Meet the Spy!

[rock_nog]

Haha, this has got to be one of the best "Meet the..." videos Valve has put out yet. Truly epic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTj6tauY1JU

[The_Amaster]

Hahaha, that was awesome.
I've got to get a copy of TF2 when I get to college.

[Archibaldo]

I dunno, they're all really good, except for the engineer, his is so-so.

[ShadowTiger]

The irony ... ...




... ... it is delicious.

[Radium]

I either suck at this game or it's WAY too hard to earn achievements in this game.

[Fabiano the Spy]

I've had the orange box on PC and PS3 for about a year now. I still haven't played TF2. I should get on that >.>'

[rock_nog]

I either suck at this game or it's WAY too hard to earn achievements in this game.
It's not just you. I only barely managed to unlock two of the Pyro's weapons, and that's it. Though I've heard that they're working on a new system that will allow people to unlock weapons without earning achievements, for those of us who are "challenged" in that regard.

[Cloral]

I either suck at this game or it's WAY too hard to earn achievements in this game.

It takes a while. I've got all the gear for the medic, pyro, and heavy, but I've been playing quite a bit. Still working on those scout achievements though, and as of this next week I'm going to have a lot more achievements to get...

[Banon]

It's not just you. I only barely managed to unlock two of the Pyro's weapons, and that's it. Though I've heard that they're working on a new system that will allow people to unlock weapons without earning achievements, for those of us who are "challenged" in that regard.

I think players have already done that. There are servers for collecting achievements. Also, did anyone else notice that the sniper didn't get the help it desperately needed?

he weapons are to reward people who play the game a lot, so it makes sense that they take a long time to get. Some achievements I can't imagine anyone getting though. (Scout killing two people with 1 uber? Who gives uber to scouts?)

I bet the meet the pyro will be last, and they won't reveal his/her face. He'll/She'll fail at giving a motivational speech.

[Cloral]

Some achievements I can't imagine anyone getting though. (Scout killing two people with 1 uber? Who gives uber to scouts?)

It's actually three kills. It's a complement to the Medic's "you'll feel a little prick" achievement, which is to give an uber to a scout who then gets three kills. So both would get an achievement. But it strikes me as one of those situations where the achievements are encouraging you to play in a counter-productive fashion, as there are much better classes to give the uber to.

[rock_nog]

I think that's all part of why they're working out a way around the whole achievement-based upgrade system. Some players are frustrated because a lot of the achievements are just counter-productive, and the existence of achievement servers shows that it's not all just about skill, and in that regard, it's kind of unfair to players who play honestly.

From what I've heard, what they're considering is a system where, in addition to being able to earn weapons by achievements, occasionally players will drop items at death which can be collected, and among these items will be unlockable weapons. They've actually already got a backpack system in the code for that, so it really comes down to finding a way to make it work well.

Also, I really can't wait for the upcoming headgear (for those that didn't know, in the last update they added a slot for headgear in the inventory screen).

[Revfan9]

Unlockables are bullshit period. The only acceptable unlockables are those that add only aesthetic value to the game like alternate costumes and such.

Seriously, why should I have to play through a part of the game that isn't fun in the slightest (Achievement Servers) just so I can start actually having fun? When I buy a game, I expect to be able to play it for real right out of the box.

And on Achievement servers... I don't think they're all that degrading to the game, at least not anywhere near as much as the Achievements themselves are. It doesn't even feel like you're cheating; It's brain-melting to just sit there and kill bots for hours. And so many of the Achievements are so flat-out ridiculous the only way you'll ever get them is either on an Achievement server, through a LONG time of gameplay, or getting amazingly lucky. If anything, I'm the one getting cheated.

Besides that, most of them are even difficult to get on the servers, because they're filled up with immature 12 year olds who refuse to cooperate with you (And isn't that the whole point of the special server?). Yeah, keep killing the medic when he's trying to get those 7000 heal points on a single life! Assholes...

[Cloral]

Yeah, keep killing the medic when he's trying to get those 7000 heal points on a single life! Assholes...

Hey now, I got that one legitimately!
My recomendation is to just be satisfied with the equipment you've earned. You don't really need the other things. Probably the only equipment released thus far that are clear improvements are the Blutsauger, the Ubersaw, the Axtinguisher, and the KGB. And of those four, only the Blutsauger gives a real marked improvement in overall play (note that the other 3 are melee weapons). So just play with what you've got. You won't be at a significant disadvantage by doing so.

[rock_nog]

I dunno, all the Scout unlockables seem pretty useful to me. Speaking as someone who doesn't really play Scout much, anyway, it always seems to be that the Scout unlockables seem to be especially troublesome when going up against Scouts.

[Revfan9]

I dunno... Maybe it's because I never play against any decent Soldiers, but the Backburner has been a godsend for me. The Flare Gun is also very nice to have.

[Cloral]

I used the backburner and flare gun for a while, but switched them both back. I wanted the air blast to push back ubers, and have found it really useful when attacking someone - I can set them on fire, blast them back, and get the hell out of there before they can return the favor. And I switched back to the shotgun to be better able to deal with other pyros, whom you cannot set on fire with the flare gun. But I can certainly understand why you would want the backburner and flare gun - if it wasn't for other pyros I'd be using the flare gun. So I guess the end point is what I said above is really only personal preference, and everyone will have pieces of equipment they prefer. However, no one piece of equipment is unbalancing, so you should be fine playing without the new ones.

[Revfan9]

But that's not the point: The point is I bought a game that isn't finished. The unlockable weapons in TF2 are a lot like the unlockable characters and stages in Smash Bros. Can you have plenty of fun without them? Sure, but the game experience just isn't complete.

Btw, I did get the Intern achievement legitimately later on (in Fastlane!), but I'm still pissed off over the whole ordeal. Even my own teammates were running away when I tried to heal them! How stupid can you be?

[AtmaWeapon]

Should I start playing this game? Is it going to be like Quake 3 and I'm going to get such a late start on it that all I'll be doing is staring at the ground a lot?

[biggiy05]

Should I start playing this game? Is it going to be like Quake 3 and I'm going to get such a late start on it that all I'll be doing is staring at the ground a lot?

I'm wondering the same thing.

[Zank_Tripper]

Should I start playing this game? Is it going to be like Quake 3 and I'm going to get such a late start on it that all I'll be doing is staring at the ground a lot?

I think you should be okay, assuming you've played other FPS games before. The game has several features designed to keep new players from getting annoyed by dying too much. For example, whenever you are killed by something, the game zooms in and shows a still shot of whoever just killed you. In this way you never are clueless as to how you just died. In addition, the game is team-based. If you are having problems staying alive, you can always group up with a medic or some of the other classes and defend or attack a particular area together. Not to mention there are enough classes that no matter your playing style, you can find at least one that you enjoy even from the start.

[Revfan9]

Team Fortress 2 is pretty different from other FPSes in how it works. Not so much in the controls and such, but different in its mechanics. Having good aim helps; But being able to cooperate your team effectively helps a hell of a lot more.

The different classes have their own strengths and weaknesses. The whole point of the game isn't who has the fastest reflexes, but your teammates' strengths can cover up your own weaknesses. You can be the most accurate sniper in the world, but that counts for shit if a spy sneaks up behind you.

That said, the game is generally pretty good for new players. Really the worst thing are the players who are assholes who scream obscenities into their mic at you for being a "scrub", but you can mute them. You learn enough about the strengths and weaknesses of classes within a day or so to be a useful addition to your team on public servers, though maybe not for OP...

[Cloral]

You can easily jump in as a medic and heal your teammates while you get used to how the game works. Even a crappy medic can be a huge help to his team.

[AtmaWeapon]

Am I going to have to find my mic or does it work OK without voice? I honestly don't like voice.

Also is Steam ever going to finish downloading all the updates? :mad:

[Cloral]

u = team chat
y = all chat
v = voice chat

People still use u and y a lot. It just puts you at a slight disadvantage as you can't yell "Spy!" if you see a spy about to stab one of your teammates in the back. By the time you finish typing it out, your teammate is probably already dead.

[rock_nog]

u = team chat
y = all chat
v = voice chat

People still use u and y a lot. It just puts you at a slight disadvantage as you can't yell "Spy!" if you see a spy about to stab one of your teammates in the back. By the time you finish typing it out, your teammate is probably already dead.
Well isn't that what the voice hotkeys are for? You know, just hit 'x' and then '2' to have your character shout out "Spy!"