They have had 2 weeks. We have had years. Imagine coming to TF2 for the first time and you dont' have 9 classes with 3 weapons each to learn, you have 9 classes each with 3 to 5 loadouts, each having the possibility to VASTLY change how you play the class. During beta there was only a handful of maps (that was one of the gripes I remember, so few maps), so learning them all as they were added wasn't much of an issue.
In making TF2 completely free you eliminate the credit-card problem of a lot of potential players: either they don't have a credit card (or more likely, Mom won't buy the game for them). By eliminating this problem you introduce a wide variety of players to the TF2 userbase, people who remember TFC, people who played Quake, people who were born after Half-Life 2 was made. Just think about that last one for a moment and feel terrible. I'd love to see more teaching in TF2 but the game is harder to recommend to new players just because if they don't want to learn a bunch of mechanics or caveats then they are kind of out of luck - TF2 is fun in part because of the "controlled chaos" the battlefield can feel like it has certain days. A lot of good teaching comes from the players themselves though, if you run a fun server and have people that like to use their mics (I run an All-talk server so that helps in making it feel more casual), then just get on the mic and let them know "rightclick helpimonfire rightclickrightclick" and after enough time they will catch on. The new players are good and bad - in one respect hunting spies has never been easier (remember when we would decloak RIGHT behind someone, mashing M1 to stab at the earliest convenience?), but getting a coordinated push has gotten much more difficult. Team Fortress 2 is a very team-based game, a lone wolf can only do so much. This means any skill disparity on your team is felt in full - but do not lament, for not ALL new players are terrible unteachable messes. On Thu, Jul 14, 2011 at 11:36 AM, ics <[email protected]> wrote: > I mean seriously, after 2 weeks ,they are still dumb as bricks. _______________________________________________ To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list archives, please visit: http://list.valvesoftware.com/mailman/listinfo/hlds_linux
