Squee
4201
Your best bet is just finding a few servers with mostly good players and sticking there. I’d recommend The Drunken Brawl servers, they’re light on the stupid server mods, have map rotation and voting instead of single map 24/7, and usually have good players. Plus the variety server has per-map voting on whether to enable crits or not, which I enjoy since I actually like random crits in TF2.
Last I checked they aren’t running replays though, if you’ve got your heart set on recording some.
i like the coloured pylons server when there’s more than 10 guys there. usually the team quality is a bit higher than average…
I gave up on TF2 about the time the store opened. The game became more of a gotta collect them all Pokemon game than anything sort of teamplay game.
The thing made TF2 for me, inadvertent teamplay, was completely broken once buying went live.
I know we’ve been down this road on Qt3 a few times before, but I don’t see how hats ruin the game. Don’t like the aesthetics? Turn off hats client side. Excessive trading on your server? Find a better server. I play regularly on the reddit servers, and there’s minimal trade talk there.
Also, have you tried tf2 recently? I wasn’t around went the Mannconomy update went live, but the community usually go nuts right after an update (ie. everyone playing the same class when that class update is released, etc.) so things may have calmed down since.
The servers I’ve been playing on the past couple months have been fine. The trading has really been minimal. If you’re looking for a fun low stress server with a good rotation, check out the Critical Failure Gamers Union. Nice bunch of folks.
Also, if anyone’s old/new to tf2 and is missing a weapon they really want, let me know and I’ll see if I have a double.
How do you send weapons to others? All I have are the default weapons, since I have yet to play the game regularly. Posts commenting on the ineptness of others tend to scare me off, since I’m thinking I’ll be as inept until I get a handle on the game. :-)
You would both have to be logged in to trade I believe. As for being a noob you have plenty of options. TF2 has decent bots now, so you can always start up a practice game and try out the different classes against the bots. Then for live play, hit up one of the servers that has 32 players, its easy to tool around the map and play when you are one of many. It’s more chaotic but you’ll start getting a handle on the game easier.
A good server seems like it could offset the diffuclties I mentioned above most likely.
The point is this. If you are a public server, it is already a trick to get everyone, or most everyone, on a side working together. TF2 felt like it had been designed from the ground up to trick people into doing just that…often times without them realizing it.
Then came crafting. People got so caught in that for a bit, it was constant, but that eventually died down, even with the new guns and bullshit and so on.
Then came the Mann Co Store. People literally quit playing the game and started playing Pokemon on all public servers. For months.
Also, have you tried tf2 recently? I wasn’t around went the Mannconomy update went live, but the community usually go nuts right after an update (ie. everyone playing the same class when that class update is released, etc.) so things may have calmed down since.
I tried it a couple of weeks back for a little bit. Tried a couple of random servers. Had half of each team playing, a couple standing around, and a few on each time trying to trade or talk about trade or whatever else.
I managed about 20m before I gave up again. BLUH.
I think there’s a market for a game that’s 2009 TF2 all over again now.
I’ve been trying to use MNC as that game, but it needs a little more love/time/content to be that.
Hm, it looks like you just ran into some really bad servers. Give the reddit ones a go or one of the other servers suggested. Good servers are typically really busy and hard to get into though (and hence, anyone not actually playing the game gets kicked.)
Both players have to be on tf2 at the same time. Then one person can initiate a trade with the other person. If you’re starting off, you’re probably better off with the default weapons (which generally are better/less specialized then the other weapons.) I think I’m on your friends list already (as goatfooted) so send me a msg next time you see me on and I’ll send you some of the “better” weapons.
Also, what shellfishguy said. I started off playing on the 32 player servers, where everyone’s too busy dying from spam to berate you for playing poorly ;) The scoreboard can’t display 32 players properly, so you can’t even see who’s at the bottom of the list.
Strato
4213
I have to agree.
I am looking forward to being able to get into Section 8: Prejudice when I return home.
However, seeing my 1005 hours registered on TF2, I did get value for money with that game.
One further trouble with public servers, and the lack of team work is when a group of clan players effectively crash the party. Suddenly the fun just gets sucked right out of the game. To them, I can only guess it is like shooting fish in a barrel. But if the other team can not even get close to the objective, have no fighting chance in moving forward, then why play. I’d hang around in the vain hope that maybe the clan groups were passing through and would go into some sort of scheduled game, but they never did.
I too have been using MNC as my new TF2 fix (team based FPS online play) and I am loving it…except we need more maps and more features and more love.
Yeah, I’m not saying TF2 was a rip-off, I got a bunch of hours in on it myself. I just don’t like how the game was changed from something awesome into something less awesome.
Patches/updates are supposed to improve a game, not downgrade it.
RickH
4216
Absolutely true. Last weekend, the blues ended up jammed into the entrance hallway to point B on the Steel map, couldn’t do anything thanks to heavy/medic combos, supporting demomen, and even a level 3 sentry up as soon as A got capped. They even had pyros patrolling A to make sure nobody flanked them.
A bunch of server-hoppers does not stand a chance against a coordinated group. That’s when it’s time to server-hop once more…
sluggo
4217
Did Valve really just add scrolling combat text over people’s heads, or did I dream it?
How long has that option been available? Is it really new or have I just overlooked it for a while?
Having a bell go off every time you do damage to someone is kinda funny.
Squee
4218
Been there for quite a while, in the years range I’m pretty sure. Always had that option on since it gives a good idea of when you’re firing someone at useless-damage range.
sluggo
4219
I had no idea! I logged in last night and there was a message saying “hey look! There’s an Advanced Options button here! You should check it out!”
It’s been in there a year or two at least, that’s when I discovered it. I love it, it’s really stepped up my game by helping me understand when I’m actually being effective at all, and how effective. GREAT way to learn for weapons like missiles and pipe bombs especially.
