Team Fortress 2: Free Weekend

Kiith

So, Valve have decided to give a free weekend trial to everyone. From today (2nd) to the 4th of May, you can download and play TF2 for free. I'd recommend everyone who has steam, and hasnt played the game, do so now. Great fun.
http://www.steampowered.com/goldrush/

I also realise there is a Half Life forum, but i figured more people would see it here.

christophicus

I pre-loaded it yesterday, and i am not able to play it yet .

Call Me Jimmy

It's a clever move coz anyone who plays it over the free weekend WILL buy it.

MooseJam

just started downloading, I wonder will it be finished before the weekend is over, it's pretty big

Krieg

Thanks for the info, guess ill give it a go

KoKane

Sweet!
Theres an Irish server too btw

Team Fortress 2 - 24 Player
78.137.160.11:27017

JavaBear

Call Me Jimmy wrote: »

It's a clever move coz anyone who plays it over the free weekend WILL buy it.

Wrong.

Not a great game imo. Maybe it's because it's the free weekend and people don't know how to play.

Krieg

I love these "free steam" weekends Great idea

TF2, I liked it but I wont buy it

the_syco

/me gets it now

SeantheMan

Didn't wanna create a new thread, so just dug up an old one.

But Team Fortress 2 is free again for this weekend...well..actually starting now...so for 5 days I guess as part of their new update.

Welcome to Day One of the Über Update--the biggest, most ambitious update in the history of Team Fortress 2.

We've got a lot to announce as we get closer to the update's release this Thursday, June 23rd. We've been holding one of the surprises pretty close to the vest for months now. We don't want to ruin it, but we'll give you four clues to get you guessing:

1.) It IS a "Meet the" short.
2.) It involves ONE of the two remaining classes.
3.) It's NOT the Pyro.
4.) It's the MEDIC.


Let the speculation begin! While you're puzzling that out, why not click over to the first of our class pack announcements: Mobster Monday. To make sure everything was as accurate as possible, we went deep undercover at the most Italian place we could find, The Olive Garden. We asked the Mafia about a million questions, none of which they understood, because our mouths were full of all the free breadsticks the Mafia gives you when you visit them (they're not such bad guys).

All that hanging out with mob guys must have rubbed off on us, because we've decided to celebrate the Über Update by giving you an offer you can't (or at least shouldn't) refuse--an unprecedented WEEK-LONG FREE WEEKEND of Team Fortress 2, starting right now!

Antar Bolaeisk

The demo stuff seems to be a bit overpowered, it's essentially all buffs with no drawback. I'll wait to see it in-game but it does look to be a little too much (especially for a class which is always killing me )

killerhitman

its just been turned into a free to play game now on steam

Overheal

Yeah thread needs to be revamped: the Free to Play Weekend is now a Free to Play Forever.


















It actually makes so much sense, that I approve. We can talk about this later though. Theres also Meet the Medic out.

Ciaran500

This news certainly deserves its own thread, not a bump...

super_furry

It's still the best hat-based MMO on the market.

Nollog

Antar Bolaeisk wrote: »

The demo stuff seems to be a bit overpowered, it's essentially all buffs with no drawback. I'll wait to see it in-game but it does look to be a little too much (especially for a class which is always killing me )

You looking at that trailer on the steam page?
Yeah, it's not like that at all.

cherryghost

One of the greatest multiplayer games of all time

TheReverend

holy **** free to play, thats pretty awesome, and a good way to keep making money from games once the sales stop coming in, give it away for free and use micro transactions

Gunmonkey

And of course, the whiners are out in force demanding a refund for TF2 sicne their monies are "wasted":
http://www.destructoid.com/team-fortress-2-free-to-play-whiners-demand-a-refund-204512.phtml
even though there are 2 tiers now, Free Players and Premium Players:
http://www.teamfortress.com/freetoplay/faq.php

More people playing the better, I say.

D

So for buying the game way back when, all i get is a lousy hat?

Tar.Aldarion

dling cos its free, so you can like buy a hat a be premium? rofl

super_furry

D wrote: »

So for buying the game way back when, all i get is a lousy hat?

No you got hundreds of hours entertainment, playing the best multi-player FPS ever released.

And a hat.

Fanny Cradock

Interesting to see Steam change their business model. It would be fascinating to see what level sales were at before they decided to make it free to play.

Monotype

Not only are there whiners who want their money back but there's ones who want to cut out the free players. A mod has been made to prevent entry of free to play (F2P) players on servers.
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1947269

cherryghost

I don't normally say this to my fellow PC gamers, but what a bunch of ****ing fags

Burgo

Jesus, would those people get a bit of cop on, the sense of entitlement is disgusting.

super_furry

Nobody out-elitists PC gamers.

Krusader

So this is free for keeps not just a few days??

Antar Bolaeisk

Crosáidí wrote: »

So this is free for keeps not just a few days??

It's free forever and ever and ever and ever though you should really buy a hat, not because they look all spiffy and cool or anything (which they do) but because it'll help support one of the best developers ever (Hint: Valve).

pixelburp

The servers are going to be ... interesting in the next few days mind you; potentially a lot of griefers and abusers, along with the inevitable tide of newbies. On that, it's amazing to think that it took 4 years for Valve to create a Tutorial section for the game. As much as it is gaming royalty now, TF2 wasn't exactly the most newbie-friendly games for the longest time.

Would love to see a series of TF2 cartoons though, not just the "Meet The ... " series; it's the best comedy out there in gaming-land.

Tar.Aldarion

well this mod is probably to protect their game from hackers etc, still I want on servers and no hats :pac:

Overheal

Q. Won’t going Free to Play mean more griefers and cheaters?
We’re increasing our focus on making sure that hostile players can’t ruin your fun. Specifically, we’ll be keeping a close eye on players exploiting the ability to make infinite free accounts to bypass bans. We’ve built systems that’ll allow us to measure and track what these players are doing, and respond quickly.

Burgo

SeantheMan

The game was and still is great....regardless of hats (I gave what would now be well over 100euro worth of hats away when I stopped playing)...only thing I kept was sandvich
Payload to me is one of the greatest game modes ever
And the fact that they have given you all this game for free, just bring home Steam as the greatest published in history for me

pixelburp

I don't understand the whining from fanboys about the hats and additional weapons. It's not like in other games where the better weapons can only be accessed through (micro)payments as an intentional policy: you can still pick-up the new weapons through the random-drops system ingame & even then, most of them aren't that great. The game is still fairly well balanced, and on average the best weapons are the ones you start with, or pick up via the standard Achievement milestones.

Must get back into the swing of TF2, because unlike most online games I've played, TF2 always leaves me with a smile on my face.

super_furry

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tilAowv8xY

Spent the last few days playing Medieval. There's more entertainment in this one mode than there is in any other FPS game I've ever played. The fact that's it's just a small slice of what the game offers says it all, and I honestly believe it's the most entertaining game ever made.

super_furry

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tilAowv8xY

Spent the last few days playing Medieval - three control points and only bow and arrow and melee weapons allowed. There's more entertainment in this one mode than there is in any other FPS game I've ever played. The fact that's it's just a small slice of what the game offers says it all, and I honestly believe it's the most entertaining game ever made.

Stercus Accidit

Anyone have any suggestions to a noob trying this game out? I don't have any steam friends (forever alone) as I just got it for the game, should I just wade in or try to get on a teamspeak server with a group of players?

Ciaran500

Stercus Accidit wrote: »

Anyone have any suggestions to a noob trying this game out? I don't have any steam friends (forever alone) as I just got it for the game, should I just wade in or try to get on a teamspeak server with a group of players?

Just jump straight in and start learning, the basics are very easy to pick up so you won't be annoying people.

pixelburp

Stercus Accidit wrote: »

Anyone have any suggestions to a noob trying this game out? I don't have any steam friends (forever alone) as I just got it for the game, should I just wade in or try to get on a teamspeak server with a group of players?

Play the tutorial & get a sense of the mechanics of each class, and how they work (and especially how you're supposed to play them). Nothing more annoying than a newbie medic running around chasing killstreaks rather than healing his teammates.

Once you feel you know how the classes work, jump into one of the many public servers; I'd recommend CTF "2Fort" to start, or perhaps the Control-Point oriented "Dustbowl" / "Badwater Basin"; then perhaps check out the Payload game-type

Shapey Fiend

Has the balance changed much since it came out? My main objection was even the scout was treacle slow. The whole waiting around and overcharging mechanic for grabbing flags seemed so dull compared to the high octane conc jumping of TFC and Fortress Forever.

Gunmonkey

super_furry wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tilAowv8xY

Spent the last few days playing Medieval. There's more entertainment in this one mode than there is in any other FPS game I've ever played. The fact that's it's just a small slice of what the game offers says it all, and I honestly believe it's the most entertaining game ever made.

I LOVE Medieval mode, server I usually play on has it in the rotation but everytime it shows up the whine-brigade pipes up. If only I was any good at map making

super_furry

Gunmonkey wrote: »

I LOVE Medieval mode, server I usually play on has it in the rotation but everytime it shows up the whine-brigade pipes up. If only I was any good at map making

I play mostly on the No-Heroes servers - http://www.no-heroes.com/ - and they have a 24/7 Medieval server. Their trivia server is a great laugh too. There's a question every few minutes and whichever team gets the largest percentage of players answering correctly, that team gets a 10 second Uber and kritz buff across the board.

pixelburp

Shapey Fiend wrote: »

Has the balance changed much since it came out? My main objection was even the scout was treacle slow. The whole waiting around and overcharging mechanic for grabbing flags seemed so dull compared to the high octane conc jumping of TFC and Fortress Forever.

A couple of the new weapons the scout received since laungh give him temporary speed boosts, so yeah he's faster in a certain context. The game itself has massively expanded since 2007; too much emphasis is placed on the inclusion of all the hats, overall there are about half a dozen unique map-types now.

Payload is definitely the most popular & is extremely fun: it's basically a reboot of the classic VIP mode from TFC; where one team has to escort a mine cart, stuffed with explosives, to the other team's base.

Don't agree though that the game's slower because of the lack of conc-jumps et al; the pace of the maps means you don't notice any lack of speed, and there's still plenty of ways to get across the map in a single bound

Fanny Cradock

Stercus Accidit wrote: »

Anyone have any suggestions to a noob trying this game out? I don't have any steam friends (forever alone) as I just got it for the game, should I just wade in or try to get on a teamspeak server with a group of players?

Do the tutorials. They only take a few minutes.

The classes I would start with are the heavy and the medic.
Heavy is probably the easiest class to play initially because his role in the game and the weapon layout is straightforward. The medic is probably the one class that has the most potential to change the tide of the game. Again, it's a fairly straightforward class. You heal, get enough points for an uber (brief invulnerability) or a Kritz (brief supercharged weapons) and find an assault class to give it to and cause some chaos. Don't be surprised to see medics top of the leader board. Pyro might be a useful class to try on tight maps.

All the other classes are a little more tricky but you will get the hang of them eventually.

Krusader

super_furry wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tilAowv8xY

Spent the last few days playing Medieval - three control points and only bow and arrow and melee weapons allowed. There's more entertainment in this one mode than there is in any other FPS game I've ever played. The fact that's it's just a small slice of what the game offers says it all, and I honestly believe it's the most entertaining game ever made.

Where did you get this mod

super_furry

That's the beauty of it, it's not a mod, it's a fully supported game mode - http://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Medieval_mode

Gunmonkey

super_furry wrote: »

I play mostly on the No-Heroes servers - http://www.no-heroes.com/ - and they have a 24/7 Medieval server. Their trivia server is a great laugh too. There's a question every few minutes and whichever team gets the largest percentage of players answering correctly, that team gets a 10 second Uber and kritz buff across the board.

Hehehe sounds fun. Will look into their servers. Anyone else notice that almost every server is full these days......good times.

super_furry wrote: »

That's the beauty of it, it's not a mod, it's a fully supported game mode - http://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Medieval_mode

Wonder if you could make a Medieval Payload map??