Invasion Update Opinions

[{N}Olse]

I haven't played TF2 at all since three/four weeks before this update came out, so my opinion is just based on paper, not gameplay. In concept, this could've been an awesome update (then again, so could've Gun Mettle and TEOTL), but yeah, gotta agree with Kamo that this is lazy. I mean really lazy. And manipulative as hell in the same way Gun Mettle was. I'm not impressed, I feel insulted (like I did the last two big updates), and I'm becoming more and more impatient for Valve to actually develop something new again. I don't even care if it's not HL3. Just something.

They've admitted they use TF2 as a test bed for new marketing/dev techniques, which means as a game of its own, they don't particularly give a damn.

Seeings on how TF2 is one of their most popular game, why they use it as a test bed I have no clue. They could just try something else other than making TF2 a shitty game.

Valve has been using TF2 as a testing area since they introduced the Mannconomy (which they reused for Dota2), and that worked hella great, was barely manipulative, and very non-invasive. It was a great idea. Most of the updates after that until June 2012 were pretty good too, but after things went F2P, Valve seemed to take a back seat at actually developing the game, seemingly saving all their effort for their Halloween stuff (which has gotten WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY better the last few years).
But the main reason Valve uses TF2 as a testing ground for new ideas when it's their most popular game is pretty straightforward: it's their most popular game, and it doesn't cost anything up front to play. This creates a low-risk environment for testing ideas, because the audience is so freakin huge it doesn't really matter if one portion of players goes "fuck this shit" and leaves, because anyone with Steam conceivably has TF2 anyway. The numbers bounce back/stabilize, Valve (theoretically) learns from its mistake, patches a bit, and goes on. As long as they don't mechanically break the game, TF2 is a great canvas for them to fiddle with.
Not saying it's right, not saying I agree with it, but it's why they're doing what they're doing in principle. I just wish they'd listen and put more effort into their "big" updates. 

[DONDI]

I don't really care if Valve doesn't add new stuff to TF2. I'd actually much rather they don't add new weapons since it becomes an even bigger pain to balance out. My biggest issue is all the performance issues in game. They've pretty much broken the game (140+ fps down to 10-20 fps) with all the shit added from Gun Mettle and it doesn't look like it'll be fixed anytime soon. I would have much preferred they don't even add in all the crap from Gun Mettle and at least keep the game somewhat stable instead of the pile of crap it is right now. Half of the new maps also now crash the game too haha.

[Chickenshirt]

IThey've pretty much broken the game (140+ fps down to 10-20 fps) with all the shit added from Gun Mettle and it doesn't look like it'll be fixed anytime soon.

Yeah with all the bugs the new, "big" updates like Gun Mettle has caused, the game is unplayable sometimes. For example every now and then people are invisible, I can see some people's outline through walls (including enemies), etc. I know these graphical glitches can be fix by doing the demo thing, but after a while it's just plain out annoying having to fix the glitch temporarily when Valve could fix their already broken shit that they've created. They fix small bugs and every now and then a game ruining glitch, but these have been out since Gun Mettle came out.