Team Fortress 2 robot shenanigans afoot
Valve's up to something again. Team Fortress 2 is, as we all know, an epic tale about the rivalry between two siblings, but now a third brother has appeared on the scene to shake things up. A new TF2 comic and several sneaky in-game secrets hint that something big, shiny and metallic is coming, possibly the long-speculated PvE mode nicknamed 'Mann vs. Machine' by fans.
Valve's up to something again. Team Fortress 2 is, as we all know, an epic tale about the rivalry between two siblings, but now a third brother has appeared on the scene to shake things up. A new TF2 comic and several sneaky in-game secrets hint that something big, shiny and metallic is coming, possibly the long-speculated PvE mode nicknamed 'Mann vs. Machine' by fans.
As one fan's video details, Valve has been dropping hints about robots for some time, from comics and trailers to files casually added to TF2--which Valve knows fans pore over for hints. The most damning of these has been the heads of robot versions of every TF2 class.
After a little code-breaking by fans, Valve released a splendid new comic on Sunday showing a long-lost third Mann brother returning to slay his siblings--the heads of the warring Red and Blu teams--and set a dastardly plan in motion. Huge tanks appeared in the background of several maps over the weekend, so it seems an invasion is coming.
What does it all mean? The popular theory is Valve's releasing a new co-operative mode named Mann vs. Machine, where players fight robotic versions of the TF2 gang. TF2 files do reference something named 'MVM' and robots clearly are coming in some form, but it's mostly speculation for now. After several years of teasing, it seems we'll soon be finding out just what's afoot. If you want in on all the gossip and guessing, the Reddit community's gasbagging up a storm.
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Shacknews
replyAlice O'Connor posted a new article, Team Fortress 2 robot shenanigans afoot.
Valve's up to something again. Team Fortress 2 is, as we all know, an epic tale about the rivalry between two siblings, but now a third brother has appeared on the scene to shake things up. A new TF2 comic and several sneaky in-game secrets hint that something big, shiny and metallic is coming, possibly the long-speculated PvE mode nicknamed 'Mann vs. Machine' by fans.-
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Y'ain't wrong.
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So that you aren't trolling, and this doesn't become a voting fest about whether or not people like tf2 still, what specifically about the narrative lost you? Keep in mind these comics have been created over a progression, and so you may need to have read previous comics to understand who these characters are. Maybe that's what lost you?
These stories are written by folks such as the old man murray people, their ability to convey a narrative that fits the absurdity teamfortress universe is skillful and humorous.-
It was a personal opinion. I wasn't saying TF2 now sucks, I was just saying my admiration has been lost for some time now.
Before TF2 had an explicit narrative it was up to the player to have some sort of conceit on just wtf was going on... why are two teams with identical men fighting in this hilariously cartoonish war. It didn't need much of an explanation to be and was more fun making up your own narrative in each instance.
Now that they have laid the foundation for "This is what it's about" it just personally lost my interest for some reason. It doesn't effect the quality of the game or how awesome it is; but I now view it through the comic books narrative lens and it just doesn't sit well with me.
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They're all stupid and the story they're weaving was better left unsaid.
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Early TF2 was great because it struck that balance between cohesive and wacky. It had a great, if subtle at times, sense of humor that added to the game. These days, anything seems to be going, and it really dilutes the experience. You're bombarded with insanity at every turn and, for some people, it has worn out its welcome.
Great for people who enjoy endless chaos, but the game has lost the structure that I feel made it great to begin with.-
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I'm not really interested in arguing over what made the game popular because I don't think that's up for debate. I'm just saying that if I took a snapshot of the game now and compared it to one taken, say, even after the first set of class updates (when you could still earn all the new items via grinding achievements), I'd strongly prefer the latter. I fully admit that my taste in games is particular and does not represent popular opinion very well, and I am fine with games having a finite shelf life.
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I don't mind the store, I don't mine the hats, I don't mind a few of the weapons, but I really do not like how many weapons there are now and how every class can be played like every other class (you get what I mean). Suddenly a pyro can heal engineer buildings? The heavy runs fast with gloves? The soldier can disable buildings for a few seconds? ETC.
It's just that I find the variety to be confusing and chaotic and, well, it feels like it lost a lot of the competitive challenge that comes from being confined to one class's attributes and weapons.
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And all these comics and such are just silly. I've never read them, they don't bother me, but insofar as they represent the "wacky" style they're trying to put into the game as omnova}y said, I dislike it.
I'd've been happy if they added a few weapons and abilities -- kritz, ability to shoot demo stickies, and I like that spy knife that cuts your health in half -- and then gave us hunted.-
I haven't touched the game in many months but I love reading the comics and backstories they've created external to the game. Reading stuff like that and watching the 'meet the' shorts with these updates has never been done before for any game (let alone a MP shooter which usually has zero story or character). Valve goes that extra step to establish some sort of universe in what already is a "wacky" mp shooter and I really appreciate that. It's fantastic.
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Having played a lot of TF2 in recent weeks, this is pretty much not the case.
There's a few items that I think do break the game (the one Spy knife that insta-disguises the spy as the person they just killed gets me *every time*) but its definitely not the case that you can ignore certain classes to gain the benefits of others. Sure the Heavy can run faster in gloves, but they are still melee, and the time to switch and spin up the gatling is long enough to nullify the speed in close combat.
But it also creates new interesting strategies that are still prone to defeat. Sure, a pyro running around spy-checking near sentries while also healing it is pretty formidable, it also means they're a few extra seconds away from being able to airblast projectiles aimed at it.-
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Tournament you say? Why, dont mind if I do!
I have OFFICIALLY STARTED the ShackNews TF2 "Tournament in a Day" sign ups! WOOT WOOT!
An exact date is NOT yet set; once we have everyone signed up, I'll run a poll and find out the best day for as many to attend as possible. This will be in the fall, around the 5 year anniversary of TF2, sometime in October.
A reminder - participation in this tournament will use a KEY ESCROW to ensure participation. All participants will be required to provide 1 Key from the MANN CO store. This is to ensure participation of those that sign up. I will not collect keys until we have an exact date.
MINIMALLY WE NEED AT LEAST 70 PEOPLE FOR 10 TEAMS OF 7, OPTIMALLY 100 PEOPLE FOR 10 TEAMS OF 10
IF YOU WISH TO PARTICIPATE, PLEASE REPLY WITH THE FOLLOWING:
1) a Link to your Steam Profile Page, so I can send you an invite to the Tournament Group
2) a Link to your TF2 stats page to assist in ensuring an even balance in skill level among the teams.
example:
http://steamcommunity.com/id/highrez
http://steamcommunity.com/id/highrez/stats/TF2
Rules, etc will be forthcoming. this is just to get things started and an idea of how many are interested.
IF YOU PREVIOUSLY POSTED THIS INFO, AN INVITE HAS BEEN SENT, YOU DO NOT NEED TO POST AGAIN, BUT PLEASE ACCEPT THE INVITE! =D
CURRENTLY ONLY 53 PEOPLE HAVE SIGNED UP - IT WOULD BE AWESOME TO GET AT LEAST 70, BUT 100 WOULD BE PERFECT-
I have to buy a key? :/
http://steamcommunity.com/id/jaunt I think. -
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What if I rarely play and am really really bad? Do you need any awful players to fill out the teams?
http://steamcommunity.com/id/ormsbee
http://steamcommunity.com/id/ormsbee/stats/TF2 -
http://steamcommunity.com/id/drakoniac
http://steamcommunity.com/id/drakoniac/stats/tf2
My butthole is prepared. -
hirez be sure to use challonge.com to manage the tournament because Challonge is awesome
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A heavy running around with the gru is easy food for anyone.
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I wonder if this is going to be an official version of that fan-made mode where one player is selected to be Saxton Hale (with neigh invincible health and strength) against the rest of the players.
The comic certainly suggests that Hale's Mann Co is on one side, and the robots on the other.
However, I'd love to see a 3-faction-based control-point game.-
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This is the VS Saxton Hale mode I was thinking of.
http://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/VS_Saxton_Hale_Mode -
Seems to have replaced Arena Mode. Seriously, what the hell happened to that crowd.
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Sacton Hale is a horse?
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tsHkpesBdY
ARG(H) MATEYS.
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Story is entertaining IMO and the Mannco/trading stuff is more or less what keeps the content flowing. If you've been playing since launch the new stuff keeps it spicy. I've yet to see a weapon that can't be countered.
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Sooo what does balanced mean?
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The game IS fairly well-balanced though. I still believe Spy is slightly underpowered however. :(
It's just retarded that you can just shoot your teammates like that to spycheck. Because of this EVERYONE keeps doing that at pretty much ALL times. It's ridiculous. I do well as Spy for the most part, but it's still annyoing as fuck. Especially pyros. Bah.
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Ladies and Gentlemen: IT'S ON! FUCK YEAH!
http://www.teamfortress.com/mvm/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4cfo0f88Ug
