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[Proven]

I don't know what misconception you're talking about. I'm not sure why you would hold down the button if you have auto-heal on; that would defeat the purpose.

Here's an example of what I'm talking about, to clarify: My heal target engages from around a corner while I turn around and watch for spies. My companion then charges, severing the heal link. I immediately hear the beep and know that he's either pushed forward or died and either regroup or retreat.

That... isn't a situation that happens to me. I depend on sound a lot too (have managed to catch spies thinking they can decloack five steps behind me), but when it comes to dealing with corners, I just check for the who-I'm-healing box while I'm watching our flank.

As for rar, I've been looking for an article I read in the last year, but google search has only brought me the knee-jerk reactions from immediately after the update that brought the option came up. I'm curious enough about this too that I started a thread on CommFT s as well.

 

[The Technomancer]

The Accessories are a nice addition, but if you're talking about the Superfan, I was expecting the big mascot head. (And the subsequent Sniper fury.) More ballcaps... I'm not sure why they bothered.

Thank god no @ giant head idea. Just aesthetically.

 

[Azure Dream]

Thank god no @ giant head idea. Just aesthetically.

Of course. But it would've been funny at first, all the same. Especially if they dominated a Sniper, and this played.

 

[Proven]

Ah, I love Uber's videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELoBw9qTYZg

 

[Sgt.Pepper]

My game is updating. Seems like a big update, around 360 MB.

 

[Forkball]

People are asking for Bill's hats and earbuds for the MNC stuff. And people trying to get MNC stuff are trading refined and paints, saying that the MNC stuff will be useless soon so they might as well trade it now. Never change, trade community.

 

[EvilDick34]

Why the hell am i downloading 4gbs of data, what the hell.

 

[Goon Boon]

So now the classes with miscs are Scout (MNC items), Soldier (the Gentlemann Medal), Pyro (foster's set), Demo (shuttershades), Medic (mask and plague mask), and spy (camera beard).

 

[Drkirby]

Pyro has two, the tie and the Monocle with tape on beard and stash.

And if it is updating all the props, does that mean this update also sneak in a bunch of LOD stuff, or did Valve flip the wrong bit.

Added the Monday Night Combat gear
Added Crit-a-Cola to the weapon drop list
Added missing chalkboard/serverbrowser materials for 5Gorge
Fixed some missing particles systems in the low violence version
Fixed a bug with the round ending when a control point is captured during Overtime in CP_Egypt
Fixed the game not running on machines using Fat32
Updated the localization files

 

[Wolf Akela]

Video of the MNC items. Pretty meh.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZOafzaG8Hc

Also, I lol'd at this Fashion Fortress 2 vid.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIafaUfkLSQ

 

[Cipherr]

pretty much everyone uses autoreload

I turn it off when playing my spy with the revolver. I cant shoot SHIT with my revolver on a spy with autoreload on. Screen real estate just gets eaten after every shot almost its horrible. But I turn it on for all other classes

 

[Oreoleo]

I turn it off when playing my spy with the revolver. I cant shoot SHIT with my revolver on a spy with autoreload on. Screen real estate just gets eaten after every shot almost its horrible. But I turn it on for all other classes

It can be an issue for the Scout as well in my experience. Don't know why Valve can't just tweak the auto-reload time by a 1/3rd of a second or so.

 

[Sgt.Pepper]

Also, I lol'd at this Fashion Fortress 2 vid.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIafaUfkLSQ

This video is great.

 

[Drkirby]

Only MNC item that I like for TF2 is the Scouts Socks, the other two are more or less the same as the, well, other two caps in the game. Wonder if they will make it so we can paint the socks.

 

[Proven]

I give up, the only recent article I can find talking about the auto-heal is this one: http://www.ubercharged.net/2010/06/10/clanks-script-shop-useful-ish/ (ctrl+F "Medic")

But it did remind me of the one fact about Valve's implementation that was cause to not use it anymore: There's often a slight delay, and that delay is large enough that it can screw up multi-uber pushes if you're trying to flash too fast. It's been happening to me, and I thought I was screwing up because I hadn't played in a while, but it looks like I had just forgotten about this. *sigh* The facts of life.

 

[(._.)]

I ended up buying the monday night combat game. Partially for the TF2 items, other half because I may get a good 20 hours out of it. I'm laughing at myself atm.

 

[Safe Bet]

any tips for countering spies?

got completely dominated by one and was clueless how to protect myself

PS

getting backstabbed in the face really sucks

 

[John]

any tips for countering spies?

got completely dominated by one and was clueless how to protect myself

PS

getting backstabbed in the face really sucks

turn around

also be a pyro

use that macro that makes you spin around really fast spitting fire

 

[enzo_gt]

any tips for countering spies?

got completely dominated by one and was clueless how to protect myself

PS

getting backstabbed in the face really sucks

Turn around, also if you have a fair amount of ammo, shoot a teammate to see if blood pops out, if so, it's a spy.

Or be a pyro. As a Pyro it is essentially your job to spy check, by attempting to light teammates on fire, if they light, its a spy.

 

[Ceebs]

Has there not been a GAF game going the last few nights or did I just miss the announcements?

 

[Oreoleo]

any tips for countering spies?

got completely dominated by one and was clueless how to protect myself

PS

getting backstabbed in the face really sucks

The best spies will wait not only till your back is turned to strike, but also until you are engaged with another enemy. There really isn't a trick to dealing with them, other than constantly being aware of how vulnerable you are and turning around every 2-3 seconds to make sure you're not about to get dead.

Just keep your back against a wall whenever possible. Though even that won't always save you:

Anything behind the red line will count as a backstab.

 

[Yeef]

Has there not been a GAF game going the last few nights or did I just miss the announcements?

Everyone's been playing Monday Night Combat. It's an amusing game.

Also, I finally got an SSD yesterday, so I spent a good chunk of last night reinstalling Windows onto it (and watching Simpsons season 5).

Spoiler

Sack beatings are up a whopping 900%

 

[cooljeanius]

any tips for countering spies?

got completely dominated by one and was clueless how to protect myself

PS

getting backstabbed in the face really sucks

Here's some advise by class:
Scout: Run fast and don't hold still, spies have a hard time backstabbing good scouts. Also you can try using the Mad Milk if you have it
Soldier: Rocket jump a lot. If you're injured, run around with your Equalizer, the extra speed should make it hard for them to catch you
Pyro: Easy, just light everything on fire and hopefully it'll be a spy. People often rage-pyro instead of ragequit after getting backstabbed a lot
Demoman: Sticky jump a lot
Heavy: If your medic suddenly stops healing you, it might be because they got backstabbed. Turn around just in case. Some spies ignore the medic and go directly for their Heavy though.
Engineer: Most spies will try to sap your buildings first instead of backstabbing you, look for anyone hanging around your buildings and attack them just in case.
Medic: Can't really think of any specific advice for Medics
Sniper: Try equipping the Razorback and hope the spies don't know how to use their revolver, or equip Jarate and throw it at anything that looks suspicious
Spy: Being a spy yourself is also a good way to avoid getting backstabbed, as often times you're on opposite sides of enemy lines from enemy spies, and enemy spies don't normally do much spychecking themselves.

 

[Yeef]

Spychecking as a spy is actually pretty easy. If you get behind a disguised spy (from the other team) you'll still put your knife up. If they're facing you just bump check them.

For medic, your speed should keep you safe; the hard part is keeping your heal target safe. You can warn them that there's a spy, but if they don't react quickly enough there's nothing you can do.

I don't think sticky jumping is necessary for demos. Demo is a pretty powerful melee class and direct hit pipes do tons of damage. If you're spychecking it shouldn't be a problem. The real issue is that good spies wait until your're engaged in combat to stab you. it's especially bad if they're using the Eternal Reward. Spy sandwiches can be pretty hard to stop if you're alone (two spies on the same team working together; one as a decoy the other as the assassin).

 

[cooljeanius]

Spychecking as a spy is actually pretty easy. If you get behind a disguised spy (from the other team) you'll still put your knife up. If they're facing you just bump check them.

Yeah, but how often does this actually happen though? Normally when I'm playing spy, I don't run into enemy spies that often, but if I do, I usually just warn the rest of my team about them rather than going after them myself.

For medic, your speed should keep you safe; the hard part is keeping your heal target safe. You can warn them that there's a spy, but if they don't react quickly enough there's nothing you can do.

Yeah, if there's one thing I hate, it's seeing a spy run up to my heavy and being unable to save them because I can't communicate quickly enough...

I don't think sticky jumping is necessary for demos. Demo is a pretty powerful melee class and direct hit pipes do tons of damage. If you're spychecking it shouldn't be a problem. The real issue is that good spies wait until your're engaged in combat to stab you. it's especially bad if they're using the Eternal Reward. Spy sandwiches can be pretty hard to stop if you're alone (two spies on the same team working together; one as a decoy the other as the assassin).

Yeah, the advice for demos was the one I was least confident about... but yeah, the melee part is a good point. I thought about mentioning the Targe, but then decided against it.

 

[Weenerz]

I ended up buying the monday night combat game. Partially for the TF2 items, other half because I may get a good 20 hours out of it. I'm laughing at myself atm.

I did the same thing, MNC fucking stinks. I think it might turn me off on buying games for TF2 items.

 

[Oreoleo]

Medic: Can't really think of any specific advice for Medics

Typically you should be healing someone good enough to hold off your front (heavy esp) which leaves you free to watch HIS back for spies while still being able to keep an eye on his health with your medigun. You can chump block the heavy's back if you spot one, and like you pointed out if you stop healing your team mate will usually notice and turn around to see what's up (Assuming you aren't spamming "SPYSPYSPYTURNAROUND" into the mic by that point anyway).

 

[balladofwindfishes]

Isn't Backtabbing actually 160 degrees of their back and not 180 degrees. I think Valve patched that in to balance when they made stabbing faster

 

[Yasae]

I was expecting the MNC items to be actual items, not palette swaps.

Thankfully I'm broke and didn't buy it.

 

[Azure Dream]

Isn't Backtabbing actually 160 degrees of their back and not 180 degrees. I think Valve patched that in to balance when they made stabbing faster

as long as the enemy is close enough to be hit with a melee attack, and the Spy is within a 180° range of the enemy's back.

At one point they did reduce the backstab radius to 160, but reversed on that 9 days later.


Something that crossed my mind, what about a short version of a cooldown system, like the Ambassador? The first backstab attempt gets the full chance at 180. If unsuccessful (miss or poke), a second stab attempt done very soon after gets a reduced degree, like 170 or 160. Should you whiff that, the third flail (and beyond if the button is held down) gets only 160 or 150 degrees. The cooldown would be as brief as the Ambassador's, and not go into effect after successful backstabs.

Because one thing this would accomplish is give less of an advantage to Spies who've been discovered, and start circling while holding M1 hoping for a cheap side-stab. Tightening the cone in clumsy melee sessions seems right for a class about stealth and accuracy. But I'm sure someone has a reason why it'd be a terrible idea.

 

[Proven]

I can't think of a good counter argument, but at the same time I'm extremely biased against Spies.

 

[Yeef]

KABOOM!

 

[enzo_gt]

KABOOM!

Was posted, still ridiculous. Another reason why nucleus is the best map too.

 

[Twig]

Proof that people who use sticky launcher as their primary weapon are failures.

 

[Yeef]

Twig needs to stop playing WoW and play Monday Night Combat with us.

 

[snack]

KABOOM!

wow x10

Now that was some serious ownage.

 

[(._.)]

Have they added anything else to the game since the medic/demo/heavy update?

 

[Twig]

Twig needs to stop playing WoW and play Monday Night Combat with us.

I do what I want.

 

[enzo_gt]

CrookedRain and n0b: What are their GAF handles?

 

[Twig]

CrookedRain and n0b: What are their GAF handles?

CrookedRain and n0b.

 

[The Technomancer]

I do what I want.

 

[Yasae]

At one point they did reduce the backstab radius to 160, but reversed on that 9 days later.


Something that crossed my mind, what about a short version of a cooldown system, like the Ambassador? The first backstab attempt gets the full chance at 180. If unsuccessful (miss or poke), a second stab attempt done very soon after gets a reduced degree, like 170 or 160. Should you whiff that, the third flail (and beyond if the button is held down) gets only 160 or 150 degrees. The cooldown would be as brief as the Ambassador's, and not go into effect after successful backstabs.

Because one thing this would accomplish is give less of an advantage to Spies who've been discovered, and start circling while holding M1 hoping for a cheap side-stab. Tightening the cone in clumsy melee sessions seems right for a class about stealth and accuracy. But I'm sure someone has a reason why it'd be a terrible idea.

Let me put it this way... If you can see them on your screen, they should have a 0% chance for a backstab. As of now it's about 50/50.

 

[Twig]

Let me put it this way... If you can see them on your screen, they should have a 0% chance for a backstab. As of now it's about 50/50.

Agreed.

But lag compensation is a bitch. And that goes BOTH ways, not just in favor of the spy. It'll never be perfect until we have FTL data transfer and no longer need lag compensation.

 

[enzo_gt]

CrookedRain and n0b.

Fantastic. I hate both of you guys.

/cried self to sleep after MNC.

 

[Forkball]

KABOOM!

This video reminds me how shitty I am with the pipe bombs. So many people can launch it perfectly so it rolls right up to my toes and blows me up no matter if I'm going forwards, backwards, or side to side, but when I try the same thing they hopscotch over them and murder me.

As for Spy counters as a Medic, try to move around as much as possible if you can. I know it can be dangerous as you may put yourself in the line of fire, but when I play Spy nothing is more annoying than a jittery and unpredictable medic. Also remember that you don't have to be facing whoever your healing to heal them, so feel free to spin around occasionally. Also have your melee weapon as your most recently used weapon, so you can whack a Spy with it if you see one instead of relying on the inaccurate needle gun.

 

[corn_fest]

So, Valve has been testing a new map, pl_barnblitz, on their official servers, apparently. Me and a few other people joined and tried to get to it, but I guess (predictably) it isn't in the rotation.

 

[Proven]

KABOOM!

What I find most funny is the fact that this video was made after the nerf. This video was made before the nerf: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvJRK6FaSD0

 

[Sibylus]

KABOOM!

Damn, just damn.

 

[Blizzard]

KABOOM!

That's awesome, and it's the sort of thing I want to do playing around with the sticky and rocket jumper. I gather that the sticky jumper is a much more useful weapon, though?

Also, I love using the caber, even though it is just a one hit item. Sometimes enemies seem to glitchily avoid the explosion damage (i.e. direct hits not killing scouts), but otherwise it kills most anything besides heavies.

 

[n0b]

oh whoops. lol tf2 is buts? I misread an earlier post. Ignore this.