Team Fortress 2: Sniper Update!

[kregg]

http://www.teamfortress.com/sniperupdate/

First Update: The Huntsman - a bow and arrow to shoot your enemies. To quote Valve:

You will shoot them and they will stick to the wall and they will die

This update already looks far better than the Scout Update.

Also, obligatory lulz.

[kregg]

Day 2: New maps - Payload race, Sawmill, and Nucleus (both Sawmill and Nucleus are Arena maps). Details given on first URL ^^

(Yes, I know barely anybody cares, but ah well, maybe someone will take some interest.)

[Cander]

Man I really hate these achievement unlocks. So many of them are so impractical for any normal game that the only reason many get them is by going on a server that is made just for getting achievements. And that just seems like poor design to me.

But new maps and gameplay mods makes me happy. So it evens out.

[kregg]

The way that players get their unlocks is a massive problem, and people down at Steam forums have whinged about it (including me), so Robin Walker (the guy who is behind TF2) explained via interview how in this new update, he aims to completely separate the link between achievements and unlocks, and adding more ways to unlock weapons.

TBH, I think this is going to be a far bigger update than any of the previous updates, since IMHO they cocked up big time with the Scout update, and with this update, they want to get things sorted out (as well as introduce some new things - also in the interview). I'm so damn excited, which is an absolute bugger since I have an exam in two weeks and all I can eat, sleep, dream, and sweat is TF2 at the moment. I can only imagine what my performance in the exams will be like...

Oh, and nearly forgot, Day 3: The Razorback. They really have this whole tribe theme going on with the Sniper, don't they? And also, Valve like screwing the fans minds too.

[Cander]

Oh I hope they do that and untie them from the achievements. Or they can leave them as achievements, just don't make them nearly impossible to get in normal gameplay. I'd be perfectly fine with ones that are easy but just take time. Like kill 1,000 Scouts. Not this crap like on the Pyro where you got to kill somone with his Hadouken fireball taunt which only does 1 damage. That is just not going to happen except in extreme cases of luck.

Maybe one of the unlockables for the Sniper will end up being a jar of piss.

[kregg]

The Pyro one actually is an instant kill (taunt kill) as shown by this hilarious Youtube video (gotta love the music ). But in practice, it is extremely difficult to pull off an actual kill with Pyro.

And hear, hear to the jar of piss idea. I wonder how much damage it would do...

[kregg]

Well this was an absolute suprise.

Today is Spy Update...

[Arrow_Raider]

I just started playing TF2 after not playing it for a year. I am totally confused and there doesn't seem to be any clear information on what is going on. I don't understand these unlockable things. How do I unlock new stuff? Where is the list of items that can be unlocked and how to unlock them? What are these updates pages and what do they mean?

[kregg]

Right,

What are these updates pages and what do they mean?

Valve from time to time add new features to the PC version of TF2. One of them are unlockables (which are new weapons), and the rest are maps, little enhancements to gameplay, and sometimes a new "Meet the" video. This means that because Valve is constantly updating the PC version, you come back to the game in, lets say a month, and there will always be something new and exciting about TF2, as opposed to say, CounterStrike Source. These are completely free from Valve and they are used to get people to buy TF2, as they also run a free TF2 weekend after every update.

How do I unlock new stuff?

TF2 has Steam achievements, and this has been (possibly until now) the core basis of unlocking new weapons i.e. completing a set of achievements in game to unlock a Milestone Achievement, which in turn unlocks your weapons. However, when Valve released their last achievement pack, they had some truly god-awful achievements, and this caused a massive uproar in the Steam forums, thus causing Valve to rethink their strategy on giving unlocks (article link)

Where is the list of items that can be unlocked and how to unlock them?

If you open up TF2, then click on Achievements, then it should show you all the achievements you have unlocked and need to unlock. You can also put a tick next to the ones you want to see on your HUD so you can try to aim to get that achievement.

If you have the PC version, you get these updates regular and free. If you have the Xbox 360, it will take some time to get updates and you will have to pay for it. If you were unfortunate to get the PS3 version, there will be no updates, thanks to Valve's incompetence in the PS3 area, and thanks to EA for even thinking about making the PS3 version.

[Arrow_Raider]

I see, thanks.
I also found this site that has some good information on it: http://tf2wiki.net/wiki/Achievements

[wossname]

You will shoot them and they will stick to the wall and they will die

That's not a very nice thing to do.

[kregg]

And you'd know a thing or two about being nice because... ?

@AR: The TF2 wiki is actually a pretty good website. It gives you tons of help and links to decent youtube tutorials on how to play a certain class. Helped me a lot with the Spy.

[Cander]

lol. Meet the Spy was hilarious!

[kregg]

Meet the Spy was quite weak IMHO. For one it doesn't have the same TF2 charm as all the other "Meet the" videos. Also, your mum jokes? Are you kidding me? That's at least 5 years old. The "newest" thing now is "that's what she said", and even that joke is wearing thin.

Overall, great in terms of machinima, but not great as everyone made it out to be in terms of "Meet the" videos.

[Cander]

Meet the Spy was quite weak IMHO. For one it doesn't have the same TF2 charm as all the other "Meet the" videos. Also, your mum jokes? Are you kidding me? That's at least 5 years old. The "newest" thing now is "that's what she said", and even that joke is wearing thin.

Overall, great in terms of machinima, but not great as everyone made it out to be in terms of "Meet the" videos.

I so disagree. I think it was one of the funniest ones. But perhaps that is the child still in me.

[kregg]

I wish I could find "your mum" jokes funny.

Also, at the blog posts by Robin Walker (the ones talking about sacking the people involved with leaking the Meet the Spy video). There were people in the Steam forum who actually took the blog posts seriously, which makes these posts even more funny.

[Cander]

I wish I could find "your mum" jokes funny.

I guess Ubuntards are more sophisticated than Mactards.

[kregg]

Only by a pinch.

As in us Ubuntards get pinched a lot.