Team Fortress 2: update news

[KeithTalent]

Article from The Escapist: http://www.escapistmagazine.co...-Storming-the-Fortress

They applied lessons learned from the ongoing development of TF2 to Left 4 Dead and have even brought back some ideas from the latter to potentially implement in TF2.

Interesting, wonder what those could be.

With Left 4 Dead now launched, the team is once again turning its attention to future TF2 updates. The Scout is the next class slated for the special treatment, and Walker expects the update will be available early this year. Additionally, the team is juggling a number of side projects at the moment, including finally bringing a year's worth of the downloadable content and upgrades to the Xbox 360 version of the game. A new Payload map is in the works, more community maps are on the way and the team will soon unveil a very different new game mode.

I'm interested to see the new game mode as I must admit I was pretty disappointed with Arena. Scout update is a good choice. I play Scout quite a bit, but the class can definitely use some upgrades.

As work continues, Valve is also slowly chipping away at a laundry list of problems that crop up over time between the character classes. Among other large-scale issues on the agenda, Walker says the Spy's disguise has nearly reached the end of its lifetime. Over time, average players have become much better at detecting and dispatching disguised Spies, making the ability pretty useless for all but the sneakiest of players. Additionally, Walker feels the Engineer's sentry guns have become "too binary." They're highly lethal to some players and wholly ineffective against others. Sentry guns are also easily dispatched by skilled players, leaving Engineers with little recourse. Keeping a delicate balance is important, as is adjusting problems that arise from the way players utilize the different abilities of each class in the game.

Funny they menton this because I was thinking the exact same thing on both counts just the other day, particularly with respect to sentries, unless you are decent and can place them in a difficult spot.

Though there are still six more classes to upgrade, the release of an eventual new class isn't out of the question. Rumors of a possible 10th class teased in an Easter Egg found in the first mission of Left 4 Dead set players abuzz. Walker says they haven't made any decisions about adding new classes yet, but that doesn't mean they're not considering them. "We've got several new class designs floating around, some of which we like a lot, but right now we're focusing on the broadening of our existing classes through the addition of the unlockables," he says.

Very cool. Details on the easter egg are here for those that have not seen it.

One of the best, or most encouraging things about this article is how much Valve talks about getting player feedback and involvement in the ongoing development of the game. IN a game like this I think it is a very good idea. TF2 is one of the most balanced games I've ever played and Vale obviously recognizes this and does not want to mess with it too much.

Anyway, I'm starting to get excited for a TF2 update, so I thought this was worth sharing.

KT

 

[PsharkJF]

I'm mad at Robin. Come on man, be smarter than that.

Sentries being binary is the exact way they should be. Sentries are meant to make the job of your teammates easier, not to be the defense. That's the job of the rest of your team. Sentries are nothing but big glorified distractions - distractions that certainly kill you if you're not careful enough.

If I'm a soldier and I'm edging a sentry, those are rockets not expended on the engy's teammates, to whom damage is much harder to heal. Any team trying to defend down four alive players is going to get schooled irregardless of skill. The sentry has done its job without firing a shot.

As an engineer, your sentry gets a free kill on me if I don't know the gun's there. After that, there are no free lunches, kids. It's the same thing as if you hear a heavy winding his AC from around the corner. Once I know where you are, there's no free lunch.

Any change you make to engineer must not only stack up on low player counts, but the inevitable (trash) 32 player instareaspawn servers that invariably have at least 3 engies a team. I don't think any proposed change would pass that requirement.

To use an example, SGs were considerably weaker in TFC, yet every (pub and organized level) team had one on defense. Even weak SGs DO have purpose.

Spy disguise problems can be quickly and effectively fixed with allowing friendly fire.

 

[Superrock]

Kotaku

TheEscapist

There's an interesting tidbit about a possible new class for TF2. What do you guys think the new class should be?

Merged with existing topic.
-PC Gaming Moderator
KeithTalent

 

[Zenoth]

They obviously cannot please everyone. I just wonder if they do listen to the players over at the discussion forums, or if they instead listen to their testers, that'd be quite a different story altogether. They still need to fix very old bugs and exploits clearly and very often mentioned (and showed via screens and videos) by the people on the discussion forums, if they really listened to them they might have fixed those by now, and that is what surprises me (just take the Pyro's flamethrower being able to fire under water if the player keeps the character's body partially submerged by keeping the jump key pressed and pointing into the water, which is an exploit that has been around since the BETA... yes since the Beta days).

It's good to see that they want to make new maps, perhaps a new class, and create more content generally speaking, but they should focus on fixing things that should have been fixed within the first few months (at most) after the Orange Box was released. I like Valve but sometimes they have their priorities (not their ideas) wrongly placed (for us that is, those who play and experience the bugs and exploits everyday), but certainly well placed for business and marketing (avoid fixing bugs for now, make more content, keep people interested, create more positive word of mouth via those updates and sell more).

 

[lupi]

not surprising, spies and engies had the same problems in the original. not much with them has changed so why would the problems be different this time?

 

[coreyb]

I play on a server with a bunch of good players, IMO engies don't need an update at all. Sometimes it's really easy to take down a farm of them, other times we can spend 10 minutes and they just keep rebuilding. I'm scared of the day they make sentries stronger/better somehow.

 

[coreyb]

I'd rather they spend the time making more maps and class updates.

 

[KeithTalent]

I suppose I agree about sentries, but it just seems to me they are incredibly easy to take down now and I thought they would be a little more durable. In general though, Engineers, when can played even remotely well can be big point/kill/assist hogs so I can see where you are coming from.

I certainly hope the answer to the Spy disguise is to have friendly fire on, that would be very annoying.

KT

 

[imported_Imp]

I don't agree with either sentries or spies. Sentries work well enough. If I get a good placement, putting it virtually on offense, which I'm forced to do to get kills if my team is winning, it can dominate. On defense, it provides a very good fail-safe detection system, and its bounceback effect helps everyone else finish the person off. This is good in that you can't just be a clueless engineer, plop a gun down and kill everything. The only thing I'd like is to give them some more health, or make the rockets shoot faster.

Spies are good enough. Good ones still end up getting lots of kills, which usually forces half the team to go pyro, so what's the problem?

If anything, nerf crits and nerf ubers.

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: Imp
I don't agree with either sentries or spies. Sentries work well enough. If I get a good placement, putting it virtually on offense, which I'm forced to do to get kills if my team is winning, it can dominate. On defense, it provides a very good fail-safe detection system, and its bounceback effect helps everyone else finish the person off. This is good in that you can't just be a clueless engineer, plop a gun down and kill everything. The only thing I'd like is to give them some more health, or make the rockets shoot faster.
Spies are good enough. Good ones still end up getting lots of kills, which usually forces half the team to go pyro, so what's the problem?

If anything, nerf crits and nerf ubers.

I agree with the bolded parts. A slight increase in health for the sentries would be nice, nothing crazy.

I am at the point now, with crits, that I just think they should be abolished, aside from the Backburner and Kritzkieg of course. They are just too random and powerful.

KT

 

[TheVrolok]

Originally posted by: coreyb
I'd rather they spend the time making more maps and class updates.

This. Why throw a new class in before finishing the rest of the updates? Seems like jumping the shark.

 

[RallyMaster]

Sniper needs a prone feature.

 

[imported_Imp]

Originally posted by: RallyMaster
Sniper needs a prone feature.

The ones I see barely ever use crouch. If they rarely bother with making themselves 50% smaller, what makes you think they'll go 90%.

 

[Lamont Burns]

I'd like to see the scout bat upgraded somehow. Either with more damage, a leech effect, or an added effect to the victim. Could be OP for a comp set up, but I don't really think TF2 has a large comp community... I might be wrong tho.

If they make SGs great against all classes, that's not really appropriate balance imo. Health buff might be the best option.

It would be interesting to see FF enabled for spies by default. On the server I play on, the poor spies getting TK'd with no consequences would not receive much sympathy.

 

[ShockwaveVT]

Originally posted by: Lamont Burns
I'd like to see the scout bat upgraded somehow. Either with more damage, a leech effect, or an added effect to the victim. Could be OP for a comp set up, but I don't really think TF2 has a large comp community... I might be wrong tho.

What do you mean by comp? Computer/PC? By far the largest # of TF2 players are playing the PC version of the game...

If you mean competition/league there are tons of leagues (mostly 6v6, with some 8v8) with tons of teams.

Oh, and scouts are already OP.

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: ShockwaveVT

Originally posted by: Lamont Burns
I'd like to see the scout bat upgraded somehow. Either with more damage, a leech effect, or an added effect to the victim. Could be OP for a comp set up, but I don't really think TF2 has a large comp community... I might be wrong tho.

What do you mean by comp? Computer/PC? By far the largest # of TF2 players are playing the PC version of the game...

If you mean competition/league there are tons of leagues (mostly 6v6, with some 8v8) with tons of teams.

Oh, and scouts are already OP.

I believe he means competitive.

KT

 

[Glavinsolo]

I play this quite often. The minor spy update was major for the class, ammo packs=more cloak time is awesome. I can cloak on badwater from the open gate on offense and stay cloaked (granted all ammo packs are on the ground) to the defense spawn taking out their teles.

Sentries should get buffed imo (better yet for engie patch just introduce an alternate sentry device). Demos are balanced if you consider the new changes (stickies being shot at, airblast). Pyros need to be nerfed. Scouts buffed. Spies are too damn vulnerable to spray and pray idiots. Soldier is somewhat of a mixed bag, I'd say it's not played enough, needs a minor buff. Sniper could use a better close range weapon, but then again those who play sniper have learned to use the machete quite well.

The most frustrating part of the game is trying to play spy and have morons run around with their index finger locked to the on position and playing pyro, I understand if you are near a sentry. But to go around at all times with flame on is asinine. That is not skillful nor is it the appropriate way to play pyro. Pyro is ambush at close range. Too many times I'll be cloaked and trying to avoid a mono-play pyro and he lights me up and then runs by me, totally unaware he lit me up.

The scout update should address Sentry vs. Scout. I recommended a net as an alternate fire from the scouts blaster gun. Giving 3seconds of no sentry time.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

They should remake spaz4 and border2. Maybe throw in a little canalzone in there. They should give sniper shots a little bounceback. It's messed up how a heavy across the map can graze you with a bullet that fucks up your aim.

 

[ivan2]

it's been in the rumor for a while that the new game mode will be escort and the new class is civilian

 

[coreyb]

civilian? what the hell

 

[Lamont Burns]

Originally posted by: KeithTalent

Originally posted by: ShockwaveVT

Originally posted by: Lamont Burns
I'd like to see the scout bat upgraded somehow. Either with more damage, a leech effect, or an added effect to the victim. Could be OP for a comp set up, but I don't really think TF2 has a large comp community... I might be wrong tho.

What do you mean by comp? Computer/PC? By far the largest # of TF2 players are playing the PC version of the game...

If you mean competition/league there are tons of leagues (mostly 6v6, with some 8v8) with tons of teams.

Oh, and scouts are already OP.

I believe he means competitive.

KT

Yeah I was referencing competitive. I haven't gotten into that at all with TF2 so I'm clueless there, just don't have the time for it anymore.

I also realize the power of scouts. Coming from mainly UT fps playing, the speed/jump with hit-scan functionality fit right in for me.

I am very curious about what they would do with scouts.

 

[TheVrolok]

Originally posted by: ivan2
it's been in the rumor for a while that the new game mode will be escort and the new class is civilian

I've been waiting for hunted. One of the best game modes out there.

 

[RallyMaster]

Originally posted by: Imp

Originally posted by: RallyMaster
Sniper needs a prone feature.

The ones I see barely ever use crouch. If they rarely bother with making themselves 50% smaller, what makes you think they'll go 90%.

That's probably due to the lack of a change in accuracy going from standing to crouching. They need to do it like BF2 and make it so that there is not only increased accuracy going from standing to crouch to prone but also bullet drop.

 

[GenHoth]

VIP mode was my favorite in CS back in the day.

 

[Lorax]

picked up tf2 again lately, was getting bored of pyro (played a lot for the achievements) so went to engy and demo. like a whole new game/set of tactics.