www.ubercharged.net/2009/05/25/totally-not-a-referenceparody-article/

[Lord Chrusher]

Three PS3s is up to 1.2 million on youTube? Crazy.

[whyarecarrots]

Three PS3s is up to 1.2 million on youTube? Crazy.

There's another version of it with over 200k views as well.

[Lord Chrusher]

I think Nunchuk Fail still has more views in total what with Leno and all.

[Master Gunner]

Well that was intentional, although it exceeded all expectations.

3PS3's is still amazing for what it did, and pretty sure it still brought in more death threats.

[Darkobra]

Sorry to change the topic on you but I learned something new about the update today.

Some sniper who was trash talking all the way through a game, saying he was a fantastic sniper and the best in the game, (he wasn't. I went sniper myself to prove that) said to me that you can use a pyro to burn the arrows of the Huntsman. Sure enough, it works. The arrows set alight and burns the enemy as well as impaling them.

I don't know how many of you already knew this but I thought it was something worth sharing.

[Lord Chrusher]

Yeah I saw someone doing that

[Dave-O_Boy]

Hrmm I wonder if you can knock them away with the compression blast

[Corax]

So far I have received the Razorback, the Dead Ringer, and two of the medic unlocks. Of those, only the Razorback is of any use, and I rarely use it (I find the SMG to be far more useful, I'd prefer if we could choose to give up the kukri instead). Under the old system, I'd have all the sniper unlocks by now.

Like some people on a server I was playing on the other day were saying, they should have kept the old system, and implemented this one on top of it. That way, casual players could still get the benefits of the new system, and those that regularly play a class can get the unlocks they want when they want them. Not to mention they shouldn't have let us get multiples of the same. First off, if you're going to put in a trade system, put it in with the ability for multiple unlocks, not an undetermined time in the future. Secondly, with the new system, isn't a trade system completely redundant and pointless?

how is the razorback useful? im just going to shoot you 3 times instead of stabbing you, and i can see that you have it on, it would only be good if i found out you had it after i had already attempted a stab.

The Dead Ringer is amazing, first of all, whne you turn it on, the next hit you take will only do 1/10th of the damage it does normally, and then it looks like you died, and cloaks you for about 7 seconds. so with this you want to use a friendly color disguise so they think they killed a demoman or something and then you can uncloak behind them and attempt a kill, or if they see you, repeat it, or retreat with the pistol. being able to absorb damage is phenomenal, you can survive a fall from any distance, or any one hit of damage that does less than 1250, pyros and heavys are still trouble some, and its annoying not being able to cloak whenever i want to, but otherwise it definitely has its place.

[whyarecarrots]

Hrmm I wonder if you can knock them away with the compression blast

By some complete coincidence I was trying that last night with a couple of friends: as the pyro attempting to airblast them, it got very painful very quickly.... although for some reason the sniper kept firing even after we'd realised it didn't work...

[Master Gunner]

To answer your questions Corax: For the Dead Ringer, I don't play spy. I fully realize it's usefulness to someone who can play a decent spy, but I do not, therefor it is of no use to me. For the Razorback, it's not of much use (especially with the loss of the SMG), but it gives me a chance to survive a spy attack that I didn't have before, and I have had the odd spy try to stab me through it anyways, and I've also managed to take out a couple that tried shooting me. Obviously they weren't very good spies, but odds are I wouldn't have gotten any of them previously. Like I said though, most of the time I stick to the SMG.

[Alja-Markir]

Existing Problems With TF2 Weapon Implementation

• Making Sure People Don't Feel Gimped By Lacking Unlockable Weapons Others Have
• Making Sure People Don't Farm, Either Achievements or Idles
• Making Sure People Don't Only Play A Certain Class

Possible Solutions

• Weapons Unlocked By Achievements - People get weapons at an uneven rate, and those who lack resent those who have. People farm achievements to get the unlocks. People overplay the updated class(es) in order to both 1), unlock the weapons themselves and 2) test the weapons once unlocked.
  
  
• Weapons Unlocked By Random Chance - People get weapons at an uneven rate, and may never get certain unlocks at all. People who have weapon unlocks are resented even more by those who don't, because those who don't have no tangible way to even the playing field. People farm idle to get unlocks, and in the meantime go do something more fun. People overplay the updated class(es) in order to test the weapons once unlocked. However, as weapon unlocks are staggered, testing is staggered. People will be overplaying the updated class(es) for longer, as it may take a month or more to unlock all items for testing.
  
  
• Weapons Unlocked By Default - People get weapons at an even rate. No one lacks what others have, so there is no resentment. No one farms achievements, no one sits idle. People overplay the updated class(es) in order to test the weapons. This testing process is the shortest of the three, as players do not have to spend time getting achievements before testing items, do not have to spend time waiting for random unlocks before testing items, and can test all new items at the same time.

Which would you choose?

~Alja~

[Darkobra]

[-]May 29, 2009 - Team Fortress 2 Update Released

Updates to Team Fortress 2 have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The specific changes include:

Team Fortress 2


Added Sniper/Spy milestone achievements as an additional way players can get the new unlockables

Arena Mode

Added tf_arena_use_queue server convar. Turn this on to get the old queue behavior. Default is off

Added tf_arena_round_time to set a timelimit on the round

Added the userid of the player who built the teleporter to the "player_teleported" event

Fixed player killed event causing server crash

Fixed Spies not being telefragged when standing on an enemy teleporter exit with the Dead Ringer enabled

Fixed attackers seeing the mini-crit particle effect for full crits if the victim has the Jarate effect enabled

Fixed the Ambassador not doing damage to buildings

Fixed Spies disguised as their own team not drawing blood effects

Fixed players killed by flaming arrows not showing the appropriate death icon



The achievement milestones are surprisingly low.

1st: 5
2nd: 11
3rd: 17

[whyarecarrots]

Added Sniper/Spy milestone achievements as an additional way players can get the new unlockables

Hell. Fucking. Yes.

Thank you Valve for proving that you can listen to your fanbase.

[Master Gunner]

Within 30 seconds after starting a game, I went from only having two razorbacks, to having 3 razorbacks, the Jarate, and the Huntsman. Boyah. You seem to need to activate the achievement system somehow (get an achievement or progress in one) before it will recognize that you have the milestones and give them to you. Although restarting TF2/Steam, or logging out and back in, have also being known the help.

The Huntsman is taking some getting used to, but I like it. Fits into my "assault sniper" role better.

[Darkobra]

I found my first Ambassador and Huntsman today. Well, technically my second. I got everything by achievements. But it just goes to show how much Valve are willing to kick me in the nuts.

"Well we give in! Here's an achievement system! Oh and here's a second Huntsman and Ambassador!"

I'll probably give them to my friend who never plays either class excessively when trading comes out.

[Master Gunner]

I've also gotten the ambassador and the second watch now, so now I have all the new unlocks. What I'm missing is the Ubersaw, Natasha, and all the scout updates. Considering I never play medic, spy, or scout, I figure I've being pretty lucky. For duplicates, I have 2 spare Razorbacks, and a spare blutsauger.

[Darkobra]

I have a complete duplicate of medic stuff, a second Bonk, I THINK a second Sandman and a shitload of Nataschas. When trading comes out, message me and I'll hook you up.

[Lyinginbedmon]

I nabbed Jarate & Huntsman in the course of an hour. Haven't tried for the Spy achievements yet, but I think this already qualifies as more efficient.