Team Fortress 2 Unlockables and Achievements: Back to Normal

Valve has updated the item unlock system of Team Fortress 2 to include achievement milestones again.

Added Sniper/Spy milestone achievements as an additional way players can get the new unlockables.

So, in addition to the new random drop system, we also have the old exploitable/grind achievements model. While, I like that there is a directed way to unlock the items for a single class again, I can't help but sigh at the fact that Spy and Sniper achievement cheat servers are going to run rampant. I'm not sure this benefits any legitimate players, as it appears the random drop rate for items has been increased. I'm getting new items faster than before and I've not suffered a duplicate item since my run in with Natascha x4.

Keen believes this combined system redeems Valve for the early stutters of the random drop system:

Thankfully they came to their senses. Valve fixed the unlock controversy with a patch today that makes the item unlock system work how it should have worked all along: Items are once again unlockable through earning achievements in addition to being found through drops. I’ve noticed that the drop rate has been increased as well (found 3 items, that I already had, in under an hour of actually playing).

I don't see how it redeems Valve. With the increased drop rate, I can't imagine anyone playing fair would actually go after the achievement milestones as a way to unlock an item. Which means, the only players using the achievement milestones are the cheaters that want the Spy/Sniper items (or whatever class is next to get updated).

In my opinion, this just shows how poorly thought out the unlock system was to begin with. As I've stated in the past, Valve should just dump the system and keep the random drops for things like hats.

Keen ends the argument for me:

Honestly, it’s a bit easy and if you play for any time at all you’re going to get items but that’s how a FPS game should be - all skill with these extras being fluff.

It will be interesting to see the spike in the number of Spys and Snipers running around with their new toys, all gained through legitimate means no doubt.

Free Realms Hits 2 Million, None Could Be Reached For Comment

Free Realms, fresh off their first million players announcement, has announced that they've reached the 2 million mark.

Today Sony announced that over 2 million unique users have registered to their new free2play MMORPG Free Realms. Of those users, 75% are under the age of 17, 46% under 13 and 1/3 are female gamers. To be honest I thought Free Realms was going to be a flop. I didn’t actually play it, but I obviously severely underestimated the draw it would have on young people. Two million unique registered players in less then one month is huge to say the least.

Certainly a remarkable feat, although moot in the grand scheme of "is it making any money?". However, I honestly question where these two million players reside. I've logged a few hours in Free Realms now and I have yet to actually speak to anyone in game directly. I haven't even seen local chat between players. Even when playing the card game, there is limited to no talk between players. So far, Free Realms is a 3D web site that forces you to run from mini-game to mini-game instead offering the instant access of a standard website.

I'm really confused on what to think of Free Realms. The mini-games get repetitive fast, but yet tie back into a larger world which varies the goals and makes the repetition at least mildly interesting. Secondly, the game play is solid and the game itself runs without a hitch (so far).

But as I approach more than a few hours played, I am starting to see the freebies run out and the game increasingly asking for a credit card. Plus, it loves to remind players at every loading screen that member benefits are only $4.99 (per month) away and as anyone that plays Free Realms knows, there are A LOT of loading screens.

Unfortunately, I don't think SOE cares. They are hitting their age demographic and as I have no teenagers/young adults in my household, Free Realms is most likely to be lost upon me.

No Such Thing as a Free Game: Quake Live

Ever heard that there is no such thing as a free puppy? Sure, the puppy is free, but the food is not, veterinarian bills don't pay themselves, and that poop in the back yard isn't going to clean itself up. Nothing is ever free; there is always a price to pay.

Quake Live: Free to play, ad supported

Why Quake Live isn’t a free game: because there’s a $1,500 gaming computer sitting on the desk.

Pros:

• Free to play and the advertisements are not intrusive.
• It runs or will run on almost any PC.*
• Quake Live is quick and simple to get started with. The game itself downloads while players play a practice match against the computer.
• The social and community features are well done. It’s easy to track friends and join them in matches.
• The achievements system is well done, adds challenges, and contributes to replay value.
• Tons of maps and several game types also keep replay value high.
• Match-making based on skill level helps to keep a level playing field.
• Finding a match that interests a player and offers the game type they want is dead simple. One of the best mergers of a server browser/match making system that I’ve ever seen.

Cons:

• It claims to be web browser-based, but requires an installer that runs outside of the web browser. **
• The game does not seem to cope well with latency. Any little bump in latency or lag will result in a deteriorated play experience.
• Game-play is twitch-based and fast. This limits the game to a niche audience.
• The text output onto the UI is tough to read and follow.
• The graphics are dated and special effects are lacking.

Conclusion

Quake Live significantly lowers the barrier for entry into the FPS gaming genre and as a game that is meant to be played in a web browser, it’s good. For those players lacking an up to date gaming rig, Quake Live is a golden opportunity. For those players with an up to date rig, like me, Quake Live feels dated. I have always believed in quality of game play over eye candy, but when I can pick up games like Team Fortress 2 or Unreal Tournament III for $10-$20, Quake Live loses ground. However, free is free and Quake Live delivers exactly as it has promised and offers a FREE escape for a few minutes of FPS fun. For that, I give it two thumbs up. So, go give it a try!

*as of this writing, only a Windows installer is available, but they are working on Linux and MAC versions.

**the installer installs a plug-in based on the web browser being used. For me, it was Firefox, which normally can install plug-ins without the need to download an installer and regardless of what operating system I am using at the time.

Team Fortress 2: Spy vs. Sniper Unlocks/Item System Woes

It was not long ago that I questioned Valve's item unlock and achievement system for Team Fortress 2. The original system, whereby new items were unlocked by completing achievements, promoted grinding and cheating. It wasn't any fun.

Fast forward to the Spy vs Sniper update and Valve has introduced a new system. Gone are unlocks via achievements; arrived are unlocks via random luck (or so it seems). The new system:

For the last number of months we've been working on using the Steam Cloud to store a player's inventory. With that finally in place, we were able to deploy a new system focused on the giving of items to players. That new system watches the amount of time that players are playing TF2, and gives them a chance to find items at regular intervals. They aren't guaranteed to get the item at those points, but they have a pretty good chance. We based the system on granting items on the amount of time played because we don't want players to have to do weird things like join achievement grinding servers to get new content. Basing it off time also has the benefit of ensuring that if you play a lot of TF2, you're going to get more items than players who don't.

However, this has spawned a new type of cheat. Players are filling up cheat servers, going AFK, and after X hours are receiving their items. Whereby, a lot of players who are actually playing, are getting items at a slower rate because when someone actually plays, there is downtime between matches as servers load new maps. There is a slight advantage to the cheaters currently, but honestly, if the items can be attained legitimately by just playing, the cheating isn't as detrimental as within the old system.

Valve has stated the system is suffering from some bugs and they are investigating it. The major issue where players were receiving NO unlocks after hours of play has been resolved.

In the first few hours after the release yesterday, we had some issues that prevented the system from working properly, so that timeframe was not indicative of the system as it's designed.

Unfortunately most of my playtime with the new patch was during the affected timeframe, so I do not have much experience with the system to give a thumbs up/down. So far, in about an hour of play outside that window, I've yet to stumble across a single item. Thus, I am ending this post and getting back to the business of bitch-slapping some spies and hoping for random drops. It almost makes me wonder if I'm playing an FPS or an MMO!

Update: After 2.5 hours of play, I have "found" my first item. I died and then a screen popped up stating that I had unlocked Bonk! Atomic Punch for the scout.

Were You Surprised?

Proving that not even updates are safe from a backstabbing Spy in Team Fortress 2: Valve. Simply. Owns.

First there’s the Dead Ringer Spy Watch, a brand new golden pocket watch. As many speculated last night, this is a device designed to create a ‘feign death’ move. Activated once the Spy has received a non-critical hit, he cloaks for up to eight seconds, while a fake corpse collapses to the ground.

Then there’s the Cloak And Dagger Spy Watch, a regenerating cloak device. Stand still and it will refill your power gauge, only draining when you move.

These are the two items selected from the Spy’s Dapper Rogue Catalogue, “Catalogue for the Gentleman Rogue”. Others featured include a suit made of macrofilm and a ski mask grappling hook. Of all those mentioned, perhaps the only other realistic option might be the flamethrower lighter.

Oh, and a new "Meet the" movie (guess who it is).