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Posts Tagged ‘community’

TF2 Update, Oct 13, 2016

Posted on: October 13th, 2016 by Obey

So the Pyro-themed content isn’t here yet. And the annual Halloween update isn’t here yet either. But Valve are working on matchmaking still, as well as MvM, and who knows what else. Here’s the rundown:

  • (1) Halloween Event Maps: You can now call a temporary truce during a fight with Monoculus or Merasmus
    • Community maps now have a ConVar to force a truce whenever any Halloween boss fight begins
  • (2) The Golden Joystick Awards now features a $1 game sale for anyone who votes
  • There’s a chance that you can opt-in to a survey after you complete a Casual match or a Comp match
  • Some community requests have been implemented:
    • Energy weapons will now correctly impact pumpkin bombs, RD robots, and Merasmus props
  • Updates for the maps Snakewater, Millstone Event, and Sunshine

See the full patch notes for more information. Expect the next annual Halloween Event to launch sometime next week!

 

1. What’s This About a Truce…?!

Remember when you played a Halloween Event map, and some big boss monster spawns… yet when your team turns to focus the boss, the other team kills you with your back turned?

illuminati__monoculus__is_unamused___tf2__by_mangledarobowitswag-d9i2g7b

Valve has released a way for community maps to enable, or even force, a truce between RED and BLU while there’s a boss monster roaming the map. I assume players will use the votemenu on Valve maps, but community maps now have the options to require the truce if they wish to implement it.

Head admin |N| Octo informed me today that Halloween Event maps on TF2Newbs servers will force a truce during these boss fights. If you want a TF2Newbs Halloween Event map to not have the forced truce setting, please let us know in the forums.

Hey, do you need a guide about the various TF2 Halloween Event maps? Here you go!

 

The $1 “Golden Joystick Awards” Game Bundle

The Golden Joystick Awards is in its 34th year, handing out awards based on democratically driven voting for beloved video games. To spur voting, this year they have partnered with online digital game distributor Green Man Gaming to offering a deal: After you submit your vote, you are taken to a page where you can buy digital copies of three games for just $1 (or 1 euro, or 1 pound). That’s $1 total for all three games, and you can choose whether to purchase Steam keys or another online platform (such as PS4 or Origin). The games are:

*The Spec Ops game requires a Green Man Gaming account (free), but it seems to be possible to earn back the money you spent on the package as well. So until the most important election in the world this November–the Saxxy Awards–you can practice your voting skills for the GJA.

**Doing my due research, the random game may not necessarily be a Steam key. It could be Origin, gog, etc. depending on the random game received. Could be literally any game, even one you already own.

The awards voting, as well as the $1 bundle, are available through Halloween, October 31st.

 

Full Patch Notes: Oct 12, 2016

  • Players will now be randomly selected to participate in a survey at the end of Casual and Competitive matches
  • Ongoing improvements to the matchmaking backend to improve match quality and reduce wait times
  • Fixed air-blasts sometimes sending deflected projectiles in random directions when the Pyro is close to enemy players
  • Fixed a case where players joining community bootcamp servers via the server-browser could not select a team
  • Reduced the rate at which players can earn bonus points for extinguishing teammates
  • Fixed a case where players could use the Halloween teleport spell to get outside the map
  • Updated the localization files
  • Community requests
    • Fixed Merasmus not being stunned by bomb-head players on community Halloween maps
    • Added the ability for community Halloween maps to call a truce during a Monoculus or Merasmus fight
    • Can be set via the game rules entity using the SetMapForcedTruceDuringBossFight input
    • Fixed energy weapons not hitting pumpkin bombs, Merasmus props, and RD robots
  • Mann vs. Machine update
    • Fixed the Sentry Buster sound being orphaned if the Sentry Buster detonates while invulnerable
    • Fixed zombies not using the correct skin in Ghost Town
  • Updated cp_snakewater_final1
    • Changes based on community feedback
  • Updated pl_millstone_event
    • Updated bot navigation file, bots now use all routes, won’t get stuck so easily and are smarter
    • Fixed woodpile spot where HHH could get stuck
    • Improved clipping on wood piles
    • Fixed missing rooftop texture
    • Fixed a few props flashing at certain angles
    • Fixed a spot in the last area where you could place stickies underground
    • Fixed Monoculus not getting stunned when hit by players exiting purgatory
  • Updated cp_sunshine
    • Blockbulleted spiral staircase on the back of second
    • Added medium ammo to mid near choke
    • Removed clipping over wooden arch going into second from valley
    • Reduced the size of the wooden arch
    • Blockbulleted a few undersides of staircases on last that could catch projectiles
    • Removed a ladder on last

[N] Obey

TF2 Matchmaking Changes

Posted on: July 30th, 2016 by Obey

When TF2 suddenly introduced their casual and competitive modes and removed quickplay, a lot of problems became immediately apparent. Two weeks have passed since the launch, and I can say that both modes have much improved. Let’s dig into what has changed now that quickplay no longer exists–and see what else is going on:

  1. Heavy vs. Pyro ends Sunday, August 14th. Pyro is winning, 55% to 45%, at this time.
  2. {N} Olse has a signup on the forums for his next Newbs XCom 2 write-up.
  3. Terraria patched
  4. Short tutorial on TF2 Matchmaking
  5. Full patch notes from July 28

 

XCom 2: Newbs Edition!

It’s that time again: {N} Olse will write up an account of how us Newblets will save the world in 2038! Just sign up on the forums by creating a character according to his guidelines. Olse will play thru the game with characters designed by Newbs’ specifications, and then fictionalize that outcomes for a story for you to read!

 

Terraria Patch 1.3.2 is now Live

So what’s new in Terraria? Here you go:

  • Having a Party Girl in your town will occasionally cause town members to throw a Party. Party Girl and Clothier sells different stuff during a Party, including a piñata that looks like a pig.
  • You can now choose what kind of evil corruption is in your world during world creation, as long as you have a world savefile that has unlocked Hardmode.
  • A lot of bugfixes.

This isn’t much of an update, but developer ReLogic says that a future patch will create a biome out of the Underground Desert, and its hallow/corrupt/crimson hardmode variants, so there’s that to look forward to.

Also, they have been hard at work on Terraria: Otherworld for some time. The game is going to be a more RPG-centric game with more concrete goals, skill trees, NPCs with deep personalities, etc. They’ve hired a new art director and have decided to rework much of the game, so I don’t think you’ll see it enter beta in the next two years.

I continue to mention Terraria news because a lot of Newbs players own and play Terraria.

 

A Short Tutorial on the New TF2 Matchmaking

Helpful links:

Note that the option “Quickplay” no longer exists. Now, you can choose from the following options when you hit “Find a Game”:

  • Casual: After a short wait, you’ll join a game (occasionally in-progress) randomly selected from the map options you’ve checkmarked.
    • No penalties for leaving in the middle of a match.
    • A typical match tends to take 10-30 minutes.
    • You can level up your Casual Rank by scoring points and winning matches.
  • Competitive: After a short wait, you’ll join a 6-on-6 match on a randomly selected control point map.
    • Big penalties (in Rank, cooldown before joining next match) for leaving in the middle of a match.
    • A typical match tends to take 5-20 minutes.
    • Your Competitive Rank can go up or down depending on the match results.
  • Mann vs. Machine: After a short wait, you’ll join a team of players that fight a bunch of computer-controlled robots.
    • Boot Camp is free-to-play, and some servers allow more than 6 players.
    • Mann Up requires tickets, limits the party to 6 players, and provides rewards for completing missions.
  • Community Servers: Opens the Server Selection window so you can select a Favorited server, one you’ve played in your History, or search for one on the Internet.
    • This is how you can find our TF2Newbs servers!
  • Training: Complete solo practice missions to learn how to play TF2.
  • Create Server: Launch your own server, choosing any map that you have preloaded into your TF2 files. You can have players join and/or bots can play as well.

Casual Play

Casual Play replaced Quickplay for the following reasons:

  • You will typically (but not always) join a game before the match has begun. A Valve server identifies 24 players (or up to 32, depending on the server) currently searching for a game, then starts the game by pulling them all in at the same time.
    • I’m not sure if Casual Rank is a variable in which players will join you in a match, so players of all levels of Casual Rank may be lumped together in a server.
  • The server will attempt to pull in players a little while after a player abandons the server or disconnects.
  • Autobalancing is disabled, but votekicking was enabled once more after the July 28th patch. So you can complete an entire match (each team gets to attack and defend once, or best two-out-of-three rounds on symmetrical control point maps, for example) with the same team of players.
  • If you want to play with your friends, you can Create a Party beforehand. Your entire party will then be on the same team.
    • If you invite them to a game after the match has begun, there is no guarantee that they will join your side–they cannot join Spectator, and will be assigned a team when they arrive.
  • There is NO penalty for leaving a Casual match. You can join another match at any time, and you get credit to your rank, based on your play up to the point of leaving/disconnection.

Oh, and you do get to choose the map and game modes you wish to play! Under each play format, you can click open a window to enable/disable specific maps. Use this function when you want to play on a specific map right now, or you only want to play on a list of your favorities. Note that only official Valve maps, unlike the beta map Asteroid, are available.

casual(In the above picture, slightly fewer players are searching to play Hoodoo than Borneo. If I begin the search, I may ended up at a Hoodoo or Borneo map, but not an Upward map, and never at a Payload Race map.)

 

Competitive Play

competitive

This has come around because serious TF2 players have wanted this option for years. Valve’s Comp Play is still quite different than the competitive leagues out there, but they are much more accessible, since you don’t have to join a team, organize practices, discuss strategies, or work around item restrictions. So consider it Comp Play Lite if you wish. But here are the features:

  • TF2 Comp Play still revolves mostly around 5CP maps, so only the following maps are available (randomly selected for the match):
    • Badlands 5CP (not KOTH)
    • Foundry (just added!)
    • Gorge CP (not 5CP)
    • Granary (just added!)
    • Gullywash
    • Metalworks
    • Process
    • Snakewater
    • Sunshine
    • Swiftwater (just added!)
    • Vanguard (just added!)
    • Viaduct KOTH
  • You can Create a Party–and it is recommended that you do so–but you can also jump in with solo or with a partial party.
    • There are no class limits, no item restrictions, and no votekicking or autobalancing. But if you choose Sniper, you better be good, or you’re going to hear about it from your party.
    • Currently only 6v6 is supported, but other modes such as 9v9 may be supported in the future.
    • You don’t get to choose your map.
  • Random critical hits are disabled. You only get critical hits when a buff or uber grants them to you; this is typical of most comp leagues out there.
  • This is Ranked Play: your party will face a party of similar average Rank.
    • Your Rank can go up or down after a match depending on match won/loss, points scored, and other elements of your play.
    • There is a hidden ELO in the game, which is represented by your Rank. If you were to always play at the same relative skill level, your Rank will rise to that level and then stay roughly the same.
  • There are penalties for abandoning a match.
    • You will receive a greater loss of Rank than if you had merely lost the game (since the July 28th patch).
    • A “cooldown timer”, which won’t let you join another match after an Abandon, is enforced.
      • If you have played only a few games, the cooldown timer is much greater (hours’ and days’ cooldown).
      • Each Abandon increases this cooldown timer before you can play the next match.
      • All of this is designed to prevent the player who tries to leave a match in order to avoid incurring a loss. A player with lots of losses has an accurate Rank; a player with lots of Abandons is not a team player that ruins the game for everyone.

Community Servers

Don’t want to play on a Valve server? Join a community server for any of the following reasons:

  • You want to play on our TF2Newbs servers! Of course you do.
    • To join server #04, a 2Fort server: open your console, and type the following:
      • connect server4.tf2newbs.com
    • Then, Favorite us so you can find us again quickly!
  • You want to play on a server with alltalk, class limits, randomizer, or other options
  • You want to be able to join spectate, change sides, vote for an autobalance, or just wander around exploring
  • You want to play on a server with admins that can help when there is a problem, or you want a family-friendly server
  • You want to find a trade server, a Sniper-friendly server, a jump server, or an MGE server
  • You like to play on a server that has regulars that frequent the same playing space, and can chat with while gaming

Playing games is a social act, and so it makes sense to build and support a community where people can gather to play their favorite games.

 

Create a Server

Can’t find any active server to play on the Asteroid map? Feel like practicing your Soldier skills against a bunch of Engineer bots on Dustbowl? Do you want to invite your friends to a map you’ve made yourself? Use “Create a Server” to do all of these and more.

It is necessary to be familiar with console commands to load bots, use cheats, and otherwise make changes to the server. Hit the tilde (~) key to open the console, where you can type in commands.

Bots need a navigation mesh to be able to play a map; without one, they stay in spawn. If you’re using a map other than one of these, then you will need to generate a mesh for the bots with a command, which may require several minutes and will restart the server.

 

Full Patch Notes: July 28, 2016

  • Matchmaking
    • Competitive Mode
      • Abandon penalty times are now longer for first-time abandoners with a low number of games played
      • Abandoning a game now results in significant rank loss. This loss is always greater than losing a given match.
      • Fixed an issue where players could drop and reconnect too many times before triggering an abandon
    • Casual Mode
      • Matches can now start with fewer than 24 players when there are not enough compatible players in queue
        • The match will still add additional players (up to 24) as they become available
        • This should improve queue times for low-population regions and game modes
      • Added maps cp_gullywash, cp_snakewater, and koth_probed
      • Fixed not being able to cycle between spectator modes
  • Weapon viewmodels
    • The field-of-view slider has been re-added to Adv. Options menu (range: 54 to 70 degrees)
      • This feature is now allowed in Competitive Mode
    • Improved and fixed many animations when using a higher viewmodel field-of-view
    • Removed custom animations from the sv_pure whitelist because it was being exploited
    • Adjusted The Cow Mangler(sic) and Black Box reload animations to be slightly faster (they now match the default rocket launcher)
  • Your class portrait will now always be the innermost in the match status HUD (top center) and will have a slightly brighter background
  • Added the Prinny promo items to the Mann Co. Store
  • Added the Florida LAN 2016 community medal
  • PASS Time update
    • Fixed achievement items (e.g. Civilian Grade JACK Hat) not cloaking with the Spy
    • Tweaks and fixes for all maps
    • Fix pack speed not being updated sometimes
    • Aiming players will no longer receive pack speed bonus
    • Some adjustments to reduce average round length
      • Overtime will end immediately if the winning team touches the ball
      • Overtime won’t happen if it’s impossible for the losing team to win
  • Fixed players being able to avoid a vote-kick by reconnecting to the server at the right time
  • Fixed the pd_watergate HUD not drawing
  • Fixed Engineer teleporter exits sometimes detonating when used due to invisible geometry
  • Fixed getting a black screen if the chat window was open when the match stats were being shown
  • Fixed weapons not being hidden during some taunts for the Engineer, Medic, and Soldier
  • Fixed Spy cloak causing the HUD 3D Character to cloak for the player the Spy is disguised as
  • Fixed a client crash related to the animation system
  • Fixed a bug where players in looping taunts could sometimes cause other clients to drop from the server
  • Fixed not seeing particle effects for Unusual versions of Baseball Bill’s Sports Shine, Ritzy Rick’s Hair Fixative, and Texas Slim’s Dome Shine
  • Fixed hearing the “team wipe” Announcer audio at the incorrect times

Undocumented changes

[N] Obey

Patches Improving Casual/Comp

Posted on: July 16th, 2016 by Obey

Suddenly, TF2 wouldn’t let you choose a map unless you joined a community server! And you got punished for leaving a casual game! And TF2 got a bit more crashy! Never fear–patches are here! Here’s the summary:

  • Casual Mode got a bunch of bugfixes and quality-of-life changes, incl:
    • Games with open slots will now receive new players normally
    • Added Vote Kick option: Kicked players will still receive partial experience
    • You can toggle on/off which maps you are willing to play on; game remembers your settings
  • Re-added Create Server option
  • MvM: Fixed sentry buster sounds from repeating after destruction

 

If you still want to play on servers with players of all skill levels, instead of players at your Rank, that’s what community servers are for, like TF2Newbs! We are here to promote a Newb-friendly playing environment free of slurs and hackers.

Speaking of Ranks, note that your Casual Rank and your Competitive Rank are separate! Your Comp Rank can go up and down as you play, but your Casual Rank can only go up. Ranks aren’t a factor in community servers at all.

 

16 July 2016 Patch Notes: Patch 1

  • Updated Casual Mode
    • Fixed a problem where in-progress games with open slots would not receive new players
    • Fixed a case where players would sometimes not receive experience (when playing a match to completion)
    • Fixed not getting domination/revenge events
    • Added a feature to the game mode selection screen that allows players to play on specific maps
    • Added the Vote Kick option
      • Players that are kicked will receive partial experience after the match ends
    • Maps previously using the stopwatch timer will now play to completion, regardless of the first team’s time
  • Added a “Create Server” button to the “Find a Game” menu
  • Fixed the party chat window sometimes not drawing
  • Fixed Australium weapons not drawing correctly in the character loadout screen
  • Updated the Dr’s Dapper Topper to fix a material issue
  • Thanks to Justin G., aka sigsegv, for these reports:
    • Fixed sentry buster(sic) sounds not being cleaned up properly after detonating
    • Fixed a bug related to bot death detection
  • Updated Taunt: The Balloonibounce to end the taunt if the player is moved
  • Fixed a regression in the Pyro’s flamethrower where flames could sometimes damage players behind obstacles and walls
  • PASS Time update
    • Updated several HUD materials to support mat_picmip
    • Fixed seeing the wrong cap limit in the win panel

Undocumented changes

Patch 2

  • Fixed a common client crash that prevented the game from starting

9 July 2016 Patch Notes

  • Fixed the Strange Filter: Competitive tool not describing itself properly after being applied to an item
  • Fixed the Jackpot! PASS Time achievement not tracking wins
  • Updated Mannpower Mode to use 7 captures per round on matchmaking servers (was 3)
  • Updated ConVar zoom_sensitivity_ratio so its value is saved across sessions and it can be adjusted in Competitive Mode

[N] Obey